Avery John Creede Treks to Lewistown, Montana Territory

Creede of Old Montana

Excerpt from western romance novel Creede of Old Montana by Stephen Bly:

"Where are we going?"

Avery yanked a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to his nephew Ace.

"A telegram? Who from?"

"Read it while I check the riggin' on the team."

"'Wanted for cattle rustling: Curly Buck Clamer and King Snake DuPrix. If seen, notify me at once. U.S. Marshal Kib McCoy, Lewistown, M.T.' What do we have to do with a couple cattle rustlers?"

Christmas Western Novel: Hard Winter at Broken Arrow Crossing

Hard Winter at Broken Arrow Crossing

Hard Winter at Broken Arrow Crossing, Christmas Western Novel by Award-Winning Author Stephen Bly

Christmas 1875 Stuart Brannon lost his wife, Lisa Nash Brannon, and infant son in childbirth. In this 1876 Christmas western novel, a horrific blizzard was only the start of his troubles.

Stuart Brannon didn't need another disaster. The fierce winter at Broken Arrow Crossing couldn't come at a worse time. Brannon had abandoned his Arizona ranch, sick with grief after losing his family and his cattle. That's when the vicious Colorado storm struck.

Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries, new book by Kathy Collard Miller

Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries

Author Kathy Collard Miller Encourages Readers to Worry less. Trust God more.

Regardless of the storms of trials and temptations, worry and uncertainty, confusion or regrets you face, you can trust God more. 

Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries offers a conversational style, personal testimonies, practical illustrations, and solid biblical teaching for breaking anxiety and the devastating effects of worry. How to find peace in all kinds of weather.

Each chapter includes Discussion Questions for individuals or groups, along with a “Letter from God.” 

In addition, a profile of a woman in the Bible who struggled with or experienced victory over worry is featured in each chapter. Every reader inspired to see God's hand in her life.

See "Worry Can't Change Others" article below ...

No Wound Too Deep for Deep Love of Christ

No Wound Too Deep for Deep Love of Christ

Lisa Buffaloe Speaks on Healing Internal Wounds. 

She made an audio recording of "No Wound Too Deep for the Deep Love of Christ". 
Also a PDF transcript for download. Her heart and passion is to point those wounded to the healing of Christ.

You can listen at http://www.livingjoyfullyfree.com/audio-items/no-wound-too-deep/ and download a free copy of the transcript.

BOOK RELEASE - City On Fire by Tracy L. Higley

City on Fire
A Novel of Pompeii

City on Fire/A Novel of Pompeii by Tracy L. Higley ... the newly titled and covered version of Pompeii: City on Fire

As Vesuvius churns, a slave girl-turned-gladiator joins forces with an unlikely source to seek justice.

City on Fire is a re-release of a previous title. If you've already read the novel, you can decide if you want this beautifully updated version. 

If you haven't yet read City on Fire, read more below and order soon!

New Novel By Margaret Daley

Severed Trust

Severed Trust, 4th book in Men of the Texas Rangers By Margaret Daley

Book Blurb for Severed Trust:

The day Sadie Thompson finds her high school student, Lexie, asleep in class and

can't wake her is the day she realizes how entrenched a prescription drug ring is in

her school.

As Sadie is pulled into doing something about the growing problem, she

becomes involved with Ethan Stone. He's a Texas Ranger who suspects the drug ring reaches far beyond the high school.

A Pioneer Christmas Collection

9 Stories of Finding Shelter and Love in a Wintry Frontier

A Pioneer Christmas Collection

Received a copy of A Pioneer Christmas Collection recently and discovered several writer friends contributions are included. Of special note, this is Shannon McNear's debut for book publishing with her story, "Defending Truth." Have known Shannon for years as a faithful fan of our own Bly books.

What a beautiful cover and impressive company of writers: Lauraine Snelling, Margaret Brownley, Kathleen Fuller, Marcia Gruver, Cynthia Hickey, Vickie McDonough, Michelle Ule, and Anna Urquhart.

So look forward to reading these novellas.

Beloved, a new novel by Robin Lee Hatcher

BELOVED is part of the Where the Heart Lives Series

Beloved by Robin Lee Hatcher

http://www.robinleehatcher.com/books/beloved-2/
Setting: 1900 Boise, Idaho

To say the least, it was inconsiderate of Diana’s almost-dead husband to show up at her engagement party.

Diana Brennan came west on the orphan train and was given a home with a loving couple who cherished and spoiled her. At 17, she fell hard for Tyson Applegate, the son of a wealthy mine owner.

After a whirlwind courtship and marriage, Tyson took off for adventures around the world, including fighting with the Rough Riders in Cuba.

