Snow Day

This week, the


Christian Fiction Blog Alliance


is introducing


Snow DayFaithWords (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.

Snow Day by Billy Coffey is a thoughtful novella about a single day. Pete Boyd is content for the most part with his life until his job at the local factory is threatened by a possible lay-off. Over the course of a single snow day, Pete takes a good look at his life and makes some major realizations. Most people spend their lives caught up only in their own heads and lives, but Pete is forced to really see the world around him. While shopping for snow day necessities of bread and milk at the Super Center (a thinly disguised Wal-mart), he meets a couple who force him to look at more than the exterior, a suspicious man who shows him the real meaning of Christmas, takes an enlightening trip around his yard while pulling his children on their sled, learns that sometimes life is worth the risk from the local sledding hill, and realized that his life is more than just the information on a job application. Coffey's writing captures the wonder and joy of a snow day as well as the creeping fear of a thirty-something man trying to do the best he can for his family and wondering if he'll every do anything worthwhile. Snow Day is a thoughtful essay about what's truly important in life. Pete makes discoveries about life that will make readers smile and nod their heads in understanding. This thoroughly enjoyable slim volume will be sure to thrill readers looking for a great holiday read.