Stephen Bly

Stephen Bly (Ivanhoe, California, 1944-2011) was an American author and novelist.

He wrote more than 100 books and hundreds of articles, poems, and short stories. His book, The Long Trail Home Broadman & Holman, won the 2002 Christy Award in the category western novel:. Three other books, Picture Rock Crossway Books, The Outlaw’s Twin Sister (Crossway Books), and Last of the Texas Camp (Broadman & Holman), were Christy Award finalists. Bly’s books, primarily western novel genre in the American West, historical and contemporary, are written from a Christian worldview.(1) His Paperback Writer was noted in a Publisher’s Weekly review for its “amusing parody of the proverbial dime-store paperback novel. . . “(2)

Personal

Stephen Bly was born August 17, 1944, Ivanhoe, California, to Arthur "Art" Worthington and Alice Wilson Bly and died June 9, 2011, in Lewiston, Idaho. He had one sibling, a sister, Judith "Judy" Bly Walston. He grew up on a farm in central California’s San Joaquin Valley. He ranched with his uncle M. J. Allen near Coalinga, California, and his father Arthur Bly in Ivanhoe, California, until age 30. He also served a brief stint in politics by helping Assemblyman Gordon W. Duffy of California State Legislature win his first term and stayed on as his administrative assistant. After serving as pastor of several Presbyterian churches in California, he was the pastor of Winchester Community Church and elected to several terms as city councilman and as mayor of Winchester, Idaho (2000–2007). He was an Active Member of the Western Writers of America. He also collected and restored antique Winchesters and was roving editor for Big Show Journal.

Stephen graduated summa cum laude in Philosophy from California State University, Fresno (1971) and received a M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary (1974). From 1982 to 1996, he was part of a team of speakers who represented Family Living Conferences for Moody Bible Institute. He traveled with Kevin Leman, Gary Chapman (author), Dr. Harold J. Sala, Gary Ezzo (Babywise), and Greg Speck. He and his wife, Janet, mentored writing students for Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.

He met his wife, Janet Chester, at Redwood High School (Visalia), California. He and Janet (also a writer) raised three sons: Russell (married to Lois) and father of Zachary and Miranda (married to Chris Ross); Michael (married to Michelle); and Aaron (married to Rina Joye) and father of Keaton.

He once told an interviewer that he doesn’t like writing about a place he’s never been. That means loading his truck to cruise up and down most every road, paved and unpaved, in the 11 western states of the U.S. He’s spent much more time on unpaved roads than highways. In fact, asphalt and blacktop bore him. Interstates drone like a prison line because he sees nothing but the rig in front of him.(3)

On June 9, 2011, Bly died at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston after a 5-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 66 years old. At the time of his death, he was working on his last fiction book, Stuart Brannon's Final Shot. His wife, Janet, and three adult sons—Russell, Michael and Aaron—finished the novel for him. Released in 2012.

Books

Nonfiction:
Radical Discipleship Moody Publishers,1981)
God's Angry Side (Moody,1982)
Quality Living in a Complicated Age (Here’s Life,1984)
How To Be a Good Dad (Moody,1986)
Just Because They've Left Doesn't Mean They're Gone (FOF,1993)
Once a Parent, Always a Parent Tyndale House,1993)
Help! My Adult Child Won’t Leave Home (Tyndale,2006)
The Surprising Side of Grace (Discovery House,1994)

Fiction Series:
Rivers of Arizona Series
Rivers in Arizona (Back to Bible,1991)
Rock of Ages (Back to Bible,1991)

