Stephen Bly's "Throw the Devil Off the Train" or "Cowboy for a Rainy Afternoon"

We're happy to have Stephen Bly with us today talking about his book Throw the Devil Off the Train. To learn more about Stephen and his book, read on!

Note from Stephen: The release date of Throw The Devil Off The Train has been pushed to May 1st, 2011. We could offer a copy of Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon now, with the option of waiting for the future release later, if you’d like.

Title: Throw the Devil Off the Train
Cover Blurb: Catherine heads west to escape her past. She will do anything to get to California and her fiancé Philip. Race heads west to avenge his brother’s death. On the long, cramped train ride he longs for nothing but hours of sleep. However, the devil’s on board and someone’s got to throw him off.

1) How did this story come to you?
I don’t have a clue on this one. Sometimes plot ideas seem to fall out of the sky for me. When I recognize one that I like, I pick it up and run with it, to see where it leads. That’s what happened with Throw The Devil Off The Train.

2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
Center Point Publishers had released a number of my paperback books as hardback large prints. Over a year ago the editor approached me about doing books for their growing base of westerns fans. . .mostly through public library outlets. . .as first edition novels. So, I wrote Creede of Old Montana for them, then Cowboy For A Rainy Afternoon. While writing that last story set in the 1950s, I perceived setting a whole book on a train from Omaha to Sacramento in the 1880s. That became Throw The Devil Off The Train.

3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I love to golf and years ago played on the college golf team. I’ve never been to Branson, Missouri. I’m living with prostate cancer.

4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I just signed a contract for a story about one of my favorite characters, rancher Stuart Brannon of The Stuart Brannon Series, as an older man in 1905. He’s invited by his good friends, Lord & Lady Fletcher, to be one of the celebrities in their golf tournament on the Oregon coast. The working title: Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot.

5) Parting comments?
My life verse is Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” I consider writing to be one of the ‘added things’ in my life, for which I am very grateful.

6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
At our website: http://blybooks.com/  Or our “On A Western Trail” blog: http://blybooks.blogspot.com/