Great interview yesterday on BBC Radio Solent talking to Julian Clegg about A Killing Coast the new DI Horton crime novel

I enjoyed the early morning interview with Julian Clegg on BBC Radio Solent yesterday on the day of the launch of the new DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel, A Killing Coast, set in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

Thought I'd share some photos of the interview here on my blog. If I look a bit bleary eyed it's because I had to get up at 5.15 a.m. to get there! But well worth it.

Julian Clegg and Pauline Rowson

On Air

Julian's great production team, Claire and Lewis with Pauline Rowson

 When a body is found floating in the sea off Portsmouth harbour, Detective Inspector Horton initially judges it to be an accidental death. Soon though, to his dismay, he discovers he’s got it very wrong. Accused of being incompetent by his boss, and with the head of the Major Crime Team coming down heavily on him, Horton wonders if he’s allowed his ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago to cloud his judgement. With no clear motive for the murder, Horton is sucked into a baffling investigation that he is determined to resolve despite the odds. Not only does he need to find a brutal killer, but Horton now has to prove to himself, and others, that he is still up to the job.

I'll be helping to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February when I will be at Portsmouth Central Library between 10.30am to 12.30pm.

I'll be talking about my marine mystery crime novels and thrillers which are set in the Solent area, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and there will be the opportunity to win signed copies of my books with a murder mystery quiz hunt for clues around the library, and the chance to be named as a character in one of my forthcoming DI Horton crime novels.

National Libraries Day is a celebration of libraries across the UK. Events and activities will take place in a variety of libraries including in schools, colleges, universities and public libraries in the UK in the week leading up to and on National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February.

Tickets cost £3.00 and can be purchased at any library in Portsmouth or by contacting libraries@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Publication Day dawns for the NEW DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel, A Killing Coast, by Pauline Rowson

I'm delighted to announce that  the seventh in the DI Horton series of Marine Mystery crime novels set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England, A Killing Coast  is published in hardcover by Severn House in the UK today, 26 January 2012. It will be published in the USA on 1 May 2012. 

The DI Horton series has received some critical acclaim both in the UK and the USA where I'm flattered and honoured that my writing has been compared to Ed McBain and Joseph Wambaugh and with their British counterparts, including the work of Peter Robinson and John Harvey. 

American Reviewer Booklist says, "Andy Horton is an especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage – an abrasive supervisor and an antagonistic soon-to-be ex-wife. Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms."

I've written seven in the popular DI Horton series and two stand alone thrillers one of which, In Cold Daylight was voted  the third most popular novel in an on line poll for World Book Day.

All my crime and thriller novels are available in hardcover, paperback, as e books, on Kindle and Nook and some are available in Large Print and as Audio Books.

When a body is found floating in the sea off Portsmouth harbour, Detective Inspector Horton initially judges it to be an accidental death. Soon though, to his dismay, he discovers he’s got it very wrong. Accused of being incompetent by his boss, and with the head of the Major Crime Team coming down heavily on him, Horton wonders if he’s allowed his ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago to cloud his judgement. With no clear motive for the murder, Horton is sucked into a baffling investigation that he is determined to resolve despite the odds. Not only does he need to find a brutal killer, but Horton now has to prove to himself, and others, that he is still up to the job.

Hope readers and DI Horton fans enjoy it!

I'll be helping to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February when I will be at Portsmouth Central Library between 10.30am to 12.30pm.

I'll be talking about my marine mystery crime novels and thrillers which are set in the Solent area, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and there will be the opportunity to win signed copies of my books with a murder mystery quiz hunt for clues around the library, and the chance to be named as a character in one of my forthcoming DI Horton crime novels.

National Libraries Day is a celebration of libraries across the UK. Events and activities will take place in a variety of libraries including in schools, colleges, universities and public libraries in the UK in the week leading up to and on National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February.

