Stowaway won’t be out till August, but you can already pre-order it on Amazon or Chapters, or at any bookstore. And today I’m offering a peek view of (drum roll….) my next young-adult adventure novel!

SUMMARY: People-smuggling is a very current topic these days, but Stowaway puts an adventurous twist on it.

Owen is a bored, West Coast Canadian teen who decides to stow away on a visiting yacht just for fun. Imagine his shock to find it holds six Guatemalan teens whose parents have paid the captain and his first mate — a captive former street kid — to leave violent Guatemala and usher them illegally into Canada.

The idea for this book sprang from learning that, legally, ships in need of temporary harbour during a storm must be allowed to dock. Owen’s family owns a marina, his parents are away, and the stormy night’s arrival intrigues him.

Then he meets the “clients” and figures out the setup — knowledge that means the captain is now unwilling to release him. Meanwhile, a haunting incident in his past urges Owen to make poor decisions.

When the captain fails to release the boys, Owen engineers an escape — until he’s double-crossed. The captain locks everyone but his first mate into the engine room of the tug, destroys the boat’s controls, and points it seaward under full speed in a storm.

The boys team up to turn the tug around and barrel toward the yacht for a final confrontation that will set the first mate free.

Home safe and having redefined trust, friendship, and family, Owen hopes the boys might be released to join him there one day.

P.S. The novel opens at “Steward Marina” on “Horton Island,” both fictional. In reality, the novel was inspired by Steward Drive on Horton Bay of Mayne Island, BC, Canada, one of my favorite places in the world!