The Blue Marble Series takes young readers on an ocean exploration adventure through a fictional lens based on real-world issues. Beneath the Surface is the first book of three in the Blue Marble Series, introducing 11 year old Xing Xing, who inherits a special power that allows her to travel miles below sea level, near the coast of Nan’ao Island, in southern China. After traveling many miles from home, Xing Xing is welcomed to Fertile Valley , a utopian marine refuge full o

Help get the Beneath the Surface book tour on the road! Shello folks! Are you ready for some good news? This year I'm planning to take my ocean adventures on the road with a brand new book tour that will cross the country and help me reach hundreds of new readers, as well as their families, teachers and other community members. This three month tour will include 20 appearances in over 10 cities, leaving from my home state of Michigan and traveling all the way to the southernm

Happy 2026! Let's * shellebrate* by learning a new language: Cantonese . As you may already know, I created The Blue Marble Series to explore the inextricable connection between life in the sea and life on land. So while I've designed the "Deep Dive" activity books to help improve ocean literacy, there are also elements to help increase cultural fluency, as well. Although Cantonese is the native language where Beneath the Surface takes place, I've been focusing on Mandarin

Jane Goodall will be treasured forever as an English wordsmith. On Wednesday, October 1st, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE died peacefully, in the midst of doing what she loved: activating hope for a sustainable future and spreading her message of our inextricable relationship with nature. I was fortunate to have heard her speak just 3 weeks prior to her death, and give her a hug, along with this special gift that she inspired, that I had printed and signed. Welcoming Dr. Goodall to D

You know what the scariest thing in the sea is?? Hint: it's not sharks, not barracudas, not eels or stingrays... What's even creepier is that they're not alive..... and they never die.... In fact, just like every major ocean threat, it's a danger that comes from the land. Ghost Net Ghost Busting Is Serious Business If you said "ghost nets" -- you got it right... But, if you're like "what on Earth are ghost nets?" Well, ghost nets are abandoned fishing gear that lay "dead" in