Tickets cost £3.00 and can be purchased at any library in Portsmouth or by contacting libraries@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Pauline Rowson to launch new DI Andy Horton Crime Novel with BBC Radio Solent on 26 January

For those early risers, I'm on the Julian Clegg Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Solent on Thursday 26 January at 6.45 a.m. to launch the new DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel, A Killing Coast, published in hardcover on 26th and to talk about my appearance at Portsmouth Central Library in support of National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February between 10.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.

A Killing Coast is the seventh in the DI Horton series of Marine Mystery crime novels set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England published by Severn House in the UK on 26 January 2012 and in the USA on 1 May 2012. 

I'm delighted to be involved in helping to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February when I will be at Portsmouth Central Library between 10.30am to 12.30pm.

I'll be talking about my marine mystery crime novels and there will be the opportunity to win signed copies of my books with a murder mystery quiz hunt for clues around the library, and the chance to be named as a character in one of my forthcoming DI Horton crime novels.

National Libraries Day is a celebration of libraries across the UK. Events and activities will take place in a variety of libraries including in schools, colleges, universities and public libraries in the UK in the week leading up to and on National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February.

Tickets cost £3.00 and can be purchased at any library in Portsmouth or by contacting 023 9281 9311 or libraries@portsmouthcc.gov.uk All welcome.



“Deserves mention in the same breath as the work of Peter Robinson and John Harvey.” Booklist Starred Review of Footsteps on the Shore

  
When a body is found floating in the sea off Portsmouth harbour, Detective Inspector Horton initially judges it to be an accidental death. Soon though, to his dismay, he discovers he’s got it very wrong. Accused of being incompetent by his boss, and with the head of the Major Crime Team coming down heavily on him, Horton wonders if he’s allowed his ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his mother over thirty years ago to cloud his judgement. With no clear motive for the murder, Horton is sucked into a baffling investigation that he is determined to resolve despite the odds. Not only does he need to find a brutal killer, but Horton now has to prove to himself, and others, that he is still up to the job.

"Andy Horton is an especially good series hero, a likeable fellow with plenty of street smarts and the requisite personal baggage – an abrasive supervisor and an antagonistic soon-to-be ex-wife. Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms." Booklist

Now working on final revisions of the eighth DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel

Yes, I am now working on what I hope to be the final revisions of the next DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel, the eighth in the series. It is at this stage that I review the phrases and words I've used and those I've over used and try and replace them for something else and possibly a word more evocative, emotional or stimulating depending on the situation!  Thank goodness for 'Find' on Word, makes an author's life a lot easier!

Next I will need to read through the novel in one sitting if possible, or two at the most to check that I have not repeated myself, a very easy thing to do. I'll also check the story line and double check that all the clues are in place and the plot and sub plots hang  together. The latter is quite difficult because I am now at the stage where I know the novel so well it is difficult to spot the holes. If possible I will take a break from the novel for a week and hopefully go back to it with fresh eyes, but I find it very hard to take that break.  Perhaps I'll start working on the next DI Horton, or that new thriller I keep promising to write. Anyway lots of ideas bubbling away in the back of my mind.

Getting back to DI Andy Horton number eight, I am now ready to write the blurb and I must turn my focus to that ever elusive title.  I have a couple of ideas for a title in mind, just need to see if they sound right.

Meanwhile the publication of DI Horton number nine - A Killing Coast - draws near.  A Killing Coast will be published by Severn House in hardcover in the UK on 26 January and in the USA on 1 May 2012.








Pauline Rowson will be helping to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February when she will be at Portsmouth Central Library between 10.30am to 12.30pm.

She'll be talking about her marine mystery crime novels and thrillers which are set in the Solent area, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and there will be the opportunity to win signed copies of her books with a murder mystery quiz hunt for clues around the library, and the chance to be named as a character in one of her forthcoming DI Horton crime novels.

Tickets cost £3.00 and can be purchased at any library in Portsmouth or by contacting libraries@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Pauline Rowson's crime novel Footsteps on the Shore has been nominated for the eDUNNIT AWARD at CrimeFest 2012.

