The Wolves Keeper Legend fantasy book

...Seven harmonious voices grew over the sea, chanting:
"Welcome, little King!" "But...why do you call me little king?
I am not a king, I am a simple farmer!"...

Origins of the story



This book was written when I was twelve years old (1980), which makes it, even for me, something rare. It’s usual to see books about teenagers, but they normally are written by adults. my career as a teacher, I realised that few adults can see the world in the way a child does – I can name Jostein Gaarder, Jorge Amado and, of course, Saint-Exupery. Generations go by, and the teenagers love them. In the time I wrote it, there were no Golden Compass, no Narnia and no Harry Potter. Though the themes might seem similar to these works, my book is different and whoever reads it to the end understands it very clearly. It’s a unique and very pure vision, not even influenced by television and Internet. I translated it myself from Portuguese to English and gave it the final features, but the original manuscript is a hundred per cent in it, word by word.

My book is a dream, created by a dreamer’s mind, founded on Celtic tales. If talks about ideals that may seem so old-fashioned nowadays to many people, but that in my vision should be eternal targets to Humanity – Freedom, Love, Peace, Justice, Life. It’s a world of Children, but I think that on of the greatest abilities a grown-up can have is to see the world by the eyes of a child. The true hero is “Seanns”, a thirteen years old boy who seeks fulfilment and enlightenment in his life. This boy strives for truth and has a long way to go in a world inhabited by fairies, griffins and dragons. His companions are an old savant man and an older boy who guides him through the Mine of Dreams, where pearl-books are kept as the most precious treasures.

Though the wolf, traditionally, is seen as a terrible creature, associated to everything that is evil, my book tries to demystify this idea, presenting him as in “My friend, the wolf”, a traditional children’s poetry of my country whose author is unfortunately unknown.

My Publishing Journey or How I Became a Published Author

We started looking for a Publisher in 14 April 2008.
First of all, we bought the books Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2009 and Writers' Market UK 2008. We read them right through, me and my husband, every tip, every detail. On one hand, it helped us with the bases - how to compose a query letter, how to write a good Synopsis. But then we thought - if I was a Publisher, or an Agent, would I be interested in reading the same model of query letter a hundred times a day? Wouldn't I be so bored that I would start just throwing them in the bin? We started breaking the rules, writing more from the heart, avoiding the cold business letter. Of course, in some cases, probably the Publishers and Agents threw our inspired letters on the bin anyway, but at least we were doing what we believed.

These books indicated that if I had a celebrity to back me up, my book would be easier to publish. We tried to contact some celebrities, but, of course, most celebrities' addresses are not in the lists or in the net. The ones we found didn't mind. One answered, but by reading the e-mail we suspected immediately that our message didn't even get to her.

Agents? No way. As a first writer, to find an Agent to help us is like for a first time actor to win an Oscar. We tried to contact all the ones we found in the lists, but the answer, generally, was that they are not interested in unpublished Authors. It is understandable, it is a business and certainly they know how hard it is to find a Publisher. So they don't want to invest in a full risk book, even if it is very good. I'm not talking about mine, I'm talking in general. But I must say, though, that my husband, being a foreigner like me and not knowing the Market at all, managed to publish a first-writer book. Then, why can't they?

The most frustrating thing that I found in this process is to know how rare is to find someone who effectively reads the book before saying his verdict on it. How can we judge a book without reading it? How can we say "It's no good!" without knowing it? As a teacher of Literature, I taught the great Classics to youngsters and some of them were absolutely "dry" in the first pages, presenting the family genealogy, the story of the past generations, the story of cities... But I always told my pupils "Give it a chance, read further into it! When you get into the story, you'll see how good it is." And it was true - the book caught their interest and, after that, they just couldn't let it go. So, sending the first sample chapters of a book, wherever it is, is a misrepresentation of a book, is a deceit. My impression, even knowing of the amount of books that arrive each day to the hands of an Agent or of a Publisher, is that they should take more time and read carefully through the books, but make a correct evaluation instead of a hasty one.

What really launched the true possibilities of publishing a book was the site www.firstwriter.com. It has a fee, but it is a hundred per cent worth every cent. There, we could see an extended list of all kinds of publishers and Agents, that can't be found, as I know, anywhere else. There are the characteristics of each one - what genres they do prefer, how to submit a book, when they accept submissions, and, utterly important, the feedback of who already went through the process. This site is updated every twenty four hours. They are very careful and dedicated and very supportive to those like us, who are tired and demoralized by knocking every door and only finding unfunded refusals. There, the publishers are classified by the way how they work, if it is a Classic, a Vanity, a Publisher on demand or a Self-publisher and we know what we can count on - includes how much they pay or how much we must pay for them. Lots of precious information, the best site for who is trying to find a way.

