Just how do you write a mystery series? That’s a great question. The simple answer is to write one story, one book at a time. I have now written 14 books in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series with the recent publication of Better Safe Than Sorry.
How did that happen? Simple. One story and one book at a time.
My inspiration
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.
My breakthrough
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. So, if you want to write a mystery series, just start by writing one story and see where it goes. You never know where that story is going to take you.
Keeping it going
It seems like I have been writing the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series forever. Well, it has been a long time. The Walker on the Cape came out in 2012 and with the publication of Better Safe Than Sorry in 2024, there are now14 books in the series.
Yes, that’s a lot of books and a lot of writing. But I have to admit that I still really enjoy writing these books, and as long as readers want to buy or borrow them, I’ll keep writing.
But how do you keep a long-running series like this one going? The truth is that I don’t think about the series when I write a Sgt. Windflower mystery. I focus on the story that I am telling.
I try and make each story and each storyline unique so that a reader can pick up Better Safe Than Sorry and not feel like they are stepping completely in the middle of something. Of course, I have some back story to explain the setting and introduce the main characters. But I try and keep that as brief as possible so that me and the readers can get right into this story.
Utilizing secondary characters
One thing that I have come to understand is the importance of secondary characters. They aren’t just there as foils or counterpoints to the main protagonist. They all have their own unique traits and voices that demand to be recognized.
That’s great for me as the writer because over time they can all play more of a starring role in the stories that unfold. Eddie Tizzard, Sgt. Windflower’s friend and long-time sidekick, ends up being Windflower’s boss for a while and that was very interesting to write and hopefully read about.
Sometimes those characters get so strong, and their voice is so loud that they warrant their own main stage. Think about all the TV sit-com spinoffs over the years. Now, I’m really going to date myself. Like Maude from the Golden Girls or Rhoda from Mary Tyler Moore. Yes, I really am that old.
I have even had what look like minor characters come back for more of a starring role in future books. One such character, a recovering addict may even have more than one return performances.
Stay in today
The other thing that helps me stay fresh with the Sgt. Windflower series is that it is based in today, or close to it. Maybe a year or so after finishing a book it will actually appear on bookshelves. But that’s pretty close.
Writing in today means that I have to stay in touch with the times. I remember one book I was writing had a character listening to music in a car wearing headphones. That could happen, but more likely they were wearing ear buds, my kind editor pointed out.
Writing in modern times also allows me to talk about current events. Like the opioid crisis in Better Safe Than Sorry.
I don’t go into the nitty gritty because this is a light, cozy-like mystery series that is designed to entertain rather than provoke reaction or outrage. But it gives a place to start the story from and lets me build a web of shady characters who cause problems that have to be resolved by the good guys like Sgt. Windflower and Eddie Tizzard.
Finding the bodies
It’s easy to find suspects. They’re everywhere. But finding enough bodies to kill off in a small town is a challenge for my kind of mystery series.
But I figured if Jessica Fletcher can do it for 12 years in Murder, She Wrote, I could pull it off, too. The secret, at least to me, is to find people, almost always bad guys, who come from out of town to be the unfortunate victims.
Tourists, people travelling through, and any bad apples are all potential targets of murders waiting to happen. Be careful if you ever visit Grand Bank!
Like I said earlier, as long as readers want and like the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, I will continue to write. And my commitment is that I will always keep the standard high and make each book better than the last one. Maybe that is the best way to keep a story alive and fresh. And a great way to write a mystery series.
About the author
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 14 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Better Safe Than Sorry. You can find that book and all other books in the series on Amazon all over the world.
Author links
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Check out my review of Martin’s Christmas picture book, A Friend for Christmas, here!
Buy it!
Buy a copy of Safe Harbour, Book 10 in the Sgt. Windflower Series here! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission on any sales.
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