Pauline Rowson's Blog, page 78
February 28, 2011
Crime Time Event with Pauline Rowson at the Isle of Wight Festival
Tickets are now on sale for my event at the exciting and vibrant Isle of Wight Festival in April. You can read about my event and other events taking place over the weekend of 15-17 April at Ventnor on the Isle of Wight on the website but below is a taster.
"Murder, treachery, deceit and betrayal set against the backdrop of the south coast and the Solent? It must be another case for DI Andy Horton. His creator, novelist Pauline Rowson, combines her fascination with mystery and adventure with a love of the sea and in doing so has created a whole new genre of crime fiction – the marine mystery.
Her rugged and flawed hero from Portsmouth CID not only has complex and bloody crimes to solve, he has his demons to face from his own past and is battling for access to his daughter. Pauline will reveal what inspires her and how she researches and writes her novels at Isle of Arts on Sunday 17 April at 4pm."
For tickets visit the online box office: http://artsisle.org/tickets or via the telephone hotline 01983 862596 (open Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm).
Other events include American TV comic Rich Hall, the Hamsters blues band, Edward Fox’s one-man interpretation of the witty characters from Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Chronicles, and an evening with film guru Barry Norman.
The festival will be supported by exhibitions and cultural events, including arts, photography, comedy, drama, film and literature. It runs from April 15 to 17.
In For The Kill
"Murder, treachery, deceit and betrayal set against the backdrop of the south coast and the Solent? It must be another case for DI Andy Horton. His creator, novelist Pauline Rowson, combines her fascination with mystery and adventure with a love of the sea and in doing so has created a whole new genre of crime fiction – the marine mystery.
Her rugged and flawed hero from Portsmouth CID not only has complex and bloody crimes to solve, he has his demons to face from his own past and is battling for access to his daughter. Pauline will reveal what inspires her and how she researches and writes her novels at Isle of Arts on Sunday 17 April at 4pm."
For tickets visit the online box office: http://artsisle.org/tickets or via the telephone hotline 01983 862596 (open Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm).
Other events include American TV comic Rich Hall, the Hamsters blues band, Edward Fox’s one-man interpretation of the witty characters from Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Chronicles, and an evening with film guru Barry Norman.
The festival will be supported by exhibitions and cultural events, including arts, photography, comedy, drama, film and literature. It runs from April 15 to 17.
In For The Kill
February 25, 2011
Revising and revising, the DI Andy Horton crime novel (number seven) is nearly finished
I have spent most of the week working on revisions of the DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel number seven in the series and today I will continue with it. I'm currently working on the last three chapters. Once this is done it will be back to the beginning again to ensure that the novel flows and all the clues are there, and they are if you look for them; it may be just a hint, a throw away line in a conversation, or something tucked in the middle of a list or in a dialogue, but clues and red herrings abound.
I'll also be re-examining the characters, perhaps adding a little more colour to them, now that I know their motivations so well, and then ensuring that the novel has pace and the sequence of events is accurate taking into account the quirks of the characters and Andy Horton's constant desire to go off on his own and solve crimes his way and not his boss's way.
There is a certain pleasure in going back over the novel, questioning each word and passage, checking that each chapter finishes on a hook compelling the reader to read a little bit more... and more... I'm enjoying the revisions. Then it will be off to my editor with fingers crossed that he likes it, while I start on DI Andy Horton crime novel number eight.
And do I have a title for this current Andy Horton crime novel number seven? Ah, you'll have to wait and see...
Dead Man's Wharf
I'll also be re-examining the characters, perhaps adding a little more colour to them, now that I know their motivations so well, and then ensuring that the novel has pace and the sequence of events is accurate taking into account the quirks of the characters and Andy Horton's constant desire to go off on his own and solve crimes his way and not his boss's way.
There is a certain pleasure in going back over the novel, questioning each word and passage, checking that each chapter finishes on a hook compelling the reader to read a little bit more... and more... I'm enjoying the revisions. Then it will be off to my editor with fingers crossed that he likes it, while I start on DI Andy Horton crime novel number eight.
And do I have a title for this current Andy Horton crime novel number seven? Ah, you'll have to wait and see...
Dead Man's Wharf
February 22, 2011
An Interview about the DI Horton Marine Mystery Police Procedural Crime Novels
The book lovers website Lovereading features an interview with me about the inspiration behind my crime thriller novels and the DI Andy Horton series of marine mystery crime novels.
