Stuart Brannon, drawing by Canadian artist Wendy Liddle
Stuart Brannon The Legend by Stephen Bly
I’m often asked, “Who’s your favorite character of all those you’ve created?” Hard to say—they’re all part of me and I’ve gotten to know them so well. They’re friends, even family. But Stuart Brannon is special.
Stuart Brannon is not my first western protagonist—that distinction belongs to Sandy Thompson, the Confederate veteran in The Land Tamers. Nor is he the last. There’s Tap Andrews of The Code of the West Series and Brazos Fortune with his sons and grandchildren in the family saga of The Fortunes of the Black Hills Series, which included Sam Fortune of The Long Trail Home, the Christy Award winner for the western novels category.
And I can’t forget the host of heroines in The Belles of Lordsburg Series and The Heroines of the Golden West Series and feisty Judith Kingston in The Carson City Chronicles or long-suffering Dola Mae Skinner in The Skinners of Goldfield Series.
My, there’s quite a slew of ‘em. But Stuart Brannon’s my most well known. He’s become a legend . . . in my mind and in the minds of my readers.
He’s Just Like Me
My wife, Janet, claims he’s just like me, only different. “After all, look at his initials—same as yours,” she points out.
Here’s a secret for you that many faithful fans have already discovered . . . all Stephen Bly novels have some sort of reference to or cameo appearance by Stuart Brannon, this hero of mine. My dream is to one day see a quotation or factoid of this fictional hero slip into an Arizona history book some day. The artist Wendy Liddle’s rendition of Stuart Brannon above can be found in the cowboy poetry book, When The Cowboys Come To Town, available at the Bly Books bookstore: https://www.blybooks.com/bookstore/cowboy-poetry/
Some propose that all my fiction, whether historical or contemporary, is one huge revolving series.
Stuart Brannon obituary Arizona Miner’s Advocate 1914
The characters seem to all inter-relate, in one way or the other. I reckon there’s some truth to that. Why, some enterprisin’ soul with nothin’ else to do with their life could put together quite a genealogy to prove that fact, including Stuart Brannon and his kin, of course. S’pose they could use such a tidbit to stump the players in a western trivia game some day.
More Stories
However, that’s not my callin’. I’m too busy writin’ more stories. The next one’s a contemporary cowboy romp called One Step Over The Border. But you can be sure, Stuart Brannon has got a part to play, however small.
Hawthorne H. Miller is a dime novel writer in The Stuart Brannon Series who tried very hard to make himself famous and rich by making up or enlarging tales of Brannon’s many adventures, a fact that Brannon did not appreciate. He and Miller had many run-ins.
Hawthorne Miller Excerpt
Just for fun, here’s an excerpt from one of those stories, Page 32, of The Man Who Killed Stuart Brannon, first published in 1883, part of Brannon of the Wild West Series . . .
“You think you’re going to kill me?”
Stale sweat hung thick as cigarette smoke as the startled occupants of the long, narrow saloon faded into the walls like a cheap backdrop curtain for a traveling stage play.
“I’ve got a gun. You have a knife. Seems unavoidable at the moment.” The tall, broad shouldered man with the drawn gun didn’t flinch. “Turn Jenny loose and we’ll renogotiate.”
The girl stumbled as she was yanked one step closer toward the front door. “Back away, mister, and I’ll let her go unharmed.”
“Make your play.” The man with the gun inched his way to the right of the overturned table. “I’m tired.”
The man waved the knife like a painter at a grand easel. “You can’t kill me. Do you know who I am?”
“No, but your mamma does.” He scooted to the right and slid another step closer. “I don’t think this is her proudest hour.”
As if unveiling a statue, the knife-wielder shouted, “I am Argentiferous Jones. I’m the man who killed Stuart Brannon.”
“So, you are the man who killed Brannon?”
“Yep. Causes you to pause and wonder, don’t it?”
“Not really. I’m Stuart Brannon.”
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Copyright©2006
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Find the story of the Bly family completing Stephen Bly’s last Stuart Brannon novel here FINISHING DAD’S NOVEL
Check out the Stuart Brannon cameo in the Skinners of Goldfield Series BRANNON CAMEO
Find out more about Stuart Brannon at the Character Tour at Ralene Burke’s blog CHARACTER TOUR
Character Interview Questions for Western Hero, Stuart Brannon STUART BRANNON INTERVIEW
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