Visit my website at www.rowmark.co.uk for details of all my crime novels

I heard from the radio station this morning about my radio interview which should have been broadcast last night at 7pm on Express FM but wasn't.  Unfortunately there was a technical fault with the recording so it couldn't go out, which is a real shame.  I enjoyed talking to Rob Richardson about my crime novels, and we are hoping to re-schedule. Having worked in Marketing and PR I know that these things do sometimes happen with recorded interviews, or your planned interview can be squeezed out by other more pressing and topical news, which is one reason why I enjoy doing live interviews. I am scheduled to be live on Radio Solent in July, talking to Julian Clegg on his Breakfast Show. I'll post something about that shortly.  Meanwhile it's on with the plotting of the next Inspector Horton marine mystery crime novel, which has had a bit of a setback but I think I'm now back on track. Some long walks are called for - great for thinking time, as well as getting ...

I am often asked how I research my novels. I know that some writers prefer to do all their research up front before they begin writing the novel but I like to do some basic research when the idea for the novel occurs to me and while I flesh out an outline plot, and then start writing the first draft, while the research is incomplete. Why this way? Because once I have the basics of the plot, characters and research I can’t wait to start the creative writing process with an urge to complete it as quickly as possible. In fact, I often wish I could brain dump straight on to the computer without having to touch the keyboard. I then continue the research process as I write. On the first draft I often don’t know the ending or even ‘who done it’ because the whole novel doesn’t come alive until Inspector Horton starts investigating and gets into all sorts of trouble as a result. Or if it’s a thriller like In Cold Daylight or In For The Kill , until something happens to my main character, th...

I've just returned from a delightful visit to  Quarr Abbey , near Ryde, on the Isle of Wight as part of a specially-organised Christmas tour led by Father Luke Bell, who has written a book about the monks' daily routine, A Deep and Subtle Joy: Life at Quarr Abbey .  Along with me and my husband were approximately thirty people including a feature writer from the Daily Telegraph, who like us had crossed from the mainland.  She'd also travelled from London that morning while we only had a short drive to the Hovercraft before traversing the calm waters of the Solent.  There was also a photographer present from the Isle of Wight County Press. Quarr Abbey plays a small part in my forthcoming marine mystery crime novel, Blood on the Sand featuring my fictional detective, Inspector Andy Horton, which will be published in the UK in February 2010 and in America in April 2010. I won't say what part because I don't want to spoil the plot!  The tour as well as...