Broken Wings, Book 1, The Thistle Series, by Dianne Price

Broken Wings

A new novel by Dianne Price ... a bittersweet release

A tragic childhood has turned American Air Forces Colonel Rob Savage into an outwardly indifferent loner who is afraid to give his heart to anyone. RAF nurse Maggie McGrath has always dreamed of falling in love and settling down in a thatched cottage to raise a croftful of bairns, but the war has taken her far from Innisbraw, her tiny Scot’s island home.

Hitler’s bloody quest to conquer Europe seems far away when Rob and Maggie are sent to an infirmary on Innisbraw to begin his rehabilitation from disabling injuries. Yet they find themselves caught in a battle between Rob’s past, God’s plan, and the evil some islanders harbor in their souls. Which will triumph?

Ties that Bind, novel by C. J. Darlington

 

Ties that Bind

 On a quest to find her father, a young woman discovers she has two sisters who have no idea she exists.

Newly released from prison, Brynn Taylor is determined to find her father, a man she's never met.

Her only clue to his whereabouts is an address she finds in a rare volume of Jane Austen's “Sense & Sensibility” which he inscribed to her years ago.

Armed with a bus ticket, a backpack, and her grandfather's gun, her search leads her to Elk Valley, Colorado where her plans and her life begin to unravel.

Read 1st Chapter of Ties that Bind here: http://cjdarlington.com/excerpts/ties-that-bind-excerpt.htm

Old West True Tale by Stephen Bly

Stephen Bly

Another Old West True Tale by award-winning western author Stephen Bly 

One of my favorite governors was Lew Wallace of New Mexico Territory (1878-1881). In addition, he was a lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, American statesman and author. He's the source for many and Old West true tale. He's best remembered for his historical novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

Rules of Murder, Historical Romantic Mystery, New Release by Julianna Deering

Rules of Murder

Author Julianna Deering Announces New Release: Rules of Murder, an Historical Romantic Mystery 

Drew Farthering loves a good mystery, but he expects to find it in the pages of a novel, not on the grounds of his country estate. 

When a weekend party at Farthering Place is ruined by murder and the police seem flummoxed, Drew decides to look into the crime himself.

16 Cowboy Songs, A Music Quiz by Western Author Stephen Bly

Match the line from the cowboy songs lyrics to the title. 

Keep in mind, since most of these cowboy songs existed as oral tradition before they were written down, several versions of each have survived. The words you remember might be a tad different.

Whispers on the Prairie, new novel by Vickie McDonough

Whispers on the Prairie

New Release! Whispers on the Prairie 

Book 1 in the Pioneer Promises series

exciting new series set in 1870s Kansas

The last thing Sarah Marshall wanted was to leave Chicago. Especially to travel the dusty Santa Fe Trail. But when her uncle demands she go to help her feeble aunt, who took her in when her parents died, she has no choice. She hopes to get her aunt to her new home then return to Chicago.

Stephen Bly and horse Sundance

No one likes to get bucked off a horse. Old cowboys especially. But if his broomtail decided to 'hop for mama,' 'take ya to church,' 'chin the moon,' or 'wrinkle his spine,' he plowed the ground with his face. Then he must catch the rude horse and holler, "Ketch my saddle!"

Her Dad & Louis L'Amour: Finishing His First Novel by Guest Blogger Rebecca DeMarino

Rebecca DeMarino and Howard Worley

It was June of 2010, and my dad, at age eighty-seven, lay on a hospital bed, prepped for an angiogram. His aortic valve was just about closed, and his cardiologist ordered the test as a first step to open-heart surgery. The heart surgeon would not want any surprises when he went in to replace the valve. 

Now Dad held my hand and told me he wanted to tell me the end of the western romance he was writing, his first novel, the story he began to write nine months before.

Six Plot Kickers for Authentic Western Fiction

Stephen Bly

Authentic Western Fiction Plot Kickers by Stephen Bly

It's knowing the little facts that can produce the most authentic western short stories and novels, the truth in fiction. Some of the details of the Old West like those below can provide an extra shot of realism and emotion for the western genre and kickstart a sagging plot. All the examples are excerpts from Creede of Old Montana . . . .

A Bride For All Seasons, western romance novellas

A Bride For All Seasons

A BRIDE FOR ALL SEASONS

The Mail Order Bride Collection of novellas by western romance authors Debra Clopton, Margaret Brownley, Mary Connealy, and Robin Lee Hatcher

It All Started with an Ad in a Mail Order Bride Catalogue…

Melvin Hitchcock of the Hitching Post Mail Order Bride Catalogue isn’t dishonest—not exactly. If he tweaks his clients’ applications a bit, it’s because he’s looking out for their best interests.
This charming bouquet of romance novellas introduces four Hitching Post prospects in the year 1870, each one eager for second chances . . . and hungry for happiness. Year in, year out, they’ll learn that love often comes in unexpected packages.

