The Mine

It was just an average day in the life for Joel Smith, the day he and his buddy stopped at the Canary Diner for a quick bite to eat before heading back home. They took a road trip in hopes of unwinding a bit before finals week began and their real lives would begin. When a traffic snarl delays them, Joel decides to take the road less traveled when he spots a sign for a gold mine up off a dirt road. Seeing opportunity knocking, Joel manages to convince his friend Aaron to give it a chance rather than wait for the construction traffic to clear.

They locate an abandoned, boarded up gold mine at the end of the road. Joel is the willing adventurer while Adam simply realizes that the trip home is only going to take longer by waiting to tackle this mini adventure with him and wants to get back on the road. Giving Joel just 15 minutes to explore the mine, Adam waits for him outside. Joel seizes the chance, being a geologist at heart, he can't wait to see what the mine has hidden. When he spots a phosphorus enriched room deep in the darkened mine, he finds it's guarded by a poisonous rattler. While attempting to flee, he drops his flashlight and smacks his head on a low hanging beam. When he wakes up and finds his way back out to the top, he realizes it's been over 30 minutes and knows Aaron will be more than upset.

He soon realizes that Adam has taken the SUV and left him behind. As Joel begins the long walk back to the highway, he soon realizes that things around him have changed and he doesn't seem to be heading in the right direction. He realizes that the houses and cabins that were lining the road, are no longer there. It's as if they hadn't been built there at all. When he finds the highway again, all signs of construction have vanished as well. It isn't until Joel hitches a ride back in a restored Buick from the 40's, he realizes that it isn't restored, he is back in 1941 in Montana and things are about to get really interesting for Joel!

In the novel, The Mine by John A. Heldt, Joel Smith suddenly finds himself trapped back in time just before the United States is entering the war. Realizing that credit cards haven't been invented yet and all his money is dated from the 80's he can't very well use it when most would consider it counterfeit. Now Joel has to find a way to exist until he can figure out how to get back to the year 2000. Along the way, he heads back to his hometown in Seattle and soon finds himself at the good fortune of saving a young man, Tom Carter, who he realizes is dating his grandmother, when she was a young girl in 1941.

I received The Mine compliments of John A. Heldt's request for my honest opinion and really was drawn into this wonderful story. It's a blend of Back to the Future meets the Twilight Zone and I found myself wondering just how and if Joel Smith would find himself back home or if he will want to once he finds the love of his life. But if he remains, he could quite potentially change time forever and cause himself to possibly not to exist at all. The reader will be delighted in this entertaining science fiction twist. There is some profanity, and some of Joel's choices about women, dating more than one at the same time, even though one of them is engaged, are cause for concern, knowing my reader base.  For that reason I rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars. For those of you that love the 1940's as much as I do, John's eloquent characters that he has created made this a trip back in time a memorable one. I could relate to Grace's character who finds herself falling in love with two men, one who is on the brink of serving while the war looms in the near future, an officer named Paul, who promises her security and a solid future, and then there is Joel, who is whisking her off her feet, while making most of his money with staging bets on sporting statistics he knows will pay off, and promising her a fun time that is completely unexpected. You will love this unique twist on historical romantic science fiction! This book is available as an eBook only from your favorite retailer for now.

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The Mine by John A. Heldt

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