Pauline Rowson's Blog - Posts tagged "marine"

I’m often asked this question. Who would play Inspector Andy Horton if there was a film or television series made of my Marine Mysteries. It’s quite a tricky question to answer in a way because my view of the actor to play Andy Horton might not fit with yours.

Andy Horton has had a tough upbringing. Illegitimate and brought up on the streets of Portsmouth, his mother abandoned him as a child. He has no idea where she is or even if she is alive. Horton has been raised in children’s homes and with a succession of foster parents which makes him a loner, but with a desperate desire to belong. He finds this sense of belonging through joining the police service.

He’s fearless where others are concerned, an action man rather than a thinker with a strong sense of justice. He’s tall and fit with short cropped fair hair. He rides a Harley Davidson and lives on a boat. The rest I leave to you.

He first appears in Tide of Death then Deadly Waters, The Suffocating Sea and soon, Dead Man’s Wharf. How do you see Andy Horton? Let me know if you have any thoughts on this. You can read more about Horton and my news on my official web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk

When I first started writing fiction I wrote from the female character's point of view but often I found myself wanting to switch main characters from the female to the male in the novel. It wasn't until I started writing crime novels and Tide of Death and introduced Inspector Andy Horton that I found my 'voice' as they call it in writing parlance. Once I started writing from the male point of view everything began to fall into place.

I also prefer single person point of view which means that you follow the story through the eyes of Andy Horton in my marine mystery crime novels and through Adam Greene in my thriller, In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill.

When people ask me why I write from the male character's point of view I often joke that maybe it's because I am a closet man. But I don't really know. Perhaps it's because I have worked in male dominated environments for most of my life, or perhaps it's because of my personality. Whatever it is, though, I don't think it matters, it's just the way I write and if people enjoy it - great!

You can listen to an interview I did with Rob Richardson on Express FM about how I write my marine mysteries at http://www.rowmark.co.uk/marine_mysterie...

One of the questions that I often get asked is how do you choose titles for your novels?

Titles either come to me instantly, as in my new Marine Mystery crime novel Dead Man's Wharf due out on 29 April, or I struggle for ages. The first title in the series was simple, Tide of Death but I had to change the title of the second in the series from Deadly Harbour to Deadly Waters because it was being published in the USA and the publisher didn't want the English spelling of harbour on the cover. I struggled with the title of the new Inspector Horton Marine Mystery I'm writing, but I have now called it Blood Upon the Sand though that could change before publication.

In Cold Daylight began as The Cold Light of Day before I found another book of the same title in the same genre, a thriller, so I changed it - just to be on the safe side - to In Cold Daylight. And In For The Kill came instantly to me and explains just what that thriller is about - Alex Albury on his quest for revenge is in for the kill after his identity was stolen and he was wrongly convicted for fraud and embezzlement.

There is no copyright on a title but if you choose a title that is the same as another in the same genre you could find the publisher of the original book objecting and in danger of having your book pulled.

Titles, just like book covers, have to fit the type of novel or genre, and in my case, because my novels are Marine Mysteries they also have to have a 'sea' element in the title and cover image. Both are very important in attracting the new reader although once readers discover your novels and enjoy them they will then specifically look out for the new one.

Many people rarely remember the titles after they've read a book (unless the book becomes film). People might not even remember the author's name but what they often remember is the main character and they'll look for the next Inspector Horton, or the next Marine Mystery.

I did once, however, meet a reader who told me that she only ever bought crime books with murder or death in the title!

What do you think? How important are book titles to you and what influences you when you buy a book?

http://www.rowmark.co.uk

Thank you to Mike Powell of BBC Radio Solent for inviting me to be his guest on his Sunday afternoon programme (15 March 2009) to talk about the unsolved murder of my great aunt, Martha Giles, who was brutally killed on 12 February 1959. I was also talking to Mike about my marine mystery crime and thriller novels.

Thanks also to those of you who were kind enough to e mail and text him to say how much you enjoy my novels, and to offer your support in trying to get this tragic case re-examined by the police.

In addition, I would like to thank the Red Room for choosing my video on character development to feature on the Home page last week, and everyone who listened to it and clicked through to my author page, and my official web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk More videos to follow soon.

Finally, I would like to thank those who visited my web site during Read an E Book Week 8-14 March 2009, and downloaded a copy of Tide of Death. I hope you enjoy reading it and come back for more.

