No one has her life more mapped out than Kai Merlin. She’ll succeed her mother Galen and carry out every duty expected of her—the most important of which is to keep hidden the secrets her people have kept for eons.

Vivien Palmer’s life has been just as planned out by her parents, and their dream is for her and her brother Franklin to eventually run the family business. But Vivien’s dreams lie in the depths of the oceans searching for clues to the shells she and Franklin wear around their necks.

A chance encounter as children forever linked Kai and Vivien for life, but can they find a way to be together despite what’s expected of them?

The answers lie Beneath the Waves.

Originally from Cuba, Ali Vali has retained much of her family’s traditions and language and uses them frequently in her stories. Having her father read her stories and poetry before bed every night as a child infused her with a love of reading, which carries till today. In 2000, Ali decided to embark on a new path and started writing.

She has discovered that living in Louisiana and running a non-profit provides plenty of material to draw from in creating her novels and short stories. Mixing imagination with different life experiences, she creates characters that are engaging to the reader on many levels. Ali states that "The feedback from readers encourages me to continue to hone my skills as a writer."