Bøger af Stephen Bly

Tap Andrews is fed up with his past. And he's sick and tired of fighting off every gun-toting bounty hunter who wants to make quick cash by dragging him back to Arizona. He knows he's innocent. And his fiancee Pepper Paige believes it. All he has to do is prove it. And Pepper's determined to follow him anywhere--until she hears he's headed to Denver. She can't return to Denver and face her past. Not for anyone. Even Tap. Not ever. So, Tap leaves, alone. Then Pepper is forced to go to Denver after all. What will happen when their paths collide? Can their new-found love and faith survive the startling revelations?

A 10-year-old boy. Six aging cowboys. A '49 Plymouth with an open trunk. And a lady in distress. All the fixings for adventure in 1954 Albuquerque.

Will Stuart Brannon lose his beloved ranch to the Casa Verde Land Corporation? At long last, Stuart Brannon hits the homeward trail to his Arizona ranch. But if he has hopes to settle down to the quiet life of a cattleman, he has miscalculated. Much of what he holds dear is in terrible peril. Riding into his spread, he finds it occupied by gunmen sent by the Casa Verde Land Corporation, which claims to hold a Spanish land grant on his property. Enraged, Brannon drives off the intruders. Before the gunmen return with reinforcements, some of Brannon's friends and neighbors descend on the ranch. When the gunmen reappear--this time with a cannon--Brannon and his friends hunker down to defend the ranch. Written in the tradition of Zane Grey, Luke Short, and Louis L'Amour, "Standoff at Sunrise Creek" recreates the tumultuous Old West where good battles evil.

For only a dollar, Thunder is a terrific bargain. But what does a boy do with a dangerous 2,500-pound buffalo that can break out of any corral ever built? Nathan Riggins has to find some way to keep Thunder from killing someone or being killed. He finally decides to donate his buffalo to the Carson City Zoo. But getting him there will be a problem. Thunder has already destroyed one rail car and damaged the train's engine. The railroad refuses to ship him again. The answer comes in a surprising way.

Married life isn't turning out quite the way Pepper planned. Just when she thought life settled down to a normal pace, she faced a rocky ride hitched to the unpredictable Tap Andrews. The ranch is gone. They've moved to Cheyenne. And Pepper hasn't been feeling very well. But at least Tap has a job as deputy that takes what he's got: integrity, nerves of steel, and a fast draw. Then suddenly he's appointed acting marshal in a town that has little regard for the law. He soon discovers how hard it is to hold off a vigilante crowd hungry for a lynching, control a wayward deputy who thinks he should be in charge, keep his pretty wife from worrying herself sicker, and uncover who's behind the trouble in Cheyenne. When the city council relieves Tap of his duties and Pepper of her worries, it's time to move on. But Tap can't let things go.

The Lewis and Clark Squad is in Montana to watch Jeremiah dance and compete in a pow-wow. Of course, they plan to play 3-on-3 basketball too. Excitement and then stress builds when Larry's prized, autographed basketball is stolen. The only clue is a red Dakota used in the getaway. Larry won't rest until he's found it. He's not the only one having a bad weekend. Cody faces humiliation when falls out of a truck twice. Worst of all, he gets tongue-tied when an old sweetheart shows up with her jealous boyfriend. The guy's ready to go on the warpath against him.

It was the world's fastest summer. A summer of basketball. A summer of growing up. A summer of becoming best friends. School starts in a few days, but first comes the basketball league championship. The Lewis and Clark Squad is in the semifinals. They think their toughest challenge is to beat the other team. Instead, their about to face their greatest adventures off the court. Cody Clark suspects trouble when nobody shows up for practice. Larry Bird Lewis miss a practice? Something big must have happened. With a little detective work Cody learns Feather is in another city and Jeremiah is on his way to Colorado. That leaves only Larry and Cody to play in the semifinals. With a few creative plays and little help from a friend, they might be able to win their game...if they can get past that wild, basketball hungry boar!

Nobody steals Stuart Brannon's cattle...not even a military man with his own private army. Stuart Brannon battles cattle rustlers, befriends Apaches, and feels his heart stir for a beautiful woman he much admires. Will she get Brannon to lay to rest the ghost of his dead wife? Or will he continue to mourn? This time Brannon heads south of the border to buy cattle for his ranch. But he finds the cattle rustled and their owner murdered. Brannon comes up against something a lot bigger than just a band of small-time rustlers. But he should have picked someone else's cattle to steal. Army or no army, Brannon is not about to let the thief walk away with his livestock. Written in the tradition of Zane Grey, Luke Short, and Louis L'Amour, "Final Justice at Adobe Wells" recreates the tumultuous old West where good battles evil.

