“If you write a book set in the past about something that happened east of the Mississippi, it’s a ‘historical novel.’ If you write about something that took place west of the Mississippi, it’s a ‘Western’- and somehow regarded as a lesser work. I write historical novels about the frontier.” Louis L’Amour My great-grandfather was born in 1904 and was a Polish immigrant. He supported himself by working on the railroads. In his later years, I knew two things – he liked a glass of whiskey now and then, and he liked to get comfy in his recliner with a Louis L’Amour Western. At the time, I was young, and my literary taste ran more along the lines of Nancy Drew books and the Sweet Valley High series. It’s only in recent years that I can appreciate a tale of cowboys, horses, rodeos, and occasionally cattle rustling. Although, admittedly, my Westerns are of a very different variety than those preferred by my late great-grandpa. Mine is full of more naked shenanigans than he would probably care for. I can’t pinpoint which book was the first romance I read with a Western vibe, but it might’ve been “Catcher Creek” series by…
