@aoife also what if after all these years RL Stein comes out to a press conference and gravely announces that he was never RL Stein to begin with, and in fact he met RL Stein many years ago, when he was attacked by pirates at sea. Something, though he never said what, made RL Stein spare the young writer's life, but every day he would say "good work today, rest well, for tomorrow I will kill you".
Eventually he revealed his secret, HE was not RL Stein either, and had inherited the ship himself!
@Nine RL Stein isn't a name, but a title bestowed on the recipient of the RL Stein Excellence in Writing Award