Iconic Figures of the Old West

By Laura Strickland

 

If, like me, you grew up watching Westerns on TV—and those of us a particular age certainly did—you probably have some iconic Western figures fixed firmly in mind. They populated the shows we watched, and most of the movies too. There was often a crusty rancher, struggling to make good for the sake of his family, or a young and extremely handsome one, up and coming. There was a valiant sheriff—he’d probably been kicking around the West a while and had learned his job the hard way, but boy was he good at it. There was the barman with an interesting backstory, the town doctor, the saloon girl with a heart who provided cowboys with the comfort they needed at the end of a long trail.

Our town of Wylder, Wyoming is no different. For me, reading the books in this series has been like watching a fabulous weekly Western starring folks whose stories I just have to know. All the iconic figures are here: Doc Coyote Sullivan, who survived the horrors of the War Between the States. Sheriff Earl Hanson, who just might have started out life using his gun for nefarious purposes (he’s not talkin’.) School marm Violet Bloom, who’s certainly no shrinking violet. Several old, gossipy biddies, a former gunslinger trying to make good, and dozens more. Each of these characters is a fully-developed person with hopes and dreams, strengths and faults. Each of them wants to call Wylder home.

I’d like to invite you to Wylder, to meet these folks. Come stroll along our dusty streets, stop in the Five Star Saloon (the best in town) for a drink. You may have to duck a few flying bullets, or get out of the way of a fiery mustang on the loose, but I think you’ll want to linger. Whether you’re a reader or a writer, Wylder’s a pretty entertaining place to be.

The series begins with Nicole McCaffrey’s The Wylder County Social Club, and is already seven books strong. Keep a watch for more new stories coming soon!



Comments

  1. Sarita LeoneMarch 30, 2021 at 7:03 AM

    I love the folks who populate Wylder! And it's so much fun to see new faces arrive. Great post, Laura!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbara BettisMarch 30, 2021 at 9:55 AM

    Like Sarita, I love all the characters in Wylder--and they are characters :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura StricklandMarch 30, 2021 at 11:33 AM

      They sure are, Barb! That's what makes them such fun.

      Delete
  3. Patricia McAlexanderMarch 30, 2021 at 11:42 PM

    Great tempting description

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Western Music by Laura Strickland   When I’m writing, I’m usually also listening to music. It serves as a magical elixir for me, one that transports me to the time and I place I’m creating on the page.   Music summons a mood, with which I then strive to infuse my writing. It’s no different when I’m penning my Wylder West stories. For my first book, A Walk on the Wylder Side, I dug deep into some of the music to which I listened years ago, from artists such as Neil Young, The Eagles, and The Farm Dogs, to mention but a few. But what is true Western music? It’s not really the Country/Folk songs of the Seventies, love them as I do. Turns out, like the West itself, it has a nature all its own. Just like our town of Wylder, Western music is a combination of what the people who settled the West brought with them: Latin, Celtic, Anglo, African, and everything in between. All this was influenced by the way of life these settlers founded out West, which wasn’t easy. Co...
Read more

The Music of Dance to a Wylder Beat by Marilyn Barr

Image
       To manage my sensory processing disorder, I have a few tricks to quiet my distracting senses while I write. One is to light a scented candle which corresponds to the character narrating the scene I am writing. Nartan Sagebrush’s candle scent is “Tobacco” while Olive Muegge’s scent is “Orange Clove”. Another trick is to play the couple’s song on repeat while writing. It drowns out the birds outside my kitchen window and helps my mind focus on the core issues of the story. The core issue of Dance to a Wylder Beat is the need for community. Nartan’s secret Shamanic dancing and Olive’s paranormal secret keep them on the outskirts of Wylder society.                     Listen to this haunting song here - https://youtu.be/k750IIdKq08                 In the late 1870s, the Arapaho nation’s way of life was being destroyed by the Us Go...
Read more
Image
    Welcome to Wylder!   When I first heard about The Wild Rose Press’s new series, Wylder West, I felt excited. There’s nothing like a submission call to get an author all worked up. And the idea of having a part in creating a fictional town set in the late 1880s Wyoming Territory really sparked my imagination. I had no idea, then, what Wylder, Wyoming might become. What happens when you gather a group of authors who love to write and let them lose in a fictional town? I’ll tell you what: storylines begin to burgeon. Characters of every description take shape. Heroes face off against villains, heroines pull at your heartstrings. Trials and tribulations clamor for attention. But that’s not all. Businesses come into being. A saloon here, a rooming house there, a gunsmith’s, a mercantile, a whorehouse… Streets take on names, ranches spread out on every side through the country all around. And pretty soon you know who lives and works where. It’s as if you’re walk...
Read more