Long John Silver Is Back! New Reading For Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Long John Silver sentenced to hang. Jim Hawkins determined to save him. A "Treasure Island" sequel. Those are the ideas that inspired John O'Melveny Woods to publish his first full-length novel, Return to Treasure Island. 

Woods, a journalist, entrepreneur and film-school graduate, said he created his own guide to talking like a pirate. He depended on this pirate glossary as he worked on the novel. From The North County Times:

"I knew I couldn't write the book in modern-day parlance, and I knew I also couldn't write it in 1880s parlance, so I had to find the balance. From my research, it looked like Stevenson invented the pirate language that is still used today. So I took it further and created a sort of pirate-language bible that would guide me as I wrote the book."

Woods also told the North County Times that his target readers were the fans of the original by Robert Louis Stevenson: 

"I had to figure out a way to get Jim back to Treasure Island, when in the original book he swore he would never return. I also wanted to keep the main characters while bringing in new characters. In the end, as a fan of the original, I just wanted to make sure I was happy with what I wrote, as a fan would be happy."

The version by Woods may not be the only Stevenson tribute novel, but it is probably the only one with its own website that plays spooky pirate music: Return To Treasure Island. 

The book makes a perfect gift for Talk Like A Pirate Day, Sept. 19.