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 The unpublished novel was recently adapted into a two-hour television special called ‘Jesse James’ Hidden Treasure,’ and was rated as one of the History Channel’s most-viewed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