We started by sending the queries by e-mail - around twenty a day. It was easier, faster, and we didn't have any expenses. Then, printing the sample chapters, writing letters, SASE envelopes; sending them everywhere where there was a Publisher or an Agent interested in Fantasy or Fiction books. My husband spent whole nights doing it, while I was working at the night-shift. Thanks to his perseverance I'm here. Answers "No, at the moment we have too many..." or "No, at the moment we are not receiving..." Some of them didn't even answer at all. I didn't keep all the answers, and today I regret it so much. There was one, I remember, who said "No, in a true dialogue, a person doesn't put two sentences together, and each sentence doesn't have more than five, six words."

One month, day after day. Some publishers asked for the whole manuscript, we filled our hearts with hope. My husband prepared a special box, his design of the cover, the book printed in high quality paper. First quality, all very beautiful. Some of the manuscripts came back untouched. We sent more - Special Delivery, SASE.

When we were starting to get absolutely desperate, running out of possibilities, we resourced to the Self-publishers. We never resourced to Vanity publishers, though I think that is a way of doing business as good as any other. There was one self-publisher, his name was Jonathan, as I remember, who told us "I like your book, we can publish it, but wait a little while longer. I'm sure you'll find another way." One of the most extraordinary and supportive answers I received. All my respect to him, and all my respect to the self-publishers, because they give a chance to those who have nothing and we can't take as a rule, knowing the market, that the self-published books have no quality. That's a nonsense. No-one gives a chance to the first-time authors, even presenting potential best-selling, high quality books.

Then, when we least expected, the answer came from Pegasus.

But remember: you can have published a great book and see it die in your shelves or in the friends and family's hands, without the proper promotion....

Meet the Characters

Cìbeir – The shepherd, is a bulky and even funny old man, leader of a congregation which guards the ancient wisdom, inherited of the inhabitants of the Earth. Cìbeir has a deeply human personality. He lives certainty and doubt, patience and impatience, fear and courage. He gives advice and support, but he also makes mistakes. Everybody loves him and listens to him.

Seanns - He is the true hero of the story. He is a dreamer, eager to learn, anxious to grow. Seanns is very curious and independent, but like most teenagers he doesn’t like to study or to dedicate too much time to the same task. He has a very good and generous heart and is intentions are pure enough to pass the proofs that are needed for him to reach the higher levels.

Maise – He is the good older friend, companion of adventures and discoveries. Though the age gap between him and Seanns isn’t that big, he knows a little more than Seanns and can give him guidance when he is lost or in doubt.

Tairneach – He is Cìbeir’s brother and alter-ego. Tairneach is a passionate man who knows no limits to get what he wants. He is very wise and has a definite strategy to his life... Which fails at the end; a demonstration that the powerful men need to know where the other human beings’ rights start. He has also a very human side, and loves his brother, even though they don’t share the same ideals.

Sealgair – He is an artist, who creates beautiful works from clay. Even though all his life he was respected and admired by the community, he becomes a forsaken man when his rivalry with Tairneach turns him into an obstacle to the sorcerer’s designs. He finds companionship and, somehow, a whole new world among the feared wolves.

Ialach – The great white wolf, with bright eyes and shining fur. He is Sealgair’s companion through the darkness of his curse, like a guardian angel that stops him from losing his mind.

Awena – The most beautiful girl, who unwillingly drives men to madness. She is innocent and unaware, but she is trapped into an unexpected situation when two men fight for her attention. Awena has a strong relationship with the nature and has a perception of what no-one else knows in this story. She sees the world through different eyes, and there are mysteries to which only she can give a clue to solve. She has a very sweet relationship with Seanns.

Dainngeann – An old but eternally young Griffin, who lives in a Cave in the depth of the Heulfryn Mountains. He sees beyond the appearances, has a special vision that reaches the most hidden of peoples’ hearts. He is the final proof, before the battle between Good and Evil; the one who can decide the fate of the Sacred Sword. No-one passes through him.

Briallen - The tiny old lady who takes care of the roses. She is like a blind woman, who perceives the world through other super-senses. She listens to voices that no-one can hear and knows paths where no-one can go. She knows the herbal remedies and potions.


Surprise: Which civilization are the boys going to meet in their journey to North?
Don’t miss the next book of this series...

The Wolves’ Keeper Legend
by Sylvia Weber
Pages: 238
Publisher: Pegasus Eliot Mackenzie Ltd.
Imprint: Vanguard Press
ISBN: 978184386499 8