STORY DOODLES, Stephen Bly's Story Worksheet for Homeschoolers, Future Writers & Those With Writer's Block

Stephen Bly

Many have asked about my story worksheet that I've used at writer's classes, workshops and conferences.

What's a story worksheet?

 Do you remember those cardboard matchbook covers that said, "Draw Me!" If you're not of a certain age, probably not. They often included a cartoon character of a lady's or man's head.

Six Parenting Problems With The Crowded Nest

Once A Parent, Always A Parent

What Empty Nest? Parenting Adult Children by Stephen Bly ... Six Problems to Anticipate

Sometime between the ages of 18 and 20, our kids challenge us with a dramatic turn of events in our parenting. Like an eaglet stumbling from the aerie on its first flight, our child appears as a fully grown adult. Ready to take his or her plunge into society. We enter the world of our own solo flight: parenting adult children.

Or not.

The nest can seem more than full at times. It's crowded.

My Kids Drive Me Crazy: Am I a Good Mom?

Keaton Bly

Or when my kids drive me crazy, am I a bad mom? And who am I really, apart from them? by Stephen Bly & Janet Chester Bly

It's a challenge to keep an identity while kids grow up. "My kids drive me crazy," every mom says at least once. At those times, when you're life is so tied to them and their issues, it's hard to remember who you are, apart from them. 

A good goal: value your identity as a mother, but also as a unique individual.

Mothering Is Easy & Other Good Mom Myths

How To Be A Good Mom

Myths of Motherhood from How To Be A Good Mom by Stephen Bly and Janet Chester Bly

Family and parenting begins with a woman knowing the joy of her baby's first cry. Or smile. Or rocking her child to sleep. But it's also the time she bumps against certain good mom myths. Such as ...

Good mom myth #1:  Mothering is easy. No job on earth takes more physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual strength than being a good wife and mother.

Western Research: 12 Incredible Montana Factoids

Stephen Bly (1944-2011)

12 Incredible Montana Factoids, western research by award-winning western author Stephen Bly

I've set lots of books in Montana, including the recent historical western romance, Creede of Old Montana. In fact, we came close to moving to the Treasure State over thirty years ago. Somehow, Idaho snagged us instead. Even though there were a dozen towns in western Montana from our western research that intrigued and tugged at us.

In the meantime, I learned a lot about the Big Sky country. All of it part of my extensive western research, both fiction wise and personal. Here's some of Montana's many charms.

Somewhere Between Heaven & Hell by Janet Chester Bly

Snow covered Chevy Lumina

Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, a country girl adventure by Janet Chester Bly

We never know when we're about to face a frightening moment of decision. Doesn't matter if you're city bred or a country girl out for a ride.

What Is a Karimption? Western Slang Devotion by Stephen Bly

What Is a Karimption? Western slang

Stephen Bly speaking
Maranatha Conference Center
Michigan 2010 

devotion by award-winning western author Stephen Bly

Old Jack Ferguson had a special role in our church. He counted the folks who attended the worship service. But he didn't bother with exact numbers. He used western slang instead.

He had 3 categories: Karimption. Sunday rodeo comfort. Or funeral size.

The Offering, new novel by Angela Elwell Hunt

The Offering

The Offering, new novel by Angela Elwell Hunt releases May 14th, but it's available for pre-ordering now...at your bookstore or favorite online bookstore!

Be among the first to read this new novel story--an intimate look at what can happen when technology intersects a contemporary American family. Angela set the book in her own geographical area. She enjoyed doing firsthand research in her own locale--which in this case involved visiting a local Cuban grocery.

Rebekah, novel by Jill Eileen Smith

Rebekah, a Novel

Rebekah, biblical fiction novel by Jill Eileen Smith, Wives of the Patriarchs Series

This biblical fiction novel received 4 Stars from RT Book Reviews.

Can love heal the rift between two souls?

Christian Cowboy Poetry - The West Will Truly Be Won

The West Will Truly Be Won, Christian cowboy poetry by Stephen Bly

  When the world came West in '49,
it was called the promised land.
Big and wild and open and free,
room for all to make their stand.

 They say it was gold that stirred their bones
and caused the masses to move.
I reckon it was somethin' deeper than that
and it ain't that hard to prove.

All In Good Time, new historical romance novel by Maureen Lang

Author Maureen Lang

A Note from Maureen Lang about historical romance novel, All In Good Time:

New releases are always exciting! I was just telling my husband that THIS historical romance book is my favorite, but he's noticed I say that about every new release.

Well, this historical romance is holding a special place in my heart. I think authors, like parents with their children, love each book for certain reasons.

