Historical Romance - Lure of the Cowboy by C.J. Peregrine
As promised, historical romance week isn't over just yet! I'm pleased to have C.J. Peregrine here to wrap up with an ode to the cowboy!
THE LURE OF THE COWBOY by C. J. Peregrine
Picture a man -- rugged, maybe tall, with wiry, whipcord strength. His cowboy hat shades a sharp jaw and chiseled face. His boot-cut jeans hang perfectly on his lean hips and wrap around his long, strong legs.
“Afternoon, ma'am,” he says, doffing his hat, his masculine silhouette a potent exclamation against the vast blue bowl of the sky. He's alone, as always, his only companion a horse which he strokes gently, even though he's a man who's as tough as nails. Not to mention sexy as hell.
Why? What is the lure of the cowboy? Why does he have such popular appeal?
Of course, his body is sculpted by a physical, outdoor life. So right away we know he's strong and tough. There is mental strength, too. Calming an injured horse, riding wild bulls, fighting poor harvests and bad weather, and facing an uncertain financial future all require extreme levels of courage, so part of a cowboy's mental toughness manifests as bravery. Which is, of course, sexy.
Cait London (For Her Eyes Only, Avon Romantic Suspense, 10/08) who has written many romances with cowboy heroes says, “Other than the obvious physical attraction, women are intrigued by the male champion who is braced against the odds, fighting them, and enduring.”
A cowboy also embodies man as nurturer.
The family of a farmer or rancher won't go hungry -- something we don't consider directly but which our instincts recognize. This nurturing quality shows in how he treats his livestock, how he speaks to women, and how he loves his land. Anyone who interacts gently with animals and is courteous to those who are weaker is guaranteed to nurture his wife and her children. And lord knows we all need nurturing at times. Says London, “A strong hero...puts others above his own needs.”
The cowboy in his farmer/rancher incarnation is also a man with authority (read: power) over his domain. Power is attractive. A powerful man is more likely to be in control of factors that can improve his loved ones' lives. The duke, the tycoon, and the sheik are powerful, and they're all landowners. A cowboy often owns land, too, usually lots of it, but his power is limited when away from his land. This limited power and rural environment mean that cowboys do not have the high status of other landowning men. He is a common man, which increases his appeal. Far from being a Cinderella dream, a cowboy's humble origins make him attainable.
Also men with power over land have the ability to physically shape their environment. There is an element of magic in a man who can make the earth bloom, predict the weather, or deliver a newborn foal. But carpenters shape environments, oil barons hold power, doctors nurture, and soldiers are brave. Although all strong occupations for romantic heroes, men from these professions haven't been the staple in romance that cowboys are. Why?
New York Times best-selling author, Vicky Lewis Thompson (Casual Hex, NAL, 03/09), produced a cowboy hero in her Rita-nominated Blaze Launch novel, Notorious (Harlequin, 08/01), who is so hot he's the stuff of erotic dreams. She says, "I see cowboys as the modern equivalent of a knight in shining armor. Sure, I'm talking about the ideal, but here in Arizona they really do exist, even now.”
A knight in shining armor who still exists. This is the true romantic ideal.
One of the reasons historical romance is successful is due to our yearning for simpler times and lifestyles. Even though the reality was dangerous and harsh, and men's and women's roles in society severely constrained, we still look back on the past with nostalgic longing.
Cowboys live with one foot in those simpler, heroic times. The real lure of the cowboy is because he is a living link to a romanticized past. Cindy Gerard (Whisper No Lies, Pocket, 01/09), whose 2003 Rita-winner, Taming the Outlaw, featured a lonely and very appealing rodeo cowboy says, “The cowboy is an icon of the American West. He's our Viking warrior, our Crusader, our knight in shining armor -- in other words, he's an American legend. Only unlike those others, the cowboy lives on, clinging to a way of life that nurtures thoughts of heroism and integrity and the spirit that won the west.”
The male champion, the knight in shining armor, the living icon of heroic times. The theme here is plain. Or as Gerard says, “How can you not find a man who represents all of that sexy?”
