“Perhaps more than any other genre, westerns require adherence to some fairly strict guidelines. Writing in this genre requires knowledge of its expectations,” says R. L. Coffield in her article, “Sexuality and Cursing in the Western.”This applies especially to classic westerns.
Most classic western fans presume a certain code. No explicit scenes. Swearing minimal or nonexistent. But there can be lots of romance amidst the shootin’ and dyin’. Character development is a must. (Or setting development, such as in a classic Zane Grey.) Good 
triumphs over evil. That’s why classic westerns attract lots of female readers.
In my newest western Creede of Old Montana (to be released October 2009), protagonist Avery John Creede rides into Ft. Benton, Montana, looking for old army pals. Instead, he stumbles into a running gun fight with a notorious outlaw and two women determined to distract him, each for their own reasons. Creede seems at first to either be very naïve with the ladies, or one smooth cowboy. Whichever, the results prove to be the same.
There’s lots of the usual head banging in the book, and it’s not all done by the males.
“With the quickness and velocity of a mother killing a snake with a hoe, Sunny slammed the barrel of the revolver into the back of the outlaw’s head. He crumpled to the sand.”
In one chapter I put Avery John Creede on the trail with this same Sunny (a.k.a. Mary Jane Cutler), and male/female sparks happen…some humorous, some “Aha!” But I do keep a close eye on them. Trust me.
A note about this scene, that also has to do with genre expectations: On the trail ride, even though Sunny’s a tough gal in lots of ways, she rides sidesaddle. That’s not just because she’s wearing a dress. It was thought to be scandalous beyond civilized reason for females to straddle a horse in the 1800s. And much later into the 1900s. She has no intention of breaking that sanction. And I, as the author, try very hard to stick with historical cultural facts. That’s one reason the movie, Shane, rankles me. In an otherwise excellent western, why in the world did the wardrobe people clothe Jean Arthur in pants? U.S. women, even ranch gals, didn’t start wearing slacks of any sort until WWII with the advent of Rosie the Riveter and the influence of the working gal.
On the trail,
I’ve long desired to write a western historical with a lady photographer, but while I was writing them as Laurie Grant, the time never seemed to come. Now that I’m writing inspirational western historicals for Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historicals, the time finally came, and THE OUTLAW’S LADY is now out.
My research for this book was fascinating. We have it so easy these days with tiny digital cameras, loading our pictures onto computers and elsewhere in less time than it took to write this sentence. We have the ability to crop and enhance them, print them in color or black and white, even sepia, caption them, make videos—the possibilities are endless! But it was not always so. The cameras of yesterday required the ability of its subjects to hold still for at least 15-30 seconds. Action shots were impossible—all that registered was a blur. No wonder the people in portraits of that era looked so stiff!
A camera such as those used in the Civil War, and by my heroine, was a bulky affair, and if the photographer desired to develop his pictures on the spot, it had to be transported with its bottles of chemicals on a little cart complete with a leather or canvas hood over it to provide “darkroom” conditions. When Tess is forced into accompanying the infamous bandit on his exploits to make a photographic record, her “What-Is-It Wagon” must accompany her, and she has to make him understand that she can only take “still shots”—photographs of him and his banditos in action are not feasible. But he is perfectly content to pose of pictures with his booty, and have her use her drawing ability for the rest.
Old-time photographers of this era used the “wet collodion” process—glass plates were prepared with solutions of collodion, a thick liquid which left a thin transparent film, then dipped in silver nitrate to make the plate sensitive to light. While the plates were still wet (they had to be used within the hour), the photographer placed it into the camera, exposed it while the camera was aimed at his subjects, developed it, and washed it with water. When the negative, which developed it, was dry, it was placed on a sheet of light-sensitive paper and exposed to the sun. Finally this paper was developed, fixed, and washed, and voilà, a photograph!
I was fortunate enough to do a research trip to Texas for this book and for my upcoming series, “The Simpson Creek Spinsters.” We also went to Big Bend. Imagine my surprise when comparing the cover of THE OUTLAW’S LADY—easily the most beautiful, most scenic cover of my career–to a picture of me standing on the bank of the Rio Grande by the Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend revealed that the artist used this exact spot! How cool is that? I had to contact the artist and praise him, of course.
alm and solid as the earth itself. (He also looks like Hugh Jackman’s character in Australia which doesn’t hurt a bit)
These were railroad cars that were modified to serve as traveling churches.
Debra Clopton and Janet Tronstad are delighted to be guests here at P & P today.
Historic Mill, an official landmark. We’ve lived in northern Virginia for several years now, but I don’t know the area very well. My husband, it turns out, had driven by the mill on his way to have lunch with a friend a few weeks earlier. 
I’m delighted to be back as a guest at Petticoat and Pistols. I feel right at home with authors and readers who love history as much as I do. 
Timetables of American History, Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the 1800s and American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs are invaluable. 
