Pauline Rowson's Blog, page 77
April 19, 2011
Pauline Rowson talking at the Isle of Wight Arts Festival about her DI Horton crime novels and thrillers
It was a pleasure to meet some existing readers and introduce my crime novels to new readers at the Isle of Wight Arts Festival at Ventnor on Sunday, and what a gorgeous day it was too, wall-to-wall sunshine with people flocking to the little beach in the small bay. I was just glad that some visitors managed to tear themselves away from the beach and the sunshine to come and listen to yours truly for an hour in the resplendent Royal Hotel, Ventnor.
It was a small group but they were delightful and I enjoyed talking to them and answering their questions about how I research and write my thrillers, and my marine mystery crime novels featuring my flawed and hunky detective DI Andy Horton.
The first Isle of Wight Festival this year featured many local artists and writers and star attractions, Edward Fox and Barry Norman. I hope it has been a success and runs again next year. I'd be delighted to return and thank you to the people of Ventnor and the visitors for making me so welcome.
For information on all my crime and thriller novels visit my web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Deadly Waters
It was a small group but they were delightful and I enjoyed talking to them and answering their questions about how I research and write my thrillers, and my marine mystery crime novels featuring my flawed and hunky detective DI Andy Horton.
The first Isle of Wight Festival this year featured many local artists and writers and star attractions, Edward Fox and Barry Norman. I hope it has been a success and runs again next year. I'd be delighted to return and thank you to the people of Ventnor and the visitors for making me so welcome.
For information on all my crime and thriller novels visit my web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Deadly Waters
April 12, 2011
My writing routine, crime author Pauline Rowson explains hers
There are a writers who write the same time every day come what may; others will write a certain number of words every day and say, 'when I've done my quota, I'll knock off writing.' Me? I have no routine and I don't count the number of words. Some days the words will flow and I can spend up to eight hours, maybe more writing. Other days I will struggle to find the correct words. If the latter happens I will usually pick up my knitting, do some sewing or go for a walk. My mind is constantly working though, thinking through the plots or sub plots, developing characters. I do, however, try to write or 'think' my novels every day. And if I can, I usually work on my crime novels every late afternoon and early evening, knocking off about 7.30pm.
I'm currently working in pencil on my outline plot, working up ideas for the new DI Andy Horton, which will be number eight in the series. Then I'll start to put down some character sketches before starting on the first draft of what I call the creative writing bit which goes direct onto the computer. When I will begin this creative writing stage I'm not quite sure yet, but it shouldn't be long.
Read more about my writing and my books on http://www.rowmark.co.uk or on my blog http://www.paulinerowson.com
Dead Man's Wharf
I'm currently working in pencil on my outline plot, working up ideas for the new DI Andy Horton, which will be number eight in the series. Then I'll start to put down some character sketches before starting on the first draft of what I call the creative writing bit which goes direct onto the computer. When I will begin this creative writing stage I'm not quite sure yet, but it shouldn't be long.
Read more about my writing and my books on http://www.rowmark.co.uk or on my blog http://www.paulinerowson.com
Dead Man's Wharf
April 8, 2011
Planning and Structuring a Crime Novel- started working on next DI Andy Horton
I've started planning the next DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel, number eight in the series, which is set against the backdrop of the sea on the South Coast of England. How much planning is required when structuring a crime novel?
The answer to that question varies with the author. Some crime writers spend a very long time at the planning stage, up to a year, maybe more, others have only a rough outline before beginning the creative writing, and some will have an in depth synopsis written.
When I begin a new crime novel or thriller I don't have a clue who did it or why? I start with an idea, and a body and then Andy Horton, accompanied by Sergeant Cantelli and often in conflict with his boss DCI Lorraine Bliss and the head of the Major Crime Team, Detective Superintendent Uckfield, set out to discover who killed her/him and why.
The first draft creates the characters, their motivations and personalities. It explores the relationships and determines the setting. At this stage I'm not sure where the story is going or how many twists and turns it will take and that's what excites me. The structure will change, new ideas will spring up, research will sometimes take me in a completely different direction to the one I thought I was heading. Sub plots will begin to develop, which could tie in with the main plot or go their own way, and sometimes I might remove them completely because they are worthy of developing into a novel of their own.
It's unchartered waters and I'm off with Andy Horton to explore what gruesome crime we'll find within them.
