About Under the Porch

Under The Porch is a 70,000-word historical fiction and multigenerational family saga centered on the lives of Bill and Flora Boyd from 1916 to 1990.

Bill, a young man looking for adventure, joins the Arkansas National Guard and travels to New Mexico in 1916. While there, he joins in the hunt for Pancho Villa and suffers from a disorganized fledgling military leadership. Bill, a draftee, sailed for France and fought in the Great War’s bloodiest battles. He occupies a hostile Germany, where he suffers from his first PTSD episode. As a veteran, he lives disabled and suffers from “shell shock”. He turns to alcohol and desertion to cope.

Flora is a young girl from a loving family who dreams of a bigger life playing her guitar. But after a shotgun wedding with Bill, she finds herself in a tumultuous life, relying on Bill’s parents for support. At her breaking point, Flora gathers the strength and courage needed to end Bill’s drinking, protect her family, and gain retribution for Bill’s past deeds.

My grandmother Flora Boyd’s true stories inspired *Under the Porch*. Readers will experience World War I, Prohibition, the 1927 Mississippi flood, the Great Migration, and World War II. Under the Porch is about hardship, resilience, and the love and forgiveness of a family touched by war.