Give Me Those Old Time Western Writers

I’ve been trying to think of the very first western I ever read—but I can’t remember back that far!  Growing up I was a TV western junkie—Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Virginian… You remember the ones. I know you do.

But there were (and are) some writers who picked up where the dime novels left off, who shaped our genre and set it on the path to where we are now, and beyond.

 

Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour and William Johnstone (who was from southern Missouri!) are three favorites, but even they had many predecessors.

 

Andy Adams – Born in Indiana in 1859. He began writing at the age of 43, publishing his most successful book, The Log of a Cowboy, in 1903 The Log of a Cowboy is an account of a five-month drive of 3,000 cattle from Brownsville, Texas, to Montana during 1882 along the Great Western Cattle Trail. Although the book is fiction, it is based on Adams's own experiences, and it is considered by many to be literature's best account of cowboy life.

 

Owen Wister – Born July 14, 1860 is considered the "father" of western fiction. Best remembered for The Virginian, published in 1902, Wister never wrote about the West again.

 

B. M. Bower -- Bertha Muzzy Sinclair  was born November 15, 1871. She wrote novels, short stories and screenplays featuring cowboys of the Flying U Ranch in Montana. She wrote 57 western novels, several of which were turned into films. 

 

Willa Sibert Cather – Born December 7, 1873. She achieved recognition for her novels of frontier life on the Great Plains. Willa won the Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for One of Ours (1922), a novel set during World War I. Other well-known works include O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Ántonia (1918).

 

And, of course--

James Fenimore Cooper – Born September 15, 1789. Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. His historical romances of frontier and Indian life in the early American days created a unique form of American literature.

 

According to William W. Johnstone:  “The Western is one of the few true art forms that is 100% American….the Western has helped to shape the cultural landscape of America.”

Just for fun, let’s all add to the list. Introduce me to another of those amazing writers and tell me just a bit about them and which book of theirs I should read.

Christmas in July at Prairie Rose Publications!

Yee-haw! It’s finally here: Prairie Rose Publications’ second-annual Christmas in July. All of the Roses have been a mite excited for weeks now. The event stirred up the corral something fierce, not least because twenty of us wrote the short stories, novellas, and novels that are part of the event. We were sworn to secrecy until yesterday, when the corral gate opened and the herd spilled out a-whoopin’ and a-hollerin’.

Do you know how hard it is to keep a secret like that? PRP founders Cheryl Pierson and Livia Washburn Reasoner had their hands full muzzling the herd.

The first Christmas in July around these parts contained only six Christmas short stories written by the six original Prairie Roses. This year’s special sale contains a total of twenty-five heart-warming volumes overflowing with tales about love all year round, plus two additional collections of traditional westerns. Most are priced at 99 cents; five of the ebooks are $1.99 because they contain two stories each.

Is that a deal, or what?

Here’s a quick look at the twenty-one ebooks that released today. Aren’t the covers fantastic? After creating every single one of them all by her lonesome, Livia deserves a break, don’t you think?




Many of this year’s Christmas in July short stories were published last year in one of PRP’s popular anthologies. If you’ve been waiting to try a story by a writer whose work you haven’t read, now is a great time to curl up with a heart-melting tale that will sweep you away to the Wild West. At 99 cents, how can you go wrong? And who knows? You may discover a new favorite author.

Six of the novels on sale for 99 cents have been available for a few months and are some of PRP’s most popular offerings.

More than a few of the Christmas in July stories were written by award-winning and best-selling authors, including James Reasoner and Livia Washburn Reasoner, two of the western genre’s enduring favorites. Some of the ebooks made Amazon’s Top 100 lists during the pre-sale period. (Thank you, early birds!)

You can find more information about all of these extra-special releases on a special page at the PRP website. Take a look. We bet you’ll find something you like.

Because we’re always looking for an excuse to kick up our heels with readers and friends, the Prairie Rose family will host one of our infamous Facebook Fandangos on July 27 and 28. Twenty-one authors will be there to stir things up. RSVP by clicking on the image.

Come join the festivities! The Roses will be giving away lots and lots of prizes, including ebooks and autographed print books, jewelry, Amazon gift cards, cowboy gift bags, and other western gear anyone would love to win.

As a heartfelt thank you for joining us in this celebration of PRP authors and their work, we’ll gift an ebook to several of today’s blog visitors. Simply comment below to be entered in the drawing. Winners will be picked at random and will get to choose their prize from the list of today’s twenty-one new releases.

Thanks for stopping by, and merry Christmas in July!