You can read the full interview on their web site but below is a snippet from it.
"Every known murder scene has a detective combing for clues. Every detective has a prime enemy - and it's not the criminal. For the detective, the first enemy is often the crime scene itself. It is here that the battle begins to uncover the grim truth about the murder. And a detective's nightmare crime scene has got to be a place where all the best clues could be swept away by the tide. There couldn't be a better place to set a crime story.
Pauline Rowson is well aware of the pull of murky watery places for the twisted criminal mind. She has created a whole new crime subgenre - the marine mystery featuring her flawed and rugged detective, Inspector Andy Horton.
So who is this detective, Inspector Andy Horton?
“DI Andy Horton is fit, flawed and rugged. He has been left psychology scarred after his mother walked out on him when he was ten leaving him to be raised in children’s homes and with foster parents. He has a desperate desire to belong and yet is always on the outside. Just when he thinks he's found happiness, Catherine, his wife, chooses to believe an allegation of rape while Horton was working undercover. In Tide of Death, the first in the series, Horton is back on his own again and in each novel in the series along with a new crime to solve, Horton goes in search of the truth about his mother’s disappearance.”
Why is the sea so important in your crime and thriller novels?
“The sea creates a very atmospheric setting for the crime novels. It gives them a sense of place. In my novels it has almost become a character in itself. It's alive, it's beautiful, it's calming but it's also dangerous, misleading and evil. No matter how much you think or wish you can control it, you can't. Sometimes you need to go with the flow and other times swim against the tide and the trick is knowing when to do which. Andy Horton hasn't quigot it sussed, or when he thinks he has something happens to throw him completely off course."
The Inspector Andy Horton series in order: Tide of Death, Deadly Waters, The Suffocating Sea, Dead Man's Wharf, Blood on the Sand and Footsteps on the Shore.
Crime thriller novels: In Cold Daylight, In For the Kill.
For further details visit my web site
Dead Man's Wharf
You can read the full interview on their web site but below is a snippet from it.
"Every known murder scene has a detective combing for clues. Every detective has a prime enemy - and it's not the criminal. For the detective, the first enemy is often the crime scene itself. It is here that the battle begins to uncover the grim truth about the murder. And a detective's nightmare crime scene has got to be a place where all the best clues could be swept away by the tide. There couldn't be a better place to set a crime story.
Pauline Rowson is well aware of the pull of murky watery places for the twisted criminal mind. She has created a whole new crime subgenre - the marine mystery featuring her flawed and rugged detective, Inspector Andy Horton.
So who is this detective, Inspector Andy Horton?
“DI Andy Horton is fit, flawed and rugged. He has been left psychology scarred after his mother walked out on him when he was ten leaving him to be raised in children’s homes and with foster parents. He has a desperate desire to belong and yet is always on the outside. Just when he thinks he's found happiness, Catherine, his wife, chooses to believe an allegation of rape while Horton was working undercover. In Tide of Death, the first in the series, Horton is back on his own again and in each novel in the series along with a new crime to solve, Horton goes in search of the truth about his mother’s disappearance.”
Why is the sea so important in your crime and thriller novels?
“The sea creates a very atmospheric setting for the crime novels. It gives them a sense of place. In my novels it has almost become a character in itself. It's alive, it's beautiful, it's calming but it's also dangerous, misleading and evil. No matter how much you think or wish you can control it, you can't. Sometimes you need to go with the flow and other times swim against the tide and the trick is knowing when to do which. Andy Horton hasn't quigot it sussed, or when he thinks he has something happens to throw him completely off course."
The Inspector Andy Horton series in order: Tide of Death, Deadly Waters, The Suffocating Sea, Dead Man's Wharf, Blood on the Sand and Footsteps on the Shore.
Crime thriller novels: In Cold Daylight, In For the Kill.
For further details visit my web site
Dead Man's Wharf
February 21, 2011
Pauline Rowson to appear at Crimefest 2011
I'm delighted to be returning to Crimefest in May 2011 at the Bristol Royal Marriott Hotel, UK and will be on a panel discussion on Friday 20 May at 9am. Crimefest is a convention for people who like to read an occasional crime novel as well as for die-hard fanatics. It is now one of the most popular dates in the crime fiction calendar and draws top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world. It follows the format of US conventions and includes interviews, panels, a gala dinner, and one or two surprises.
