Two New Releases: Jacqui Murray's Pre-historic Novel, Natural Selection and Susan Bernhardt's Cozy Mystery ,The Neighborhood #cozymystery #newrelease #prehistoricfiction

Two New Book Releases!

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog! 

Meeting authors all over the country and the globe was an unexpected perk after publishing my first book. What a joy to meet my writerly friends via the Internet. We are "cyber pals" like "pen pals" in another era, making friends online rather than meeting in person. Oh how I wish I could meet everyone in person, but I'm happy keeping in touch through email, DM, ZOOM, etc.

The next perk--I discovered how generous and kind authors are to each other. Rather than being competitive, writers share information about the publishing industry and writing tips. 

This week, I am thrilled to have two of my author friends as guests and share their brand-new releases. Please welcome these fantastic storytellers, Jacqui Murray and Susan Bernhardt, to the Focused on Story Blog! (I can hear the applause now.)

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NATURAL SELECTION by Jacqui Murray

Jacqui just released Natural Selection, Book 3 in the Dawn of Humanity Trilogy. Be sure to watch the heart-pounding book trailer for this book below.

Natural Selection by Jacqui Murray
#3 in the Dawn of Humanity Trilogy

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Jacqui, Please tell us about your latest release, Natural Selection.

Natural Selection by Jacqui Murray
Book 3 in the Dawn of Humanity Trilogy
"A perfect book for fans of Jean Auel and the Gears."

Thank you, Janet, for hosting me this week.

This novel is the conclusion to Lucy's journey. She and her tribe leave their good home to rescue former tribe members captured by the enemy. Lucy's tribe includes a mix of species--a Canis, a Homotherium, and different iterations of early man. In this book, more join and some die, but that is the nature of prehistoric life, where survival depends on a combination of our developing intellect and our inexhaustible will to live. Each species brings unique skills to this task. Based on true events.

Set 1.8 million years ago in Africa, Lucy and her tribe struggle against the harsh reality of a world ruled by nature, where predators stalk them and a violent new species of man threatens to destroy their world. Only by changing can they prevail. If you ever wondered how earliest man survived but couldn’t get through the academic discussions, this book is for you. Prepare to see this violent and beautiful world in a way you never imagined.

Available in print or digital at: http://a-fwd.com/asin=B0B9KPM5BW

YOUTUBE: NATURAL SELECTION BOOK TRAILER

Click the links below to discover more about Jacqui's books from her previous visits to Focused on Story.

Click here for her book, Law of Nature.

Click here to read about the who, what, where, when and why in Jacqui's book, The Quest for Home in the Crossroads Trilogy.

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About Jacqui Murray

Jacqui Murray

Jacqui is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. The trilogies in Man vs Nature are The Dawn of Humanity and The Crossroads Trilogy.

Not only does Jacqui write these amazing trilogies in the prehistoric fiction genre, but she is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to the United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice,  a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics.

 Click the links below to connect online with Jacqui

Amazon Author Page

Blog:                                      

Instagram:                          

Pinterest:                               

Twitter:                                 

Website:                              

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SPOTLIGHT ON SUSAN BERNHARDT'S NEW RELEASE--

THE NEIGHBORHOOD 

The Neighborhood by Susan Bernhardt
#6 in The Kay Driscoll Mystery Series
Cozy Mystery

Thank you, Janet, for helping me get the word out about the newest book in the Kay Driscoll Mystery Series.

BACK OF THE BOOK: 

A new City Planner and his "Stepford wife" move into Kay Driscoll's neighborhood. The city of Sudbury Falls has a planning committee headed by this newly hired city planner intent on building a dam in the Sudbury River. The purpose, to create a lake for waterfront property featuring high-priced, luxury condominiums that the locals could never afford.

An uproar arises among the citizens who are passionate about the natural beauty of the Sudbury River. A newly formed Sudbury River Protection Society attracts Kay Driscoll and her friends with their “Save the River” movement.

When a murder occurs in the neighborhood, the unexpected happens. Chief Kirk asks Kay for her help in investigating the crime. What is up his sleeve? In the meantime Elizabeth's ex-husband shows up at her book signing after a five-year absence, Deirdre has a community feng shui-inspired May Day celebration at Planetary Herbals, and Janey goes on her first date.

Welcome back to Kay's world.

Click here to download the eBook or order the paperback copy of The Neighborhood.

