Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Fiction

Who wants a free book?

It is two weeks into January and I am cold. Yep, I’m a complaining about winter and I grew up in the Midwest.

My favorite way to forget about winter is to curl up with a good book and a blanket and a hot cup of coffee or tea. Two active kiddos and being our family’s taxi driver don’t give me as many days like that as I’d like, but I’m never at a loss for books to read when the mood and opportunity align.

In case you are one of those people who can’t find a good book to read, you’re in luck! I’m giving one away today.

It’s called The Day Angels Fell. It’s by Shawn Smucker who is one of my favorite bloggers. He has written numerous nonfiction books with fun titles like How to Use a Runaway Truck Ramp, but this is his first fiction release. angels

And you don’t want to miss it.

Here’s my review:

The Day the Angels Fell is a captivating debut novel from a talented author and blogger who takes time to see the world in a way few others do.

Part bedtime story, part fictional memoir, part adventure story, I loved this tale of Sam and Abra and what happened after Sam’s mother died. I kept turning the pages because I had no idea what was going to happen next or how things were going to work out. As with Lord of the Rings, I couldn’t be sure Sam would make the right decisions (or the ones I thought he should make) until the very end. And I liked how we got two perspectives on Sam’s life–what happened when he was a boy, and him as an old man about to attend a funeral.

The best part, though? There’s a follow-up story in the works!

The Day the Angels Fell stars two children as its main characters but the themes are deep enough for adults and reading it reminded me of everything I loved about adventures and mysteries as a kid.

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Sound like something you’d like to read? Or do you have a young reader in your house who plows through books faster than you can get to the library? Shawn wrote the book for his 10- and 11-year-old kids, so that’s one target age range, but don’t write this off as only a children’s book. Perfect for adults, too.

I have an extra copy and I want you to have it! Which “you”? Well, that remains to be seen!

Leave a comment here on the blog telling me a story that you read as a child that stuck with you. (For me, it was Nancy Drew mysteries. I couldn’t get enough!) I’ll pick a random winner on Monday, January 19. If you don’t already follow Shawn’s blog, why not? Click here. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter, also. No extra entries for connecting with him, just the benefit of reading his writing!

Don’t forget to share your childhood favorites, then check back here on Monday to see if you won! (U.S. entries only.)

Like listening to a ghost story around a campfire: Review of In the Heart of the Dark Wood by Billy Coffey

Billy Coffey is fast becoming one of my favorite authors, and if your fiction reading tends toward gritty and deep, then he will be one of yours also.
dark woodIn the Heart of the Dark Wood is the second of Coffey’s books I’ve read, and they are equal parts disturbing and inspiring. (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the Booklook Blogging Program in exchange for my review.) You will not find sugar-coated scenarios and shallow characters from Coffey. And at times, he will make you squirm. Case in point: in this book, Allie, the 11-year-old main character, starts her period early on in the story, and Coffey is detailed (though not graphic) about this motherless girl’s transition to womanhood.

So, the story. Allie’s mom was taken in a tornado that happened in Mattingly, Virginia about 18 months before this story takes place. She is not convinced her mama is dead, just gone, and when the Mary disappears from her front lawn Nativity, Allie and her best friend, Zach, set off into the woods on a search that leads them where they never thought they’d go.

In the Heart of the Dark Wood is a story of growing up, of pressing into the hard times to find that the light still shines. It’s about hope and moving on and overcoming. It’s the kind of story that sticks with you long after you’re done reading it.

Coffey’s writing style is that of a campfire storyteller on whose every word you hang. You’ll look over your shoulder to the dark to see if the monsters are sneaking up on you. You’ll shiver a bit. You’ll let your guard down when the story takes a turn for the better. And you’ll study the storyteller trying to decide if this is, in fact, true or not. Coffey absorbs his readers into the lives and hearts of the residents of Mattingly. And I, for one, don’t want to leave.