It's summer in Galena, Nevada. Everyone is leaving town for good! After the harshest winter on record and the shutdown of the Shiloh Gold mine, Nathan and his friends watch as businesses board up and houses empty. Rumor has it that even their school may close. Who will be the next to move away? When the bank is robbed, Nathan and Leah get their answer. It's not one they'd have chosen. In facing the loss of his friends, Nathan discovers what makes a town feel like home. Finally, in a deserted hotel, Nathan and Leah come face-to-face with the bank robbers. They encounter the most frightening showdown of their lives.

The Joyton family runs a station for the famed Butterfield Stage Line on a mountain pass in southern Arizona. A pleasant, solitary lifestyle. Until a stagecoach arrives with a dead man inside. They are told the mysterious man accidentally shot himself. But fourteen-year-old Drew Joyton suspects foul play. Meanwhile, a new family arrives and begins to build a store, even though no town exists nearby. And a dangerous stranger appears. Then hostile Apaches pin down two wagon drivers headed for the pass. Drew and his sister Blaze must decide whether to risk their lives to bring help.

New York editor Lynda Dawn Austin expected to find a manuscript that would rock the publishing and boost her career. But the real surprise was the cowboy guiding her through canyon country to find it. When he first walks into the plush New York offices of Atlantic-Hampton Publishing Company, no one takes the eccentric stranger seriously. At least, not until he mentions the manuscript. He claims he possesses the long-lost third novel of Martin Taylor Harrison, their most successful author. But before the staff can recover from the shock, the man is killed in an accident, his copy of the novel destroyed. Atlantic-Hampton decides to let it go, unwilling to risk their reputation on what could easily prove to be a fake. Outraged, the editor determines to recover the original herself. Now if only she can find it! All she knows is that it's hidden away in a remote cabin somewhere in the canyons of the Arizona Strip. So Lynda heads west and, with rodeo cowboy Brady Stoner as her guide, finds adventure like she's never known: the fear, the danger, the primitive conditions. And nothing has prepared her for bronc-buster Brady.

Cody, Feather, Jeremiah, and Larry have other reasons for calling their 3-on-3 summer basketball league team "The Lewis and Clark Squad." But considering the crazy situations they get into, they might as well have named themselves after the famous adventurers from their history books. In their first adventure, mysterious weird objects keep appearing in an abandoned out-of-state pickup on a neighbor's property. Yet the kids never see anyone around it. It makes no sense until they find their first clue: a roll of film. There's only one way to solve the mystery. They decide to spend a night watching the truck. It's an event they'll never forget!

An ex-cavalry soldier searches for four Army pals who didn't show up for a scheduled reunion. When he tries to stop a Fort Benton bank robbery, suddenly he's thrown into one conflict after another. All hopes of sitting on the sidelines and watching the world go by fade away. Meanwhile, two women threaten to break his heart. One wants his ring. The other wants him dead. Creede of Old Montana follows the exploits and heartbreaks of Avery John Creede as he tramps along the upper Missouri River. Through the confrontations and adventures, he makes some discoveries about himself. And three things remain constant: his courage, his rock-solid faith, and his wounded heart. He knows the first two will never change. At forty-two, he's not sure the third ever will either. Creede of Old Montana is a novel with humor and heart, action and intrigue, doubt and faith. Creede is a character who is sure to live on for the ages.

It's 1880. Catherine's got to escape. She's headed west to get married...to a guy she hasn't seen in 17 years. Race Hillyard's into revenge. He's on his way west to repay his brother's death. They collide at the depot and hate each other on sight. But it's a long, chaotic ride from Omaha to Sacramento. Fiery, opinionated and quick to react, can they make peace long enough to throw the devil off the train?

A horrific blizzard was only the start of Stuart Brannon's troubles. For a man who didn't need another disaster, the fierce winter at Broken Arrow Crossing couldn't have come at a worse time. Brannon had just abandoned his Arizona ranch, sick with grief over losing his wife and baby son in childbirth, as well as all his cattle by disease. That's when the vicious Colorado blizzard struck. Half-frozen, Brannon stumbles into the isolated stage station at the Crossing. There he finds a wounded prospector and attempts to nurse him back to health. Winter storms draw other stragglers to the station--an abused, pregnant Indian girl and a band of naive gold seekers. Drawn into their desperate plights, Brannon plunges into a dangerous mission to rescue a young boy from the Utes, and then himself as he becomes the target of an outlaw band. Written in the tradition of Zane Grey, Luke Short, and Louis L'Amour, "Hard Winter at Broken Arrow Crossing" recreates the tumultuous old West where good battles evil.

