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The Bermuda Adventures
A chapter book series about three friends who go on vacation to the Bermuda Triangle!
Johnny Summers can’t wait to go on vacation to Bermuda with Steven Waters and Kaitlin Flowers, his two best friends in the world! Getting away from detention, homework and his mean teacher Ms. Darnell? Enjoying smoothies, tanning, surfing and volleyball? What more could a kid ask for? But things take an unexpected turn when the plane flies into the Bermuda Triangle and crash lands in Paradaisia, a technologically advanced Pan-Caribbean island nation isolated from the rest of the world. At first, Johnny enjoys the fact that he and everyone else who crashes is allegedly stuck on the islands forever. But he begins to change his attitude when his parents are unable to contact the rest of his family. With the help of some new friends, it’s up to Johnny to prove himself to his parents and make them proud of him by enabling contact with the rest of the world. But it’s not so easy when a winter-obsessed boy is trying to plunge Paradaisia into an ice age – and releases an alien from a temple who seeks to create a colonial empire on Earth, with Paradaisia as its first colony!
Characters
Johnny Summers
The founder of the Bermuda Adventurers and the main protagonist of the series, a laid-back and nonchalant boy from Ludington, Michigan who loves summer and sunbathing. After crashing to Paradaisia, it didn’t take long for him to sport a tan and sun-bleached hair. Steven and Kaitlin are his two best friends. He later gets a sun parakeet named Rainbow for a pet.
Steven Waters
Johnny’s African American best friend and an accomplished swimmer who loves the water. He often teases Johnny in ways that he’d rather not be teased in. Nonetheless, they’re still the best of friends by heart, and they got each other’s back.
Kaitlin Flowers
Johnny’s friend who is a girl, who loves flowers and always seems to be dressed for the tropics. She is a sensible and relatively studious girl who has some innate knowledge in biology and history.
Jasper Lively
A Jamaican boy who is interested in archaeology and is very knowledgeable on the islands and history of Paradaisia. His family had a documentary series called Mysteries of the Caribbean. He also loves music and is willing to lend anybody a helping hand.
Matthew Sanchez
A Cuban American boy and a tech expert who is the owner of Matthew’s Miraculous Memorabilia, a business which sells all kinds of trinkets, occasionally more valuable stuff, and inventions such as the Three-Board. His parents are also the owners of Sanchez Multi-Boat Tours, a submarine tourism business.
Turabo Carballo
A Puerto Rican Paradaisian Taino boy and the son of Paradaisian President Guamani Carballo. The leader of the Bermuda Adventurers, he is skilled with the baira, a Taino bow. He is a hard worker who stresses that the islands should always be ready for whatever threats may befall them.
Ananya Maharaj
A Trinidadian and Tobagonian Paradaisian of Indian descent and Claudia’s best friend. She is a musician with talents in calypso, soca, steel pan and chutney music, whose family owns a business called Maharaj Music. She hopes to visit Trinidad and Tobago someday.
Claudia Martinez
A Dominican Paradaisian and Ananya’s best friend. She is a dancer with particular skill in the merengue, whose family owns a business called the Martinez Dance Company. She hopes to visit the Dominican Republic someday.
Monique Beauvais
A Haitian Paradaisian and Suzanna’s best friend. She is a cook whose family owns a business called Beauvais Kitchen, a restaurant dedicated to Haitian and greater Caribbean cuisine, and a common hangout for the Bermuda Adventurers. She later gets a creole pig named Brownie for a pet. She hopes to visit Haiti someday.
Suzanna Valenzuela
A Cuban Paradaisian of Spanish descent and Monique’s best friend. She is a fashion designer whose family owns a business called Valenzuela Boutique. She is notable on the islands for her distinctive long hair. She hopes to visit Cuba someday.
Guamani Carballo
The current President of Paradaisia, a Puerto Rican Paradaisian Taino man and Turabo’s father, who is usually very happy and friendly, though knows when to get serious when his country needs him. He tends to join the kids in their Bermuda Adventuring.
Naniki Carballo
A Puerto Rican Paradaisian Taino woman, Guamani’s wife and Turabo’s mother, who is the owner of Kayuko Constructions, Paradaisia's leading canoe manufacturer. She helps her husband run the country and is an expert at making canoes and Multi-Canoes.
Amanda Winters
A Californian girl who becomes a close friend of Kaitlin. She takes her job as a snowboarder very seriously, who wanted to leave the islands when she landed on them. Matthew builds her Paradaisia’s first indoor ski resort in response.
