Pauline Rowson's Blog - Posts Tagged "tide-of-death"
New DI Horton- Death Lies Beneath - Published in the UK today
The eighth in the DI Andy Horton series of marine mystery crime police procedural novels, Death Lies Beneath, is officially published today in the UK in hardcover by Severn House. It will be published in the USA in November.
Here is the blurb for Death Lies Beneath
When ex con, Daryl Woodley is found dead on the marshes bordering Langstone Harbour the Intelligence Directorate believe his murder is linked to big time crook Marty Stapleton currently serving time in prison. DI Horton is not so sure. He attends Woodley’s funeral in the hope it will give them a lead in an investigation that has drawn a blank at every turn. It does but not in the way he or anyone expected. A body found on a rotting boat being salvaged in Portsmouth Harbour throws Horton into a complex and frustrating investigation. As the tension mounts to solve the case, Horton receives a chilling message; time, it seems, is also running out for him personally…
Set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England
There is also a special summer promotion on the Horton Crime Novels and my Thrillers on Kindle, priced at 99p on Amazon Kindle in the UK and $1.54 on Amazon Kindle in the USA.
Happy summer reading!
Here is the blurb for Death Lies Beneath
When ex con, Daryl Woodley is found dead on the marshes bordering Langstone Harbour the Intelligence Directorate believe his murder is linked to big time crook Marty Stapleton currently serving time in prison. DI Horton is not so sure. He attends Woodley’s funeral in the hope it will give them a lead in an investigation that has drawn a blank at every turn. It does but not in the way he or anyone expected. A body found on a rotting boat being salvaged in Portsmouth Harbour throws Horton into a complex and frustrating investigation. As the tension mounts to solve the case, Horton receives a chilling message; time, it seems, is also running out for him personally…
Set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England
There is also a special summer promotion on the Horton Crime Novels and my Thrillers on Kindle, priced at 99p on Amazon Kindle in the UK and $1.54 on Amazon Kindle in the USA.
Happy summer reading!
How to write a crime series and keep each novel fresh
Writing a crime series and keeping each novel fresh is always a challenge for crime writers. There are now nine in the DI Andy Horton series and number ten, Death Surge, is being published by Severn House in the UK and Commonwealth on 30 September 2013 and in the USA on 1 January 2014. So DI Horton has come a long way since first appearing in Tide of Death in 2006.
So how does a writer keep the series fresh and the central character of interest to readers?
Readers buy my books because they enjoy the style, the setting and reading about the same characters, but the challenge is how to keep faithful to my readers and make each novel fresh and different?
For me creating a central character with a back story, which can be progressed with each new novel, is one way of introducing a fresh element. DI Andy Horton has the continuing mission, along with all the accompanying internal strife, of trying to discover why his mother (Jennifer) abandoned him at the age of ten, where she went and what subsequently happened to her.
It is suspected that she was involved with a master criminal code named Zeus, who the Intelligence Directorate, Europol and Interpol are keen to get their hands on and who are eager to enlist Horton’s help in finding, but as the series progresses it is clear that there is more to her disappearance than Horton has been led to believe. (I won't reveal what and spoil it for new readers).
Then there is the question of Horton’s father. Who is he? Where is he? Is he still alive? Along with this there is Horton’s continuing struggle to gain regular access to his daughter, Emma, from an antagonistic former wife.
While these elements must not be allowed to dominate the novel (and not all of them are in every novel) they keep the reader wondering what might happen and allow the development of subplots and other sides of Horton’s character to be revealed.
The main character’s personal life does, to some extent, have an impact on the plots, but each novel contains a new murder mystery to be solved and that mystery is resolved at the end of each book.
In addition, DI Horton is based in CID with an abrasive female boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss, who is introduced in novel three - The Suffocating Sea - but it is the Major Crime Unit which deals with the homicide cases so there has to be a new way of getting Horton drawn in to each investigation, which makes it challenging and interesting.
I also introduce officers seconded from other units, which in turn alters the chemistry between the characters and the ensuing dialogue.
Setting is another key element in the Horton series. In the Solent there is plenty of contrast and action, both on and off the water, and this helps to create variety, conflict and keep the stories fresh. Added to this is the fact that Horton lives on board his yacht, so he can always up sticks and travel – on holiday, or for a day out sailing… and who knows what might happen? (Blood on the Sand)
I enjoy writing a series and seeing the characters' lives unfold, and publishers like a series because more sales can be generated as the readership grows with each new novel. I'm currently writing the eleventh DI Andy Horton and also working on a new series featuring a new hero. So a lot more to come yet.
