Writing a Mystery Series

Mike Martin is the author of the Award-Winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries. The latest book in the series is Safe Harbour. You can buy it on Amazon all over the world, Chapters/Indigo in Canada and fine independent bookstores like Sleuth of Baker Street in Toronto.

by Mike Martin, @mike54martin

Somebody recently asked me how did one write a mystery series? That was a good question. Safe Harbour, the latest in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series is Book #10. There was even a Windflower Christmas book in there, too. Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries. How did I do it? Kind of the same way you eat an elephant. One bite, one story, one book at a time.

The truth is that I didn’t set out to write a series, even though it does help with marketing and promotion. My goal was to simply write a book of fiction. I didn’t even know it was going to be a mystery. And I had no idea where to start. So, I started looking around. I noticed my partner was reading mysteries. Mostly cozies, but a scattering of others, including Elizabeth George and Donna Leon. I loved Donna Leon, especially. Her Commissario Brunetti mysteries are set in Venice, a fabulous location, and featured great Italian meals.

I like to cook, but I love to eat more. So now I had two elements. It could be a mystery book and it could include food. Now for location. I always wanted to write a book set in Newfoundland, my home province on the east coast of Canada. But where in Newfoundland? My partner helped me out again. There’s a theme here. It turns out that her father is from Grand Bank, a small community on the southeast coast of the island. We end up visiting and staying longer every year.

One year I am walking on a foggy night in Grand Bank when Sgt. Windflower comes to me and starts telling me his story. I start writing it down and the next thing you know I have something that starts looking like it might be a book. My problem now however is that I can’t seem to find an ending to the story. I finish 3 times and each time have a niggling sensation that there’s more to tell. Back to my partner…

She says why don’t you make it a series? And that was it. I finished off The Walker on the Cape and haven’t stopped writing since. Someone once said that the story only ends when the writer dies. I hope that it true and that I can continue to write my series for a long time to come.