April is here and that means one of the major events in the book trade calendar, The London Book Fair, where I will be on 19th and 20th April. It's a great opportunity for me to meet with my overseas Literary Agents from Brazil, Spain and Italy as well as with my publishers of my business books and my crime novels.

According to an article on the Bookseller web…

Writing believable dialogue in fiction is a long way from dialogue in 'real life' which is peppered with a chaos of ums and ahs, you knows, basicallys and many more superfluous words and fillers. If used in a novel or short story these fillers will only serve to slow the flow and frustrate the reader. Likewise in reality we eat, watch television, cook meals, bathe, spend and waste time on the Internet, visit family, friends and sick relatives, shop and clean. But if included…

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…

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…

Read an e book Week is now over for another year. My crime thriller novel, In For The Kill, was offered as a free e book for one week only, between 7-13 March 2010. Some authors wouldn’t agree with giving away free copies of their novels but sometimes it is a good way…

I'm tickled pink to have been chosen by major online retailer, The Book Depository, as one of their Authors of the Month to appear on their Featured Crime and Thriller Page. I have a special tab in the crime/thrillers section (Pauline Rowson) where my crime and thriller novels appear alongside fellow crime writer, Graham Hurley,…

Working on the next Inspector Andy Horton, the sixth in the series, I am reminded of a question a reader asked me at a talk I gave recently. How do prevent repeating yourself? The answer can be both with great difficulty, and do I need to worry about this anyway?

Once you find an author you like you search for other novels he or she has written because the style of the writing appeals to you. Therefore a degree of repetition is part of…

Aside from putting the finishing touches to the Inspector Andy Horton novel I’m writing there are a clutch of events happening in March.

Firstly, my crime thriller novel In For The Kill is being featured in Read an E…

I pinched this idea from recent articles in the Guardian where a number of writers are penning their ten rules for writing. I thought I'd add mine.

1 Always have a pencil and paper with you, in every handbag, shopping bag or pocket.

2. Travel by public transport, you see and meet some great characters for novels.

3. Earwig other people's conversations…

Yesterday I saw Fame the musical performed by STP Musicals at Fareham’s Ferneham Hall, Hampshire. I’m a great fan of musicals and being a former dancer I also adore the dance scenes. But the reason for me going to see Fame this time round had more to do with my niece appearing in the production than a desire to see the musical for itself. What struck me though, while watching this highly professional performance, was that although I’d seen the film of…

The strange world of PR is always looking for angles, because it's the strongest angle that will grab the headline, or at least get some coverage in the media. And authors need PR as much as actors, artists, and anyone else in the creative industries.



Press, or rather I should say media coverage is a hugely cost effective way of spreading a message, and now with the multitude of Internet media it is even more powerful. But there is a vast difference between pumping…

With great difficulty or considerable ease is the answer. Some titles can come instantly, almost the moment the novel hits the page (or rather the computer screen) Dead Man's Wharf was one such case. Others are like pregnancy, taking months to develop and even when the novel is finished I might still have no idea for a suitable title. A bit like the Horton novel I'm currently working…