Thursday, April 2, 2020

In the Garden with Shereen Vedam and a #Giveaway



Hi, my name is Shereen Vedam. I’m a fantasy Regency romance author and I’m very happy to be here for a visit.

For years, I lived in a house with a huge English garden. When I moved there, it was an empty, newly-built lot. I redesigned it with beds of flowers, bushes, trees and grass around three sides of the house. Once it was set up, I discovered how much work it was to keep up. Never-ending weeding and watering, pruning and trimming. I loved my lush green garden but didn’t enjoy the constant maintenance that always seemed to compete with my writing time.

To have less maintenance, I could have sold my beloved plants and redesigned the garden to be more “eco” efficient but my heart wasn’t into that.

It took fifteen years, but I was finally ready to give it all up and move into a small condo with a tiny balcony. I gave up most of my furniture and said goodbye to all my plants. It was especially hard to leave behind my two giant weeping sequoias that began at about my height and grew so tall, their tips vanished from sight on misty mornings.

When I left the house, I brought along some tables. There’s no room for them inside the small condo but I have a plan for that tiny balcony. One that involves different levels for pots of plants to catch the morning and evening light. Where a cutting from my climbing red rose is already beginning to sprout and will now grow up a conical sculpture instead of across the backyard fence.

I have a blueberry bush that came along, as well as several cuttings from old scented roses. I plan to grow garlic and tomatoes in the summer. The only tree I plan to buy is a dwarf red Japanese maple that will be the focal point in my balcony.

My vision is that every morning, I will sit on a rocking chair and hand-write a scene or two in my low-maintenance balcony-garden while occasionally sipping from a steaming cup of tea.


If you had a tiny balcony garden to design, how would you design it?

Love Spell in London
The Cauldron Effect
Book Three
Shereen Vedam

Genre: Regency Fantasy Romance
Date of Publication: March 31, 2020
ISBN:  978-0-9953447-9-2
ASIN: B07ZTBR92H
Number of pages: 265
Word Count:  85,443

Cover Artist: Desiree De’orto

Tagline: By the pricking of my thumbs…

Book Description:

A healing witch hopes her stolen hellhounds’ passionate master will return soon to claim his hounds, and perhaps, notice her. When he does, not only does she catch his eye, but also that of his fiendish dark fae mother.



Excerpt:
“Grace,” her mother said in a curt voice. “This is Mr. Devlin Chase Dewer. Mr. Dewer, my daughter, Miss Grace Elizabeth Adair.”
The stark introduction did not do justice to the young lady in the doorway. She stood with her left knee slightly bent, ankle provocatively tilted. She had raised her chin and head, emphasizing an exquisite neck, while her wide eyes observed him with direct, inquisitive scrutiny.
“He is here to reclaim his . . . beasts,” her mother said.
In Baroness Mandell’s hesitation over the word “beasts,” Dewer heard “demons.”
Her snub of his hellhounds slid off his back like a bead of oil. It wasn’t her first insult since his arrival. He had been here for forty odd minutes – feels like a month – awaiting this enchanting creature’s return home. All that while, Lady Mandell refused to be seated, as if admitting him into her home was an affront she could not take sitting down.
The baroness’s upright stance had meant Dewer must also remain on his feet. Not a terrible inconvenience as he had sat more than stood since leaving Wales yesterday morning. For the last five minutes, however, Lady Mandell had been shifting from foot to foot; suggesting their Napoleonic standoff would end shortly with either his departure or her capitulation by taking a seat and thus allowing him to do so as well.
“I have sent for a fresh pot of tea,” the old witch on the sofa said. Lady Mandell’s mother was apparently oblivious to the baroness’s intention to discourage their guest lingering.
Dewer was glad of the tea idea. He may not need to sit, but he was thirsty, for the raven-haired vision in blue in the doorway left his mouth as parched as a desert.
It was hard to mistake the family resemblance between these three females. All had high cheekbones, tall statures and a natural sensuality that age had not appreciably diminished. All similarities ended on the visual plane.
Miss Adair seemed intrigued by his presence, but wary. Well she should be. Thief.
Her mother, Baroness Mandell, had been itching to toss him out since he first stepped into her home. Harridan.
The eldest witch was the most approachable. Unfortunately, she was currently leaning forward to entice Farfur with a crumpet. Crumbs littered the Persian carpet between his feet and hers, as she made atrocious smacking noises from between pursed lips. Definitely Dotty.
Dewer took hold of Farfur’s scruff again, to ensure Dotty, his only ally in the room, would not lose her fingers if the hellhound decided to accept her insanely ill-thought-out offer of a treat.
 “We must leave for London forthwith, Grace.” A negligent flick of the Harridan’s hand, and the crumbs on the carpet vanished. “I hope your morning visit with your cousin was elucidating and makes Mr. Dewer’s visit timely.”
So, that is why Harridan permitted him to enter her home. She wants the hellhounds gone. Excellent!
Grace’s full mouth firmed, her hands clenched and that tempting ankle straightened, signifying that no matter her mother’s preference, Dewer was not about to depart with his hounds without protest. The young witch’s stormy gaze met his in a battle cry that tightened his chest muscles. He repressed the urge to smile with relish at the looming fight.



About the Author:

Once upon a time, USA Today bestselling author Shereen Vedam read fantasy and romance novels to entertain herself. Now she writes heartwarming tales braided with threads of magic and love and mystery elements woven in for good measure.

Shereen's a fan of resourceful women, intriguing men, and happily-ever-after endings. If her stories whisk you away to a different realm for a few hours, then Shereen will have achieved one of her life goals.



Blog – Magic Ahoy! : https://www.shereenvedam.com/blog/



Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/shereenvedam/boards/         





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