Today we're hosting a stop on the blog tour for Selina J. Eckert's This Cursed Flame.
Read on to find out more!!!!
Releasing on April 27th, enter the world of djinn and genies with This Cursed Flame by Selina J. Eckert! While inspired by the classic sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, this book features a world all its own, with political intrigue, warring magic, and fierce female friendships and mentorships.
Check out the blurb!
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 him ever since. Worlds away, high school honors student Laurelin just wants to get into the chemistry program of her dreams.
When Laurelin discovers a crystal bottle that sucks her into the djinn realm, the girls find themselves working together to escape Janan's creator and get Laurelin back home. But war is brewing in the djinn realm-a rebellion led by the same evil djinn they've been trying to escape. And he is determined to rule both the djinn and the human realms. As his creation, Janan is the one person standing in his way.
But to stop him, Janan must learn to overcome the fears he instilled in her and embrace her own dark magic while Laurelin must accept that some things are more important than an A+. Now, they will have to trust each other, and themselves, to stop the encroaching evil. Otherwise, both the human and djinn realms will fall to the tide of death and dark magic this war will unleash.
And if that isn’t enough for you, how about an exclusive excerpt?
She pulled the bottle out gingerly, setting it on her desk’s shelf. She turned it slightly so that it caught the beam of sunlight from her window. Even in the dim sunlight filtering through her blinds, the bottle sparkled and glowed with a life all its own. She found herself staring at it again, drawn to some mysterious quality that seemed to possess her. The sounds from downstairs, the yells and gunshots from the game, faded into the background.
Nothing existed but the bottle.
For the first time, she noticed the stopper. In the church library, it had appeared to be a simple crystal top, but here she could see that it was actually a separate piece of crystal containing flecks of silver, a lot like mercury glass or an antique mirror. Like the rest of the bottle, it glittered in the light, though most of the natural light in her room had dimmed like the sounds from downstairs. The bottle’s inner light grew brighter as she watched, drowning out the brilliant afternoon sun.
She reached a hand toward it. The bottle was a living thing, a siren call she couldn’t resist. Its many facets filled her sea green eyes, and a roaring blocked her ears as it called to her.
She was mesmerized.
“Linny!” a voice yelled. “What’s taking so long? We really need you here!”
Laurelin snapped out of the trance. As she turned to leave, her eye caught the clock on her nightstand. 4:42. How did she lose so much time just looking at that bottle? Shaking her head, bewildered, she closed the bedroom door behind her and galloped down the stairs.
She settled into the couch and grabbed a controller while their mom called in a pizza order in the kitchen fit for four hungry teenagers. Between the intensity of the game and the savory smells filling the house when food finally arrived, the bottle and its irresistible call were forgotten.
This Cursed Flame releases on April 27th, and you can preorder it now at Amazon or any other major retailer! Or, add it to your Goodreads shelf! And be sure to head over to Facebook for the launch party on April 27th!
About the Author
Selina is a biologist-by-day, writer-by-night native of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband, dog, and two cats and spends her time writing, reading, creating art, and dreaming about fictional worlds. Besides writing and sciencing, Selina also runs an author support business, Paper Cranes, LLC, that provides editing, consulting, and mapmaking services to authors, writers, and students. She has written two fairy-tale retelling short stories that were both finalists in Rooglewood Press short story contests and an exclusive fantasy short story, “Queen of Mist and Fog,” available through her newsletter. This Cursed Flame is her first novel.
Selina can be found online on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, her blog, and through her email newsletter.
