The Cage-maker

"Seitz...[gives] the reader a deep, spiritual experience blended with excellent storytelling."  - Deep South Magazine  

"Nicole Seitz plunges into worlds and situations that are not always the most comfortable for us or for her...it makes for important reading. - Huffington Post  

"[Seitz] gives her work an imaginative spin...seldom seen in contemporary Christian fiction  this side of C.S. Lewis." - Wilmington Star News  

Nicole Seitz grew up on Hilton Head Island, a small town off the coast of South Carolina, where she was surrounded by palmetto trees, marsh grass, sandy beaches and unique Southern characters. As an author, artist and speaker, Nicole's work is deeply influenced by her faith and the mystique and charm of the South. In 1989 she went to the U.S.S.R as a student ambassador through People to People Organization, and the trip opened her eyes to the struggles, beauty, and universal qualities of other cultures--things she likes to explore in her work.

The Spirit of Sweetgrass, Nicole's debut novel, was selected as the March 2007 FaithPoint Book-of-the-Month for Books-a-Million. Her second novel, Trouble the Water (Mar 2008), received a starred review and was chosen as one of the Best Books of 2008 by Library Journal. It was also seen in Southern Living, Sandlapper Magazine, and was an editor's pick in the May 2008 issue of Charleston Magazine. The book went into a second printing within two weeks of it's release date. A Hundred Years of Happiness (Mar 2009), was featured in the January 2009 edition of Charleston Magazine and the July/Aug edition of The VVA Veteran, was a Summer Reading Pick on CBN.com, and was nominated by independent booksellers for the 2009 SIBA Book Award. Saving Cicadas (Dec 2009), was an Indie Next List Notable pick for January 2010, was featured in the November 2009 issues of Charleston Magazine and CBA Retailers+Resources, and was selected as a "favorite pick for readers on your Christmas list" in the December 2009 issue of Southern Living. The Inheritance of Beauty (Feb 2011) was a SheReads March 2011 Book Club Selection, a Pulpwood Queens April 2011 Bonus Selection, and the May 2011 FaithPoint Book-of-the-Month for Books-a-Million. Beyond Molasses Creek (Feb 2012) was a Romantic Times Top Pick for March 2012 and a Pulpwood Queens 2012 Book Club Selection. In November 2012, Nicole's essay "Kahlua Unleashed" was published in the Hub City project, Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers. In May 2014, she was a cast member of Listen to Your Mother: Charleston, a live production at the Footlight Players Theater in which she shared her original monologue, "The Longing".  In 2015 Nicole edited and published When You Pass Through Waters: Words of Hope and Healing from Your Favorite Authors in response to the 1000-year flood that devastated much of the Carolinas. Her most recent novel, The Cage-maker, released in September 2017. It made the long list for the SIBA Southern Book Prize, was named one of the "Great Southern reads for fall" in The Augusta Chronicle, was named to the 2017 Winter/Fall book list by Deep South Magazine, and was a Pulpwood Queens January 2018 Book Selection.

Nicole received a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.F.A. in Illustration from Savannah College of Art & Design. Her freelance articles have been in The Island Packet, The Bluffton Packet, and SouthCarolina Magazine. Nicole is also a published illustrator, and her artwork has been exhibited in Southern art galleries. Her novels feature her paintings/illustrations on the covers.   

Nicole Seitz ran her first full marathon in December 2012. She was named "Best Local Author Who Also Paints" in Charleston City Paper's Best of Charleston 2009, and in 2007, she was named one of Charleston Regional Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" for her professional successes and community involvement. Nicole enjoys meeting her readers and book clubs and often speaks to groups on writing, art and faith. In 2009, she spoke as part of the Southern Literary Festival during Piccolo Spoleto. In 2008, she gave the Baccalaureate address for the College of Charleston. An artist at heart, Nicole enjoys painting pictures with words and bringing her characters to life through detail and dialect. She lives in the Charleston, South Carolina, area with her husband, Brian, and their two children, and is currently writing her next novel.