Happy December! I'm going to bend the rules a little here today on Cowboy Kisses and go medieval on you. I write historic westerns, but one thing on my bucket list was to write a medieval romance. And I did it! I'm thrilled to see my first medieval in an anthology along with authors who are medievalists--and wait two more authors who exchanged Stetsons for shining armor.
I became curious about this when some of us authors at Prairie Rose Publications crossed over from westerns to medieval--all noting this is something we always wanted to do. I also note we have a number of authors living in Britain who write westerns. It got me thinking about the commonalities between the two genres.What draws authors to write about both the Old West and medieval Europe? Do they appeal to the same audience? In what ways are they similar?
Speaking for myself, most of my childhood fantasy play involved cowboys. My favorite toy when I was little was a pink bag filled of cowboys, horses, and Indians from the five and dime. I spent hours setting up scenes with them. I even slept with that pink bag.
I remember tenting my blanket to resemble a cave. In my early days the love story was between a cowboy and his horse. The cowboy hurt the horses feelings, and the horse ran away to live in a cave. But the bereft cowboy went out searching for his horse. They met up in the cave and had a tearful reunion where apologies were made and promises exchanged. My stories have become slightly more sophisticated since those days.
They're in love
As a teen I devoured nonfiction books on the subject of the Old West and Native American history. Then I read the Sun in Splendour by Jean Plaidy, and oh, my, I was hooked. The War of Roses: the battle for power between the Plantagenets and the Tudors. The House of York vs the House of Tudor. It's a story filled with heroes, anti-heroes, epic battles, mysteries (what happened to the princes in the tower?), people of such character we're still talking about them-- and yes romance!
I said "Move over cowboys. Make way for knights in shining armor." I have to confess for years I wore a white rose pin in my lapel (team York), and I had a huge crush on Richard III (who may or may not have had his nephews murdered. People make mistakes). His body was recently discovered buried under a parking lot.
I spent my junior year of college in Great Britain and had the pleasure of visiting many, many castles. It gave me a thrill to see those buildings in person. If you have the chance to go to Ireland I recommend a stop at Bunratty Castle, which has been restored. We're so used to seeing gray stone walls and empty interiors, but at Bunratty you can see what castle-living was like back in the day with its whitewashed walls and furnishings. The attached folk park let's you see what life was like for the common people.Similarly I got the same buzz the first time I traveled to the Southwest. I remember being in Tombstone and standing in the spot the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place, and then walking around Boot Hill and seeing the graves of people I'd read about--like the losers of the Gunfight at O.K. Corral.
After reflecting on it, I can see as a writer why I'm drawn to westerns as much as medieval stories. All the elements for a great story are there. Everything I can say which captured my interest about the War of the Roses can be said about the Old West: the characters, the stories, and the uniqueness of that time in our history.
So, readers, tell me do you read both western and medieval romances? What do you like about those genres?
If you're already a fan of medieval romances, or a western fan who wants to give it a shot, here is anthology for you. Eight stories set around Christmas by authors I can personally attest to.
Hear ye, hear ye! Looking for medieval romance? Tales of knights and their ladies abound in ONE WINTER KNIGHT, a wonderful collection of medieval holiday novellas for your reading pleasure!
You’ll be held spellbound by this boxed set of captivating stories from some of today’s top medieval authors, as well as some rising stars in this up-and-coming genre. Lindsay Townsend, Deborah Macgillivray, Cynthia Breeding, Keena Kincaid, Cheryl Pierson, Beverly Wells, Patti Sherry-Crews, and Linda Carroll-Bradd have woven eight excellent Yuletide tales of love lost and found that are sure to keep you reading far into the night. Laced with holiday traditions and the excitement of a bold, dangerous era, Prairie Rose Publications is proud to offer yet another wonderful boxed set of medieval Christmas tales for your reading pleasure.
This collection of novellas makes a wonderful holiday gift for hours of entertaining reading—for others, or for yourself! These stories are certain to keep you enthralled as you read on to find out how these knights and ladies find their very own “happily-ever-after” endings ONE WINTER KNIGHT…
https://www.amazon.com/One-Winter-Knight-Lindsay-Townsend-ebook/dp/B01M8LQ9MK/ref=as_sl_pc_as_ss_li_til?tag=httpliviajwac-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=74faad743b0a989855ef36d08755d2f5&creativeASIN=B01M8LQ9MK
https://www.amazon.com/One-Winter-Knight-Lindsay-Townsend/dp/1539742458/ref=la_B01C7L8QUU_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480628156&sr=1-3