Series: Stayin’ Alive and Fresh

by Mike Martin, @mike54martin

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? Great question and there are many different answers.

First of all, 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.

Secondly, I have come to understand 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.

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.

Finally, 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!

Finally, finally, 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.

Mike Martin is the author of the Award-Winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries. The latest book in the series is Better Safe Than Sorry. You can find that book and all other books in the series on Amazon all over the world.

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