Stuart Brannon Western Series
Hard Winter at Broken Arrow Crossing (Crossway,1991)
False Claims at the Little Stephen Mine (Crossway,1992)
Last Hanging at Paradise Meadow (Crossway,1992)
Standoff at Sunrise Creek (Crossway,1993)
Final Justice at Adobe Wells (Crossway,1993)
Son of an Arizona Legend (Crossway,1993)
Nathan T. Riggins Western Adventure Series
The Dog Who Would Not Smile (Crossway,1992)
Coyote True (Crossway,1992)
You Can Always Trust a Spotted Horse (Crossway,1993)
The Last Stubborn Buffalo in Nevada (Crossway,1993)
Never Dance With a Bobcat (Crossway,1993)
Hawks Don't Say Goodbye (Crossway,1994)
The Adventures of Nathan T. Riggins, Vol. 1 (Crossway,2001)
The Adventures of Nathan T. Riggins, Vol. 2 (Crossway,2001)
Code of the West Western Series
It's Your Misfortune & None of My Own (Crossway,1994)
One Went To Denver & The Other Went Wrong (Crossway,1995)
Where The Deer & The Antelope Play (Crossway,1995)
Stay Away From That City They Call It Cheyenne (Crossway,1996)
My Foot's In The Stirrup & My Pony Won't Stand (Crossway,1996)
I'm Off To Montana For To Throw The Hoolihan (Crossway,1997)
The Austin-Stoner Files Series
The Lost Manuscript of Martin Taylor Harrison (Crossway,1995)
The Final Chapter of Chance McCall (Crossway,1996)
The Kill Fee of Cindy LaCoste (Crossway,1997)
The Lewis and Clark Squad Series
Intrigue at the Rafter B Ranch (Crossway,1997)
The Secret of the Old Rifle (Crossway,1997)
Treachery at the River Canyon (Crossway,1997)
Revenge on Eagle Island (Crossway,1998)
Danger at Deception Pass (Crossway,1998)
Hazards of the Half-Court Press (Crossway,1998)
The Heroines of the Golden West Series
Sweet Carolina (Crossway,1998)
The Marquessa (Crossway,1998)
Miss Fontenot (Crossway,1999)
Old California Series
Red Dove of Monterey (Crossway,1998)
Last Swan In Sacramento (Crossway,1999)
Proud Quail of the San Joaquin (Crossway,2000)
Fortunes of the Black Hills Series
Beneath a Dakota Cross (B&H,1999)
Shadow of Legends (B&H,2000)
Long Trail Home (B&H,2001)
Friends and Enemies (B&H,2002)
Last of the Texas Camp (B&H,2002)
The Next Roundup (B&H,2003)
The Skinners of Goldfield Series
Fool's Gold (Crossway,2000)
Hidden Treasure (Crossway,2000)
Picture Rock (Crossway,2001)
The Belles of Lordsburg Series
The Senator's Other Daughters (Crossway,2001)
The General's Notorious Widow (Crossway,2001)
The Outlaw's Twin Sister (Crossway,2002)
The Retta Barre Oregon Trail Series
The Lost Wagon Train (Crossway,2002)
The Buffalo's Last Stand (Crossway,2002)
The Plain Prairie Princess (Crossway,2002)
The Homestead Series
Strangers & Pilgrims (Crossway,2002)
Courage & Compromise (Crossway,2003)
Reason & Riots (Crossway,2003)
Adventures on the Western Frontier Series
Daring Rescue at Sonora Pass (Crossway,2003)
Dangerous Ride Across Humboldt Flats (Crossway,2003)
Mysterious Robbery on the Utah
Plains (Crossway,2003)
The Horse Dreams Series
Memories of a Dirt Road Town (B&H,2005)
The Mustang Breaker (B&H,2006)
Wish I'd Known You Tears Ago (B&H,2006)

Fiction Stand-Alone:
The President's Stuck in the Mud (Chariot/Cook,1982)
Trouble in Quartz Mountain Tunnel (Chariot/Cook,1985)
The Land Tamers (Tyndale,1987)(Center Point,2009)
Time Warp Tunnel (Chariot/Cook,1985)
Paperback Writer (B&H,2003)
One Step Over The Border Center Street,2007)
Creede of Old Montana (Center Point,2009)
Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon (Center Point,2010)
Throw The Devil Off The Train (Center Point, 2011)
Stuart Brannon's Final Shot (Center Point, 2012)

