The Real West vs. The Creedverse

Rewriting Frontier Myths

Jul 01, 2025

The American West of history books was never as simple as the legends suggest. However, in the Creedverse, where steam engines hum and social rebellions simmer, the truth gets even more interesting. Let’s bust four stubborn myths about the Old West and see how the Creedverse turns them on their heads.

Myth 1: Women Had No Power

In the real 19th-century West, women were usually boxed into narrow roles: homemakers, schoolmarms, or "soiled doves." A few, like Calamity Jane, became legends, but most were expected to stay in their lane.

The Creedverse doesn’t erase that reality, but lets more women crash through it. Take Anna Lynn Boyd, the co-protagonist of Bodacious Creed: a Steampunk Zombie Western and star of the upcoming Anna Lynn Chronicles. She clawed her way from prostitution to becoming California’s most revolutionary inventor, co-designing automatons with Nikola Tesla and cracking the secrets of the luminiferous ether. Now she runs The House of Amber Doves, a brothel where sex workers aren’t protected and given real choices.

Then there’s Lucy Morgan, an 18-year-old polyglot who tinkers with machines when she isn’t spending time, against her father's will, with her paramour, Lotty Sinclair.

Some women in this world, like Minerva Gallant--whom I introduced in my short story collection, Guts and Gears--wield influence quietly. Others, like Anna, smash the system in an attempt to rebuild it. Women in the the Creedverse doesn’t always get a happy ending, but they certainly have agency.

Myth 2: All Outlaws Were Men

The real West had a handful of infamous female bandits including Belle Starr and Pearl Hart, but they were outliers, often treated as novelties. In the Creedverse women break the law as often as men, and for better reasons.

A card cheat in the real West might get tarred and feathered. In San Francisco, she might vanish into the Evil Eye Syndicate and reemerge with a clockwork spider in her rucksack, grinning as she robs a train.

Take Nancy Hartgraul, a brothel madam who sees herself as righteous, though Anna Boyd considers her a monster. The line between hero and villain isn’t clean. Women don’t need redemption arcs to be compelling. They just need agency.

Myth 3: The West Was White

Classic Westerns painted the frontier as a sea of white faces, but the real West was a cultural mosaic. The Creedverse leans hard into that truth.

Of course there are white characters, but they’re not a monolith. Anna Lynn Boydis half-Spanish. Phillip O’Leary’s Irish brogue colors every word he speaks. Hiram Pinel, a French-Middle Eastern engineer, quietly observes Ramadan. The Moreno family brings Mexican traditions to Santa Cruz, while Chinese laborers and Black entrepreneurs navigate a world that often dismisses them.

Native American characters aren’t central yet, but they’re coming. When they arrive, they won’t be stereotypes. The Creedverse isn’t here to sanitize history. Yes, it's an alternate timeline, but when it comes to diversity, it reflects the reality of the Wild West.

Myth 4: Brothels Were Just Dens of Vice

Historically, brothels were among the few places where women could earn real money, but they were also dangerous, stigmatized, and usually run by exploitative madams and pimps.

The Creedverse acknowledges that grim reality, then asks: What if someone changed it? When Anna Boyd buys The House of Amber Doves, she rebuilds it. As a former dove herself and friends with the women already working there, she makes it her mission to improve their lives. The women get private rooms, better pay, and security. The restaurant serves top-tier food. Beneath it all is Anna's hidden lab where she works on world-changing inventions.

The House of Amber Doves isn't perfect any more than any business. Jealousy, secrets, and outside threats still linger. But for the first time, these women have options. And in a world that wants to keep them powerless, that’s revolutionary.

Until next week!

Jonathan

Have you read The Adventures of Bodacious Creed yet? If not, check out the series by clicking the image below! It’s available in Kindle and print formats, and free to read on Kindle Unlimited!