Billy McCoy's Blog: Billy McCoy, page 4
December 20, 2015
All People Lives Matter
“Powerful…Exceptional…Thought-Provoking…convincingly and creatively explored.”—Midwest Book Review
All People Lives Matter, a novel
Billy McCoy
Diane Donovan,Midwest Book Review
An abusive priest, a police state that condones violence by simply not acting, a family tasked with an exhausting struggle for justice, and a movement called 'All People Lives Matter' that takes the battle into a new level: all these are powerful themes in Billy McCoy's latest novel, which holds exceptionally close ties to modern news of violence and police actions.
Readers who follow such events will find that, in many ways, All People Lives Matter mirrors these struggles, taking the microcosm of one girl's life and creating thought-provoking connections between her influences, choices, and community experiences to use them as a mirror for those taking place in modern America .
The female narrator on the cusp of young adulthood is Holly, a biology student at the university, and her parents are successful executives. It only seems logical, at first, that she should volunteer at an organization that promises hope and social change, contributing her time to an altruistic venture. But her idealism is about to change, and is portended by others who pinpoint her future successes and failures in a nutshell: "You’re young, a rabid idealist, impressionable, stupid and going to change the world with your over-powering hope and youthful enthusiasm. The movement is better off with your naiveté, it’s a fifth wheel to a truck. You’ll jump in with both feet and boldly change the world. Pity you!"
A bystander's cryptic and cynical remarks before the narrator even has a chance to immerse herself in the culture of a do-good organization sets the stage for what is to evolve: a movement that holds more to it than an image of positive change, powered by a leader whose real persona is something more than the public sees.
As church, state, idealism and romance intersect in Holly's life, what seems a relatively straightforward series of events becomes complicated, casting readers into the roles of judges and participants themselves as Holly's blossoming perceptions embrace some of the most volatile issues affecting Americans today.
Is Holly intoxicated by love and social action, or is something more going on under the surface? As Holly comes to understand the real motivations and influences of the movement she's chosen, her true imprisonment really begins. Trapped by her ideals and a ruthless leader, Holly's world turns upside down just as society is manipulated on all sides by police and social leaders alike.
Nothing is as it seems; from the volatile and changing relationships between men and women to the same patterns that affect opposite sides of society. At the center of it all is Holly, whose privileged life would seem to belay her desire to volunteer in a service position for the greater good.
The process of a young idealist's disillusionment with her world is a painful one, convincingly and creatively explored by Billy McCoy, who takes the microcosm of one life and expands upon it until it becomes the macrocosm of social breakdown. There's simply a lot going on (both personally and politically) in one white girl's life, which holds plenty of eye-opening moments and more than a small degree of social and psychological inspection.
Readers who enjoy stories of personal transformation, political and social involvement and the methods by which connections, estrangements, and real change is made will appreciate All People Lives Matter as a multifaceted, compelling read, tracing Holly's evolution as she moves far from family ties and everything familiar into uncertain, mercurial territories.
http://www.amazon.com/People-Lives-Ma...
All People Lives Matter, a novel
Billy McCoy
Diane Donovan,Midwest Book Review
An abusive priest, a police state that condones violence by simply not acting, a family tasked with an exhausting struggle for justice, and a movement called 'All People Lives Matter' that takes the battle into a new level: all these are powerful themes in Billy McCoy's latest novel, which holds exceptionally close ties to modern news of violence and police actions.
Readers who follow such events will find that, in many ways, All People Lives Matter mirrors these struggles, taking the microcosm of one girl's life and creating thought-provoking connections between her influences, choices, and community experiences to use them as a mirror for those taking place in modern America .
The female narrator on the cusp of young adulthood is Holly, a biology student at the university, and her parents are successful executives. It only seems logical, at first, that she should volunteer at an organization that promises hope and social change, contributing her time to an altruistic venture. But her idealism is about to change, and is portended by others who pinpoint her future successes and failures in a nutshell: "You’re young, a rabid idealist, impressionable, stupid and going to change the world with your over-powering hope and youthful enthusiasm. The movement is better off with your naiveté, it’s a fifth wheel to a truck. You’ll jump in with both feet and boldly change the world. Pity you!"
