It was the miners spinning yarns in pubs and social clubs that inspired a teenage Kim Slater to become a writer. She grew up in the coal mining region of North Nottinghamshire in the days when life revolved around the “pit”. The now best-selling author explains: “Many people lived close to a coal mine, the men in the family worked down that mine and socialised with their families on Friday and Saturday nights at the Miners’ Welfares that were dotted around the towns and villages.

“I…