Undercurrent
So how does a writer keep the series fresh and the central character of interest to readers?
Readers buy my books because they enjoy the style, the setting and reading about the same characters, but the challenge is how to keep faithful to my readers and make each novel fresh and different?
For me creating a central character with a back story, which can be progressed with each new novel, is one way of introducing a fresh element. DI Andy Horton has the continuing mission, along with all the accompanying internal strife, of trying to discover why his mother (Jennifer) abandoned him at the age of ten, where she went and what subsequently happened to her.
It is suspected that she was involved with a master criminal code named Zeus, who the Intelligence Directorate, Europol and Interpol are keen to get their hands on and who are eager to enlist Horton’s help in finding, but as the series progresses it is clear that there is more to her disappearance than Horton has been led to believe. (I won't reveal what and spoil it for new readers).
Then there is the question of Horton’s father. Who is he? Where is he? Is he still alive? Along with this there is Horton’s continuing struggle to gain regular access to his daughter, Emma, from an antagonistic former wife.
While these elements must not be allowed to dominate the novel (and not all of them are in every novel) they keep the reader wondering what might happen and allow the development of subplots and other sides of Horton’s character to be revealed.
The main character’s personal life does, to some extent, have an impact on the plots, but each novel contains a new murder mystery to be solved and that mystery is resolved at the end of each book.
In addition, DI Horton is based in CID with an abrasive female boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss, who is introduced in novel three - The Suffocating Sea - but it is the Major Crime Unit which deals with the homicide cases so there has to be a new way of getting Horton drawn in to each investigation, which makes it challenging and interesting.
I also introduce officers seconded from other units, which in turn alters the chemistry between the characters and the ensuing dialogue.
Setting is another key element in the Horton series. In the Solent there is plenty of contrast and action, both on and off the water, and this helps to create variety, conflict and keep the stories fresh. Added to this is the fact that Horton lives on board his yacht, so he can always up sticks and travel – on holiday, or for a day out sailing… and who knows what might happen? (Blood on the Sand)
I enjoy writing a series and seeing the characters' lives unfold, and publishers like a series because more sales can be generated as the readership grows with each new novel. I'm currently writing the eleventh DI Andy Horton and also working on a new series featuring a new hero. So a lot more to come yet.
Undercurrent
Using time frames when writing a crime fiction series
Time frames in novels, and particularly when writing a series, as I do with the DI Andy Horton novels, are a tricky thing. There is ‘real time’ and there is ‘fictional time’.
In ‘real time’ I write two DI Horton novels a year whereas in ‘fictional time’ the current novels are set over a period of sixteen months, which means there are an awful lot of murders in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, making it worse that Midsomer Murder on a good day!
DI Andy Horton was thirty nine when I created him in Tide of Death in 2006 and should now be forty six in ‘real time’ but in fictional time he was forty in September. It's said that Agatha Christie regretted making Hercule Poirot sixty when she created him because by the time she finished writing about him he would in ‘real time’ have been about a hundred and eight! In ‘fictional time’ Poirot stayed more or less the same age. I'm not saying that will happen to DI Andy Horton, he may age yet.
Although DI Horton first appeared in 2006 I haven't used that particular year as a benchmark, in fact, as the novels have progressed I've tended to set them in a later year but not specifically the year they have been published. In ‘fictional time’ I have tried to avoid mentioning the actual year they take place.
Following 'fictional time' allows the author to develop the back story. In my case - or rather DI Andy Horton's - it allows me to chart his marital break up, his fight to gain access to his daughter, and the search for the truth regarding his mother’s disappearance over thirty years ago. These are themes that currently run through the series.
One problem when writing police procedural crime novels is that the powers that be i.e. the government in the UK, keep tinkering with the police departments, merging and changing the names and their remits so that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with the changes and by the time the novel is published some of the the police departments mentioned could no longer exist in that format.
In the early DI Horton novels the departments mentioned are all correct but as 'real time' has passed some of these departments have changed their names. I could change them and bring them bang up to date but because I have chosen a tight time frame I have decided to leave them for the moment. If, after writing number twelve in the Horton series which I'm currently working on, I decide to leave a gap and jump forward in time then I will change the police departmental names and structure. But you can bet by the time I do that and the novel is published they'll have changed again!