On Friday, 20 May between 9.00am and 9.50am I will be discussing Operation Petticoat: Jobs For The Girls? with fellow crime writers, Linda Regan, Leigh Russell, Aline Templeton and Ruth Dudley Edwards. We'll be talking about the role of women in crime novels and as crime authors, and no doubt lots of other things 'criminal' in between. All my marine mystery crime novels and thrillers are written from the male point of view and have a strong male protagonist with Inspector Andy Horton featured in my police procedural series and Adam Greene and Alex Albury in my stand alone thrillers, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill, so it should be an interesting and lively discussion.
There is more information on my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk/
In for the Kill
On Friday, 20 May between 9.00am and 9.50am I will be discussing Operation Petticoat: Jobs For The Girls? with fellow crime writers, Linda Regan, Leigh Russell, Aline Templeton and Ruth Dudley Edwards. We'll be talking about the role of women in crime novels and as crime authors, and no doubt lots of other things 'criminal' in between. All my marine mystery crime novels and thrillers are written from the male point of view and have a strong male protagonist with Inspector Andy Horton featured in my police procedural series and Adam Greene and Alex Albury in my stand alone thrillers, In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill, so it should be an interesting and lively discussion.
There is more information on my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk/
In for the Kill
February 10, 2011
I'll be a guest speaker at the Isle of Wight Arts Festival in April
On Sunday 17 April at 4pm I will be talking about my marine mystery crime and thriller novels at the Isle of Wight Arts Festival, Ventnor - The Arts Festival by the Sea. I will be at the Royal Hotel, Ventnor. I'm delighted to have been asked to speak at this really exciting arts festival and I'm in such stunning company too, appearing alongside Barry Norman and Edward Fox, what more could a crime writer want?
Two of my novels are set on the Isle of Wight, In For The Kill, a fast paced thriller and Blood on the Sand, a DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel. Coincidentally the Horton crime novel I am currently writing is set around Ventnor and along the coast from it. My other marine mysteries and thrillers are set around the Solent area and Portsmouth.
More details to follow but for more information and tickets, which I believe go on sale next week visit http://www.ventnorfestival.org/ or my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
The Suffocating Sea: An Andy Horton Mystery
In For The Kill
Two of my novels are set on the Isle of Wight, In For The Kill, a fast paced thriller and Blood on the Sand, a DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel. Coincidentally the Horton crime novel I am currently writing is set around Ventnor and along the coast from it. My other marine mysteries and thrillers are set around the Solent area and Portsmouth.
More details to follow but for more information and tickets, which I believe go on sale next week visit http://www.ventnorfestival.org/ or my web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
The Suffocating Sea: An Andy Horton Mystery
In For The Kill
February 7, 2011
Creating strong central characters
One of the essentials for a good novel is a strong central character, someone the reader can have empathy with, urge on, sometimes get angry and frustrated with and someone the reader can get close to and believe in.
I like heroes so I guess they have to be that, but heroes have flaws too, and can sometimes be reluctant heroes, they are human after all, and so too are my lead characters, to me anyway. Below is the background to my central character in the marine mysteries, Andy Horton. Later I'll look at what shapes Adam Greene in In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill.
Main characters need to take control. They should not give in under pressure and should take an active part in solving their own problems. They can have faults but they change and grow throughout the novel. They make mistakes and learn from it. They have a cardinal quality and a trait/s that holds them back.
DI Andy Horton, the main character in my marine mystery crime series, is fearless in his search for justice but he's not one for conforming which means he runs the risk of being isolated in the police force, or worse losing his job. Being alone is his greatest fear, and yet he is alone. In Tide of Death, the first in the series, his marriage has broken up, he's living on his small sailing boat in Southsea Marina, and in this and subsequent novels he's in danger of losing his fight to gain access to his daughter.
The author also needs to know what has shaped his or her characters. What is their background, family, education and experiences?
In the Horton marine mysteries, Andy Horton's mother walked out on him when he was child. He's never seen or heard from her since and he never knew his father. He's been raised with the tough and the manipulative, rejected and hurt.This is what makes him self-contained, unable to completely let go. He's been betrayed once he doesn't want to be betrayed again.
