I gotta say, I’m excited for 2023. So much happened in 2022 that I’m still processing, but that doesn’t dim the excitement of a new year with new challenges and new books to write. I feel like I failed a lot in 2022, and I was forced to reevaluate my commitments.
I’m currently finishing up a few items for my upcoming Love Inspired book, and while I do that, my mind is awhirl with ideas for more books. Which means more cowboys. I’ve been writing beach books for the last few years, but I’ve never forgotten my love for all things cowboy. In fact, I even managed to sneak in a horseback riding scene in a few of my beach books. I just couldn’t resist.
So while I’m plotting and reading all the books in preparation for this new adventure with Love Inspired (an adventure that I hope lasts a very long time) I thought I’d ask you about cowboys.
What is it that you like about reading cowboy books? Are there certain things that make you sit up and take notice of the characters?
I love that though it initially sounds like a small niche, cowboy books have a broad range (depending on your exclusivity for cowboys). I consider anything that takes place on a ranch and has at least one character on horseback to be a cowboy book. But that’s me, and I realize that I’m probably in the minority.
While I consider those to be cowboy books, my favorite type are the ones where the horses are more than a convenient way to make a book a cowboy book. I love when horses sort of have their own story and meaning within the frame of the book itself, and that’s what I’m attempting to accomplish with my Love Inspired books.
Cowboy books bring back my love of westerns. They give me a chance to remember the days when I sat with my grandpa and watched “The Rifleman” or with my dad when I saw “Lonesome Dove” for the first time. I feel like there’s an inherent goodness that tends to show up, a sort of good vs. evil where the good guy (the cowboy or cowgirl) always wins after a long and difficult battle.
My commitment for writing these books is to be true to the cowboys and cowgirls that I write. I want them to be authentic and show that cowboy spirit that drew me to the genre in the first place.
Tabitha Bouldin has a bachelor's degree in creative writing/English from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and has been writing since 2015. When she's not homeschooling her kids, you'll find her curled up with a book. Tabitha's genre of choice is Contemporary Christian Romance which she describes as: Adventure with heart.
I have read several historical westerns with cowboys but few contemporary ones! I should actually have discovered that I like the genre there is something attractive in a manly and kind man on a horse hehehe.
Funny because I’m totally a city girl.
I like reading cowboy books. They usually have strong family values and feature a handsome cowboy!
For me, cowboys are very exotic. My only knowledge of them and their lifestyle is what I’ve read and watched. Two of my author friends, Dalyn Weller and Carmen Peone, have roots in Western culture and ranch life and I love reading their books to immerse myself into that world.
Hi Tabitha! This Midwesterner / Michigander is not fond of Cowboy stories. I am more familiar with local fruit (apples, cherries, blueberries) and vegetable farmers or chicken and dairy farms. Farms that have been in the family for generations. Produce, eggs, and milk that supplies the Midwest. Hard working men and women, who often aren’t recognized. Happy New Year. Best wishes.
I LOVE cowboy books, as I grew up watching westerns, too! However, for me, a cowboy book doesn’t have to take place on a ranch, and it doesn’t have to involve horses. Those are just icing on the cake!! It has to have the cowboy mentality; it doesn’t matter where he is, if he has the cowboy mentality: the manners, the faith (especially the faith!!), that inherent sense of right and wrong (enhanced by his faith), that love of God, family, country, then I’m in!!
I grew up watching westerns with my Grandfather. I love their commitment to integrity, honesty, a love of their country and their family values and hard work. This sounds like an exciting series!
I love cowboy stories – like Milla says above, they seem so exotic to me, there’s nothing like it in the country I live in, let alone the small town where I live! It’s great to experience a whole different world and follow the stories of the people in it. Good luck with writing your cowboy stories this year!
Well, I think you know how I feel about cowboy books. Somewhere between: “can’t get enough” and “my ultimate jam” LOL. I love a man in a smooth hat and riding a horse. Great blog today!
Milla wouldn’t it be fun for you to come visit and we three writers could go on a trail ride in the Apple orchards?
So fun to think of what you’d look like on my paint mare!
Yes!!
This is why I love the western lifestyle!
There’s just something about a guy who likes animals. I can’t resist a good cowboy story! Historical westerns are what drew me into reading Christian fiction, so I was incredibly excited when I discovered contemporary cowboys too.
Yes! The family values are among my favorite aspects. There are such strong family ties that come from cowboys working the ranch alongside family.
That’s how I feel about books written in big cities. I love the excitement of delving into a culture that is foreign to me. I’ll have to check out Dalyn and Carmen’s books for more ranch life fun!
What’s great is those values you listed are among some of the most common among cowboys as well. Happy new year!
That cowboy mentality is epic! I love the deep roots of family and faith that seem to keep them grounded at all times. I can’t seem to resist writing horses into my stories, but maybe one day I’ll take the cowboy off the ranch and see what happens :)
Oh yes! Those memories are some of my favorite, and the values are such an integral part of the characters that it comes off so flawless, almost like they don’t have to think about it. They just know what’s right, and that’s what they do.
Thank you, Ruthie! I’m excited to dig deep into the series and do my best by these characters who mean so much to me. I love experiencing different worlds through books.
Right?! I love that I have the chance to write where my heart truly lives. I started out with cowboys and coming back to them now feels like coming home. Gotta love the hats and horses.
welcome today. thanks for sharing. I have read historical westerns since I was young. mom started me on Zane Grey. I much prefer Christian westerns now. I love the rugged yet heart of gold men who are written about and find that they can be strong with God on their side yet gentle and loving at the same time. I love the hard work and their way of life. I suppose I feel that way because I lived on a ranch for a long time. It is rewarding to see what has been accomplished at the end of the day/week.
I believe the same way you do about cowboys. Thank you so much for sharing. Happy New Year. God bless you.
fun post
Tabitha, the funny thing is, Carmen and I live only about 3 hours from one another. I’m going to have to go visit her ranch!
I am late cos I forgot to comment. On cowboys do they have to have horses? I ask this cos I think of some of the stations/ranches and large farms here in Australia and while some do have horses many use 4wheel drive vehicles often motorcycles or 4-wheel motorcycles. (in some places they use helicopters. I guess it depends where you live.
I probably prefer historical cowboy books more so than CCR. There are exceptions I love the Granger family series by Jillian Hart but its not for the horses or cows although the pet cow was a character it was more the family aspect and the farm life.
I also know rodeo is huge in America where as not as big here. We do know who local farmers are (and by farmers many have large farms that would be similar in size to smaller ranches) but unlike America where in books if a cowboy is walking down the town centre everyone knows they are a cowboy or farm hand. Here many farmers and farm hands could walk down the town centre and if you didn’t know them you wouldn’t always pick they worked on a farm.
For me its more what the story is about than the subgenre.