The Western, I believe, is the ultimate genre.
The epic nomenclature of tough, strong cowboys in big hats with guns and horses pitted in physical and psychological contests of good versus evil fought on rugged frontier landscapes that externally mirror their own jagged internal natures is mythic and timeless. But while the entire world loves westerns, the U.S. owns the brand, and westerns remain our own uniquely American mythology and true contribution to pop culture. Westerns are the American Arthurian Legend.
Born from the harsh realities of the Old West, bred through a century of thrilling popular culture in novels and film that fired the public imagination, imprinted by books and movies that cross-pollinated each other to create a grand mythology that remains popular as ever today; it’s hard to tell now where the reality ends and myth begins with westerns, but cowboy good guys and bad guys are baked into our collective consciousness.
While there is a certain mystery to the mystique of the western, some things are certain: it’s a heroic genre, full of honor and nobility with bigger-than-life heroes and villains; it’s a physical genre, action-packed on the purest level with riding and fistfights and shooting; and it’s a cathartic genre, where morality tales about good versus evil end in a decisive, satisfying showdown at the climax that gives us a vicarious sense of triumph we rarely achieve in our complicated real world where right and wrong is not always clear.
Some part of us needs this as human beings on the deepest level, which is the appeal of all heroic mythologies going back forever. Reading or watching a western, however briefly, we experience the wish fulfillment of becoming the cowboys we played at being as kids and heroes we want to be as adults if only real life were as simple as saddling your horse, grabbing your guns, and riding to the rescue.
One of the things as a screenwriter and novelist I appreciate most about westerns is the genre can absorb every other genre into the storytelling; elements of other genres like thriller, mystery, crime, even horror, all can be injected into a western story. There is even a thriving genre of romance westerns! The classic template of cowboys and guns and horses and landscapes is a canvas that can be painted with many brushes; this very adaptability makes it such an exciting genre for a writer to explore.
While many folks know me for my horror and thriller films and books, in actuality westerns are my favorite genre and the genre I’ve worked the most in, having written and produced western movies, written western novels and even created a western comic book. The movie was an HBO film called The Last Outlaw starring Mickey Rourke, a gritty, bloody adventure about a gang of outlaws pursued by a posse led by their leader who they had left for dead.
Mixing the horror and western literary genres became the inspiration for my novels The Guns Of Santa Sangre and its sequel The Wolves Of El Diablo from SST Publications, about three tough American gunfighters battling several generations of werewolves who are bandits by day in Old Mexico.
My bestselling current western book series, the Joe Noose Westerns from Pinnacle Books & Kensington Books, revolves around the adventures of a tough and complex bounty hunter in 1800s Wyoming. With Noose, Hanging Fire, Branded and The Crimson Trail, the Noose series is on its fourth book with more to come.
My lifelong love of the Western genre continues to inspire me endlessly as a creative open range of possibilities always offering new frontiers in storytelling.
Saddle up.
Trade paperback and digital editions available now from the publisher Savage Types in Germany.
“Readers of director-screenwriter Eric Red’s latest Western-horror novels will rediscover an Old West genre that is an international fan-favorite in print and film.” – True West Magazine
“The Guns of Santa Sangre and The Wolves of El Diablo are wild rides that revisit the Western genre and mixes it up with a traditional horror genre monster and somehow cooks up something that is fresh, exciting and exhilarating.” – Starburst Magazine
“Bloody and brutal, The Wolves of El Diablo and The Men Who Walk Like Wolves series will please those looking for an entertaining mix of horror and breakneck action…The fast-paced and thrilling action sequences will have readers holding their breath.” – Ares Magazine
“The Wolves of El Diablo is a well written, action packed, gore drenched, bullet ridden, runaway train of a tale.â€â€“ Kendall Reviews
“It’s The Magnificent Seven meets Dog Soldiers! Taut, action packed and gory as hell! I couldn’t put it down!” – Arrow In The Head at JoBlo.com
“With The Guns of Santa Sangre, Eric Red delivers a wild mash-up of action-thriller and bloody horror. This one really digs its claws into you from page one to last bite. Fast, furious, and wickedly fun. Highly recommended.†– Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author.
