The western genre is categorized by Robert Hale Ltd,  publishers of the Black Horse Western books, as "light fiction". In the days of print catalogues, the BHW list, like the publishers' Rainbow Romances list, was kept apart on a separate sheet of paper. This gave only price, titles, dates of publication and authors. Today, we have a Hale online catalogue where westerns and romances (especially historicals) are better acknowledged.

But in an age when often fiction writing is seen as a laudable occupation only if the material offers commentary of wider social relevance, light fiction sits uneasily.

Westerns especially – notwithstanding Shane and Lonesome Dove – are regarded as inferior. They are trivialized as non-literary, dated entertainment, not worthy of shelving alphabetically by author name in many public libraries. Indeed, authors are told library systems buy westerns only in a job-lot, quota fashion on standing order. And when times are hard, the quota shrinks on every arising pretext, which includes the mildest complaint, sneer or unjustified slur.

Fay Weldon is an award-winning novelist, TV writer and professor of creative writing at a London university. After participating as one of a group of writers commissioned by the BBC to do updates of Shakespeare's plays, Weldon later commented: "Free of the dead hand of script editors, and able the cite Shakespeare as their excuse, the writers could write what was not politically correct or motivationally sound. Very little in contemporary literature or drama surprises any more. Literature is seen, as it was in Russia and in China and now increasingly in the West, as a tool for the improvement of the nation: that's why it gets so dull."

The "mass-market" paperback publishers have largely deserted the traditional western, declaring it no longer a selling item. At one late point they did make a futile effort to promote the genre as a sub-genre of historical fiction, on the assumption this would endow it with broader respectability. Books by writers like Louis L'Amour, T. V. Olsen and Cameron Judd  were reissued with new covers that, as well as having the tag Historical Fiction on their spines, trumpeted slogans like "epic works of historical fiction" and "an epic story of the building of our mighty nation". It did not spark a revival in the western's fortunes.

So what will? No guaranteed answer comes to mind, but promotion and top-notch stories might help.

Promotion. . .  While fiction writers generally have awoken to the opportunity offered by websites, Black Horse Western writers – who the number of different bylines suggests run into scores – have with notable exceptions not availed themselves of the chance to bring their books, or their personal websites, to public attention via this ezine. Invitations to contribute, forwarded by the publishers, go unanswered. Without the profiles and views of a range of writers, a project such as a regular, quarterly Extra serves no purpose and is unlikely to continue in its present form.

Top-notch stories. . . David Whitehead, an author of BHWs from year one, 1986, presents below some excellent thoughts for your consideration in his lead article, "Putting Imagination in the Saddle". One of our responses at BH Extra, in addition to the suggestions Dave offers, is that we could start with more attention to originality in titles. Too many recent offerings cry out "old-hat" to even the newer and younger readers.

No copyright exists in titles, of course, and nothing is inherently wrong in re-using an old title if it's apt and appealing. But do we need yet again the familiar like of  The Vengeance Trail, Gun Law, Rangeland Justice, Rough Justice, Two-Gun Marshal and Gun Fury? Regardless of the contents of the books behind them, all these tend to confirm the general public's mistaken view that the genre offers nothing fresh or imaginative.

Old pulp magazine story titles from the 1940s, like The Devil Sent His Gun Angels! or Brand of the Mustang Queen or Mortgaged to the Dark Trail, might be over-the-top, melodramatic and invite dismissal as "garish" trash. But like the alluring cover paintings they graced, they do catch the eye and suggest excitement and colourful characters.  Escapism!

Another unhelpful canard is one that has been put about by some of the writers themselves – namely, the plotlines of their westerns number only a dozen which they repeat over and over. If this is true, then they must be catering for an audience of constantly changing membership. Consciously of otherwise, the modern reader seeks more than the simplest variations on tried and tired themes and characters.

Novel twists and approaches are vital. The good Black Horse Western rewards the reader who spends his or her precious leisure time in its world. But more on that from Dave. . . .    

Your comments and western news are always welcome at feedback@blackhorsewesterns.com