Billy Coffey's writing always makes me feel like I've settled onto an old fashioned front porch with a cold glass of sweet tea. The rockers are comfortable and the conversation heartwarming.
In his debut novel, Snow Day, Billy invites us from the porch into the life of Peter Boyd, a man with an ordinary life in an ordinary small town. But this novel is anything but ordinary. When Peter takes time off of work to enjoy a winter day with his family, we learn just how magical a snow day can be.
Brimming with insight into the human soul, Billy's novel challenges us to slow down, invest in people, and pay attention to what's going on all around us. And if we find that hard to do, we can instead read Snow Day, and allow our hearts to be filled with wonder. A perfect Christmas read.
For a chance to win a free copy of Snow Day, leave a comment sharing your favorite snow memory. I'll start:
The snow was hip-deep that day. My brother, Kenny, and I pushed our bodies through the field that was our front yard, heading toward the dirt road that lead to our friend's house.
I stepped onto a small hill that swooped down toward the road, unaware that a deep overhang of snow had developed overnight. As I moved forward, the shelf of snow gave way, and with a whoop! of surprise I rode a mini avalanche all the way to the bottom. Frigid, white fluff filled my nose and cascaded down my boots, but I didn't mind. Our exhilarating laughter filled the silent, winter air, and for the rest of our walk Kenny and I talked and hooted about my hilarious snow tumble.
12 comments:
We raised our kids out in the country. One winter we got snowed in a couple of times. The drift up our driveway was five feet deep. Of course the boys had to build a tunnel, and the rest of the driveway made a great sledding hill. Our children remember those days fondly. Thanks to the snow, our family had many togetherness times!
In the south we take advantage of every snow day we get. One of my favorites was a few years ago when the kids were young. All the neighborhood kids came over and we sledded down from our front yard into our back yard on anything we could find that would slide (linoleum pieces, trash can lids...). Even our dog and two cats got in on the action, though sometimes the cats got run over by sledders.
Okay, I have to share one other. It was March 1, 2009. By March we're usually headed in the direction of spring, but we got surprised by a snow storm. My kids wanted me to go with them to the nearby abandoned golf course to sled. I almost didn't go because, as usual, I had too much to do. But I went anyway and we had several very fun few hours in the snow. It was gone the next day and that was the last time we would ever play in the snow together before my son became a big college man. I'm so thankful God provided that snow day and that I didn't say "no".
I'd love to read the book!
My favorite snow memories are recent. Over the past few years when I've taken pics of my kids playing in the snow or catching snowflakes on the tongues. :)
I'm not sure when the tradition began, (as a mom of 5, "when" sometimes gets hazy) I pulled out my Joy Of Cooking, and looked for a recipe for homemade hot cocoa. I found an amazingly rich recipe for Italian Hot Chocolate. I pulled out my grandmother's tea cups, rummaged for some "sweet" in the pantry, and we had a "snow day" party.
Now, whenever it snows, my youngest two, age 12 & 14 ask for Italian Hot Chocolate, and they anticipate which cups I will be serving it in.
Living in Southern Colorado, we don't get many snow days, we're expected to send the kids to school, because the sun will soon be out and melt whatever accumulation there is. So, sometimes we'll stretch a little and call our own "snow day".
Sounds like a great book. Cozy. Now Julie, I guess I can't play. I grew up in LA and live in FL. Does an ice storm count. We lived on a slight hill and one time we had an ice storm. We got out Mom's silver trays and rode them down our driveway.
I hadn't thought about that in years. :)
Oh, we get our share of snow in Iowa! But I grew up in Indiana where the winter weather was nowhere near as severe. I do have good memories of sledding and making snow men. BUT for some reason right now, all I can think of is February of 2007 when (here in Iowa) we didn't have electricity for 9 days due to an ice storm!! :)
I have read posts on Billy Coffey's blog before and he is quite the writer! Would enjoy reading his book!
Library Hill loomed before us. Over-sized, fraternity house baking trays in hand, our little band of college-dorm-room hoodlums stole past the last street light and emerged atop the campus' largest descent. Fresh snow glistened under the moonlight and the thrill of escaping dorm life, for even a few moments beckoned in a devious sort of way.
Running, the wind whistled in my ears. "Thud" smacked the baking tray and down we all bumped, thumped, and dumped into the snow at the bottom of the hill...so I thought. Four of us ventured out that night. Only three emerged out of the piles of snow below Library Hill. The fourth, my future husband was missing.
I turned around to find Jeff, frantically digging through layers of gloves, sweater sleeves and snow. He proposed! Right there under the glistening moon of a snow-filled night...baking tray and all.
Living in Texas we don't have lots of snow experience...but one year it was well below freezing for so long that, along with a little snow, the pond in the cemetery near our home froze over. Because our family had interrupted our lifetime Texas residence to live in Canada for 4 years prier, we all happened to own ice skates. So we drug out our skates, and the whole family skated the afternoon away in the cemetery. It was very pretty and so quiet and kind of weird. Our kids all remember that experience fondly.
I still remember the Christmas it snowed and we all had to pile into my dad's pickup (only a front seat) to drive to my grandparents' farm. We didn't want to miss Christmas with them, and the only way we were going to get there was in a truck. Two parents and three girls made for close quarters and quite the memory :)
I have many great snowy day memories. In my youth, I'd have to say the blizzard of 76 when we were literally snowed in. My brother and I would climb the roof of our chicken coop and slide down the roof on a shovel and onto the snow drift that was up to the roof. That was a blast!
Now that I'm a mom, the snow angels, the home-made "hills" of snow so the kids could sled down something and all the time spent getting on and taking off snow suits! Oh, and of course the hot chocolate to warm up!
Thanks, this has been fun remembering those times!
I remember one winter when we had a blizzard. The snow was so deep, that cars could not drive in it, and SUV's were not available as of yet. Anyway, my husband and a neighbor took a sled and walked over seven blocks to the grocery store to stock up on needful things.
The book looks very interesting, Julie, thanks.
Wow, sounds like a great book!
My most recent memory of snow was this past winter - my four boys got to see their first snow, since we moved north from Florida. It was so much fun, building a snowman, snowball fights and all four making snow angels (just like Curious George on tv)...they just thought that was the bestest!!
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