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.