Welcome, Shereen Vedam

Welcome, Shereen. I'm so glad you could stop by and chat with me today! I've got lots of questions to ask, so I'll just jump right into the interview.


First, how long does it typically take you to finish a writing project?

A short story (~10 words) – 1 month for a rough first draft
A novel (~90,000 words) – 8-9 months for a rough first draft
Editing takes as long as it needs to take.

Did you always know you wanted to be an author?

No. I wanted to be a wildlife field guide, a zoologist, a veterinarian, but became an animal health technician, a secretary and a data coordinator.

Becoming an author came as a complete and shocking surprise. I’m still in recovery.

Can you tell us anything about what you’re working on now?

A fantasy regency novel set in 1815. It deals with an alternative history about witches and warlocks and what those witch trials from the 1400-1700s may really have been about.

The story takes place in Britain, moving from London to Callington, Cornwall, to Fishguard Wales and delves into the folklore of those people and places.

Oh, and the hero is a church guard and the heroine is a witch.

What can I say? I like challenges.

Tell us a little bit about your latest release, please.

Last year was a busy year for releases. I had three short stories come out - all fantasies.

Baron of Dragon’s Reach…
is about a young woman who made a grave mistake, and while desperately trying to correct it, she lands herself in even worse trouble.
The lesson here is that sometimes facing your problems is better than running from it. And love always has its own agenda.

Daughter of the Sorcerer King…
is about a sorceress princess searching for her identity when the role she trained all of her life to play is ripped away from her.
The lesson here is to understand there is a world bigger than then one we enclose ourselves in. And sometimes a girl needs a grieving dragon, a precocious child and a handsome knight to help her realize that.

Dragon Dreams…
is part of the Cat Tales anthology. In this urban fantasy short story, a burnt out veterinarian starts to hallucinate (or so she thinks) about being transported into an alternate world.
The lesson here is that loneliness is often a state of mind and to receive friendship and love, we must first be willing to freely share it.

Any advice for an author just starting out on the writer’s journey?
What you think you need to learn is like sighting the tip of an iceberg. Be prepared for a lifetime of learning.

What are your hobbies?

Kayaking, horseback riding, foreign travel, gardening and reading. Almost got killed riding a crazy Andalucian (look, I’m a race horse) mare in Spain once.

What’s your most comfortable outfit? Are you a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of person or a dressier sort?

I’m a shorts-and-t-shirt-and sandals gal. I’ve been known to go out into a back yard buried in two feet of snow in sandals and shorts to re-fill the birdseed feeder.

In the house, shoes or bare feet?

Bare feet.

What are you reading now?

The other short stories in the Cat Tales Anthology, edited by George H. Scithers. There are some awesome stories in there.

Do you speak a foreign language?

I took French in high school, but only remember a few words. I grew up in a household that spoke Tamil (a south Indian language). I can understand it well enough but can’t speak it. It’s developed into a kind of one-way translation.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?

My stories have magic and witches and spells, with the occasional dragon tossed in, all spiced by that unruly, terrifying and heady experience of falling in love.

Shereen, thank you so much for visiting today. I enjoyed getting to know you, and hearing about your writing.

Readers, find out more about Shereen by visiting the website:
www.shereenvedam.com