About the author
Stephen Bly (1944–2011) was an amazingly prolific author of Christian genre fiction. His speciality was Western fiction, for which he won the Christy award 2002 for excellence in Christian Western novels. I have struggled rather finding out which of his oeuvre is specifically horsey: if you like Westerns, then that’s pretty nearly all, but I don’t generally include Westerns on this site, so have gone instead for the Horse Dreams series (little to argue with there), and a few of his children’s books.
Finding the books
Most appear to be available on Kindle, or directly from the authors’ site. The exception is the Crystal books, which are now out of print, though perfectly easy to find in the USA.
Links and sources
Stephen and Janet Bly at Bly Books
Series
The Horse Dreams
Memories of a Dirt Road Town
The Mustang Breaker
I Wish I’d Known You Tears Ago
Crystal
Crystal’s Perilous Ride
Crystal’s Blizzard Trek
Crystal’s Grand Entry
Crystal’s Milltown Mystery
Crystal’s Rodeo Debut
Crystal’s Solid Gold Discovery
Bibliography (horse books only)
Crystal’s Perilous Ride
Chariot Books, Illinois, 1986, 138 pp
The blurb:
Fourteen-year-old Crystal and her friend Megan accompany Crystal’s father to Idaho and find themselves investigating a series of strange occurrences in the town involving a gang posing as the community’s leading citizens.
Crystal’s Grand Entry
Chariot Books, Illinois, 1986, 155 pp
The blurb:
When her horse is stolen just before the state high school rodeo finals in Idaho, Crystal, her sister, and friends conduct a search which brings them into contact with terrorists.
Crystal’s Rodeo Debut
Chariot Family Publishers, 1986
Crystal tries out for the school rodeo team.
Dangerous Ride across Humboldt Flats
Crossway Books, Wheaton, Ill, 2003, 127 pp.
The blurb:
Wandering aimlessly on the dangerous high desert of Nevada Territory in 1860, a fourteen-year-old orphan boy finds shelter, food, and a Christian family at the Pony Express station run by the Lovelocks.
Memories of a Dirt Road Town
Broadman & Holman, Nashville, Tenn, 2005, 277 pp.
Everything’s going wrong for teacher Develyn Worrell: she was supposed to be having a summer of reconciliation with her daughter, but she blames Develyn for the sudden death of Develyn’s ex-husband. Develyn tries to find succour in a Wyoming ranch, and she finds healing through a paint mare, and the people of a dirt road town in central Wyoming.
The Mustang Breaker
Broadman & Holman, Nashville, Tenn, 2006, 347 pp.
“Are all your dreams about horses?” Casey asked. “Only the good ones,” said Devy.
Wish I’d Known You Tears Ago
Broadman & Holman, Nashville, Tenn, 2006, 344 pp.
Develyn’s learned to ride, and is reconciled with her daughter, so what lies ahead now?