I'm delighted that my crime novel Footsteps on the Shore has been nominated by my publisher, Severn House, for the eDUNNIT AWARD at CrimeFest 2012.

Crimefest is a convention for people who like to read an occasional crime novel as well as for die-hard fanatics. First organised in June 2008, CrimeFest is now one of the most popular dates in the crime fiction calendar. The annual convention draws top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world and gives delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in an informal atmosphere.

It follows the format of US conventions of interviews, panels, a Gala Dinner, and one or two surprises. CrimeFest will be presenting the eDunnit Award for the best crime ebook of 2011 at the gala dinner on 26 May 2012. The event takes place at the Royal Marriot Hotel, Bristol from 24 - 27 May 2012.

I have appeared at Crimefest  in 2010 and 2011 and will again be appearing on a panel in 2012.

Pauline Rowson, centre on CrimeFest panel 2011

Pauline Rowson on CrimeFest panel second from left 2010

Footsteps on the Shore is the sixth in the DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime series set in the Solent area, Portsmouth  on the South Coast of England.  It is published by Severn House in the UK and the USA in 2011 where it received a star rated review from America reviewer Booklist who said, 'It deserves mention in the same breath as works in the upper echelon of American procedurals (those by Ed McBain or Joseph Wambaugh for example) and their British counterparts, including the work of Peter Robinson and John Harvey. Procedural fans who haven’t already read Rowson should be encouraged to do so in the strongest possible terms.’

Footsteps on the Shore was published as an e book in September 2011 and is also available on Kindle.

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 …

The winning author receives a cash prize, an eReader and a commemorative vase provided by Bristol Blue Glass.

It's great to be just nominated!

Here's an interesting piece of research for crime authors. Footprint analysis could be weaved into a future DI Horton novel

Everyone knows that fingerprints are unique but what about footprints? I came across this article while researching for my current DI Horton crime novel, number eight in the series, wish I'd had it for Footsteps on the Shore, the sixth DI Horton .OK, so I know Sherlock Holmes was at it many moons ago but here below are the recent research findings which you might find interesting.

"It seems that footsteps are as unique as fingerprints, and can identify people with 99.8 per cent accuracy.

"For the first time, our results show that it probably is possible to use this in a real-world security application," says Todd Pataky of Shinshu University in Nagano, Japan.

Earlier studies suggested that everyone walks in a unique way that can be captured on film or by pressure sensors. But these studies tended to look at only 10 people each, making it difficult to tell how well the methods would work in the real world. So Pataky and colleagues asked 104 people to walk across a half-metre-long board studded with thousands of pressure sensors, recording ten steps per person. The sensors recorded how each foot applied pressure to the ground, and how that pressure distribution changed as the person walked.

The information collected was then input into a computer and used to train an algorithm to pick out the patterns in people's steps. Of the 1040 steps recorded, the algorithm wrongly identified only three – a 99.8 per cent success rate.

"Even if they have the same foot size, even if they have the same shape, [people] load their feet differently, and they do it consistently," Pataky says. Similar sensors, which are available commercially for about $20,000, could be used in airports to identify passengers as they walk barefoot through security.

Christopher Nester of the University of Salford in the UK thinks the technique could be used as a diagnostic tool for foot diseases and orthotics. As for security applications, he sees another, perhaps overlooked, drawback. "Nobody minds putting their fingertip on a glass surface, which is clean," he says. "But we very rarely wash our feet."

Speak for yourself!!

Journal of the Royal Society Interface, DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2011.0430

The analysis of footprints left in sand, soil, or another soft material might prove to be a useful forensic science technique and I might just weave it in to a future crime novel.