I'm delighted to announce that my third marine mystery featuring the flawed and rugged Inspector Horton, The Suffocating Sea, is to be published by Isis Publishing, the World’s leading publisher of unabridged audio books, as an audio book and digital download. You can read more information on my official web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk

The Suffocating Sea will be released in CD and cassette form in August 2009. It will be read by Gordon Griffin, an actor with over forty years experience who has appeared in a number of plays and television performances, and who also reads audio books by James Patterson and Patrick O’Brian. The Suffocating Sea will be on sale in CD and Cassette form around the World and available from Audible as a download.

The Suffocating Sea is the third in the marine mystery series of crime novels featuring Inspector Andy Horton and set in Portsmouth and the Solent. It has recently been chosen as the Best of British Crime Fiction by The Book Depository. It was released in paperback in January.

Audio books are the only means for some people to have access to books because of sight problems so that is excellent news and now with more people listening to music on the go having the novel in a format that can be downloaded will also attract new readers.

I've just started working on the new Inspector Andy Horton marine mystery; the sixth in the series. At first it all seems rather messy, lots of ideas and threads and none of them joined up enough to make a worthwhile plot, until yesterday that was.

I do all my plot outlines and characters in pencil before starting the creative process but this time something was urging me to start typing on to screen and get on with the creative process right away. Perhaps it was because I'd left Andy in the last novel in a turmoil and I needed to continue with his thinking. Or perhaps it was because one germ of an idea I had would take hold on screen during the creative writing process and flourish into a full blown infection. Anyway it worked (I think) I have now begun Andy Horton number six.

What I have written so far (two thousand words) might never see the final light of day because it will be changed many times before I am happy with it, but it's a start. Only another ninety eight thousand words to go before the first draft is complete. So I'd better sign off now and get on with it.

I've just uploaded a new video to my broadcast channel at You Tube where you can watch all my videos and subscribe to receive updates as new videos are posted. Or you can see all my video interviews on my web site

The latest video is an interview with Rob Richardson of Express FM where I am talking about my marine mysteries and we are discussing writing point of view.

On Saturday 20 June 2009, as part of the celebrations for Independent Booksellers Week, I will be signing copies of my latest Inspector Horton Marine Mystery crime novels, Deadly Waters and Dead Man's Wharf at my local independent bookshop, The Hayling Island Bookshop at 11am - all welcome.

Independent Booksellers Week was first launched last year as a celebration of independent bookselling. Over 350 booksellers participated in a range of activities and events throughout the week. This year it runs from 15th to 22nd June and there will again be a number of exciting events and book signings in the UK in independent bookshops.

Before that though I've got lots of speaking engagements and book signings lined up. You can see them on my official web site Rowmark

I've also just been invited on to Wight FM, Isle of Wight radio,to talk about my crime novels. In For The Kill, a fast-paced, action-packed thriller is set primarily on the Isle of Wight. I'll be talking to Alex Dyke on Thursday 16 April at 12 noon.

The London Book Fair is just a week away and a great place to learn more about the publishing industry with free seminars and lots of publishers present. For published writers and those wishing to be published it's a good way to research the market and find out who is who. You can pick up new ideas at the fair, make new contacts, check out what kind of titles publishers are publishing and network with other authors, and those in the book business.

My Marine Mystery crime novels and my thrillers will be on show at The London Book Fair on stand J205 so if you're going to the London Book Fair do take time to come and say 'hello'. I will be there on Monday 20 April and Tuesday 21 April. I've got some appointments lined up but if I'm not around you can always browse the books and pick up a leaflet or two. You can even pinch a sweet! My business book publisher, Crimson, will also be at the Fair on Stand J250.

I'm looking forward to meeting my overseas literary agents and my publishers and hopefully making many new contacts. www.rowmark.co.uk

My radio phone in interview with Alex Dyke on Wight FM on 16 April was lots of fun. It was great to talk to people via a phone-in and to answer questions they’d e mailed in regarding my novels and how I write. I'd love to do more radio phone-ins so hope I can link in with other radio stations on this soon.

I was also delighted to find that the Captain sailing the Wightlink ferry from Portsmouth to Fishbourne, on my way over to the Isle of Wight for my radio interview, was Captain Paul Marshall who was the Captain on the St Clare at the time of my eight hour marathon book signing event in May 2008. He left the bridge on Wednesday - in the capable hands of his chief officer I hasten to add - to come and say 'hello' and chat while we waited to sail into Fishbourne.

All in all a pleasant couple of days on the Isle of Wight, where my thriller, In For The Kill is set. The Suffocating Sea (an Inspector Andy Horton crime novel) also ends on the Isle of Wight. You can read all about my novels, business books and more on my official web site www.rowmark.co.uk