Pirate Novel Wins First Place in the 2011 Selah Award for Young Adult Fiction

Teen / Tween & Middle Grade novel

If you drowned and the sea spit you out, thrusting you back into an age of pirates, buried treasure and beauty beyond belief… would you stay?

RICKY BRADSHAW has never sailed the Caribbean Sea, searched for buried treasure or battled pirates on the deck of a Spanish Galleon. He’s never fallen through the floor of Davy Jones’ locker, befriended a witch doctor or watched an old fisherman morph into a porpoise. All Ricky knows is his lonely life with his widowed mom in a tiny apartment overlooking a marina on the Chesapeake Bay.

But all that changes on a snowy Christmas Eve when Ricky’s apartment building burns down and he falls into the chilly waters while trying to save BARNACLE, a mangy mutt with shrimp breath. Suddenly Ricky finds himself confronted by his neighbor, a young woman in a pink bathrobe who jumped to her death in order to escape the flames. She offers him a choice: go with her to a wonderful afterlife where snowflakes taste like candy or return to the dreary old world he knows. Ricky picks the past and awakes on a raft in the middle of the sea where there is surprising beauty on every island, danger around every corner and great honor and glory ahead of him… if only Ricky can summon the courage to survive the curse of Captain LaFoote.

Congratulations to The Curse of Captain LaFoote, Winner of the 2011 Selah Award in Young Adult Fiction. Selah: Hebrew for, “stop and listen; pause, and think on that.” The award honors those who: “Pause from the busyness of life. Pause, even, from their writing…and reflect upon the giver of their gift, the One who led them to this call and moves others with their words.”

Major Locations

• Shores of the Chesapeake Bay
• Caribbean Sea
• Dragon Island

Caribbean Chronicles Series

• Book One – The Curse of Captain LaFoote
• Book Two – Dead Calm, Bone Dry
• Book Three – Shipwreck Reef

The perfect book for every Tween or Young Adult who enjoys adventure, humor and romance featuring colorful characters. Contact the author for “pirate” talks!

The Curse of Captain LaFoote has been endorsed by Good Reads, mom’s, teachers and homeschoolers! Buy in bulk from Port Yonder Press. Contact the publisher via email.

“The Curse of Captain LaFoote is the perfect fix for some swashbuckling fun! Eddie Jones brings his time-travel pirate adventure to life with humor, adventure and thoughtful moments that boys will enjoy and their parents will appreciate. Ahoy!” – Christopher P. N. Maselli, children’s author of Reality Shift, the Super Sleuth Investigators series and founder of writingmomentum.com.

“I read the first chapter of The Curse of Captain LaFoote to a group of middle schoolers, and they begged me to continue! Jones has created a riveting blend of adventure and romance, humor and intrigue which will whet the appetite of even the most reluctant readers.”  - Renae Brumbaugh, Bestselling author of The Camp Club Girls, Mystery at Discovery Lake and Christmas Stories for Bedtime.

“Teaser Chapters leave you wanting more! Quite a beginning for the troubled teenage kid. This is a must buy!”

“Jones intertwines the foundation of good characters into a cleverly written storyline. Middle school kids will drop quickly into the life of Ricky Bradshaw and relate to the situations and antics he’s thrown into.”

“I laughed and sped my way through this book. Great characters and a wacky adventure with a wonderfully dry sense of humor.”

“The Curse of Captain LaFoote by Eddie Jones is a rollicking adventure tale. When ninth grader Ricky Bradshaw tries to rescues a pizza loving dog, his world is turned upside down after his own watery rescue. Readers will want to read every page to find out what happens next in this novel filled with humor, mystery and the sea.” – Doris Fisher, children’s author of One Odd Day, My Even Day, and My Half Day.

“This imaginative, Caribbean adventure and colorful characters will hook readers and take them for a tremendous ride! Eddie laced courage, bravery and a tad of romance together for a fresh and fun read!” – Jill Roman Lord, author of If Jesus Lived Inside My Heart, If Jesus Came to Visit Me, and When God Made the Animals.