Justin Greenburg
The love interest of Kaitlin Flowers. He is an aspiring botanist in a family of models, who wanted him to be a model as well. They were going to a tropical photo shoot in Saint Maarten before crashing in Paradaisia.
Simone Occean
The love interest of Steven Waters, a Bahamian girl who is an expert swimmer, diver and surfer. She traveled the world to compete in various water sports before crashing in Paradaisia. Her parents have joked that she lives in her swimsuit and she spends more time wet than she does dry.
Lauren Soleil
The love interest of Johnny Summers, a beachgoing girl from Miami, Florida. She loves to tan responsibly and arms herself with various sunscreens, a diet of foods rich in beta-carotenes, sunglasses and a wide brim hat to achieve her sun-kissed glow. She helps Johnny lighten his unhealthy tan.
Maritza Fuentes
A Puerto Rican Atlantean mermaid with a blue tail, who was born in the Puerto Rico Trench. She is the current Princess of Atlantis and loves seashells, and designs shell jewelry. She is also a close friend of the Bermuda Adventurers. She hopes to visit Puerto Rico someday.
Rosalie Fontaine
A Dominican Atlantean mermaid with a purple tail and one of Maritza’s merfriends, who was born in and named after Dominica’s Rosalie River. She is the daughter of the current Prime Minister of Atlantis. An environmentalist out to end ocean pollution, she loves human-made objects and gathers various trinkets. She also wears a human-made necklace of the imperial amazon in support of its conservation. She hopes to visit Dominica someday.
Martha Chynn
A Jamaican Atlantean mermaid of Chinese descent with a red tail and one of Maritza’s merfriends, who was born in and named after Jamaica’s Martha Brae River. She loves starfish and studies various starfish species. She also wears red starfish in her hair and on a necklace. She hopes to visit Jamaica someday.
Bruce Blackett
A Barbadian Atlantean merman with a yellow tail and one of Maritza’s merfriends, who was born in and named after Barbados’s Bruce Vale River. He is the son of the current commander of the Atlantean Army. He loves Atlantean technology, and his family fashions technology for the army, including the Broken Trident which he wields. He hopes to visit Barbados someday.
Glover Pacho
A Belizean Atlantean Mayan merman with an orange tail and one of Maritza’s merfriends, who was born in and named after Glover’s Reef in the Belize Barrier Reef. An environmentalist out to end coral bleaching, he loves coral and studies various coral species. He also wears an orange coral necklace and bracelets. He hopes to visit Belize someday.
Niraj Persaud
A Guyanese Atlantean merman of Indian descent with a green tail and one of Maritza’s merfriends, who was born in Guyana’s Essequibo River. An environmentalist out to end sargassum accumulation, he loves underwater plant life and studies seaweed and other sea plants. He also wears seaweed on his neck and wrists. He hopes to visit Guyana someday.
Victoria Annesley
The most popular girl in Kaitlin’s school and her archnemesis, a stuck-up and self-centered rich Afro-Puerto Rican girl. Her family changed flights at the last minute when they crashed in Paradaisia, continuing their rivalry on the islands. Her hatred for Kaitlin stems from her own insecurities.
World
Paradaisia, officially the State of Paradaisia, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Caribbean. The archipelagic state, which lies in the easternmost extremity of the Lucayan Archipelago, consists of three islands – Mouchoir Island, Silver Island and Navidad Island – that are located east of the Turks and Caicos Islands and north of the Dominican Republic. Outside the Bermuda Triangle, the islands are submerged banks known as Mouchoir Bank, Silver Bank and Navidad Bank.
Paradaisia resides in the Bermuda Triangle, consisting of the easternmost part of the Lucayan Archipelago to the east of the Turks and Caicos Islands. It specifically resides in an alternate Bermuda Triangle sea space, which prevents it from being detected by most of the ships and planes that traverse one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Once a person ends up on Paradaisia’s shores, they are unable to leave the islands no matter which way they sail or fly. Once the islands are out of sight, the next landmass that will be seen is always the same islands. This is typically attributed to a spatial loop, which it shares with other locations inside the Triangle and the Triangle itself. While incidents in which people broke the spatial loop have been documented, nearly every case has seen them not return. For those that do return, they cannot explain how they escaped. Paradaisians usually assume the worst for those who successfully escape and attempt to exit the Triangle. Common theories include the traveler ending up stuck in an undesirable location, or on another planet.
The Three-Board is an invention of the Sanchez family manufactured in Paradaisia. It is an oval-shaped multipurpose board that functions as a surfboard, skateboard and hoverboard. It can be personalized to suit the interests of the user and can be modified further to become other kinds of boards, such as a snowboard. The board owes its function to the transformative properties of the mysterious metals found on the islands, while mysterious crystal orbs serve as its batteries.
