I write a book every year and have done that for the last twelve years. Hence, Dangerous Waters the 12th book in the Award-Winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. It usually takes me about 3-4 months to get a good first draft and then it will go to beta readers and my editor for their input and polishing. While I’m waiting for it to come back I usually get my promo plan together and do outreach to my Social Media connections to get ready for the new book. When the book comes out it’s a whirlwind of activity that doesn’t really subside until it’s time to start a new book.
When I am writing a book I start early in the morning with my coffee and a quiet location. I write for about an hour and then leave it alone to percolate. I have a word count for the day. Monday-Friday 1,500 words a day. If I don’t get that number in the morning I come back to it later in the day. Like I said earlier after 3-4 months I have a good first draft to work with.
I never edit my day’s work. I keep writing page after page until I have about 10,000 words. Then I review for spelling and grammar and to see if the story line works. I do the same after 25,000 words. Then I print that off and see if it all makes sense. If not, I rewrite. If yes, I keep moving to 50,000 words and then again at the end. Then it’s off to the beta readers first because they give me the full honest truth about whether it is any good and if it true to the Windflower story line.
I am what they call a pantser. That means I don’t outline or do a plot for the books I write. I start writing from what I call the creative flow and keep going until I’m happy with the story. Here’s the great news about that approach. I never know how the story will end until I come to the end of the story. Just like the reader.
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 12 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Dangerous Waters. 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.
Some Sgt. Windflower Mysteries are now available as audiobooks and the latest A Long Ways from Home was released as an audiobook in 2022. All audiobooks are available from Audible in Canada and around the world.
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 Writers’ Guild and Ottawa Independent Writers and Capital Crime Writers.
His latest book is the mystery, Dangerous Waters.
You can visit his website at https://SgtWindflowerMysteries.com/ or connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.
Title: Dangerous Waters
Author: Mike Martin
Publisher: Ottawa Press and Publishing
Pages: 288
Genre: Mystery
Book Blurb
Old habits die hard…
Sgt. Windflower tries his best to ease away from life as a Mountie, but the lure of an investigation is too hard to resist.
After a missing man turns up dead, Sgt. Windflower is pulled in to investigate. Meanwhile, the arrival of a group of unique foreign visitors during a snowstorm in Grand Bank offers up another mystery. Even with so much going on, Windflower can’t resist the enticement of a good meal and a trip to the island of Saint Pierre off the coast of Newfoundland.
But when things get rough, Windflower can always rely on Eddie Tizzard and the gang to have his back.
As always, Windflower’s wife Sheila and their daughters are beacons of love and support as he navigates dangerous waters.
Grand Bank beckons you to another great story in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series.
Book Information
Release Date: April 30, 2022
Publisher: Ottawa Press and Publishing
Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1988437828; 288 pages; $16.95; eBook $4.99: FREE Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RczNNA
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