Love Inspired Historicals discussion

will start Monday March 7th! See you then!

Looking forward to it.

thanks for the update..

Oh thats the day of my surgery so will probably miss most of it.

Ausjenny wrote: "Oh thats the day of my surgery so will probably miss most of it."

Sorry, Jenny! Will pray for your surgery to be a success. Hugs, Lyn

Woo hoo! :)

I pray your surgery goes well, Jenny:)

Praying for you Jenny!

Ausjenny wrote: "Oh thats the day of my surgery so will probably miss most of it."

Praying all goes well. Will miss your comments.

Good luck with your surgery, Jenny!

Good luck with your surgery Jenny, sending you lots of happy thoughts!

Thanks everyone. I have a small tablet now (or pad or something) so should be able to let people know how I am going.

Hope your surgery goes well Jenny!

Praying for successful surgery, Jenny!

Ausjenny wrote: "Thanks everyone. I have a small tablet now (or pad or something) so should be able to let people know how I am going."

Glad you will be able to keep in touch.

GOOD MORNING! The March Q & A starts today. This week only three of our March authors--Keli Gwyn, Linda Ford and Rhonda Gibson--are participating and the first Keli Gwyn will join us tomorrow.

So I wanted to ask a broad question to launch our week’s discussion.

This month’s three books are all set in the West.




Do you like to read Western romance? Why or why not? What elements of a Western romance attract you? What is your all time favorite Western romance novel? Movie? TV show?

I enjoy Westerns. I like the historical aspect. I enjoy stories about cowboys and lawman of the Old West. My all time favorite TV Show that is a western is a three way tie with Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and Bonanza. I am enjoying reruns of The Rifleman on Saturdays on METV. Recent Movie would be Cowboys and Aliens. Movies in general would be any John Wayne movie but especially True Grit and 12 Cowboys and Rooster .
I like Westerns because the good guys win even if it is a struggle.

Melinda wrote: "I enjoy Westerns. I like the historical aspect. I enjoy stories about cowboys and lawman of the Old West. My all time favorite TV Show that is a western is a three way tie with Gunsmoke, Wagon Trai..."
Good points, Melody! I love a good Western too. Have you ever read a Louis L'Amour novel?

Westerns are my favorite time period to read for Historicals! Hmmmm....isn't that strange that my last name is Western!!!! LOL! Like Melinda, I enjoyed all those old westerns when I was growing up because my parents used to watch them! I love reading about cowboys and ranches and those type of stories!

Valri wrote: "Westerns are my favorite time period to read for Historicals! Hmmmm....isn't that strange that my last name is Western!!!! LOL! Like Melinda, I enjoyed all those old westerns when I was growing up ..."

I wonder why there aren't any more Western series on TV? Do you think there'd be an audience for them?

I sometimes watch the reruns on METV. I love John Wayne movies, they are classics and my grandfather looked just like John Wayne. I used to watch his movies with my dad when I was growing up. I think there could be an audience in the younger people if they made westerns with actors they love.

Let us know how your surgery went Jenny. praying for a fast recovery time:)

I enjoy Westerns. Since my hubby and father in love are fans I have watched almost every show or classic movie. This has spawned a real love for historical novels!

I enjoy Westerns. Since my hubby and father in love are fans I have watched almost every show or classic movie. This has spawned a real love for historical novels!

I enjoy reading the western ones, there is just something about a ranch setting and the hard working cowboys that need a woman's touch . I have met a new author to me this year Wm Johnstone who wrote western stories,he is deceased but family still has his books out there. I read Christmas stories of his and was hooked -went to library and got some more.
I like the books for our discussion this week.

Yes, let's not forget Jenny's surgery today.

Kathy wrote: "I enjoy Westerns. Since my hubby and father in love are fans I have watched almost every show or classic movie. This has spawned a real love for historical novels!"

Well, that's the right attitude, Kathy. If you can't change them, join them!