For more about the DI Andy Horton series and my other books visit: http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Blood on the Sand
The answer to that question varies with the author. Some crime writers spend a very long time at the planning stage, up to a year, maybe more, others have only a rough outline before beginning the creative writing, and some will have an in depth synopsis written.
When I begin a new crime novel or thriller I don't have a clue who did it or why? I start with an idea, and a body and then Andy Horton, accompanied by Sergeant Cantelli and often in conflict with his boss DCI Lorraine Bliss and the head of the Major Crime Team, Detective Superintendent Uckfield, set out to discover who killed her/him and why.
The first draft creates the characters, their motivations and personalities. It explores the relationships and determines the setting. At this stage I'm not sure where the story is going or how many twists and turns it will take and that's what excites me. The structure will change, new ideas will spring up, research will sometimes take me in a completely different direction to the one I thought I was heading. Sub plots will begin to develop, which could tie in with the main plot or go their own way, and sometimes I might remove them completely because they are worthy of developing into a novel of their own.
It's unchartered waters and I'm off with Andy Horton to explore what gruesome crime we'll find within them.
For more about the DI Andy Horton series and my other books visit: http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Blood on the Sand
April 5, 2011
Last night I finished DI Andy Horton number seven in the series
Last night I finished the final edits on the DI Andy Horton crime novel, number seven in the series, and pressed the send button. Yes, it's whizzed its way to my editor and will pop into his e mail this morning.
Looking back at my notes I see that it took me ten months to write. I started it on 12 June 2010. I would like to have written it in nine months and my aim with the next DI Andy Horton (no.8) is to have it finished by Christmas, which gives me eight months. I'm starting it today- in fact I've already started pulling together the outline. I like to set myself deadlines because I have always worked to deadlines and they're great for focusing the mind.
Hopefully DI Andy Horton number seven won't require too much re-working, if any, apart from checking copy edits and proofs - fingers crossed, but I'm glad now to have another eye cast over it because after living with it for ten months it's very difficult to be objective and spot the gaps. By now I could practically recite the novel backwards.
And the title of this DI Andy Horton? Ah, I'll announce that and give you the blurb soon.
Footsteps on the Shore
Looking back at my notes I see that it took me ten months to write. I started it on 12 June 2010. I would like to have written it in nine months and my aim with the next DI Andy Horton (no.8) is to have it finished by Christmas, which gives me eight months. I'm starting it today- in fact I've already started pulling together the outline. I like to set myself deadlines because I have always worked to deadlines and they're great for focusing the mind.
Hopefully DI Andy Horton number seven won't require too much re-working, if any, apart from checking copy edits and proofs - fingers crossed, but I'm glad now to have another eye cast over it because after living with it for ten months it's very difficult to be objective and spot the gaps. By now I could practically recite the novel backwards.
And the title of this DI Andy Horton? Ah, I'll announce that and give you the blurb soon.
Footsteps on the Shore
April 1, 2011
In for the Kill, a fast-paced thriller now published in Turkey
I was pleased to receive the Turkish edition of my thriller In For The Kill at the weekend. In For The Kill is published in Turkey by Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı one of the country’s leading publishers.
In For The Kill is a compelling, gripping tale of what happens to one man when someone steals his identity
Alex Albury has it all: a successful public relations business, a luxurious house, a beautiful wife and two sons. Then one September morning the police burst into his home and arrest him. Now, three and a half years later, newly released from Camp Hill Prison on the Isle of Wight, Alex is intent on finding the man who framed him for fraud and embezzlement. All he knows is his name: James Andover. But who is he? Where is he? Alex embarks on his quest to track down Andover, but with the trail cold he is frustrated at every turn. Worse, he finds himself under suspicion by the police. The pressure is on and Aex has to unearth the answers and quick. But time is running out. For Alex the future looks bleak and soon he is left with the option - to kill or be killed
Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı also published my other stand alone thriller novel, In Cold Daylight last year. I hope the books are doing well in Turkey and have found new readers who enjoy them.
