SHE’S A STANDER! All the heroines in the Stuart Brannon Series rate what I call ‘standers.’ They can be counted on to be there during the toughest of times. I got a letter from Kelly of Lyndale, Indiana. She enjoyed my Westerns. “I’m only eleven years old,” she wrote, “but I’ve enjoyed every one of […]
What’s a Jerk Line Anyway? One hundred years after the invention of the automobile, they still measured the strength of an engine by its horsepower. And I love it. Of course, I’d be more fascinated seeing a ten-up freight wagon rig rather than the latest issue from Detroit. Now, that was real horsepower. Or mule […]
Jawbone Credit Western Slang Devotional by Stephen Bly On February 15th, 1894, Milton Porter, without a penny to his name, walked into the White Pine County Bank in Ely, Nevada, and carried out $12,000 cash. He used jawbone credit. He didn’t have a mask over his face or a six-gun in his hand. The tellers didn’t […]
Have a Little Javelina in Ya? A friend of mine runs a thousand head of hogs down in the hills of California. These animals roam wild on the fenced mountain terrain. They root out acorns and other tasty morsels, as well as break into a cornfield now and then. We drove his pickup into a […]
Let’s Have a Jamboree! Speaking some words brings just about as much fun as singing a song. Take the word, jamboree, for instance. There’s something musical about its sound. The syllables roll and dance off your tongue. It comes to life before your eyes. Not exclusively a western word, normally it means a carnival, feast, gala […]
Hunkered Under the Old Chuck Wagon For those who live in forests or among trees, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like to hunt for shade. We spend the better part of the year searching for sunlight. But in the Old West chuck wagon days, plenty of times cowboys longed for respite. Out on the […]
A Mountain Man’s Floating Stick A fella in Grandview, Washington wrote to me. He could remember his grandfather often saying, “Well, if that’s the way your stick floats.” So, this old boy wanted to know what that meant. Not sure if this was a westernism, I kept scratching and clawing around until I found it. […]
Which Side to Mount the Horse? In 1976 a revolutionary thing happened in the rodeo event called calf roping. A 21-year-old cowboy named Roy Cooper jumped off the right side of his horse. He then ran down the rope and flanked and tied the calf faster than anyone had before. To those who watch rodeo […]
Water Barrel Cowards Some of the most colorful phrases coming from the Old West were localized in geography and era. They’re totally meaningless today. One of my favorite taunts, “I’ll shoot through the barrel and drown you.” This strange sounding epigram called someone a water barrel coward. Used in the right crowd, it guaranteed a […]
VIEW FROM THE BARN, Cowboy Christmas Poem by Stephen Bly I’m a peaceful man by nature, hopin’ all things settle down. Never one to pitch a fit, play the fool, or act the clown. I like a muffler on my tractor, and horses that seldom buck; children that behave themselves and chickens that don’t cluck. I like […]
In the frame short story in this anthology, Ben and Marnie Pearson never intended to start a jewelry collection. But when they were given a box of leftover jewelry at an estate sale, they were intrigued by the colorful contents . . .
The sparkling jewels featured in this collection may have been passed down through generations or discovered accidentally, but each has its own unique short story. From diamonds to emeralds, opals to rubies, these stones have witnessed it all.
Here in The Jeweler's Heart are their fascinating tales told by seventeen of the talented novel writers of ChiLibris. For fans of inspirational fiction and heartwarming tales, The Jeweler's Heart is a treasure.
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