First, there was Cody Clark's nightmare about climbing Deception Pass. And being trapped in the long, dark tunnel. Then he got caught in a couple surprising situations that he doesn't want to talk about. With all the misunderstandings, it feels more like he's constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time. Especially now that he's got nicknames he's not sure he wants or deserves. Iron-Jaw Clark? Toughest Kid in Town? Feather's Boyfriend? And all the while the local bully is after him to reclaim his title of toughest kid in town. He learns that though his friends are with him every step of the way, he must face his fears alone.

Retta Barre's not the first 12-year-old girl to travel the Oregon Trail. And she won't be the last. But for something that's supposed to be the grandest adventure of her life, the long, slow days sure are dull. Thick dust, irritating bugs, and picking up buffalo chips are not the stuff of the action-packed penny novels she loves to read. When things change in Retta's life, they change fast. A simple trip into the prairie brings both adventure and big time trouble. Soon Retta is the talk of the wagon train and her friends don't want to miss her next caper. To be sure, she won't let them down.

The Lewis and Clark Squad wasn't prepared for what teammate Cody Clark encountered in the canyon that day: an injured Chad Levine with his truck and money stolen. Could the unknown visitor who's come to town be to blame? Cody and his friends begin to put some pieces together when they spend the night at Chad's house. Through his telescoped they see suspicious people down by the river. They're even surer something's up when they hear a terrible noise--coming from the river. The kids come up with a plan for identifying the strangers using the telescope, a rusty can of nails, and a goat. If that creative idea doesn't work, they could end up in the middle of something big. And very scary.

Follow Jesus down dusty roads from the Book of Mark. Tough standards for spiritual greatness. Discipleship 101 ... Jesus blueprint for greatness. How to be a way-paver. Join the Pallet Carriers Union. Planning for ministry success. How to find a ministry partner. Four things Jesus does for you. What God does not want. What God longs for. Four responses when God says "No." Ten ways to seek godly wisdom. Daily and all-night prayer schedules. How to avoid dead-ends and detours. How to accomplish the impossible. Taste some of what it was like to follow Jesus back then. And begin or continue your own path right here and now.

Nathan Riggins headed out west to the Nevada desert to search for his parents after his grandmother died. He faced one danger after another: hostile Indiands, a masked gunman, a blinding sandstorm, a rattlesnake. Now he frantically hurried from one empty building to the next. Where was everyone? How could everybody in town just disappear? In the deserted Post Office, bags of unopened mail lay everywhere. With increasing dread, he looked through the stacks of letters. He found his own letter to his parents telling them he was coming. No wonder they hadn't waited for him here in Willow Creek. What should he do? Then a strange dog seems to adopt him and come to his rescue.

A new calling. A new business. A new start. Oliole Fontenot did not come West to look for a husband. She came for freedom. The freedom to stand outside and shout to the heavens. The freedom to be herself. To be a photographer. To succeed or fail on her own merit. To grow in her devotion to God. And in Cantrell, Montana, she finds that freedom. But that's not all. There is also danger, adventure, and the mundane. In addition, she has good friends like Carolina Cantrell Parks and Isabel Leon Mandera, a fourteen-year-old protege, and a menacing gang of bank robbers led by the notorious Sam Black. But the biggest challenge for Oliole is not outlaws nor selling her photographs. It's the charm of a handsome drover. His open personality and simple ways sneak past her defenses and force her to consider giving up the freedom she cherishes. It's a struggle between God's will and her own ... and she knows its resolution will affect every day of the rest of her life.

In June 1905, Goldfield, Nevada's full of folks seeking to get rich quick, but the Skinner family has already found their real treasure. Alkali dust blows on 100-degree days. Saloons line every block. A gold rush puts gamblers and gunfighters, prospectors and promoters on every corner. No place for a family to settle. O.T. Skinner and his family have no intention of staying more than a day or two. Long enough to replenish their supplies before continuing the journey west. But next to their tent is a starving family with a drunken father. Nearby, an eccentric old lady insists she's sitting on top a gold mine and won't let anyone near her. And the Skinners are in the middle of a deadly feud after only one day! So many in need of a helping hand, but everyone in Goldfield would rather search for a quick fortune than seek lasting treasure. Everyone, that is, except the Skinners.

Cowboy and prison escapee Tap Andrews has learned that to stay alive he needs three things: a fast horse, a quick hand, and enough smarts to know when to get out of town! Which he has done. But now he tries to pass himself off as a respectable rancher. Meanwhile, Pepper Paige is sick and tired of the fighting and emptiness of her life as a dance-hall girl. And she's tired of fearing violent patron, Jordan Beckett. She gets a chance to escape when a woman injured in a stagecoach wreck dies in her room. She assumes the woman's identity and travels to meet the rancher the woman was going to marry and only knew through letters. What will happen when the pair meet?

