Johnny D. Boggs On The Frontier Spirit And Why Everything’s A Western

In this episode of Writing the West, we sit down with one of the most prolific voices in modern Western literature: Johnny D. Boggs. From his early days in South Carolina dreaming of wide-open spaces to becoming a full-time author in New Mexico, Boggs shares how TV Westerns, journalism, and real-life history shaped his storytelling. We talk about everything from cattle drives and morally complex characters to the future of the genre, writing strong female leads, and why every good Western starts with the land. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just saddle-breaking into the genre, this conversation offers deep insight — and a few good stories along the way.

Transcript

Cowboys & Indians: So you've written more Westerns, I think, than anyone working today. What first drew you all those years ago to the Western genre?

Boggs: I grew up in South Carolina—in the tobacco fields, pine forests, and swamps. When I was watching Westerns on TV, I thought, “Wow, that's pretty cool. I can actually see something. It's not like I'm in a tunnel.” I was just kind of captivated by that—always have been, even through college. I majored in journalism and applied to every newspaper west of the Mississippi River. The Dallas Times Herald happened to be hiring a bunch of young college graduates to expand suburban coverage, and I got hired as a sportswriter. So I was out West—kind of—and started writing on the side. I had a few short stories published.

At some point—well, the Herald folded the day after my fiancée and I moved into our first house. That kind of burns you out a little on newspaper journalism. I got a job at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, but by 1998 I was freelancing more, and I’d had some books published—not for big advances or anything. So I told my wife, “Why don’t we sell the house and move to New Mexico? You get a job, and I’ll stay home and write full-time.” Somehow, she thought that was a really good idea.

C&I: It sounds like, pretty early on, you had a pull to move west—like a lot of the characters in your books. Were there any early TV or film influences for you? Any actors or films that really inspired you?

Boggs: My dad was a big fan of Gunsmoke. It was on at 9 p.m. Mondays on the East Coast, and he would watch it ritually—I’d watch with him. That was the big one. I never really cared that much for Bonanza, but I always thought The Virginian—well, sometimes they actually worked cattle. The Cartwrights hardly ever did, and I wondered, “What are they doing?”

I remember walking into a bookstore once and finding this oversized hardcover called The American West. I read that book over and over until it fell apart. That’s what taught me that the TV shows and movies weren’t always getting things right. I thought, “If I’m going to write this stuff, I’d rather make it a little more realistic and less Hollywood.”

C&I: You’ve written on a wide range of topics—from Billy the Kid to cattle drives to Civil War conflicts. How do you decide what kind of story or atmosphere you want to create?

Boggs: Well, my editor at Kensington—he just retired—was pretty high on cattle drives. The first one he asked me to do, he actually called and said, “I want a sequel to Borden Chase’s novel that became the movie Red River.” I told him, “You’ve been in the business long enough—you ought to know something about copyright.” He said, “We think the novel has fallen out of copyright, so it’s fair game.”

I said, “Well, it’s easy—you just have Matthew Garth make another big cattle drive to save the ranch.” He liked it, but had to turn it over to legal. That took months. Eventually, he called me back and said, “Yeah, we’ve got the clearance.” So that was intriguing, but it was also a challenge—taking characters created by someone else is different than writing about real people.

It won a Spur Award, and he was thrilled. He said, “Let’s do another.” That won too. So I kept writing cattle drive novels. The thing about cattle drives is you’re not stuck in one place—it’s always a journey, both physically and emotionally. Characters grow. That always appealed to me. I’m drawn to character first.

C&I: As an author, how do you balance historical accuracy with creative license? Obviously, your characters are original, but how much of the rest ends up being invention?

Boggs: It depends on the project, but yes—you do think about it. I’ve gotten letters and calls from descendants of real people. Even if they’ve been dead 50 or 100 years, they were real. They have fans. They have enemies. You have to respect that.

Years ago, a historian called me about a letter in one of my novels. He said, “Where’d you find this? I’ve never seen this before.” I said, “I appreciate that. But I made it up.” He told me I really captured the vernacular—how a letter would’ve sounded in the 1870s. That was a great compliment.

C&I: Are you a big Western fiction reader? Do you find it easy to stick to your own voice, or do you worry about being influenced?

Boggs: Yeah, I read a lot of Westerns—and mysteries and thrillers too. Loren D. Estleman once told me, “What’s wrong with being influenced by good writing?” If you're reading Elmer Kelton or Estleman himself, of course you’re going to be influenced. But you’re being influenced by quality. And he said, “I’m writing all the time—why can’t I read Westerns too?” I feel the same way.

C&I: Are there certain authors you return to for inspiration, especially in the Western genre?

