Noah Bly Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Noah Bly is a published author of fiction. He also goes by the pen name of Bart Yates.

Bly or Yates was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1962. He was one of four brothers, the youngest, and moved to Iowa with his family to Lamoni in 1969. There his father worked at Graceland College as the Dean of Students. His mother worked at Graceland College as well, instructing on business courses. He would graduate from the local high school in 1981. The author then attended Drake University, graduating in 1985 with his Bachelor of Music in the field of clarinet performance. He would then attend Boston University, graduating in 1988 with his Master of Music degree in the category of woodwind performance.

The author then was a bursar for a brief moment in time at The Boston Conservatory. Moving on from that, he then began giving private music courses in 1989 in Massachusetts. From there he moved in 1999 to Iowa City in Iowa. The author took a class on writing at the Summer Writing Festival hosted by the University of Iowa. Instructed by Gordon Mennenga, it helped be the starting point for the book Leave Myself Behind under the Yates pen name. It came out from Kensington Books in 2003. In 2004, it was awarded an Alex Award courtesy of the American Library Association.

He still practices music. In Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the author continues to instruct students, teaching lessons on bass guitar, saxophone, and clarinet. He’s also participated in the Summer Writing Festival, teaching writing workshops. When he isn’t preoccupied teaching or writing, he likes to read with some wine or coffee on hand.

Bly is married to Sarah, his wife. They have a son together named Willie. The family resides together in Iowa in Iowa City.

The Third Hill North of Town is the first novel to come out under the Noah Bly name.

This story features main character Julianna Dapper. She’s a grown woman, and at 54 years of age, she makes her way out of a mental hospital in 1962. It’s located in Bangor, Maine, and it’s on a day in June. But she also has a reason for wanting to go and a purpose. She wants to go back to northern Missouri to the small farming community that she was raised in.

It’s where she ran free as a child with Ben Taylor, her best friend. It’s also where the path of her life took a turn a long time ago one night. On her way there, Julianna encounters Elijah Hunter. He’s an African American teen. She also meets Jon Tate, who is hitchhiking his way away from the law. The three of them join up and travel together, as they are in much the same situation.

Julianna’s worried that her past may ruin everything. As the truth starts to come out and their path teeters to tragic, can Julianna be strong enough to make it home? Read this book to find out!

The Distance Between Us is the second novel from author Noah Bly.

This is the story of main character Hester Parker. She lives in Bolton, Illinois in a beautiful Victorian house. There she lives a life of barely cobbled together luxury. She listens to Mahler and Chopin, drinks middling quality Merlot, and thinks about how her life has been and how it’s now disintegrated.

She’s still herself, sharp of the tongue and brilliant. She can inspire her music students or break them down with a comment. While she’s intelligent, she’s also bitter. She has lost her husband. Arthur Donovan was a famous violinist and ended up leaving her to be with someone else. Another woman, after all of these years. She also injured her wrist and saw her concert pianist career slip away.

They shared a home and raised three children together. She still has memories of them. Paul was a cellist that was gifted but neurotic. Caitlin was a literary professor now, commanding her students who liked her but feared her. Then there was the sweet Jeremy, who was certainly gifted in music just like his parents were.

Ever since Hester divorced, however, she’s felt their relationships have become distant. She decides later to rent out the apartment in the Attic to a college student named Alex. She doesn’t know what will come of it. Will Alex change her life and that of her family’s? They soon become close and Hester connects with the world through him. He also becomes a confidant.

However, being around also makes Hester think of grief and other memories that she’s tried to compartmentalize. Can Hester grow and deal with the accusations and truths about the past? Can she repair her family after they fell apart? Read this book to find out!