Michael Haynes, a New Jersey native, has worked for the Courier News of Bridgewater, the Somerset Messenger-Gazette and the Carolina/Savannah Morning News. He is the winner of the Robert P. Kelly Award for Feature Writing from the New Jersey Press Association. He has been a volunteer for the Somerset County Park Commission and the Great Swamp Folklore Project. His writings have appeared in the Catawba Art & Literary Journal, USCB Literary Journal, the Essence of Beaufort and Weird New Jersey.