Put Yourself in Your Book by Andy Scheer

I've spent much of my free time the past several days visiting with my old friend Stephen Bly. Yes, Steve graduated to Glory a few years back, but he left much of himself behind – in the form of his writing.

A weekend ago, while investigating the book department in the new Goodwill thrift store in Monument, Colorado (they even serve fresh, free coffee) I stumbled upon all three volumes of his “Austin-Stoner Files” from the mid 1990s.

My collection was missing book two, The Final Chapter of Chance McCall, so I snapped it up. Back home, I put my feet up and began visiting once again with Steve.

Rodeo cowboy Brady Stoner is not Steve. The author and pastor from Winchester, Idaho, was much too good a writer to create a protagonist who completely mirrored himself. But Steve did put a lot of himself into Brady: his interests, his speech patterns, and especially his values. There's even a lot of Steve – primarily the values – in big city book editor Linda Dawn Austin.

I miss Steve. But I'm grateful that anytime I want, I can visit with him. After finishing The Final Chapter of Chance McCall, I jumped back to book one, The Lost Manuscript of Martin Taylor Harrison. With no big projects this weekend, I look forward to the time with my friend.

Having spent years in the business, I've been privileged to work with many authors, and become friends with some. Any time I want to refresh that friendship, all I need do is take a book from my shelf.