Excerpt Email From Bly Books Fan
Dear Janet, when I was growing up, somewhere near our home was a bookstore started in a garage. I don’t remember much about it except going there with my Mom and siblings. We were allowed to get one book each. One time my brother picked one of our first Bly books, “The Dog Who Would Not Smile” by Stephen Bly.
Over time we ended up with the other five in the series. I and all three of my siblings read those Bly books so many times they are well worn, stained, bent, tattered, and very well loved. They still sit in a place of honor on my bookcase.
The Dog Who Would Not Smile
The World of Bly Books
For many years that was all I knew of the world that Steve (and you) created. And then sometime in high school in the early 2000s I ended up with “The Long Trail Home.” I realized, “Wait a minute, some of these names are familiar.” Using this new internet thing I realized Stephen Bly had written many more books than just the Nathan T. Riggins series. I set out to get every book of his I could.
I won multiple Bly books from the quote search contest you used to have on your website and bought your books anywhere I could find them at a price I could afford. After several email exchanges back and forth with Steve about the high cost of some of his books online, I could not believe a homeschooled, socially awkward high schooler getting email from an award winning author. I was even more astounded several years later when we became Facebook “friends”.
One Step Over the Border
A Decade of Searching
I managed to acquire 54 Bly Books over that decade, including “One Step Over the Border.” Then other priorities took my book acquiring money, such as houses, cars, college, etc. As I watched Stephen Bly’s newer books get released, I intended to get them as soon as I had the funds to spare. Now about 15 years have passed and I have a 3 year old daughter now. My wife has taught her to read.
My Daughter
She loves to sit and read through all her books every day. It is all she wants to do. I want her to enjoy and love reading as much as I did and find ways to encourage her. But as I looked at my shelves and the books I kept from childhood, the Bly books and those by other authors would interest a boy more. To be sure, my sisters all enjoyed reading these books as I did, but they all focused on a male protagonist.
The Lost Wagon Train, Book 1, Oregon Trail Series
That led me back to you guys. I knew about Bly books like the Retta Barre and Crystal series. And I thought, “Well, if I’m getting some of these, why not get all the others I’m missing too?”
Cowboy Hat Autograph
My order arrived today. I got a little misty eyed as I opened it and found some of the books had Steve’s cowboy hat autograph in them. Sadly, I never got to meet him in person, but he nonetheless had a large impact on the way I view life. His quotes are embedded in my mind.
Stephen Bly Quotes
Sometimes I don’t even realize I’m saying them unless my younger sister is around and says, “That’s a Stephen Bly quote.”
Or if my wife looks at me and says, “Are you quoting something?” I have to stop and think and go, “Yeah, it’s from a Stephen Bly book.” Whenever I hear somebody say something was lucky, my mind thinks, Nah, that’s Providence. Whenever I get hurt and somebody asks if I’m okay, my response is, “I’ve been hurt worse.”
I refer to my wife as “Darlin’.” I struggle with that same question Stuart Brannon did, “Am I really trusting God in this? Or am I just asking for His will and then doing what I want anyway?”
Now if things go according to my master plan, my daughter can have those same thoughts. 🙂
Stephen Bly AUDIO PODCAST
New Books & An Audio Podcast
I am so excited to have all these books to read and don’t even know where to start. Thank you for continuing to provide Stephen Bly’s books for fans like me to acquire. And thank you for creating “Down a Western Trail” audio podcast. I spend at least half of my workday driving from site to site and have listened to every episode. When I see a new one comes out, I get excited so I can listen to it while I’m driving around.
Many times I have been convicted of things I need to be doing better in my life because of that podcast. I will be sad whenever the day comes and I hear you have run out of his sermons and talks to share. It is bittersweet for me to know I’ll have no more new books from him once I finish all these, but he has to be writing up there in heaven right now, doesn’t he? He should have a whole library written by the time I get there. So I will look forward to that.
Thank you again,
Matt Moberg, Vancouver, WA
Stephen Bly signature
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