Sittin on the Porch Talking with Billy Coffey!

Picture us just sitting on the front porch sipping some sweet tea as twilight settles over the town of Mattingly, Virginia the backdrop for his latest book When The Devil Walks in Mattingly. I am here tonight with Mr. Billy Coffey (sounds like the drink only spelled differently, a reference to The Green Mile) whom I’ve had the pleasure of knowing through the blogging world just before any of his books were published, and I am so thrilled to watch the progress of where he is headed one book at a time.

In our last interview just after When Mockingbirds Sing, you had stated that The Devil Walks in Mattingly would be a much different, deeper and darker book. After reading it, I would have to agree with you. What would you say to people who have read your books like Snow Day and Paper Angels that wonder why your books have taken on a much darker and violent tone? 

There’s no doubt that my last two novels are much different in tone and scope than my first two. I’d say Snow Day and Paper Angels were the best books I could write at the time. I’m proud of them, I think they’re good novels, but I was just starting out with fiction and kind of feeling my way. One of the many benefits of having Thomas Nelson as my publisher is that they’ve really let me be free to write the kinds of stories I want, and I’ve always been drawn to those deeper and darker books. Maybe it’s a Southern thing. I’m a product of my environment. I grew up on old mountain stories of the supernatural and tales of moonshine wars. As strange as it may sound, there’s something very honest about those old tales. They speak a great deal to the grace and violence that lies in the human heart.

In such great novels that are studied in school, there is always an underlying theme. What is the theme in The Devil Walks in Mattingly?

There’s an undercurrent of remorse and regret throughout the book, not just from Jake, Kate, and Taylor, but from nearly all of the characters. They all carry a burden, and that burden has grown so heavy over the years that they can barely continue on. I don’t set out to write about a theme, it usually just pops up on its own while I’m doing the writing. What popped up this time was that notion that we’re all carrying a burden, and it’s only grace that allows us the freedom to lay that burden down.

I found it unusual that you used two distinct symbols pertaining to animals, why the use of the mockingbird in When Mockingbird Sings and just what do the butterflies symbolize in When The Devil Walks in Mattingly? Will there be something in your next novel as well, if so what might that be?

The mockingbird from When Mockingbirds Sing was a memory. When I was growing up, a mockingbird would sing every night during the summer from the maple tree in my backyard. I couldn’t go to sleep until I heard it. It was my mom who told me that bird was singing for a mate—for a love it wanted but didn’t have. That just stuck with me.
   
The butterflies in Devil sort of came out of nowhere. I was stuck writing Jake’s first dream, and that image just popped in my head. Butterflies seem so angelic in a way, so innocent. They made a good image for something that bridged heaven and earth.

At the beginning of When the Devil Walks in Mattingly, the publisher posted a note that these novels can be read in any order, but doesn’t The Devil Walks in Mattingly come first? What can you tell us about the random order of the novels, meaning why can the reader choose to read them in any order? 

All of my novels can be read alone in the sense that the stories are self-contained. For this book, though, I thought it helpful to note that the events happened four years before When Mockingbirds Sing took place. The Devil Walks in Mattingly actually runs parallel to my second novel, Paper Angels. It tells the second half of that story. The book after Devil will pick up where Mockingbirds left off.

What is the idea behind the setting of Happy Hollow? When I read it, it reminded me about the ancient circle in Stephen King’s novel Pet Semetary. It definitely sounds like a place where boys would receive a dare to trespass in an effort to show what they are made of?

There are 30,000 acres of wilderness outside my front door known to everyone around here as The Coal Road. It’s a beautiful place, pristine and largely untouched, but it will seriously creep you out if you get stuck in there at night. All sorts of stories are associated with that wood, everything from ghosts to witches to monsters. Mattingly is written as though it’s this small town sitting on a thin spot between worlds. I wanted one place where that spot is thinnest. Happy Hollow felt like the perfect place, and The Coal Road offered me the perfect description of it. 

Can you give us a sneak peek into what lies ahead in the next novel for the town of Mattingly? I know you stated that it revolves around Jake the Sheriff as well as Allie and Zach in Heart of the Dark Wood.

In the Heart of the Dark Wood picks up about a year and a half after most of Mattingly was destroyed by the tornado. The town is trying to heal, as are the people. It’s a bad time for everyone, Allie especially. She’s still clinging to the hope that her mother is alive, and that hope takes her on the journey of her life. 

Thanks again Billy for taking the time out of your busy day to once again enlighten us into the writer’s heart of yours! I wish you much success and God’s blessing as this book finds its way into the hands of readers everywhere. 

The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey is available everywhere beginning tomorrow, but trust me, don't wait. Visit his website and order When Mockingbirds Sing and When The Devil Walks in Mattingly. Check back in tomorrow to get my thoughts on The Devil Walks in Mattingly! 

Sitting Down with author Billy Coffey!

