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A question I am often asked is why I set my marine mystery crime novels in the Solent area and one of the reasons, among many, was reinforced yesterday as I was crossing from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth on the Wightlink ferry on a glorious day, in such sharp contrast to when I was crossing on 6 September in an almost hurricane force gale!  Yesterday the Solent was awash with activity. On it was the Hovercraft, the Wightlink Cat, yachts and pleasure craft of all sizes. Coming out of Portsmouth Harbour was the Brittany Continental ferry assisted by the orange and black pilot boat. A laden container ship was making its way across the Solent towards Southampton docks. Another Wightlink ferry passed us on the way across to the Island and a small red and white fishing boat came alongside as we entered the harbour where the green and white Gosport ferry was crossing and the police launch was beside the UK Border Agency Patrol vessel not far from a Royal Navy ship in the Naval Base. An...

The new Inspector Andy Horton Marine Mystery Crime Novel , the sixth in the series, Footsteps on the Shore is set in the Solent area on the South Coast of England. Published today 27 January 2011, I thought I'd post some of the location photographs of where this Andy Horton novel is set. Footsteps on the Shore once again features the rugged Harley Davidson riding and sailing detective, Andy Horton, assisted by Sergeant Cantelli and often thwarted by his boss DCI Lorraine Bliss, and working with the head of the major crime team the coarse and blunt Detective Superintendent Uckfield. This novel is set in Portsmouth, around the historic shores of the Roman Fort Portchester Castle, the marina, which in the Horton novels is called Horsea Marina and on the Hayling Island Coastal Path. Horsea Marina (really Port Solent) featured in Footsteps on the Shore , Tide of Death and The Suffocating Sea The Roman Fort of Portchester Castle looking across Paulsgrove Lake from Hors...

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...

In this latest interview, just posted on You Tube, I'm being interviewed by Tony Smith of Angel Radio about the Inspector Andy Horton marine mystery crime novels and my crime thrillers novels , in particular about researching them and the locations. I've added some photographs from where these novels are based. Hope you enjoy listening and watching the video.

We all know that when choosing someplace to live location is important, it's equally important in novels. And Sweden is not the only location in the World for setting atmospheric crime novels, though you would hardly think that at the moment! While everyone seems to be obsessed with things Swedish there are many great crime novels set in various parts of the UK from gritty Glasgow to captivating Cornwall.  And there is also marine mystery country, the Solent area on the South Coast of England, which includes the harbours of Portsmouth, Langstone and Chichester and on the Isle of Wight. Langstone Harbour from North Hayling across to Langstone Mill and Warblington Tower (just out of shot to the right) Readers of my marine mystery crime novels, thrillers and police procedurals come from around the world, as far afield as China, Turkey, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, America and of course from all over the UK where I live.  I often wonder how they picture th...

Here are a couple of spectacular photographs taken by Peter Rocchiccioli when I was on board the Wightlink ferry, St Clare, which travels from Portsmouth to Fishbourne, doing a book signing, organised by the Hayling Island Bookshop. This is Andy Horton's country, the Solent on the south coast of England and the setting for my marine mystery crime novels. This picture is taken from the upper deck of the St Clare and looks down on the Town Camber and across to the Cathedral in Old Portsmouth.  You'll find the location in many of the Horton novels, but particularly in Deadly Waters and The Suffocating Sea. And this picture is of a ferry sailing through the narrow entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.  It's a fascinating and vibrant area with lots going on, including mystery, murder and intrigue....!!

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.