“Fresh funny fantasy…a book young readers are sure to enjoy.” Max Elliot Anderson, author of Newspaper Caper, Terror at Wolf Lake, North Woods Poachers, Mountain Cabin Mystery, Big-Rig Rustlers, and Secret of Abbott’s Cave.

I slept in today until almost 10 am. I’m not exactly an early riser, but that’s a little late for even me. The house was quiet, and I assumed the kids had followed suit and slept in as well. Imagine my surprise when I found them both sitting on my son’s bed.reading. My son was an early reader. He started at the age of four. By the end of first grade he was reading at a fifth grade level. Now in fifth grade, he reads at about an eighth grade level. But he’s never wanted anything to do with fiction. I’ve tried everything. Magic Treehouse, The Dragonslayers Academy. I tried reading Harry Potter out loud to him. “Boring, Mom. Can’t we just watch the movies?” My heart broke.how can someone with half my DNA not love J.K. Rowling’s writing? A few books have caught his attention, so long as I read them a chapter at a time at bedtime. But in general, he’d rather hunker down with a big reference book about animals than dive into a story.

Until now. What finally did it for him? Well, a friend of mine sent my son The Curse of Captain LaFoote, by Eddie Jones. He’s on chapter five, and so excited to find a book that is holding his interest. Not a typical Friday morning before..but maybe from now on? I sure hope so! – Kat Heckenbach is working on her yet-to-be published Middle Grade Fantasy novel Finding Angel.

“The Curse of Captain LaFoote, although intended for the younger reader, makes me feel really good, because, even with all the years under my belt, I love it.  It’s fun, fast moving and highly imaginative, hurtling you from one startling episode to the next.  Its Caribbean pirate world backdrop doesn’t stop it from dealing with some serious subjects, which you appreciate more than you otherwise might because it’s told from the perspective and in the vernacular of a boy around his early teens.

A single Mom who can’t be home for Christmas, her lonely son who must make do with ordering a Pizza when he knows delivery men can never find his address, the horrifying realization that his apartment building is fast burning as he waits outside to flag down the delivery man, and a fatal (or was it?) epileptic attack as he attempts to save a dog fallen overboard into icy waters lead you into what may be described as a unique blend of great adventure with surprises on every page, coupled with down-to-earth realism and even a hint of the supernatural.

You’ll enjoy the read and you’ll appreciate the fact that part of the proceeds go to the Epilepsy Foundation. Launch yourself into a great reading experience which may be quite different from any you’ve had before.” – Tom Neale, Soundings Technical editor

The perfect book for every Tween, Teen or Young Adult who enjoys adventure, humor and romance featuring colorful characters.

“My goal in writing this book was to spur the imagination of young readers. Boys especially,” says Young Adult author, Eddie Jones. “I wanted to create within them a desire to read and set sail for a life of adventure on the high seas.” Note: Eddie sails and surfs and sometimes works. “I also want to help kids (and adults) who suffer with epilepsy. My goal is to raise $10,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation in honor of Ricky Bradshaw, the hero of the book.” (Ricky suffers from epilepsy.) “For each book sold, the publisher will donate a few pieces of eight—half a sandy dollar—to the Epilepsy Foundation.”

Jones says, regardless of how well the book sells, if it helps others become “Seizure Smart!” and raises money to fight epilepsy, it’s a success.

About the Book

RICKY BRADSHAW has never sailed the Caribbean Sea, searched for buried treasure or battled pirates on the deck of a Spanish Galleon. He’s never fallen through the floor of Davy Jones’ locker or watched an old fisherman morph into a porpoise. All Ricky knows is his lonely life with his widowed mom in a tiny apartment overlooking a marina on the Chesapeake Bay. But all that changes on a snowy Christmas Eve when Ricky’s apartment building burns down and he falls into the chilly waters while trying to save a dog with shrimp breath. Suddenly Ricky finds himself thrust into a world where there is surprising beauty on every island, danger around every corner and great honor and glory ahead of him… if only Ricky can summon the courage to survive the curse of Captain LaFoote.

