Maggie Sefton, an author out of Fort Collins, had to quit her accounting job at CSU to make her editor’s deadlines. At the time, none of her amateur sleuth mystery books had been published.As Sefton made herself available for a full-time career in writing, readers responded in force. The first in the series, “Knit One, Kill Two” made four national bestseller lists. The first print run of 24,000 copies sold in 16 days.”Never in my wildest dreams – I never thought this would be the vehicle for this success,” Sefton said.

Sefton was inspired by the trendy Fort Collins (Fort Conner in the book) knitting shop, Lambspun of Colorado. She came to one of the gathering nights the shop had, and was hooked by the colors and textures, and variety of people who attended.Five months after the first time she walked into the shop, the character of Kelly Flynn, a corporate CPA who moves back to her childhood home after her aunt dies, came into Sefton’s consciousness.Sefton cites characters as the reason readers come back to a series.For more than 20 years Sefton has been writing novels, much of it historical fiction. In fact, Sefton has written more than a million words in that genre. She said editors have not yet jumped on publishing the “sagas,” but she was able to apply her knowledge of character building to the mystery novels.

“I was used to painting on what I call a large canvas, with layers upon layers of plot and texture and characters,” she said. “I’ve taken those big canvas skills to smaller books.”Sefton will sign copies of her latest book, “A Killer Stitch,” on Saturday at What’s Needling U on Main Street Frisco from 1-5 p.m.What does art give you/why do you do it?I’ve been involved in creative endeavors my entire life, first as a singer. Music was my first art. Plus, I’ve done many creative projects over the years that captured my interest. But nothing – nothing has ever provided the satisfaction and pleasure of creating worlds on paper. I do it because I was born to do it. I’ve had characters inside my head since I was a kid. It just took me several years to start writing them down.

What are your dreams/what would you like to do with your art?I’d like to continue writing good books that engage the reader’s imagination. I’m delighted the Kelly Flynn mysteries are best sellers, and I hope to continue capturing those characters and watching them evolve as the series continues. I try to write realistically, so there will be good things happening to the characters and some bad things happening as well. That’s true for everyone in life. I want to show them handling the good with the bad. What do you try to convey through your art?

I hope to capture fascinating characters on the page who are involved in all sorts of things: solving murders, creating and struggling with relationships while they’re building careers, and discovering their inner strengths. And I try to infuse all that within the framework of an amateur sleuth murder mystery. It can be tricky.What is/has been your biggest challenge, and how do/did you deal with it?The biggest challenge was when I quit my accounting job in order to write full-time, after receiving the publisher’s contract for a three-book series. I had to do some ferocious financial planning, make a rigorous budget, and believe in myself. I believed I could create a successful writing career.- Leslie Brefeld