Selina J. Eckert's Blog, page 10

Making My Own Luck

Lately I’ve been reading The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman. If you’ve never heard of Jane Friedman, I’d definitely suggest looking her up, particularly if you want to make writing a career. She’s got some great advice and information for the business side of things.

Anyway, one of the things she talks about early in the book is the idea that part of success is luck. Well, yeah, we already talked about that back in March.

But more than that, she cited a study from the University...

Get to Know Me Tag

So I saw this over on Jenelle Schmidt’s blog, and it looked like a ton of fun and something you guys might enjoy! Besides that, my first book baby is out in the world now, and new people are finding my website every day. So today, I am going to participate in the Get to Know Me Tag game (Writer’s Edition) and give you all the inside scoop about Selina.

And if you want to participate, I’m tagging YOU. Throw your link in the comments below!

This tag (if I’m understanding correctly) was created...

Do I Need a Sensitivity Reader?

There has been more and more discussion lately about the utility and necessity of sensitivity readers. And, friends, not all of it encourages me.

Recently, I saw a poll on Facebook asking fellow authors if they would let a sensitivity reader edit their work. And the answers (as well as the phrasing of the poll question) kind of concern me. Many of the responses were along the lines of “absolutely not!” and “I would never want to filter my writing for these sensitive snowflakes!”

Writer friend...

Happy Book Birthday!!!

Happy book birthday to This Cursed Flame!

This book is finally out in the world and touching people’s lives! It’s been such a long journey, and I am so so thankful for all the people who have contributed along the way. There is a full list of people who have helped me in the acknowledgements section of my book, but I absolutely want to take a minute to thank my husband, family, friends, and all the professionals who have worked with me since the book’s story seed in 2011.

And thank you, reade...

This Cursed Flame Blog Tour: Behind the Scenes

Today I had thought about showing you the development of the cover for This Cursed Flame, but instead, you can learn all about that on Saturday with Savannah Jezowski, the wonderful cover artist who actually did the work, over at the Facebook party (PS don’t forget to RSVP)!

So that left me to wonder: what behind-the-scenes looks would you guys want to see??? What about the research process for this book?

I started this particular story way back in 2011, so my research methods have changed a...

This Cursed Flame Character Interview: Janan

Today is day two of This Cursed Flame’s blog tour! So far we had a lovely book spotlight by H. L. Burke and a first look at the opening chapter. Today I want to dive in a little deeper and talk with one of our main characters, Janan. But don’t forget to head back to the masterpost to keep following all the posts as they come out each day. There’s plenty of material to keep you all content in this final week before release!

Now, without any more delay, here’s Janan!

Hello, Janan. Welcome to th...

This Cursed Flame: First Chapter!

Hey all! Welcome to the first stop on the This Cursed Flame Blog Tour! I can’t wait for you to see all the bonus content leading up to the release on Saturday, and what better way to start than to share the first chapter with everyone?

But first, here’s the blurb!

[image error]Look at this gorgeous cover!!!

Sometimes we put ourselves in the bottle…

Six years ago, Janan was transformed into a genie by an evil djinn, ripping her away from her home, her life, and her humanity. She has been on the run from hi...

Blog Tour: This Cursed Flame!

Today is a very special day (also, happy Easter for those of you celebrating, and happy 1 year anniversary to my other half)!

My debut is less than a week away, and now we get to celebrate its release! Today marks the kickoff of the blog tour for This Cursed Flame. Some very kind bloggers/authors have agreed to help me celebrate with a number of posts that I hope you will all find interesting.

Here’s the schedule:

April 21

S. J. Eckert – Blog Tour Announcement
S. J. Eckert – Book Spotlight and...

The Creation of a Story: This Cursed Flame Edition

Last week, to get us into the spirit for This Cursed Flame‘s release, we discussed some of my favorite genie books (by the way, I definitely missed The Midnight Sea by Kat Ross… so good, but not traditional genies. They’re called daevas, but they share some traits with mythological djinn.).

This week, though, I want to go over the development of This Cursed Flame, from story seed to the version that is up for pre-order on Amazon and all other major retailers now. Buckle in, folks. It’s been a...

My Favorite Genie Books

We are just over two weeks away from the release of This Cursed Flame (and only a week and a weekend away from the start of the blog tour, starting April 21). So for the next two Fridays, I’ll be sharing things related to the book!

Today I want to talk about some of my favorite books and series that deal with djinn and genies. Genies aren’t common creatures for authors to use, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some really great stories out there that have them!

So without further ado, let’s...