A bystander's cryptic and cynical remarks before the narrator even has a chance to immerse herself in the culture of a do-good organization sets the stage for what is to evolve: a movement that holds more to it than an image of positive change, powered by a leader whose real persona is something more than the public sees.
As church, state, idealism and romance intersect in Holly's life, what seems a relatively straightforward series of events becomes complicated, casting readers into the roles of judges and participants themselves as Holly's blossoming perceptions embrace some of the most volatile issues affecting Americans today.
Is Holly intoxicated by love and social action, or is something more going on under the surface? As Holly comes to understand the real motivations and influences of the movement she's chosen, her true imprisonment really begins. Trapped by her ideals and a ruthless leader, Holly's world turns upside down just as society is manipulated on all sides by police and social leaders alike.
Nothing is as it seems; from the volatile and changing relationships between men and women to the same patterns that affect opposite sides of society. At the center of it all is Holly, whose privileged life would seem to belay her desire to volunteer in a service position for the greater good.
The process of a young idealist's disillusionment with her world is a painful one, convincingly and creatively explored by Billy McCoy, who takes the microcosm of one life and expands upon it until it becomes the macrocosm of social breakdown. There's simply a lot going on (both personally and politically) in one white girl's life, which holds plenty of eye-opening moments and more than a small degree of social and psychological inspection.
Readers who enjoy stories of personal transformation, political and social involvement and the methods by which connections, estrangements, and real change is made will appreciate All People Lives Matter as a multifaceted, compelling read, tracing Holly's evolution as she moves far from family ties and everything familiar into uncertain, mercurial territories.
http://www.amazon.com/People-Lives-Ma...
December 2, 2015
All People Lives Matter
"With unmatched narrative skills, McCoy has managed to pull off a literary feat." Barnes and Noble review
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/People-Lives-Ma...
Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-p...
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/People-Lives-Ma...
Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-p...
December 1, 2015
All People Lives Matter
Four stars
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews...
All People Lives Matter, the first review.
One of the most powerful and superbly composed novels I’ve read, it captured my heart and mind equally from beginning to the mesmerizing intense heart-wrenching conclusion. I loved Holly, a brave, dedicated, compassionate young woman who disrupt her life for the sake of others. All People Lives Matter was a revelation of the universal longing for purpose, for meaning, for family, for acceptance and, ultimately, the difficult journey we all must take to get there.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews...
All People Lives Matter, the first review.
One of the most powerful and superbly composed novels I’ve read, it captured my heart and mind equally from beginning to the mesmerizing intense heart-wrenching conclusion. I loved Holly, a brave, dedicated, compassionate young woman who disrupt her life for the sake of others. All People Lives Matter was a revelation of the universal longing for purpose, for meaning, for family, for acceptance and, ultimately, the difficult journey we all must take to get there.
November 27, 2015
All People Lives Matter
"An illuminating delight...This is a warm, insightful, affectionate novel with a idealist but immensely charming heroine at its core."
all people lives matter
all people lives matter
November 8, 2015
July 21, 2015
The Maven Trap, a novel
"Excellent"--Midwest Book Review
The Maven Trap's first-person saga begins delicately; with a young boy's over-dependence on his mother and his father's sudden and confusing demise, after which his beloved mother "metamorphosed into a brutal stranger."
The Maven Trap may begin with a bang, but it concludes Lionel's childhood experiences of abuse, religion, and uncertain family relationships fairly quickly and moves into the adult realm of thwarted social encounters, a goal of becoming a scholar and author, and a series of mishaps that lead the damaged narrator to struggle with social interactions and professional goals alike.
To Lionel, everyone seems crazy and unsupportive; from his mother to his property manager and a series of girlfriends who each have their own issues and reasons for being unable to navigate their own worlds, much less his.
As he searches for things and people of value in his life, recurring themes of religion, abuse, insanity and instability seem to mark his every move, leading Lionel in and out of scenarios where goals are hard to set or achieve and where support is nearly non-existent. Used to structures under which he not only chafes but struggles to survive, Lionel is faced with re-creating his adult world using few tools.
