August, '22

Howdy pard,

It's great to see you! Take a load off, pull up a bar stool and take a moment to breathe. Life is too short not to enjoy the good things… such as a quiet drink between friends.

Today I’ve got something a little special - a passport to mystery and adventure through the pages of a bunch of free historical fiction novels. If that’s not enough, I can share the latest on that newfangled mail service the 'Pony Express', offer up a great recipe for campfire biscuits and gravy, share a little knowledge from an expert on Plains Indian culture (do not miss!), tell you more about those Saloon Girls everyone’s been talkin’ about, and give you the lowdown on the next stagecoach rolling into town.

Oh, your drink’s here. "May your horse never stumble, your spurs never rust, your guts never grumble, your cinch never bust!"

A passport to mystery and adventure

Now I know you’re going to like this one. Historical. Mystery. Crime. Have three words ever seemed a better fit when it comes to finding your next great read? I’ve found a tight collection of free historical mystery/crime novels for you, all packed full of twists, turns, and the and the types of conundrums that will keep you turning page after page.

Right here I've got more than 30 novels just a click away - these books won’t disappoint. They all have something in common – they are waiting for you right now and they won’t cost you a cent. Pick one, pick ten, pick them all – it’s up to you.

Here’s a couple of titles to whet your interest:

•  The Poisoned Glass, by Kimberley Tilley
• Cold Blooded, by Clark Mayer
• A Girl Like You, by Michelle Cox
• Murder Illustrated, by Robert Wilhelm

Don’t miss out, folks! Click here to get your free books:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/historical-crime/w089r2h1aq

The Pony Express

Eighty riders, 190 way-stations, 500 horses. That’s what it took to get the mail coast to coast across some of the toughest terrain known in the Wild West.

The Pony Express was the first “express” mail line across the United States. For its time it was a marvel of innovation, organization, ingenuity and sheer plain guts, cutting the time it took for mail to cross the United States from months to mere weeks.

Yet only nineteen months it was suddenly obsolete, and quickly became little more than legend. Find out why in this new historical profile (on my revamped website) about getting the mail on time in the Old West - rain, hail or shine: https://nickbrumbywesterns.com/the-pony-express/

An historical enigma

Take a Golden-era ballgown, a stovepipe hat, a feathered quill and a mysterious castle, and what do you get? Some of the best historical mysteries to be found this side of Custer’s Last Stand. 

This new giveaway has nearly 20 different free novels packed full of romance, fantasy and detective stories (amongst others) to choose from. They look awesome – and won’t cost you a cent. Pick one, pick ten, pick them all – it’s up to you.

Here’s a couple of titles to whet your interest:

•  Prince in Shadow, by Anna Bushi
• Jacob’s Justice, by PDR Lindsay
• Whispers in the Canyon, by Gifford MacShane
• The Captain’s Wife, by Nine Jarrett

Don’t miss out, folks! Click here to get your free books:

https://storyoriginapp.com/to/wUij6fO

Biscuits and gravy

Biscuits and gravy – one of the South’s greatest gifts to our tastebuds. A staple of chuckwagon chefs since Wyatt Earp was a boy, there's just something about those soft doughy biscuits smothered in black pepper gravy.

Let cowboy chef Kent Rollins show you in under a minute his directions to flavor town, in this excellent video he has published on that youtube whats-a-ma-thingee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN1gvTVu-vs

Did you know?

The Wild West could be a lonely place, especially for men. In most towns, they outnumbered women 3-1, and in California, it was as much as 9-1. To help entertain the men, saloons would hire girls to dance, sing, and basically keep them drinking and playing cards. Although they were often lumped in with prostitutes, Saloon Girls were very different, generally considered to be good girls and were usually treated like ladies. In addition, the money they could make from one night’s commissions was often better than what men would make in a month, so very few had the need to turn to prostitution. Being a Saloon Girl did have its risks, and it was customary for the girls to carry a small pistol or dagger for protection.

Plains talk

Bone, stone or steel - ever wanted to know which arrowhead was best? Did you know that Native American breastplates were actually invented by white settlers? Here’s another one – did you know that tribes worked buffalo fat, straight off the bone, into their tobacco to help it burn better?

All these questions and many more facts are answered in this video by Michael ‘Bad Hand’ Terry, considered by many as America's foremost authority on Plains Indian history. Here is his first ‘Tipi Talk’ packed full of little-known facts and trivia about Plains Indian culture.

Enjoy – I learned so much! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydjy1rBIk3k

Exit stagecoach West

Often braving terrible weather, pitted roads, treacherous terrain, and attacks from bandits and Native American warbands, stagecoaches were an integral part of the westward expansion of the rapidly growing United States of America.

Stagecoaches were built for utility and endurance. They had to carry passengers, mail, gold, silver, baggage, and arms, often all at the same time. The companies that built them made them high enough to ford rivers, tough enough to traverse rocky terrain, climb narrow mountainous roads, and to withstand the blistering heat of summer and the freezing cold of winter.

Comfortable they were not. Mark Twain described the Concord stage’s ride as like “a cradle on wheels”. Yet they survived well into the aged of the gasoline powered automobile. Find out why in this new historical profile on my revamped website about how stagecoaches kept America moving: https://nickbrumbywesterns.com/wil-west-stagecoaches/

Sixgun Drifter Sol Redding

Get your exclusive subscriber-only copy of my first western Redding’s Maverick here: https://BookHip.com/NGKAHW

Did this email drop into your spam or promotions folder? Fix it here: https://nickbrumbywesterns.com/whitelist.html

Happy trails,

Nick