Tuesday 12 October 2010

Snow Day ~ Review

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Snow Day
FaithWords (October 11, 2010)


by


Billy Coffey






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



When you’re raised in small-town Virginia by a redneck father and a Mennonite mother, certain things become ingrained. And when you marry a small-town girl and have two small-town kids, all you want to do is pass those ingrained things along.



Like believing the best life is one lived in the country enjoying the pleasures it provides—summer nights beneath the stars, rocking chairs on the front porch, deer grazing in the fields. And believing that no matter how iffy life can get sometimes, there are some things that are eternal and unchanging.



But above all else, believing that in everything there is story waiting to be told.



That’s where I come in.



Billy Coffey was raised on stories. The first ones came on the front porches of relatives, tales laced with local charm and deep meaning. Then came the stories from people like Max Lucado and Robert Fulghum, who write with a charm and deep meaning of their own.



Billy lives with his wife and two children in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. If you drive by his house, you’ll probably spot him on the front porch. If you do, give him a wave. He’ll wave back.



ABOUT THE BOOK



In this debut novel, Peter is a simple man who lives by a simple truth--a person gains strength by leaning on his constants. To him, those constants are the factory where he works, the family he loves, and the God who sustains him. But when news of job cuts comes against the backdrop of an unexpected snowstorm, his life becomes filled with far more doubts than certainties.



With humor and a gift for storytelling, Billy Coffey brings you along as he spends his snow day encountering family, friends, and strangers of his small Virginia town. All have had their own battles with life's storms. Some have found redemption. Others are still seeking it. But each one offers a piece to the puzzle of why we must sometimes suffer loss, and each one will help Peter find a greater truth--our lives are made beautiful not by our big moments, but our little ones. (2010)



To read an excerpt from Snow Day, go HERE.

My friend Kat shares this about Billy and to be honest I could not have put into better words so I hope she doesn't mind my quoting her:


"If you haven't heard of Billy Coffey, then you have been missing out of one of the finest writers that is guaranteed to not only touch your heart, but change your life forever by the words he uses to take us on the ride of our lives. I've known Billy Coffey for quite some time as a writer who was hoping one day to share his love of story-telling on his blog, "What I Learned Today" and have a book published. For all of us who have believed that Billy Coffey was a star just waiting to be discovered, this diamond is truly shining in his first book.

His down home charm and virtual porch allows the readers to share a piece of Billy's heart as he shares his personal story through the life of Peter Boyd. This is by far one of the best books I have read to date and once I had the opportunity to review it, I knew I had received a true gift."

My Review:

I have waited with great anticipation to read Billy Coffey's debut novel and I can tell you I absolutely inhaled it! To me it was like a lesson with each hour that passed in Billy's snow day. I learned, I gleened, I gained compassion and found myself looking for opportunities to share these examples with others. Each chapter I found myself appreciating the lessons more and more and yet as only in Billy Coffey style he leaves us inspired and deep in thought! Thank you Billy for sharing your gift of writing with us! I look forward to many more novels and until then I will be reading your blog each and every day.

Thank you CFBA for this complimentary copy of Snow Day in return for this honest review!