If you’ve ever read James Lee Burke and enjoyed the escapades of Dave Robicheaux, and his cast of entertaining characters, you might want to meet Ace Gonzalez. Ace is the main character of a recent book release, The Lost Republic by Woody Speed, or W.J. Speed, his pen name.

Our close friend and colleague, Justin Parrish, who does an outstanding job of designing our newsletter and keeps our website up to date, got to know Woody at O’Zone Pizza Pub in the East Hill neighborhood of Pensacola, where Woody has been a bartender for 20 years. “You should meet this guy,” Justin told me. “He’s written a book that I think is pretty good. I scheduled a sit-down at The Southern Grind coffee shop in the Indigo Hotel in Orange Beach to meet Woody and learn more about the book.

Fresh off the press, The Lost Republic is about a fictional local environmental advocate who runs into some nefarious characters who plan to develop a high-rise condo that threatens to destroy a beautiful stretch of coastline on Lost Key. The intrigue widens as Ace’s life is threatened and the sinister plot deepens.

I enjoyed reading John Grisham’s novels, which reference Gulf Coast towns intertwined with issues we read about in the local news. They illuminate criminal activities taking place right where we live. The Pelican Brief involved environmental clashes along the Louisiana coast, including encroaching development and oil company expansion, and The Lost Republic has a similar resemblance. 

I found the book to be highly entertaining. Woody does a nice job of developing the characters as the story unfolds. The Lost Republic closely resembles Woody’s life and experiences. He plans to continue with the Ace Gonzalez character in at least two more novels. I can’t wait! 

Woody grew up in the small town of Columbia, Tennessee, about 40 miles south of Nashville. He left at 19 to attend a community college in Key West in 2000. “School was an excuse to move to the Keys,” he says. “I entered the Marine Biology and Dive Program thinking I would become a Marine Biologist. I really just wanted to jump on a boat and do research in the Caribbean.”

While in school, Woody took some writing classes and decided that was something he wanted to do long-term. Always a voracious reader, he says he had really good professors and learned so much about writing. When a friend once asked him how long it took him to write The Lost Republic, he responded, “All my life.” He tells me, “Real-life experiences always come to the process. You are what you know.”

In the Keys, Woody was a lifeguard and worked as a bartender while in school. His dad ran a restaurant and bar in Tennessee and he had grown up around the business. “In Key West, with tips, you could make rent in one night.” He left Key West and moved to Northern California to attend Humboldt State University in Arcata to study conservation. “I loved hiking through the Redwood forest. Pretty soon I realized I would have to start my college career all over, so I started looking for another university back in Florida to finish my degree.”

Woody found the University of West Florida in Pensacola and graduated in 2006 with a degree in Environmental Studies. “While in school I developed a picture of the slow decline of our natural resources.” After college, he became a Biological Scientist working at the Blackwater River State Forest. Later he worked at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. “I really cut my teeth on environmental regulation there.” 

An avid inshore fishing enthusiast and fly fisherman, he noted habitat loss occurring, partly due to increased development in the area, and declining water quality, especially after big rains. “There's data out there on the degradation of water quality caused by increased nutrients and sediment runoff. It becomes problematic for the local waterways and of course, affects the wildlife and marine life.” 

For the past six years, Woody has been the City of Orange Beach's coastal regulatory manager. As such, he is responsible for ensuring compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations regarding development. He also represents the City on the Board of Directors of the Pensacola and Perdido Bays National Estuary Program.

RESTORE money from the BP oil Spill funded the Estuary Program. “The RESTORE grant was designed to stand the program up. Once established, it would be supported by local government contributions and other grants. The Program covers Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties and Orange Beach in Baldwin County. It’s a challenge to protect what matters most here, and a lot of our job is educating.”

Emily, Woody’s wife, has a Forensic Science degree and formerly worked for the local Medical Examiner's office for well over a decade.  She is now a growing entrepreneur and also has a true crime podcast documenting her forensic life. They have two sons, ages 8 and 4. They lived in East Hill, Pensacola, before moving to Innerarity Point across the Intercoastal Waterway from Perdido Key, Florida. 

The Lost Republic is all fiction, but you can’t help but see Woody’s life experiences throughout the story. Readers who grew up in this area will recognize the places and haunts that are scattered in the pages along with a heavy dose of poetic license offering a good fun “Beach” read. As a “Coastal Crime” novel, Woody says he was greatly influenced by James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series and author John D. McDonald’s main character, Travis McGee.

The environmental theme mostly takes place in Florida. As the plot thickens, more criminal elements arise, adding to the intrigue. Woody, who also trains with an organization that rescues people from human trafficking, forced slavery, and servitude, says you will probably learn things that are occurring in the shadows that you probably don’t know about.

Recently celebrating 20 years bartending at O’Zone Pizza Pub located in the 1915 historic gothic building that once served as Pensacola’s Sacred Heart Hospital, he tells me the book carries on his father’s legacy. Self-published, Woody also edited the book himself.  When the first box of printed books arrived at his home, he says it was an emotional experience.

All the elements of a local guy who has spent over 20 years on our local coast, come into play in his first novel, with the names changed to protect the innocent... Stay tuned for Ace’s next mission. In the meantime, look for The Lost Republic on Amazon, and soon to be featured at local independent bookstores.  You can find more info on book signings and future novels through Woody’s Instagram page, @thelostrepublic850, and his website wjspeed.com. 

‍The Lost Republic is a fun read, and Woody is a great guy. Writing a good novel is no easy task, but this coastal crime novel has a sage guiding light that steers a story that’s hard to put down!