Death Surge, the tenth in the DI Andy Horton series was published in the UK and Commonwealth in September 2013 and will be published in the USA on 1 January 2014.
Death Surge
In ‘real time’ I write two DI Horton novels a year whereas in ‘fictional time’ the current novels are set over a period of sixteen months, which means there are an awful lot of murders in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, making it worse that Midsomer Murder on a good day!
DI Andy Horton was thirty nine when I created him in Tide of Death in 2006 and should now be forty six in ‘real time’ but in fictional time he was forty in September. It's said that Agatha Christie regretted making Hercule Poirot sixty when she created him because by the time she finished writing about him he would in ‘real time’ have been about a hundred and eight! In ‘fictional time’ Poirot stayed more or less the same age. I'm not saying that will happen to DI Andy Horton, he may age yet.
Although DI Horton first appeared in 2006 I haven't used that particular year as a benchmark, in fact, as the novels have progressed I've tended to set them in a later year but not specifically the year they have been published. In ‘fictional time’ I have tried to avoid mentioning the actual year they take place.
Following 'fictional time' allows the author to develop the back story. In my case - or rather DI Andy Horton's - it allows me to chart his marital break up, his fight to gain access to his daughter, and the search for the truth regarding his mother’s disappearance over thirty years ago. These are themes that currently run through the series.
One problem when writing police procedural crime novels is that the powers that be i.e. the government in the UK, keep tinkering with the police departments, merging and changing the names and their remits so that it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with the changes and by the time the novel is published some of the the police departments mentioned could no longer exist in that format.
In the early DI Horton novels the departments mentioned are all correct but as 'real time' has passed some of these departments have changed their names. I could change them and bring them bang up to date but because I have chosen a tight time frame I have decided to leave them for the moment. If, after writing number twelve in the Horton series which I'm currently working on, I decide to leave a gap and jump forward in time then I will change the police departmental names and structure. But you can bet by the time I do that and the novel is published they'll have changed again!
Death Surge, the tenth in the DI Andy Horton series was published in the UK and Commonwealth in September 2013 and will be published in the USA on 1 January 2014.
Death Surge
Whose story is it? Pauline Rowson discusses viewpoint
Whose story is it? That is a question every writer needs to ask him or herself before starting to write a novel, or if not then certainly while writing and revising it. From whose viewpoint are you telling the story? Is it single viewpoint or multiple viewpoint? Is it male or female or a mixture of both? Beware the latter though and having too many viewpoints because that will not only muddle the story and slow it down but it will also confuse you, and more importantly the reader.
The purpose of the crime or thriller novel is to excite and intrigue, sometimes also to scare, therefore having too many viewpoints, i.e. switching to different characters every so many pages or chapters can bog down a crime novel.
When I first started writing I wrote from the female character's point of view but as I began to write more I found myself far more attracted to telling the story from the male character's point of view and when I created my hunky detective, DI Andy Horton, in the first of the Horton series, Tide of Death, I knew that I had found my 'voice' as they say 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 DI Andy Horton in my marine mystery crime novels, which are written in the third person, and through Adam Greene in my thriller, In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill which are both written in the first person. Although this has its drawbacks in that you can not explain others inner emotions you can portray them through the lead character and it also makes for tighter writing and therefore a faster read.
When people ask me why I write from the male point of view I often joke that maybe it's because I am a closet man. But I don't really know and I don't think it matters, it's just the way I find comfortable writing.
There are of course some very strong females in my novels such as the pathologist Dr Gaye Clayton in the DI Andy Horton series. There are also female victims and killers and there is, from DI Andy Horton number three onwards ( The Suffocating Sea), Horton's acerbic boss, alpha female DCI Lorraine Bliss.
The two standalone crime novels also incorporate some intriguing and interesting female characters.
Finding your style and your voice takes time and practice but if you enjoy writing then that's not a chore, on the contrary it's always a pleasure to experiment.
The purpose of the crime or thriller novel is to excite and intrigue, sometimes also to scare, therefore having too many viewpoints, i.e. switching to different characters every so many pages or chapters can bog down a crime novel.
