blog tag – Selina J. Eckert

Happy weekend (end of the weekend) everyone! Today to continue the fantasy month fun, I’m going to do the Fantasy Creatures Blog Tag by Jenelle Schmidt! Thanks, Jenelle! If anyone would like to play this game, consider yourself tagged and click through to Jenelle’s post for the list of rules and a “clean” set of questions. 🙂

And now, without further ado, the Fantasy Creatures Blog Tag!

1. In a strange twist of fate, you are transported into a fantasy realm of your choice. The catch? You have also been transformed into your least favorite fantasy creature. Where are you, and what are you?

Ooo, such an interesting question! So for me, I absolutely hate vampires, so I suppose I am a vampire.

But fantasy realm of my choice? That’s a bit harder. As discussed last week, I really love urban fantasy, but those realms are so close to our own. So…I think I’d end up in Anne Bishop’s The Others.

First off, as a vampire, I’d be one of the Sanguinati, which is a bit better than traditional vampires. They still have accents and dress very old world and drink blood, but they can turn into clouds of vapor and drift around. Also, the supernatural creatures are in charge! Fear us, humans!

2. What fantasy creature do you wish featured in more stories? What is your favorite story that has that creature in it?

I know these are both becoming a bit more common, but I want more mermaids and more kitsune (or fox shifters).

For mermaids, my favorite is absolutely the Lost Voices trilogy by Sarah Porter. They are SO GOOD, and the mythology around the development of mermaids is so sad but also so gratifying: those deeply betrayed by humanity are embraced by the ocean and become mermaids, no matter where they decide they are no longer part of the human race. It’s about finding acceptance and peace after having a life where a girl has had neither.

As for kitsune…I’m still looking for a favorite, so if you have one, be sure to share it below! There are a couple on my list, like Wicked Fox and Kitsune-Tsuki, but I haven’t gotten to read them yet. And I can’t list Janeen Ippolito’s Steel City Genie, because even though she HAS a kitsune (half-kitsune), she’s a secondary character.

3. As you are reading this, a voice rings in your ear proclaiming:

A hero true, a leader strong,
A quest is where you do belong,
So arm thyself, and take your stand
With an item to your left your fate is at hand.

Besides the fact that this prophetic voice is clearly incapable of sticking to a meter, what ordinary item do you now find yourself armed with? (And, for bonus points, what helpful magical properties does it now possess that will help you on your quest?)

I’m sitting kind of weird, so to my left is actually my purse. And guess what? It’s now a bag of holding. BOOM.

4. You happen across an ad in a catalogue promising a magical fantasy cruise that will allow you to stop in any three realms of your choice and explore each for several days before returning you home (and the ad promises your safe return or your money back, guaranteed!) Assuming this is not a hoax and that the tour guides will actually be able to cater to your requests, what three realms will you tour and what do you hope to see/who would you like to meet along the way?

Realm 1: The Others, again. I just love those books. I want to see/meet Simon and Meg for sure, and I’d love to meet the Elemental girls! I’ll have to see Lakeside as well as the retreat for the Others in Lake Silence.

Realm 2: The Siren by Kiera Cass…I want to meet the Ocean. Ocean is an actual character that speaks to the siren girls, and it’s such an interesting and well-done concept, and the Ocean has such a fascinating personality.

Realm 3: How could I not say the world of Harry Potter? I would have loved to meet Lupin and see Diagon Alley and Hogwarts and meet the Weasleys.

5. Congratulations! You are a fantasy hero/heroine about to start your adventure. You get to choose a small fantasy creature to accompany and assist you on your quest. Who/what do you choose?

Hi yes, I will choose a niffler. Might be a terrible idea, but they’re just so cute!

6. Elves or dwarves?

Hard question, but I think I’d go with Dwarves!

7. Do you prefer your dragons (we had to have at least one question devoted solely to dragons!) good or evil or a mix of both?

I prefer my dragons good, like the metallic dragons in Dungeons and Dragons. I’d love some fierce creatures to help me on my quests!

8. World building is a complicated undertaking full of many details. As a reader, what is a small detail you really appreciate seeing when it comes to diving into a new realm? What is something that helps you lose yourself in a fantasy world?

I love seeing that the writer thought out things like idioms and sayings that fit with the world they characters are familiar with, phrases that reference the religion or fairy tales of the culture. It helps ground me (and helps me lose myself) in the fantasy world.

9. You have been transformed into your favorite fantasy creature. Problem is… you’re still in your own bedroom and your family is downstairs, completely unprepared for this shock. What creature are you, and how (if at all) do you break the news to your loved ones? (Or how do you get out of your room?)

Though I love kitsune, I’ll go with mermaids because it’s more interesting for this question and giving me serious H2O vibes (Love that show forever!).

Okay, so I transform into a mermaid, and I can’t really hide that, soooo…they’ll find out! I won’t be able to get out of my room without help anyway. I’ll just let them be surprised. 😉

Concluding thoughts

Just a reminder that you are free to participate in this tag on your own blogs! Also, don’t forget to check out the fantasy month post to look for information on the giveaways, games, and other participating posts for the month!

And please share some of your own answers with me below!

