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Buckle Up: 5 Reasons to Dive into Rod Lewin’s The Missing Mallard Mystery

Adventure lovers, aviation enthusiasts, and fans of fast-paced fiction—get ready to take off with Rod Lewin’s thrilling new novel, The Missing Mallard Mystery. As part of his Virtual Book Tour, we’re inviting readers to climb aboard the Wayward Wind, the vintage World War Two flying boat piloted by series hero Mitch Blaine and his brilliant (and often begrudging) sidekick, Beyer. Together, they soar into the skies over Australia’s Outback to solve the disappearance of a Grumman Mallard loaded with millions in pearls.

This blog post isn’t just a spotlight—it’s a full-throttle, multi-sensory celebration of The Missing Mallard Mystery. From playlists to characters, lists to club picks, here’s your exclusive guided tour into the world of Rod Lewin’s aviation-fueled fiction.

Top 5 Reasons to Read The Missing Mallard Mystery

It’s like Clive Cussler meets Indiana Jones… with wings.
If you love high-stakes treasure hunts, daring escapes, and globe-trotting thrills—this one’s for you.
The setting is refreshingly unique.
Western Australia’s pearl-diving coastlines and crocodile-filled Outback aren’t your typical thriller backdrops. They’re vivid, dangerous, and fascinating.
You don’t have to be an aviation geek to enjoy it.
Lewin weaves technical authenticity into the narrative with ease, offering just enough detail for plane buffs without ever slowing the pace.
The duo at the heart of the story is unforgettable.
Mitch Blaine is a rugged, world-weary pilot with quick instincts, while Beyer is an erudite, reluctant co-adventurer with a dry wit that makes every scene sparkle.
It’s based on real-life experience.
Lewin is a veteran aviator, and it shows. The realism in flight scenes and atmospheric tension comes from decades in the sky.

The Missing Mallard Mystery: Soundtrack for an Aerial Adventure

What might be playing in the background as Mitch and Beyer skim across the Timor Sea or outwit pirates in the bush? Here’s a fitting playlist:

“Into the Wild” – LP
“Run Through the Jungle” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Sons of the Sea” – Bear McCreary (instrumental)
“The Passenger” – Iggy Pop
“Outback” – Midnight Oil
“Skyfall” – Adele (for a touch of espionage and cinematic flair)
“High Hopes” – Pink Floyd
“Far Side of the World” – Jimmy Buffett
“Brothers in Arms” – Dire Straits
“No Time for Caution” – Hans Zimmer (from Interstellar)

This soundtrack matches the novel’s blend of edge, elegance, and emotional lift.

Meet Mitch Blaine: A Character Introduction

Mitch Blaine is the kind of protagonist who feels instantly iconic. A seasoned pilot with a steel exterior and occasional glints of heart, he’s not in it for the fame—he’s in it because someone has to fly the mission. Whether it’s navigating through typhoons or evading pirates, he thrives in peril and chaos.

Q: What drives you to get involved with something as dangerous as this pearl heist mystery?
“I’m not a hero. I just know how to fly into trouble and—on good days—out of it. But when an old mate calls for help, I don’t say no.”

Q: What’s your biggest weakness?
“Aside from trusting Beyer to pack the right coffee? Probably my inability to leave a mystery alone.”

Rod Lewin’s Book Club Picks

Wondering what kinds of books Rod Lewin might recommend between flights? These titles align with the energy, intelligence, and heart of The Missing Mallard Mystery:

The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett – A masterclass in suspense.
Sahara by Clive Cussler – A globe-trotting treasure hunt with vintage vehicles.
Flight of the Intruder by Stephen Coonts – For aviation lovers who crave action.
The River of Doubt by Candice Millard – True-life exploration meets peril and discovery.
The Martian by Andy Weir – For readers who enjoy brilliant problem-solvers in extreme situations.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann – If you liked the jungle elements of Mallard, this is a must.

Bookish Fun Facts

The Grumman Mallard flying boat featured in the book is a real aircraft, used historically in pearl diving operations in Australia.
Mitch’s aircraft, the Wayward Wind, is a PBY Catalina, one of the most famous seaplanes of WWII.
Rod Lewin has flown all over the world, including the Virgin Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Greek Islands—and those landscapes inspire the scenery in his novels.
The Missing Mallard Mystery is the fourth book in the Mitch Blaine series, but it also works as a stand-alone adventure.
The author’s autobiography, Steel Spine, Iron Will, is based on his real-life recovery from a plane crash.

Ready to Join the Adventure?

If you love smart, atmospheric fiction full of grit, danger, and heart—The Missing Mallard Mystery is ready for takeoff. Whether you’re a book club host, an armchair traveler, or someone who just loves a good, old-fashioned mystery with a fresh twist, this novel delivers.