STEPHEN & JANET BLY (co-authored)

Fiction Series:
The Crystal Blake Series
Crystal's Perilous Ride (Chariot/Cook,1986)
Crystal's Solid Gold Discovery (Chariot/Cook,1986)
Crystal's Rodeo Debut (Chariot/Cook,1986)
Crystal's Mill Town Mystery (Chariot/Cook,1986)
Crystal's Blizzard Trek (Chariot/Cook,1986)
Crystal's Grand Entry (Chariot/Cook,1986)
The Hidden West Series
Fox Island (Servant,1996)
Copper Hill (Servant,1997)
Columbia Falls (Servant,1998)
The Carson City Chronicles Series
Judith and the Judge (Servant,2000)
Marthellen and the Major (Servant,2000)
Roberta and the Renegade (Servant,2000)

Nonfiction:
Questions I'd Like to Ask (Moody,1982)
Devotions With a Difference (Moody,1982)
How To Be a Good Mom (Moody,1988)
Be Your Mate's Best Friend (Moody,1989)
How To Be a Good Grandparent (Moody,1990)
Winners & Losers (Moody,1982,1993)
The Power of a Godly Grandparent (Beacon Hill,2003)

Family tree - Stephen Bly novels

Stuart Brannon
b. March 4, 1847, Coryell County, Texas
m. Lisa Nash, April 4, 1874
d. August 17, 1914

Lisa Nash
d. December 25, 1875, in childbirth

L. F. Brannon
Adopted by Stuart Brannon, 1888
m. Jannette
children: Everett, Elizabeth, Edwin, Jenner,
Janie, and Teddy

Aimee "Pepper" Paige
b. 1852, Atlanta, Georgia
m. December 24, 1882
d. 1933, Yellowstone County, Montana

Tapadera Andrews
b. 1855 Tuolumne County, California
d. 1921, Yellowstone County, Montana

Tapadera & Pepper Andrews children:
(all born in Yellowstone County, Montana)
Zachariah Hatcher Andrews
b. 1883
m. Martha Naomi Clark, December 24, 1903
d. 1959
They had 7 children
21 grandchildren
47 great-grandchildren
one of whom is named Hap Bowman (of One Step Over The Border

Suzanne Cedar Andrews
b. 1883
m. Paul James Stoner, 1903
d. 1976
They had 5 children, 10 grandchildren
one of whom is Brady Stoner of The Austin-Stoner Files
32 great-grandchildren

Patricia "Punkin" Paige Andrews
b. 1885
d. Easter Sunday, 1892

Eugene Stuart Andrews
b. 1887
m. Elizabeth May Brannon, 1919
d. in auto accident, 1921
They had no children.
Eugene never remarried.

Tapadera Andrews, Jr.
b. 1895
m. French actress, Lea Devrais, 1925
d. 1974
They had 3 children, 7 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren
one of their granddaughters married Paul James Watson of Paperback Writer
The Slash-Bar-4 is now run by Tapadera Andrews, IV, and his wife Mary Beth Riggins Andrews

Two years after the death of her husband, Lucinda Miller married Henry "Stack" Lowrey.

In 1893, Peter Miller Lowrey married Angelita Rachel Gomez.
They inherited the Sphinx gold mine in 1899.
Still in limited production, the mine is totally owned today by the Lowrey family.
Angelita died in 1975 at the age 103.

Stuart Brannon and Brazos Fortune (of The Fortunes of the Black Hills) are related.
That information was recently uncovered by Little Frank and Essie Fortune's granddaughter,
Price Shadowbrook (from The Hidden West Series).

The Skinners of Goldfield are related to Stuart Brannon's first partner, Everett Davis.

References

    1.Janet Rubin, “I chose Idaho”/Writing a Life in the Gem State, Idaho Magazine, November 2006.
     2.Publisher’s Weekly, July 14, 2003, review on Amazon.
    3.“Penchant For Old West Leads Author to Montana”, The Billings Outpost, December 9, 2009,

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