Nathan couldn't believe it. He, his dad, and his friend Colin were going on a cattle drive. But as they set out, the trip took unexpected turns. Nathan's dad had to leave them to hunt down an escaped crook. Then Colin's friend Leah finagled her way along. When Pepper the cook hurt his foot and had to return to camp, the three kids were on their own. How would they round up cattle when they had never done it before? And how should they deal with the coyote family living beneath their cabin? Soon their situation turned ugly. Hungry coyotes try to take a newborn calf. And the escapee found their camp and threatened to kill Nathan, ambush Nathan's dad, and hold Colin and Leah for ransom.

They were supposed to be living happily ever after. Instead, Martina Swan, daughter of the legendary Wilson and Alena Merced, grapples to find peace in a marriage that is falling apart. Her husband is in Virginia City, Nevada, trying his luck at mining the Comstock Lode. A promise to come home a wealthy man "in three weeks" was given over a year ago. Meanwhile, Martina struggles to keep the family store solvent in Sacramento. And the pressures are mounting as she seeks to raise their child, the bank deviously tries to close the store, and armed outlaws decide she has possession of their stolen treasure. Always living in the shadow of her mother's beauty and her father's valor, Martina finds her one true source of joy is her daughter. But when a stranger shows up with a message from her husband, Martina determines to go and bring her man home. It turns out to be a shocking, toughening experience. In fact, she's about to fight the most difficult battle of her life--learning to forgive and love again. It will prove to be a deep lesson about herself, the nature of love, and God's unwavering concern for her entire family. In a land and a time where reputations were gained ... and lost ... in a matter of weeks, Martina Swan is about to discover whether she has the faith and courage to survive. She's about to fight the most difficult battle of her life as she learns to forgive and love again. Follow the romance and adventure of the years beyond the Gold Rush in the continuing saga of Old California.

Onepenny is the kind of horse Nathan always wanted. He's smart, loyal and easy to handle. Plus, this unusual horse with the spotted rump can do tricks. So Nathan is delighted when he makes a trade with Onepenny's owner. But soon after, Nathan encounters a posse looking for a stagecoach robber who had ridden a spotted horse. Seems the former owner wasn't the drifter he claimed to be. And when Nathan discovers Onepenny can lead him to the outlaw's home, he wonders what he'll do if he faces him again.

Retta Barre has never met a hero, except for the ones she reads around in her books. She does know they're strong and courageous. And handsome and pretty. Everything she's not. Her world doesn't expect much from her anyway. She's just a plain-looking 12-year-old who's more stubborn than brave. She owes what little strength she has to her dull daily chores on the Oregon trail. And yet, when her friends are missing, Retta doesn't think twice. She heads out to help them. She has no idea the danger that's about to come her way. She'll have to face her fears and act like the heroes she reads about in her novels.

Retta Barre has faced a dizzying prairie storm, a stubborn buffalo, and a murderous Indian twice. But that's nothing compared to what happens when her family is left alone in the middle of the prairie. One life-threatening danger after another and Retta's in the middle of them all. Some might think she's just a plain looking 12-year-old from Ohio. With her buckskin dress, moccasins, and sun-tanned face, others see an Indian girl. And some of her friends consider her a heroine. But after Retta encounters horse thieves, prairie pirates, and an army troop, she'll definitely be the undisputed Princess of the Prairie.

Nathan's got a real job for the summer. He'll be helping Push-Bill Horn freight supplies to the booming, brawling mining town of 10, Nevada. However, his dog Tona's disastrous fight with a bobcat on the second trip out thrusts Nathan into a dilemma. He wants revenge. And he desperately wants to save Tona's life. Will he take Push-Bill's advice to do the kind thing and put Tona out of his misery? Then, later in a chilling face-off at gunpoint, Nathan confronts two bushwhackers intent on stealing his gold. He also meets new friends: the six Rialto sisters who are trying to made a go of a ranch by themselves. This complicates his relationship with his good friend, Leah.

Some women plan their wedding for months. New York editor Lynda Dawn Austin has been planning hers all her life. But right now, nothing's going according to plan. Rodeo cowboy Brady Stoner and New York editor Lynda Dawn Austin may need a miracle to make it to the altar safe, sound, and on time. First, their engagement nearly goes bust two weeks before the wedding, when Brady pulls a surprise that doesn't sit too well with his bride-to-be. Then the crazy couple spends days traipsing the West to find their friend Cindy LaCoste, who's run off without explanation. Five states, three vehicles, two horse trailers, and a one-ton bull later, they locate her. But their troubles have only begun. Someone from Brady's past is intent on one final act of revenge. And it may mean the long-awaited wedding won't ever happen. The wedding guests are certainly wondering if it will. The chapel is decorate and everyone's place--except for an essential someone who has disappeared. One thing's for sure, with Brady and Lynda, never assume anything will happen as it should. Filled with surprise, humor, romance, and adventure. And the sweet, sweet smell of perfume!