What Makes It Western?

 Exactly how western does something have to be in order to be considered western? For those who like to read and write historical westerns I think the answer to this question is straightforward. In order for a book to be considered a historical western both the setting and the time period are important. Westward migration in the late 1800’s for example, is one of the most popular configurations. For contemporary authors and readers, though, the answer gets a bit murkier.

Let's start with locale. Most of us know where the West isn't. It isn't on the East Coast or in the South or in the Midwest, but beyond that people's opinions may begin to differ. In order to say you're reading or writing a western where does the boundary begin? At the mighty Mississipp? The famous river slashes the United States from Minnesota to Louisiana partitioning it into an eastern third and a western two thirds. We've all heard the references about something being the biggest or the best thing West of the Mississippi. The giant body of water is a simple and well-known marker for many, but is a story set in Iowa really considered the West?

For some readers and writers, I would dare to say a true western story takes place even farther West than that. Maybe not until one leaves Central time for Mountain time on the edge of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico has one arrived “out West.” This is probably the demarcation line that fits best in my own brain, however, I then immediately have to confess my inclusion of Texas and Oklahoma in my roundup of western states and how can this be? Texas and Oklahoma are clearly in the South lol.

Well this leads us to the second criteria for considering something as western. Lifestyle. Horses, cattle, wide open spaces like ranches and undeveloped land, as well as employment that is in some way related to the land, all signal a western flair. Where there are horses, there are hats, cowboy boots, and jeans—items that have widely become considered standard western wear. Food preferences tend toward beef since it is plentiful as well as other hearty, stick-to-the-ribs meals ideal for people who work hard outdoors and spend long hours in all types of weather. It's true many of these mentions hearken back to historical times, but in a contemporary western story perhaps those ties to the past are in and of themselves a qualifying feature.

Location, lifestyle, and ties to the past, then, could be called indicators of the western genre, but I would even go one step further to include values. In my opinion a western story embodies values such as love of family, loyalty, faith, hard work, good stewardship, neighborliness, and grit. Does anyone notice these things flowing straight out of our western past? Pioneering, hardship, dependence on land and animals, remote settings, and big dreams for a good life fuel the stories of the West—even the contemporary ones.

For me, blending modern language and conveniences with the other appealing elements of the Western genre provide fodder for enough stories to keep me writing for the next century when we’ll all have to start talking about space cowboys.

I confess to stretching the boundaries of what some may consider western in my books, such as setting it in California, or including politics in the mix, but the truth is, I will never stray far because while I never owned a horse or a cow, growing up in a small town where my predecessors farmed for a living, my heart is bound to the importance of it all as well as to the romance. There are so many stories to discover, so many dirt roads to walk down, so many streams to wade across, and an abundance of lives to live via the people on the pages.

Have you read one of my contemporary western romances yet? I invite you and encourage you to do so—especially if you are primarily a historical reader. Check them out. Look for the hallmarks mentioned above. Are there enough of them present for you to feel like you are reading a western?

The Blue Sky Series is Sweet With Faith and follows the Wests, a Montana ranching family.

The Fake Series is Sweet With Sizzle (chemistry, not spice) and follows The Connor siblings and their search for love in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

All That Glitters is a Sweet With Grit Celebrity Stand-alone that tackles harassment and SA in the country music industry.

And The Target is book one in my new Bodyguard Series, a Sweet With Suspense tale about a country music singer who needs protection from a stalker.

The above list of western specific elements is by no means exhaustive. I'm curious what you need to read or write into a book in order to feel it deserves the label of western. Drop a comment below and weigh in.