Let's make this interweb thingie work for us.
To all readers of the Tainted Archive, we need to join virtual hands to show publishers and booksellers how popular the western genre is. Most major bookshops don't stock westerns these days, least that's the case in the UK.
So what I've got in mind is that this coming Monday everyone goes into their local book shop and asks why there isn't a western section and then request to order a new western. Mention the Black Horse Western books from Robert Hale Publishers and also visit the local library and request a better western section than they currently have.
What other genre can give us so much mystery, romance, danger, suspense?
Bloggers with an interest in westerns please link to this post on your blogs and publicise this event. If demand increased then the publishers will answer - such is the nature of the business.
13 comments:
Is it really Wild West Day or did you come up with that? I think it's a good idea but perhaps not very workable being so close to Christmas. I personally don't go out after about the 18th (except to work). If I did, the only homage to Westerns would be a standoff in the middle of Nottingham!
Yeah the day's the pits but the idea's good
A great idea, Gary. I hope everyone has enough notice. Certainly readers in the UK could make an impression if they would only step up to the desk at the local library and mention some new Black Horse Westerns. Actually, some libraries probably allow members to log in and make requests on line. So it can be done without leaving home or having to break through any shyness barrier!
A list of the newest BHW titles (ones your library probably won't have) are listed at the end of the Black Horse Extra webzine (use Tainted Archive's link at right).
My own recent contribution has been to put up some free, online sample chapters from recent O'Keefe books at a personal Geocities site. You can steer your librarian to these, too. A black link panel has been incorporated alongside the Extra's header to make it easy.
Keep up the good work, everyone!
Why not?
Christmas is a time for giving - and how many relatives read westerns. So why not give them a good book.
I always bought my late father a western for Christmas and his birthday as an additional pressie.
Our main library gets new BHWs on the shelves - because I order in titles on a regular basis. Costs a quid a go - but watch them fly off the shelf.
I've got a lovely series book out that you could ask for - the Adelsverein Trilogy, all about the German settlements in the Texas Hill country, in the mid 19th century. Wild West day would be perfect for me, as I have a number of signings and events scheduled over the next month or so. The Trilogy is published jointly by Strider Nolan Publications and Booklocker.com! It has cruel war, true love, feuds, gunfights, Indian raids, cattle drives and all.
Celia Hayes
author, The Adelsverein Trilogy
www.celiahayes.com
Celia - that's great and please spread the word about wild west monday.
Ray our library only charged 50p to order books in.
While i doubt i'll be hitting a store and demanding a Western section, i could always just go around them all and ask if they have one.
Perhaps we should also buy Westerns we see on that day? I know some shops recenly put out a few random 60's/70's western reprints, might get one of them
Cheers Michael. That's great. We need to make bookshops realise that the market for this sort of thing is vibrant and loyal. I'd love to see slim paperbacks in the shops again rather than the brick sized tomes that these days are so common.
Thanks for stopping by my blog, Gary.
I've never read the Western genre, although I love Western movies and TV shows. Who besides Louis L'Amour would you recommend reading?
That's a great idea. I'll definitely try to take part. I love good westerns.
Shuana - Elmer Kelton's books are all superb as is Ralph Compton. And do a Google search on Black Horse Westerns - there are some great writers with that publishing house.
Chapters-indigo bookstores in Canada carry several hundred different stories of Max Brand and Louis L'Amour western novels, plus other authors. I've always enjoyed a good western tale, probably because it's part of my family heritage: my two grandfathers and a great-grandfather on my mother's side had cattle ranches in central Alberta. This was about the time the land was beginning to be homesteaded and the Texas cattle drives were hampered in their move north for lush summer pasture. The Texans had been coming up with their Longhorn cross cattle to the Canadian prairies for over 40 years.
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