The Pirates of Xingu

My newest project, just completed. Let me know what you think.



Set in the late 1800‘s - a century and a half after Blackbeard’s time - The Pirates of Xingu tells the story of two teenage brothers and their quest to rescue their sister from the clutches of a Brazilian pirate.

Their parents, Raymond and Maria de Souza Levalle, were murdered on the tiny atoll of Cayo Perdido by Osvaldo Dos Santos and the crew of the Corcovado. For eighteen long years the man, who Maria had left at the altar in favor of Raymond, had doggedly pursued the couple, single-minded in his vengeful purpose. The Levalles settled on Cayo Perdido and, secure in their isolation, fashioned a paradise for themselves and their children. It wouldn’t last long: in the summer of 1876, the pirate found them. Charles and William discovered the bodies of their parents as the Corcovado sailed away from the island. Through tears of grief they watched the ship disappear over the horizon. On board that terrible ship went the oldest of the Levalle children - their sister Gabriela.

The boys survived, living alone on Cayo Perdido for six years, and on the very day of the sixth anniversary of the attack they received a letter from Brazil and with it the news that the Corcovado had been spotted at the mouth of the Amazon River. It is on that day this story begins.

The Pirates of Xingu chronicles their dangerous journey aboard the Oro Perdido to the Amazon basin and into the realm of the mysterious Xingu Indians.  Along the way they encounter Captain O’Malley, Pierre, Old Four Fingers and Chang, a disgraced Shaolin monk.  Former members of the Corcovado’s crew, they too are searching for Dos Santos for reasons of their own. The race is on.

With the help of Ronaldo Gomes, a young Brazilian from Belem, the brothers finally find and rescue Gabriela - but their task is far from over. Not only is Dos Santo after them, but he is now accompanied by O’Malley, whose motivations remain unclear.  The crew of the Oro Perdido return to Cayo Perdido with only days to prepare for the pirate’s arrival.

Will Dos Santos and his crew finally finish what they started? Will he finally force Gabriela - the daughter of the woman who spurned him those many years ago - to marry him? Will he complete his revenge by murdering her brothers? And what of O’Malley? Why has he joined forces with the man who marooned him in Trinidad?

54,000 words; 240 pages

An Adventure for Young Readers

Delay of Game

My publisher - the referees in these matters - have called a penalty on me, and the penalty is a two month delay for Avery McShane and the Silver Spurs. I could challenge the call, but the ref's are right. They've determined that the cover for the book is 'too young', and I can't argue with them on that assessment. It is. I knew it when I first saw it, but I figured they knew what they were doing at the time so I rolled with it. They tested the cover with retailers, and the result was the penalty call. It's a harsh one, but it's better to get it right from the get-go. Right?

I think were going to eventually end up with something a little more sinister - probably featuring Loca, the demon dog, who plays a big part in the story. Of course, it'll be set in the jungle where everything happens. I'm guessing that it'll be a darker and scarier scene than the last one. It's an adventure story, but what's an adventure without danger and mystery. I can't wait to see the new version, and I will...after I sit out my two month penalty.

The Advantage of a Publishing House

This will be quick.

A lot of folks are self-publishing these days. I'm sure there are some good products out there, but I'm guessing that the majority are being self-published because they should be. As you know by now, 'Avery McShane and the Silver Spurs' was picked up by Bloomsbury and will be published in early January.

Now these folks have been great! I mean it...amazing even. My editor - the one who did the same thing for the Harry Potter books - is fantastic. Her support staff of copy editors and illustrators and the marketing team have been wonderful. Apart from the 18 month wait to get the book published, it's been a cool ride.

Aside from all of the quality they've injected into the project, there is one thing they do that someone self-publishing will have a hard time replicating (at least, at this point). They have my book out there - all over the world - and we're not even done with it. The final proof edit doesn't even get to me until next week. The maps haven't been completed, but they will follow up pretty soon. When it's all done, they'll be sending it off to Waterstones to see if it can earn a shortlisting and, fingers-crossed, maybe win their prestigious prize.

By 'out there', I mean way out there. Google the title of the book. It will show up on each of the first 16 pages of selections. It is being marketed in: USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Czech Rep., Poland, Norway, Holland and Turkey. Those are the ones I could figure out. Of course, Amazon.com has a lot to do with that...but still....