I enjoy westerns, but I usually read them in "phases" or binges. Like, I'll read a whole bunch of them straight through and then I need to divert to a different subject (i.e. regency or a war story). Westerns are great because they have grit. The characters (especially the women) are more independent because they aren't as constricted by the strict social/class constructs of the metropolitan areas. It's almost as if the "untamed west" was ahead of its time in some regards. I know, I'm getting very technical><

I really don't know if this counts, but my love for westerns stemmed from the Little House books. Obviously, they don't start up as a romance, but it does later lol.

I haven't ever watched any Westerns, which is funny because I love reading about them! Something about a cowboy hero just gets to me! I love the hard working, hunky hero I guess! :) I have definitely never been disappointed in any Western setting! I don't really have a favorite book- every one I read seems to be my new favorite! LIH has given me many a cowboy to swoon over!

Haha Valri! You made me laugh! Perfect last name indeed! ;)

Hi, Ladies. Although I don't have a book out this month, I'd love to make a few comments about westerns. I'm a huge John Wayne fan and grew up seeing his movies with my dad. These days I'm enjoying the old TV westerns on MeTV, too. I just finished writing an LIH western to be released next Christmas. Two of my favorite things, Christmas and westerns! What fun!

Keli, we did the same thing with my dad when he had Alzheimer's. He and I would sit and watch the old John Wayne movies from the 30s and 40s. He loved those!

Perhaps because of John Wayne and the novels of Zane Grey, I've always had a soft spot for Westerns. I was tickled when my editor asked me to write one. Louise and I and Renee Ryan will have a set out this summer, part of the Lone Star Cowboy League.

What do you think, ladies--it is the setting, the cowboys, the themes of triumphing over adversity, or something else--that make Westerns so great?

Our grandchildren live with us, and we're currently reading the Little House books to them for bedtime stories. Even our 16 yo grandson still enjoys them, and this is probably his third time through.

My mother was another Alzheimer's patient who loved the John Wayne movies my sister showed her every day. I guess she remembered watching them with my dad. In The Quiet Man, Mom would always shout, Kiss her, you fool, when JW was about to kiss Maureen O'Hara. Which brings up a random thought. So sad that Miss O'Hara died last year. The end of an era, for sure.

I don't know why there aren't more western TV show today, Lyn. I think it's just a "lost art"! There are many western books that are still popular! It seems like any western show they DO have are too graphic for me. Why they have to go and change things is disappointing to me but that's Hollywood! I don't need to see all the blood & guts and hear all the profanity! I just want a good story!

Thanks, Keli. Your post touched my heart as well, as did Louise's. Sounds like there are several of us who have gone down the road with losing parents. I love that stories are some of the things that bind us together during those times.

Some great Westerns coming out this month for sure! I'm so glad that Love Inspired Historical has such a talented group of writers who love the Old West!

I love our LIH books and read as many as I can. We have such great authors. I'm never disappointed. So glad I get to write these books, too, but I'd read them even if I didn't write them.

Lyn wrote: "Melinda wrote: "I enjoy Westerns. I like the historical aspect. I enjoy stories about cowboys and lawman of the Old West. My all time favorite TV Show that is a western is a three way tie with Guns..."

Yes I have read a couple of his books. They were good. I have a friend who has all of his books.

Keli wrote: "Janis Kay wrote: "I really don't know if this counts, but my love for westerns stemmed from the Little House books. Obviously, they don't start up as a romance, but it does later lol."

I love the ..."

Lyn wrote: "Melinda wrote: "I enjoy Westerns. I like the historical aspect. I enjoy stories about cowboys and lawman of the Old West. My all time favorite TV Show that is a western is a three way tie with Guns..."

I do not think that romance is where it starts but where it goes . I love Little House on the Prairie. Both the books and the TV series are good.

Valri wrote: "I don't know why there aren't more western TV show today, Lyn. I think it's just a "lost art"! There are many western books that are still popular! It seems like any western show they DO have are t..."

I agree Valri which is probably why I am watching th eold shows.

Louise wrote: "I love our LIH books and read as many as I can. We have such great authors. I'm never disappointed. So glad I get to write these books, too, but I'd read them even if I didn't write them."

I agree Louise.

So true, Keli. My sister, a University of Washington professor, was Mom's caregiver. We other siblings visited as often as we could. My sister enrolled, if that's the right word, our mother in a research program that was testing Aracept (sp). It actually did some good for her, but of course couldn't save her. I don't know if they're still using the drug.

