Mage PvP and Other Options

[Roane]

I posted this on my guild boards first, but there's about a dozen of us and lots more Lurkers. Also, I have tons of (too much? heh) respect for the strategy abilities of Lurkers. This is all regarding my gnomish mage, Verdigris, on the RP-PVP server Emerald Dream. Therefore:

So, I'm hitting those levels where I usually begin to get a little frustrated.  For some reason, the 30 to very early 40s range is always tough for me, and I find myself having to push myself through it instead of really enjoying myself, though I've done it enough now to know I will enjoy it once I get to the other side.

This is made even harder for me this time around with this being my first PvP server.  I'm a fairly independent player.  I enjoy socializing, and enjoy grouping, but I'm either too independent or too shy to ask for company unless I need very particular help completing something.  So when I try to do the things I'm used to doing, like trekking through Stonetalon, I'm on my own.  And on my own = dead.  I try to be nice and not gank the guy 8 levels below me who is just going about his questing, and he brings back four friends to kill me.  I run across a stealthed rogue before he sees me (resting between fights maybe) and decide to blast him before he can get me, only to have a friend jump in and heal him so I don't stand a chance.  And though I know this is how a PvP server goes, and I don't mind the dying part, I am tired of a) constantly losing all solo fights -- winning one would be nice -- and 2) not really being able to explore.

To elaborate on 2, my Bartle type is ESA.  I'm an Explorer first and even though I know parts of this game backwards and forwards, I love wandering and finding the little niches I haven't seen yet.  Not being able to travel causes me more frustration than dying while I'm questing.  (I talked to my best friend about this, and he says he is just the opposite way.  I'd guess his viewpoint is more typical.)

So, what's all this rambling leading up to?  I'm asking for advice, mostly.

How can I increase my chance of surviving these fights as they occur?  What strategies work as a mage?  I'm a solid PvE mage.  I can handle as many multiples as anyone.  I rarely die unless I'm in a mood where I'm throwing caution to the wind.  But in PvP, I'm just a noob.  I've learned that throwing up my mana shield first, or when I'm running through somewhere dangerous, can really help out since it absorbs enough damage for me to get a second to get my bearings, but beyond that, I'm stuck.  Advice?  I'm currently specced 11 into Arcane for the Evocation and 11 into Fire.  I'm not liking Pyroblast much though so the spec is up into the air.

Secondly, I think I'm going to start a rogue alt.  As much as I love Verdi as a character, she's very squishy, and I need something else to do when I'm frustrated.  A number of [my guildmates] have recommended a paladin if I don't want to be as squishy and I can see the merit in that, but my best friend (he-who-understands-my-play-instincts-and-skills) says he thinks that I'll be happier if I can stealth, which means rogue or druid.  If there's a factor I'm not considering there, please let me know.  Assuming that I go ahead with the rogue plan, do you folks have any suggestions on race?  Trades?  Other misc. advice?

Thank you, all, for whatever advice or assistance you can offer.