Colonel Fletcher Ware, USA (ret.) “is retired and living in Savannah, GA. He and his wife, Gudrun, have traveled extensively in Germany and Austria. Their travels and thorough research into 1890's Austria is reflected in the authentic depictions of Imperial Vienna's ambience and social mores.”  Colonel Fletcher Ware is the author of The Empress Conspiracy.

According to the book description of The Empress Conspiracy it “is historical fiction set in the 1890's Austria-Hungary Empire in the forty-fifth year of Emperor Franz Josef's reign.  A murder occurs at the last ball of Vienna's 1893 pre-lent Carnival season which rocks the Empire. There is some indication that Empress Elisabeth is involved.  Conspiracy wags began the whispering and gossiping.  Elisabeth, at one time thought by many to be the most beautiful woman in Europe, is the nineteenth century's Princess Di. In a strained marriage and disillusioned with court pressures she wandered throughout Europe and did not perform her royal duties. This made her the target of the conspiracy.

Several other brutal murders stoke more anxiety in Vienna and each seems to implicate Elisabeth. Count Konrad Patrick Leury, Chief of the Imperial Special Bureau is rushed in to investigate and apprehend the culprits. Leury, the handsome scion of and aristocratic family, is a 32 year-old bachelor welcome in all the grand salons of Vienna.  During the demanding and dangerous investigation, Leury meets and falls in love with a young American woman studying in Vienna for her doctorate. Their romance is nearly terminated by the murderous conspirators. Leury pursues the investigation to the highest levels of the Empire and exposes the entire conspiracy. The reader will experience the late nineteenth century Austrian and Viennese society and culture. Sigmund Freud and other historical figures appear and influence the investigation as it moves to a surprising conclusion.”