The Multi-Canoe is a Paradaisian invention, a technologically advanced Taino canoe. It is a multipurpose vehicle that functions as not only a canoe, but a submarine, a plane, and a car. It owes its function to the transformative properties of the mysterious metals found on the islands, while mysterious crystal orbs serve as the battery pack for its electric motor. It can be personalized to suit the interests of the user and can be modified further to become other kinds of vehicles, such as a tank.
Libertar is a noble seal-like alien that resides in a temple on Silver Island, where he watches over, protects, and serves the Paradaisian people. He brought the Taino to the islands to rescue them from the plight by the Spanish Conquest, and later African slaves, victims of the Spanish caste system, and indentured servants from India and China, creating the Paradaisian population.
Subjugar is the main antagonist of the series, a savage shark-like alien that is imprisoned in a temple on Silver Island, where he tries to break free to transform the Paradaisian people into Enslavoids, his servants who resemble humanoid versions of himself. He seeks to create a colonial empire on Earth, with Paradaisia as its first colony, and believes that there are those in the outside world that will help him carry out his plans.
Subjugar is the main antagonist of the series, a savage shark-like alien that is imprisoned in a temple on Silver Island, where he tries to break free to transform the Paradaisian people into Enslavoids, his servants who resemble humanoid versions of himself. He seeks to create a colonial empire on Earth, with Paradaisia as its first colony, and believes that there are those in the outside world that will help him carry out his plans.
The Taino Revolution was the largest and most successful Native American uprising in history, its records unknown to the outside world. As Libertar rescued the Taino from the Spanish Conquest by bringing them to Paradaisia, the Spaniards investigated and followed them, attempting to spread the conquest to the islands. But the Taino managed to successfully defeat the Spaniards by making their weapons out of the mysterious metals they found on the islands, which made them technologically superior to the Spaniards. The victory led to the founding of the Paradaisian state.
The flag of Paradaisia was designed by the Taino man Guajataca, the leader of the Taino Revolution and the country’s first President. It is a triband with a circle in the middle, with a Caribbean monk seal in the center, the national animal of Paradaisia, which is extinct elsewhere in the Caribbean. The light blue represents the sky, the green represents the earth, and the dark blue represents the sea. The yellow circle represents the sun, while the red around the circle represents the blood that was shed in the Revolution. The seal represents not just the animal itself, but Libertar as well. The seal shares two similarities to the Taino: it was almost hunted to extinction following Columbus’s arrival, and it is docile, but Libertar has shown how fierce it can be when it must. Thus, the seal being red represents the role Libertar played in the Revolution.
The armorial of Paradaisia, also known as the Paradaisian Seal. Armorials of sovereign states include coats of arms, national emblems, or seals.
Matthew eventually designs these wetsuits for his fellow Bermuda Adventurers (and Victoria) when the kids begin going on more sea-based Bermuda Adventures. (You may have already spotted Simone’s in her character design sheet!)
Mouchoir Island is home to the Paradise Palace, the quarters of the Paradaisian President in the country’s capital city, of which Guamani Carballo is the incumbent. It was modeled after the Sans-Souci Palace by the descendants of Haitian soldiers in the Haitian Revolution, and is surrounded by immense gardens, artificial springs, and a system of waterworks.
Mount Guazabara is the highest peak on Mouchoir Island. It was a strategic location during the Taino Revolution and the site of the last battle of the conflict, the Battle of Guazabara, where the Citadel of Paradaisia, the base of Paradaisia’s armed forces, was later built. It was modeled after the Citadelle Laferrière by the descendants of Haitian soldiers in the Haitian Revolution to help protect the islands from future attack. The army’s power possesses the same might as the Haitian military at the time of the country’s independence.
This is the first of three drawings I submitted to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Portfolio Showcase, as part of the 2022 Summer Conference. This is Beauvais Kitchen, which is the restaurant Monique's family owns in the Bermuda Adventures. Come here if you want to try some Haitian staples such as Legume Militon, Mushroom Black Rice (Diri ak Djon Djon), and Soup joumou, among many other Caribbean dishes!
This is the third of three drawings I submitted to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Portfolio Showcase, as part of the 2022 Summer Conference. Yucayeke is the capital city of Paradaisia and the largest city on Mouchoir Island. Guajataca, the first president of Paradaisia, founded the city from a single village at the base of Mount Guazabara, which gradually expanded into the modern city. The city’s historical importance led to it being known as ‘The Original Village’, or simply ‘The Village’, which is where the city got its name: Yucayeke means ‘village’ in the Taino language.