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Last week I was away from Book Country playing in Texas. I spent a few days on a ranch in the small town of Bandera. And, of course, I was so excited by the trip and so inspired by the scenery that I started reading a western romance.
Truth be told, I haven't read many of them (which is shocking when you love ranches, horses, etc. as much as I do!). I've read bits and pieces of western romances but never really sat down to read an entire book. So, I cracked open Linda Lael Miller's "The McKettricks of Texas: Tate" (because that's what I could find!). It started off strong--the setting was vivid (and there's a rodeo right away! can't go wrong!), the characters were intriguing, the premise too was one I found compelling. But I only got about halfway through it. 
I found the romance itself was lacking, the chemistry almost there but not quite, and the romance plot to easy and not developed enough.
So, it begged the question to me: What are some really strong western romances with the kind of chemistry and passion I love? Or are western romances just by nature a bit tamer and softer when it comes to the love stuff? Most of the bits I've read have been, so is it a trend?
What do y'all think? Have you noticed this or was it just the luck of the draw on my part? Do you have some good western romance recommendations for me? 
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 279
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The only one that really springs to mind for me is one of Nora Roberts books from the 90's called Montana Sky. If I remember correctly it centers more on the cattle part of ranching and it's in Montana rather than Texas.
http://www.amazon.com/Montana-Sky-Nora-Roberts/dp/0425233510/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307657185&sr=1-1
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 214
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This is just a theory, of course, but it could be that romance readers who prefer westerns are just more morally and politically conservative than other types of romance readers.
In Texas, ranching and farming is intimately associated with the hyper-conservative contingent. I see a lot of western romances that are also, ah, "spiritual" in nature. Most ranching and farming families are big church goers.
My ex-husband's family were big ranchers back in the day and continue to be "real ranchers" insofar that their trust funds allow it -- you probably passed by their ranch driving through Boerne. It is definitely a "real ranch" passed down from heir to heir since Mirabeau Lamar put down roots. But they too are really conservative. I grew up going to a Mennonite church, but my family -- also a bunch of ranchers -- doesn't have anything on this bunch.
I think you could pull off a romantic western -- there's definitely a mystique associated with it. If you're a reader who craves a little more sizzle in these books, you're probably *not* the only one. (Hey, that's one reason I pass the western romance by -- a little too tame.) I say buck the trend! Write a different kind of western romance. Cultivate a niche audience!
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 279
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I'd never thought about it that way, but I think LisaMarie nailed it. The above book I linked is the only western romance type I could think of that was good enough to call to mind. I remember ditching a few titles when the hero came riding up on a white horse. Literally.
If someone wrote a romantic western with a bit more sizzle and a plot that showed some intelligence, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
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Joined: 3/11/2011
Posts: 156
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Over the weekend I helped out at the Gay Days Literary Festival in Orlando. The best selling book of the weekend was "Lesbian Cowboys."
The problem may be that the larger romance publisher equate Westerns with softer romance, but the smaller publishers often carry more unconventional books.
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@ivoidwarranties Thanks! I'll def check that one out I like Nora Roberts's work, so even if it's still on the tamer side I'll likely enjoy it!
@LisaMarie That's exactly what I was thinking too--that the audience for western romances in general probably falls into a more conservative way of thinking/life. I'm glad to hear it's not only me that found them so, just, kind of blah in the romance department. I mean, glad that it's not me but not glad that it's the case! We need some more variety in that subgenre!
I hadn't actually thought about writing one myself, but that could be fun! I must percolate some ideas
@MarieDees that's another great point--I'll have to do a little research with some smaller pubs.
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Joined: 3/16/2011
Posts: 214
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@Danielle, et. al:
I think that the problem with western romances – as least that I’ve noticed – is that the single titles have the hero and heroine and a veritable festival of extended family secondary characters who all live under the same roof. Someone’s mother or father (or sister or brother) is always puttering around, corralling everyone for the family meal. You can practically hear the plates clang as someone sets the table, and that’s no way to work teh S-E-X-Y. Two’s company; eight's a herd.
Then there’s the MMC machismo factor to eschew. There was a gal who was in one of my writing groups sometime back. Published, too. Wrote nothing but western romances. Very sweet gal. Bless her heart, her books were littered with “lay down the law” alpha types who hook up with rebellious Big City engenues who ultimately discover that their place is in the kitchen stirring the stewed okra, not opening a law practice in San Francisco or modeling in Paris.
Kkkkk-khack! I think Lennox Lewis, my cat, just choked up a hairball. Okay, no. That was me.
There is a way to write a riveting rancher, no doubt about that. Give him some bad boy allure, though. Maybe he’s a widower whose wife died under “mysterious circumstances” somewhere on the ranch; the neighbors look at him with a dubious eye. His former wife’s family blame him for her death. I have some good ideas for this. Whoa, they'd really work, too.
So … our hero has become a loner, a rebel (lifting from “Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure”). He’s a misunderstood man, but he really is the good guy. The heroine is a … I dunno. Whatever she is, she’s moved to the small town nearby to escape her old life in (Insert Very Big City Here). She’s an outsider, too, so she connects with him immediately.
Proceed to sizzle.
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Joined: 3/11/2011
Posts: 156
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Well, there's your problem:
[quote]"American Romance features heartwarming romances with strong family elements. These are stories about the pursuit of love, marriage and family in America today.
A sense of family and community is essential. Secondary characters—such as parents, grandparents, siblings or other relatives, good friends or neighbors—support the hero and heroine in their quest for love, but never overshadow the primary romance. Books must have a distinctly American setting. American Romance favors western settings—from the wide-open ranches of Texas and Wyoming to the small towns of Montana and Oklahoma, to big cities such as Dallas and Phoenix—but our books can be set anywhere in the USA."[/quote]
That's from the Harlequin guidelines for the line that a traditional Western would probably be issued under. That's how the big publishers tend to see the audience for Western romance.
(BC probably won't take the quote tags, but it's worth a try)
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