Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.
He is the author of the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 10 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Safe Harbour. A Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and Darkest Before the Dawn won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award. Mike has also published Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries, a Sgt. Windflower Book of Christmas past and present.
Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writing Guild and Ottawa Independent Writers.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mike54martin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
Can you tell us what your new book is about?
Safe Harbour is the 10th book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, although it can be read as a stand-alone. In this book Sgt. Windflower is on a special assignment in St. John’s and adjusting to life in the big city. He is navigating traffic, a difficult boss at work and what seems like an epidemic of missing girls. He becomes more interested when he discovers that one of the girls is from Grand Bank. Then a girl approaches his RCMP van one night and he is pulled into the underlife of the capital city.
Safe Harbour is a twirling, swirling mystery in the foggy streets of one of the oldest cities in North America. There are outlaw biker gangs and overwhelmed local police officers who need the sharp eye and keen mind of Sgt. Windflower to help them cut through the haze and find the answers to the riddle of the missing teenagers who are hiding in plain sight of the authorities.
But it is also a story of a man and his family growing up together. There is plenty of good food, old and new friends. Share the joy and heartbreak of living so close to the Atlantic Ocean. Welcome back to Sgt. Windflower Mysteries where there’s always something good cooking and another seat at the table.
Can you tell us a little about your main and supporting characters?
Sgt. Winston Windflower is an RCMP officer, a Mountie. He is a Cree from Northern Alberta who ends up stationed in a small town, Grand Bank, on the easternmost tip of Canada. He is married to Sheila Hillier who used to be the Mayor of Grand Bank and a local businesswoman. They have two children and a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
Your book is set in Newfoundland. Can you tell us why you chose this location in particular?
Safe Harbour is set in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the capital city of the province where Windflower is stationed. He is in that city for a special project as a community outreach officer. St. John’s is one of the oldest cities in all of North America and not by chance, it’s my hometown.
How long did it take you to write your book?
It takes me about 3 months to get the first good draft. Then it goes to beta readers and then to editors and proofreaders. All in all it takes about 6-9 months to produce a book like Safe Harbour.
What has been the most pivotal point of your writing life?
I think the publication of the first book in the series, The Walker on the Cape may have been the most exciting time of my life, except for the birth of my children. And winning the best light mystery of the year award for Darkest Before the Dawn was pretty neat, too.
What kind of advice would you give other (put your genre here) authors?
Keep writing. Every day if you can to hone your craft. And
read. Writers who you admire and want to emulate. We cannot be good, solid
writers without reading a lot.
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