Guest Blogger: Maggie Sefton

Please join me in welcoming author Maggie Sefton as the special guest blogger here at Thoughts in Progress today.

Many may know Maggie as one of the authors that blogs at The Cozy Chicks. However, she’s here today to talk about her latest release, DOUBLE KNIT MURDERS, which is actually the first two novels in the Kelly Flynn Mystery Series - KNIT ONE, KILL TWO and NEEDLED TO DEATH.

Maggie has stopped by to answer some questions about herself and her Kelly Flynn Mystery Series.

MASON: Maggie, you grew up in Arlington VA, outside of Washington DC. When did you relocate to Colorado and what brought you there?

MAGGIE: Our family came to Colorado in 1988 when my former husband was offered the position of Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. Previously, we had spent 15 years at Purdue University in West Lafayetter, IN, when my husband was a professor of EE there.

We originally left the Northern VA area in 1973 with two little girls, Christine & Melissa, and went on to have two more, Serena & Maria. All of my family has scattered, but I choose to live in Colorado because I absolutely love it here. It's
beautiful and the weather is so wonderful. Even the cold doesn't feel as cold.  :)

MASON: Your protagonist, Kelly Flynn, also made the move from DC to  Colorado. Do you and Kelly share many similar experiences?

MAGGIE: The only similarities Kelly and I share is that I, too, was a CPA. But I worked for smaller firms in the Midwest and here in Colorado. Kelly is in Corporate Accounting. Big Time Accounting. A far different animal. Challenging and very demanding. We both have a good sense of humor.  But Kelly is DEFINITELY not me. She's braver, stronger, a superior athlete, and waaaaaaaay more confrontational than I am, especially when it comes to villains.

MASON: Kelly’s friends at Lambspun are compared to the cast of  “Friends” by reviewers, was the show an inspiration?

MAGGIE: No, definitely not. I've always enjoyed the show "Friends" and the cast is laugh-out-loud funny. But they have distinct personalities, just like my cast of characters in the Kelly Flynn Mysteries. I'm sure the creators of "Friends" had their characters appear just like mine do.

They just show up. The characters for all of my books (including all those big historical novels I wrote years ago) simply "walk on stage" out of nowhere suddenly. They don't resemble anyone I know. In fact, in nearly 30 years of writing novels, I've never used a real person yet.

I tried once, but the fictional character would have none of it and proceeded to "morph" right in front of my eyes. Characters are real as far as I'm concerned (yes, we novelists are certifiable).    I have no idea where characters come from. I'm just glad they show up in my head.

MASON: Your latest in the series is the eighth, SKEIN OF THE CRIME, how has Kelly’s life changed since book one?

MAGGIE: Oh, my----Kelly's life has changed a lot. At the beginning of the series, she was focused on taking care of her aunt's business and returning to her corporate life in DC. But---she was also drawn to the warmth and comraderie of the people she's met at the knitting shop and in Fort Collins. The "theme" of the entire series is Creating Family.

We all create families around us that are entirely different from the relatives we grew up with. Our close friends and associates become "family." And Kelly does it too. She's lost her entire family. So the readers get to see Kelly "create family" right before our eyes, starting with the first book, KNIT ONE, KILL TWO. And Kelly's not the only one who does. Readers get to see the entire cast create family throughout the series.  

Of course, like in real families---good things happen and not so good things happen in life. They happen in the Kelly Flynn series, too. I do try to be realistic that way. Even when it comes to coping with the real-life stresses that come in relationships between people, like Kelly and Steve. But---these stories aren't over. There's a lot more happening. Stay tuned.  :)

Maggie, thanks so much for stopping by today and sharing your story (and Kelly’s) with us. Can’t wait to see what happens next for Kelly and her ‘family.’

To find out more about Maggie and all of her writing, check out her website at www.maggiesefton.com and remember you can also find her blogging at The Cozy Chicks. 

Even though Maggie stop by to talk about DOUBLE KNIT MURDERS, I have to include this delightful book video trailer for SKEIN OF THE CRIME. Enjoy.

(BTW, anytime a video is slow in playing and stops off and on, just let it play to the end and then replay it again. It’s just have trouble loading and the second time it should play through without any problems).