Chris McKenna

Chris McKenna is an award-winning author, professional photographer, scuba diving instructor, and storyteller whose work spans adult fiction, children’s books, and nonfiction.

His novel Beneath the Surface blends his love of the ocean with a deeply human story of grief, friendship, healing, and second chances. Set at a remote Caribbean dive resort, the novel introduced readers to the world of Casa del Horizonte and its characters. Chris continues that story in the forthcoming What the Water Keeps, the next novel in the Waters Edge series.

Chris began writing children’s books after the birth of his granddaughter, creating imaginative adventures centered on curiosity, courage, kindness, and discovery. His books include Olivia Mae and Her Scuba Diving Day and the multi-award-winning Captain Olivia and the Treasure of Kindness. His newest children’s adventure, Adelaide and the Great Backyard Time Machine, sends one very curious dog on an unexpected journey through time.

His other fiction includes Permanent Admit: A Tale from the Avalon, which explores memory, identity, and the realities we sometimes fail to see.

Away from fiction, Chris is an underwater photographer, filmmaker, FAA-certified drone pilot, and scuba diving instructor. Drawing on years of experience behind a camera and beneath the surface, he is also the author of Foundations in Underwater Photography: An Introduction to Photography Below the Waves, a practical introduction for photographers beginning their own underwater journey.

Chris works as a Financial Analyst in the aerospace industry and lives in Washington with his wife of more than three decades. Whether he is writing about a grieving man finding his way back to life, a dog traveling through time, or the challenges of making photographs beneath the waves, his stories are connected by a fascination with exploration, discovery, and the experiences that change us.