“In our mythos of the Old West, there are bad guys and even badder guys,  But Eric Red’s are the biggest, baddest guys of all…” – Jack Ketchum
The Men Who Walk Like Wolves #1 The Guns of Santa Sangre & #2Â The Wolves of El Diablo are available in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook from SST Publications at: amzn.to/2LK48oi and amzn.to/2vvq9KE
“If you love tales of the great outdoors and stories of rough-and-tumble folks living in a harsh environment without the conveniences of the modern world, you’re probably already a fan of westerns. Â If you’re looking for some new adventures featuring ranchers, outlaws, and lawmen to add to your collection, check out these eleven wonderful books that make America’s frontier come alive…”
To view the full Wiki article and the video go to: https://bit.ly/2TMQpAI
NOOSE, the first novel in the Joe Noose book series, is available in Mass Market Paperback, Large Print and Kindle editions on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2MIVTWZ
The sequel HANGING FIRE is available from Kensington Books in Mass Market Paperback and Kindle Editions on Amazon at:Â https://amzn.to/2G0d2Lx
Valley Bookstore is on 125 N Cache Street, right across from Antler Square.
http://www.valleybookstore.com
#DONTSTANDSOCLOSE #ITWAITSBELOW #WHITEKNUCKLE#THEGUNSOFSANTASANGRE #THEWOLVESOFELDIABLO #NOOSE#ERICRED
Coffee is ready…
I’m a Los Angeles-based film director and screenwriter and novelist. I started in the motion picture business thirty years ago and have been writing novels for six years now.
I love spending time with my wife and dogs and seeing friends. Otherwise I’m reading or watching movies.
The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit. I also loved the Dr. Suess books.
Just finished Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and Without Fail by Lee Child, my favorite contemporary author, and am starting Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama.
Hard to pick a favorite album but The Beatles are my favorite musicians. I have all their records on a playlist on iTunes I listen to constantly. When I’m writing, I listen to a lot of movie scores, especially by Jerry Goldsmith and Elmer Bernstein. Maybe it’s my movie background but film music inspires me when I write and gets me into the zone.
As a young author, in no order, Richard Price, Jim Harrison, John Irving and William Goldman. Given my books and films, those are probably not the authors people would expect, but these were the writers whose books spoke to me on a very deep level and made me want to be a writer.
I’m methodical. Because of my screenwriting background I’m a structure wonk rigorous about working out the story beats—for me character flows from story, not the other way around. First I come up with a three- or four-sentence summary of a novel because all books must begin with a great idea in my opinion. Then I write a one-page synopsis, after which I write a ten-page outline with a beginning, middle and end. Once I have that, I’m ready to start the book. And during this time I’m making pages and pages of notes, because ideas start coming to me constantly for a novel I’m hot on.
The short answer is all the research necessary, but that depends on the book and the subject matter. My third novel IT WAITS BELOW was a science fiction thriller involving a submersible sub that dove to the bottom of the ocean, so I spent months interviewing one of the top pilots of those kind of subs and oceanographic scientists to get all the details right. On the other hand, my first novel DON’T STAND SO CLOSE was a high school coming-of-age thriller and most of the research involved remembering my own high school experiences.
To read the rest of the interview, go to http://bit.ly/2IxLMBT
“Readers of director-screenwriter Eric Red’s latest Western-horror novel will rediscover an Old West genre that is an international fan-favorite in print and film.†– Stuart Rosebrook, True West Magazine.
Available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle editions from SST Publications at:Â https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Diablo-Men-Walk-Like/dp/1909640980/ref=la_B0034OY3T8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503670130&sr=1-2
“Readers of director-screenwriter Eric Red’s latest Western-horror novel will rediscover an Old West genre that is an international fan-favorite in print and film.” – Stuart Rosebrook, True West Magazine.
Available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle editions from SST Publications at: https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Diablo-Men-Walk-Like/dp/1909640980/ref=la_B0034OY3T8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503670130&sr=1-2