Boggs: Yeah. Loren Estleman, of course. There are a lot of great writers out there—some don’t get the attention they deserve. I’m a member of Western Writers of America, so I hang out with a lot of them. We’ve got a convention in June. That’s where we talk craft, what we’re working on, what’s changing in the industry.

I like Sandra Dallas. There’s a short story writer and songwriter out of Nashville—Mickey Fernan—who writes fiction under V. McKee. She’s really talented. I read a lot of nonfiction, too—Hampton Sides, Preston Lewis, David Morrell. There are other writers here in Santa Fe I hang out with: Tom Clagett, Robert Knott, Kirk Ellis. Every so often we do a “Western Movie Night.” We talk shop, then watch a Western.

C&I: Can you talk us through your typical writing process? You’re prolific—do you have a set schedule, or do you let the story unfold?

Boggs: First, I have to have the idea—whether it comes from me or the editor. Then I outline it, decide who tells the story, whether it’s third person, first person, multiple POVs—that depends on the project. Then I research. Once I’ve done as much research as I can, I start writing.

The outline always changes. Characters grow in ways I didn’t expect. Some turn out bigger or more complex than I anticipated. If you follow an outline too rigidly, it becomes predictable—and that’s the worst thing.

Then I rewrite. And rewrite. People ask how I know when it’s done. I always say, “What’s my deadline?” One time I had an article due and the editor called, and I said, “Hey, it’s still today—I have until 11:59 PM.” After that, they started putting, “Manuscript must be delivered by 5 PM Eastern.”

C&I: And speaking of multifaceted stories, your characters are often morally complex—far from the classic white hat hero and black hat villain. What draws you to these types of characters?

Boggs: Because they aren’t just wearing white hats or black hats—something drives them to where they are. One moment can change a life. My friend John Chandler, a singer-songwriter, read Longhorns East and said the bad guy isn’t really that bad, and the good guy isn’t all that good. Some of the supporting players could be stars on their own. That’s what I aim for—real people, not just good versus evil.

C&I: The thing I love is that the bad guy doesn’t always think he’s bad—and the good guy doesn’t always think he’s good. Are there any characters you’ve written that have lingered with you or that you’ve revisited?

Boggs: I usually don’t like writing series. I’ve done a few, but I get tired of the characters. Someone once told me they were sick of their series by book three and wanted to kill everyone off—but the publisher wouldn’t let them. I approach characterization like an actor would. I studied acting in college, did some theater, and loved being an audition reader—playing every part. Acting teaches you to ask: what’s the character’s motivation? If a guy walks into a saloon, why is he there? Just thirsty? Looking for someone? Planning to kill someone? I think about all that. Once I finish a book, I usually want to write about someone entirely different next time.

C&I: Do you think that comes from your curiosity about different parts of history or different human experiences?

Boggs: Probably. I’ve got a running list of ideas—sometimes just a title or a name I like. I’ll never get to all of them, but I always ask, “If this were the last book I ever wrote, would I be satisfied with it?” That helps me choose.

C&I: Aside from your own stories, what do you think defines a great Western novel today? I imagine it’s changed since the days of Zane Grey or even Lonesome Dove.

Boggs: These days, most readers and book buyers are women. At signings, I often hear, “This is for my grandfather,” or, “my husband,” but then they say, “I might read it too.” Editors have told me to write strong women characters. For Bloody Newton, I was asked for two. You’re also seeing more women Western writers now—Sandra Dallas is great. Mickey Fernan is a strong talent. Women used to have to write under pseudonyms, but that’s changing.

I’ve also written young adult Westerns. My agent once said it was a mistake, but later admitted I was right. If we don’t get younger readers into the genre, there won’t be a future for it. That’s why middle grade and YA Westerns matter.

C&I: Westerns have sometimes been dismissed as pulp or genre fiction. Do you think that stigma is changing?

Boggs: Depends on who you ask. A lot of people still think “Louis L’Amour” or “Zane Grey.” You’ll see William Johnstone’s books on bestseller lists. Those have their fans, but we need to broaden the audience. Writers like C.J. Box, Craig Johnson, and Anne Hillerman are writing about lawmen and women bringing order to the West—but it’s the contemporary West. Still Westerns, just evolving.

C&I: You’re seeing that in film and TV too—with the Taylor Sheridan shows like 1883 and Yellowstone, or the film Old Henry. Do you think traditional Westerns still have a place?

Boggs: I think they’re holding steady. Literary Westerns are coming out. Sheridan’s Wind River and Hell or High Water—those are some of the best Westerns I’ve seen recently. But Kevin Costner’s latest? That missed the mark.

C&I: For me, Open Range was the last great traditional Western film. On the publishing side, I know there aren’t many houses putting out traditional Westerns. What’s your perspective on that?

