I
actually have two things going on at the same time, and I have promised a
friend of mine, Judith Victoria Douglas, for quite some time to do the Liebster
Blog Challenge, so I have combined two activities in one. Also, there was a blog
giveaway a couple of days ago, hosted by Rebecca Sweeney Graf, where the winner would receive a copy of
my book The Metamorphosis of a Muslim. The event was hosted at Rebecca’s blog, and the goal was for the reader to find as many clues as they could within
my blog. The details were at Rebecca's blog:
http://www.abookloverslibrary.com/33/post/2013/02/author-hunt-lena-seder.html
A lucky winner has already won an authographed copy of my novel. Thanks to everyone who joined in the blog giveaway, and a great big thanks to Rebecca for hosting the event!
Also,
the Liebster Blog Challenge is still up to those writers who are able. Please, read on to learn more about me and to see the links to my friends' blogs.
Eleven Facts about Lena Winfrey Seder
I have
three sons and one daughter.
I hold a
purple belt in Taekwondo.
English
is my native language, but I can also speak, read and write in Arabic, and I
know some Spanish, too. I love to study languages.
I grew up
in a small town in Virginia. My origins are from Irish, German, Scottish, and
English roots as well as a touch of Italian. My kids have quite a mix from
their father as well.
I lived
in Jordan, Sudan and Ghana as well as visiting Asia (Malaysia) and other Middle
Eastern countries (like Egypt and Syria) and Europe (Italy). Currently I live in Florida, enjoying the sun
and palm trees!
I used to
play the clarinet and the piano growing up, and I studied voice and piano in
college. I ended up with a minor in music and almost completed a minor in
drama. I even took two courses in ballet in college.
I love
chocolate, especially dark chocolate, and I love to have coffee with it. I need
my coffee to wake up in the morning.
Our
family used to own a parrot while in Ghana along with a turtle and some fish.
Our parrot was red and grey, and he finally learned to speak before I moved and
had to leave him behind.
I used to
act in college plays as well as do prop work, set construction and whatever
else was needed. Currently, I’m working with local movie groups to learn more
about the craft, and to practice the art of movie making.
I grew up
like an only child since my brother is 15 ½ years older than me and my
half-sister is 22 years older than me.
Things I
love: the color purple, red and pink roses,
all types of music including classical
and rock, playing chess (though I’m still learning from my sons), writing (all
types of genres including poetry), the smell of jasmine and roses as perfume,
filmmaking (passionate about it), family outings with my kids and relatives,
doing things with my friends, volunteer work with kids (I volunteer at my kids’
school), driving (feeling of freedom when on the highway), reading (a variety
of materials), and many other things.
I am adding to this challenge today, as they say “killing two birds with one stone.” I have a blog
give away challenge through Rebecca Graf.
I am giving away a copy of my book to the person who can find the most
clues. Some of the clues are hidden in my blog page, some in my bio on the blog
page and some in this blog post. Whoever can answer the most questions, wins a
copy of my book.
Some odd and extra facts about me:
Because
my mother and I share the first same name (due to my Dad wanting to name me
‘Lena’ after my mother), I grew up being called by my middle name. Most of my family and high school friends
still call me ‘Annette.’ And I actually
had another nick-name for a bit; a friend of mine while I was in college called
me ‘Queenie’ because I used to call home and give my mother a list (orders) of
my favorite foods that I would come to pick up or wanted when I’d have lunch
with the family. Those were definitely fun days!
As far as
the meaning of my name, Lena has
different meanings according to language. It is both an Arabic and Hebrew name.
It has been used in various forms in different languages like Helena, Elena, Eileen,
and so forth. It means in Hebrew “dwelling or lodging” while in Latin it means
the “alluring one.” In Arabic it is found in the Quran; it means “delicate” and
also it refers to “the branch of a palm tree that gives dates.” In
Scandinavian, it means “torch” or “something that shows light and leads to the
path.”
As a
child, I dreamed of being an actress, a singer, a pianist and even a
super-hero. However, I spent a couple of years studying and reading about
archaeology, and it was my dream to go to Ancient Egypt as an archaeologist so
I could dig up some mummies. But because I don’t care much for snakes, that
kind of changed my mind, along with other things. I still find hieroglyphics
fascinating, and I love learning different languages; kind of like a hobby.
Writing
is my main job and passion these days, and without reading, one cannot become a
great writer. I love reading a variety of books, so I read for all genres as
long as the book is a good book. I enjoy discovering fresh, new styles and will
read biographies, science-fiction, drama, mystery, thrillers, paranormal and
even scientific books; I’m fascinated with genetics. The first book I read in
2013 was actually a combination of two novels: I started The Book of Paul by Richard
Long, which I’m still reading on and hope to finish soon. It is an amazing, breath-taking
novel that is shocking beyond words. The other book that I started along with
it and actually finished was The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice; this was an amazing
book as well. I enjoyed the story and the fact that Rice did something new and
unusual about the werewolf legends. Great novel!
