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 award-winning author of the
best-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in beautiful Grand
Bank. There are now 16 books in this light mystery series with the
publication of Friends are Forever.
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. All That Glitters was shortlisted for the LOLA 2024 Must Read Book of the year award.
Some Sgt. Windflower Mysteries are now available as audiobooks and the latest Darkest Before the Dawn was released as an audiobook in 2024. 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 Capital Crime Writers.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ https://sgtwindflowermysteries.com/
Twitter ➜ https://www.x.com/mike54martin
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore
Can you share a story about what brought you to this particular career path (becoming an author)?
I have always thought of myself as a writer. As long as I can remember. But I was a reader first. That’s where I discovered the magic of books. That I could travel around the world. Even to other planets and imaginary places. I wanted to create something like that for other people. Something magical. That’s how I became a writer.
Friends Are Forever is your sixteenth novel in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. When you started book 1, did you ever imagine it would grow into a series?
I didn’t know it was going to be a series. My problem was that I didn’t know how to end the book, end the first story. That’s when my partner suggested I make it a series. I solved the mystery but didn’t have to end the story.
Is this the last book of the series or will there be more of Sgt. Windflower?
There will be at least one more Sgt. Windflower book. I know because I have finished a draft. Very rough, but I think it will eventually be Book 17. After that, who knows?
So for the folks who don’t know what Sgt. Windflower is all about, can you give us a description of him? Does he have a family?
Sgt. Winston Windflower is an RCMP officer, a Canadian Mountie, who is stationed in the small community of Grand Bank on the easternmost tip of Canada. He is married and has two children. And a dog and a cat.
If we were going out to eat with Sgt. Windflower, where would we go and what would we eat?
We could go to the Mug-Up café in Grand Bank. We could have cod au gratin for lunch and a piece of chocolate peanut butter cheesecake for dessert.
Who are the other characters in this book?
There are many other characters including Sheila Hillier, Windflower’s partner and his two best friends. Eddie Tizzard is another Mountie and Herb Stoodley is a former Crown Attorney that is helping Windflower learn about classical music.
What’s the very first line of your book?
Sergeant Winston Windflower couldn’t be happier for his friend and colleague Eddie Tizzard. On Windflower’s recommendation and with the approval of the big boss, Superintendent Ron Quigley, Tizzard was being promoted to sergeant in the Mounties, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
What’s the main reason someone should really read your book?
People should read the book because they can escape for a few hours into an imaginary world and forget about their troubles for a little while. Maybe have a piece of delicious cheesecake.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I would start a movement that helped people understand each other. If we knew each other better, maybe we could be friends. Then we would never have to hurt or kill anyone else because we would never hurt our friends.
As Winston Windflower, his police
colleagues and their families gather in Marystown, Newfoundland, to
celebrate those being promoted up the RCMP ranks, a sophisticated heist
by international mobsters and local biker gangs unfolds in multiple
cities and towns throughout the province, robbing banks and businesses
of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Mounties soon realize more than
money is being lost.
In this, the sixteenth novel in the
Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, author Mike Martin continues to craft
intrigue in the cultural and geographical setting unique to Newfoundland
and Labrador. Readers new to the Windflower mysteries and those
returning will experience the joys of a close-knit community that
thrives on the simpler things in life: por’ cakes, a lighthouse in
serious need of a facelift, TV movie nights and the warmth of
get-togethers with family and friends.
Friends are Forever is available at Amazon.
