Finnegan, Jeanette Gray, Jr.: - Jeanette Gray Finnegan Jr., (Torok), is a tenth generation islander whose childhood was spent on Cape Hatteras when it was totally independent of mainland amenities. Jeanette---Jaye to her friends--- graduated from East Carolina University with a double major in English and History.. She did extensive graduate work at Old Dominion University in photography and art. After teaching English and Advanced Placement U.S. Government, the author returned to the island to write. The five books in this series have been in the works for over ten years. Extensive research using all books on Hatteras Island available on line, libraries, book stores, magazine and newspaper articles written in years past, interviews with local island residents who shared both written word and personal photographs, family stories and recollections of her 102 year old mother who also contacted sources, were all exhausted to gain information. The island is changing, and multigenerational fmilies are dwindling. Thee books recall those moments that made life special and depict a proud and innovative people, living on the edge of the world. Pirates offers a fictionalized account of the times that history recorded as having taken place. The children continue to recount what it was like growing up in isolation from a modern world, and tell of a time when needs were few and everything was provided from the land and sea. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of this strip of land you obviously feel connected to also. This is what it felt like to live a natural life, surrounded by family, friends, few strangers and a lot of excitement. Growing up island, was a special privilege with some unusual memories.