What's next...

After more than 3 months of touring Beneath the Surface around Florida and back home to Michigan, the 2026 book tour has come to an official end.

Beneath the Surface draft illustration by David Mugabo, Olijinz Studios

But the fun is nowhere near over! It's just begun...

I will be joining the Detroit Chinatown Block Party on Saturday in the Little Dumplings Kids' Area. From 12- 4pm, I'll offer free activities from the Blue Marble Series like coloring, calligraphy practice and crafting postcards from recycled materials. The entire day's festivities run all the way until 8pm.

Definitely come join the fun!

Scenes from the 1st Detroit Chinatown Block Party (July 26, 2025)

Now that my tour is over, I'm excited to go on retreat for a few weeks and focus on the sequel to Beneath the Surface. I am so grateful to everyone for your support, and I want you all to know this wouldn't be possible without you. I hope you are enjoying the Blue Marble Series, knowing that you will always be remembered and acknowledged for being a part of making it happen. The sequel will cotain a very lengthy. heartfelt acknowledgement page,

The exciting news I have to tell you is that I've decided to finally release a print edition of Beneath the Surface, in honor of its upcoming 5th anniversary (March 2027). I was inspired to do this after my tour, since I have had several offers to help market and sell my book with a few of my partners, across the country, like the Belle Isle Aquarium and the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center.

Almost immediately after deciding to work on this, I realized the ebook images that were illustrated by my collaborators from Olijinz Studios and Scale Up Animations couldn't be used for the new print edition. That very same day, I was contacted by a talented Chinese illustrator and environmental advocate named Joyce Ouyang.

The cover for the new print edition of Beneath the Surface (by Joyce Ouyang, China)

I was really delighted that Joyce reached out to me. It was an honor and a blessing to hear she read Beneath the Surface and really enjoyed the story. Additionally, Joyce is from the same province as the main character, Xing Xing, so her interest in the project made me very curious to see the story through her artistry. I felt like it was very clear and obvious that we should work together on the new print edition, and so our new collaboration was born.

Look for more details on how you can order your copy of the print edition coming soon. For now, you are more than welcome to reserve a special signed print edition that comes with your purchase of the 2026 Beneath the Surface Book Tour postcard pack of 20 (shipping fee not included). That final postcard 20 is almost ready...

Endless thanks and love to all of you who have supported this ocean exploration journey. There's no way I could achieve the goals of the Blue Marble Series without your enthusiasm, interest and purchases! I look forward to becoming more ocean literate and helping more readers fall in love with our ocean. Thanks for making my mermaid dreams come blue 💙🪸🐢