When I first started writing I wrote from the female character's point of view but as I began to write more I found myself far more attracted to telling the story from the male character's point of view and when I created my hunky detective, DI Andy Horton, in the first of the Horton series, Tide of Death, I knew that I had found my 'voice' as they say 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 DI Andy Horton in my marine mystery crime novels, which are written in the third person, and through Adam Greene in my thriller, In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill which are both written in the first person. Although this has its drawbacks in that you can not explain others inner emotions you can portray them through the lead character and it also makes for tighter writing and therefore a faster read.
When people ask me why I write from the male point of view I often joke that maybe it's because I am a closet man. But I don't really know and I don't think it matters, it's just the way I find comfortable writing.
There are of course some very strong females in my novels such as the pathologist Dr Gaye Clayton in the DI Andy Horton series. There are also female victims and killers and there is, from DI Andy Horton number three onwards ( The Suffocating Sea), Horton's acerbic boss, alpha female DCI Lorraine Bliss.
The two standalone crime novels also incorporate some intriguing and interesting female characters.
Finding your style and your voice takes time and practice but if you enjoy writing then that's not a chore, on the contrary it's always a pleasure to experiment.
Tide of Death, introducing the flawed and rugged DI Andy Horton on special Kindle Deal for August Bank Holiday
Tide of Death introduces the enigmatic DI Andy Horton, whose patch is Portsmouth and the Solent area on the South Coast of England. The action opens on a foggy August Bank Holiday and to mark the occasion Tide of Death is on a special offer on Amazon Kindle for August Bank Holiday, only 23 - 26 August. So if you haven't met Andy Horton yet here's your chance.
It's DI Andy Horton's second day back in CID following an eight month suspension on a charge of gross misconduct. Horton has a point to prove - he's still a good cop.
Determined to prove his innocence of the charges that have wrecked his career and his marriage he finds his personal investigations sidelined when the naked body of a man is found on the beach. Aided by Sergeant Cantelli, Horton sets out to find a killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. As he starts to uncover dark secrets that someone would rather not have exposed, he risks not only his career but also his life…
Chosen by Amazon as the 'Best of Crime Fiction 2006'
Watch the trailer on my website
Tide of Death
It's DI Andy Horton's second day back in CID following an eight month suspension on a charge of gross misconduct. Horton has a point to prove - he's still a good cop.
Determined to prove his innocence of the charges that have wrecked his career and his marriage he finds his personal investigations sidelined when the naked body of a man is found on the beach. Aided by Sergeant Cantelli, Horton sets out to find a killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. As he starts to uncover dark secrets that someone would rather not have exposed, he risks not only his career but also his life…
Chosen by Amazon as the 'Best of Crime Fiction 2006'
Watch the trailer on my website
Tide of Death
Writing a crime series and keeping it fresh
Writing a crime series and keeping each novel fresh is always a challenge for crime writers. There are now eleven in the DI Andy Horton series which is set in Portsmouth against the backdrop of the Solent, and number twelve is with my publisher while I write number thirteen. DI Horton has come a long way since first appearing in Tide of Death in 2006
So how does a writer keep the series fresh and the central character of interest to readers?
Readers buy my books because they enjoy the style, the setting and reading about the same characters, but the challenge is how to keep faithful to my readers and make each novel fresh and different?
For me creating a central character with a back story, which can be progressed with each new novel, is one way of introducing a fresh element. DI Andy Horton has the continuing mission, along with all the accompanying internal strife, of trying to discover why his mother (Jennifer) abandoned him at the age of ten, where she went and what subsequently happened to her.
It is suspected that she was involved with a master criminal code named Zeus, who the Intelligence Directorate, Europol and Interpol are very keen to get their hands on and are eager to enlist Horton’s help in finding. But as the series progresses it is clear that there is more to Jennifer's disappearance than Horton has been led to believe. (I won't reveal what and spoil it for new readers).
Then there is the question of Horton’s father. Who is he? Where is he? Is he still alive? Along with this there is Horton’s continuing struggle to gain regular access to his daughter, Emma, from an antagonistic former wife.
While these elements must not be allowed to dominate the novel (and not all of them are in every novel) they keep the reader wondering what might happen and allow the development of subplots and other sides of Horton’s character to be revealed.
The main character’s personal life does, to some extent, have an impact on the plots, but each novel contains a new murder mystery to be solved and that mystery is resolved at the end of each book.
