Horses, pretty ladies, and handsome men in faded denim and boots: the very stuff of romance. Christian western fiction novels have this with all the challenges of making a life in rugged wide open spaces. The strong heroines of today's literature are right at home in the American west.
The west is as full of adventure today as it was in the days of the pioneers. The mountains are still rugged, the plains endless, and the sky huge and empty. This makes it easy to create believable settings and story lines that frame the characters and create complications. The Christian nature of these stories will be reassuring for those who hesitate to read conventional modern novels; both characters and action will stay within benign limits.
Since many women like horses as well as men, the settings and plots of this genre are popular. Heroines can be young and inexperienced, but they are often older but wiser in today's literature. One thing they have in common is strength, in their own characters and in the faith that keeps them going in the right direction. Of course, it could be the hero who has the faith to bring things to a satisfactory close and two lovers together.
The man, of course, will have his own shrouded past or present entanglements, and either or both might have children to add to the mix. Secrets can include failed marriages, children born out of wedlock before salvation turned things around, time spent in prison, or problems with drugs or alcohol. Christian principles and compassion can overcome obstacles that ordinarily might make a happy future impossible.
Furthermore, the Christian framework solves another traditional problem with loving a cowboy. In the standard stories, the strong and silent man might linger for a time, setting female hearts aflutter and arousing hopes in a young girl's heart, but he then rides away - because cowboys need the open range or the open road and can't settle down to a life of domesticity. With a tip of his hat and no backward look, he'll ride off into the Texas sunset, never to be seen again.
Well, bummer. However, the cowpoke who's found Jesus will have overcome these philandering ways and found solace for broken dreams. He'll be ready, willing, and able to make a girl a steady husband, once all the misunderstandings and obstacles are out of the way. This is the happy ending most romantic women prefer, and lots of men, too, if the truth be told.
Many readers love both boy-meets-girl stores and testimonies of how people meet the Lord and come to accept His grace. The faith-based western has both themes to entertain and enchant. Believable characters and realistic story lines are easy to create when the wild, wild west is the backdrop.
A man, a woman, the Lord, and the wide open spaces. It doesn't get much better than this.
The west is as full of adventure today as it was in the days of the pioneers. The mountains are still rugged, the plains endless, and the sky huge and empty. This makes it easy to create believable settings and story lines that frame the characters and create complications. The Christian nature of these stories will be reassuring for those who hesitate to read conventional modern novels; both characters and action will stay within benign limits.
Since many women like horses as well as men, the settings and plots of this genre are popular. Heroines can be young and inexperienced, but they are often older but wiser in today's literature. One thing they have in common is strength, in their own characters and in the faith that keeps them going in the right direction. Of course, it could be the hero who has the faith to bring things to a satisfactory close and two lovers together.
The man, of course, will have his own shrouded past or present entanglements, and either or both might have children to add to the mix. Secrets can include failed marriages, children born out of wedlock before salvation turned things around, time spent in prison, or problems with drugs or alcohol. Christian principles and compassion can overcome obstacles that ordinarily might make a happy future impossible.
Furthermore, the Christian framework solves another traditional problem with loving a cowboy. In the standard stories, the strong and silent man might linger for a time, setting female hearts aflutter and arousing hopes in a young girl's heart, but he then rides away - because cowboys need the open range or the open road and can't settle down to a life of domesticity. With a tip of his hat and no backward look, he'll ride off into the Texas sunset, never to be seen again.
Well, bummer. However, the cowpoke who's found Jesus will have overcome these philandering ways and found solace for broken dreams. He'll be ready, willing, and able to make a girl a steady husband, once all the misunderstandings and obstacles are out of the way. This is the happy ending most romantic women prefer, and lots of men, too, if the truth be told.
Many readers love both boy-meets-girl stores and testimonies of how people meet the Lord and come to accept His grace. The faith-based western has both themes to entertain and enchant. Believable characters and realistic story lines are easy to create when the wild, wild west is the backdrop.
A man, a woman, the Lord, and the wide open spaces. It doesn't get much better than this.
0 comments:
Post a Comment