Writing a Florida Novel

Florida author, Rebecca J Johnston, will speak about World War I, Floridians returning from the war, prohibition, the Bonus Army, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, and the process of writing these topics into her novel, "Not to Keep."

"Not to Keep" follows the lives of five young friends as they grow from their shared childhood in the woods and swamps of North Central Florida through their experiences in World War One and their return home from war. Their story weaves through the history of America’s reception of returning WWI vets as they experience the Bonus Army in Washington D.C. and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. Due to the lack of care and concern shown to WWI veterans, we now have the Veterans Administration.