About the Author

Eddie Jones is a full time freelance writer and author of five non-fiction books, one young adult novel, and one adult romantic comedy. He sails, surfs and freely admits: “I’m a boat swab at heart and thief and liar when honest work proves unprofitable.”

A Young Adult / Tween novel, Rated PG13

Kindle eBook $2.99 ISBN – 978-1-935600-05-3

Print Edition $9.95 ISBN – 978-1-935600-04-6

Reviewers say

“Eddie Jones has 15-year-old angst down to a science with his warm and witty style of writing.” – James Watkins.

“The Curse of Captain LaFoote is the perfect fix for some swashbuckling fun! Eddie Jones brings his time-travel pirate adventure to life with humor, adventure and thoughtful moments that boys will enjoy and their parents will appreciate!” – Christopher P. N. Maselli.

“The Curse of Captain LaFoote by Eddie Jones is a rollicking adventure filled with humor, mystery and the sea.” – Doris Fisher.

“This imaginative, Caribbean adventure and colorful characters will hook readers and take them for a tremendous ride! Eddie laced courage, bravery and a tad of romance together for a fresh and fun read!” – Jill Roman Lord.

“Fresh funny fantasy…a book young readers are sure to enjoy.” – Max Elliot Anderson.

“Teaser Chapters leave you wanting more! Quite a beginning for the troubled teenage kid. This is a must buy…” “Jones intertwines the foundation of good characters into a cleverly written storyline. Middle school kids will drop quickly into the life of Ricky Bradshaw and relate to the situations and antics he’s thrown into…” “I laughed and sped my way through this book. Great characters and a wacky adventure with a wonderfully dry sense of humor.”

According to KidSay Market Researchers, Facebook is now the favorite website among tween (8-11) boys and teen (12-15) girls. Over 90% of tween boys and girls play games online. Could a pirate tale be the perfect antidote to the adolescent blank-stare fascination with video games?

“There are a lot of other deep and important themes explored in The Curse of Captain LaFoote,“ says author Eddie Jones. “Things like what the poop deck is and why cruise ships no longer use them, the secrets inside Davy Jones’ locker, and why you shouldn’t walk downwind of a pirate who’s just eaten turtle soup.

“Seriously, my main goal in writing this book was to spur the imagination of young readers. Boys especially.”

According to KidSay Market Researchers, teen and tween online video and virtual gaming increased from 65% in 2007 to 91% in 2010.

“I’m a writer, not a math whiz, so I have no idea what those numbers mean but they sound really scary. So part of my goal is to give boys a compelling story they can fall into. I want to create within them a desire to read and set sail for a life of adventure, wherever that journey may take them. Even now I can see Ricky standing on the sugar-white sands of that island just south of Hispaniola. I am that boy. And so are a lot of other boys and men.”

As part of Caribbean Chronicles Buy A Boy A Book! Campaign we are asking, begging, and cajoling parents, grand parents, aunts, uncles, Oprah and the President of the United States to buy a book and GIVE IT TO A BOY! That’s right. We want you to give a book as a gift.

We’ve test marketed this concept and our research shows most boys, given the choice between reading a book and visiting the dentist, will run away from home. But as a responsible adult you know dental hygiene is key to a happy mouth. Think of The Curse of Captain LaFoote as dental floss for the brain.

Reading is key to learning. Learning increases a young boy’s chances of gaining admission to college, earning a degree, landing a job and pursuing the American Dream.

Please, won’t you Buy A Boy A Book and give him a chance to dream?

Buy A Boy A Book

Print Edition $9.95

Kindle eBook $2.99

NOOK $2.99

You can donate to Ricky’s Hero fund or purchase a copy AND tell your friends to purchase a copy.

REBECCA - daughter of the Governor of Port Charles. Read more about Rebecca. (and a mirror image of a girl Ricky knows from high school)

CAPTAIN LAFOOTE, murderous captain of the Black Avenger

THE DOCTOR, wise sage

SQUIRE, Rebecca’s uncle and a slave trader

BARNACLE, stray dog suffering from shrimp breath

TURNBULL, “Turtle Bill,” first mate