C’mon Inn and A Giveaway by Charlene Sands

 

In my story The Texan’s One-Night Standoff, we first meet Ruby Lopez and Brooks Newport at the C’mon Inn in the small town of Cool Springs, Texas.  Ruby catches Brooks’ eye immediately as he sips a drink at the rustic bar, watching her dazzle her opponent with expert billiard skills.  When a drunken man approaches her with unwanted and persistent advances, Brooks is off his chair ready to come to her rescue, but the feisty capable woman tosses the guy over her petite shoulders, laying him out flat.

The scene could’ve been written in an old time western saloon as well, where men imbibed far too much whiskey, otherwise known as bottled courage, bug juice, coffin varnish, dynamite, joy juice, neck oil, nose paint and fire water.

The first place that was actually called a saloon, rather than cantina (found mostly in Taos, Santa Fe and New Mexico)  was in Brown’s Hole, near the Wyoming, Utah, Colorado border.  The saloon, known as Brown’s Saloon was established in 1822 and catered to mostly trappers during the peak of the fur trapping era.

Though in our mind’s eye our image of an old time Western saloon would be set on the main street of town with a wooden sidewalk, hitching post, swinging doors and a shining polished long bar, the first saloons were actually lean-tos or tents where a cowboy, soldier or fur trader could quench his parched throat.

As well in the 1920’s,  Bent’s Fort in Colorado was among the earlier saloons catering to soldiers, where others were constructed in Dodge City and Kansas where cowboys would wind up after a long cattle drive.  By the time the gold rush hit in California, a settlement housing one cantina, soon entertained 30 saloons.  In the early 1880’s the town of Livingston, Montana, population 3,000, had 33 saloons.

In those early days, the whiskey was made up of burnt sugar, raw alcohol with a touch of chewing tobacco.  Ugh.  There were other concoctions as well and some barkeeps would

cut 100 proof with turpentine, ammonia or cayenne.  I can’t imagine!   Out West, and as time went on the whiskey became more refined and a shot of bourbon or rye was expected to be downed in one big gulp.

Personally, I am a “frilly drinker”.  Give me a strawberry or mango margarita, a pina colada or a Bailey’s coffee and I’m happy.  I’ve never enjoyed the benefit of hard liquor, but it’s a booming industry keeping many of our bars and saloons happy in big cities and small towns, like at the fictional C’mon Inn.   But surely, we can all agree it’s a place where men and women come together and sometimes, if the stars align and the bubbly sparkles, romance can be found!

 

Your thoughts? Do you enjoy a drink now and then?  Wine, beer, cocktails or the hard stuff?  Any fun saloon/bar stories you can tell in public? Ha! Post a comment and one lucky blogger will be picked at random to receive a $10 Amazon gift card!  Be sure to check back by the end of the day for the prize winner announcement!

Available on AMAZON and all online and print bookstores.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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26 thoughts on “C’mon Inn and A Giveaway by Charlene Sands”

  1. I very rarely drink now but if I do it would be scotch and water, a result of having lived in Scotland. The first time I over imbibed over there (a long time ago), my Scots friends told me the main problem was drinking anything with orange juice in it! No kidding. And so they took me on to teach me the basics of scotch. So thorough was their job, that to this day I’m still very picky about which variety I drink if I drink. Their “tutorials” were fun and easy because as a musician I played in pubs with Scots musicians, and the barkeeps always took us behind the bar after closing time for a tipple of an excellent single malt. Fun times and very fond memories.

    P.S. What they told me about scotch must be true because I never got sick again from drinking once I switched solely to scotch. Maybe it’s that part of my ancestry is Scottish, y’think? : )

    • HI Eliza,

      Yes, I think it’s true! You got some good advice in Scotland. I always think of Scotch as a man’s drink, but maybe not. I didn’t know you are a musician, what do you play?

      • Scotch isn’t a man’s drink, IMO; it’s a drinker of taste’s drink . Just ask a Scot! : )
        I do agree than many women seem to prefer mixed drinks, though, which makes me think that maybe they like the effect of but not the actual taste of alcohol since they’re masking it with a mixer of some sort.

        I came from a family of musicians, and I played guitar professionally with various bands starting at 15 and for most of my life. The only thing better than listening to music you like is actually playing it and having it run through you, making you part of it itself.

  2. I don’t drink. My dad was an alcoholic so I just have never had the desire to drink.

    I visited an old settler site once and when I went into the ‘saloon’ I found it dark and small. The ceiling was quite low so tall people would have had to stoop going in. There were no signs that there were ever any windows either.

    Blessings,
    Cindy W.

  3. Just the thought of how whiskey used to be made makes me shutter. I don’t think I would have liked it. I like to drink wine or vodka. I like rum but only in a fruity cocktail. I used to be a bartender when I was in my 20s and those were some of my funnest days. I would love to go back to that time.

  4. I rarely drink and if I do its a girley drink or a wine cooler of something like that. That might happen once a year if I am lucky. Not much of a drinker. This old lady can’t handle drinking.

  5. We have a cabernet with dinner every night. I’ll have the occasional beer or mixed drink but it’s the wine that I really enjoy.

  6. What crazy names for the whiskey! If I have anything it has to be sweet or fruity. I don’t drink much of anything because I end up with headaches from it. Hubby has a little bit of wine each night – says it keeps his blood pressure down! 😉 I like sweet and fruity wines, too, but don’t drink much of it. When I turned 21 my hubby and his guy friends took me out hoping to get me tipsy. They spent over $60 on drinks on me and I was still fine. They couldn’t believe it and I was enjoying all the free drinks! I don’t know if it is good or not, but that story is still told with awe and pride by my hubby’s friends. LOL

  7. Awesome post, Charlene. I can’t imagine drinking some of those concoctions, sheesh. I definitely prefer red wine, but like you, a frou-frou drink can go down easy on a hot summer day, like strawberry margarita LOL. I love the info on saloons. I remember how many were in the town of Leadville, which really isn’t all that big. xo

  8. Hi Charlene – I used to enjoy rum & coke, strawberry margaritas & wine. Years ago I attend a factory Christmas party at a bar. We all ate & drank & danced. We had a lot of fun, not too much drinking as we had to drive home in snowy weather. I enjoyed the blog on old saloons. We went on a trip to Old Tucson & saw a few Old West saloons they were awesome. Thanks for a chance to win the Amazon gift card. Hope, you have a great 2017.

  9. I usually drink wine, but will have a beer every once in a while. Like you, I like frilly drinks. They are dangerous because you often don’t realize how much alcohol you are getting. I like a little brandy every so often, little being the key word. I have had straight Scotch and a few other whiskeys, but rarely drink them.

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