The Maven Trap relates a host of encounters and traps experienced by the hapless Lionel; not the least of which include experiments with Buddhism, attempts to live a life with less material needs, and an ongoing search for a life partner and romance. At each step Lionel grows - and with each encounter he finds meaning in his choices, his influence, his world and his possible futures.
Against the dual backdrops of Mobile, Alabama and Minneapolis, the story of a man at odds with his world and life makes for an involving saga of self-discovery and enlightenment, spiced with the gritty feel of everyday realities and life and infused with a feeling of quiet desperation. It's recommended for novel readers who enjoy a blend of self-examination and changing perspectives on crime, punishment, redemption, religion: the saga of a quietly desperate individual searching for transformation, forgiveness, and something more from life.
Diane Donovan, Senior Ebook Reviewer Midwest Book Review
The Maven Trap
The Maven Trap's first-person saga begins delicately; with a young boy's over-dependence on his mother and his father's sudden and confusing demise, after which his beloved mother "metamorphosed into a brutal stranger."
The Maven Trap may begin with a bang, but it concludes Lionel's childhood experiences of abuse, religion, and uncertain family relationships fairly quickly and moves into the adult realm of thwarted social encounters, a goal of becoming a scholar and author, and a series of mishaps that lead the damaged narrator to struggle with social interactions and professional goals alike.
To Lionel, everyone seems crazy and unsupportive; from his mother to his property manager and a series of girlfriends who each have their own issues and reasons for being unable to navigate their own worlds, much less his.
As he searches for things and people of value in his life, recurring themes of religion, abuse, insanity and instability seem to mark his every move, leading Lionel in and out of scenarios where goals are hard to set or achieve and where support is nearly non-existent. Used to structures under which he not only chafes but struggles to survive, Lionel is faced with re-creating his adult world using few tools.
The Maven Trap relates a host of encounters and traps experienced by the hapless Lionel; not the least of which include experiments with Buddhism, attempts to live a life with less material needs, and an ongoing search for a life partner and romance. At each step Lionel grows - and with each encounter he finds meaning in his choices, his influence, his world and his possible futures.
Against the dual backdrops of Mobile, Alabama and Minneapolis, the story of a man at odds with his world and life makes for an involving saga of self-discovery and enlightenment, spiced with the gritty feel of everyday realities and life and infused with a feeling of quiet desperation. It's recommended for novel readers who enjoy a blend of self-examination and changing perspectives on crime, punishment, redemption, religion: the saga of a quietly desperate individual searching for transformation, forgiveness, and something more from life.
Diane Donovan, Senior Ebook Reviewer Midwest Book Review
The Maven Trap
July 6, 2015
The Maven Trap
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Characters that you won’t soon forget!
By Evia Rose on July 2, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This superbly composed novel tells the three different stories that captures the heart and mind equally.
It touched my soul
By Jay on July 1, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
McCoy’s skill with dialogue is especially strong—each conversation feels as though I were right there.
Comment Was this review helpful to you?
Quietly beautiful
By Marry Jane on July 2, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
When I finished the Maven Trap, I thought it was both beautiful and disturbing.
The Maven Trap
http://www.amazon.com/Maven-Trap-Bill...
Characters that you won’t soon forget!
By Evia Rose on July 2, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This superbly composed novel tells the three different stories that captures the heart and mind equally.
It touched my soul
By Jay on July 1, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
McCoy’s skill with dialogue is especially strong—each conversation feels as though I were right there.
Comment Was this review helpful to you?
Quietly beautiful
By Marry Jane on July 2, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
When I finished the Maven Trap, I thought it was both beautiful and disturbing.
The Maven Trap
http://www.amazon.com/Maven-Trap-Bill...
May 14, 2015
The Atlas Obsession
The Atlas Obsession, Billy McCoy
Review by
D. Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
The Atlas Barbershop was once a pillar of the Norwegian community that housed it - but the community has long faded, and so Deril is spending too many of his days dozing in his chair waiting for non-existent customers to come in.
