Young Author To Visit ‘The Katrina Dolphins’ That Inspired First Book, ‘Riding The Storm Out.’

Kingsport, Tennessee (April 17, 2007)  McKenna Andrews, is the 9-year-old author of "Riding The Storm Out'  (a tale of the Marine Life Dolphins who were swept out to sea by Hurricane Katrina and ultimately all rescued weeks later.  These dolphins now reside at The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas!) 

McKenna and her family also rode out Hurricane Katrina as it hit the MS Gulf Coast.  Her book tells, not of human survival, but the story of captive dolphins being swept out to sea. McKenna’s account is fictional, told from the perspective of one dolphin whose courage enabled him to survive in the unfamiliar ocean.

This young author knows these dolphins all to well.  McKenna visited the dolphins each summer at their former home, ‘The Marine Life Oceanarium’ in Gulfport, Mississippi - That was until Katrina totally destroyed their home. 

McKenna, now 10 years old,  has accepted an invitation by 'The Atlantis Resort' to come and visit her old friends, ‘The Katrina Dolphins’, from June 10th through June 15th, 2007.  She is very excited to be visiting the Bahamas and is curious to see her old friends as well as the recently born dolphin calves.

Her book hit #1 on the self-publishing web site Lulu.com in April 2006 and even garnered a commendation letter from President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. 

Quick Reviews

McKenna, has a strong young talent and you can expect more quality product from her soon. 

- by Lulu Press 2006

In a similar vein to current New York Times BESTSELLER, 'Owen and  Mzee' - about the unlikely friendship between a baby hippo and an aged tortoise after 2004's devastating tsunami - this tale 'Riding The Storm Out', although fictionalized, follows a group of dolphins swept out to sea after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, MS.  Curiously, Storm's author is a nine-year-old from nearby Petal who visited the dolphins each Summer. 

- by Home Life Magazine, Fall Edition 2006, (An American Airlines Publication)

McKenna has also been featured in Chicken Soup For The Soul Webzine, Mississippi Magazine, G9 Girl's Chain Reaction Magazine, American Airlines Home Life Magazine, Today’s MS Woman, Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s ‘Beyond Katrina’ TV Show, TropicWave Internet Radio, Clearchannel Radio, TV interviews and newspaper stories as well.  

Singer/Guitarist

McKenna also wrote a song about the dolphins entitled "When We Were Kings" you can hear a sample the song by clicking or cutting & pasting the below links:

http://www.myspace.com/mckennaandrews

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=29488&fr=yfp-t-501

McKenna is also busy working on two other books and she has just completed a calendar featuring dolphins and marine mammals.