Portsmouth Central Library celebrated World Book Day on March 6th 2008 by inviting Pauline Rowson to talk about her writing with fans and to share her success in having her book "In cold daylight" shortlisted for the World Book Day Spread the Word competition.

The prize was ultimately won by Jonathan Trigell for Boy A, but she is very grateful to everyone who voted for her; it was a nerve wracking experience reading all the comments about her book on the World Book Day website, but this competition was a good way for people to be introduced to her work as it's quite difficult for new writers to promote their books.


Why do you write crime and thriller novels?
Pauline writes crime and mystery because she is an avid reading of the genre herself. She enjoys Reginald Hill and Robert Goddard amongst others. She initially began by writing historical sagas set in Portsmouth and Wales but it was difficult to get these published as she couldn't find an agent. Pauline realised that as she read crime books, she probably ought to try writing one so ultimately created the character of Inspector Andy Horton in "Tides of death". She is now working on the fourth revision of her latest novel; the working title is "Dead man's wharf".

It normally takes Pauline 6 months to write a book, she writes every day in the morning and then in the afternoon between 4 and 7 pm. Pauline revealed to us how she works and writes. She plans her novels carefully and writes plot and time lines on paper to make sure everything ties-up. Pauline also charts her plot and characters using spider-grams, this helps her clarify plots and sub-plots.She uses recycled paper and works in pencil and doesn't file away any of her notes until the book is finished; her 'Civil Service brain' ensures that paperwork only gets filed away when it's not going to be used anymore.

Where do you get your ideas from?
Ideas come from all over place, from overheard conversations, locations and newspapers. For example, in her novel "In for the kill" the Isle of Wight was her inspiration. Driving through the island she passed one of their prisons and began to imagine what it would be like to be newly released. "In cold daylight" was inspired by an overheard conversation between her husband (an ex fireman) and a colleague. Many fireman die of cancer, possibly owning to the toxic chemicals they are exposed to in the course of their duties. The book's central character Adam, tries to solve the mysterious death of his best friend, a fireman, who leaves a cryptic clue suggesting why so many fireman have lost their lives through cancer. Since writing the novel, research by the University of Cincinnati has proved that fireman are at significantly higher risk of getting cancer than the general population.

How do you decide what perspective to write from?
Crime and thriller novels tend to be written in the first person as the pace of action needs to be quite fast. Pauline's central characters generally tend to be male, she prefers to write this way and ruefully referred to herself as a closet man! However she also acknowledges that her books are more likely to be read by men as well as women if there's a central male character.

What comes first, the plot of the character?
Pauline normally has the idea for the plot first, and then works up the characters using her spider-grams to clarify their ages and history. But quite often the characters come along as she writes, and sometimes major characters get discarded and Pauline doesn't know 'who dunnit' until the end! Just like Ruth Rendell, Pauline sometimes puts clues and red herring in afterwards in further revisions.

Do you get writer's block?
Not so far. Pauline sometimes gets stuck with ideas that come to nothing. Generally the first 4 to 5 chapters and the final one get written first, but then the middle can sometimes pose a problem. When this happens Pauline either goes out for a walk, knits, or carries on writing even though it's not very good because some of it might be useful later on.

Have you always wanted to write?
Yes, Pauline loved Enid Blyton as a child and discovered her local library, Alderman Lacey in Portsmouth. In fact Pauline went so far as to say that if it wasn't for libraries she may never have discovered books and become a writer.

Are you obsessed by your characters?
Yes, Pauline keeps thinking about them, and quite often people she doesn't like in real life become nasty characters in her books!

Do you have to do lots of research?
Yes, the Internet makes things a lot easier though. Pauline needs to be conversant in Forensic Science and Police structures and procedures, in fact she has spent time in Police stations, including a stint with the Vice Squad in Portsmouth.

What is your favourite novel you've written?
Pauline is fond of "In cold daylight" and "In for the kill". She strives to improve and learn from every book she writes, and to develop new techniques. "Suffocating sea" is also a particular favourite as it tackles the interesting storyline of the mystery of Andy Horton's missing mother.

Have you thought about writing a documentary?
There has been some interest from Television Production Companies for her Andy Horton novels, but she needs to write more volumes in the 'Marine Mysteries' series first.