Today, Rescuing Maya leaves my hands and becomes yours.
For months, Maya, Trace, Junior, Faidh, and the rest of the crew have lived inside drafts, edits, conversations, and countless revisions.
Today, their next voyage begins.
Rescuing Maya starts with a phone call.
A daughter is missing.
Trace needs help.
Junior and Faidh don't hesitate.
What begins as a search across the Caribbean becomes something much larger—a story about friendship, family, sacrifice, and what ordinary people are capable of when someone they care about needs them.
That's the story I wanted to tell.
Not one about heroes who always know what to do.
One about people who show up.
People who bring whatever they have—an airplane, a boat, experience, determination, or simply another pair of hands—and say:
You're not doing this alone.
At the center of it all is Maya: a young woman determined to find her own way in the world, even as the people who love her will risk nearly everything to bring her home.
And carrying them through it is Dream Maker.
When I began writing the Sailing Dream Maker series, I wanted these stories to capture some of what has always drawn me toward the horizon: adventure, exploration, beautiful places, unexpected friendships, and the belief that the journey matters at least as much as the destination.
The Taíno Amulets began that voyage.
Today, Rescuing Maya carries it forward.
To everyone who helped this book reach this moment—my beta readers, Advance Crew, early readers, friends, and everyone who has followed Sailing Dream Maker along the way—thank you.
And to those of you who are about to open Rescuing Maya for the first time:
Welcome aboard.
I hope you enjoy the voyage.
There's plenty of ocean ahead.
Fair winds,
J.J. Reich