A WELL-travelled Farnham man has put his past experiences as a marine engineer to good use with the release of his second novel Sea Dogs, a supernatural thriller set against the backdrop of the Japanese innovation of Singapore during the Second World War.

By the time he was 19 years of age, Robert Francis Harris had circumnavigated the world three times. Over the next 10 years, as a marine engineer, he served on almost every type of ship, from cargo tramp vessels and oil tankers to sophisticated passenger ships and coastal ferries – attaining the rank of chief engineer.

He later moved into the realms of ship building, and for some 30 years was involved in the building of super-tankers and the conversion of ships and offshore oil rigs.

This again took him worldwide – Norway, Denmark, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan and Brazil - and Robert kept diaries and notes of his experiences and details of the countries he had worked and lived in throughout.

Now retired, Robert, 76, has turned his attention to writing novels and published his first book The Quisling Legacy in 2009 followed by Sea Dogs earlier this year, combining his experience of life on the high seas with a fascination with modern history.

Sea Dogs begins in February 1942 with the Japanese invasion of Singapore in full-swing. In the midst of the chaos thousands of people were able to flee the island and break away from terrifying destruction raging in the heart of the city.

However, for one group of international students who find refuge escaping the island on a stowaway ship, their perceived salvation turns out to be a far greater life-changing experience than any world war.

Leaking nuclear radiation as a result of being caught in the crossfire, the contaminated vessel gifts the students with supernatural powers – powers that soon prove to be more of a burden than they’re worth.

As the ship makes an emergency stop on a remote Pacific island, the students struggle to adapt to their new surroundings, having to figure out a way to survive an imminent conflict that’s emerging between them and the island’s natives while also learning to grasp the immensity of their new magical abilities.

Robert is a member of the Fellowship of the Pen writing group, meeting every Thursday at the Conservative Club in Farnham, and has won several national writing competitions.

Sea Dogs by RF Harris is available to buy now in paperback online at amazon.com for £7.34.