Tag Archives: Awards

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Cover Reveal: Fire, Fog and Water

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The new Sgt. Windflower book is on its way. Here’s the first look at the cover of Book 8 in this award-winning series.

Sergeant Winston Windflower and his trusty crew at the Grand Bank detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have more than a few mysteries on their hands. Windflower suspects that the three cases—a homicide, a near-homicide and a fire on Coronation Street—are somehow connected, but how is proving difficult to determine, especially now that he must battle his unusually cranky mood, the never-ending winter that has gripped the coastal region of Newfoundland and his new, power-hungry boss.

In Fire, Fog and Water, award-winning author Mike Martin is true to form, retaining the light crime genre for which he is known while delving into the most perplexing social issues of our time. Windflower must not only solve the drug-and-death crimes that threaten the otherwise tranquil lives of Grand Bank’s residents, he must resolve his own internal conflicts before they consume him as surely as the blaze that engulfed the house on Coronation Street.

Coming soon to a bookshelf near you on October 7, 2019

And….

Come Celebrate the Launch of the latest Sgt. Windflower Mystery

Fire, Fog and Water

6:00-8:00 pm Thursday October 17, 2019

Books on Beechwood

35 Beechwood Ave

There will be Cake!!

Follow Sgt. Windflower Mysteries on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore?ref=hl

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An Award, An Audiobook and New Books from Sgt. Windflower Mysteries

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An Award, An Audiobook and New Books from Sgt. Windflower Mysteries.  The big news is that on May 24 Darkest Before the Dawn won the Bony Blithe Award for the best light mystery of the year. There’s also a new audiobook and new Sgt. Windflower Mysteries on the way!!

Darkest Before the Dawn wins the Bony Blithe Award

We are still pretty pumped about Darkest Before the Dawn winning the Bony Blithe Award as the best light mystery as the best light mystery of the year. As I said before, I was more than a little surprised to win. Mostly because of the competition. Alan Bradley who writes the fabulous Flavia DeLuce series with a precocious and adorable 12-year-old female sleuth and fun-loving troublemaker. Vicki Delany who is uber-famous as the author of 34 books and is currently writing three mystery series. Elizabeth Duncan who is a two-time winner of this award and who writes the coziest of mysteries set in Wales. Plus, a brand-new crackerjack author in Auralee Wallace who is destined to win many awards before too long.

Here is a link to my previous blog post on this and a new picture of the Bony Blithe plaque that was presented along with a cheque for $1,000. The money is long gone, but this will live on forever.

https://elizabethspanncraig.com/uncategorized/it-takes-a-community-to-win-an-award/

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The Body on the T Audiobook

We are now in production for the audiobook version of The Body on the T. This is the second book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series and once again it is being narrated by Frank Kearney. Frank and I met through an audition he submitted to Audible when we were producing The Walker on the Cape audiobook. He nailed the accent first time. Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising since while he now lives in North Carolina he was born and raised in Newfoundland.

The Body on the T audiobook will be released in early July.

Memories and Mysteries, A Windflower Christmas

Memories and Mysteries, A Windflower Christmas is a collection of short stories that will be released in September of this year. It starts with stories that were told to me about Christmas in a long-ago Grand Bank, where gifts were few and love was plenty. Days when the snow and a home-made sled was the entertainment and nights were filled with kerosene lamps and laughter. And the 12 days of Christmas were a time for family, friends and roving bands of mummers.

There are also stories from the streets of St. John’s in the 1960’s when Water Street was the only place to shop and stores like Ayres and Bowrings and the Arcade held a young child in rapture with the toys in the windows and the Christmas music blaring everywhere. When a live turkey and a boy with a giant bell called shoppers to the Mount Cashel Raffle and nights were spent on a hot, sticky bus to see the wondrous lights all over town.

The mysteries came much later but just like me, all of the characters in the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries loved Christmas and the enduring traditions of caring and sharing that they found in Grand Bank. Windflower, Sheila and Eddie Tizzard all had new adventures across Christmas time each year and they found their way into trouble and back out again. Always in time to enjoy the most magical time of the year.

These stories started as a way to celebrate Christmas with my family and friends. Now I will be offering them to you and yours. Look for it this fall and especially for Christmas.

New Windflower book this fall

Yes, there will be another Sgt. Windflower mystery. Coming this October, Fire, Fog and Water (title may change) continues the adventures of Windflower and the Grand Bank gang. There are changes and challenges, especially for Corporal Eddie Tizzard, but there are also some great meals and good friends to help make life more enjoyable. While you are waiting here’s where you can still get Darkest Before the Dawn

Darkest Before the Dawn is available in many bookstores across Canada including Chapters/Indigo and many independent stores.

