Monday, November 06, 2006
Idaho Novelist Stephen Bly
Hello, it's Bailey today. Have you heard about the Idaho novelist Stephen Bly? He lives in Winchester, Idaho and has written 100 books. Now he's doing something really fun. He's so gotten into his newest character that he's caught up in looking for her in real life. Her name's Juanita, the girl of rodeo cowboy Hap Bowman's dreams. (Another of Bly's characters.) They are both in Bly's novel One Step Over the Border.
Bly has listed Juanita's description on the home page of www.OneStepOvertheBorder.com: raven dark hair, dark eyes, has a petite birthmark the shape of a horse's head under her right ear. She lived in sight of the Rio Grande and spent time with 12-year-old Hap Bowman in Central Wyoming during the summer of 1988 and is 31 years old now.
Bly's hoping to see "Have you seen my Juanita?" signs pop up everywhere--on websites and message boards, in waiting rooms and bulletin boards, on car bumpers and T-shirts, at rest stops and stuck to magnetic surfaces. "Maybe we really will find her," Bly says. "If so, she'll be featured on our website for sure." There's even a free “Have You Seen My Juanita?" Search Kit ready to send to those who e-mail cowboy Hap at HapBowman@yahoo.com with their snail mail address.
Apparently Bly is no stranger to getting heavily involved into his characters. In his novel Paperback Writer a distracted detective rides along with his author, serving as alter ego and companion in troubles on the road. "Life imitates art, they say," Bly muses. "I care so much for my characters I find it hard to let them go. But also my desire is for the reader to find their own real life discoveries, to be encouraged in their own struggles, by the vicarious 'entering into' the quests of my fictional characters."
I told S-Man he ought to try some similar marketing campaign when Starfire is published. Although it may be a bit stranger, looking for a dinosaur-like creature.
The story of Hap's search to find his Juanita in One Step Over the Border releases June 2007, by Center Street/Hachette Book Group, USA. I hear that pre-orders are already available through www.blybooks.com and soon will be at www.amazon.com and other online bookstores. We'll all be reading the book at Java Joint. It's great to support another Idaho novelist!
-- Bailey(We'll do our best to make Wilbur behave.:)
I second Bailey's invitation. Come see us, Stephen Bly. And bring that Juanita girl with you. She sounds like a looker.
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