As a kid,
I read for many different authors. As I said before, I love variety and even as
a child I would read different genres. I read Dune while in high school. I
enjoyed Agatha Christie, and I read most of the Nancy Drew books in the series
back then. However, the most influential author that impacted me and my writing
style (and I read most of his novels) is Ernest Hemingway. Truly an interesting
and great writer!
If you
want to know what book I’m working on now, please refer back to my previous
posts; a month ago or so I wrote a post detailing my Work in Progress (WIP)
involving the Clara Walker Series. This
one I hope will become a movie one day.
As a
child I used to have an imaginary friend; many children do. Mine was named
‘Timmy,’ and my Mom would let him ‘sit’ in one of the empty chairs. She allowed
me to have freedom in my imagination, and that is why I think I can come up
with so many great ideas. She allowed me to dream. Dreaming is good, but one
needs to work hard to make dreams become a reality, especially as far as one’s
career is concerned. Anything is possible!
I had
pets growing up. My brother’s pet was a boxer named King. He was huge! He liked
my Mom the best. Then, growing up we had a dog named Prince, which more or less
was my dog. He was a mixed pup that was black and white with a touch of brown.
They stayed outside in their dog houses. Then, I had three cats at different
times who all came from the same ‘family.’ I had Whitey (a white Persian with
green eyes), but he got out and was poisoned by someone. He was smart. I had
taught him how to jump rope, and he used to climb up the screen door and ring
the doorbell. Then there was his sister, who was grey, named Kiss Kat. After
she had a litter of kittens, I kept one of them and named him Muffin (black and
white). He got out one day and it appears was taken. I never saw him again. Of
course, I was very sad. Then, my kids talked us into getting a parrot when we
lived in Ghana (we almost got a monkey but changed our minds). My beautiful
parrot learned to talk (finally, because it took him awhile), but we had to leave
him in Ghana when we moved. We also had a turtle and some fish.
Craziest
thing I’ve ever done; that is a hard one to answer. I have done quite a bit of
crazy and risky things I guess since I’ve travelled practically all over the
world. Probably it was in my freshman year of college; I was with a group of
friends and we played ‘Chinese Stoplight.’
This involves getting out of a car while parked at a red light and
everyone in the car running around, kind of like musical chairs, and getting
back inside before the light changes back. We did that as a group of two cars!
People looked at us like we were ‘crazy!’
But I do not recommend it; looking back in hindsight, indeed that was a
risky thing to have done! Thank God no one was hurt and we didn’t get into trouble!
As far as
spirits or ghosts, I have had the misfortune to have seen a couple of bad
spirits (jinn). Some people believe and some do not, but I know what I saw
while living in Jordan. It occurred twice in the same old house I lived in;
after I moved I didn’t see anything again. They were definitely evil, but when
I recited Qur’an, they left me alone and were gone.
Blog Challenge:
In the
spirit of the Liebster Blog Award, I need to tag other writers/bloggers to
complete this challenge. Please check out their blogs as well. They are
magnificent!
Rules for this challenge are:
1) When you receive
the award you must post eleven random facts about yourself; 2) you must answer
eleven questions posed by the person who nominated you; 3) you pass the award
on to the eleven blogger friends you are nominating, making sure you notify
them of their nominations; 4) you write up eleven new questions for the
bloggers you are nominating (and you cannot nominate the blogger who nominated
you); and finally, 5) you paste the award picture into your blog along with
eleven random facts about yourself and your eleven questions and answers given
by your nominator. (Not much different from the Next Big Thing).
Now my answers to eleven questions
from my friend Judith:
1. If there was one person — real,
fiction or fantasy — you could spend some time talking with, who would it be?
I would have to answer
more than one person; from the real and religious side I would say Khadijah,
the wife of Prophet Muhammed (p), as she was a wise business woman with a kind
generous heart.
From a secular point
of view there are so many writers like Shakespeare, Hemingway, Mary Shelly, and
so forth, but I think I would like to talk to Susan B. Anthony who fought for
women’s right to vote.
As far as fictional,
tough one because I love so many characters!
2. If you could change anything
about yourself, physical, mental, emotional, heritage-wise, anything, what
would it be?
I like a lot of things
about myself, but if I could change something it would probably be to become
bolder and more confident; I spent a portion of my life being a bit shy though
I have broken out of the shell quite a bit. And I would want to be thinner for
not just beauty but health reasons as well. This one is a work in progress, as
I have already lost 26 lbs. and hopefully more to come. I do feel better.
