One of the best things about getting a three-book deal by a major publisher is the chance to inspire young Bermudians.

This came from Bermudian Nadia Aguiar whose first young adult book 'The Lost Island of Tamarind' was released in the United Kingdom and Australia by Puffin in January, and by American publishers Fewel & Friends last September.

The book is for ages nine and up, and is the first in a trilogy.

'Lost Island of Tamarind' follows the magical adventures of three children, Maya, Simon and Penny Nelson, who are shipwrecked on an island, Tamarind.

Amidst the chaos of a civil war that has split the island in two plus marauding pirates, mermaids, jaguars and flesh-eating vines the Nelson children must find their parents again and discover a way to get off the island. No one from the Outside has escaped the island before.

Miss Aguiar told The Royal Gazette that the Bermuda community has been very supportive of her efforts.

"I have been amazed and flattered by how many kids have been reading it and have e-mailed me," she said. "A lot of them are writing their own books now. That is probably one of the best parts about it.

"It is great getting to talk to kids who are a little more excited about reading now because they feel a connection with the author."

She said achieving her life-long dream of having a book published has been 'cool', but still feels remote.

"There is something very exposing about having created something that came through your imagination and then is open game for everybody," she said. "It is not an entirely comfortable feeling."

But so far the feedback has been largely positive, particularly from her young readers.

"The kids say, 'I love the mermaids'," said Miss Aguiar. "The young girls I talk to often identify with Maya. A lot of them are writing stories about families who got shipwrecked on an island. I get drafts of these which are really lively and imaginative. They often start with the scenario in the book and then veer off into wild lands in their own minds, which is great."

The first book in the trilogy is about the oldest child Maya, and then the next one belongs to Simon and then the third is Penny's story, with about four years in the story between each one.

"I wanted them each to have their own coming of age story," said Miss Aguiar. "I couldn't see it done any other way. I grew up in a family of four kids. I am the oldest. We were always dogmatic about everyone getting their own turn. If someone didn't get their turn in whatever it was, there was hell to pay."

She said in a lot of ways the plotline is based on her own childhood fantasies of being shipwrecked on a desert island.

"I suppose that is not so imaginative for someone who grew up on an island," she said. "I would make lists of everything I would have with me on a desert island. I guess fascination with islands is an old and enduring thing."

Miss Aguiar said her characters, the Nelsons, aren't necessarily Bermudian, but they aren't really anything else either.

"I wanted to keep certain aspects of the children to the imagination," she said. "I wanted to keep their physical appearance and their nationality as general as possible. You run into problems when publishers want to put images of the children on the cover. Then those images are planted in the readers' minds.

"Their grandmother, Pearl, is Bermudian. They have very strong ties to Bermuda. They have lived on a boat, Pamela Jane, their whole lives. The only time they have ever lived on land, and the only real person in their family who lives on land is their grandmother Pearl in Bermuda. So that is their only real home."

The book was released first in paperback. If it does well it will be later published in hardcover.

Miss Aguiar said the publishing industry has been hit by the financial crisis just like most other businesses.

"Over the past couple of months, publishers have been reorganising," she stated. "Different divisions have been stream-lined. I think it is difficult. They are having a harder time, so they are taking on projects that they are sure will do well. They are doing things that will reach a large audience. Publishing is always a gamble and a huge risk. You never know which books will do well, if it will take off."

Miss Aguiar knows this very well because she worked for several years in the publishing industry in New York City. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University in Canada and a Masters of Fine Arts from Columbia University in New York, she worked at The Little Book Room. An arm of The New York Review of Books, it publishes books related to art, culture and travel.

"In terms of 'Lost Island of Tamarind', so far the publishers seem happy with everything," said Miss Aguiar. "There is not a lot of review coverage for young adult books and it has managed to get a few reviews, so I am pleased with that.

"The reviews have been largely good. There have been a few smaller review websites which haven't been as kind, but nothing very serious. I was really pleased to make the New York Times Book Review, because there is very little coverage with this type of book.

"If you manage to get in it is good. If they don't like it they just don't have the space. The review that I liked the best was the one in the Financial Times. I keep that on my desktop on the computer. If I need encouragement when I am working on the second one, I read that one. It is a respectable review by another writer, as opposed to a writer who was purely a reviewer."

The New York Times Book Review said of Miss Aguiar's book: "The book's magic…lies in Aguiar's precise, often lyrical descriptions. A native and resident of Bermuda, she writes with authority about daily life in the tropics....Aguiar uses her knack for realistic details equally well in the magical parts…. 'The Lost Island of Tamarind' has a gentle spirit, tempering its dangers with warmth."

Publishers Weekly said: "Aguiar's exciting debut novel is a cross between Peter Pan and Lost...Developed with seeming ease, each new character advances the plot logically and fluidly. The storytelling, intricate as it is, builds to a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. All signs point to a sequel one that readers won't want to miss."

Miss Aguiar said she didn't think she would have written the book if she hadn't been from an island herself.

"Bermuda specifically, because here people's lives and the natural world are often magically entwined. We really do have glowing sea creatures here. If you are attuned to the natural world it is unendingly spectacular. When I grew up it felt a lot more isolated certainly than it does now."

Miss Aguiar's father, Anthony Aguiar, owns Harrington Hundreds Grocery Store in Smith's parish.

"My family has been very supportive. I am surprised that my father has any food left on the shelves, and that it is now a one-book bookstore. No customers have been able to leave in the past month without buying a copy of the book."

'The Lost Island of Tamarind' is available in Bermuda bookstores.