And where will he be at the end of the journey? What will he have learnt? Has he changed?
At the end of each case, Horton has solved a crime, but along the way he has learnt more about himself, and his colleagues, their loyalties and ambitions. He's also moved a step closer towards discovering what happened to his mother when she left him in their council tower block to fend for himself, and it's not always what he wants to hear, each revelation reveals something about him and his past. He's left asking should he continue his search for the truth or is it a past that is better left alone? But already it is too late. He has to press on despite or perhaps because of what he has learnt and get to the truth.
For more about the marine mysteries you can visit my web site at www.rowmark.co.uk
Tide of Death
I like heroes so I guess they have to be that, but heroes have flaws too, and can sometimes be reluctant heroes, they are human after all, and so too are my lead characters, to me anyway. Below is the background to my central character in the marine mysteries, Andy Horton. Later I'll look at what shapes Adam Greene in In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill.
Main characters need to take control. They should not give in under pressure and should take an active part in solving their own problems. They can have faults but they change and grow throughout the novel. They make mistakes and learn from it. They have a cardinal quality and a trait/s that holds them back.
DI Andy Horton, the main character in my marine mystery crime series, is fearless in his search for justice but he's not one for conforming which means he runs the risk of being isolated in the police force, or worse losing his job. Being alone is his greatest fear, and yet he is alone. In Tide of Death, the first in the series, his marriage has broken up, he's living on his small sailing boat in Southsea Marina, and in this and subsequent novels he's in danger of losing his fight to gain access to his daughter.
The author also needs to know what has shaped his or her characters. What is their background, family, education and experiences?
In the Horton marine mysteries, Andy Horton's mother walked out on him when he was child. He's never seen or heard from her since and he never knew his father. He's been raised with the tough and the manipulative, rejected and hurt.This is what makes him self-contained, unable to completely let go. He's been betrayed once he doesn't want to be betrayed again.
And where will he be at the end of the journey? What will he have learnt? Has he changed?
At the end of each case, Horton has solved a crime, but along the way he has learnt more about himself, and his colleagues, their loyalties and ambitions. He's also moved a step closer towards discovering what happened to his mother when she left him in their council tower block to fend for himself, and it's not always what he wants to hear, each revelation reveals something about him and his past. He's left asking should he continue his search for the truth or is it a past that is better left alone? But already it is too late. He has to press on despite or perhaps because of what he has learnt and get to the truth.
For more about the marine mysteries you can visit my web site at www.rowmark.co.uk
Tide of Death
January 31, 2011
Pauline Rowson explains how she writes her thrillers and her marine mystery crime novels
So I have the idea. I do some research. I work it up into an outline plot with a smattering of characters and then I start writing. This is when it gets messy.
1. The brain dump or free flow
First up is the free flow type of writing when I'm eager to bring the idea and characters to life by getting words and actions on to my computer screen as quickly as possible. Often these are not the correct words, the description is hazy, the characters not fully formed, the grammar and punctuation incorrect but there is something there that can be shaped later. This is what I refer to as the brain dump phase when I wish I could simply download words on to the computer without having to type them. The aim of this phase of writing, the first draft, is to get something written as quickly as possible.
2. The mixing and shaping
Second is the mixing or shaping phase when I go back through the novel (which might not yet be complete) and I move chapters or sections around because I realise they're not in the correct place. I might also ditch some chapters and characters or build minor characters up more, who, as the novel has progressed, have started to become more than just a walk-on part. I might even create new characters, or a sub plot might take on new meaning and significance adding colour and interest. Sometimes this second phase overlaps with the first. It's messy but gradually the novel begins to take better shape.
3. Next come the revisions
Once I'm happy with the first and second phase it's then time for revisions. Now I need to trawl through the novel to make sure that all the characters are fully formed and the clues are firmly planted and sometimes cleverly disguised; that all the unanswered questions are answered, the red herrings are in place, the setting and research are correct and it all hangs together.
After that it's final revision time, which involves checking every line of the novel to ensure that I've used the most appropriate words and phrases at the appropriate time and have not over used certain words. The computer 'find' function can be very helpful here.
