A Nickel for the Boatman

About the Book

Miami was roaring in the 1920’s, not only with boat loads of bootleg whiskey and “snow birds” seeking warmer climes, but also relocated families like Eddie’s who had left generational homes to forge a new life among Miami’s up and comers. It was a city of temptation and excitement, of Prohibition and the beginnings of commercial flight. Eddie, the only child of preoccupied parents, a social-climbing mother and distant, reticent father, feels trapped under the thumb of nuns and priests in a strict Catholic school. Then, Manny Silver appears, and Eddie’s life changes forever. In the hulking, fastidious mobster he finds a surrogate father and mentor with a soft spot for the teenager. But, there are difficulties. Eddie is torn between his desire for the adult pleasures and freedom Manny offers and the straight path defined by the moral principles of Father Horka, his spiritual guide, who tries to watch over him. In this place and time where the ordinary, the infamous and the famous met on a single stage, Eddie grows up. Set against the backdrop of the most beautiful and untamed places of the era, Eddie discovers the complexities of friendship, betrayal, guilt and loss.”

About the Author

Carol Milot was born in Miami, Florida, in 1942, where she spent her childhood. She holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in English and has had a long career as an academic and an aspiring writer. Today she lives in Richardson, Texas, with her husband Andrew and their many animals and spends her time writing and working as a free-lance photographer. Her inspiration for this novel grew from her own experiences in Miami, the Florida Everglades, and the Florida Keys and from the rich tales recounted by her father, who witnessed history as it was made in Miami during the first half of the twentieth century. His reminiscences of Miami in the early days, including his school association with Alphonse Capone, Jr., his early memories of Charles Lindbergh, Juan Trippe, and the beginnings of the commercial airline industry in the late 1920’s, provided much of the inspiration and background material for this book.