Pulp Fiction – Cheap Magazines, Gripping Stories

The term pulp fiction was used for popular, creative writing magazines that were being sold during the early 20th century. Their name is due to the cheap, pulp paper that they were printed on and the magazines were crammed with exciting stories aimed at providing audiences with experiences, beyond the scope of their normal lives.…

History of the American Western Novel

A good story is one that can transport the reader to a different place, another time period or both. American Westerns were written to depict life and adventures in the ‘Wild West.’ The writers often based the novels on real people, exaggerating hardships and violence to make the story more interesting.  The desert landscapes where…

The Weird West structure.

While many westerns maintain simple plots, which are boosted by the elevated levels of violence they contain, weird west novels, however, tend to be complex with lots of action, intrigue and adventure. This combination keeps readers on the edge of their seat, as well as the customary violence from the western influence. Lawless societies continue…

Weird West – A Creative Combination of Genres

A relatively new sub-genre, weird west combines elements of a western with those of another genre, usually horror, fantasy or sci-fi. It is even more distinct than other combination genres because authors are usually able to incorporate both sets of elements, without having to deviate from either. The western is a very distinct genre, as…

Hopalong Cassidy – Hero of the Wild West

Some characters are both created and forgotten within a relatively short period of time, and others become immortal over time in the minds of readers. One of these that we became aware of in the early 20th century was Hopalong Cassidy. Called ‘Hoppy’ for short, he is a fictional cowboy introduced to the world by…