I'm currently on phase three – the first revisions –of the next DI Andy Horton crime novel, number seven in the series. Now I am fleshing out the key characters, checking that plots, sub plots and clues all hang together, ensuring tension and atmosphere abound, answering all the unanswered questions and tying up the knots... I may be some time.
Footsteps on the Shore, the sixth in the DI Andy Horton Marine Mystery Crime Series was published in hardcover on 27 January.
You can read about all me crime and thriller novels on my official web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Footsteps on the Shore
1. The brain dump or free flow
First up is the free flow type of writing when I'm eager to bring the idea and characters to life by getting words and actions on to my computer screen as quickly as possible. Often these are not the correct words, the description is hazy, the characters not fully formed, the grammar and punctuation incorrect but there is something there that can be shaped later. This is what I refer to as the brain dump phase when I wish I could simply download words on to the computer without having to type them. The aim of this phase of writing, the first draft, is to get something written as quickly as possible.
2. The mixing and shaping
Second is the mixing or shaping phase when I go back through the novel (which might not yet be complete) and I move chapters or sections around because I realise they're not in the correct place. I might also ditch some chapters and characters or build minor characters up more, who, as the novel has progressed, have started to become more than just a walk-on part. I might even create new characters, or a sub plot might take on new meaning and significance adding colour and interest. Sometimes this second phase overlaps with the first. It's messy but gradually the novel begins to take better shape.
3. Next come the revisions
Once I'm happy with the first and second phase it's then time for revisions. Now I need to trawl through the novel to make sure that all the characters are fully formed and the clues are firmly planted and sometimes cleverly disguised; that all the unanswered questions are answered, the red herrings are in place, the setting and research are correct and it all hangs together.
After that it's final revision time, which involves checking every line of the novel to ensure that I've used the most appropriate words and phrases at the appropriate time and have not over used certain words. The computer 'find' function can be very helpful here.
I'm currently on phase three – the first revisions –of the next DI Andy Horton crime novel, number seven in the series. Now I am fleshing out the key characters, checking that plots, sub plots and clues all hang together, ensuring tension and atmosphere abound, answering all the unanswered questions and tying up the knots... I may be some time.
Footsteps on the Shore, the sixth in the DI Andy Horton Marine Mystery Crime Series was published in hardcover on 27 January.
You can read about all me crime and thriller novels on my official web site at http://www.rowmark.co.uk
Footsteps on the Shore
January 24, 2011
New DI Andy Horton Marine Mystery Published This Week- Footsteps on the Shore
This week, 27 January, sees the publication of the new Inspector Andy Horton Marine Mystery Crime Novel, the sixth in the series, set against the backdrop of the Solent on the South Coast of England.Footsteps on the Shore once again features the rugged Harley Davidson riding and sailing detective, Andy Horton assisted by Sergeant Cantelli and often thwarted by his boss DCI Lorraine Bliss, and head of the major crime team, Detective Superintendent Uckfield.
Friday the thirteenth begins badly for DI Andy Horton when he wakes to find his Harley has been vandalized and his boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss, has returned early from her secondment to HQ. Then, convicted murderer, Luke Felton, released on licence, is reported missing and a decomposed corpse is washed up in Portsmouth harbour. But before Horton can get a grip on either case, he’s called to a house where a woman he’d only met the day before has been brutally murdered. Is missing Luke Felton the prime suspect, or is it his body in the mud of the harbour? Horton is under pressure to get results, but things are about to get much worse for the beleaguered detective …
Footsteps on the Shore is published in hardcover by Severn House and is available from bookshops and on line.
It will be published as an e book later in the year.
You can read about the DI Andy Horton series and my thrillers on my official web site
Footsteps on the Shore
Friday the thirteenth begins badly for DI Andy Horton when he wakes to find his Harley has been vandalized and his boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss, has returned early from her secondment to HQ. Then, convicted murderer, Luke Felton, released on licence, is reported missing and a decomposed corpse is washed up in Portsmouth harbour. But before Horton can get a grip on either case, he’s called to a house where a woman he’d only met the day before has been brutally murdered. Is missing Luke Felton the prime suspect, or is it his body in the mud of the harbour? Horton is under pressure to get results, but things are about to get much worse for the beleaguered detective …
Footsteps on the Shore is published in hardcover by Severn House and is available from bookshops and on line.
It will be published as an e book later in the year.
