Kidnapped in Key West

A daring adventure on Henry Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad!

Twelve-year-old Eddie Malone is living a carefree life swimming and fishing in the Florida Keys in 1912 when suddenly his world is turned upside down. His father, a worker on Henry Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad, is thrown into jail for stealing the railroad payroll. Convinced that he is responsible for his pa's arrest, Eddie sets out for Key West with his faithful dog, Rex, on a daring mission to prove his father's innocence.

Eddie arrives in Key West as preparations are under way for the arrival of Flagler's first train. Eddie meets the Kimble twins, T. J. and Jen, who live at the Key West Lighthouse and are practicing for their part in the great celebration. They offer to help Eddie with his plan to find the real payroll thieves. Eddie finds them, all right, but they kidnap him and lock him aboard their sailboat. As the boat moves swiftly away from Key West, Eddie realizes he's in serious trouble.

Can Eddie escape from the clutches of the ruthless thieves? Will he ever get back home to Marathon? Most importantly, will Eddie be able to prove Pa's innocence?

Ages 8-12

Edwina Raffa, a native Floridian, lives with her husband in southwest Florida. She has two married daughters and six grandchildren. Edwina graduated from Florida State University with majors in Elementary Education and Spanish. She received a Masters in Guidance and Counseling from Florida Atlantic University. After teaching six years, Edwina pursued a career as an elementary school counselor and was chosen Lee County Counselor of the Year. She enjoys reading, writing, walking the beach, and spending time in the mountains of North Carolina. Edwina is co-author of Race to Kitty Hawk, Escape to the Everglades, and Kidnapped in Key West.

Annelle Rigsby lives in southwest Florida with her husband. She has two grown daughters. Annelle earned a B.S. degree in Elementary Education from Ohio University and a Masters Degree in Education from Georgia State University. She worked fourteen years in public schools, first as a teacher and then as a curriculum specialist. Annelle wrote and illustrated Punctuation, an activity poster book. She has co-authored three historical fiction books for children, Race to Kitty Hawk, Escape to the Everglades, and Kidnapped in Key West, in addition to illustrating the Escape to the Everglades and the Kidnapped in Key West Teacher's Activity Guides. Besides writing, Annelle's other interests include reading, painting, crafting, shelling, biking, and avidly collecting frogs in all shapes and sizes.

Their first children's historical novel, Race to Kitty Hawk was published in 2003 and received the endorsement of the First Flight Centennial Foundation. They were selected as the 2003 Authors of the Year in the Cherokee County School District in North Carolina. Their second historical novel, Escape to the Everglades, and the Escape to the Everglades Teacher's Activity Guide were published by Pineapple Press, Inc. in 2006. The authors took their "Meet the Authors" presentation to many Florida schools and presented at the Florida Reading Association and the Florida Association of Media Educators. In 2008, Kidnapped in Key West and Kidnapped in Key West Teacher's Activity Guide were published by Pineapple Press. The authors spoke in schools, libraries, conferences, bookstores, and museums. In 2009, Edwina and Annelle were selected as the featured authors at the 13th Annual "Meet the Author" program and teleconference for Pinellas County Schools and also were featured at the Florida Heritage Book Festival in St. Augustine, Florida. In conjunction with Florida Heritage Month in 2009 and 2010, the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Florida hosted the authors who presented interactive Kidnapped in Key West programs for elementary children at the museum.

Currently the authors divide their time writing adventure novels for middle readers and traveling across the state with their "Meet the Authors" presentations.