Penetanguishene author Kevin Firth returns to the subject of deep-sea diving with this fifth book, Swiffy's Rue, now available.
The subject of deep-sea diving played a large part in Firth's first book, Below the Surface, an autobiography. It remains his best-selling book. It has also been re-released recently with a new ending.
Below the Surface details Firth's life growing up poor in northern England. He joined the Royal Navy when he was 15. Upon emigrating to Canada, he began work on oil rigs as a deep-sea diver, a dangerous profession.
One of his harrowing jobs was raising the Ocean Ranger, an oil rig which sunk off the coast of Newfoundland in 1982, killing 84 crew members. The job of raising the overturned oil rig from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean resulted in three more deaths.
Firth decided to change the ending because his readers complained the original was "too sad." His wife and children had left him and returned to England.
When Firth got his life back with a new relationship to Joan Bessie Firth, which is now in its 30th year, he began writing Above the Surface from Costa Rica, where he lived. But, he got bored of its happy tales and shelved it.
The new ending of Below the Surface brings in a couple of chapters of his new life, giving it a happy ending.
Firth then went on to write three novels, all drawing from his life experiences and imagination: Rengat Ericksen - Chronicles of Humanity, Thor Lindstrom - Chronicles of Humanity and The Miner.
The Miner is his shortest book at 153 pages and, while fiction, largely follows the life of his older brother, a coal miner at the age of 16.
"The beginning of the book is fact," said Firth.
Firth said his brother had to take a non-motorized cart on tracks down two miles into the mine daily. The mine shaft was only about three feet wide and high. At the end of the day, he had to propel himself up the two miles. Everyday, he returned home, black with soot and lesions on his back where he'd hit rock during the day.
In the story, the main character Ronald Fraser comes to Canada and works in mines. Firth draws from real mining disasters to flesh out the Canadian part of the book.
"It's a miner's story."
The new book, Swiffy's Rue, at 355 pages, took Firth one year to write. He based it on the life of an English friend but added into the character of Dave Swift are parts of other people Firth has known over his life.
Firth said he experimented with conversational writing to portray how a bunch of guys working a dangerous job would talk.
"It's raunchy."
Firth will be giving a reading and presentation of his work at the Penetanguishene Public Library on July 8 at 12 p.m.
Firth's books are available at Georgian Bay Books at 247 King St. in Midland. Soft covers and e-book versions are also available from Amazon. Firth's website is kevinfirth.ca.
