Category: Westerns

Love your style, pulp edition

Ranch Romances, launched in 1924, was the first and most successful western/romance title. Someone once said it was western enough to appeal to cowboy fiction lovers, and romantic enough to appeal to women. The formula lasted nearly five decades; RR was the last of the pulps to die when it ceased publication in 1971. Success… Continue reading Love your style, pulp edition

Roe Richmond – Western Writer, Professional athlete, Cowboy

Everybody thinks they know what a western is. Frank Gruber, a long time pulp author with a flair for self-promotion, categorized the western into seven categories: In my reading I’ve come across these plots frequently, but such categorization does disservice to writers who stayed away from these tropes. Like Roe Richmond. That may come as… Continue reading Roe Richmond – Western Writer, Professional athlete, Cowboy

One writer looks at the evolution of the western story

John A. Saxon (1886-1947) wrote mostly western and detective stories in a writing career that spanned more than twenty five years. Working as a law clerk, he wrote stories on the side and was part of a California writing circle that included Robert Leslie Bellem, the author of the Dan Turner stories. ABOUT THE AUTHOR… Continue reading One writer looks at the evolution of the western story

Photos of Walt Coburn’s house in Tucson, Arizona

Walt Coburn was a famous western author in the pulps. He started his career as a writer when his lifetime goal of being a cowboy was ended after an accident. With a little encouragement from author Robert J. Horton, who had heard Coburn’s stories earlier and realized his talent for storytelling, Coburn parlayed his start… Continue reading Photos of Walt Coburn’s house in Tucson, Arizona

L.L. Foreman – Western Author

L.L. Foreman was a frequent contributor to the western pulps from the mid 1930s to the early 1950s. His series character Preacher Devlin started in 1934 and appeared in more than 45 stories till 1949, becoming one of the longer lasting series characters in the western pulps. Coincidentally, Star Western had the Deacon Bottle series… Continue reading L.L. Foreman – Western Author

Western author Norman A. Fox’s website, maintained by his family

Western author Norman A. Fox (c. 1930s) I recently found an excellent website on the western author Norman A. Fox, a founder of the Western Writers of America. It has a biography and photos of the author, a bibliography of his stories and movies, and even has a video of a presentation on him made… Continue reading Western author Norman A. Fox’s website, maintained by his family

Crazy Cows and Horrified Horses – The western art of George Harrison Wert

I like pulp covers, but i have to confess that most of the people portrayed on the covers had a total lack of expression comparable to the Great Stoneface, Buster Keaton himself. They could be dealing with a rogue elephant, a runaway stagecoach or a snarling man eating beast, and they would serenely confront them,… Continue reading Crazy Cows and Horrified Horses – The western art of George Harrison Wert