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Workshop Description:
There was a time, not all that long ago, that tales of the historical American West fell out of favor with publishers, particularly romance publishers. It could have had something to do with the lack of westerns on both the large and small screen. The 1950s-1960s had westerns ruling at the box office and in the bookstore. It was the era of the Louie L’Amour style of tale. When the bodice ripper era arrived in the late 1960s and thrived in the 1970s and into the 1980s, western themed romantic adventures were welcomed as much as pirates and guys in kilts. Then they fell out of style – well, not the guys in kilts – and the inspirational/prairie western romance took their place. Fortunately, the historic American (and Australian and Canadian) Western adventure is making a comeback. First as Weird West Steampunk, but also in historical romance.
In a single month, we’ll look at the settings that can be used (and they aren’t all on the prairie), the time periods, the conflicts, the hardships, the mining, the wars, the outlaws, the lawmen, the expansion of the train tracks, the immigrants (and the emigrants), the riverboats, and more.
We’ll work on creating characters and their backgrounds and backstories and the problems we can dump on them to deal with in a story. We might just load a wagon up for the six-month journey from one of Missouri “jumping off” points to California or Oregon. We’ll learn the lingo!
As if that isn’t enough, we’ll also look at the marketplace, find the places that are open to tales of the historic West whether it’s in the romance niche, the Weird West one, or the traditional western. We’ll also talk length of tale and whether series are the way to go, or standalone tales also suit what editors are looking for in today’s market.
So, pack your carpet bag, board the stagecoach, climb aboard the Conestoga or mount your trusty steed. We’re headed back in time, and we’re headed West!
Instructor Bio:
Beth Daniels never intended to write stories with either shapeshifters or magic users. She was writing romantic suspense, romantic comedy, and historical romance as Beth Henderson and doing very well at it as the 20th century closed down. But in the 21st century, the market took some real twists. The first time she picked up an urban fantasy story to read it was supposed to be as a palate cleanser. Instead, it turned into a new market for her as J.B. Dane where she spins The Raven Tales. When looking for someplace interested in Old West stories when that historical market fell from favor, she became Nied Darnell to write Steampunk and then Dieselpunk and Gaslamp Fantasy. In the closing months of 2021, she mixed romance and cozy mystery with a downsized paranormal element under her Beth Henderson pseudonym for a short series, Whichur-Wolfe Detection. If nothing else, she can definitely say she is currently in love with paranormal characters—particularly those that are born from her pen. Visit her at www.4TaleTellers.com under all her names.