Author John O’Melveny Woods took a trip to Las Vegas to visit the world famous Treasure Island Hotel. Touring around the strip, he visited many of the local sites, including the new bridge that spans Hoover dam. A picture proves he made it all the way across. He hopes to form a joint venture with the hotel in the future promoting the book and hotel.

“It is a perfect fit,” Woods states, “and many people came up and asked how to get it while we were taking pictures of the book.”

Return to Treasure Island received the prestigious Silver Medal Award by IPPY for Young Adult (YA) Fiction. Additionally, the book is forwarded by LeVar Burton, of Star Trek and reading Rainbow fame.

Clive Cussler stated it was ‘’creative and absorbing. ” Midwest book review touted it saying that ‘Return to Treasure Island is a fun and fascinating read for those seeking an old school adventure novel of piracy and discovery.’

“I loved writing the book,” states author John O’Melveny Woods. “Continuing the original adventure, with Long John silver and Jim Hawkins, was a passionate process. I am humbly heartened by the positive reviews on Amazon… it has been very encouraging.”

‘If you loved Treasure Island,’ states the publisher, ‘you will treasure Return to Treasure Island. Readers can experience the adventure and characters of Treasure Island like never before. And a few new ones too!’

The trailer can be viewed on the book’s official web-site, www.TreasureIslandBook.com, which also contains many fun and exciting links for pirates, codes and further reading. It also offers a free download of the original Treasure Island Book.

About Return to Treasure Island

The story is set three years after his triumphant return from Treasure Island. Jim Hawkins learns that Long John Silver has been captured and sentenced to hang. Jim’s fateful decision to help Silver propels them into a dangerous search for the greatest treasure of all time The Pharaoh’s Gold. A cryptic map, secret codes and puzzling clues all lead back to Treasure Island where courage, cunning, and mutual trust are the only weapons that can save Hawkins and Silver from a horrific death and help them in their quest to find the treasure. Written in first person narrative, the book blends the cadence and style of the original Treasure Island while introducing memorable new pirate characters and locations. Additionally, a coming of age love story interweaves the adventure.

Return to Treasure Island harkens back to the days when action, mystery and adventure rode hand in hand with storytelling, and promised to entertain readers of all ages.

About Author John O’Melveny Woods

John O’Melveny Woods is a successful entrepreneur who attended USC cinematic Film School, and has written numerous television shows, screenplays, articles, and non-fiction books. Return to Treasure Island is his first novel. His next book, Jesse James Secret: Codes, Cover-Ups and Hidden Treasure is due out Fall 2010, and was the basis for’ Jesse James Hidden Treasure,’ one of History Channel’s highest rated shows. He lives in Leucadia, California.

If you would like to contact the author, or if you would like him to speak at an event or schedule him for an interview, please send a request to the publisher at:

Intellect Publishing

P.O. Box 8219

Kirkland, WA 98034

[email protected]

www.IntellectPublishing.com

John Woods, a self-described serial entrepreneur, seems to have found his niche.

The author, who recently penned a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, is on the island finishing his next two novels.

Woods said he’s always had a passion for writing, but it wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he decided to follow his dream.

Before he got into writing novels 15 years ago, he was busy establishing a string of companies: an aircraft manufacturing business in California, a printing brokerage in the Philippines, a newspaper and a series of film production companies in California.

He spent some time writing scripts for the film industry, but quickly realised that he wasn’t comfortable with the way that film companies distorted the stories he wanted to tell, so he sold his company and started to write his own stories.

“I risked everything to write,” Woods said. “But it’s something I wanted to do for the second half of my life and every day I’m thankful I did.”

Re-reading Treasure Island in 2003 triggered a flood of memories for Woods.

“I remembered how much I loved the book and I was actually very sad when it ended,” he joked. “I knew I wouldn’t get to meet the characters again.”

He resolved to write a sequel, and spent two and a half years writing Return to Treasure Island.

“The first question I always get when I speak is, ‘What were you thinking?” Woods remembered. “Robert Louis Stevenson is one of the greatest writers on Earth. And you think you can live up to that? It was a daunting challenge – one that forced me to push myself every day.”

But he said that attempting to follow in a classic writer’s footsteps forced him to push himself.

“I couldn’t be lazy, and I certainly couldn’t be arrogant. I simply wanted to honour Stevenson with a sequel that would hopefully be as entertaining as his original.

He created a lexicon of the pirate words used in the original tale, as well as a map of the islands in the book, today’s British Virgin Islands, and created a sequel that received good reviews.

“That’s the joy of writing,” he said. “People wrote reviews saying that reading my book made them feel like a kid again. That sort of thing is very rewarding.”

Woods, who uses the pen name John O’Melveny Woods, is currently finishing a work titled Jesse James’ Secret, which recounts the true story of how the notorious American outlaw faked his own death. The unpublished novel was recently adapted into a two-hour television special called ‘Jesse James’ Hidden Treasure,’ and was rated as one of the History Channel’s most-viewed shows. The book will be released in June.

Woods is also researching and writing The Seekers, a series of fiction novels reminiscent of Indiana Jones’ adventure to discover the messages buried in archaeological ruins.

He said that researching Return to Treasure Island exposed him to photos of blue lagoons and white beaches, and led him to develop a love for the sea. He decided after writing it that he “had to be around water”.

A seasoned New Zealand visitor, he’d heard of the Cook Islands but had never visited until now. Woods is enjoying his time on Rarotonga, dividing his day between writing and walking on the beach, he said.

“I’m dedicated to immersing myself here – writing, exploring, meeting people. I’ve only been here a week and I think it’s wonderful. I like being places where people are happy.”

Woods is also interested in getting to know local writers, as he is the co-founder of a non-profit organisation in California called Read Local, which seeks to introduce local authors to local readers.

He feels strongly about people following their passions, and knows firsthand that nothing good can come of selling your dreams.

“That’s the tipping factor for success,” Woods shares. “I’ve talked to many authors who said they failed because they wrote about what they thought would make money, rather than what they were interested in or passionate about. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote books and stories for years before success caught up with him.”

If you are interested in learning more about Woods, the link to his first novel is treasureislandbook.com and the link to his non-profit is sandiego.readlocal.org/john-omelveny-woods/.

Rachel Reeves