About Paper Angels:

I remember as a child a painting that hung in my bedroom—an angel watching over two children as they navigated a rickety bridge. I wondered for hours how they arrived in such a place, if they ever made it across. If there was an angel watching over me as well. I pondered how wonderful it would be if I could speak to him and him to me.

Andy Sommerville has that opportunity. He’s seen and spoken to the Old Man since the age of ten. Yet far from wonderful, Andy has come to see his angel as a curse keeping him from a meaningful life. Now as he falls victim to a horrible attack, Andy is forced to cross his own rickety bridge. The Old Man isn’t there. Elizabeth is. As well as the wooden box that will unlock the beauty and mystery of one ordinary man’s life.

Endorsements:

“Paper Angels is like a rare all-night conversation with an old friend. It reminds us of who we are and what matters to us, and gets us up the next morning with new strength and purpose. Billy Coffey understands the secrets of the human heart, and writes a compelling story full of insight and redemption. Paper Angels glows with poetry, heartbreak, and deep faith, reminding us that even after our most painful trials, hope never fails. Readers will be touched by Billy Coffey’s ability to find beauty and meaning in every day, in every soul. He portrays small town life with an energy, charm, and humor that few contemporary novelists can match. Imagine Garrison Keillor, then add a moving story of faith and lyricism that brings you back to the most beautiful summer days of your childhood, and that’s Paper Angels.” (Author of Fairer than Morning Rosslyn Fay Elliott 2011)

“In his second novel, Paper Angels, Coffey once more shows his talent for using simple lessons to reveal profound truths. His writing hooked me with the first pages, and didn’t let me go until the last secret was revealed.” (Author of Lethal Remedy and the Prescription for Trouble series. Richard L. Mabry, MD )

“Combining a country-boy’s sensibilities with a storyteller’s imagination, Billy Coffey imparts grace to his readers. PAPER ANGELS is a troubling tale of a tender people navigating difficult times in a tenacious place, where hope digs in its spurs and flat-out refuses to quit. PAPER ANGELS is a testament to community as a healing place.” (author of Will Jesus Buy Me a Doublewide? ‘Cause I need More Room for My Plasma TV Karen Spears Zacharias )

“Paper Angels is a little bit It’s a Wonderful Life whimsy, a little bit To Kill a Mockingbird small-town Southern charm, and a whole lot of story-telling magic. Old-soul author, Billy Coffey, invites you to pull up a rocker on the front porch, sip sweet tea, and settle in for a nice long listen. And what will you hear? That the world isn’t as solid as you once thought. And the presence of pain doesn’t mean the absence of angels. And all the pieces of your life mean much more than you ever imagined — especially the ones that seem to make the least sense. Delightful read. You won’t want to put this book down until the last star has winked its good night.”
Jeanne Damoff, author of Parting the Waters: Finding Beauty in Brokenness

Paper Angels is a book that sticks in my head in the best possible way—intriguing, perplexing, beautiful, winsome. Coffey captures one man’s searching soul and details the man’s indelible mark on the world with grace and a Capra-esque reality. Sad to read the last words, I had the same feeling you get when you meet a new friend and must say goodbye.
Mary DeMuth, author, speaker, book mentor

“Pull up a chair. You’ll want to stay awhile. That’s the draw of Billy Coffey. He’s an inspired, magnificent storyteller who has the rare ability to find the enduring truths of humanity in places the rest of us have overlooked. His stories are unforgettable. And his writing? Magical. Whether you wear Stetsons or stilettos, whether you prefer bar stools or wooden church pews, stick around. Because Billy Coffey has a story for you. And if you listen closely, you just might find yourself in the middle of it.”

- Jennifer Dukes Lee is a former award-winning news reporter with the Des Moines Register in Iowa. She now teaches journalism and feature news-writing at Dordt College, a Christian college in Sioux Center, Iowa.

“Billy Coffey is one of the most incredible writers of our time. He possesses the great gift of story-telling, perhaps the best since Mark Twain. With the ability to help us see ordinary events as extraordinary acts of God, Billy’s stories lighten the heart and soul of his reader and invite us to invite the Creator back into our lives. His stories lay siege to our hearts, compelling us to respond to not only what he’s written, but how we perceive life around us. Through his stories we reappraise the way we look–and overlook–those ordinary people and ordinary moments in our lives, seeing that they are people cherished by God and every moment is a holy moment. Billy’s writing easily earns a place of importance in my daily reading.

Tina Dee, Homestead Heart