And here's the irony. Not one of the countries on the list are in Latin America. The story takes place in Venezuela. What the...?

I'm sure the Spanish-speaking countries will start popping up soon. They'd better.

A Legend

I was surfing the web and came across a brief bio about my agent, Sterling Lord. I've copied it below. He is attending the Paris Writer's Retreat as a featured guest and speaker. Check it out. I think you'll see why he is considered a legend in literary circles. I still haven't figured out why he picked me out to be one of clients...but I'm not complaining.

"MR. STERLING LORD is a legend. He is chairman of the prominent NY literary agency Sterling Lord Literistic. Among the great authors he represented:  Jack Kerouac ( On the Road, 1957), Ken Kesey, Howard Fast, Gloria Naylor, Jimmy Breslin, Nick Pileggi, David Wise, Dick Francis, Terry Southern, Walter Lord, and Stan and Jan Berernstein, authors of the largest selling children's books in the world. Lord began his career as a magazine editor in and publisher in Europe and the United States. Lord was one of the first agents to sell major autobiographical books as films (Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and Fear Strikes Out) (1957). He was also one of the first agents to break the book publishing tradition of single submission of materials, and move into multiple submissions and auctions. In the 1960's, with the demise of many national magazines (Look, Life, Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, etc.), Lord set up his own syndicate of Sunday newspaper magazines and also syndicated well-known daily newspaper columnists, including Jimmy Breslin and Dick Schaap). His syndication of Jimmy Breslin broke all newspaper traditions regarding payments, exclusivity, and use of his material in subscriber newspapers.  When Sports Illustrated named the 100 best sports books of all time in its December 15, 2002 issue, 16 of them were represented by Sterling Lord." 

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My First Uncorrected Proof

Snail mail delivered something I was not expecting, but am very happy to have received - an honest-to-goodness paperback novel with my name on it. It is the uncorrected proof. It's a real book. I can pick it up and feel it. It does not have the same cover art it will in the final version. Instead, it has some of the elements of the future cover, like Avery McShane on his bike and jungle foliage. On the back it has some text I had not seen before. It gives me an idea where the publishers want to go with the marketing of the book:


 - An action-packed, funny and fast-paced adventure story from an exciting new author

 - A remarkable insight into jungle life that will have readers on the edge of their seats

 - This brilliant blend of adventure and mystery will appeal to fans of Time Riders, Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson


Aww, shucks.

Change of Theme: Music I listen to while writing

I've been posting so far about my development as a writer. I hope you've enjoyed the ride and - for you new writers - the lessons I've learned. I'll keep on with the overall theme over time, but I thought I'd jump away every now and then to let you inside my head a little more. I listen to jazz music via Pandora while I write. The music is on from the moment I arrive at the office until I leave for home. Here are my favorites, the ones that seeded my personal jazz station.

John Coltrane was, in my opinion, the most talented jazz saxophonist ever. He had a tendency to experiment with his music - a little too much for most people - but I absolutely love his musics's style, range and grace.

Few people will disagree with my assessment of Miles Davis as the best jazz trumpeter ever. Just YouTube him and play his most popular songs and you'll hear why.

Thelonius Monk was unique - a jazz pianist without peer.


My Music Genome is based on the talents of these three men.

The Proof

I received the proof pages yesterday from Bloomsbury. It is the first time I've seen Avery McShane and the Silver Spurs in the format that will be published. It is cool - 210 pages of cool. The pages numbers have little spurs next to them. The chapter headers are great. The only thing that the proof doesn't have is the cover art, which I've already received separately. I think the art is posted on this blog, but you can also find it posted on my website (www.gleighlyons.com), on Avery's blog (www.averymcshane.blogspot.com) and on the new Avery McShane Fan Page on Facebook. I hope you'll join the Fan Page.

The proof page for the map of Campo Mata is still blank, but my editor says that I'll be seeing it soon. I will be sure to post that when it comes out, too. This whole process has been a blast, and one helluva learning curve. When The Pirates of Xingu and Paleopeople find homes, and the same process starts for them, I'll be ready for it.

Bottom-line is that with each passing day I've been feeling more and more like real author. Now I have proof.