Christmas traditions, old and new from Sgt. Windflower and his family and friends.
Author: Mike Martin
Publisher: Ottawa Press and Publishing
Pages: 160
Genre: Mystery/HolidayFiction
Format: Paperback / Kindle / FREE on Kindle Unlimited
Sgt. Windflower loves Christmas and we’re happy to share what he and his family and friends do at Christmastime in Grand Bank or Marystown or Ramea, Newfoundland. Some of the stories feature Windflower and Sheila’s adorable daughters and of course Eddie Tizzard and his family make several spotlight appearances. Other stories take you back to Christmas seasons of many years long past and there’s even a return of a fabulous Newfoundland tradition, the Mummers.
Christmas is a time to celebrate but it is also a time to reminisce and remember. We hope that it will bring back pleasant memories for you and your family to share at Christmas and throughout the year. Come celebrate Christmas in Newfoundland with Sgt. Windflower Mysteries.
Read sample here.
Christmas in Newfoundland is available at Amazon.
Book Excerpt
A Christmas Wish
But inside, with the wood stove piled high, Richard and his old dog, Rusty, were perfectly comfortable and content. Both of them were coming to the end of their lives and Richard had accepted that almost completely. His children were trying to keep him hanging on as long as possible, but he was fine with what he knew was an inevitable outcome.
He loved the quote by the great Bengali poet, Rabindranath Tagore that his friend, Doctor Vijay Sanjay had shared with him. He smiled to himself as he repeated it to Rusty. “’Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp as dawn has come’.” Rusty seemed to smile, too, at this saying.
It wasn’t that he wanted to go, but Richard Tizzard was getting himself ready. In the meantime, he planned to enjoy his family to the upmost. His two daughters, Margaret and Brenda lived in Grand Bank with their almost grown-up families. His son, Eddie, lived in Marystown now with his wife Carrie and their two children. Little Hughie was almost two and the joy of Richard’s life while the baby, Sophie, was quickly overtaking her brother as his favourite.
He smiled again when he thought about Eddie and his young family. It reminded him of when he had a young family of his own back in the tiny community of Ramea. Ramea is and was a small village off the southwest coast of Newfoundland that was only accessible by ferry. It did, however, have a rich fishing ground nearby and for many years provided a good livelihood for Richard and his four brothers, all of whom fished the abundant waters for many years.
But in the early 1990’s the inshore cod fishery collapsed and by 1992, when the cod moratorium was declared, all of them were out of work. The older brothers retired their boats and licenses and took the government support that was offered. Richard was too young for that, so he used the payout to move to Grand Bank. First, he worked in the fishing industry on a crew of a longliner operating out of Marystown. But when that work diminished, he went back to his true love, carpentry and woodworking.
He still did a little personal work on the side but his days of working for a living were over. He enjoyed all his family and the grandchildren tremendously, but the truth was that all he had left today were memories. Like many older people he spent a lot of time reminiscing and remembering these days. And as it was getting near Christmas, he thought a lot about Christmas from his past.
Growing up in his mom and dad’s saltbox house in Ramea. Christmas was a very quiet and peaceful affair. But he still remembered it fondly as one of the nicest times of the year. His father and older brothers were fishermen, so the winter was a slow season. They fixed their nets and did a few odd jobs around the house, but most of their time was spent cutting and splitting wood for the cast iron woodstove that heated their home and was action central for all cooking and baking.
About two weeks before Christmas his mother would start her Christmas baking. Shortbread cookies, mince pies and next year’s Christmas cakes. This year’s cakes were all ready to be unwrapped in a week or so and that would begin the ‘season of eating’ his dad called it. Richard loved the smell of the cookies and cakes as the days went by and to hear his mother singing, usually some old hymn or Christmas song like Angels We Have Heard on High or Away in a Manger.
The men would continue their work as usual until a few days before Christmas Day. Then, his father would announce that it was time to get their tree and the whole family, except his mother, who was almost literally chained to the stove in the kitchen, would head out with their horse and sleigh to find a Christmas tree. They didn’t have to go far.
The houses in Ramea were built mostly around the harbour in sheltered nooks and crannies out of the constant wind. That meant almost all the land above them was still heavily forested with an abundance of Balsam firs that made the perfect Christmas trees. His father would lead the procession into the forest, but the tradition in the Tizzard family was that all the children would draw straws to see would pick their tree. The year Richard drew the shortest straw he was so excited he almost peed his pants.
As the others urged him on, making suggestions, Richard took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them and turned around, he saw it. A six-foot Balsam fir with many branches that spread out from top to bottom. “That’s it,” he cried, and everyone cheered. They cut it down and put it on the back of the sleigh to go home. When they arrived, their mom had made a pot of hot cocoa and while the tree was drying out in a corner they sat around and enjoyed their sweet, hot treat with some home-made cookies.