Boggs: When I was starting out, there were more publishers and a strong market for mass market paperbacks. But booksellers don’t like them as much—lower profit margins. That market’s fading fast. Western Writers of America is giving out its last award for best original paperback this year—because publishers aren’t submitting. The big publishers that used to dominate, like Bantam, are pulling back. Reader tastes change, and we’ve got to adapt.

C&I: With audiobooks and podcasts growing, there’s still an appetite for Western stories—even if the delivery has changed. What do you think still resonates with readers?

Boggs: The landscape. The land is always a character in a Western. Sometimes it’s the hero, sometimes it’s the villain. Fires, blizzards—it’s a hard place to live. That’s still true today. Tony Hillerman was a master of description. You see that in newer work too—people still want to read about the West. Elizabeth Crook, Sandra Dallas—more women are writing Westerns now. And that’s good. We need more women readers.

C&I: I love that Westerns can be a mystery, a romance, an adventure—all under one umbrella. Even sci-fi, as John Jakes proved with Six Gun Planet. Would you agree Westerns are more expansive than people think?

Boggs: Absolutely. Jakes once told me that everything is a Western. And honestly, that’s true.

C&I: You live in New Mexico—a region rich in Western history and dramatic landscapes. Has your environment influenced your work?

Boggs: Definitely. But I love a good road trip, too. I’ve gone back to South Carolina—my home state—and set Westerns there. The frontier isn’t just west of the Mississippi. It starts wherever Europeans settled. Michael and Kathleen Gear have written pre-contact Westerns about Native Americans before white influence. There’s a lot of ground to cover.

C&I: You’ve written about lawmen, outlaws, the Civil War, and even stories rooted in your own geography. What’s a novel you’re especially proud of—or one that was particularly challenging?

Boggs: They’re all hard. But Longhorns East stands out. My editor asked if I had any ideas, and I told him about this real cattleman from the 1850s. He learned the trade in England, moved to Illinois, and drove cattle to New York City. That’s a long haul—before the classic trail drives we think of. The editor wasn’t sure it would sell. The next day, he called and said, “I’ve been rethinking. Maybe it will.”

I was going to open with a short prologue set in London. It became a quarter of the book. The English influence on early cattlemen fascinated me. I created some villains who turned out not-so-bad, and characters who had to adapt to life in Ohio and Illinois. It was a challenge, but a rewarding one.

C&I: Whether it’s writing an Englishman or a female character, how do you capture those authentic voices?

Boggs: Research and imagination. I’ve had readers compliment me on writing women well. They ask, “How do you do that?” I say, I had a mom, two grandmothers, two sisters. I have female friends. I draw on people I know.

Same with villains. I don’t know a lot of truly bad people—but I’ve met a few. I wrote a short story early on that was kind of autobiographical, and my mom read it and said, “Maybe don’t send those back home if you want to keep getting invited to Thanksgiving.” I realized I could take people I grew up with, put them in Western settings, and they’d never know it was them—because now they’re wearing cowboy hats.

C&I: For new writers, I imagine the transition from writing solo to working with an editor and publisher can be intense. What does that process look like for you now?

Boggs: You hit your deadline. You hit your word count. Then you wait to see how badly you screwed it up. Edits come back—you accept the changes or explain why not. Most editors I’ve worked with—especially in Westerns—are younger, usually women, and very sharp.

Only time I got mad was when an editor introduced dangling participles. I used to run the copy desk at two newspapers. I fixed it, didn’t complain. Editors have a thankless job, so I try not to make theirs harder. I already do enough damage on my own.

C&I: For aspiring Western writers, it can be hard to break in. What advice do you have?

Boggs: Keep trying. I got tons of rejections. “You don’t have a chance in this market,” they’d say. I’m glad I didn’t listen. I’m terrible at self-promotion—I need someone else to sell the book. But I kept going. All it takes is one editor who believes in you.

Everyone has a story to tell. But not everyone has the persistence to get it down on paper, revise it, and keep submitting after rejection. That’s what separates the writers who publish from the ones who don’t. This is a tough, ever-changing business. There’s no job security. You’ve got to adapt, keep going, and hope Westerns come back around again.

C&I: What’s next for you? What can your readers expect in 2025?

Boggs: I’m working on two short stories for upcoming anthologies—one supporting the U.S. Marshals, the other organized by an editor I know. I don’t write many short stories unless someone asks me directly. I’ve also got a few novel ideas brewing.

When I pick up my Spur Award this summer, I’ll be meeting my new editor. We’ll see if she wants to work with me—or if I can sell her on one of my ideas. Either way, I’m not slowing down.