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.
