Ask the Author: Kaye D. Schmitz
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Kaye D. Schmitz
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Kaye D. Schmitz
I would travel to Rivendell in Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings. It always felt like such a beautiful, serene, happy place, I thought life would be absolutely blissful there. I would spend my days telling stories, writing books and/or documenting the Elfin incredible history.
Kaye D. Schmitz
I visited a three-hundred-year-old graveyard in which were buried signers of the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution. Those were the graves I went there to see. But I was drawn to an old section of the cemetery where I found three above-ground crypts. The husband was buried in the middle with his wife on one side of him and his consort on the other side of him. At the time, I thought consort meant mistress and was incensed that his mistress would be buried in the same plot as his wife. With research, however, I found that was simply another name for spouse. The other thing that intrigued me about the consort's grave was that she died at seventeen and her twin daughters were buried with her. That was my idea nugget and when I completed the "what if" process, I had my novel, THE CONSORT CONSPIRACY, A Covington Family Mystery.
Kaye D. Schmitz
I see a story in everything.
Being out in nature is always a good catalyst, as is reading the newspaper. And whatever the idea nugget is, it always expands by asking "what if?" Those two words can take you anywhere.
Being out in nature is always a good catalyst, as is reading the newspaper. And whatever the idea nugget is, it always expands by asking "what if?" Those two words can take you anywhere.
Kaye D. Schmitz
I just finished a novel about the multi-generational connection between two families in a small town just outside Asheville, NC.
For four generations, the working class Maguire family has been intertwined with the wealthy Sinclair family, founders of Sinclair Station, North Carolina, and owners of the beautiful hundred-year-old mansion, Clairmont, where Henry Sinclair, Jr., was murdered as he slept. Seventy years later, one of the Maguires is positioned to buy the mansion, but the mystery that shrouded Henry’s death also clouded the identification of his true heir and the sale is halted. It’s up to Mattie Maguire to uncover the Sinclair family’s secrets that prove not only the identity of the real murderer, but also the real heir, who has been hidden away for decades.
My next project will be a story about vampires. I can hardly wait.
For four generations, the working class Maguire family has been intertwined with the wealthy Sinclair family, founders of Sinclair Station, North Carolina, and owners of the beautiful hundred-year-old mansion, Clairmont, where Henry Sinclair, Jr., was murdered as he slept. Seventy years later, one of the Maguires is positioned to buy the mansion, but the mystery that shrouded Henry’s death also clouded the identification of his true heir and the sale is halted. It’s up to Mattie Maguire to uncover the Sinclair family’s secrets that prove not only the identity of the real murderer, but also the real heir, who has been hidden away for decades.
My next project will be a story about vampires. I can hardly wait.
Kaye D. Schmitz
Above all, an aspiring writer must have a good story to tell. After that, it has to be written. So aspiring writers need to write!! And keep at it. And finish it. Every time I spoke to a publisher, the first thing he or she did was to congratulate me for finishing my book! I didn't realize what a big deal that was until I spoke with people who hadn't finished. Even my agent said that 80% of the people she meets with at conferences fail to send her the materials she has asked for. I can't imagine! If writers are serious about writing and they have a good story to tell, they must write first. And the rest of the time until they get that story published they must refine.
Kaye D. Schmitz
For me, the best thing about being a writer is the reward of it. Here's what I mean by that. I have been to a number of writers' conferences and have heard many authors talk about their processes. The majority of them get up early, go to their offices, write 1,000 words and go on with their days. My process is to get up at a regular time, do my housework and then do my yard work (I have hundreds of flowers in my yard and they take an hour per day to deadhead and weed). At that point, going to my office is my reward. My job, yes, but mostly my reward. And from there, I can go anywhere in the world (or out of it) I want. And I don't set a specific number of words. I simply write what is called for in my mind. It could be 500 words or it could be 4,000. I often have 3,000 and 4,000 word days. And when everything is flowing smoothly, it doesn't get any better than that.
Kaye D. Schmitz
I've been very fortunate that I seldom experience writers' block. The worst that happens is that I might get stuck on a plot point. But again, I am very fortunate because if that happens, I can either talk it through with my husband or my Street Team of readers in my neighborhood. So, bottom line, two (or more) heads are better than one. When stuck, find someone who cares about your story and hash it out with them. I have often found that in the process of saying it out loud, the answer will come from within even if the ones I talk to simply listen.
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