In addition, DI Horton is based in CID with an abrasive female boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss, who is introduced in novel three The Suffocating Sea but it is the Major Crime Unit which deals with the homicide cases so there has to be a new way of getting Horton drawn in to each investigation, which makes it challenging and interesting.
I also introduce officers seconded from other units, which in turn alters the chemistry between the characters and the ensuing dialogue.
Setting is another key element in the Horton series. In the Solent there is plenty of contrast and action, both on and off the water, and this helps to create variety, conflict and keep the stories fresh. Added to this is the fact that Horton lives on board his yacht, so he can always up sticks and travel – on holiday, or for a day out sailing… and who knows what might happen? Blood on the Sand
In Death Surge DI Andy Horton is also out sailing off the Isle of Wight during Cowes Week when he is called back by Sergeant Cantelli who is frantic with worry because his nephew hasn't shown up to participate in the racing during Cowes Week, as arranged. What begins as a hunt for a missing man soon becomes a hunt for a ruthless killer.
There is always plenty happening in the Solent for me to draw inspiration from, and never a shortage of ideas. Taking those ideas and turning them into plots that will have readers eagerly turning the pages and waiting for the next installment is the tricky bit. So far, with eleven in the series, it seems to have worked.
I enjoy writing a series and seeing the characters' lives unfold, and publishers like a series because more sales can be generated as the readership grows with each new novel. I'm currently writing the thirteenth DI Andy Horton and also working on a new series featuring a new hero. So a lot more to come yet.
So how does a writer keep the series fresh and the central character of interest to readers?
Readers buy my books because they enjoy the style, the setting and reading about the same characters, but the challenge is how to keep faithful to my readers and make each novel fresh and different?
For me creating a central character with a back story, which can be progressed with each new novel, is one way of introducing a fresh element. DI Andy Horton has the continuing mission, along with all the accompanying internal strife, of trying to discover why his mother (Jennifer) abandoned him at the age of ten, where she went and what subsequently happened to her.
It is suspected that she was involved with a master criminal code named Zeus, who the Intelligence Directorate, Europol and Interpol are very keen to get their hands on and are eager to enlist Horton’s help in finding. But as the series progresses it is clear that there is more to Jennifer's disappearance than Horton has been led to believe. (I won't reveal what and spoil it for new readers).
Then there is the question of Horton’s father. Who is he? Where is he? Is he still alive? Along with this there is Horton’s continuing struggle to gain regular access to his daughter, Emma, from an antagonistic former wife.
While these elements must not be allowed to dominate the novel (and not all of them are in every novel) they keep the reader wondering what might happen and allow the development of subplots and other sides of Horton’s character to be revealed.
The main character’s personal life does, to some extent, have an impact on the plots, but each novel contains a new murder mystery to be solved and that mystery is resolved at the end of each book.
In addition, DI Horton is based in CID with an abrasive female boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss, who is introduced in novel three The Suffocating Sea but it is the Major Crime Unit which deals with the homicide cases so there has to be a new way of getting Horton drawn in to each investigation, which makes it challenging and interesting.
I also introduce officers seconded from other units, which in turn alters the chemistry between the characters and the ensuing dialogue.
Setting is another key element in the Horton series. In the Solent there is plenty of contrast and action, both on and off the water, and this helps to create variety, conflict and keep the stories fresh. Added to this is the fact that Horton lives on board his yacht, so he can always up sticks and travel – on holiday, or for a day out sailing… and who knows what might happen? Blood on the Sand
In Death Surge DI Andy Horton is also out sailing off the Isle of Wight during Cowes Week when he is called back by Sergeant Cantelli who is frantic with worry because his nephew hasn't shown up to participate in the racing during Cowes Week, as arranged. What begins as a hunt for a missing man soon becomes a hunt for a ruthless killer.
There is always plenty happening in the Solent for me to draw inspiration from, and never a shortage of ideas. Taking those ideas and turning them into plots that will have readers eagerly turning the pages and waiting for the next installment is the tricky bit. So far, with eleven in the series, it seems to have worked.
I enjoy writing a series and seeing the characters' lives unfold, and publishers like a series because more sales can be generated as the readership grows with each new novel. I'm currently writing the thirteenth DI Andy Horton and also working on a new series featuring a new hero. So a lot more to come yet.
