Cowboy Contemporaries – Yeehaw?

Lara, who is South African, has some questions about contemporary cowboy romances that she’s trying to puzzle out. I (Sarah), who have a lot of stock image credits, added some to this post purely for the lols. Enjoy.

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I’ve been feeling adventurous lately. Maybe not in my real life where I favour pattern and routine, but in my reading life I’ve been reaching for new-to-me things.

It started with my quest for indie- and self-pubbed historical romance. Not a massive adventure I grant you, but an important mind shift for someone who, with an exception here or there, shied away from anything not traditionally published. I had two thoughts.

1. Were there rigorously edited self- and indie-pubbed books? Yes! An obvious answer in hindsight. I was letting my bias show.

2. I had no idea where to start as the indie- and self-pubbed world seemed massive and intimidating to me. You can read the rec league and the follow up post.

This next quest is informed by two similar questions:

1. Are there cowboy romances with progressive politics or at least hidden moderate ones?
2. Where on earth to find these books?

I write for Smart Bitches so the second question answered itself: search the archives. I know the site’s perspectives match many of my own.

My cowboy contemporary romance experience is rather limited. I read three historical romance westerns a few years back but have shied away from contemporary cowboys for fear it’s all US flags and MAGA hats.

I decided to branch out on my own, and tried a few books that seemed like contemporary cowboy romances I might like. But I noticed a few things, and I don’t know how they fit into cowboy contemporaries more broadly, so I’d like to pose these queries to the Bitchery.

First, are all cowboy heroes stubborn and boneheaded? Is this a feature of the genre?

Further to that, do all of them have caveman-like protective instincts?

It’s not necessarily something I’m opposed to in fiction (in real life, I abhor it) but I’m curious how widespread the phenomenon is.

Second, do all cowboy contemporaries focus on men and women who I can either categorise as “good upstanding member of society with down-home values” or as a reformed “wild child” who is now an “upstanding member of society”?

In one book I read, the characters who have their HEA already are in the former category. The hero of the book was in the latter with a brief stop in ‘angry and reclusive’ and is turned into the former through “the transformative properties of love.”

The heroine starts off a ditzy mess but ends up as the former category. Think big family meals on the family ranch which is the family business. Everyone has their quirks but it’s all “good clean family” stuff. By that I mean, family comes first, gentle ribbing at the dinner table, with expectations of loyalty and reliability amongst family members.

I’ve put some phrases in inverted commas because I’m not unquestioning in my use of these terms. They are political in nature and using them feels like very gingerly handling bombs.

Next question, in cowboy contemporaries, if there are ‘enemies’, who are they?

In one novel I read, the intruders are “drug addicts who are up to no good”. There is no nuance to them at all. Which I suppose is fair as villains can be pretty flat characters but it is their step into caricature that I noticed. How they talk. How they act. It’s clear that as the reader we’re supposed to abhor them for their selfish, criminal and cruel actions directed at those good upstanding citizens. I’m not saying the author needed an in depth breakdown of how they came to have substance abuse problems and resorted to a life of petty crime. But in a world where billionaires are the actual problem (IRL that is), it feels strange to pick on a few “drug addicts”.

I can’t quite shake the feeling that I read a book that reflects specific values which would be enjoyed by a Trump supporter. Which let me tell you is deeply concerning but are all cowboy contemporaries the same that way? And how do I find the ones that I might enjoy?

Oh, and is kinky sex (including butt stuff) common in the genre? I doubt it but I have to ask. One of the books I read featured it heavily.

I should add that I’ve only visited the States twice, all my US-based friends are somewhere on the democratic socialist train, and while I’m immersed in US media, there are absolutely going to be nuances that I miss. Sometimes those nuances are going to be blindingly obvious to a resident of the States so maybe nuance is the wrong word.

Over to you, Bitchery: what are your thoughts?

Dare I continue my cowboy contemporary quest? I look forward to your answers to my numerous questions!