3. What animal, fish or bird, living
or extinct, would you like to know more about, up close and personal, maybe
even as a pet?
I think a peacock
because it is just so beautiful, particularly the male one. If I could actually
see a fictional bird, I would choose the phoenix, which is so strong, beautiful
and majestic!
4. If you could choose your last
meal, and you weren’t in prison at the time, what would it be?
That is a tough one;
maybe a large steak with mashed potatoes with broccoli on the side. Dessert
would be a chocolate cheesecake. And my drink would be mango juice.
5. If English is your primary
language, but you could instantly be fluent in another, what would it be?
It is hard to limit
this wish to one language; I love learning languages. I would probably want to
become more fluent in Arabic, as I already know quite a bit of it. I would love
to know Chinese since it is a difficult language that is becoming increasingly
important in the future.
6. Where in the universe, if not
this planet, would you live if you had a choice and it was actually feasible?
Saturn because I love
its beautiful rings!
7. What object, place or thing do
you equate with your favorite color, and why? Please state your favorite color
so your reasoning will be clear to your readers.
I would have to go to
my dream room in my mind; I would love a bedroom that is done completely in
purple with varying shades. Maybe a bit of lace and pearls. Purple is not only
a royal color, but a spiritual color that seems to help me to calm and
daydream. It inspires me!
8. What movie would you have liked
to play a part, even a minor part if the top slot was taken by your favorite
actor/actress. Name your favorite actor/actress so your readers will be clear
on this, as well.
There are so many, but
I think I would have enjoyed doing Angelina Jolie’s part in Salt. I loved the complex story, and the character
was strong and active. It would have been fun to have done those stunts (and
probably dangerous and ‘crazy,’ but what an adrenalin rush)! My 2nd favorite part would have
been Scarlett Johansen’s part of Black Widow in The Avengers.
9. What book do you wish you had
written? Include why you picked this particular book.
The Harry Potter
series; I love what Rowling does with the characters and how they just play off
each other. I love the story in general. I love stories with strong characters
that make the readers fall in love with the characters and care about what happens
to them.
10. What scientific or social (not
political or religious) endeavor or event would most benefit mankind at this
moment in time? If you say a Space-Alien Invasion, please explain why.
Two very important
movements should be happening at this moment:
One should be
reforming education, and this should be done in every level of the educational
system in the US as well as getting a cooperative training going on even from
global partners. I really would like to see public schools adopt Montessori
methods for at least their primary foundations. It is a great starting point,
especially for learning reading and math.
Also, part of education needs to be ethics. This is so important in
light of today’s generation, which appears to be declining in basic knowledge.
Second, there should
be a global group that is set up, not like the UN, but like a
Scientific/Educational group that will work on projects that benefit humankind. Knowledge should be shared and
creative solutions discovered. We have to all live as one big human family that
helps each other. There must be cures yet to be discovered and solutions to
help the environment that are waiting to be implemented. This is urgent in
light of our suffering planet.
11. How would you explain to a blind
person the difference between God and Santa Claus, if both were standing in
front of you? This is like The Elephant and the Six Blind Men,
but its only you telling one person the difference between the two.
If I had
to explain to a blind person the difference, I would just say that Santa Claus
is like a legend or myth that some kids believe in at Christmas time that
represents the idea of giving, and God is the Creator and can be known in a
person’s heart, and each person is free to believe whatever he chooses; in
other words, you know his existence by your faith and your heart.
Here
are my nominees for the Liebster Award Challenge:
There
were so many writers with great blogs that I wanted to challenge, but alas it
says only 11, but if anyone else would like to go for the challenge feel free
to do so. I will catch another round of writers and bloggers in the future with
some other challenge or project.
My
Questions for my Nominees:
1.
What is your favorite character you have
written and please explain why.
2.
Who is your favorite author, what is
your favorite novel and what is your favorite movie?
3.
If you could meet any famous person in
the world and have dinner with them, who
would it be and why?
4.
If you had three wishes, what would they
be and why?
5.
If you could travel anywhere in the
world, where would it be and why?
6.
What is your favorite type of food, for
example, Italian, Chinese, etc.?
7.
If you could have your dream job,
besides being a writer, what would it be and why?
8.
What is your favorite quotation?
9.
Name one unusual fact about yourself.
10.
What is your favorite hobby?
11.
If you could be a super hero/heroine,
who would you be and why?
Hope
everyone has enjoyed learning more about me, and I do hope you will check out
this list of great writers/bloggers above. I also hope you will visit Rebecca's page and join in the Blog Giveaway. I owe a big thanks to Rebecca! Take care everyone and good writing!
