Pauline Rowson's Blog, page 24

The Page 69 Test - Dead Man's Wharf - DI Andy Horton

The first I heard of the Page 69 Test was when a member of the public approached me in a bookshop where I was doing a book signing and said she always applied it when deciding which crime novel to purchase. She didn’t buy one of my novels so I’d obviously failed to reach her exacting standards, whatever they were! I can't recall which crime novel it was or when but I have applied the Page 69 test to some of my crime novels including the Inspector Andy Horton procedurals, A Killing Coast and Shroud of Evil. This time, as it is January and Dead Man's Wharf is set in January I thought I'd apply it to that crime novel.






So here it is:

The story behind Dead Man's Wharf - Inspector Andy Horton

Dead Man’s Wharf doesn’t start with the discovery of a body it begins in January when Inspector Andy Horton and Sergeant Barney Cantelli are detailed to investigate a series of threatening telephone calls being made to a TV personality who fronts a popular television series called ‘Wrecks Around Britain’. Horton is convinced it is a publicity stunt and is annoyed that their time is being wasted when their workload is so heavy.




Read about the inspiration behind the Inspector Andy Horton crime novel, Dead Man's Wharf.

Three DI Andy Horton crime novels are set in January

It's January and three of my crime novels featuring the rugged and flawed Portsmouth based detective, Inspector Andy Horton, are set during this month:



Dead Man's Wharf, Blood on the Sand and Lethal Waves.



The following blogs will feature extracts and videos from these three crime novels.







Meanwhile here is a taste of each one.

What's on in January 2018-tackling the new crime novel set in 1950 Britain

Writing,
writing and more writing is on the cards for January 2018 as I continue
to work on my new crime novel set in 1950 in Britain. Over the last two
months I've been immersing myself in 1950 Britain working on the first
draft of the novel which I completed at the end of November.  I'm now
working on revisions. This new crime novel features a thoughtful,
reflective Scotland Yard detective who is sent to Portland in Dorset to
investigate the murder of a man found in Church Ope Cove. I am hoping
that it will be the first in a brand new series.




Read more

The perfect system for planning, researching, plotting and writing a crime novel

All writers have different ways of working and finding the ‘perfect system’ for planning, researching, plotting, structuring and writing a novel is often a matter of trial and error until something clicks. That’s how it was for me anyway.



Before I struck on my 'perfect system' I tried all sorts of ways of compiling my research, plotlines, and character outlines, from using note books to wall maps, from card indexes to ring binders. None of them worked. The ring binders looked nice and neat, all properly indexed, but because of my civil service training my mind told me that something in a file, was 'filed away,' and therefore actioned, finished with and a novel is a work in progress.




Read more

Behind the Character - Pauline Rowson talks about her crime busting hero, Art Marvik

Former Royal Marine Commando, Special Boat Services Officer, Art Marvik is tough, highly trained, fearless, intelligent and fit. Injuries inflicted while in combat have forced him to leave the Marines and seek a new life in Civvy Street. He thought he’d be able to adjust and carve out a new career for himself on the sea, but his first job as a private maritime security operative goes very wrong when the luxury motor cruiser he was travelling on and had been detailed to guard, gets attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean, and Marvik finds himself with a bullet in his shoulder and the boat’s owner dead. He failed on his first mission in civilian life, and Silent Running, the first in the Marvik series, opens with him reeling from it.







Read more about Art Marvik

A look back at my crime novels published 2017

In 2017 two of my crime novels were published in hardcover and as ebooks, Lethal Waves and Lost Voyage, one was published as an unabridged audio book, Death Surge, and one was published in paperback, Dangerous Cargo.




Read more

The Suffocating Sea, watch the video book trailer

It's December 17 and THE SUFFOCATING SEA (number 3 in the Inspector Andy Horton police procedural series) opens with the discovery of a body on a burning boat in Horsea Marina, Portsmouth, England.



"A gripping, suspense-filled murder case...an entertaining read in an engaging series..."




Watch the book trailer to see what's in store for Andy Horton in THE SUFFOCATING SEA

December and Inspector Andy Horton has a body on a burning boat to investigate

Two of my crime novels are set in December, FATAL CATCH number 12 in the DI Andy Horton crime series, which I have been featuring here in recent blogs and THE SUFFOCATING SEA number 3 in the Inspector Andy Horton police procedural series.




So here is a look at what's in store for Andy Horton in THE SUFFOCATING SEA

Watch the book trailer of Fatal Catch, Inspector Andy Horton's Christmas Mystery

Fatal Catch opens on 12 December with DI Horton being called out to examine a gruesome catch by two fishermen: a human hand. Is it that of missing violent criminal Alfie Wright – or is he the killer? And where is the rest of the corpse? Soon Horton finds himself immersed in a complex case where everyone has a reason to lie and no one is who they seem. His instincts tell him to trust no one and believe nothing; he’s not sure though whether this time he’ll succeed …



"Plenty of red herrings and a surprising culprit. Series fans will appreciate additional clues about the unsolved murder of Horton’s mother, Jennifer, more than 30 years earlier." Publishers Weekly






Watch the video book trailer of Fatal Catch