I’m very happy to announce that my young adult novel, The Ring of Leilani, is now available on Kindle as well as on Smashwords.com. It’ll soon be available on other online retail sites (Barnes & Noble, Sony E-Reader, etc.) as well.

This is a book that’s dear to my heart. It’s my first novel, based on a story I invented for my kids one day back when they were very small. We were visiting Cancun, and had spent the day in Xcaret, a beautiful water park near Cancun. If any of you plan to visit Cancun, I really recommend it, even if you don’t have children. It has an underground river you can swim through, a salt-water lagoon and lots of other fun stuff.

My little ones were tired and cranky, and as soon as we boarded the bus for the ride back to our hotel, there was the usual chorus of “Mommy, tell us a story!” I did, and when they had both fallen asleep, ten minutes later, I thought, wow, Annie, that’s actually a good beginning for a book. It has potential! When we got home from vacation, I wrote it down, and ten years later, when I decided to write a children’s book, I dug it out. I originally began writing the novel with a good friend, Mindy Shapiro, but we soon parted ways—amicably—because our writing styles were very different. She went on to write a YA series of her own, called The Stone Ship, which I hope she will get around to publishing soon, because they’re wonderful books.

My sister, artist Linda Ingraham, did the beautiful cover for me. I love it, and part of the reason is that my little mermaid’s face is based on a photograph of my daughter Ellie. (Those of you who know her will see the resemblance immediately—Ellie as a blonde mermaid!) Anyway, here’s a peek at what the story’s about. Even though it’s for kids, I think the grown-ups among you will enjoy it too (as long as you have a little “kid” left in you!). Please let me know what you think—and of course, I’d really appreciate a review on Amazon or Smashwords. One more favor: those of you who are on FB and/or Twitter, would you mind helping me out by “liking” it on Amazon (so that it appears on your FB page) and tweeting the link as well? Thanks!

 The last thing fifteen-year-old Julia Dickinson expects while vacationing with her parents in Cancun is to find an ancient crown in an underwater cave, try it on. . .and be transformed into a mermaid. And not just any mermaid, but a direct descendant of the long-lost Princess Leilani and the heir to Leilani’s throne. The idea of being a queen is exciting, and the members of the mer-clan are overjoyed to have a leader once more. . .but Julia’s not at all sure she’s ready to give up her life as a human.

Julia’s fate hinges on a missing magic ring. Before she can become queen, she must find the ring, lost for a hundred fifty years, since the crown is useless without it. And when she learns that the combined power of crown and ring can make her human again, she’s even more motivated to search for it. Accompanied by one of the merclan elders, Julia embarks on a perilous quest to find the ring. Along the way she blunders into a fishing net and meets Chac, a seventeen-year-old Mayan boy enamored of merfolk who promises to help her in her search. But if and when Julia does find the ring, can she also find happiness as a mermaid queen?