WHAT would you do if you became a victim of piracy in paradise? That’s the question Farnham author Dick Allan poses in his new novel Poto Paddu, an avenging tale of two heroines pitted against modern-day South Seas pirates.

Published on May 20 and based on the author’s real life adventures sailing round the world aboard his yacht ‘Greylag’, the new novel delves into the hot topic of contemporary piracy and its shattering consequence – a subject rarely out of the international news with the current crackdown on pirates by both Malaysia and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, in a refreshing twist, the novel features two women as the main protagonists, who develop a powerful bond as they battle police corruption and organised crime to exact their revenge.

There cannot be many authors writing high-octane thrillers at the age of 81, but for Dick Allan it is yet another adventure. After qualifying as a doctor at Guy’s Hospital in London, his career moved on to research for the armed services until his retirement. A life-long sailor, Dick then set off on a 28,000-mile voyage around the world.

He said: “During the journey there were places where we worried about attacks from pirates, especially in Indonesia and the infamous South China Sea. Poto Paddu is a real place in Sumbawa and while we were docked there, we often speculated how we would deal with an attack.

“Those long conversations sowed the seeds of this novel and as I began to write I decided to turn convention on its head and explore the dramas and difficulties that would arise if the main protagonists were two women.”

Dick said he was inspired by his writing hero Hammond Innes (also a yachtsman) as well as other writers such as Alistair Maclean, Jack Higgins and William Boyd.

Although his sailing days are now over, Dick doesn’t intend to stop writing about the high seas anytime soon and is already half-way through a Poto Paddu sequel.

But when he is not writing Dick has the perfect antidote to the fast-paced, danger-filled world of his books - as a leading light in the UK’s model steam engine community. “It certainly makes a change from guns, death, crime and revenge.”

Poto Paddu was published on May 20 by Silverwood Books and will be available to buy in Paperback and e-reader formats from Amazon and other online retailers.