Burning the Boats and Booking the Cruise

By Author Kathryn Mykel

Quilter| Quilt-Fiction Author| Quilt Pattern Designer

For years I had a private reward waiting in the back of my mind. When I finally “made it” as an author, I would celebrate with a fancy cruise.

I didn’t reach that goal in one dramatic breakthrough. I got there gradually by setting small targets and giving myself reasons to continue on each day. And, in a plot twist that may surprise readers who know me primarily for my cozy mystery novels, it was quilting that ultimately made that goal a reality and paid for the trip.

In my last guest post here, I talked about how story ideas often begin in ordinary places. During sewing days with friends, through casual conversations, and how the rhythm of creative work have shaped the mysteries I write. This post looks at the other side of that process. Inspiration and creativity may have started my journey, but structure and motivation have kept it moving.

Over the past five years, I’ve written more than fifty stories. On paper, that sounds impressive. In practice, it looks like structure and a very strict schedule. Deadlines must be met, the marketing never stops, and new ideas compete with ongoing projects. Most days my desk is a hot mess, much like my sewing table. Projects pile up in various stages of completion, all demanding my attention. It’s really controlled chaos at its finest.

About two years in, I made what I now think of as my “burning the boats” decision. I stepped away from the quilting business work I’d been balancing alongside writing and went all in on being a full-time author. As you can imagine, that decision felt both practical and terrifying. There was no comfortable fallback plan and no alternate source of income. If I wanted this career to work, I had to treat it like a real one.

It didn’t take long to realize that motivation was unreliable. Some days the words came easily. Many days they didn’t.

What helped me was learning to celebrate even the smallest victories. In the beginning, the goal was simple. Sell one book in a day. Later it became hitting a certain number of page reads, reaching a ranking milestone, or winning an award. Each step forward became a reason to acknowledge progress, reward myself, and keep going.

Sometimes the rewards were small. Finishing a draft might mean a trip to the quilt shop, or taking an afternoon off without (too much) guilt. Maintaining my best-seller banner could justify a favorite meal or a quiet evening with a good audio book (someone else’s). A successful book launch might call for a weekend of quilting with friends. These incremental incentives helped turn both the daily grind and long stretches of work into a series of goals, celebrations, and rewards.

Stepping back from writing this year to focus more heavily on quilting reinforced the same lesson. Creative work often moves in cycles. As I spent more time designing patterns and sewing samples for magazines, that income began to accumulate. Without intending it as a writing reward, the quilting ultimately funded an opportunity that came my way unexpectedly.

Here’s that plot twist I mentioned earlier. Next month I’ll be boarding an Alaskan author-reader cruise, something I used to joke was my “when I make it as an author” reward. Now, the cruise feels less like a prize and more like a consequence of committing fully to the path I’d chosen. Ironically, it also serves as a reminder that creative work has a way of coming full circle in unexpected ways.

Tell us, have you ever turned productivity into a personal game? Do you set goals and reward yourself for achieving them? And what’s the biggest reward you’re working toward right now?

Kathryn Mykel is a bestselling author of quilting-themed cozy mysteries and a professional quilt pattern designer whose work has appeared in national quilting publications. She lives in New England with her pup, Bentley.

Find Kathryn’s work here www.authorkathrynmykel.com

 

 

Rotary Cutters & Red Herrings

Talking “Murdah” at the Sewing Table

By Author Kathryn Mykel

Quilter| Quilt-Fiction Author| Quilt Pattern Designer

Writers are often asked where their story inspiration comes from. Some point to dreams or travel, while others credit long hours studying the criminal mind.

Mine tend to begin at a folding table covered in fabric scraps, with a dog asleep beside my chair while someone passes the chocolate and says, “If she goes missing, check under her stash first.”

From the other end of the table comes a warning about hiding fabric in the oven.

A moment later, someone huffs, “I’m going to murder that seam with Jack the Ripper.”

Quilters, it turns out, do talk about murder, but not in a sinister way. In a practical, problem-solving, plot-twisting kind of way (we swear!). The same quilters who debate a scant quarter-inch seam allowance and the right or wrong side of batting can, within minutes, be calmly discussing poison delivery systems, suspicious alibis, and how a 2½-inch fabric strip might make a surprisingly effective murder weapon.

To be fair, not every sewing group treats fabric like forensic evidence. Mine may simply be used to having a mystery writer in their midst. Our sewing circle can quickly become a brainstorming lab without anyone officially meaning it to. Discussing fictional “murdah” over fabric doesn’t make us morbid. I think it makes us all storytellers.

Those conversations don’t just stay at the sewing table. They follow me home and find their way into my plots, shaping the tone and stakes of the mysteries I write.

In one of my quilting cozy mystery series, starting with Sewing Suspicion, Alex, a lone amateur sleuth, finds herself drawn into a world of genuine danger. In her cozy hometown, secrets run deep and criminal networks lurk behind the scenes. The emotional stakes are high—not just for Alex, but for the found family she’s determined to protect. Alex must rely on her own instincts and resilience.

In my second series, the tone shifts entirely.

In Raining Quilts and Dogs, Elizabeth and her group of quilting friends—a nod to the classic “Scooby gang”—stumble into mysteries that are sometimes outrageous, often chaotic, and always infused with friendship. Suspicious happenings might include runaway animals, muddy paw prints at a crime scene, or community mishaps that spiral into something more complicated than anyone expected.

Some days readers want a hint of mafia intrigue, and some days they want a DB wrapped in a quilt and floated down Main Street during a flood.

Let’s think about the solo sleuth vs. a sewing circle. The psychology of investigation changes dramatically depending on whether your sleuth is alone or surrounded by friends.

A solo sleuth must internalize fear, doubt, and responsibility. Every decision feels personal. The narrative often digs deeper into motivation and consequence.

A group of sleuths, on the other hand, brings natural conflict, humor, and energy. They challenge one another’s assumptions. They divide tasks and argue over crafts, snacks, and suspects in equal measure. The mystery becomes a shared experience rather than a solitary burden.

Interestingly, this mirrors both quilting dynamics and writing habits. Some quilters sew alone, finding solace in the quiet repetition of stitching. Others rely on the interaction and encouragement that come from working alongside friends. Writers navigate those same choices between solitude and collaboration. I experience both worlds myself: quilting with friends around a sewing table and writing with them each day in a small online co-working group.

Where do your best ideas seem to find you?

Kathryn Mykel is a bestselling author of quilting-themed cozy mysteries and a professional quilt pattern designer whose work has appeared in national quilting publications. She lives in New England with her pup, Bentley.

 Find Kathryn’s work here www.authorkathrynmykel.com