Santa has come early this year for fans of local writer Rod Farrington.

His newly released 'Death Diamonds of Bermudez' is now on shelves.

The book promises to please fans of both his Spinners series, aimed at young adults, and his more adult novel 'Isle of Devils Holy War' as it contains characters from all his previous books.

"I had a lot of fun writing this book, but it took me three starts," said Mr. Farrington. "I wanted to write a sequel to my last book 'Isle of Devils Holy War' but I started feeling guilty, because a lot of my readers here were really wanting a Spinners episode four."

So Mr. Farrington rewrote and rewrote what he had, eventually deciding to incorporate characters from all his books.

"I made it a combination novel," he said. "Because of that it is more of an adult and teenager novel and not a preteen novel, because of the language."

He said that 'Death Diamonds' started out as a treasure hunt and eventually turned into a cat and mouse chase novel.

The villains are descendants of people imprisoned in Bermuda during the Boer War in the early 1900s.

"These descendants are treasure hunters, but not just any treasure hunters," Mr. Farrington said.

"They are part of a small minority of Boers in South Africa who want an independent Boer nation. The characters in my book are white supremacists who are pretty nasty characters."

But the treasure they are looking for is not buried treasure or pirate treasure, but a more natural treasure hidden beneath Bermuda.

"The treasure is a vast rare earth element that scientists have said is under Bermuda and on the ocean floor," said Mr. Farrington.

"The South Africans in the book firmly believe that there is a large diamond deposit under Bermuda. That is how they are going to finance this coup d'etat in their country."

Detectives Storm and Savage, from the 'Holy War' novel, and the Spinners characters set out to stop the Boer descendants from getting their hands on Bermuda's treasure.

Mr. Farrington is a Bermuda resident who is originally from Louisiana. The book is being sold on the Island and in his home town.

He said he has always been intrigued by the Boer war.

The Boer War, also known as the Second Boer War was fought between 1899 and 1902, between the British Empire and two independent Boer republics of the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State.

The Boers in South Africa were descended from religious refugees who left Holland in the 1600s. The British sent Boer Prisoners of War (POW) to Bermuda, India and other places.

"I had heard of the Boer War before I came to Bermuda because of the movie 'Zulu' when I was young," he said. "The movie was more about the Zulus but the Boers had a part in that.

"Over the years I have made quite a few trips out to the Boer cemetery on Long Island, Bermuda where about 30 Boers who died here are buried."

Mr. Farrington said that some scholars believe, because of the rare earth elements under Bermuda, that the Lost City of Atlantis is underwater somewhere near Bermuda.

"Of course I tie into that, and the Bermuda Triangle," said Mr. Farrington.

"In the novel, they find a lost city under Bermuda.

"The South Africans think it is the Lost City of Atlantis. The Bermudians call it the Lost City of Bermudez."

He said in every one of his novels some major feature is changed in real life as the book is published.

For example, in one Spinner novel, the Cable & Wireless satellite dish was the site of a portal to take the characters into another world.

But by the time the novel was published the giant dish was being dismantled.

"In this novel, the Spinners go to Spanish Rock. They question why it is called Spanish Rock if the people who landed there were Portuguese.

"Of course, this year the name of the rock at Spittal Pond was officially changed. I decided to leave that in the book."

He said his last book 'Isle of Devils Holy War' has so far been his best seller.

"But books in the Spinners series keep cranking on," he said. "Students at Warwick Academy recently picked 'Spinners: The Lost Treasure of Bermuda – Episode I' as their favourite action adventure Bermuda novel. "

He said that this first Spinners book tends to sell well in Bermuda, but not on Amazon.com.

But 'Spinners the Protectors of the Bermuda Triangle – Episode II' and 'Spinners Curse of the Bermuda Abyss' tend to sell well on Amazon.com.

"I think that many tourists just buy the first one in Bermuda, then when they go home, they order the next two online."

'Isle of Devils Holy War' was recently picked up by superstore Barnes & Noble.

"For this latest book, I thought I would wait until the spring before I approach Barnes & Noble again," he said.

"I have learned that they want to know what its track record is and what is going on with it before they pick it up, especially if it is independently published."

This summer, Mr. Farrington signed his book at the Author! Author! book festival in Shreveport, Louisiana.

"Devils Isle Holy War' and the Spinners series sold well at that," he said. "I was pleasantly surprised. That day I spent at the festival was the best signing I have ever had, and I was one of hundreds of writers."

Southern writer Charlene Harris whose vampire novels inspired the popular television series 'True Blood' also attended.

"She was a huge draw," said Mr. Farrington. "She had about a thousand people show up to see her."

This April, Mr. Farrington's last book won a Southern regional Gold ADDY Award for best book cover design.

The covers to his books have all been designed by his son, Jason who works as a graphic designer for Louisiana firm 'Gorilla Design Studios'.

The ADDY awards are the world's largest, and arguably toughest, advertising competition attracting more than 60,000 entries annually.

The ADDYS are hosted by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the oldest national advertising trade association in the United States.

Mr. Farrington's books are available locally or on www.amazon.com. For more information check out his website at www.spinners.com.