You can find more information about these thrillers, my other crime novels featuring my flawed DI Andy Horton and all my books on my web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk
In for the Kill
In Cold Daylight
In For The Kill is a compelling, gripping tale of what happens to one man when someone steals his identity
Alex Albury has it all: a successful public relations business, a luxurious house, a beautiful wife and two sons. Then one September morning the police burst into his home and arrest him. Now, three and a half years later, newly released from Camp Hill Prison on the Isle of Wight, Alex is intent on finding the man who framed him for fraud and embezzlement. All he knows is his name: James Andover. But who is he? Where is he? Alex embarks on his quest to track down Andover, but with the trail cold he is frustrated at every turn. Worse, he finds himself under suspicion by the police. The pressure is on and Aex has to unearth the answers and quick. But time is running out. For Alex the future looks bleak and soon he is left with the option - to kill or be killed
Babıali Kültür Yayıncılığı also published my other stand alone thriller novel, In Cold Daylight last year. I hope the books are doing well in Turkey and have found new readers who enjoy them.
You can find more information about these thrillers, my other crime novels featuring my flawed DI Andy Horton and all my books on my web site http://www.rowmark.co.uk
In for the Kill
In Cold Daylight
March 25, 2011
Interview with Pauline Rowson on Angel Radio 31 March 12-1pm 91.5fm
Next week I have an interview on Angel Radio and I'm looking forward to chatting to David Nove about my crime fiction novels and thrillers between 12.00 and 1pm on 31 March on 91.5 fm.
Angel Radio accentuates the positive aspects of being an older person and provides a radio station for older people to run themselves. It is unique in that it specializes in playing music made before1960. It provides entertainment, information, reminiscence therapy, mental and physical stimulation, self-esteem, bereavement therapy, and friendly voices with natural personality, all produced by older people specifically for an audience aged 60 years and over. No other radio station in Europe provides this all encompassing service for older people.
But you don't have to be over 60 to be on the radio! or to listen to it and I know that many younger people really enjoying listening to the 'vintage music', much as they enjoy watching 'vintage films' and wearing 'vintage clothes.' I also know that Angel Radio has listeners all over the World including Europe, Australia and the USA.
I'll be chatting to David Nove about my police procedural crime novels featuring the flawed and rugged DI Inspector Andy Horton and my stand alone thriller novels, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill on Thursday 31 March between 12.00 and 1pm on 91.5fm or listen via the Angel Radio website.
Blood on the Sand, a DI Andy Horton crime novel, is set on the Isle of Wight.
In For the Kill a fast-paced, action-packed thriller is also set on the Isle of Wight.
For details on all my crime and thriller novels and my other books visit my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Blood on the Sand
In for the Kill
Angel Radio accentuates the positive aspects of being an older person and provides a radio station for older people to run themselves. It is unique in that it specializes in playing music made before1960. It provides entertainment, information, reminiscence therapy, mental and physical stimulation, self-esteem, bereavement therapy, and friendly voices with natural personality, all produced by older people specifically for an audience aged 60 years and over. No other radio station in Europe provides this all encompassing service for older people.
But you don't have to be over 60 to be on the radio! or to listen to it and I know that many younger people really enjoying listening to the 'vintage music', much as they enjoy watching 'vintage films' and wearing 'vintage clothes.' I also know that Angel Radio has listeners all over the World including Europe, Australia and the USA.
I'll be chatting to David Nove about my police procedural crime novels featuring the flawed and rugged DI Inspector Andy Horton and my stand alone thriller novels, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill on Thursday 31 March between 12.00 and 1pm on 91.5fm or listen via the Angel Radio website.
Blood on the Sand, a DI Andy Horton crime novel, is set on the Isle of Wight.
In For the Kill a fast-paced, action-packed thriller is also set on the Isle of Wight.
For details on all my crime and thriller novels and my other books visit my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Blood on the Sand
In for the Kill
March 20, 2011
Different stages of a writing a novel create different emotions
I am now at the final stage of the DI Andy Horton marine mystery police procedural novel, number seven in the series, and I am checking the words and phrases and making sure that everything hangs together. This should take me probably one more week depending on other commitments then it will be off to my editor.
At this stage I get the feeling of relief mixed with anxiety: is it good enough? Should I re-write one more time? Could I have changed anything? Too late when I’ve pressed the send button and it’s gone to my editor. I also experience a sadness. I've lived with Andy Horton and Sergeant Cantelli, with alpha male, Superintendent Uckfield and the ice maiden, DCI Lorraine Bliss for well over six months and I'm sorry to leave them. Solution? Start the next DI Andy Horton. The ideas are there and soon I'll be mapping out the plot lines and thinking about sub plots and with this stage comes a feeling of excitement and exhilaration. I enjoy watching it come to life.
With the second and third drafts come a greater sense of satisfaction that all the ends are beginning to tie up neatly and I can really put more flesh onto the bones.
