Belly up to the Bar by Paty Jager

I'm excited to announce the first book of my Silver Dollar Saloon historical western romance series is now available!

Savannah was a lot of fun to write. When I came up with the idea to have a series revolve around a saloon, I decided that the first person to have their happy-ever-after had to marry a preacher, so she, along with the proper Mrs. Dearling, the boarding house matron, could help the community accept the women as they marry and move into the community as wives and business owners.

There were different levels of saloons in the west.

• The lowest made their whiskey in the back room from anything they could get their hands on- kerosene, gun powder, ammonia, acids, tobacco, cayenne pepper, and various other items that would rot the gut of any man who drank profusely.These saloons catered to the drunks, less fortunate, and spend-thrifts. 

• The next level bought whiskey, they just put a third whiskey and two-thirds water in a bottle and sold it for the same price as full strength liquor. This type of saloon could have several women who talked men into buying more drinks, or gambling more than they should, and could be paid to spend some time in a room upstairs. Usually, these woman had no family and no other means of supporting themselves and were at the mercy of the saloon owner just as they would have been at the mercy of a Madam or owner of a brothel.

• There were also saloons that sold real whiskey and beer and sold women upstairs. This type was usually frequented by the men with money and power, and usually, the women were treated better than those working for the saloon owner who watered his drinks. 

• The last type of saloon, had real drinks and saloon girls who sang and danced and might on occasion bed a patron who paid well.  

The last type of saloon is my Silver Dollar Saloon, only the owner of the saloon, Beau Gentry, doesn't allow the men to touch the women. They are there to place drinks on the tables, sing, and dance and nothing else. His saloon girls are women he's found in desperate situations and brought to the saloon to work and to live in the boarding house across the alley that is run by Mrs. Dearling, a prominent woman in the Shady Gulch society. When the women aren't working at the saloon, they walk about town with little harassment and attend church and all socials. One by one, the women are married off and new ones are brought in. It's kind of like a Mail Order Bride business only the brides have had hard times and are given a chance to feel better about themselves and their futures through working at the saloon and being treated with respect.

Here is the blurb for Savannah.

Escaping a past full of deceit and larceny, Savannah Gentry goes in search of her only kin, a half-brother she discovered after her father’s death. She hopes Shady Gulch in the Dakota Territory can give her a future. However, she stumbles into the arms of Reverend Larkin Webster, finds herself working in the Silver Dollar Saloon, and soon fears she’s gone from the frying pan into the fire.

After dodging death and incarceration, the Topeka Kid decides to turn his life around and takes on a new identity. Reverend Larkin Webster. It works, until he finds a temptation he can’t resist and steals the heart of Savannah Gentry. When her past collides with his, he wonders if this theft could end up with him losing everything, including his life.

 

Universal - https://www.books2read.com/u/b5MkNp

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery, western romance, and action adventure. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. 

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