___________________________
C J Peregrine writes romantic YA urban fantasy in a 150-year-old Canadian farmhouse she shares with her husband, children and cats.
THE LURE OF THE COWBOY by C. J. Peregrine
Picture a man -- rugged, maybe tall, with wiry, whipcord strength. His cowboy hat shades a sharp jaw and chiseled face. His boot-cut jeans hang perfectly on his lean hips and wrap around his long, strong legs.
“Afternoon, ma'am,” he says, doffing his hat, his masculine silhouette a potent exclamation against the vast blue bowl of the sky. He's alone, as always, his only companion a horse which he strokes gently, even though he's a man who's as tough as nails. Not to mention sexy as hell.
Why? What is the lure of the cowboy? Why does he have such popular appeal?
Of course, his body is sculpted by a physical, outdoor life. So right away we know he's strong and tough. There is mental strength, too. Calming an injured horse, riding wild bulls, fighting poor harvests and bad weather, and facing an uncertain financial future all require extreme levels of courage, so part of a cowboy's mental toughness manifests as bravery. Which is, of course, sexy.
Cait London (For Her Eyes Only, Avon Romantic Suspense, 10/08) who has written many romances with cowboy heroes says, “Other than the obvious physical attraction, women are intrigued by the male champion who is braced against the odds, fighting them, and enduring.”
A cowboy also embodies man as nurturer.
The family of a farmer or rancher won't go hungry -- something we don't consider directly but which our instincts recognize. This nurturing quality shows in how he treats his livestock, how he speaks to women, and how he loves his land. Anyone who interacts gently with animals and is courteous to those who are weaker is guaranteed to nurture his wife and her children. And lord knows we all need nurturing at times. Says London, “A strong hero...puts others above his own needs.”
The cowboy in his farmer/rancher incarnation is also a man with authority (read: power) over his domain. Power is attractive. A powerful man is more likely to be in control of factors that can improve his loved ones' lives. The duke, the tycoon, and the sheik are powerful, and they're all landowners. A cowboy often owns land, too, usually lots of it, but his power is limited when away from his land. This limited power and rural environment mean that cowboys do not have the high status of other landowning men. He is a common man, which increases his appeal. Far from being a Cinderella dream, a cowboy's humble origins make him attainable.
Also men with power over land have the ability to physically shape their environment. There is an element of magic in a man who can make the earth bloom, predict the weather, or deliver a newborn foal. But carpenters shape environments, oil barons hold power, doctors nurture, and soldiers are brave. Although all strong occupations for romantic heroes, men from these professions haven't been the staple in romance that cowboys are. Why?
New York Times best-selling author, Vicky Lewis Thompson (Casual Hex, NAL, 03/09), produced a cowboy hero in her Rita-nominated Blaze Launch novel, Notorious (Harlequin, 08/01), who is so hot he's the stuff of erotic dreams. She says, "I see cowboys as the modern equivalent of a knight in shining armor. Sure, I'm talking about the ideal, but here in Arizona they really do exist, even now.”
A knight in shining armor who still exists. This is the true romantic ideal.
One of the reasons historical romance is successful is due to our yearning for simpler times and lifestyles. Even though the reality was dangerous and harsh, and men's and women's roles in society severely constrained, we still look back on the past with nostalgic longing.
Cowboys live with one foot in those simpler, heroic times. The real lure of the cowboy is because he is a living link to a romanticized past. Cindy Gerard (Whisper No Lies, Pocket, 01/09), whose 2003 Rita-winner, Taming the Outlaw, featured a lonely and very appealing rodeo cowboy says, “The cowboy is an icon of the American West. He's our Viking warrior, our Crusader, our knight in shining armor -- in other words, he's an American legend. Only unlike those others, the cowboy lives on, clinging to a way of life that nurtures thoughts of heroism and integrity and the spirit that won the west.”
The male champion, the knight in shining armor, the living icon of heroic times. The theme here is plain. Or as Gerard says, “How can you not find a man who represents all of that sexy?”
___________________________
C J Peregrine writes romantic YA urban fantasy in a 150-year-old Canadian farmhouse she shares with her husband, children and cats.