Today we talk about Mine-Shift, a book by John Kitchen published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author John Kitchen to get to know him better, what of his personal experience inspired the writing of his book Mine-Shift, as well as what resemblances he sees between him and Joel, the main charachter of his book.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- What of your personal experience inspired the writing of your book?
I grew up in Cornwall, surrounded by the ruins of old Cornish tin mines. Cornwall and the Cornish runs in my blood. As a child I used to play on the old slag heaps and open shafts left when the tin mines were abandoned. I was aware that stories about Cornish tin mines are popular; ‘Poldark’ being loved by millions. But these stories romanticise Cornish mining in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, telling it from the viewpoint of the wealthy and the mine owners. Even in the early twentieth century life for the poor in Cornwall was hard. My gran had seven children. They lived in a small cottage that has now fallen into the sea, with just two small bedrooms, where the children had to share beds and my granny didn’t know where the next penny was coming from. In the eighteenth century life was even harder. I wanted to tell the story of mining from the mine workers point of view, where people struggled to survive, living in one-room hovels and enduring all the hardships and dangers of working at the rock face hundreds of metres down.
- What is the message you would like to convey?
We live, today, in an amazing world which we take for granted. Hopefully, seeing it through the eyes of an eighteenth century boy will make us realise how precious our world of science and evolving enlightenment is. Secondly: Joel is born out of his time. The eighteenth century was a time of harshness. But he is shy, sensitive, clever and doesn’t fit. For this he is persecuted by his brother. Joel faces up to the persecution. I hope some young readers may identify with Joel, and it will give them courage not to be overwhelmed by bullying.Thirdly: Mine-Shift is a time-slip novel. In the eighteenth century Joel’s father is seriously injured in a mining disaster, but Joel comes into the twenty-first century, and with the help of friends here, he is able to cure him. This is seen by his compatriots as witch-craft and a liaison with the devil. Joel is hounded to the extent that his life is in danger. Although this outrages Joel’s twenty-first century friends, the behaviour is not dissimilar to cyber-bullying and the work of today’s on-line ‘influencers’. I hope my readers may see the parallel and learn from it.
- What resemblances do you see between you and Joel, if there are any?
Yes, there are some similarities, but I wish there were more. Joel is shy. He is sensitive, a bit of a dreamer and not naturally assertive – not the typical super-hero of the world of make-believe. I guess I’m a bit like that. I’m happy in my little yellow studio, dreaming up stories and creating books; but when it comes to promoting my work and pushing my achievements onto the world, I am in purgatory, cowering in terror, wanting to hide like a frightened animal. I am uncomfortable moving out of my comfort zone and will do anything to avoid it. Joel, though, is a hero. He faces up to what’s thrown at him, dedicating himself to saving his father’s life, courageously putting himself at risk to save the mine from an impending disaster in the twenty-first century, devoting himself to his friends in today’s world and to his family in the eighteenth century, taking on and understanding the new world as he confronts its complexities, getting the people he meets here to embrace him. I don’t think I could do what Joel does. I wish I could.
- How was your first publishing experience?
This is my first publishing experience with Europe Books. I have, however, already published books, so I am able to make a comparison. My first published book had to be self-published. It was still a thrill to hold the first printed copy, and it did win an award with ‘Writer’s Digest’ as ‘Best Young Adult Novel’ 2011, but none of this was really satisfying. No-one had read the manuscript before it went to print, so it wasn’t published on merit. My experience with Europe books has matched – possibly exceeding – my experience with two traditionally published books. The editing and formatting was done with total consultation, as was the production of the cover, and I know the book has been fully appraised by at least two editors. I have felt part of the production in a way that I have never felt before and even though this is my fifth book, I am more excited to see this one in print than I have been by any of the others. That is the thrilling thing. To see your words held between stunning covers – your words, your story – your name. There is no feeling quite like it.
- Are you working on a new writing project you can tell us about?
Two new novels. The first follows the pattern of my other books, anchored in the real world but with a hint of the supernatural. This is a romantic thriller set in the south of France and in Oxford. The novel, Sebastien, tells the story of an English girl who meets a French boy. She is attracted to him, initially because she has dreamt about the beach where she sees him, and in her dream she is wandering around calling his name, distressed because he isn’t there. They strike up a romance but she fears something will happen to him. The boy is kidnapped and the book tells the story of how she searches for, finds and rescues him. The second book, which is in its early stages, is more hard-hitting: Blaze, tells the story of a boy who has lost his memory. This book is about trauma, child abuse, drug addiction, homelessness. It is about the dedication of a young man, with the army of those volunteers who care for the homeless, as they search for Blaze when he goes missing, rescuing him and enabling him to face the traumas and abuse of his past.
Europe Books thanks the author John Kitchen once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book Mine-Shift. We wish him the best of luck for his book and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, may the “journey through time” told in this book give you the right motivation to remind you that despite the difficulties we face every day, we must not take anything for granted, we must always have the courage not to let ourselves be overwhelmed by anything or anyone and draw the best lessons to apply in our everyday life.
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your Editor