Hampton Court Castle and Gardens in Herefordshire

I write fiction/fantasy, in case you hadn't noticed. And I'll be the first to tell you that vampires and fairies are not real. Disappointing, I know...I mean hugely disappointing! Seriously!!! Why can't fairies be real? Why?

Anyway, those "fictional" stories in my head are inspired by real places. That's surprising too, I know, but there you have it...

In Chapter 4 of Fateful I describe one of the these "real" places called Van Kampen Gardens  at Hampton Court Castle. (NOT TO BE CONFUSED with Hampton Court Palace, though!) There are two Hampton Courts, but there is a big difference between the two. The one mentioned in Fateful is in Herefordshire and is easily far enough away from Chertsey to give Ethan plenty of time to talk to Danielle without exposing her to his magical vampire gaze too much. Such a romantic gentleman he is! Sorry, he isn't real either, just in case you were hoping. I know that's rather disappointing too. Oh well...

For my 20th Anniversary, my husband took me to England and to Van Kampen Gardens. Twice. Yes, I loved it so much I had to go see it twice.

These are just some of the pictures we took while there. Unfortunately for us, spring had not yet sprung so while the garden was beautiful, it had not fully bloomed.


Just as there is in the book, there is a huge wisteria arch. However, as you can see below, there were no blooms or leaves on it yet. :(




And of course there was a maze. This is the archway and door that led to the start of the maze.





And of course there is a tower in the middle of the maze.






The area of the gardens is very flat. And from the tower you can see the entire garden and of course the entire maze.





The tower has a secret exit that runs under the maze and deposits you into a garden that is hidden and secluded.



We wished we could have seen the garden at it's peak. I'm sure we'll try to get back here someday...




We took over 400 pictures.

Here's the strange coincidence about this garden: I didn't know I had so many ancestors who lived near here when I chose the location for my book. My ancestors on both sides of my family, my mother's and my father's, are from Herefordshire. So close to this garden in fact, that they probably visited it. I only discovered the connection after I wrote the book. Weird, huh?

My Great Grandfather was born near here in 1824. For over 180 years prior to that, my ancestors called the surrounding area just west of this garden home. In fact, my 2nd Great Grandfather is buried only about 4 miles from this garden.

And the release date for The Order of Curse-Bound Knights is nearing!!! Check back soon to see a preview of the first three chapters! Here is a preview of the cover.

Young Adult Giveaway Hop

Welcome to another giveaway hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Reading Teen! And an announcement for my Kobo and Nook readers....

The Amazon Prime program expired on the Fateful Trilogy, and per your request, I have those books again available to my wonderful Kobo and Nook readers. However, since Kobo has been up, I've only sold one book. Just one copy of Fateful, and even while Sophia's Cookbook for Mortals was actually FREE for Kobo? : (

Please tell your friends who have Kobo or Nook ereaders about the availability of my books to them. I don't want them to miss out, especially since Sophia's Cookbook will soon be enrolled into Amazon Prime and will only be available to them for a limited time! (Find links to all of my books sold internationally at the bottom of this post.)

Anyway, back to the giveaway...Are you enjoying the London Olympics? I hope so! It makes me REALLY  want to visit again. I'm not much of a big city girl, but I absolutely loved London. It's no surprise my books are all based in England. I just can't seem to help myself. Maybe that's because my family roots from both my mother and my father come directly from England. Herefordshire, to be exact. So,  if you're like me, and can't be there for the Olympics, maybe I can bring a bit of London to you with my stories.

The Prize:
The Nook, or Kobo, or Kindle eBook copy of either Fateful or Sophia's Cookbook for Mortals. (You must have an account with either Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Amazon to accept this prize. USA only UNLESS you have an account with those US sites, then you may enter. Kobo can go to Canadian or US readers.)

To Enter:
This giveaway is now closed, I will contact you if you won.
Curious about this series? Check out the most recent review of the trilogy by one of my UK readers:

"The Fateful series was what I can only describe as a beautifully sweet vampire tale narrated using the style of Jane Austen.

Set in the present day, Danielle isn't your usual main female character. She's not a tomboy trying to act tough, she's not an antisocial creature because she's peculiar in some unexpected way and she hasn't got a personality that sets her apart from the usual crowd. Danielle is a regular girly girl. She doesn't do blood, gore, violence, injuries or dead bodies (undead or otherwise). It almost felt like she had been literature-transplanted out of a Jane Auste novel and into modern day time with a couple of upgrades. With a penchant for wearing skirts and dresses, a fondness for pastel colours and a rather strong artistic streak for painting scenery; Danielle was a typical girl and not what most recent heroines are like. Her parents were so concerned with her fragility and female defenselessness that they insisted she have karate lessons, to the extent that when we meet her she is a lethal-when-necessary black belt. The good this will do her, in the paranormal world she is rudely awakened to, I'm not sure of.

The combination of strength and weakness in this character was complex and forever changing depending on the perceived angle, forcing me to stop and reflect several times. The fact that she was able to defend herself in our reality, but that when put into the context of a paranormal one she was weak and harmless made her all the more real to me.

Through all her trials, adventures, fortunes and misfortunes, unlike most characters who adapt quickly to the knew knowledge, Danielle remained faithful to her beliefs, ideals and female squirmishness.
From what would appear a very simple and easy to understand character, I would not have expected the depth and incredible number of facets that I found. Danielle's simplicity was endearing and eye opening, making me dwell and appreciate aspects of a paranormal romance and situations I had not previously considered.

Ofcourse this series would not be complete unless our Austen-like fan, found her corresponding Mr Darcy.