Explore more, including author info and tour updates, at: www.outskirtspress.com/rodlewinpby

#MissingMallardMystery #RodLewinBooks #VirtualBookTour2025 #AdventureReads #AviationFiction

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The New Black Friday

Perhaps you worked off those Thanksgiving day calories among the crowds this Black Friday. Maybe though you noticed the crowds not quite as thick as they once were. Or, maybe you are one of us who shopped Black Friday sales online from the comfort of the couch during movie or football commercials.

Online commerce is changing the way we interact and do business. Groupon, for instance, is currently advertising a $40 for $20 bookstore sale. Or one full-service self-publishing option offering staggering 25% off illustrations services. But like all Black Friday sales – these offers will end soon. So if you’re thinking book buying for the holidays or heading toward the new year with getting that self-publishing book project off the ground, today is the day.

Cheers.

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Choosing a Publisher, Networking, Self-Publishing

Affiliate Opportunites in Self-publishing

With the inevitable explosion of print-on-demand, there are more authors than ever before dipping their feet into the self-publishing game. In fact, the term dipping feet may be an understatement considering the volume of new, developing, and somewhat esoteric information involved in self-publishing. Some authors come from the traditional arena and have a degree of knowledge and understanding corresponding with their experience. Other authors may have independently published books in the past, consider themselves savvy, and are now seeking the advantages that come from joining forces with a full-service print-on-demand self publisher.

The great majority, however, are new authors, anxious to learn, but not possessing much history or background in the industry. They often rely upon the information they read on the internet, hear from friends/associates, or receive from their publisher. In fact, the term self-publishing has expanded in scope to include publishing content in blogs, forums, online newsletters, even videos.

You may find yourself somewhere along that continuum or in the process of researching publishing options for your own material. Have you considered that your expertise can benefit other writers while at the same time earning you additional income? The process is called Affiliate Marketing and a great opportunity offered through various self-publishing leaders.

Affiliates can often earn up to 10% or more for each author they refer. Here are the nuts and bolts:

It’s perhaps the easiest and fastest way to share your knowledge as an industry thought leader while at the same time earning extra income in the home based internet business, and you do not have to develop your own service. Instead, generate revenue by simply referring authors to recognized, professional custom self-publishing services through the credibility your experience provides. What’s more, you get to see the investment that comes from seeing authors reach their publishing goals.

Have fun and keep writing

Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Signings, Networking, Self-Publishing

The Do’s of Pitching Your Self-Published Book to Producers

Here are 5 things to do when composing a letter to a radio producer to promote your self-published book:

1 – Do keep your letter short. No more than one page.
2 – Do include your hook. This is a 5-10 word sentence or phrase that should attract everyone’s attention about you or your book.
3 – Do format your letter so it’s easy to skim. Use bullet points.
4 – Do write your letter with the producer’s point of view. Re-read it as if you were the producer. Is it clear what you want and what value you offer to the radio listeners?
5 – Do be available to respond to interest immediately. These people are often on deadline and if you are the easiest solution to their problem, you’ll get the call.

Karl Schroeder

Have fun and keep writing…

Book Promotion, Book Reviews, Choosing a Publisher, Networking, Self-Publishing

Self-publishing, Literature and Pop Culture

I opened the Books section in yesterday’s New York Times Urban Eye to read the headline, “Why Literature Doesn’t Matter.” Really? How sad. It matters to me. It matters to my family, friends, and colleagues. It matters to the self-publishing authors I work with every day. Literature doesn’t matter… I wish someone would have told me.

According to Urban Eye, a recent Sunday Book Review article penned buy novelist Kurt Anderson was to fill me in. Anderson writes, “During the 1960s and ’70s…people who hadn’t read a word of a first-rate contemporary novel — no Cheever, no Bellow, no Salinger, Heller, Styron, Doctorow, Updike or Roth — nevertheless knew the novelists’ names… And then everything changed.”

But book sales in the US have remained strong, and are even growing over previous years in Europe. Despite the current recession effects, statistics show that readers are still buying books. Not matter? Anderson goes on to claim, “But irony of ironies, after literature was evicted from mass culture, pop culture itself began to fragment and lose its heretofore defining quality as the ubiquitous stuff that everybody consumed.”

Ah, I’m seeing to whom, or rather to what, Literature doesn’t matter to – pop culture. Wait, then this is a good thing for authors and readers. The fragmentation that Anderson talks about is the segmenting of consumers into smaller, more clearly defined profiles. What that means to self-publishing authors of fiction, non-fiction, etc., is not that your work doesn’t matter, that Literature doesn’t matter, but that it doesn’t matter to everyone. Perfect, now you can coordinate and focus your subject matter and marketing efforts to readers who will benefit from, and buy your books.

Talk to your self-publisher early on about your custom marketing plan.

Karl Schroeder

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