From left: Aaron Bly, Michael Bly, Janet Chester Bly & Russell Bly. Photo by Ridinger’s of Lewiston, ID
Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot: A Stephen Bly Family Project by Janet Chester Bly
The Stephen Bly family knew how much he hated half-done jobs. He couldn’t stand a ‘to do’ list without immediate action. One big project for 2011–complete his novel, Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot.
When he passed away on June 9th, 2011, my sons said to me, “Let’s finish that book.”
The idea grew. They had their dad’s creativity and wit. They’d impart their father’s input. I also discovered the value of their feedback and encouragement. I couldn’t do it without them.
The editor gave us a four-month extension. This incomplete project became a Stephen Bly family affair. Can a committee write a novel? We had the passion to find out. Stephen left us 7,000 words, a synopsis and some character names. We read over his sample chapters. “It reads more like a mystery than a western,” we four surmised.
Stephen Bly Family Challenge
This book must resonate like a Stephen Bly novel and resemble the early Stuart Brannon series. Yet, this story’s different. Brannon’s older. He struggles to fit into the 20th Century. He also grapples with the game of golf on behalf of a celebrity charity tournament.
Immersing ourselves in the original series, we scanned other Stephen Bly novels for Brannon mentions. I scoured his office and bookshelf resources for basic grounding in the western world he knew so well. After a skim of our fiction writing books for tips, I printed out excerpts for the sons.
Our main theme focused on fighting for justice, truth and mercy.
We met weekly to brainstorm and critique. A cluster diagram of all the known factors formed. Spirited discussions stirred debate as well as consensus. Each of us were assigned research topics. We talked through and roughed out random scenes. After an outline draft of plot points, we had direction for which scenes to create next. We tried to include as much Stephen Bly writing as we could.
To keep the constant additions discernable, I used a different color type each week that turned into a rainbow manuscript. Even with this trick and the outline, the key challenge was to keep the story’s timeline straight. Then I took a trip to Oregon, to discover and experience what our beloved author Stephen Bly knew and we didn’t. This added much needed color and revealed critical mistakes.
Time Runs Out
The deadline loomed as we aimed for 75,000 words. I struggled to eek out 2,000 words daily. When Aaron devised an adventure scene and Mike produced the golf tourney and poker game settings, I knew we’d hit the target count. After we exceeded our goal, we deleted scenes and characters that didn’t move the plot. The last days and hours were frantic with attempts to get it as perfect as possible.
At 10:36 a.m. on November 1st, 2011, son Mike emailed me, “Well? Ready to push ‘send’?
11:46 a.m., I did.
We finished the last undone task of husband and father Stephen Bly.
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RESOURCES
Character Interview Questions for Western Hero, Stuart Brannon HERE STUART BRANNON INTERVIEW
For more info about Stephen Bly and family
At Wikipedia – STEPHEN BLY BIO
From Family Fiction – STEPHEN BLY ARTICLE
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YouTube video book trailer for The Stuart Brannon western novel series, Book #7 Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot by Stephen Bly BOOK #7 VIDEO TRAILER
Wow, Janet, this is amazing! I felt the excitement stirring in me as I read it! I’m so glad that you and your sons wrote this together.
Leah: Thanks so much for your note. It was a miracle, really, that we could accomplish this task. If we thought about it too much, we would realize how impossible it was. But I’m so grateful that we all persevered. Our gift for a great guy!
Blessings,
Janet