You can read about the DI Andy Horton series and my thrillers on my official web site
Footsteps on the Shore
January 17, 2011
Choosing a location for the setting of a crime novel
I wrote the following article for the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Debut Dagger Award entrants. The Debut Dagger is open to anyone who has not yet had a novel published commercially. All shortlisted entrants will receive a generous selection of crime novels and professional assessments of their entries. The first prize is £700. The 2011 Competition will close on 5th February 2011. If you fancy a stab at it, and the chance to be a published crime writer, you can now submit the opening chapter(s) – up to 3000 words – and a short synopsis of your proposed crime novel. More details are on the Crime Writers' Association web site.
Choosing a location for the setting of a crime novel by Pauline Rowson
We all know that when choosing where to live location is an important factor for many reasons. It's also equally important in crime novels and believe it or not Sweden is not the only place in the World for setting atmospheric crime novels! While everyone seems to be obsessed with things Swedish there are many great crime novels set in various parts of the UK from gritty Glasgow to captivating Cornwall, and of course in many countries across the World. There is also marine mystery country, the location for my crime novels, which happens to be the Solent area on the South Coast of England. Here my rugged Harley Davidson riding detective, Inspector Andy Horton, pitches his wits against the criminal classes, which takes him, and others in the team, into the harbours of Portsmouth, Langstone, Chichester, and to the Isle of Wight.
Every known murder scene has a detective combing for clues. Every detective has a prime enemy - and it's not always the criminal. For the detective, the first enemy is often the crime scene itself. It is here that the battle begins to uncover the grim truth about the murder. And a detective's 'nightmare crime scene' has got to be a place where all the best clues could be swept away by the tide. There couldn't be a better place to set a crime story or perhaps a worse depending on your viewpoint.
For me it has many advantages. The sea is never constant. In one day it can change from being calm to turbulent thus providing a great backdrop for pace in a novel and great settings for a climax, which I’ve used in Deadly Waters and In For The Kill.
It’s also dangerous, misleading and evil like many villains, and although it can look safe on the surface underneath can be a sandbank, a rock, a wreck, a dangerous current all of which can cause havoc and kill and be used to good effect in a crime novel. The sea is also completely uncontrollable. No matter how much you think or wish you can control it, you can't but you do need to respect and fear it. In life sometimes you need to go with the flow and other times swim against the tide, the trick is knowing when to do which. My detective, Andy Horton, hasn't quite got it sussed, or when he thinks he has something happens to throw him completely off course, just as in life.
The sea provides great inspiration. Many of the marinas and harbours around the Solent are featured in my novels. I can't pass a boatyard, beach or cove without thinking there must be a dead body or a skeleton here somewhere.
The great variety of locations also provides diversity of scenes within a novel. Horton can be on a stony or sandy beach, at an expensive marina or a rotting boatyard, on the police launch in the Solent or crossing on the ferry or Hovercraft. In choosing a waterfront location such as Portsmouth I also have the contrast of a modern city with a historic one complete with a Roman Fort in Portsmouth Harbour; a nature reserve and sites of special scientific interest rubbing shoulders with modern tower blocks, as well as a diverse multicultural population, commercial ferry port, historic dockyard, fishing fleet and home of the Royal Navy – what more could a writer wish for?
But surely you must need to know a lot about sailing and the sea, I hear you ask? Well, actually no. In fact you wouldn’t let me loose on any boat and to be perfectly honest I am a terrified sailor. It’s the opposite case here of a little knowledge being a good thing. Sometimes the more knowledge you have the more you are tempted to show it and put it in your novels and in so doing you risk the danger of it ending up reading like a manual. The same applies to knowledge of police procedure. OK, so I need some knowledge of how the police work for my crime novels but if I explained exactly how a major investigation is run then it would end up reading like a police manual, it is FICTION after all. And if I explained every nautical detail then it would be as stagnant as sludge.
There are things that I need to know though and for this I draw on my husband’s expertise (an experienced sailor) and I consult navigational charts. For example, I need to know whether or not it is feasible for a body to be found where I have placed it and if the time frame is correct, which means consulting tide timetables and charts. If the murder occurred in the past then I need to know the tide timetables on that day. In Footsteps On The Shore I have a body on the coastal path on Hayling Island on 20 September 1997. So when a witness claims he saw someone suspicious on that day I need to know if the tide was in or out and what the witness saw. If he claims he saw yachts sailing in Langstone Harbour at 2pm and it was low tide then is he lying or have I got the detail wrong? That’s for me to check and for me to decide.
