Western Author Jerry Guin on "Keeping it Clean".

Keeping it Clean

All my stories, including “Charlie’s Money” have a little salty dialogue in them but not intended excessively profane. You will find the occasional use of S.O.B and bas…. Those words, purposely chosen for the dramatic effect, tell the story, in a way that someone might actually talk in that era.

Here is an excerpt from page 34 of Charlie’s Money. Keep in mind that this is in a saloon in the 1873 old west. “A man, at the far right hand table, had jumped to his feet and yelled out, “You cheated! You’re a rotten bas….!”

The man who felt cheated voiced his opinion in a forceful manner, perhaps in hopes of restitution. He got the point across and everyone’s attention with a minimum of foul language.

Calling someone a cheat is an insult in itself. Calling them a rotten bas…. adds emphasis to the situation. There was no need for further inflammatory remarks. Fighting words, you say. Well sure and what followed was a saloon shootout.

I think most of us would react in a like manner, if we felt blatantly slighted before witnesses.
I see no need to use foul language in the extreme (taking the Lord’s name in vain) to get a reader’s attention. I refuse to do it.

I treat sex and romance the same way. The Ladies of the evening or soiled doves, which frequented the saloons, are referred to as painted ladies and at times whores. That was common language used at the time by both men and women. Offering a suggestion of things going on between a soiled dove and a potential customer is one thing, however, I feel actual bedroom antics is taboo. Excerpt page 33. “The third one was sitting on a big smiling cowboy’s lap idly fingering his hair while he ran his hand up and down her leg.”

I think everyone gets the idea. I see no need to go further.
The bottom line is that, at least from my part, I enjoy writing about the old west and do work at it to keep it clean.

The Amazon Kindle link for “Charlie’s Money” is: http://amzn.to/1kf7EA7

Jerry Guin’s latest release is “Crossroads Fast Gun”! The Amazon Kindle link for that is: http://amzn.to/1oJgXIG