Ethan was a worthy Mr Darcy alter-ego for this paranormal romance. Forever a gentleman despite the course of centuries having passed him by, he held fast to his upbringing, ideals and traditions. The only modern thing about him were his clothes (which he had no choice in unless he wanted to arouse suspicion and generate medical mental health interest) and his love for his cars. I found his jealous and slightly possessive streak surprisingly sweet and funny, considering he had nothing to fear as Danielle had eyes for no other.
He was a Mr Darcy attempting to adapt to the current century whilst desperately trying to cling to his ways of life, and I loved every second I read of it. He was a night in regular clothing but who knew how to wield a sword, treat a girl like a lady and get any parents' blessing. What can I say, he was without a doubt too good to be true.
True to his century he was looking for someone special, a girl and not a tomboy; someone to whom he'd be willing to give the world and his life.

Unlike most romances, Ethan and Danielle didn't fight what they felt for each other. They knew it to be true and real, which is all that mattered to them. What they did have to fight was everyone else, to preserve what they had and their future.

Cheri Schmidt narrated their sweetly moving story, that revealed itself to be more than I expected. Confronting present day issues and morals, the more I read the more I enjoyed it.
I particularly appreciated Cheri Schmidt's ability to describe beautifully romantic scenes that made me feel at peace whilst sitting alongside the characters.

Everything about this series screamed Jane Austen, from the setting, the manner of speaking, down to the behavioural quirks. Being an admirer of Jane Austen's work, narrative style and storyline I very much enjoyed this series. Unlike most paranormal romances which are described as forever but feel more like an immediate lightning passion, The Fateful series spoke of a steady strong burn that would last forever where it counts the most: heart and mind.

The Fateful series was a sweet and tender paranormal romance that I would recommend to anyone in search for a tale of modern nights in shining armour with a hint of magic."

Still curious about this series? Maybe you could try Sophia's Cookbook for Mortals which contains excerpts and real recipes used by the characters of these novels. 

The recipe for the fairy cake pictured here is included. They're filled with homemade lemon curd and are simply divine....

If you've already read and loved The Fateful Trilogy, then enter the giveaway only for my readers that is posted on my Fateful Facebook fan page and win a signed copy!!!

Where to find my books:

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/cheri-schmidt?store=ALLPRODUCTS&keyword=cheri+schmidt

Kobo:
http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=cheri+schmidt

Amazon:
USA
http://www.amazon.com/Fateful-ebook/dp/B004VT0RJK/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1
UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fateful/dp/B004VT0RJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1303005553&sr=8-1
Germany
http://www.amazon.de/Fateful-Book-Series-ebook/dp/B004VT0RJK
Italy
http://www.amazon.it/Fateful-Book-Series-ebook/dp/B004VT0RJK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1337779900&sr=8-1
Spain
http://www.amazon.es/Fateful-Book-Series-ebook/dp/B004VT0RJK/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337779955&sr=1-2
France
http://www.amazon.fr/Fateful-Book-Series-ebook/dp/B004VT0RJK

If you'd rather have print, discounted copies are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and for free international shipping, get your books from The Book Depository. Of course, signed copies, that include a handmade beaded bookmark, are also available from my website. ;)

Happy reading and thank you so much for visiting my blog! For many more chances to win free stuff, go here I Am a Reader, Not a Writer, or here Reading Teen!

Fictional people, real places - Van Kampen Gardens

Guest post by Cheri's husband....

So Cheri is very busy trying to get the 2nd book of the Fateful series, Fractured, released as well as finish the cover for both Fractured and Fair Maiden. As such, I'm going to take this opportunity to give you a bit of background on some of the factual places in Cheri's fictional book Fateful.


Like most books the people in Cheri's books are fictional but they are placed in real places, or at least environments based on real places, though probably tweaked by her imagination. In Chapter 4 of Fateful we are introduced to a place called Van Kampen Gardens.

To tell this story we'll go back to April of 2009. It was our 20th Anniversary and Cheri dreamed of going to England. With a large collection of frequent flyer miles and hotel credits from my business travels we cashed them in and spent two wonderful weeks travelling all over England.


Cheri was finished with Fateful, which was written some time in 07-08, and was looking for an agent or publisher. She had studied this garden remotely over the internet and we purposely picked this as a stop on our trip. This is a beautiful Garden. Unfortunately for us spring had not yet sprung so while the garden was beautiful, it had not fully bloomed.


Just as there is in the book there is a huge wisteria arch that runs through the gardens. Yet as you can see below there were no blooms or green on it yet.




And of course there was a maze. This is the archway and door that lead to the start of the maze.





And of course there is a tower in the middle of the maze.






The area of the gardens is very flat. And from the tower you can see the entire garden and of course the entire maze.





The tower has a secret exit that runs under the maze and deposits you into a garden that is hidden and secluded.



We sort of wished that we could have seen the garden at it's peak. I'm sure we'll try to get back here some day.




We visited the gardens twice in as many days. We took over 400 pictures. For a final bit of trivia it is very probable that many of Cheri's ancestors knew of this place. And even a bit strange, Cheri didn't know she had so many ancestors who lived near here when she chose the location for her book. She only discovered the connection afterward.

Cheri's Great Grandfather was born near here in 1824. For over 180 years prior to that her ancestors called the surrounding area just west of this garden home. In fact, her 2nd Great Grandfather is buried only about 4 miles from this garden. As we visited the area we had to wonder what those ancestors knew of this place and wondered if they had any interaction with it.

If you haven't already picked up a copy of Fateful go get it while it's on sale for .99 cents. It will not be at the price forever....


In closing I just want to say thank you to all of you who have purchased Cheri's book. Keep an eye out for some new books within the next week or sooner. - Drew