In Dead Man’s Wharf I have the dredger moored up at the wharf at the same time a body is discovered but the dredger can only navigate the narrow channel at Langstone Harbour on an incoming tide so timing is everything.
And it’s not only the time of the tides but the height that could make a difference to the plot or subplot. Can the type of boat the victim, suspect or my hero, Horton, is on board get into a certain harbour on a certain day at a certain time. How deep is the harbour? Does it dry out at low tide? If so then I can’t possibly have the police launch motoring in and out of it whenever it suits them. The reader will, of course, be unaware of this research and perhaps no one will ever check that I’ve got the details correct, but I’m banking on there being one bright spark who will crow with delight on an Amazon review if I’ve got it wrong, if only to show off their superior knowledge.
I don’t consider this research a drawback. On the contrary I enjoy it and believe it’s important to get it right, because if it is real to me then it will be real to my reader. Wherever that reader is, the heart of America, China, or the UK, close to or thousands of miles from the sea, I want them to be able to smell the sea, see it, feel it and taste it through the words on the page, and if I can achieve that then that’s what I call a good location and an atmospheric crime novel.
Footsteps on the Shore
Choosing a location for the setting of a crime novel by Pauline Rowson
We all know that when choosing where to live location is an important factor for many reasons. It's also equally important in crime novels and believe it or not Sweden is not the only place in the World for setting atmospheric crime novels! While everyone seems to be obsessed with things Swedish there are many great crime novels set in various parts of the UK from gritty Glasgow to captivating Cornwall, and of course in many countries across the World. There is also marine mystery country, the location for my crime novels, which happens to be the Solent area on the South Coast of England. Here my rugged Harley Davidson riding detective, Inspector Andy Horton, pitches his wits against the criminal classes, which takes him, and others in the team, into the harbours of Portsmouth, Langstone, Chichester, and to the Isle of Wight.
Every known murder scene has a detective combing for clues. Every detective has a prime enemy - and it's not always the criminal. For the detective, the first enemy is often the crime scene itself. It is here that the battle begins to uncover the grim truth about the murder. And a detective's 'nightmare crime scene' has got to be a place where all the best clues could be swept away by the tide. There couldn't be a better place to set a crime story or perhaps a worse depending on your viewpoint.
For me it has many advantages. The sea is never constant. In one day it can change from being calm to turbulent thus providing a great backdrop for pace in a novel and great settings for a climax, which I’ve used in Deadly Waters and In For The Kill.
It’s also dangerous, misleading and evil like many villains, and although it can look safe on the surface underneath can be a sandbank, a rock, a wreck, a dangerous current all of which can cause havoc and kill and be used to good effect in a crime novel. The sea is also completely uncontrollable. No matter how much you think or wish you can control it, you can't but you do need to respect and fear it. In life sometimes you need to go with the flow and other times swim against the tide, the trick is knowing when to do which. My detective, Andy Horton, hasn't quite got it sussed, or when he thinks he has something happens to throw him completely off course, just as in life.
The sea provides great inspiration. Many of the marinas and harbours around the Solent are featured in my novels. I can't pass a boatyard, beach or cove without thinking there must be a dead body or a skeleton here somewhere.
The great variety of locations also provides diversity of scenes within a novel. Horton can be on a stony or sandy beach, at an expensive marina or a rotting boatyard, on the police launch in the Solent or crossing on the ferry or Hovercraft. In choosing a waterfront location such as Portsmouth I also have the contrast of a modern city with a historic one complete with a Roman Fort in Portsmouth Harbour; a nature reserve and sites of special scientific interest rubbing shoulders with modern tower blocks, as well as a diverse multicultural population, commercial ferry port, historic dockyard, fishing fleet and home of the Royal Navy – what more could a writer wish for?
