New Year, New Book

I've just finished the manuscript for Explorer Academy #6! Wahoo! Soon, I will start writing the seventh and final book in the series (we don't have a title just yet, but a few things are brewing). I am excited to wrap up the storyline, though it will be hard to say goodbye to Cruz and the gang; they have been my close and constant companions for more than three years! Even so, only three books have been published, so far, so plenty of celebrating left to do with the release of each one. I look forward to more travel, school visits, and book events.

Check out the cover of Explorer Academy #4: The Star Dunes (it's a one of my favorites), then look for it to drop on 3/17/20. Cruz and the gang are headed to Africa, where a surprise awaits from Nebula (and not the good kind!). Read more about the book on my Explorer Academy webpage and don't forget to visit exploreracadmy.com for book excerpts, games, videos, character profiles, and more inside scoop.

Coming this fall is EA #5: The Tiger's Nest. I got a sneak peek at the cover over the holidays and it's AMAZING. More to come there. Happy reading and keep checking back for more tour news. I'd love to see YOU at an upcoming event!

A Book Party for EA 3

We had a great time celebrating the Pacific Northwest launch of the third book in the Explorer Academy series, The Double Helix. A big thanks to Dan and Tina Ullom of Brick & Mortar Books in Redmond, WA for hosting me, and to all the friend, readers, parents, and educators, who came. I enjoyed reading from the book and sharing some behind the scenes scoop, like how National Geographic explorers inspire my storylines.

One of the themes in The Double Helix focuses on the looting of archaeological sites and the international smuggling of valuable artifacts. Experts say, at any given moment, more than 10,000 stolen artifacts are for sale on the black market. The Double Helix was partly inspired by the work of NG explorer, Sarah Parcak, a space archaeologist. By studying GPS satellite photos, Sarah is able to detect looting pits we can't always see at ground level. She's also uncovered other sites from space, like pyramids, settlements, and tombs. She even found the lost city of Tanis (you know, from Raiders of the Lost Ark!). But, as I told the audience at the book event, Sarah can't do it alone, which is why she launched globalXplorer.org to invite anyone (even you!) to help in the search for looting pits. Log on to the site, take the short tutorial, and in a a matter of minutes you'll be studying satellite "tiles" and reporting what you see (if you find a photograph that appears to contain looting pits, you'll flag the tile for an expert to review). To date, more than 17 million tiles have been viewed by the community and they have only just begun.

Thanks to everyone who came to help me kick off Book 3. Maybe I'll see YOU when it's time to release Book 4 next spring!

Have You Joined the Academy?

On October 9th and 10th, thousands of students across the U.S, as well as Canada, China, and the UK, officially became Explorer Academy recruits! From classrooms to libraries to bookstores,13 renowned National Geographic explorers, including NASA scientists Rae Wynn-Grant and Jennifer W. Lopez, led 28 different events as part of Explorer Academy Recruitment Day!

The explorers shared their path, passions, and visions to help inspire the next generation of innovators. Dr. Wynn-Grant was featured on WJLA's Good Morning Washington in Washington DC's to talk about her experiences as a bear conservationist, as well as discuss Explorer Academy! You can watch her full interview HERE.

In Seattle, I had the privilege of sharing the stage at two schools with National Geographic explorer, photographer, and eco-health researcher, Gemina Garland-Lewis. Gemina related some exciting stories about her adventures, like interviewing whalers in the Azores and Seattle's homeless about their pets. I got to speak about the inspiration behind Explorer Academy (the real explorers of NG, of course), the characters from the book, and spill a few secrets from the next novel. We had a great time signing maps and books, and meeting the students at Decatur and West Woodland elementary schools.

Thanks to everyone who participated in EA Recruitment Day. Now get out there and explore!