NB: Michael Bunting Author of A Fair Cop says, "Footprint analysis has been used in detecting crime for decades. Every worn shoe sole has unique indentations from grit, broken glass and other things we stand on. This means that, even if a suspect is wearing a popular shoe or trainer, the... marks it leaves are completely different to any other. The print is often lifted from soft surfaces like lino and can be caused by the offender standing in anything from dirt to blood. Some police officers carry little pocket books containing the most popular shoe patterns to assist them at crime scenes. Assessing gait is a tool that would only be used in serious crimes and where the offender is captured on CCTV or similar. Evidence of pronation and/or supination would not hold in an English court."

What is the difference between a crime novel and thriller? Crime author Pauline Rowson discusses

I'm often asked what is the difference between a crime novel and a thriller, and I have to admit I have difficulty in answering this question even though I have written seven crime novels and two thrillers.

So for enlightenment I turned to the International Thriller Writers organisation who characterise a thriller as:

“the sudden rush of emotions, the excitement, sense of suspense, apprehension, and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace."

I think this is true of the crime novel. OK, so it depends on what type of crime novel. Some admittedly unfold at a more leisurely pace depending on the personality of the main character, his or her background, the story and the setting. If it is a cozy mystery then, yes, it is less likely to move along at breakneck speed although there will be suspense, peaks and lulls.

So let's hear more from the International Thriller Writers.

"Thriller is a genre in which tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world."

In a crime novel the hero might be a police officer, or a private eye, who can still be tough and resourceful. DI Andy Horton certainly is in my crime novels. And he is pitted against villains determined to destroy him, although not necessarily the country or the stability of the free world. But hang on he might be called upon to do so if there is a terrorist element in the plot, and it could be said that criminals involved in drugs, trafficking and other heinous crimes also threaten the stability of the country and the free world.

Being a police officer though, Horton has a team behind him and superiors above him, but he is a maverick and usually strikes out alone to solve the crime and bring the villain to justice. Horton is not an 'ordinary cop' but a man on a mission to fight injustice and at the same time is being forced to find out the truth behind his mother's disappearance, which puts his life in danger and pits him against that villain who is intent on destroying him and the fabric of society.

So, again I think there can be a certain overlap between the crime novel and thriller.

The heroes in both my thrillers are ordinary guys who find themselves in extra ordinary situations Both Adam Greene in In Cold Daylight and Alex Albury in In For The Kill find themselves pitted against villains determined to destroy them. Often in a thriller the hero is faced with what seem to be insurmountable problems in his mission, carried out against a ticking clock, the stakes are high and although resourceful he faces personal dilemmas along the way forcing him to make sacrifices for others. 

This is true for both Adam Greene and Alex Albury. Adam, in a quest to discover the truth behind his closest friend's death, fire fighter Jack Bartholomew, finds himself up against a huge conspiracy at the top.  His whole way of life begins to crumble before him and he faces many personal dilemmas and danger on his journey.

In In For the Kill, Alex Albury's life has been shattered when sentenced for fraud and embezzlement. On his release from prison he is determined to discover who framed him knowing that he is up against a dangerous and very clever adversary who will stop at nothing to prevent him from finding this out.  Soon, Alex is faced with the ultimate choice to kill or be killed.


In a thriller there is tension and conflict along the way and an unexpected, satisfying conclusion and I believe that also applies to crime novels, well I like to think it does to mine! Whether crime novel or thriller the main characters/s will have internal conflict, moral dilemmas, and tough decisions and choices to make, as these help develop and define them. Their actions drive the story forward.

So am I any clearer on the difference between a crime novel and a thriller?  To a certain extent yes. But concerning my own crime and thriller novels I'm not so sure. It seems that my crime novels are also thrillers or should that be my thrillers are also crime novels?  Does it matter? No. Whether crime novel or thriller all that really counts is that it is a satisfying and enjoyable read.

Shocked and saddened to learn of the death of one of my favourite crime writers: Reginald Hill

I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the death of Reginald Hill, a great crime writer and without doubt one of my favourites and the inspiration for my own crime writing career. Although best known for his Dalziel and Pascoe novels I also love his thrillers and his humorous series set in Luton, featuring the black private detective Joe Sixsmith.

