Shantytown

By Jay Waitkus

Welcome to Miller's Bluff, a dilapidated West Virginia mining town circa 1900, where coal is king and daily life is a struggle. In the midst of his bleak existence, Danny James, a twenty-year-old miner with big dreams and few prospects — save his burgeoning relationship with schoolteacher May Stockton — is forever on the lookout for a means of escape. When a dispute between the coal workers' union and the mine's ruthless and powerful owner, Joe Garvin, reaches a boiling point, Danny finds himself inexorably drawn into the malevolence of Garvin's world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elizabeth River Press
• Release date: Apr 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224404919

Jay Waitkus

Jay Waitkus is an author and journalist based in South Florida. His work as a reporter has appeared in dozens of news outlets, including The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, Google News, and World News Network. He is also the author of the crime thrillers In the Depths of Shadows, Dividing Line, and Brood of Thieves, as well as several short stories and eBooks.

Book preview

Chapter 1

MILLER’S BLUFF was a tiny, forgettable town carved into the unforgiving hills of West Virginia. Not many people gave a second thought to it. The town bore the scars of coal mining like wrinkles on an aging, worn-out face. 

The air was constantly thick with the acrid scent of burning coal. The gray landscape blended seamlessly with the soot-covered structures that built up the town. It was in this grim setting that Danny James found himself, a twenty-year-old miner with dreams too big for the rough and confining walls of his life.

As dawn broke, it cast a dim light on the rundown shanties and the towering mine structures. Danny headed into the tunnels alongside his fellow workers with no plans other than to spend the next twelve grueling hours in the depths of the mines. 

They were an exhausted bunch of men, their faces smeared with coal dust. No matter how much they scrubbed their skin clean, their shoulders bowed under the weight of their daily toil.

The sound of pickaxes echoed across the hills. Sunshine struggled to reach Miller's Bluff, blocked by the thick coal dust in the air.

Danny swung his pickaxe with practiced ease, used to the routine. He shared a glance with an older miner whose eyes showed the marks of decades spent underground.

Morning, Danny, the older man grunted. 

No one ever said ‘Good morning’ to each other, just a simple ‘Morning.’ Most of the miners couldn’t dream up a proper good morning if you paid them.

Morning, Jeb, Danny replied, his tone revealing a weariness beyond his years. Another day in hell, eh?

Jeb chuckled. 

Puts food on the table. Ain’t much we can do about it.

Danny grimaced at the notion. He thought about his father, Cody, one of the leaders of the miners’ union – a union that seemed to have no power to bring about any actual change.

Danny’s eyes scanned the oppressive walls surrounding him as the procession reached its destination. He turned back to Jeb, scoffing at his seeming contentment.

Is that really what you believe?

It is what it is, kid.

"And that’s all, huh? Working till our bones give out, then laying them to rest