In Cold Daylight a thriller dedicated to fire-fighters

Married to a former fire fighter, Pauline Rowson pays tribute to the brave fire-fighters who lost their lives on 9/11

With the tenth anniversary of the tragic events of 9/11 being remembered all over America and across the World, in this small corner of the UK, near Portsmouth, England, I thought I'd pay tribute to the brave fire-fighters who lost their lives in that terrible tragedy. I am married to a former fire-fighter, a brave and caring man who faced danger many times in his career, and never thought twice about risking his life to save others. So too all the lads on his watch - Red Watch in Portsmouth and the same for fire-fighters the World over.

I remember hearing the news about the attack on the twin towers on the car radio when I was returning to my office - in 2001 I had my own business, a Marketing and PR Agency. At first I thought I was listening to a radio play but by the time I pulled up outside my office it was clear this was no fictional drama, it was really happening. I gazed around the car park, stunned, looking for someone I could ask, 'Is this true?' but there was no one and my staff hadn't heard the news because they were working without a television or radio and ten years ago without so much on the Internet. Soon all the horrific details became apparent. That night my husband went on duty.

In Cold Daylight was written before 9/11 happened. It was inspired by a conversation I was party to while at my husband's fire station one day. The fire fighters were talking about the men from the same watch who had died of cancer. They wondered if it was as a result of an incident they attended some years previously. No more was said, but that planted the seed of an idea in my mind. I thought what if it was true? I decided to take this idea and turn it into a thriller.


I make no apology for repeating the dedication inside In Cold Daylight, to fire-fighters the world over and particularly on this sad occasion, to those who were at 9/l1, to the fire-fighters who died and to the families and friends and colleagues.

"For fire fighters everywhere, the true heroes."