I first discovered Reginald Hill in 1978. I was ill and my husband, home on leave from the armed forces, bought A Clubbable Woman to cheer me up.  I was hooked.  I have nearly all of Reginald Hill's crime and thriller novels, some signed, and I re read them, again and again, taking pleasure from them every time. I am also honoured to have corresponded with Reginald who encouraged me in my crime writing career. He will be greatly missed but his work will live on and will continue to be enjoyed by many. In his memory I will pick one of his novels from my bookshelves tonight to read once again.

Reginald Charles Hill, born 3 April 1936; died 12 January 2012, won the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger award, for Bones and Silence in 1990 and the Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement five years later.

My thoughts are with his friends and family.

I'm delighted to learn that audio book sales are growing because many of my crime novels and business books are published as audio books

News from the Audio Publishers Association in America is very welcome with the release of their annual Survey Highlights for Audio Books showing an increase in audio book sales over the last year. This is good news for me on a personal level because I have several of my DI Andy Horton crime novels published as unabridged audio books read by the highly accomplished actor and voice artist Gordon Griffin.

In addition,  many of my sales, marketing and communications books are available as audio books.


The survey reports:

• Unit sales were up nearly 10% in the past year, showing continued consumer interest in audiobooks.
• Based on the companies who reported (representing 61% of industry), total net sales (after returns) are up by 2 million units and $2 million.
• The total number of audiobooks being published doubled in the past three years, from 3,073 in 2007 to 6,200 in 2010.
• Audiobook downloads continued on a growth trend representing 36% of dollar volume (up from 29% in 2009) and 52% of unit sales (up from 48% in 2009)
• In the past 5 years, downloading has grown 300% by dollar volume (from 9% in 2005) and 150% in terms of units (from 21% in 2005).
• The CD format still represents the largest single source of dollars but showed slight declines overall in 2010 – 58% of revenue (down from 65%) and 43% of unit sales (down from 46%).
• Unabridged editions (89% of the market by dollars; 85% of the market by units) continue to lead in sales.

Four of my DI Andy Horton marine mystery police procedural crime novels are published as unabridged audio books by Isis Publishing


 

I'm hoping that more DI Horton novels will be published as audio books. For more information visit my website







My sales, marketing and communication books  are also available as audio books.

Crime author Pauline Rowson will be helping to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February, Portsmouth Central Library 10.30am - 12.30pm.

I'm delighted to be involved in helping to celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February when I will be at Portsmouth Central Library between 10.30am to 12.30pm.

I'll be talking about my marine mystery crime novels and thrillers which are set in the Solent area, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, and there will be the opportunity to win signed copies of my books with a murder mystery quiz hunt for clues around the library, and the chance to be named as a character in one of my forthcoming DI Horton crime novels.

National Libraries Day is a celebration of libraries across the UK. Events and activities will take place in a variety of libraries including in schools, colleges, universities and public libraries in the UK in the week leading up to and on National Libraries Day on Saturday 4 February.

I'm a great supporter of libraries. I owe them a debt of gratitude because if it hadn't been for my local library in Portsmouth as a child I doubt I would ever have discovered a life long passion for reading and for writing.  I’m looking forward to meeting lots of people and helping the library service to celebrate on 4 February..

Tickets can be purchased at any library in Portsmouth or by contacting libraries@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Tickets cost £3.00.

Hope to see some of you there.

Pauline Rowson is the author of the popular marine mystery police procedural crime series featuring DI Andy Horton, set on the South Coast of England in the Portsmouth, Isle of Wight and Solent area.

A Killing Coast, the seventh in the DI Horton series is published in hardcover in the UK on 26 January 2012 and in the USA on 1 May 2012.


She is also the author of two standalone thrillers, In Cold Daylight, which came third in an on line poll of the UK's most favourite books for World Book Day and In For The Kill.


“Deserves mention in the same breath as the work of Peter Robinson and John Harvey.” Booklist Starred Review of Footsteps on the Shore