A Better Way to Stop Pirates

Headstrong Flossy Fairweather knows nothing of Port Isabel when she's captured by pirates in the middle of the night and carried off before she can even draw her sword. After years at sea exploring with her parents, imagine her surprise when she's rescued by talking animals. But the seaside town they come from is panicked by her arrival. Humans, who have a reputation for cruelty and cannibalism, haven't been seen for a thousand years. And the pirates want her back. Or are they after something else altogether?

By the end of the next ice age, all that remains of the once great, world-spanning human civilisation are myths and ancient, inexplicable artefacts lying at the feet of melting glaciers. Thanks to the red-hot Heat Tree reefs that keep the ice at bay, the lands above the Gulf of Mexico are some of the few places still warm enough to support life. On the western shores of the Gulf is Port Isabel, a town conceived and built by owls who mysteriously vanished hundreds of years before. The animals that live there are industrious, peaceful and vegetarian; except for those that aren't, which is where all the trouble starts.

Mark is an award winning writer living in Sydney, Australia. His novels, fables and short stories are adored by children and adults alike.