The Atlas seemed a perfect choice for a sports fan whose mind was preoccupied with little else in life, and Deril long believed it to be a pinnacle of achievement - but now it's a dead-end; and at this stage in his life, Deril has nowhere else to go.
The Atlas Obsession
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Obsession...
The Atlas is a convenient place for watching the world go by - a world he's barely a part of, as other barbers drive their BMWs around while he can barely afford his garret apartment above the barbershop.
Deril would thus seem the most unlikely candidate to attract the attention of robbers, but Anita has taken a strange dislike to him, is convinced he's not only making riches from his barber business (like the other barbers) but has insulted her and is intent on bilking them of money, and she's decided he's her next target - never mind that her husband is drunk and possibly wanted by the police, or that she's newly out of 'the joint'.
What evolves next is a tour de farce as various plans for the Atlas evolve, involving Deril in the strange worlds of schemes, women, alternative financial planning, and ultimately the prospect of a larger failure than he's experienced to date. Under such a scenario the Atlas seems to be not his redemption, but his burden. Under such new 'ownership' his uncertain relationship with a woman both blossoms in new directions and threatens to destroy everything he's built. And, within it all, is the specter of the Atlas as it was, as it could be, and its special challenges.
Atlas Obsession's strongest feature is its representation of life in a Minnesota black community and the culture that perceives what it means to get ahead, lag behind, or come up with a grand scheme to life that could result in either riches or prison.
Its second strength is the creation of Deril, a protagonist who moves from his shrinking world and possibilities to a life where everything is on edge and questioned.
Like a rose, Atlas Obsession unfolds to reveal different social and cultural concerns, embracing such disparate threads as a WalMart strike, homosexual accusations, and more.
It should be noted that Atlas Obsession takes the form of two novellas under one cover; the second of which is Remembrance of Times Gone, featuring one Soren Davidson, who is not only leaving Minneapolis with nobody there to see him off, but is leaving in disgrace.
Between budding romance, a mother's illness, and a willingness to sacrifice, Soren finds his life spiraling out of control, and struggles to both make sense of it and regain some control: "The defeat and humiliation which stalked him made him see that life was precarious and material things fleeing, and that life meant the most when a person is willing to sacrifice everything for a cause bigger than their narrow interests."
Prosecution, prison - all these are specters of another world as Soren dances through some of the biggest changes of his life.
The novellas together paint a powerful portrait of Afro-American heritage and the Minneapolis community, and are powerful sagas of confrontation, change, and ultimately, redemption.
Review by
D. Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
The Atlas Barbershop was once a pillar of the Norwegian community that housed it - but the community has long faded, and so Deril is spending too many of his days dozing in his chair waiting for non-existent customers to come in.
The Atlas seemed a perfect choice for a sports fan whose mind was preoccupied with little else in life, and Deril long believed it to be a pinnacle of achievement - but now it's a dead-end; and at this stage in his life, Deril has nowhere else to go.
The Atlas Obsession
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Obsession...
The Atlas is a convenient place for watching the world go by - a world he's barely a part of, as other barbers drive their BMWs around while he can barely afford his garret apartment above the barbershop.
Deril would thus seem the most unlikely candidate to attract the attention of robbers, but Anita has taken a strange dislike to him, is convinced he's not only making riches from his barber business (like the other barbers) but has insulted her and is intent on bilking them of money, and she's decided he's her next target - never mind that her husband is drunk and possibly wanted by the police, or that she's newly out of 'the joint'.
What evolves next is a tour de farce as various plans for the Atlas evolve, involving Deril in the strange worlds of schemes, women, alternative financial planning, and ultimately the prospect of a larger failure than he's experienced to date. Under such a scenario the Atlas seems to be not his redemption, but his burden. Under such new 'ownership' his uncertain relationship with a woman both blossoms in new directions and threatens to destroy everything he's built. And, within it all, is the specter of the Atlas as it was, as it could be, and its special challenges.
