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An article on the Bookseller web site reported that the e-reader market doubled over Christmas with 7% of British adults receiving a dedicated e-reader bringing the total percentage of adults with e-book readers up to 13%, or 6.5m adults. I have certainly seen a considerable rise in the sales of my e books and on Kindle, which was revealed as the most popular device and the fastest growing overtaking the Sony Reader. And for anyone who wants a bargain for a limited period my e book publisher is offering my DI Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel Blood on the Sand on Kindle and my crime thriller novel , In For The Kill on Kindle at a special offer price on Amazon of 94p in the UK - yes 94pence!  And in the USA  the e book on Kindle of Blood on the Sand is on offer at $1.51 and In For the Kill   for the same bargain price. But if you prefer  to get your hands on the printed version of these novels or any of my other crime and thriller novel...

I wrote the following article for the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Debut Dagger Award and thought it might interest readers of my blog.  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. Winning the Debut Dagger doesn’t guarantee you’ll get published. But it does mean your work will be seen by leading agents and top editors, who have signed up over twenty winners and shortlisted Debut Dagger competitors. Choosing a location for the setting of a crime novel  by Pauline Rowso...

The Marine Mysteries are a series of police procedural crime novels featuring the flawed and rugged Detective Inspector Andy Horton. They're set on the south coast of England in Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight and against the backdrop of the Solent. I thought I'd post some background on Andy Horton for readers who haven't yet met him.  I've  also posted a couple of photographs of the marina where Andy Horton lives on his small sailing yacht. DI Andy Horton has had a troubled past.  His mother walked out on him when he was ten and he's been raised in children's homes and with foster parents.  He has no idea where his mother is or whether she is still alive. In the novels he reluctantly begins his search for her and the truth behind her disappearance.   His marriage has broken up after Catherine, his wife, chose to believe an accusation of rape against him while Horton was working undercover. In the first of the series, Tide of Death , Horton...

It was a very pleasant surprise to receive an e mail  this week from China, from the person who has just finished translating my Inspector Andy Horton marine mystery crime novel, Tide of Death into Chinese . She said how much she enjoyed the novel, which is the first in the series, and that she hopes to translate more of them in the future - I hope so too! There are now five in the Inspector Andy Horton series with the sixth being published in January 2011 in the UK and in March 2011 in the States. She told me the Chinese version will be published soon.  I can't wait to receive my copy. I'm not sure if the Chinese publisher is using a different cover image either, but I'll soon find out. It won't be my first book to be published in China because two of my non-fiction motivational books , Being Positive and Staying Positive , and Communicating with more Confidence , have also been translated into Chinese and combined with another author's book, ...

A boiling hot day in England (the first of the year) and being closeted inside a stuffy Marriott Hotel in Bristol was not the best place to be. But Crimefest, an international convention of crime writers and crime fiction fans, beckoned and I was delighted to be asked to appear on a panel with other crime writers to talk about my crime novels and answer questions from the delegates. I was also thrilled to meet the very accomplished actor, Brian Murphy. He's appeared many times on British television, including in the comedy series, George and Mildred and The Last of the Summer Wine . And I particularly liked him in Booze Crew with Martin Clunes, Neil Pearson and Ben Whishaw. What's more he was born at one of my favourite places, the Isle of Wight, and lived in Portsmouth, both of which are where my crime novels are set. I met my fellow crime writers (from left to right) Linda Regan, Lindsey Davis, J.D. Goodhind, (me) and Neil White in the Green Room, a rather dark basem...

I thought I'd just post some photographs of some of the locations that inspire me and where my crime novels are set.  This is Inspector Andy Horton's patch - the Solent on the South Coast of England, home of my marine mysteries. The photograph on the left is of the Camber in Old Portsmouth and features in Deadly Waters and  The Suffocating Sea. Here is another view of it taken from on board the Wightlink ferry, which sails from Portsmouth to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. My crime thriller novels , In Cold Daylight and In For The Kill are also set in the South. In For the Kill and the latest Inspector Andy Horton crime novel, Blood on the Sand   are set primarily on the Isle of Wight. This is a view of Bembridge Harbour, the Duver which features in both novels. I'll post some more photographs in due course. I hope you like them.

I’m back from a highly successful whirlwind mini tour of the north east of England, my second in six months and I’m delighted to say I was met once again with very friendly people and some avid fans of my marine mystery crime novels. The first stop was Washington Town Centre Library, yes, home of George Washington the first President of the United States of America, 1789 to 1797, whose ancestors settled in Washington, England, then called Wessyngton, in 1183. Here was my smallest audience but an extremely lively and appreciative one nevertheless. Next up, on the following morning, was Ingleby Barwick Library. Ingleby Barwick is a large private residential estate and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees. At one time it was reputed to be the largest Private Housing Estate in Europe. The audience of adults was joined by several talented and gifted students from the adjacent All Saints Secondary School, who took lots of photographs, which means I could end up all over Faceb...

I’m delighted to announce that I have just signed a contract with Severn House for the publication of the fifth DI Andy Horton Marine Mystery crime novel, BLOOD ON THE SAND , which will be published on 26 February 2010 at the same time as the paperback version of DEAD MAN’S WHARF. And for those of you who would like a taste of what is to come for Andy Horton look no further… Blood On The Sand by Pauline Rowson - The fifth Inspector Horton Marine Mystery Crime novel Inspector Andy Horton’s holiday peace is shattered when stepping out across an abandoned golf course on the Isle of Wight on a cold, grey January, he finds himself facing a distraught young woman with a gun in her hand leaning over a corpse in one of the discarded bunkers. When she professes to be the dead man’s sister and psychic, Horton’s old adversary, DCI Birch, is convinced she is mentally disturbed and the killer, but Horton is not so sure. He feels a strange affinity towards the woman, and a sense of recognitio...

I was delighted to be asked to the Mayor of Havant’s reception and the grand opening of the newly refurbished arts and heritage centre in Havant, Hampshire, called The Spring , on 2 October. The photograph shows the Mayor of Havant Jackie Branson (left), with Pauline Rowson (centre) and Amanda O'Reilly (right) Director of The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre. The mayor of Havant, Jackie Branson, was entertaining all the mayors from around Hampshire and the Isle of Wight – twenty two of them I believe. It is a tradition that each mayor takes it in turn annually to host an event and to give a small gift to every mayor. As it was Havant’s turn this year (my borough council) and as the mayor had read one of my marine mystery crime novels she opted to give each mayor a signed copy of the second DI Horton novel Deadly Waters , set in nearby city of Portsmouth. It was a very enjoyable event with a tour of the newly refurbished arts and heritage centre, a short performance by t...

Well now I can say I’ve lunched at The InterContinental Hotel, Park Lane and a very nice lunch it was too. When my husband, Bob, gave the London taxi driver the hotel’s address, the cabbie asked if we’d won the lottery – obviously then we didn’t look the usual clientele of The InterContinental. I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or offended. I, of course, pretended to be a World famous crime novelist, but it didn’t fool the cabbie. The problem with authors is that people only recognise the names J.K Rowling and Dan Brown. Still, he said his wife reads crime novels, so I duly handed over one of my bookmarks, giving details of my marine mysteries and thrillers, and told him she might like to look me up in her local library, or dare I say it, buy one of my books. The hotel staff were very polite and friendly, but then they should be for the amount is costs to stay there, not that I know the price, I didn’t bother checking – way out of my league. The lunch was a pleasure and by that I ...