Dede Sophie

CONGRATS TO LUCKY WINNER – MARIE! Readers, please join me welcoming Chelsea Quinn Yarbro , author of the popular Saint Germain series who’s guest blogging here today! If you have not read the series, Quinn Yarbro is well-known for her impeccable historical research and her Saint-Germain books are among her most popular works. This past summer, Quinn was a co-recipient of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association. She was also the first woman to be named a Living Legend by the International Horror Guild (2006) and she is one of two women to be named a Grand Master of the World Horror Convention (2003). Her latest book is  Burning Shadows. More information can be found on http://www.chelseaquinnyarbro.net . Saint Germain and a Star’s Entrance  In any long-running series about a single character, it is important to give that character a star’s entrance in every book — that is, a way of introducing the character to the reader in such a way ...

Ok, so I accept that ‘why I hate exotic gardens’ is a bit strong in this context (especially the ‘hate’ part) but I do get really frustrated in the Spring by the lack of seasonal interest in tropical effect gardens. Of course Lorna does not agree with me but I feel I have made a decent case against what appears to be the current fashion. If you are going to plant up a strictly exotic garden then you will have a long wait until you have a rich and fulfilling display of plants. In most cases this won’t happen until about June which means you have to wait a good three months while your plants sit and wait (mostly underground) until it is warm enough for them to emerge, sprout, blom etc. This is all well and good in a public display, where you have set you certain arbitrary parameters, as you have a choice not to visit it. However when you trying to achieve this in a private garden you are going to have to get used to a desolate show for the entire spring! If y...