Captain Kidd and the Jersey Devil, is set in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and based on actual, historical New Jersey folklore. When Captain Kidd III becomes a pirate out of water after a battle gone wrong along the Batsto River, he must discover his past in order to save his future.

The fourteen-year-old captain has returned to the New Jersey Pine Barrens on a dangerous journey to avenge his father's death. All turns to bedlam when Kidd meets the dangerous and protective local Pineys, who live along the Batsto. Worse still, his best friend, Black Dog, a poodle with a wet nose for trouble, is kidnapped by the same beast that destroyed Kidd's father eight years earlier- the New Jersey Devil.

Now instead of revenge, Kidd is on a rescue mission! Along the way he becomes entangled in the labyrinth of Pine Barren mythology, encountering ancient Lenape Indian spirits, the haunting Black Doctor, and perhaps most bewitching of all, a beautiful young Piney girl named Tilda, who's not afraid to get dirty in a fight. Will the mysteries surrounding his past and the supernatural spirits of the Pine Barrens guide the young captain to freedom, or will these revelations and trials devastate him beyond hope and repair?

Steven is an award-winning author. He lives in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, where he often longs for the ocean and bay surrounding his hometown of Margate City, New Jersey. His favorite book is The Old Man and the Sea, and he enjoys reading it in one sitting, preferably on a balcony in downtown Los Angeles. Steven is always on the lookout for a human best friend, since his current best friend is a sock puppet. Steven welcomes praise, inquiries, and best friend requests at TheSlitheryD@gmail.com. Find out more at www.stevenwinkelstein.com

Prologue: A Note on My Own Origins . 1 ONE The Great Bay and the Second Beginning . 5 TWO A Pirate's Yarn . 19 THREE Like Ghosts . 26 FOUR How All Was Lost . 40 FIVE Swallowed . 50 SIX In the Pines . 56 SEVEN Fear Itself . 65 EIGHT The Other Land and the First Beginning . 72 NINE They Call Me the Black Doctor . 77 TEN A Change in Fortune . 91 ELEVEN The Predicament . 100 TWELVE The Golden-Haired Girl . 116 THIRTEEN The Jersey Devil . 138 FOURTEEN Batsto . 145 FIFTEEN At the Cairns . 162 SIXTEEN Fiddler's Green . 177 SEVENTEEN The Devil's Due . 183 EIGHTEEN Flight . 192 NINETEEN The River's Revenge . 201 TWENTY Master of Both Lands . 203 Epilogue: To Sail the Lengthy Sea . 212