Author Bio:
Kaye Schmitz is the author of the award-winning novel, THE CONSORT CONSPIRACY, A Covington Family Mystery. Active in the writing community, she is a member of the Florida Writers’ Association, Sisters in Crime (national and local), and International Thriller Writers. She is also an active speaker and teaches a writers’ workshop titled, “We All Have a Story to Tell.” Ms. Schmitz makes her home in St. Augustine, FL where she lives with her husband, Michael.
Blurb:
My newest book is ON DEADLY GROUNDS and was released on May 8 by Lamplighter Suspense, an Imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, a division of Iron Stream Media. I have LOVED working with them. One of my favorite early readers was Steve Berry, International Bestselling author of nineteen novels, who even gave me a blurb for the cover. Here’s the book’s back cover copy to give readers a look at the story.
On the eve of an international G7 Summit, event coordinator Mattie Maguire discovers that the venue, a century-old estate close to Asheville, NC, is more than simply a picturesque setting. It is also the center of political conspiracies involving a ruthless Russian spy ring that will stop at nothing to steal the massive fortune they believe to be hidden there. The search intensifies and a rogue Russian agent attacks Mattie’s grandmother, still living on the estate. She hovers in a coma, barely clinging to life.
As Mattie struggles to protect her family and ensure a safe event for the most important leaders in the world, her discovery of a fraudulent heir to the estate puts her own life in danger as well. But when her eighty-five-year-old grandfather is kidnapped and held at gunpoint, her path becomes clear. Despite her fear, she must locate the only person who has the information the Russians seek—the estate’s rightful heir, hidden away for decades after the murder of his father. But will the true owner’s return to his childhood home put his life in danger, too?
Inspiration for ON DEADLY GROUNDS:
So far, my stories have been inspired by real life events in history and this one is no different. My inspiration was the 1929 Beverly Hills murder of Ned Doheny, supposedly by his male secretary, who then turned the gun on himself. Forensics at the crime scene didn’t match up with the story told by those in the house at the time, so to this day, there is still speculation about who did the actual shooting…or if a third person was involved who shot both of them. My husband and I visited the mansion grounds several years ago and the story intrigued me so much, I had to write about it.
Interestingly, when I visited Asheville again in December 2019, I learned that the architect for Biltmore, Henry Morris Hunt, the person I had put in my book as also designing and building Clairmont Place (the century-old mansion where a lot of the action takes place) died in 1895, prior to the actual opening of Biltmore. I got in touch with my editor immediately and let her know that I needed to change that section of my book to say he designed it only, since he had died before it was built. I have no idea how I missed that critical fact during my research. Fortunately, I was able to fix my story before the book was released.
A few tidbits about me:
• I have a lighted 75-house Christmas village that I assemble every October and take down every February.
• I am a former first place winner in a ballroom dance competition in, of all places, Asheville!! (That’s close to where ON DEADLY GROUNDS takes place).
• Prior to theaters closing, I had a standing Monday-night movie date with my husband.
Friends, I sure hope you enjoyed getting to know Kaye Schmitz and her book On Deadly Grounds.
Other books:
My first book was THE CONSORT CONSPIRACY, a dual timeline that takes place two hundred years apart, where modern day Kate Covington solves not only a two-hundred-year-old murder, but also discovers who killed her own mother. And I recently finished my third book, THE ROAD REMEMBERED, which takes place mostly during World War II. I describe it as BAND OF BROTHERS meets THE NIGHTINGALE.
Currently working on:
The sequel to ON DEADLY GROUNDS, with a working title of FROM DEADLY TIES, in which Mattie and Daniel Scott, who has become important in her life, are featured.
Below are links to connect with Kaye and buy her book On Deadly Grounds:
Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084CSYGNK/
Website: https://www.kayedschmitzauthor.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayedschmitz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayeschmitzauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kayedschmitz
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Grab a copy of Kaye's book and enjoy your day!
Kaye, it's so great to host you today!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Kaye!
ReplyDeleteI love that you won first place in a ballroom dance! I've always wanted to do that.
I like hearing about the inspirations for stories. And I'm so glad you had time to fix the architect who built Clairmont Place.