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Editor’s note: The wait is over! It’s Fiction Friday! Today we are introducing Billy Coffey.
“Billy Coffey is a minstrel who writes with intense depth of feeling and vibrant rich description.” — Robert Whitlow, best-selling author of The Choice
“Coffey spins a wicked tale . . . [The Curse of Crow Hollow] blends folklore, superstition, and subconscious dread in the vein of Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery.’”
—Kirkus Reviews
When Mockingbirds Sing — What marks the boundary between a miracle from God and the imagination of a child?
Leah is a child from Away, isolated from her peers because of her stutter. But then she begins painting scenes that are epic in scope, brilliant in detail, and suffused with rich, prophetic imagery. When the event foreshadowed in the first painting dramatically comes true, the town of Mattingly takes notice.
Leah attributes her ability to foretell the future to an invisible friend she calls the Rainbow Man. Some of the townsfolk are enchanted with her. Others fear her. But there is one thing they all agree on — there is no such thing as the Rainbow Man.
Her father, the town psychologist, is falling apart over his inability to heal his daughter… or fix his marriage. And the town minister is unraveled by the notion that a mere child with no formal training may be hearing from God more clearly than he does.
While the town bickers over what to do with this strange child, the content of Leah’s paintings grows darker. Still, Leah insists that the Rainbow Man’s heart is pure. But then a dramatic and tragic turn of events leaves the town reeling and places everyone’s lives in danger. Now the people of Mattingly face a single choice:
Will they cling to what they know… or embrace the things Leah believes in that cannot be seen?
In the Heart of the Dark Wood — A motherless girl hungry for hope… and the dream that could be leading her astray.
Almost two years have passed since twelve-year-old Allie Granderson’s beloved mother, Mary, disappeared into the wild tornado winds. Her body has never been found.
Allie clings to memories of her mother, just as she clings to the broken compass she left behind, the makeshift Nativity scene in the front yard, and her best friend Zach. But even with Zach at her side, the compass on her wrist, and the Nativity right outside the window, Allie cannot help but feel lost in all the growing up that must get done.
When the Holy Mother disappears from the yard, Allie’s bewilderment is compounded by the sudden movement of her mother’s compass.
Following the needle, Allie and Zach leave the city behind and push into the inky forest on the outskirts of Mattingly. For Allie, the journey is more than a ghost hunt: she is rejoining the mother she lost—and finding herself with each step deeper into the heart of the dark wood.
Brimming with lyrical prose and unexpected discoveries, In the Heart of the Dark Wood illustrates the steep transition we all must undergo—the moment we shed our childlike selves and step into the strange territory of adulthood.
The Curse of Crow Hollow — With the “profound sense of Southern spirituality” he is known for (Publishers Weekly), Billy Coffey draws us into a town where good and evil—and myth and reality—intertwine in unexpected ways.
Everyone in Crow Hollow knows of Alvaretta Graves, the old widow who lives in the mountain. Many call her a witch; others whisper she’s insane. Everyone agrees the vengeance Alvaretta swore at her husband’s death hovers over them all. That vengeance awakens when teenagers stumble upon Alvaretta’s cabin, incurring her curse. Now a sickness moves through the Hollow. Rumors swirl that Stu Graves has risen for revenge. And the people of Crow Hollow are left to confront not only the darkness that lives on the mountain, but the darkness that lives within themselves.
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Your Turn
Come on and head to the porch with a tall glass of sweet tea and pull up a rocker! We’d love to hear what you’re reading this summer! ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full
