A RAVE book review from The New York Times is not an easy thing to come by, so when Bermudian author Nadia Aguiar's first book of the trilogy series The Lost Island of Tamarind hit the shelves late last year with positive reviews from the venerable New York paper, she knew she was on her way. Described by some as a cross between Peter Pan and Lost, this 448-page book will entertain both teenaged and adult readers alike. Born and raised in Bermuda, Ms Aguiar's early family life and island experiences combined with her "strong sense of narrative sweep" have made "Tamarind" into an auspicious debut. The author recently chatted with Mid-Ocean News reporter Lindsay Kelly to discuss how she came to be a writer, the recent success of her first book and what is in store for her upcoming sequel.

Q. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

A. Somewhere between the first and third grades. I never thought I'd actually be able to make a living at it, though.

Q. Where do you live now?

A. I went to Mount Saint Agnes K-12. I did my undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Ontario then went to graduate school at Columbia University in New York. I lived in New York for six years and worked as an editor in book publishing. I was in London briefly after that, but when I got a book deal I returned to Bermuda. I've been back home for almost a year and a half.

Q. Why did you decide to focus on young adult fiction as opposed to adult fiction?

A. It wasn't really a conscious decision. When the idea for Tamarind came to me, I knew it was a book for children and young adults because it was about children and it was a fantasy adventure. Beyond that I didn't give much thought to whether I was writing for kids or grown-ups. Tamarind is a quest, and like many quests, it has adventure, fantasy, and coming-of-age elements, and can appeal to a wide range of ages. I hope that kids read it because they want to know what happens next, and because they feel like they're friends with the characters and are really inside the world of the book. And I hope that older readers are reminded of why they loved reading when they were young. Down the road I'd like to write adult fiction, too.

Q. How long did it take for you to write The Lost Island of Tamarind?

A. It took ten months of writing solidly and really doing very little else before I had a draft ready to send to agents. Several months of revising followed that, first with my agent and then with my editor.

Q. You didn't happen to live on Tamarind Vale Road in Warwick as a child did you? How did you come up with the name Tamarind?

A. I did in fact grow up on Tamarind Vale Road, from the ages of about three to nine. I needed a name for the island in the book and as soon as Tamarind occurred to me, I knew it was right;it feels spicy and intriguing, and is also easy to say.

Q. When did the book come out and where is it available?

A. It was published last October in the U.S. by Feiwel & Friends, a new imprint of Macmillan, and in January 2009 in the UK by Puffin. Local bookstores carry it, and it's also available at Harrington Hundreds. It's available online on Amazon and in many bookstores in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. The first translation rights were just sold in Romania.

Q. How has it been received so far?

A. There's very little review coverage for young adult books, so I was really pleased to make The New York Times. My favourite review is the one that ran in The Financial Times (see sidebars), I have it on my desktop and if ever I'm feeling discouraged I open and reread it.

There have been one or two reviews that haven't been generous and it's never nice to see those, but that's just how it goes-you have to take the good with the bad. The best thing is when people-kids or adults-tell me they've read the book and liked it, though I still have a hard time believing that people are actually reading something I wrote. Bermudians have been really supportive. The community is very special that way.

Q. How's the second book coming along?

A. It's coming along well-I'm hoping to have a solid first draft before the summer. I haven't settled on a title yet.

Q. When is that due out?

A. No date has been set, but it will be within the next year.

Q. How many books in the series are you planning?

A. It's a trilogy. The first book is primarily from the perspective of the eldest sibling, Maya Nelson. The second takes place a few years later and is from her younger brother Simon's perspective. The third story belongs to their youngest sister, Penny. I grew up in a family of four kids and we were VERY concerned with things being fair. There was hell to pay if any of us felt that we hadn't gotten our due. So it seemed only fair to me that the Nelson siblings should each have their own story.

Q. Who are your writing influences?

A. I'm not sure who would count as influences, but there are many writers whose work I admire and always return to: Alice Munro, Marilynn Robinson, Steven Millhauser, Richard Hughes.

In children's and young adult fiction some of my all-time favorites are nearly everything by Madeleine L'Engle, Roald Dahl, and Arthur Ransome, as well as Charlotte's Web (E.B. White), The Egypt Game (Zilpha Keatley Snyder), From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (E.L. Konigsburg), and the Narnia Chronicles (C.S. Lewis).

I recently read the May Bird books by Jodi Lynn Anderson, and am a big fan-they're really fun and have a great, Wizard-of-Oz ensemble feel. Lately I've also been reading a lot of popular science books.