Western Wednesdays on Dark Bits

It’s Western Wednesday on Dark Bits. As most of you reading this are aware, I write westerns under the penname Lance Howard (the latest of which, Coyote Deadly, Amazon is at last carrying) as well as the horror/westerns under my own name. So it’s only fitting I dedicate a day to the genre and hopefully we’ll be getting that going next week with a new initiative from western writer Terry James (Joanne Walpole) involving excerpts and blog linking on various themes.

A lot of folks have a certain idea in mind when you mention westerns. And it’s not always a good one. But the genre encompasses so much more than just the standard gunfights and guys doing weird things with their horses because they’ve been on the trail too long. The westerns I write for Robert Hale’s Black Horse Western line (for those who aren’t familiar with these gems, they are hardcover books of high quality a bit large than the standard paperback. Hale produces 6-10 a month, all with wonderfully painted covers and has been doing so for over 20 years. Please check out Black Horse Express for more info) and Ulverscorft’s large print western line (check your local libraries for them or take a look at my Western Page) blend mystery, a little romance and occasional spooky stuff, and usually deal with a number of issues relevant to a modern audience, such as spousal abuse or racism. The western is far more versatile than it ever has been and some wonderful authors are working in the Black Horse line—IJ Parnham, Ray Foster, Jack Martin, and Terry James, just to name a few. You’ll be introduced to them during Joanne’s Wednesday’s Wild Bunch initiative if it comes off as planned.

The western is making a comeback. With Gary Dobbs’ Tainted Archive blog spearheading a revival, as well as planned Hollywood movies with such stalwart characters as the Lone Ranger (with Johnny Depp as Tonto) and Jonah Hex, and the Black Horse Line increasing print runs and production, the future is starting to look a lot brighter for a genre that was considered moribund not so long ago. And much of that is because it reflects something that holds true even today—the strength and spirit within mankind.

The western can do what any other genre can and in fact more, because it lends itself to blending with others better, as well as being entertaining and action-filled. Whether it’s the true historical West or the Mythical West that lives within the writer’s imagination, its possibilities are as boundless and as persevering as the landscape and people upon which it is based.