Pauline Rowson's Blog, page 21

A hero with real problems is the key to creating a good crime series

Inspector Andy Horton has been described as 'an especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage - an abrasive supervisor (DCI Lorraine Bliss) and an antagonistic soon to be ex wife.' Booklist (USA) Footsteps on the Shore.



Heroes in crime novels are often ordinary people with their own set of problems and the key to producing a successful crime novel is not necessarily that the hero saves the world, aka James Bond, but that he also learns something about himself along the way. Putting ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances builds tension and readers tend to support characters in which they recognise certain traits they have themselves.




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Video upload - The Art Marvik Mystery Thrillers

"Fans of Rowson’s DI Andy Horton books will be delighted with her new
series featuring former marine commando Art Marvik.  A tense, terrifying
thrill ride that twists and turns with dizzying speed, combined with a
likable, smart, tough, but all too human hero, make this a cracking-good
new series—action fans need Marvik on their radar." Booklist USA



Where to buy Pauline Rowson's books

Death by Crossbow - read more, featured in DI Andy Horton, SHROUD OF EVIL

Thankfully traumatic injuries and deaths caused by crossbows are a rarity. But it was something that I thought I would introduce in one of my Inspector Andy Horton crime novels, SHROUD OF EVIL.



Researching therefore into crossbow shooting and pathology here is what I discovered.




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Subscribe to crime author Pauline Rowson's newsletter

Subscribe to my monthly e newsletter for all the latest news on my crime novels, talks, interviews, articles and tips on writing. Plus much more.




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The writing process and crime novels

Here's a Q & A I did for a blog on the writing process. Thought I'd share it here.



1. Where do you do your best thinking?

Walking the coastal paths of the Isle of Wight, Langstone, Chichester and Portsmouth Harbours where my Inspector Andy Horton crime novels are set.

Also out on research further along the south coast for the Art Marvik mysteries, set in Southampton (Silent Running) on the beautiful Dorset coast (Dangerous Cargo) and East Sussex at Cuckmere Haven and the Severn Sisters cliffs (Lost Voyage).

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Corpse in the water- Did you know? Fascinating Forensic Facts

All
my crime novels are set around the sea so it is inevitable that I will
have bodies in the water, by the water, and washed up beside the water!
So here's some fascinating facts from my research - not for the
fainthearted!




Bodies in the water

What's on in May 2018

In May I will be meeting up with some keen mystery readers from the USA, talking to them about my crime novels set on the south coast of England while they are on a tour of Southern England ending up with them attending the annual crime fiction festival in Bristol CrimeFest. Also in May some further research for my crime novels, new videos and more articles and news to follow on my website.




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The Page 69 test – A Killing Coast – A DI Andy Horton crime novel

A Killing Coast, featuring the rugged and flawed Inspector Andy Horton is set against the backdrop of the Solent on the South Coast of England.  'Multilayered, twisted, and complex...a surprising conclusion and a
satisfying read.' Booklist USA

Does A Killing Coast pass the Page 69 Test? 

Video Upload- A Killing Coast, Inspector Andy Horton

It's April and Andy Horton finds himself engaged in a new complex murder
investigation.  See where A Killing Coast is set and read some
extracts.

Video upload - Miss You London Book Fair

Miss you London Book Fair 2018 but I'll be back.  Here is a brief
glimpse of only a portion of the years I've been going to the London
Book Fair.