Most people pick up a fiction book to be entertained and
escape into another world for a few hours. They want to think of the problems
wrestled with by others. Even if the reader isn’t looking to specifically learn
anything new, the author can use the vehicle of the novel to provide information
that leads the reader to further reflection on a topic. Of course, the details
have to be subtle, or the author risks the reader setting aside the book due to
a lecturing tone. Novels written about events in the current times cannot
escape containing bits of social commentary, because the author sets obstacles familiar
to contemporary readers before his or her characters and guides them through
the problem-solving process.
Historical authors may have the same goal but have to
research what situations were ongoing in the time period being written about. Culture
clashes have existed since the first peoples moved out from their secular group
to explore what was beyond that next hill or across the nearby stream and
encountered those from another area. In the settling of the American West, one
of the biggest clashes came over grazing rights and, by default, water rights. Although
the grazing lands were public, because sheep eat the grass down almost to dirt
level, insufficient forage was left behind after a herd moved through an area. This
issue put the cattle ranchers and sheep herders on opposing sides, and often
violence resulted. Over the fifty-year period starting in 1870, 120 armed
engagements occurred resulting in the deaths of 54 men and between 50,000 and
100,000 sheep.
Even within the cattle industry, different views about who
had rights to the public grazing lands existed. The conflict between free
grazers and a powerful rancher was depicted in the 2004 movie, Open Range, starring Kevin Costner,
Annette Benning, and Robert Duvall.
I used this well-known animosity between cattlemen and
sheepherders for building a recent story set in 1887 Aspen. Similarly, other
writers have used the theme of Romeo and Juliet or the feud of the Hatfield and
McCoys as the spine of their stories. Another goal in my story planning was to relay
that those with opposing habits might also possess unique skills that could
prove helpful if a person looked past the prejudice.
As with many of my stories, I also included a comedic layer
to counter-balance the serious elements. In this case, dogs served that role,
and I contrasted the highly trained shepherding dogs owned by the heroine with
the rambunctious dogs owned by the hero.
Is learning about social attitudes of past times one of the
reasons you read historical romances? (an electronic copy of my Christmas set
novella goes to a random pick of one of the people leaving a comment)
BLURB for Silent Signals:
After losing half his herd in the
Great Blizzard of 1886, rancher Konrad Werner needs to safeguard his cattle.
Tomboy Anora Huxley trains the Australian Shepherds and Kelpies that run the
family’s sheep herd. Although cattlemen and shepherds are at odds, the pair
discovers common interests. A threat is overheard, and Konrad rides out to
Anora’s ranch to protect her. The tense situation reveals their true feelings.
Will Anora be swayed by family loyalty, or will she listen to her heart that
responds to Konrad’s silent signals?
~~~~~
Linda Carroll-Bradd's web contacts
Sign
up for my occasional newsletter here
So much sorrow over sheep and cattle, and what is most sorrowful, in the early days of Colorado the two lived side by side with little conflict. Oh the history people create. I personally like my fiction.
ReplyDeleteBest on this story. Doris