LET'S GET COZY! CAST ON, KILL OFF: A PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
CAST ON, KILL OFF

 A Knitting Mystery

BY MAGGIE SEFTON

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Wedding bells are ringing in Fort Connor, Colorado, and the House of Lambspun knitters are abuzz with excitement. But when a murder interrupts the wedding planning, Kelly Flynn will have to solve this crime fast to ensure the killer doesn’t wind up on the guest list...

Kelly Flynn’s knitting pal Megan is about to get hitched, and Megan has found the perfect seamstress, Zoe Yeager, to create the bridesmaids’ dresses. But Zoe is harboring a secret. Bruises on her face show a troubling side of her marriage, and just after she finds the courage to leave her husband, she’s shot dead.

Zoe’s husband is a key suspect, but there are others who might have had designs on her death. It’s up to Kelly and her knitting pals to use their sleuthing savvy to solve the case. They’ll have to stitch up all the loose ends before they can don their dresses and escort Megan into the land of happily ever after...

DELICIOUS RECIPE AND KNITTING PATTERN INCLUDED! 

 

AN EXCERPT FROM CAST ON, KILL OFF: 
Kelly Flynn looked at her reflection in the seamstress’s three-way mirror. The royal blue taffeta fabric shimmered under the bright spotlights shining down from the ceiling. Kelly turned to her left and admired the lines of the bridesmaid gown. Her friend, Megan, had used her own bridal gown’s strapless design to model the bridesmaids’ gowns, except they weren’t floor length. The skirts flared gently past the knee instead. Megan had also chosen strong vibrant colors for the dresses. Kelly’s was royal blue, Lisa’s was lemon yellow, and Jennifer’s was shamrock green. Megan’s sister Janet, who was the matron of honor, was wearing her favorite—fire engine red. Kelly had laughed when Megan told her she wanted “a bold rainbow,” not those pale pastels she saw so often.

Not bad, Kelly thought to herself, admiring the fabric’s shimmer as she turned to the right. She had to admit Megan had a good eye for color. The royal blue set off Kelly’s dark hair and fair skin perfectly.

“How does it feel, Kelly?” the seamstress, Zoe Yeager, asked from the floor, where she sat cross-legged, dressmaker pins in her hand. To finish reading this excerpt, visit the publisher's website HERE.

  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

First, a little biographical information as introduction: Born in Richmond, VA, I grew up in Northern Virginia in Arlington, close to Washington, D.C. I attended university and received a Bachelor's degree in English Literature & Journalism, married, and started my family there. All four of my daughters are grown and established in careers of their own and are literally scattered around the globe. I now reside in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with two very demanding dogs.

I suppose if I were being completely honest, I'd have to admit that I always knew I was a born to be a writer. I spent my childhood with my nose in a book and loved writing. But as I grew older, my life got much busier. Like so many of us, I never could find the time to write the stories and characters that kept appearing in my mind. So, I talked myself out of it. After all, raising a family and attending Business School in Accounting was difficult to juggle, particularly when I decided to become a CPA.

Still, the characters and their stories kept coming—trying to get my attention when I'd take my early evening workout run or while driving or planting flowers. I'd shove them away, pleading no time to listen. If they complained loudly enough (some characters are feistier than others), I'd jot down short scenes on notepads and toss them in a folder. Then, I'd insist they return to the Queque—that place in my imagination where my characters waited, some more patiently than others. They'd sulk and complain, of course. Sometimes the surlier ones would elbow their way up the Queque. Survival of the fittest, I figured.

Finally, I decided I had to start writing these stories. The Queque was getting pretty darn crowded—and noisy. Since I'd come from a long line of Virginians and absolutely adored history, I started writing historical novels. This allowed me to indulge a secret passion: library research. Yes, I'm one of those strange people who loves disappearing into the stacks with books piled around me. Since I had no shortage of historical characters waiting their turn in the Queque, I indulged myself, creating a Musketeer swashbuckler, a sweeping Medieval saga set in 12th Century England, a turn-of-the-century American family saga complete with Robber Barons, struggling Irish, and corrupt politicians, a post-Civil War western historical, as well as historicals set in Colonial Virginia and early Frontier America.

It was during those years that our family moved to Colorado, and I was able to network with vibrant writers' groups at last. I began my apprenticeship in the craft—networking with the other writers, attending conferences and seminars, and joining critique groups, studying, writing, critiquing, and submitting. The focused effort paid off, and my Western historical, ABILENE GAMBLE, was published by Berkley in August 1995.

My life took a sideways turn at that point (as did the historical market), and I used that opportunity to take a new look at my fiction. I discovered something interesting. No matter what time period my historicals were set in or the length of the novel, two things were always present. First, there was a mystery at the heart of the story, sometimes more than one. And secondly, I killed a lot of people. Heck, I managed to kill off more people in one historical romance than in most amateur sleuth murder mysteries.

I figured that was probably a clue, so I began to study the mysteries that I'd grown up loving as well as the new mystery writers who had come onto what was clearly a lively and changing mystery scene. New characters appeared immediately and elbowed their way to the front of the Queque. I didn't need any further encouragement and jumped feet first into writing mysteries. Since I was starting a new career in real estate at the time, it was no surprise that the first amateur sleuth who walked on stage was a real estate agent. Again, time was in short supply, but I finished that novel in 2002 and sent it off to my agent. It sold and will be published in October 2005. For more details, read about my Real Estate Mysteries.

The story of how I came to write the Knitting Mystery Series is completely different. Meanwhile, I'm having a great time writing about Kelly and her friends. Kelly has a knack for poking her nose where it doesn't belong, so I figure she'll keep me busy following her around while she unravels clues as well as her latest knitting project. 

 SOME OTHER BOOKS BY MAGGIE SEFTON:

                   

                   

                   

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO KAYLEIGH AND THE GOOD FOLKS AT
BERKLEY PRIME CRIME AND PENGUIN BOOKS,
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THE MAGGIE SEFTON
BOOK, CAST ON, KILL OFF,
TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY READER

 
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GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, JUNE 24
(NOTE DATE CHANGE)

   GOOD LUCK!