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 by Savannah Grace over at Inspiring Writes, and it does come with a few rules:

Link back to the blogger who created the tag (see Savannah Grace’s blog above)
Thank the blogger who tagged you (technically I accepted Jenelle Schmidt’s open tag…so thank you!)
Share the tag graphic (see the post header)
Tag 11 other bloggers (like I said, I’m just going to tag all of you who want to participate!)
Don’t feed this tag after midnight-oh wait, that’s Gremlins, you say? Okay, this isn’t really a rule for the tag.

Without further ado, my answers!

vital stats and appearance

Name: Selina J. Eckert

Nickname: I have many, but the most common one is Lina

Birthday: March 4

Hair color/length: I have dark brown hair, straight with a part on the right side. It’s about mid-back length now, but at one time it was waist-length, and more recently it was shoulder-length.

Eye color: brown, like a cola brown

Braces/piercings/tattoos: I had braces until my very last day of 8th grade. No tattoos, but I have my ear lobes double pierced. I usually only wear one set of earrings though.

Righty or lefty: Righty

Ethnicity: Mostly German and Pennsylvania German (PA Dutch…who aren’t Dutch, FYI), also Welsh

firsts

First novel written: I think it was sometime in elementary school, when I was obsessed with Westerns and tried to write my own on folded up computer paper. I made it through Chapter 1 and a drawing for the cover!

First novel completed: Back in middle school, I wrote a sci-fi novel heavily influenced by Star Trek starring a female captain and largely female crew. Even back then, I wanted more female protagonists! I can’t remember the title now, but it involved a scary alien race who lived on a rogue planet named Pitch and ate people…

Yeah, the book was terrible. BUT it was the first thing I ever finished, and I was really proud of it! It still lives somewhere, I just can’t remember where the binder ended up. Because yes, I printed it off and stuck it in a binder and that is the only surviving copy.

Award for writing: None yet, though I was a two-time finalist in Rooglewood Press’s fairy tale retelling contests! I’m going to get those short stories out in an upcoming anthology (hint hint).

First publication: If we’re talking novels, that would be my indie book This Cursed Flame that just came out two weeks ago! If we’re talking in general, I won an essay contest back in middle school for a bank that got published in the local paper. I got a plaque out of it, too.

Conference: As a reader, I went to BookCon in 2018. It was fantastic. I had wanted to go for years and finally had a friend to go with! As a writer, I went to a conference in Philly in I think 2017.

Query/pitch: I started querying This Cursed Flame in maybe 2014? 2015? I can’t remember. But I eventually pitched it at a writer’s conference, got a slightly positive response, then silence in 2017 and pulled it to rewrite and indie publish.

favorites

Novel (that you wrote): Honestly, it’s the one I’m working on now, Sea of Broken Glass. I feel like my answer will constantly change as I write more.

Genre: Fantasy.

Authors: Brandon Sanderson, Rainbow Rowell, Patricia Briggs, Anne Bishop, A. L. Knorr…I’m sure there are more, but I can’t think of them right now.

Writing music: I don’t usually listen to music, but if I do, it’s typically whatever has been stuck in my head most recently. Or I will just use ambient sounds (thank you Coffivity and Rainy Mood, my two favs). But most of the time it’s silence or the TV in the background.

Time to write: I don’t really get to pick. I write in whatever time I have available, since I work a day job on top of my writing career.

Writing snack/drink: I don’t really snack while writing, but I will drink things like water, milk, soda, tea, and coffee. It really depends where I am and what time of day it is.

Movie: Tangled. Followed closely by Moana.

Favorite writing memory: I think my favorite memories are during grad school when I would get home from school, sit down with my computer, and write ALL NIGHT. I finished 3 novel drafts in like four months. It was amazing. And I’ve never been able to do it again.

Childhood book: The Adam Raccoon series by Glen Keane (yes, the Disney Glen Keane). If we’re talking novel, I did read Treasure Island about six times during middle school, so you do that math. 😉

currently

Writing: Oh boy.

Sea of Broken Glass, my YA fantasy sister story.
Of the Clouds, my Rapunzel retelling releasing in August.
A fairy tale retelling short story anthology.
A secret new novel that takes place in PA coal country (think The Raven Boys).
AND the next This Curse book: This Cursed Shadow.

Listening to: I am always listening to RED and Twenty-One Pilots. I am obsessed.

Watching: Kim’s Convenience on Netflix. Bob’s Burgers.

Learning: I’m working on the ACES editing certification. I’m also always learning biology things at work. I’m learning marketing and writing for my writing career. I’m learning how to be a better person, sister, daughter, wife. I am learning how to use watercolors better.

future

Want to be published: I am indie published! Check out Amazon (or Goodreads, or any other major retailer)! But I also want to be traditionally published with Sea of Broken Glass.

Indie or traditional: I want to be what’s called a hybrid author. That is, I want to be both indie and traditionally published.

Wildest goal: I’d call this more a dream, but I’d love to one day be a bestselling author.

Final Thoughts

That was fun! It’s so nice to look back on how far I’ve come and where I still want to go. If you participate in the tag, let me know. Otherwise, hop into the comments and tell me some fun facts about yourself!

Thanks for reading!