Amazon:

USA – UK – CA – AUS – IN

Chapters/Indigo

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/darkest-before-the-dawn/9781988437132-item.html?ikwid=DARKEST+BEFORE+THE+dAWN&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0

 

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore?ref=hl

 

Twitter:

@mike54martin

 

 

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I Didn’t Win But I’m Still Happy

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I just came back from two award galas without any hardware, but I’m not disappointed in the least. Yes, I could have used the money, but I can always get money. I am still on a high from being nominated for a major Canadian book award. For those of you who don’t know, my book, A Long Ways from Home, was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe Award which every year recognizes the best in Canadian light mysteries.

I didn’t expect to win the Bony Blithe Award this year. It’s my first year as a finalist and two of my fellow nominees have won before. One of them, the great Elizabeth Duncan took home the award and I am very pleased for her. She deserved to win and I am just happy to have been nominated along with her, the great Cathy Ace, newcomer Ryan Aldred, who will win many awards for his writing, and Alan Bradley writes the fabulous Flavia de Luce series featuring a 12-year-old female chemist who hangs out in cemeteries.

I had a great time at both award events, especially the Bony Blithe Mini-Con. I met some old friends, made many new ones and learned a lot more about writing and about myself. We are never really alone in the writing world, as long as keep pushing ourselves out there, and as long as we have people and readers who care about us. Thank you to everyone who sent me good wishes and good karma. I felt your love. Now it’s time to get back to work. Book 6, A Tangled Web, is taking shape and will be out, I hope, in the fall. Til then, there’s always more work to do.

Hope to see some of you at these up-coming events:

 

Limestone Genre Exposition Kingston, Ontario June 3-4, 2017

http://www.limestonegenreexpo.ca/

 

For my friends in the Kingston area, I will be attending this year’s Limestone Genre Expo on June 3-4, 2017. The Expo is a two-day literary event, celebrating the best in Canadian genre fiction. They offer panel discussions, workshops, readings, pitch sessions, a large vendor area, and many opportunities to interact with our attending authors, editor and publishers.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m June 3-4, 2017

St. Lawrence College

100 Portsmouth Ave.

​Kingston, ON

 

 

Prose in the Park June 10, 2017 Ottawa

https://www.proseinthepark.com/

 

I will also be attending the 2017 Prose in the Park Event in Ottawa on June 10, 2017

Ottawa’s favourite open-air literary festival and book fair, Prose in the Park, will take place on June 10, 2017 in the Parkdale Park. More info to follow on this great Ottawa event.

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore/

www.sgtwindflowermsyteries.com

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Good News: A Long Ways from Home shortlisted for Best Canadian Light Mystery Award

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Good news. A Long Ways from Home has been shortlisted for the prestigious Bony Blithe Award for best ‘light’ or traditional mystery book in Canada.

Thank you for your on-going support of the Sgt. Windflower Series. You deserve a share in this success.

AWARD-general-2017

　　

Murder Is Nothing to Laugh About…Or Is It?

The Bloody Words Light Mystery Award Announces Finalists

(Toronto, ON) April 13, 2017 – The Bloody Words Light Mystery Award (aka the Bony Blithe Award), an annual Canadian award that celebrates traditional, feel-good mysteries is pleased to announce this year’s finalists. Now in its sixth year, the award is for a “mystery book that makes us smile” and includes everything from laugh-out-loud to gentle humour to good old-fashioned stories with little violence or gore – in short, books that are fun to read.

Congratulations to the five finalists for the 2017 award:

Cathy Ace, The Corpse with the Garnet Face (Touchwood)

Ryan Aldred, Rum Luck (Five Star)

Alan Bradley, Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew’d (Doubleday Canada)

Elizabeth J. Duncan, Murder on the Hour (St. Martin’s Press)

Mike Martin, A Long Ways from Home (Friesen Press)

 

Help us celebrate Bony Blithe’s six birthday at the 2017 Bony Blithe Mini-con & Award Gala, a day and evening this year of mirthful mayhem!

The award will be presented at the Bony Blithe Mini-con & Award Gala on Friday, May 26, at the High Park Club, 100 Indian Road,　Toronto.　The festivities run from 11:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. and include lunch, panels and/or round-table discussions, afternoon nibblies, a dealers room, loot bags, and the award banquet where the monarch of merry murder will be crowned. For more information or to buy a ticket for the gala, contact us at event@bonyblithe.com or visit www.bonyblithe.com.　

The winner will receive a cheque for $1,000 plus a colourful plaque.

You can buy A Long Ways from Home online from Amazon.com and Chapters/Indigo.ca

In Ottawa:

Chapters Rideau

Chapters South Keys

Books on Beechwood

 

Thank you again

Mike Martin

https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore/

www.sgtwindflowermsyteries.com