And by the time I reach the END I feel pleased that Inspector Andy Horton has survived the case, has learned perhaps more about his past, and will live to solve another case soon.
Dead Man's Wharf
At this stage I get the feeling of relief mixed with anxiety: is it good enough? Should I re-write one more time? Could I have changed anything? Too late when I’ve pressed the send button and it’s gone to my editor. I also experience a sadness. I've lived with Andy Horton and Sergeant Cantelli, with alpha male, Superintendent Uckfield and the ice maiden, DCI Lorraine Bliss for well over six months and I'm sorry to leave them. Solution? Start the next DI Andy Horton. The ideas are there and soon I'll be mapping out the plot lines and thinking about sub plots and with this stage comes a feeling of excitement and exhilaration. I enjoy watching it come to life.
With the second and third drafts come a greater sense of satisfaction that all the ends are beginning to tie up neatly and I can really put more flesh onto the bones.
And by the time I reach the END I feel pleased that Inspector Andy Horton has survived the case, has learned perhaps more about his past, and will live to solve another case soon.
Dead Man's Wharf
March 14, 2011
Why is crime fiction so popular, particularly amongst women readers?
I was recently asked this question by a journalist and although the percentage of women who read crime fiction is higher than men, I am pleased to say that I have both male and female readers of my crime and thriller novels.
So why are so many people drawn to reading crime fiction?
In crime fiction we know that justice will be done and the case will be resolved and that doesn’t always happen in real life. In crime fiction the villain either gets caught or gets his/her comeuppance but in real life the evil and manipulative, the guilty can get away with it as in the case of the unsolved murder in my own family in 1959. A man was charged for the murder of my great aunt but was acquitted at trial. The case was investigated by Scotland Yard and has never been re-opened leaving the family with a great big question mark over their lives. Crime fiction though can give us a resolution. It can also give us an insight into what makes people tick.
I am fascinated by personalities, behaviour and motivations and I like to bring this into my crime novels featuring my rugged and flawed detective, DI Andy Horton and into my thriller novels, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill. I’m probably the only person in the world who doesn’t mind the nutter sitting next to her on the bus. I’ll be thinking where and how can I weave this character into a crime novel.
The crime genre is popular because people are fascinated by people and crime fiction covers so many facets of human nature. The same goes for true crime. It’s a kind of voyeurism, the ghoul factor that causes people to stand and gawp at an accident or incident. Me though, I’m a real coward. I run a mile from reading true crime. Give me crime fiction any day where I can see that justice is served and my hero triumphs!
Dead Man's Wharf
So why are so many people drawn to reading crime fiction?
In crime fiction we know that justice will be done and the case will be resolved and that doesn’t always happen in real life. In crime fiction the villain either gets caught or gets his/her comeuppance but in real life the evil and manipulative, the guilty can get away with it as in the case of the unsolved murder in my own family in 1959. A man was charged for the murder of my great aunt but was acquitted at trial. The case was investigated by Scotland Yard and has never been re-opened leaving the family with a great big question mark over their lives. Crime fiction though can give us a resolution. It can also give us an insight into what makes people tick.
I am fascinated by personalities, behaviour and motivations and I like to bring this into my crime novels featuring my rugged and flawed detective, DI Andy Horton and into my thriller novels, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill. I’m probably the only person in the world who doesn’t mind the nutter sitting next to her on the bus. I’ll be thinking where and how can I weave this character into a crime novel.
The crime genre is popular because people are fascinated by people and crime fiction covers so many facets of human nature. The same goes for true crime. It’s a kind of voyeurism, the ghoul factor that causes people to stand and gawp at an accident or incident. Me though, I’m a real coward. I run a mile from reading true crime. Give me crime fiction any day where I can see that justice is served and my hero triumphs!
Dead Man's Wharf
March 10, 2011
What inspired me to write crime fiction is a question I'm often asked
I loved adventure and mystery novels when I was young, and this has continued throughout my adulthood with crime fiction. I adore heroes and I think most women do and most men want to be one. I like tough but caring men, which is probably why I married a man who was first an RAF police officer and then a fire fighter.
My DI Andy Horton is modelled on a combination of many firemen I have met: strong, fit, cool, resourceful, fearless. Think of fires, 9/11, tube disasters and train crashes. It's the firemen who go in when everyone else is running away. They don't think twice at risking their lives. DI Horton is like this, he goes charging in risking his life, often when he shouldn't or when procedure tells him differently. He’s very much an action man and that’s another reason why he appeals to both men and women readers, or so they tell me.