I've always loved great stories. In part, because they stay with you long after you have finished. Some in fact have embedded themselves in my mind that even now they seem like my own personal memories. Then one day something truly wonderful happened. I came across a blog titled simply, "What I Learned Today" from Billy Coffey. He shared these simple, but relevant true stories that resounded deep inside your soul and once there they have never left. I am thrilled for that because I've gotten the opportunity to watch him live a dream.

He began writing these incredible stories on his blog while waiting for his big break. It has taken a lot of blood, sweat and tears but in the end, Billy is living every writers dream, to see your book published. Not only that but well received, liked, talked about and in demand. 

If you're a firm follower of Billy Coffey, then you already know most of this, but if you have found your way here today, well I'd like to believe God brought you here for a purpose.When Mockingbirds Sing is Billy's third novel. His first, Snow Day, is an amazing novel that chronicles what happens when that inevitable snow day occurs to different people all over a wonderful city. There is truly something to be found for everyone who reads it and everyone definitely has their favorite parts of the book. 

Paper Angels was Billy's second novel debut and chronicles the life of Andy Sommerville, who has been visited throughout his life by one he deems, the Old Man, who instructs him to keep a box of mementos that share special memories of people who have impacted his life. This is where we get to know just what the purpose in the collecting means and how he shares it with a woman named Elizabeth, he believes is a counselor in the hospital. What happens along the way touches you long after you finish the novel. 

Now in When Mockingbirds Sing, by far for me, his best novel yet, we are taken back to the town of Mattingly and we meet the Norcross family who has just moved there from a place simply known by the locals as Away. The story revolves around their nine-year-old daughter Leah who feels isolated partly because of her stutter. She finds solace in her conversations with the Rainbow Man who is only visible to Leah. The story builds as Leah finds herself painting pictures based on instructions from the Rainbow Man who appeal specifically to those she paints them for. It soon draws a line in the sand between the people of Mattingly who believe Leah and those that don't. You'll have to pick this one up to see the climatic ending of just what happens when people can't find explanations for what is going on in their small town. 

Now the fun part. I got to take some time and ask Billy some questions not only about the novel When Mockingbirds Sing but also about life in general. So without further delay, here goes!

1.Where did the idea to introduce mockingbirds to the novel stem from? In other words, why mockingbirds and not another species of bird?

My grandmother loved birds. I remember being just a kid and going to work up the garden with her. She’d start calling birds, one after the other—robins, sparrows, cardinals, anything. She’d whistle and sound just like them, and after a while I’d look up at the telephone line that ran the length of their yard and see it covered with birds. But she loved mockingbirds most of all. She passed on when I was just a boy. But for years after, every summer there would be a mockingbird singing every night in the big maple in our backyard. It just stuck with me, I guess.

2. Will there be another novel coming as a sequel to When Mockingbirds Sing? I know you are working on the companion book to Paper Angels involving the town of Mattingly again, but will there be one that continues the story of some of the characters in When Mockingbirds Sing like Allie, Tom or Ellen Norcross or even the Sheriff Jake since we never quite got to hear about his story of Happy Hollow.

The next novel will focus on Sheriff Jake. The one after that will be Allie’s. I think all the characters but Allie found some sort of closure by the end of When Mockingbirds Sing. That was by design. Allie’s my favorite, so I’m not done with her quite yet. Unfortunately, that also means she’s going to be hurting quite a bit.

3. What do you hope people take away from reading When Mockingbirds Sing?

I think there’s a prevalence in today’s society to fit everything we can into a single tiny box, whether it’s politics or social concerns or religion. That’s one of the main points the story ends up making—life is too full of mystery to be neatly fit into either/or. It’s oftentimes more and/both.

4. What made you decide to take a darker spin to your writing style? There is obviously a darker element that we see at play in this novel with a suspense side that is created when the painting Leah creates begin to have a prophetic vision to them.

I spent my first two books trying to get a feel for writing fiction. Mockingbirds is the result of that. Thomas Nelson gave me the freedom to produce the kind of books I really wanted to write. Mockingbirds really is darker than my other two novels. In some ways, the next one is even darker than Mockingbirds. But you know what? I think real life can be pretty dark as well, and I’m a big believer in the notion that we’re all surrounded by the unseen. So I don’t mind using a little darkness. It makes the light brighter.

5. Do you think the Rainbow Man will be returning in any of your future novels?

You never know. My gut reaction is no. But I’ll qualify that by saying the Rainbow Man was an instance of God stepping into the world for a brief moment, and that’s something you’ll always see in my books.

6. What do you think are the earmarks of a great storyteller?

An ear for dialogue, an eye for setting, and a good dose of honesty. And I think the best stories—the ones that stand the test of time—are those who don’t just tell what happens, but also speak to the deepest parts of us and what it means to be human.