Stephen Bly (1944-2011)

In my book Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon, the narrator is never identified by a particular character name. He is just called "Little Brother" by the six old cowboys.

However, had he a real bona fide character name, what should he be called? I was pondering that as I read this week the 10 MOST POPULAR NAMES FOR 2008: 1) Aidan, 2) Jayden, 3) Jacob, 4) Michael, 5) Ethan, 6) Caden, 7) James, 8) Caleb, 9) Andrew, and 10) Matthew. 

But "Little Brother" in this story is 10 years old in 1954. That puts him in the 5th grade, born in 1944. So, the question is ... what were the 10 MOST COMMON BOYS NAMES IN 1944?

13 Ways For Favorite Author Book Promotion

Janet Chester Bly

Want suggestions for how to do book promotion for your favorite authors?

You can make a difference! 

Here's 13 things you can do for your own personal favorite author book promotion campaign ... 

Pick one or more: 

1) Tell a friend what you liked about his or her work. Word-of-mouth book promotion is the best! 

Western Slang: Ketch My Saddle!

Stephen Bly (1944-2011)

Copyright©1994

No one likes being bucked off a horse. Especially a cowboy or cowgirl.

In the Old West out on the range, when the broomtail you forked decided to break in two, hop for mama, jackknife, swap ends, take you to church, chin the moon or wrinkle his spine ... your face ended up plowing the ground. And you had a more serious problem than cuts and bruises.

7 Reasons Why I Need Church

Janet & Stephen Bly

 Do I Need Church?
Can't a Christian Make It Alone?
Stephen Bly
Copyright 1981

Why can't I worship God in the comfort of my home, enjoying the best preaching and music the media has to offer?

Stephen Bly at beach

Why can't I just enjoy being alone out in the woods--just God and me and pine trees?

Why can't I meet God at the water's edge, wiggling my toes in the warm sand surrounded by thousands of sun worshippers?

Do I really need church? If so, why?

BUILDING A BETTER HORSE SHELTER

This Idaho rancher was denied a permit to build a horse shelter. So he constructs a  giant table & chairs ... which don't need permit.

Idaho horse shelter

 Better looking and far more creative, don't you think? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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RESEARCH & ROMANCE

Stephen Bly

Stephen Bly

Copyright©2003

When a cowboy writer does research, the sight of a landmark can spark an idea for a full-fledged novel ... or just a poem.  

Southeast of Four Corners, New Mexico is Shiprock, an impressive example of a volcanic neck or a central feeder pipe formed by a long ago eruption.

Shiprock, New Mexico

In Monument Valley, west of this location, the pillars tower one after another. But Shiprock stands alone. With its spire in the shape of the rigging of an ocean bound vessel, the silhouette looks very much like a tall ship on the horizon.  

No wonder the old-timers trudging across the desert rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the view. If you ever get a chance to visit this site, we have found between March and May to be the best times. If you have already been there, what did the vision of it inspire in you? 

Aim For Stetson&Justin&Kelley Quality

Stephen Bly

Stephen Bly

Copyright©1994

Long before radio and TV, even among the cowboys and ranchers of the Old West, brand names meant something to them.

John B. Stetson made beaver hats with high crowns and wide brims like no one else. A man only had to buy one Stetson in his lifetime, unless a footpad or sneak thief stole it.

Another man named Joe Justin settled into Old Spanish Fort in 1879 on the Texas side of the Red River and began making boots. Without help from advertising agencies or basketball star endorsements he managed to gain such a reputation that a pair of Justin's still denote distinctive boots. 

Janet Chester Bly in office

Janet Chester Bly
Copyright©2013


This morning I was helping gals from our small church take down the Christmas decorations and do overall cleaning of the building. While mopping the bathrooms, a memory of long ago came to mind.

Aimee Semple McPherson

Back in the early 1970s while hubby attended Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, we also served as youth workers in a northeast Los Angeles church that provided housing. We also helped with part-time church facility housekeeping.

Interview with Stuart Brannon

Stuart Brannon

Janet Chester Bly Copyright©2012

JCB: Stuart, how come you’re not too fond of Christmas time?

BRANNON: Oh, I enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus my Savior. It’s just that Christmas also brings some tough memories … lost my wife and baby back in 1875 on Christmas Day. Then, after my cattle got wiped out with the disease, riding through a bitter blizzard to a hard winter at Broken Arrow Crossing the Christmas of ’76. Tended to a wounded prospector, an abused, pregnant Indian girl, and faced off with a band of wild outlaws. All that comes rushing back on a blustery December day.

Recipes From Author Cheryl Wyatt's New Novel

Doctor to the Rescue

 

Eagle Point Emergency Recipes: 

Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings  

Ingredients:   

2 apples sliced and cored. 

2 sticks butter. 

2 cups sugar.