Author: Mike Martin
Narrator: Francis G. Kearney
Length: 10 hours and 22 minutes
Series: Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series, Book 3
Publisher: Mike Martin
Released: May 14, 2020
Genre: Modern Detective
Beneath the Surface is the third book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series set in Newfoundland on the East Coast of Canada. Sgt. Windflower is back, and as usual, he’s loving life on the East Coast. He may be a long way from his home in Northern Alberta, but he has been adopted by the locals as almost one of their own. He has a good life, good work with the RCMP, and a good woman that he has grown closer to in his years on the southeast coast of Newfoundland. But trouble is brewing just beneath the surface of this calm and charm-filled existence.
Mike Martin was born in Newfoundland 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 Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People and has written a number of short stories that have published in various publications including Canadian Stories and Downhome magazine.
The Walker on the Cape was his first full fiction book and the premiere of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series. Other books in the series include The Body on the T, Beneath the Surface, A Twist of Fortune and A Long Ways from Home, which was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award as the best light mystery of the year. A Tangled Web was released in 2017 and the newest book in the series.is Darkest Before the Dawn which won the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award as the best light mystery of the year.
Mike is currently Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers.
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Following college and many years as a local entertainer and actor I eventually entered the business world and a career of building and selling multiple successful enterprises.
In 1985, I purchased an aviation business and while building a very successful business also earned multiple movie credits as a helicopter camera ship pilot - among other services, and flew the camera helicopter for London Weekend Television's mini series "Piece of Cake" in 1988. I have an extensive aviation background from helicopters through turboprop and jet aircraft, and a deep knowledge of all things aviation.
I have always been an insatiable reader with a love of history - the ultimate story, and anything military - especially if it flies. My evolution into narration and the joy of storytelling is the culmination of many years of a life fully lived, and is reflected in a voice of experience.
Q&A with Author Mike Martin
- Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook
- It was quite easy, actually. Audible through ACX is simple to find and simpler to access. I found a great narrator and voila! Beneath the Surface audiobook was created.
- Do you believe certain types of writing translate better into audiobook format?
- I believe that mystery writing is a great type of writing to move to an audiobook because it has plot and character and almost always a great twist near the end.
- How did you select your narrator?
- I put out bids for my narrator and found someone who was actually from Newfoundland where Beneath the Surface is set.
- How do you manage to avoid burn-out? What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for writing?
- I pace myself when I’m writing, but I don’t let up either. I set a goal of 1000 to 1500 words a day and strive to meet it.
- If you had the power to time travel, would you use it? If yes, when and where would you go?
- I would definitely go back in time. But I would want to be very wealthy so that I wouldn’t have the burden of being poor in Charles Dickens’ world, for example.
- What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- Audiobooks add another dimension to the enjoyment of a book. Like dreaming in colour.
- How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- I had a cake with a picture of the cover on it and shared it with all my friends.
- What gets you out of a writing slump? What about a reading slump?
- Reading something old helps me get out of both. I am inspired to read and write more when I read a great book from the past.
- In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series?
- A book of literary fiction might work best as a standalone. But a mystery needs a series to be complete.
- What's your favorite:
- Food: Pizza
- Song: Stairway to Heaven
- Book: The Hobbit
- Television show: The Sopranos
- Movie: Tin Man
- Band: Jethro Tull
- Sports team: Toronto Raptors
- City: NYC
Keep on Writing!
By Mike Martin
Some people say that I just make stuff up, but I choose to say that I have a vivid imagination. That imagination and creativity was stifled through the regimens of school and work, but somehow it still managed to get out. At first it was little, funny stories that I would make up for my friends. Later, it was bedtime stories for my own little prince and princess.
I have always been writing, but about twenty years ago I took the plunge as a freelance writer. The waters were very deep and very cold. It is tough trying to make a living as a freelance writer, especially tough if you expect to eat on a regular basis. But what I learned from freelance writing is two things. First, rejection happens. Get over it. Second, keep writing. No matter what, keep writing. I did, and the result is the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series which is now available all over the world.
My takeaway is this: The most important thing is to get the book written. Do the best you can with it and then get it out into the world. You do what you gotta’ do to make that happen. So if you’re struggling, keep on struggling. If you are a writer, keep on writing. And remember what Stephen King says about writing “The scariest moment is always just before you start.”
Mike Martin is the author of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series, set in small communities on the east coast of Canada.
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