Mike Martin's Blog, page 30

New Review of The Body on the T by Ian Shaw

http://bodyonthet.com/2013/05/08/new-review-of-the-body-on-the-t-by-ian-shaw/

Now Available in New York City: The Walker on the Cape

Mystery lovers in the Big Apple can now find The Walker on the Cape in NYC’s most popular mystery bookstore:

The Mysterious Bookshop56 Warren Street

NYC

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/151377115492/?fref=ts

Perfect Books in Ottawa

http://bodyonthet.com/2013/05/06/windflower-books-now-available-at-perfect-books-in-ottawa/

Now Available: The Body on the T

http://bodyonthet.com/2013/05/01/now-available-the-body-on-the-t/

Support Local Bookstores

http://bodyonthet.com/2013/04/29/i-support-independent-bookstores/

New Events for The Body on the T

http://bodyonthet.com/2013/04/19/new-events-for-the-body-on-the-t/

 

The Body on the T Cover: Every Picture Tells a Story

 

Here is the front cover of my new book, The Body on the T. And a blog post about it.

http://bodyonthet.com/2013/04/11/every-picture-tells-a-story/

Events for The Body on the T

http://bodyonthet.com/2013/04/10/events-for-the-body-on-the-t/

New Locations to Buy The Walker on the Cape

The Walker on the Cape is now available in several more locations including Barrie and Brampton in Ontario and Moncton, New Brunswick. Please support these stores that support independent artists!!

Barrie, Ontario

Chapters Barrie

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Chapters-Barrie/184135098286061?fref=ts

Waterloo, Ontario

Chapters Waterloo

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Chapters-Waterloo-Store-908/136035009774226?fref=ts

Moncton, New Brunswick

Chapters Moncton

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Chapters-Moncton/101642609893733?fref=ts

 

Mike Martin is the author of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. His new book The Body on the T will be out on May 1, 2013.

 

The Writing Life: There’s No Life Like It

Sometimes when I look back at my life in writing I am amazed by how determined I was to write. I am also a little more than surprised by how many different paths by writing took me and how far down some rabbit holes I have wandered. But through it all I have kept at it and today I am far from rich in monetary terms but my life is so enriched by my writing experiences and adventures that I realize it could not have been any other way.

When younger people ask me today if it is hard to be a writer, I answer yes. But I also answer that it is sooooooo worth it. And also that if you are a writer, you already know it, and that you will have to follow that dream, that passion, until you can no longer write anymore. It’s not a choice, it’s a calling. Like they used to say about priests in my younger days, it’s a vocation.

The other question that people also ask me, like the young guy at the passport office, obviously bored out of his mind, who asked me when I told him I was a writer, is if you can make a living as a writer. The answer of course is yes. Just not a very lucrative financial one. But between a bit of contract work, a couple of steady freelance gigs, and a few paid blog posts I am getting by. I actually have everything I need, and most of what I want.

But there’s a reason why so many writers have a day job; teaching or lecturing or working at the passport office. At some points in our lives we have other demands and responsibilities that we have to look after. But even as we do those things to pay the bills, we also stay up late writing and sending it out submissions and pitches and researching our next big piece. And we grow, both as people and writers. But if you are a writer you will always find a way to write, trust me on that. You have to.

I have written thousands of mind-numbing keyword articles on mortgage rates and varieties of roses, an e-book on cactus or cacti, thousands of ghost-written pieces for corporate clients at 5-10 cents a word, without byline or credit, just to stay in the game. I have written thousands of articles for free or on spec, including a weekly column for three years in the hopes that someone would notice me and my writing. It’s why young people intern…. Work for free… in papers and journals and magazines. Just to be in the game. And because they have to.

Would I change some things if I could go back? Absolutely. But would I want a different life? Absolutely not. Because I am a writer. And there really is no life like it.

Mike Martin is the author of the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries. The next book in the series, The Body on the T will be released by Baico Publishing on May 1, 2013

He works as a freelance writer and workplace wellness consultant and is also the author of Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People.