Welcome to the Cozy Crime Collective Blog. Every month one of us, cozy and light mystery writers, will post about our writing life. Hopefully it will give you some insights into our creative process as we share a bit more about ourselves. So, here goes.

My process is pretty simple. I find a quiet place with little distraction, and I start writing. I try and write from 1,000 to 1,500 words a day, Monday to Friday. I write what some people call from the seat of my pants. I’m what they call a ‘pantser’. That really means I don’t have an outline or pre-set plan for what I’m going to write. Instead, I try and connect with what I call the ‘creative flow’. When I do, the ideas and words just flow, and I write them down as they come.

Now, it’s not quite that simple. I do need a place to start from and since I’ve written 13 books so far, I have a crew of recurring characters already formed. That starting point is usually a story I have heard or an article in the news that spikes my interest. For example, I have heard people in the Grand Bank area talk about smuggling. A lot more in olden years, especially during prohibition days. But still today. Tax- and duty-free alcohol and cigarettes are still pretty attractive to criminals. That led me to thinking about modern day smuggling and into a whole range of stories, crimes and even murders that came out of those activities.

Once I have a beginning, the middle part isn’t easy, but it becomes clearer. I write my word count every day for about three months and at the end I have something that looks like a book. I do periodic revisions, every 10,000 words or so and a final, for me, edit right after I type “The End”. Then it goes to my fabulous team of beta readers who comb through it and point out my many errors and inconsistencies. After that, over to my excellent editor, Allister, who straightens out all the wrinkles and gives me a clean final copy. That goes off to the publisher who formats it and send it back. One more quick review by me and then a final proofread by the excellent Alex Z. and we have a book that is ready to meet you and the world.

Is it hard? Sometimes. But so is breathing, sometimes. I am very proud of my work and what I have created along with my team. As one of my favourite authors, Richard Wagamese has said when people congratulated him on his books. “I claim only the discipline, dedication, sacrifice and commitment as my own. All else belongs to Creator.”

Mike Martin is the author of the Award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. His latest book, All That Glitters is an Amazon #1 Best-Selling Cozy Mystery.