Andy Horton first appears in Tide of Death. Since then he has gone on to solve many crimes as he attempts to unravel his complicated personal life and search for the truth behind his mother's disappearance when he was just ten. The last in the current series of six in the DI Andy Horton marine mystery series, Footsteps on the Shore, was published in January 2011 and I am currently writing number seven, so there's a lot more of DI Andy Horton yet to come.
For all the novels in the DI Andy Horton series and my stand alone thrillers visit my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Tide of Death
My DI Andy Horton is modelled on a combination of many firemen I have met: strong, fit, cool, resourceful, fearless. Think of fires, 9/11, tube disasters and train crashes. It's the firemen who go in when everyone else is running away. They don't think twice at risking their lives. DI Horton is like this, he goes charging in risking his life, often when he shouldn't or when procedure tells him differently. He’s very much an action man and that’s another reason why he appeals to both men and women readers, or so they tell me.
Andy Horton first appears in Tide of Death. Since then he has gone on to solve many crimes as he attempts to unravel his complicated personal life and search for the truth behind his mother's disappearance when he was just ten. The last in the current series of six in the DI Andy Horton marine mystery series, Footsteps on the Shore, was published in January 2011 and I am currently writing number seven, so there's a lot more of DI Andy Horton yet to come.
For all the novels in the DI Andy Horton series and my stand alone thrillers visit my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Tide of Death
March 7, 2011
How to write compelling crime fiction workshop
On Saturday 18 June between 10am and 4pm I will be running an interactive workshop on How to write compelling crime and thriller novels at Quay Arts Centre on the Isle of Wight.
I thought it a lovely way of celebrating and contributing to National Crime Writing Week an initiative organised by The Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain (CWA), of which I am a member.
During the week members of the CWA will take part in readings, discussions, readers' group events and workshops all over the country.
So if you want to know how to write crime fiction or wish to improve your crime writing skills then do come along. And it's not just for those who live on the Isle of Wight.
There are plenty of ways to travel to the lovely Isle of Wight by Wightlink car ferry from Lymington in the New Forest to Yarmouth, or from Portsmouth to Fisbourne, either with your car or as a foot passenger. Or from Southampton to Cowes on the Red Funnel ferries. The quicker routes are by Wightlink Fastcat from Portsmouth to Ryde, and by Red Jet Hi-Speed from Southampton to Cowes. There is also an excellent Hovercraft service provided by Hovertravel from Southsea to Ryde.
Why not make it a weekend break and explore some of the beautiful Isle of Wight coastline. I can guarantee it will provide you with lots of inspiration.
How to write compelling crime fiction - Workshop 18 June 2011 10am to 4pm
This interactive and fun workshop is packed with lots of practical advice and tips on constructing plots and sub plots; building believable characters; generating suspense and tension, adding red herrings and clues, and exploring writing techniques that will grip editors, agents and readers alike.
For more details visit http://www.quayarts.org/ or http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Dead Man's Wharf
I thought it a lovely way of celebrating and contributing to National Crime Writing Week an initiative organised by The Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain (CWA), of which I am a member.
During the week members of the CWA will take part in readings, discussions, readers' group events and workshops all over the country.
So if you want to know how to write crime fiction or wish to improve your crime writing skills then do come along. And it's not just for those who live on the Isle of Wight.
There are plenty of ways to travel to the lovely Isle of Wight by Wightlink car ferry from Lymington in the New Forest to Yarmouth, or from Portsmouth to Fisbourne, either with your car or as a foot passenger. Or from Southampton to Cowes on the Red Funnel ferries. The quicker routes are by Wightlink Fastcat from Portsmouth to Ryde, and by Red Jet Hi-Speed from Southampton to Cowes. There is also an excellent Hovercraft service provided by Hovertravel from Southsea to Ryde.
Why not make it a weekend break and explore some of the beautiful Isle of Wight coastline. I can guarantee it will provide you with lots of inspiration.
How to write compelling crime fiction - Workshop 18 June 2011 10am to 4pm
This interactive and fun workshop is packed with lots of practical advice and tips on constructing plots and sub plots; building believable characters; generating suspense and tension, adding red herrings and clues, and exploring writing techniques that will grip editors, agents and readers alike.
For more details visit http://www.quayarts.org/ or http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Dead Man's Wharf
