Nathan O'discin
Meet Nathan
Nathan O’Discin is a homeland security engineer, entrepreneur, blogger, instructor, and author. Born and raised in West Virginia, O’Discin frequently enriches his works with a wry attitude toward his Appalachian culture, touching on subjects of poverty, faith, and southern hospitality, often incorporating the thick dialect of central Appalachia into his writing style.
The Chronicles of a 21st Century Coal Miner - Exclusively on Amazon.
The Chronicles of a 21st Century Coal Miner is a gritty, darkly humorous Appalachian memoir-style novel that follows the life of a young underground coal miner navigating the harsh realities of 21st-century coal country in West Virginia. Written by Nathan O'Discin, the book blends raw storytelling, regional dialect, and blue-collar realism to capture a fading way of life shaped by poverty, danger, pride, addiction, politics, and brotherhood beneath the mountains of Appalachia.
Set during the decline of the American coal industry in the Obama-era coalfields, the story chronicles long overnight shifts underground, near-death encounters with machinery and methane, strained family relationships, and the emotional toll mining takes on workers and their communities. Through sharp wit and brutally honest observations, O’Discin reflects on the contradictions of Appalachian culture: fierce loyalty and hospitality alongside generational hardship and economic collapse.
The novel paints vivid scenes of modern underground mining — continuous miner machines roaring through coal seams, endless beltlines carrying coal through the darkness, and miners relying on each other hundreds of feet beneath the earth. Yet the heart of the story lies less in the machinery and more in the people: rough-edged miners trying to survive in an industry that simultaneously feeds and seeks to destroy them.
Stylistically, the book mixes memoir, satire, social commentary, and literary Appalachian fiction drawn heavily on O’Discin’s life in southern West Virginia. O'Discin’s writing is known for incorporating authentic central Appalachian dialect and deeply personal reflections on class, masculinity, faith, and identity. The work originated from a blog of the same name that gained a large following for its honest and humorous portrayals of coal mining life.
Additional manuscripts available in the public domain through West Virginia University:
They Call Me The Miner Man (ch. 8);
Politically, Maybe (ch. 14);
War on Coal (ch. 16);
In Fact, I Suck (ch. 20);
(Courtesy of the West Virginia University Library Press of Appalachian Literature)
Upcoming Work
Sly (Nathan O'discin) talks with Radii (Justin Delorme) and Umbre (Kieran Otovo) at Nintendo Indies Podcast Corner about his upcoming American dystopic series that focuses on a wild LGBT relationship between a militia commander, Derrick Reddon, and a congressional staffer, Chase Lewis; Sly (O'discin) explains how he deflects and projects his own self-loathing homophobia and queer identity into the characters, respectively.
Sly (O'discin) explains how he tackles multiple plots and story arcs across eight different characters and builds a world not-too-far-off from our own dire political climate, and the warnings and implications of continued fascism in America and how minorities stand to endure the brunt of the shifting political landscape.
Podcast Airs August 15, 2024 at 8PM E.T. Watch it live on TikTok, Odiscin Books, NintendoLife, or X/Twitter.
Get in Touch
Questions? Comments?
Nathan O'discin makes every effort to read, review, and respond to fans and critics alike. You may message him directly on X/Twitter @aarondeskins or on TikTok @odiscin. Alternatively, you may use the comment section to the left.
(Note: If responding to comments or commentary on electoral-vote, please use Dr. Zenger's response emails for queries. If responding to commentary on Appalachian Surf Report, respond there in kind.)
ACX Auditions:
Please refer to this list for character profiles in the audition scripts. These are provided for reference only as acquiring a low-level understanding of who you are voicing based off the script snippet may prove difficult. Use these instructively, but not exclusively, as your unique artistic abilities are way more important to me.
Derrick Reddon. State: Kentucky. Age: 26. Voice Descriptors from book: milky-warm voice; firm; “an accent that was uniquely southern Appalachian”.
Personality Profile: Confident, steady, unassuming, suspicious.
Adam Reddon. State: Kentucky. Age: 31. Voice Descriptors from book: “like his brother, a southern dialect pierced through a warmth in his voice, easily mistaken for comfort”.
Personality Profile: Confident, wayward, aggressive.
Chase Lewis. State: Illinois. Age: 27. Voice Descriptors from book: Masculine; “even tempo, perhaps he had taken theater in Watseka”.
Personality Profile: Timid, wandering, nervous.
Alyssa Cambridge. State: Illinois. Age: 27. Voice Descriptors from book: “Alyssa was assertive, her voice never fluttered or cracked, like she routinely roused her throat with honey.”
Personality Profile: Feminist, bright, gregarious.
Fredrika Jackson. State: Georgia. Age: 66. Voice Descriptors from book: “It was evident from her twang that her family had never left Georgia”
Personaity Profile: Homely, calm, southern.
Jyra Reddon. State: Vermont. Age: 17. Voice Descriptors from book: “Martin could tell she wasn’t really the daughter of Derrick, why she spoke almost French Canadian, and he like he had just finished a shift in the coal mines.”
Personality Profile: Curious, caustic sarcasm.
Rachel McCoy. State: Virginia. Age: 25. Voice Descriptors from book: “plain and organic, she wandered from subject to subject, she must have had a military background prior to joining the militia.”
Personality Profile: Calm, lionheart.