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.

Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop December 21st to 31st

Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Bookhounds

December 21st to 31st

 

 

A special Holiday message from Cheri to you...

This may seem unconventional, but this time of year can be emotionally difficult for so many, especially if you’ve suffered any sort of tragedy in your life. I’ll admit I’m one who struggles with finding peace this time of year... Sometimes we all just need a mental escape from the things that drag down our spirits. So just for a short time, take a break from reality with me. Let me take you to a world of fantasy so you can forget your cares momentarily. And then when you get back to the realities of life, I hope you might feel like your broken heart has had a chance to heal even partially, or even in some small way. At least that is my heartfelt wish.

 

Winner will be able to choose any one of these prizes:

~A Kindle eBook copy of The Fateful Series box set, valued at 8.99, which will include: Fateful, Fractured, Forever, Sophia's  Cookbook for Mortals, and The Order of Curse-Bound Knights (Soon to be released! If this prize is chosen, it will be awarded on the release date. USA only.)

 OR

 

~Danielle's Fairy Necklace as described in Forever. It will magically keep wicked pixies away...and werewolves...perhaps. Valued at $34.99. (This is handmade and will be shipped after it is made. USA only.)

OR

 

~An audiobook copy of either Fateful or Fractured as produced by Tristan Hunt from Audible, valued at $19.95-$24.95. (Listen to the samples right now. ;) This prize is available to USA and UK customers.)

 

 And check back later when I'll be posting a preview of

The Order of Curse-Bound Knights.

 

Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Only one option is required to enter.

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Holiday Giveaways

Even more Free stuff for my mailing list subscribers during the Holidays...

Even win an eBook copy of The Order of Curse-Bound Knights
...my newest novel, soon to be released!

I'm choosing two winners a week!

Sign up here.

New on audio. Fractured book 2 in the Fateful Series.

Actor Tristan Hunt (AKA Jason Downs) is currently producing all of Cheri's books into audio.

Fateful is the first title to be released in this format, and Fractured is available NOW!

Audio of Cheri's books are available from Amazon, Audible, or iTunes.

And if you're new to Audible, you can get it for FREE! Then if you become an AudibleListener® member on Audible, you can get all of the other books for a discount. Once you've listened to how Tristan portrays these characters, I think you'll be hooked, and then you'll want to listen to everything else he does... (At least that is what everyone is telling me so far. I've actually had readers come up to me in a panic checking to make he really is doing the other books after they've listened to Fateful.)

Praise for Tristan's performance:

First, I am usually wary about listening to the audible version of books especially because I love to leave the character’s personalities to my own imagination. Schmidt (author) and Tristan (narrator) definitely changed my opinion for this book as I both read and listened to the story. I can’t express enough my unexpected surprise at how well the audio version portrayed the story SO closely to what I envisioned. ~The BookStalker Reviewed

Tristan Hunt is, in my opinion, THE Jim Dale of Fantasy Romance. ~Cassandra

The writing was thrilling and engaging all the way through! The narrator did an outstanding job with presenting to emotions and mood of each character. Oh la la for sure! ~A. C.

It's so romantic, and the narrator does a great job! Tristan brings emotion to the story. I love reading the book, but having a real person narrate the story really brings it to life. It makes it a lot more exciting. ~Heather

The narrator was great! I love when he switched to his “American Girly” voice! Great plot, Great characters, Great Narrator. What else can I say but GREAT! ~KSWilde

*fans self* If Tristan Hunt decides to read the phone book, I'm in! Fabulous reader. Loved his accents--he did American really well. Loved the way he handled the various scenes and gave a slight though fun twist to the voices of some of the more common characters. I hate when male readers take the female voices too high and make them almost a mockery. Tristan does the females voices very well. ~D. R. Weaver

Which character – as performed by Tristan Hunt – was your favourite? Danielle's uncle Nick, there was a part were he was telling a story and Tristan spoke in such a perfect tone that even I felt shivers. If you could sum up Fateful in three words, what would they be? Emotional, beautiful and soulful. If you prefer audio books then get the first book right now, narrated perfectly by Tristan Hunt. Definitely a 5 star rating from me. ~Beks in the UK

And if you'd like to read my interview over on The Book Stalker, go here.

Thanks for dropping by!

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