7. How do you stay true to your faith in your novels without going overly religious that might turn some readers off?

I always think of the book of Esther in the Old Testament. God’s never mentioned once in those ten chapters, and yet He’s everywhere—just behind the scenes. That’s what I try to keep in mind when I write.

8. You say you wanted to be a baseball player growing up, have you considered the possibility of writing a book about a baseball player?

Oh, I’m sure sooner or later the subject of baseball will come up in a book. Or two. There are already a couple of ideas floating around.

9. What would the local people around your small town have to say about Billy Coffey?

I’m not sure a lot of them know I write books, or if they do, they don’t much care. I’m just Billy to all of them, and I like that just fine.

10. What is the biggest compliment/reward you’ve received since having your books published?

I think every writer wants to hear from readers who say this story was great or that character was riveting, but the best rewards to me are those who say a book or a blog post has really helped them through a rough time in their lives. That’s what I live for.

So there you have it in a nutshell! I want to personally thank Billy Coffey for taking some time out of his day to answer these questions. If you haven't already done so you can find more about Billy Coffey by visiting his website and while your there you can even get 30% off When Mockingbirds Sing by clicking here.

You can also follow Billy Coffey on Facebook so you don't miss out on any of his novels or short stories.

You can find his latest novel at your favorite book retailer or on Amazon by clicking here.

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 4, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401688217
• ISBN-13: 978-1401688219
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches

When Mockingbirds Sing

The best part of a great book is when you can take a few moments after the final page has been turned, you close your eyes, sigh, and remember just how great a story that was you just read. One that will live long in your soul like a priceless memory. In fact for as far back as I can recall, almost anything that author Billy Coffey has written has lingered in my mind and touched my heart in profound ways. In his latest novel, When Mockingbirds Sing is definitely not like anything I had ever read from him before. This one gripped me from the first chapter and wouldn't let me go. I quite literally couldn't do anything else until I uncovered the magic that was taking place in the small town of Mattingly, Virginia. Think of it like your personal Mayberry of sorts. The kind of town where everyone knows one another, where often times they can rally together for the good of the community. It's also a place where when things can't be explained that people can assume to worst in others. But all that is about to change when one little girl, Leah Norcross came to town and brought the magic with her.

Leah is the only child of Tom and Ellen Norcross. Your average family from the looks on the outside. Tom is a full-time psychologist in town and has cut back his hours to spend more time with his family. Something he promised them before they moved here. But something in Tom's past won't let him go and he'll have to decide where his true priorities lie when no matter what he tries, he can't seem to heal his own daughter, Leah of her ability to stutter. What's even worse is the divide it has been causing in his own marriage to Ellen. They are more like room mates than husband and wife lately and he is struggling to find a way to create bridge to bring his family back together. Will Leah's magic be enough to heal her family as well?

Leah's only goal in life to to have friends, but she has learned long ago that when you are different like she is, people will often go to great lengths to be mean and stay away from you. So she is more than thrilled when the Rainbow Man appears and offers to work with Leah to help what is ailing this small town. The only problem with the Rainbow Man is that no one can see him but Leah. Leah and the Rainbow Man are about to change the lives of the people living in Mattingly like they had never imagined and all those prayers to God are about to point to what Leah can paint in her remarkable pictures handcrafted just for each one of them. What is really going on with Leah and her paintings? Just what is the Rainbow Man? Is he sent from God or somewhere else?

For that answer to the mystery of the magic in Mattingly, you'll have to pick up a copy of When Mockingbirds Sing by Billy Coffey. After picking up a copy of this novel, you'll want to carve out a good portion of time to sit back and watch the real storytelling magic of Billy Coffey's writing transport you as a silent observer into the lives of the people in Mattingly. The interesting note I found when I began my own journey is that the voice in the story reminded me of the narrator from the movie Charlotte's Web (1973), Rex Allen, whose gentle and warm voice lulls you into a magical world that only Billy Coffey can create through his words. This is one not to be missed and will change how you see things in the world today. There is magic alive all around us if we are only willing to look for it.

 It's been a true pleasure to review When Mockingbirds Sing by Billy Coffey compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and the down to earth author Billy Coffey, himself. I received no monetary compensation for a favorable review on this novel and easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars. I've had the distinguished pleasure of adding so many of Billy Coffey's short stories to my personal library through his novels but also through his blog, What I Learned Today.  Make sure you grab a comfy spot on the porch swing, make a tall glass of some Southern Sweet Tea and prepare yourself for a truly unforgettable journey into the world of Billy Coffey today! To wrap up this novel in one word would simply be "Awesome Sauce!"

For more information about When Mockingbirds Sing, Billy Coffey or where to pick up a copy of this inspirational novel today, please click on the links below:

When Mockingbirds Sing by Billy Coffey

You can follow Billy Coffey on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 4, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401688217
• ISBN-13: 978-1401688219
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches 

You can find When Mockingbirds Sing in paperback and eBook Formats at your local book retailer.