Louise wrote: "Hi, Ladies. Although I don't have a book out this month, I'd love to make a few comments about westerns. I'm a huge John Wayne fan and grew up seeing his movies with my dad. These days I'm enjoying..."

Louise, what westerns do they show on that channel? And you just reminded me. My favorite John Wayne movie is McClintock!!!!! It's hilarious and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet XD

On MeTV they have Bonanza, Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Big Valley, and The Beverly Hillbillies. I just threw that last one in at no extra charge. LOL! There's another station that has the Virginian. It's really a feast for western lovers. I did love McClintock, but my favorite was The Searchers because that was when I fell in love with Patrick Wayne, the Duke's even handsomer son. I asked him to my high school prom, but alas, he was in the Coast Guard at the time and couldn't get off. Wish I'd saved that letter. Sigh...

Keli wrote: "Janis Kay wrote: "...Westerns are great because they have grit. The characters (especially the women) are more independent because they aren't as constricted by the strict social/class constructs o..."

It's not uncommon in my neck of the woods either, Keli haha. I guess it's a thing where there's a metropolitan area in close proximity??

And I'm the exact same way with Little House!!! I was in 2nd grade. It opened my eyes to how real history can truly be when the story is told well and just the overall awesomeness of historical fiction! I soon started reading the Dear America books and my obsession grew from there^_^ My grade school pen-pal, in Nebraska, went on a field trip to the house in South Dakota and I was so jealous hehe. Your teacher was a very lucky woman! I wish I could've met her:)

Louise wrote: "On MeTV they have Bonanza, Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Big Valley, and The Beverly Hillbillies. I just threw that last one in at no extra charge. LOL! There's another station that has the Virginian. It's r..."

0.0!!!!! That's awesome!!!! Wish I had the guts to write my high school Hollywood crush and ask him to prom!! But, alas, I had a lovely time with one of my former classmates (he was a firefighter haha). Anyway, I'll definitely have to check if I have that channel!

I have my mom to thank for my love of reading. She always read out loud to us kids. We went through so many stories, including little house on the prairie! Those were so good! She should have read for a living, truly, for she made books come alive! We loved listening to her read! I also really loved the American girl stories! Those were the only historical ones read, and I loved em from a young age. Fast forward to me being a young adult, and I owe my mom for my love inspired love, too. She up and decided one day to get the monthly books. She never had much time to read em but I did, and I got hooked!! Then I learned about lih because of Janet Tronstad. She invited me here and I learned of all the fabulous LiH authors and realize how much I prefer them over contemporary! :)
It's what I read most, as the books are always so fantastic! I am never unhappy with any book in any setting. Lih has blessed my life! :)

I also agree why western are great, the heroines can be quite spunky! And well let's be honest, I am a spitfire myself, so I can relate to the ladies then verses other time settings. :) I figure I would have never made it through any other time period, God knew what He was doing sending me to modern times. ;)

Loving this discussion today.

Melody wrote: "I have my mom to thank for my love of reading. She always read out loud to us kids. We went through so many stories, including little house on the prairie! Those were so good! She should have read ..."

Which girl was your favorite, Melody? Mine was Samantha, but Kirsten and Kit came in close seconds lol. I truly loved them all and the pictorial history lessons in the back were my favorite. It made the time periods even more real to me.

Felicity! I love the revolutionary war era, so of course she was my
favorite! :)
Samantha and Addy were my next favorites.
I always wanted all the dolls, but my mom could never afford them. My best friend gave me the Felicity doll the year before she was retired, it was the best present ever, my childhood dream come true! :)

Valri wrote: "I don't know why there aren't more western TV show today, Lyn. I think it's just a "lost art"! There are many western books that are still popular! It seems like any western show they DO have are t..."

I agree, Valri. It seems like they want to remind us of the "hard" parts of frontier life...like outhouses or lack thereof. :-)

I think it has to do with Hollywood not wanting us to continue to enjoy the fictionalized Old West. They want to TELL us what to like or ruin it for us.

CRAZY!