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CHRISTMAS IN NEWFOUNDLAND
Mike Martin
* Mystery/Memoir *
Author: Mike Martin
Publisher: Ottawa Press and Publishing
Pages: 113
Genre: Mystery/Memoir
“Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries,” a welcome addition
to the Sgt. Windflower family of books.Christmas in Newfoundland is a special time. In the depths of long
winter nights memories are made and stories are told. Of Christmas by
candlelight and horse and buggy rides to church. Of shopping on Water
Street in St. John’s before malls and the Internet.
In later years, Sgt. Windflower came to work and then to stay in the
quiet town of Grand Bank by the Atlantic Ocean where the salt air froze
in the wind and the Mounties were welcomed to warm themselves by every
fire.
Come and warm yourself by the fire and hear their stories. Some
memories and some mysteries. Enjoy some holiday time with Sgt.
Windflower and all the familiar characters that you’d come to know and
love. Good food, good friends and always another chair at the table.
★★★★★ ORDER YOUR COPY ★★★★★
Amazon → https://tinyurl.com/y39fby3r
Of course, being the holiday season, the Mountie was concerned about impaired driving. But Windflower and his team had been out on the roads for the past two weekends with the R.I.D.E. program. He figured that meant everyone would be on their best behaviour for the next couple of weeks. That was especially true since one town resident had been charged with impaired driving and two others had received suspended licences because they were just over the legal limit of alcohol.
Fortunately, even the weather was cooperating. They hadn’t had any snow in Grand Bank for almost two weeks. That was a relief to not only the snow shovellers catching a break after a series of early winter storms but also to the RCMP officers, as they had already worked several overnight shifts because of storms. The best news was that there wasn’t even any snow in the short-term forecast.
All of this meant the town could be festive and safe during the holiday season already well underway.
The old Town of Grand Bank went all out to pretty itself up for Christmas. Almost every house had some form of decoration, and Christmas lights were aplenty all over town. Some people went old-fashioned and just had a wreath on their front door and a couple of strings of lights hanging from their eaves. Others decided to splurge on nativity scenes and blow-up Santas, as they held nothing back in their gaudy and joyous celebration of the season.
Old Saint Nick had already made one visit. That was last weekend during the Santa Claus parade led by the antique pumper truck from the volunteer fire department. Local RCMP vehicles were decked out in flashing lights and ribbons as the Mounties collected toys and gifts along the parade route for the Salvation Army. Sheila had rounded up a few extra dollars from local businesses to ensure that even the abandoned buildings near the wharf were gaily festooned with ribbons, bows and the essential Christmas lights in time for the parade. Now, Saint Nick’s return engagement on December 25th was eagerly anticipated.
Guest Post by the Author
Sharing My Personal Side
I am the author of 8 books in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, but Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries took the longest to write. It came out of a project that I undertook over the last 10 years to write a Christmas themed story for my family my friends. They started as memories from my early days but later morphed into mini-mysteries featuring the characters of my Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. I also included a story that was told to me about Christmas in a long-ago Grand Bank, Newfoundland where gifts were few and love was plenty.
Those were days when the plentiful snow and a home-made sled were a child’s entertainment and nights were filled with songs and kerosene lamps and laughter. And the 12 days of Christmas were a time for family, friends and roving bands of mummers. Those are people who dressed up in outrageous clothing and for a drink of rum would sing and dance in your kitchen.
My own early Christmas memories come from the streets of St. John’s, Newfoundland in the 1960’s when downtown was the best and only place to shop and the store windows held a young child in rapture with their Christmas toy display and Christmas music blaring everywhere. There was even a live turkey raffle to raise money for the local orphanage and one special night was spent on a hot, sticky bus to see the wondrous lights all over town.
It was easy to bring Sgt. Windflower and his friends and new family into the Christmas story tradition. He loved Christmas, of course, as well as the enduring traditions of caring and sharing that he found in Grand Bank. Windflower, Sheila and Eddie Tizzard all had new adventures across Christmas time each year as they found their way into trouble and back out again. Always in time to enjoy the most magical time of the year.
Why did I decide to publish these stories now? That’s a good question. I have an active writing life with a new Sgt. Windflower book each year (Book # 8 Fire, Fog and Water was released in October) and lots of other freelance and contract pieces to keep me busy. Why did I venture outside my comfort zone and want to share these personal stories and memories with a wider audience?
I think there are two main reasons for doing it. One, is that I want to keep some of those stories and memories alive. That is the ultimate job of a writer, to be a storyteller, to take small pieces and scraps and memories and keep them from fading away. Secondly, and maybe more importantly is to bring a little joy, a little more Christmas magic, into the world. It’s hard for many people these days and we have lots of problems and worries and concerns and very real issues to deal with. But if we can think about a happy memory from a Christmas long ago or dream about a new memory we can create with our own children and grandchildren, all those worries may pass for a few moments.
Then we can all be that little boy or girl with our nose pressed up against the window of the toy shop or trying to fall asleep so that Santa can finally come. I hope you can find some of that Christmas magic in these little stories and if you do, please take the time to spread it along around your family, friends and neighbours. We could all use a little more Christmas.
Mike Martin is the award-winning author of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series.
You can follow him and Sgt. Windflower on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore?ref=hl
Here are some online links for Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries
Amazon
United States
Amazon
Canada
Chapters/Indigo
Canada
Amazon
UK
Amazon
Australia
Author Bio
now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. 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
Award in 2019. A new book in the series, Fire, Fog and Water is being
released in October.Mike is currently Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a
national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers.
★ WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS: ★
Website → www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com
Twitter Link: → http://ww.twitter.com/mike54martin
Facebook→https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore/
