Embracing Today’s Cowboy Culture: a compelling reason to write country
Going Country
Best-selling authors know the secret
Those who know me know I grew up on a ranch, but there was a time when I didn’t share this part of my life with others. For years I lived in big cities and traveled for work, and my urban lifestyle—with exposure to the arts and restaurants and a melting pot of cultures—became like a second skin. It’s only now, with a million air miles behind me, that I feel a pull to reconnect with my country roots. And I’m not alone.
There are many reasons why writers, singers, and other creators are going country. For one thing, it sells. In television, prime examples can be found in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Marshals, Dutton Ranch, The Madison, and Landman. In music, Shaboozey stands out with nearly everything he sings turning into a number one hit. And don’t forget Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter, which broke all kinds of barriers when it won the 2025 Grammy Award for best country album. Just scratching the surface in book publishing—of special interest to me—is Craig Johnson’s The Brothers McKay (book number twenty-two in the popular Walt Longmire mystery series) as well as Jojo Moyes’ The Giver of Stars, David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s Winter Counts, Kristin Hannah’s True Colors, Russell Rowland’s Cold Country, and Mark Spragg’s Bone Fire.
It is no accident that these creative works are flourishing. The industries responsible for producing/publishing/promoting them have recognized the demand for entertainment that is hopeful, meaningful, and different from the norm. Case in point, I asked several friends (as well as my buddy AI) why the Sheridan franchise is so hugely successful. The consensus was that the shows provide an alternative to traditional coastal, urban-focused television. The worlds Mr. Sheridan creates offer up western grit, unapologetic characters, and strong family ties—albeit often strained. Equally important, he instills a sense of place with sweeping landscapes like Montana and Texas without letting the ranching or fly-fishing or drilling for oil get in the way of the story.
Fiction writers Craig Johnson and Kristin Hannah are masters at doing the very same thing: backdropping their novels with small town/neo-western settings that appeal to mainstream readers. Yes, there’s a horse in the scene. Yes, a cow is getting branded over there. But these garnishes are not the story. The narratives they write have emotional bonds that run deep, and the reader can be sure that whatever is wrong will be set right, that love will win out in the end, and that the bad guy’s body will never be found. That’s cowboy culture.
So on the receiving end, who are the people embracing this revived culture? They are me. They are my city friends and country friends. They are urbanites who want to experience something outside of their built-up world. They are ranchers and farmers who want to see a part of themselves in what they read, watch, and listen to. Big city or small town or in-between, we are all looking for something in our entertainment that we can connect with, especially if it’s messy and complicated and full of drama—a reflection of our own lives, only packaged a different way.
When applying these concepts to my own writing (including the novel I’m endeavoring to get published), I put to paper what is in my heart and trust it will sell—a twist on, If you build it, they will come. Funny thing is, the readers are already there. Search Instagram and Facebook with hashtags like #cowboyculture, #ranchlife, #westernbooks, #ruralfiction, #cowboyromance, #urbancowboy, #rodeofashion, etcetera, and you’ll see the audience is out there, alive and kicking and hungry for something good to read.
