Minor King by Jim Mitchem
Jim Christianson is a miracle. A man who lost his way only to find himself at the edge of his life too soon. As the end closes in around him, he is plucked from the darkness by the voice of God–and his life changes. He squares his accounts, meets a woman, realizes his calling as…
Jim Christianson is a miracle. A man who lost his way only to find himself at the edge of his life too soon. As the end closes in around him, he is plucked from the darkness by the voice of God–and his life changes. He squares his accounts, meets a woman, realizes his calling as a writer, and begins a furious ascent to the pinnacle of the American dream. But when he gets there he stops, looks around, and decides that there has to be something else in life. Something bigger. Something more. Fueled his growing frustration with the American way of life, he begins to acknowledge a little voice inside of him that insists he break free. Because you can only deny that voice for so long before it starts to eat at you. And claw at you. And whisper in your ear at at 4:00 a.m. with the consequences of pretending that it doesn’t exist. Terrible thoughts that try to convince you that you don’t deserve anything good you’ve ever received and that the only way out might be with a bullet because standing in front of the mirror day in and day out watching your hair turn silver and deep lines appear on your face is a terrible way to live when there’s so much more just beyond the horizon. Past the gatekeepers. Into the abyss.
Hope and fear. Truth and deceit. Good and evil. Dreams and reality. These are the core themes of Minor King, but the story is simpler than that. It’s about a man trying to find his way. At any cost.
It’s a dangerous business, dreaming.
“Great First Novel”
Five Star Review on Amazon By Gabe Miranda
Jim Christianson realizes he is sold on the American dream after barely surviving the pitfalls of a not so perfect childhood and a self-destructive life after serving in the military. He is a Copywriter seeking purpose within the daily grind of “The “Machine” and his growing distaste for the rich and powerful forces who are chipping away at his resolve. Frustrated with the reality that everything he has built is beginning to fall apart, Jim tries to find a balance between keeping his family comfortable and selling his soul for success while holding on to his writers spirit. Jim tries to keep the faith although he realizes the truth about whats really happening while he works through growing stress. His writing slowly succumbs to the daily routine and takes a back seat to the perfect life he’s made with his family. Something is rising inside Jim, something wild and dangerous that battles his resistance and sanity.
This is one read that definitely held my attention for the few hours I invested. The point you have to decide for yourself is the reality vs fiction and the blurred line that gets crossed skillfully as it draws you in. If this book doesn’t put you through a range of emotions, empathy, anger, love, deception, sorrow, salvation – then you really didn’t read with your blinders off. Go check your arm for a pulse and read it again.
About the Author
Jim Mitchem is a copywriter who found his way into advertising via a dirt path on the outskirts of society. Born with no obvious talent, Jim began writing at a young age as a way to lasso the stories that ran circles in his mind. Dismissed as folly when he shared them, he gave up writing for drinking at the age of 17. After a stint in the USAF, and armed only with a pen and looseleaf paper bound by elastic, Jim meandered through the US until he awoke in a gutter in New York City in 1991. His life and his writing have improved significantly since giving up booze. And while he doesn’t think that’s a coincidence, he does consider it damn ironic.
Minor King is his debut novel.