When Richard closed his eyes today, he could still smell that Christmas tree in their kitchen and taste that delicious hot cocoa. He remembered his mom sitting by herself next to the stove smiling. That was one of her last Christmas holidays with them, he recalled. She died like so many others at that time from complications in the birth of his youngest sister. Christmas was never quite the same in their household after that.
– Excerpted from Christmas in Newfoundland 3 by Mike Martin, Ottawa Press and Publishing, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
My Review:
CHRISTMAS IN NEWFOUNDLAND 3
I love the Windflower family. I love all the stories about their lives, especially the Christmas ones. I love reading about the girls and getting to know them as they grow. I love seeing more of Winston and Sheila and their relationship with each other and the girls. They are wonderful people, whom you wish you were a part of their inner circle of friends.
WAITING FOR SANTA
I really loved WAITING FOR SANTA. I loved reading Stella’s story about the Christmas present she wanted. The story was touching and nearly broke my heart at one point. I loved how Santa interacted with the parents. That was so amazingly wonderful to me. I can’t wait to read more stories in CHRISTMAS IN NEWFOUNDLAND 3.
ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE
WOW! Another wonderful story! Winston is reminiscing about the past with his Auntie Marie. The girls are practicing for the Christmas show. The love I feel for this family just keeps on growing. ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE, what a great title for this story.
CHRISTMAS IN PINK LAKE
Winston is still reminiscing about his life when he was a little boy. I loved the story about his Grandfather and the stories with his Auntie Marie and all his friends and family growing up, and how they spent their Christmases together. I now know more about who and how Winston became the person he is today and where his big heart came from.
SOME OLD FASHIONED FUN
What an interesting story, a group of friends getting together and spending time with each other while entertaining others during the festive season. SOME OLD FASHIONED FUN was another heartfelt story that kept me hanging on just to see what the “mummers” actually did.
CHRISTMAS AT THE MUG-UP CAFE
CHRISTMAS AT THE MUG-UP CAFE, another great story added to the collection. I loved how Winston and Sheila stepped up to help their friends, Bert and Moira, when they needed them the most during the holiday. Another heart-warming story.
CHRISTMAS AWAY
Corporal Eddie Tizzard and his fiancée, Carrie Evanchuk, are going to visit her family on Christmas in Estevan a City in Saskatchewan, Canada. I loved getting a sneak peek into Eddie and Carrie’s life and getting to know Carrie’s family’s life on their farm.
A MARYSTOWN CHRISTMAS
A MARYSTOWN CHRISTMAS turned out to be a really nice story. The more I read, the more I liked it, and by the end, I was in love with it. It is a story about Eddie, Carrie, and their baby, Hughie, and a nice man Eddie meets, and Santa, of course.
A CHILLY CHRISTMAS
A CHILLY CHRISTMAS was another heart-warming story about how Winston and others came together to prepare a Christmas dinner and gifts for others, and deliver it to those who couldn’t get out.
A GREEN CHRISTMAS
A GREEN CHRISTMAS turned out to be a really nice Christmas for the girls, Stella and Amelia Louise, who loved it very much. I loved how Winston and Grampa Herb talked to the girls and answered their questions about why there was no snow.
THE CHRISTMAS ANGELS
Another great story about how Winston made Christmas special for their girls, Amelia Louise, Stella, and everyone on their street by making the girls' wishes come true for this Christmas. I love how much Winston loves his girls and all the things he is willing to do to make them happy.
A CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE
A CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE is a story about Winston and Gupta visiting the old folks around town on Christmas, just spending time with them and talking with them about the good old days. When they visited Jarge Skinner, a good friend of Winston’s late Uncle Frank, no one was home, and that was not like Jarge at all; he was always home. After asking around, they find that Jarge is not the only one missing. Winston and the whole town are looking for Jarge and his friends. Where are they? What happened to them?
A CHRISTMAS WISH
Richard and his old dog Rusty were sitting by the fire while Richard was thinking about his life as a little boy with his family at Christmas time. Richard was alone now; his children were all grown up with families of their own. Richard is missing his wife and son, both of whom had passed on many years ago.
Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.
He is the award-winning author of the best-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 16 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Friends are Forever.
A Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and Darkest Before the Dawn won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award. All That Glitters was shortlisted for the LOLA 2024 Must Read Book of the year award.
Some Sgt. Windflower Mysteries are now available as audiobooks and the latest Darkest Before the Dawn was released as an audiobook in 2024. All audiobooks are available from Audible in Canada and around the world.
Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Capital Crime Writers.
His latest book is Christmas in Newfoundland 3: Sgt. Windflower Holiday Tales.
Visit Mike’s website at www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com. Connect with him at X and Facebook.