Atlas Obsession's strongest feature is its representation of life in a Minnesota black community and the culture that perceives what it means to get ahead, lag behind, or come up with a grand scheme to life that could result in either riches or prison.
Its second strength is the creation of Deril, a protagonist who moves from his shrinking world and possibilities to a life where everything is on edge and questioned.
Like a rose, Atlas Obsession unfolds to reveal different social and cultural concerns, embracing such disparate threads as a WalMart strike, homosexual accusations, and more.
It should be noted that Atlas Obsession takes the form of two novellas under one cover; the second of which is Remembrance of Times Gone, featuring one Soren Davidson, who is not only leaving Minneapolis with nobody there to see him off, but is leaving in disgrace.
Between budding romance, a mother's illness, and a willingness to sacrifice, Soren finds his life spiraling out of control, and struggles to both make sense of it and regain some control: "The defeat and humiliation which stalked him made him see that life was precarious and material things fleeing, and that life meant the most when a person is willing to sacrifice everything for a cause bigger than their narrow interests."
Prosecution, prison - all these are specters of another world as Soren dances through some of the biggest changes of his life.
The novellas together paint a powerful portrait of Afro-American heritage and the Minneapolis community, and are powerful sagas of confrontation, change, and ultimately, redemption.
April 29, 2015
The Atlas Obsession, by Billy McCoy
EXCERPT FROM THE ATLAS OBSESSION
FREE TODAY
"There was something in his eyes that made her put both arms around his neck and press his head into her chest.
“I— I got everything cleaned and sterilized,” he said. “I got everything ready. See, everything is ready and waiting, and— and— and nobody coming to get their hair cut, and nobody's ever going to come again to a hair cut from me. Oh, Lulu!”
He put his arms around her and drew her down closer to him.
“Never mind, dear; never mind,” cried Lulu, through her tears. “It'll be alright. We'll start over.”
“Look at those clippers over there,” he said, pulling away from her and reaching down for his favorite clippers.
Lulu took the clippers from him and looked at it ruefully. “Wipe it out,” she said, her voice trembling; “wipe it all out;” and as she spoke her eyes brimmed, a tear dropped on the clippers. “That's how you do it! Wipe it out,” she said; “that's the way to wipe it out. It’s all gone, all gone, the Atlas barbershop is no more!” she said.
“All gone,” echoed the barber."
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Obsession...
FREE TODAY
"There was something in his eyes that made her put both arms around his neck and press his head into her chest.
“I— I got everything cleaned and sterilized,” he said. “I got everything ready. See, everything is ready and waiting, and— and— and nobody coming to get their hair cut, and nobody's ever going to come again to a hair cut from me. Oh, Lulu!”
He put his arms around her and drew her down closer to him.
“Never mind, dear; never mind,” cried Lulu, through her tears. “It'll be alright. We'll start over.”
“Look at those clippers over there,” he said, pulling away from her and reaching down for his favorite clippers.
Lulu took the clippers from him and looked at it ruefully. “Wipe it out,” she said, her voice trembling; “wipe it all out;” and as she spoke her eyes brimmed, a tear dropped on the clippers. “That's how you do it! Wipe it out,” she said; “that's the way to wipe it out. It’s all gone, all gone, the Atlas barbershop is no more!” she said.
“All gone,” echoed the barber."
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Obsession...
April 25, 2015
The Alas Obsession
“An artistic barber's string of good luck set in motion a shocking chain of events.”
The Atlas Obsession depicts the life of an artistic barber, Deril. While at first content with his regimented life and friendship with lazy Sean Goree, Deril eventually marries Lulu, a woman whose ideas make the Atlas barbershop a very lucrative enterprise. It is not long before envy, jealously and avarice set off a chain of inevitable and increasing horrific events.
The Atlas Obsession
The Atlas Obsession depicts the life of an artistic barber, Deril. While at first content with his regimented life and friendship with lazy Sean Goree, Deril eventually marries Lulu, a woman whose ideas make the Atlas barbershop a very lucrative enterprise. It is not long before envy, jealously and avarice set off a chain of inevitable and increasing horrific events.
The Atlas Obsession