But surely you must need to know a lot about sailing and the sea, I hear you ask? Well, actually no. In fact you wouldn’t let me loose on any boat and to be perfectly honest I am a terrified sailor. It’s the opposite case here of a little knowledge being a good thing. Sometimes the more knowledge you have the more you are tempted to show it and put it in your novels and in so doing you risk the danger of it ending up reading like a manual. The same applies to knowledge of police procedure. OK, so I need some knowledge of how the police work for my crime novels but if I explained exactly how a major investigation is run then it would end up reading like a police manual, it is FICTION after all. And if I explained every nautical detail then it would be as stagnant as sludge.
There are things that I need to know though and for this I draw on my husband’s expertise (an experienced sailor) and I consult navigational charts. For example, I need to know whether or not it is feasible for a body to be found where I have placed it and if the time frame is correct, which means consulting tide timetables and charts. If the murder occurred in the past then I need to know the tide timetables on that day. In Footsteps On The Shore I have a body on the coastal path on Hayling Island on 20 September 1997. So when a witness claims he saw someone suspicious on that day I need to know if the tide was in or out and what the witness saw. If he claims he saw yachts sailing in Langstone Harbour at 2pm and it was low tide then is he lying or have I got the detail wrong? That’s for me to check and for me to decide.
In Dead Man’s Wharf I have the dredger moored up at the wharf at the same time a body is discovered but the dredger can only navigate the narrow channel at Langstone Harbour on an incoming tide so timing is everything.
And it’s not only the time of the tides but the height that could make a difference to the plot or subplot. Can the type of boat the victim, suspect or my hero, Horton, is on board get into a certain harbour on a certain day at a certain time. How deep is the harbour? Does it dry out at low tide? If so then I can’t possibly have the police launch motoring in and out of it whenever it suits them. The reader will, of course, be unaware of this research and perhaps no one will ever check that I’ve got the details correct, but I’m banking on there being one bright spark who will crow with delight on an Amazon review if I’ve got it wrong, if only to show off their superior knowledge.
I don’t consider this research a drawback. On the contrary I enjoy it and believe it’s important to get it right, because if it is real to me then it will be real to my reader. Wherever that reader is, the heart of America, China, or the UK, close to or thousands of miles from the sea, I want them to be able to smell the sea, see it, feel it and taste it through the words on the page, and if I can achieve that then that’s what I call a good location and an atmospheric crime novel.
Footsteps on the Shore
January 10, 2011
I'm in search of the South’s Best Young Crime Writers
I'm delighted to be the judge for the South Coast of England in a national competition organised by the Crime Writers' Association(CWA)to find the South's best Young Crime Writer.
Sponsored by CRIMEFEST, Britain’s international crime fiction convention, and supported by UK libraries, the winner from the south of England will go forward for a national prize to be announced during National Crime Writing Week, which starts on June 13.
The CWA represents the interests of published crime writers, and library authorities nationwide. The competition will appeal to writers aged up to 18 (born on or after September 1, 1992). Stories up to 1,000 words should be submitted between January 10 and February 18 through UK libraries. Participating libraries in my area are Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight, and West Sussex.
Each shortlisted entrant will receive a certificate at an awards ceremony in April while the area winner will be awarded a certificate and a £10 book token and will go forward for the national prize, which includes a selection of signed books from the UK’s top crime authors and tickets to CRIMEFEST 2012.
This is a great opportunity for young people to create their own murder mystery or thriller. Last year the stories were outstanding and it was a tough competition to judge. I’m looking forward to reading this year’s entries.
There are more details on my web site and a checklist on How to Write a Good Crime Story.
Sponsored by CRIMEFEST, Britain’s international crime fiction convention, and supported by UK libraries, the winner from the south of England will go forward for a national prize to be announced during National Crime Writing Week, which starts on June 13.
The CWA represents the interests of published crime writers, and library authorities nationwide. The competition will appeal to writers aged up to 18 (born on or after September 1, 1992). Stories up to 1,000 words should be submitted between January 10 and February 18 through UK libraries. Participating libraries in my area are Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight, and West Sussex.
Each shortlisted entrant will receive a certificate at an awards ceremony in April while the area winner will be awarded a certificate and a £10 book token and will go forward for the national prize, which includes a selection of signed books from the UK’s top crime authors and tickets to CRIMEFEST 2012.
This is a great opportunity for young people to create their own murder mystery or thriller. Last year the stories were outstanding and it was a tough competition to judge. I’m looking forward to reading this year’s entries.
There are more details on my web site and a checklist on How to Write a Good Crime Story.
