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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 ...

Morse has his Oxford, Rebus has Edinburgh and Andy Horton has the Solent and surrounding coastal area.  Many of you know that I draw my inspiration and ideas from the area in which I live and where my DI Andy Horton crime novels and thriller novels are set: Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and generally the Solent area on the South Coast of England.  And readers from all around the World as far a field as China, Australia and America are reading about Andy Horton's marine mystery country. It is a vibrant area full of contrasts and contradictions, which is why I find it fascinating.  Portsmouth is also my home town, or I should say the city where I was raised, so I know it well, warts and all. It's a waterfront city with a colourful and diverse history. Home to HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860, the Mary Rose Museum, The Royal Naval Museum, and  the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. But it's not all history. New navy ships rub shoulders with old....

This morning I did some location research for the Inspector Horton crime novel I am currently writing, which will be number six in the marine mystery crime series. (Called marine mysteries because they are all set against the backdrop of the sea, around the Solent area on the south coast of England).  This  Horton novel is again based in Portsmouth and around the harbours of Portsmouth and Langstone, and this time also around the historic and splendid ruins of Portchester Castle. (Photograph courtesy of the English Heritage web site).   Portchester Castle is an impressive ruin of a Roman 'Saxon Shore' fort, originally built in the late 3rd century.   "It is the only Roman stronghold in northern Europe whose walls still mainly stand to their full 6 metre height, complete with most of their originally twenty towers," and well worth a visit if you are in the area. There are stunning views over Paulsgrove Lake into Portsmouth Harbour. And there's al...

I've been invited to BBC Radio Solent's On Air Christmas Party on 17 December 2008. It's part of the BBC's 100 Lives Project and I am one of the "lives!" BBC Radio Solent's 100 Lives project offers a snapshot of life in the 21st century by following the lives of 100 people over the year. I was privileged and pleased to be chosen as one of those lives, even though it was towards the latter end of the year rather than at the beginning. The project is the largest study of its kind ever undertaken on the radio station! One of the reasons I was chosen, apart from being a 'local' girl, is that my crime marine mystery novels are all set in the Solent area. The party is being held from 6.45 am - yes, that early in the morning!- until 9.30am with the wonderful presenter, Julian Clegg. It is in the BBC Canteen - with breakfast provided -and hopefully Julian will get to talk to many of us as he roves around with his microphone. I've been told that about f...