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

It's time to shellebrate! Spring is a wonderful time to deepen your connection to the ocean🌞 Join me in Gainesville, Florida for the first stop of the 2026 Beneath the Surface Book Tour next Saturday, March 21st (watch the video or scroll down for more details). I'm also working on livestreaming this event for those of you who'd like to join from afar. Stay tuned.... Please RSVP here to join the free event in person ☮️🐢🧜‍♀️ Millhopper Library, Room B Gainesville, FL Marc

Happy 4 years of adventure Beneath the Surface ! Help me "shellebrate" and introduce a new girl hero to more readers (ages 10 - 13) this year with the Beneath the Surface 2026 Book Tour -- coming to a nature preserve/library/book store/ tea house in 7 cities and counting, including Atlanta, Detroit, Key West, Islamorada, Lansing, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs. Join the 2026 Beneath the Surface Book Tour! Join the tour and let me take you to meet real-life heroes in exciting

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

TAKE THE BUTT CHALLENGE! Not only is this event good for your glutes, it's great for the planet!! Save the date: 7/5/25 On July 5, 2025...

​I was born and raised in Michigan, with a family history that dates back before statehood. For over a decade now, I have been gravely...

The Blue Marble Series was created out of my love for swimming in the ocean and my desire to take you all with me, to rediscover the...

My first article for Planet Detroit got published ( read here )! I suppose it all started back in the day, when I was living in the Bay...

Since I've known Detroit before I could talk or walk, I have some very vintage memories of the city that stretch all the way back to the...

The Dawning of a New D I'm so proud to announce I've been selected to participate in Planet Detroit 's neighborhood reporting lab. This citizen journalism program offers participants a chance to receive mentorship and training that results in two stories that highlight a community member devoted to nurturing the quality of life in Detroit It will also bring together local writers focused on the city's sustainability issues. I'm excited to witness and document the current tran

Detroit, affectionately known as The D , has a reputation for a lot of things, and likewise, The D stands for a lot of things... like...

More than 90% of our ocean has been unexplored. What do you think we'll discover once we know our planet better? Word of the Day: 环保...

Huzzah! After years of appeals and protests to the Lantau Tomorrow Vision , the voice of reason is being heard. The proposed sea...

A new book for the new year. It was an absolute honor to attend the opening of the 42nd annual Key West Literary Seminar , focused on...

Shello everyone! What do bears and mermaids have to do with one another, you may ask? Well, obviously, they are both Earth dwellers,...

The ironic nomenclature of my partner organization, We Are Neutral , for the sequel to Beneath the Surface , is due to the fact that they...