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Yesterday I was invited to the Mayor Making Ceremony at Portsmouth Guildhall (UK) to see the new Lord Mayor, Cheryl Buggy, enthroned!  Cheryl is the Liberal Democrat Councillor for Eastney and Craneswater in Portsmouth. I'd no idea what to expect and it was a pleasant surprise to find the ceremony thoroughly enjoyable (and very full of pomp!) It kicked off with an opera singer, Jennifer Parker-Lummis, singing from the steps of Portsmouth Guildhall and what a stunning voice she had too. The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines (Portsmouth) were playing to the audience inside the Guildhall. They are always a delight to hear. And  it was wonderful to hear the Portsmouth Music Service Sing Out Pompey choir ( children of about ten years old) sing three especially composed songs. Civic awards were presented to people who had done a lot of good work for the community and there was a great deal of  ceremonial business in installing the new Lord Mayor. I have kn...

One more day to go before the  Crime and the City CSI Portsmouth on Saturday 6 November at the John Pounds Community Centre in Queens Street, Portsmouth. The event is part of Portsmouth Bookfest and it is looking good. Tickets have sold out for the afternoon session which features crime authors: Graham Hurley, Peter Lovesey and Pauline Rowson (yes, me) along with police and forensic experts, but there are still some tickets left for the morning session 10 am to 12 noon, which features crime authors: Simon Brett, June Hampson and Pauline Rowson (I get to do it twice), along with police and forensic experts. Yesterday I was interviewed on Express FM and today I will be on Portsmouth Live TV  at 5pm. There should also be an article about me and the event in The News. I bet you'll be glad when I shut up about this event!  But it won't be yet, because hopefully there will be photographs from the event to post next week. So if you want to come along to Crime a...

Yes, I've gone underground, not for the purpose of gathering material for a new thriller or an Inspector Andy Horton crime novel. Neither have I decided to take up busking or begging for a living, but because I'm helping to promote  Portsmouth Bookfest . And if you're thinking that I might be walking the platforms with a sandwich board strapped to me then sorry to disappoint (although Colin at the Hayling Island Bookshop , organiser of the Portsmouth Bookfest would probably have suggested it if I'd given him half the chance).  I won't be there physically but if you cast your eyes over the posters near the main ticket office at Waterloo Underground this is what you will see. Sorry, didn't mean to frighten the horses.  Yes, it's my mugshot there in amongst other authors taking part in the Portsmouth Bookfest. I am in the middle top row.  Now your job is to identify and name all the other authors whose photographs are on the poster, in the proper order f...

Here is an extract from the interview I did with Tony Smith of Angel Radio about a unique event where I and four of my fellow international crime authors will join police, CSI, forensic and fingerprinting experts in Crime and the City, CSI Portsmouth on Saturday 6 November at the John Pounds Centre, Portsmouth. Fiction meets fact at this lively, entertaining event; come for the morning session, the afternoon session or both. Tickets on sale from 023 9268 8037 or visit my official web site for more details. It's part of Portsmouth Bookfest organised by the Hayling Island Bookshop and Portsmouth City Council.

Yes, the PR machine is now in full swing and the word is spreading about the forthcoming Portsmouth Bookfest (23 October - 14 November) and also for my own event Crime & the City - CSI Portsmouth on Saturday 6 November, where I will be joined by crime authors; Simon Brett, Graham Hurley, Peter Lovesey and June Hampson as well as experts from the Scenes of Crime, fingerprinting bureau and forensic specialists from Portsmouth University. Posters are going up at bustops around Portsmouth, the programmes are being distributed and what's more posters are also going up at Waterloo and Victoria railway stations in London. So exciting. I might have to make a special trip to London to see my name up there in lights... OK, so not actually in lights... and maybe no one will notice anyway... but hey, it's still exciting! I've created a new dedicated page on this blog about the Portsmouth Bookfest, Crime & the City, CSI Portsmouth event where you can read all about this and...

I'm off to a meeting with Portsmouth Library and the Hayling Island Bookshop this morning, organisers of the Portsmouth Bookfest, to discuss progress on the Crime and the City- CSI Portsmouth event on Saturday 6 November where I will be appearing with fellow crime writers Graham Hurley, Simon Brett, June Hampson and Peter Lovesey, along with experts from the Scenes of Crime, fingerprinting bureau and forensic psychologists. Everything seems to be going well, except that the venue has had to change from Portsmouth Library to the John Pounds Community Centre in Queen Street, Portsmouth, because of vandalism caused to the Central Library some weeks ago, when someone deliberately left the taps on in the public toilets and blocked all the sinks overnight causing extensive flooding. The tickets are now on sale for the event and posters have gone up certainly in the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth where my sister works for Nauticalia because she rang on Friday to say she'd see...

Portsmouth Central Library will be hosting the first ever Crime and the City (CSI Portsmouth) event on Saturday 6 November. Four of my fellow crime writers will join me and experts from Hampshire Constabulary and The International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology to discuss crime fiction and fact in a unique event, as part of the Portsmouth Book fest. More to follow but I can annouce that joining me, Pauline Rowson will be  Simon Brett , June Hampson , Peter Lovesey and Graham Hurley. On the expert side will be DS Martin Chudley, in charge of the Crime Scene Investigation team for Hampshire Constabulary and Jane Aston and her team from the Fingerprinting Bureau. With them will be Dr Claire Nee, Director of the International Centre for Research in Forensic Psychology at Portsmouth University, an expert in forensic psychology, and Paul Smith, an expert in Crime Scenes. A mobile bookshop will be provided by the Hayling Island Bookshop. It looks like...