Setting my crime novels in a real place, against the backdrop of the Solent, provides opportunities for countless ideas and inspiration

There are advantages of setting crime novels, or any novel come to that, in a real place and that is being able to explore the area and draw inspiration from it, something that I do all the time with my thrillers and my DI Andy Horton crime novels, as my readers know.

My crime novels are set around Portsmouth and the Solent area on the south coast of England. The sea is a very important feature in my crime novels, it creates the backdrop and atmosphere and almost becomes a character itself.  It's mean and moody, still and stunning, dangerous and deceptive, beguiling and beautiful and bustling with activity. And Portsmouth and the Solent area is indeed a very vibrant part of the UK, plenty here to draw inspiration from.

I've started working on the next DI Horton novel, number eight in the series, and one thing I need to do, and soon, is visit the area where this DI Horton will be set, which is in Portsmouth, probably not far from the bustling commercial ferry port.  This will help me see the layout of the land and develop my ideas further. Living in the locale is a distinct advantage and setting my crime novels in a real place has its benefits even if the names of the businesses, and streets get changed.

I'll be posting some photographs of where the next DI Andy Horton will be set soon.

Meanwhile here are some photos, which some of you might already have seen, of the areas where the other DI Horton novels are set.