ABOUT SUSAN

Susan's town in northern Wisconsin was an inspiration for the quaint setting of her Kay Driscoll novels. Like Kay Driscoll in her cozy mysteries,

Cozy Mystery Author Susan Bernhardt

Susan is a retired nurse who volunteers at her local free clinic. She also writes the Irina Curtius mysteries. She lives with her husband, William, and has two sons, Peter and David.

An avid reader of mysteries, she is a member of Sisters in Crime, Inc. and the Wisconsin Writers Association.

Her published works include: 

A Manhattan Murder Mystery (An Irina Curtius Mystery), 

Dress to Kill (An Irina Curtius Mystery Book 2), 

The Ginseng Conspiracy (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 1), 

Murder Under the Tree (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 2)

Murder by Fireworks (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 3), 

Paradise Can Be Murder (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 4), 

Murder Misunderstood (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 5)

When not writing, Susan loves to travel, bicycle, kayak, and create culinary magic in her kitchen. She works in stained glass, daydreams in her organic garden, stays up late reading mysteries, and eats lots of chocolate.

Click here to discover all of Susan's books on her Amazon Author Page.

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Thank you, Jacqui and Susan, for stopping by and meeting my readers. Wishing you great success with your new releases!

Quill pen

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Thank you!

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The 5 W's of Story: Researching the Setting in Jacqui Murray's Survival of the Fittest

The 5 W's of Story

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story blog. This week, talented author Jacqui Murray joins us for the popular series, The 5 W's in Storytelling. Guest authors share the who, what, where, when and why in their stories. I'm thrilled to introduce a new-to-me kind of fictional story by Jacqui Murray. Her new release is a pre-historic fiction novel, Survival of the Fittest, Book 1 in the Crossroads series. 

Jackie has chosen to tell us about two of the w's needed to tell a story--Where and when her story takes place.

  

Welcome, Jacqui! Thank you for joining us in the 5 W's of Stories series. 

Survival of the Fittest by Jacqui Murray

Book 1 in the Crossroads series, part of the Man vs. Nature saga

Prehistoric fiction

Thanks, Janet at Focused on Story for hosting me to during the blog tour for my newest prehistoric fiction, Survival of the Fittest.  It is Book 1 in the trilogy, Crossroads.

How Jacqui Murray Researched the Setting in the Prehistoric Novel, Survival of the Fittest 

The most challenging part of writing this book--by far--was the setting--it takes place 850,000 years ago! When I wrote my two thrillers--To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days--these happened in present day, giving me three surefire ways to explore the location:

• Google it--plug wherever I needed into the search engine and sort through the hits.  I knew enough about the setting (say, Chesapeake Bay) that I could sort reliable from opinion.
• Talk to fellow writers--there are many people willing to share their knowledge. A search for topical forums or blogs usually turned up someone with direct knowledge of the setting I struggled with (like where students at Columbia University liked to congregate).
• Use Google Earth and its Streetview functions--I've written about this in the past because it is an amazing way to explore settings, see what's on the street characters walk down, to explore obstacles characters face in a park they must run through, or to understand how far apart are places they must drive to. Searching on Google Earth and then dumping yourself into Street View gives you the most authentic experience available, almost like being there.
• Use Google Earth's Time Slider--by sliding the bar, you can reshape geography and geopolitics to be what it was long ago--up to a couple hundred years. If you're writing about the recent past, this is an amazing feature.

But none of these work for my newest prehistoric fiction because it takes place 850,000 years ago. Back then, mountains were plateaus, and savanna was jungle. Even the shorelines and fjords of continents were not like they are today. Since my characters walked from China to Spain along first the Indian Ocean and then the Mediterranean Sean, I went to great lengths to be accurate about what they faced.

Because I couldn't use any of the options above, I talked to experts in the field, researched best-guesses, and extrapolated from everything I could find. It took a long time which might explain why the book took over a decade to write.

How do you make sure that the locations your characters visit in your books are as accurately represented as possible? Please leave a comment below.

Survival of the Fittest by Jacqui Murray

Book 1 in the Crossroads series, part of the Man vs. Nature saga

Prehistoric fiction

Five tribes. One leader.
A treacherous journey across three continents
in search of a new home.

Back of the Book: Chased by a ruthless and powerful enemy, Xhosa flees with her People, leaving behind a certain life in her African homeland to search for an unknown future. She leads her People on a grueling journey through unknown and dangerous lands using an escape path laid out years before by her father as a final desperate means to survival. 

She is joined by other homeless tribes--from Indonesia, China, South Africa, East Africa, and the Levant—all similarly forced by timeless events to find new lives. 

As they struggle to overcome treachery, lies, danger, tragedy, hidden secrets, and Nature herself, Xhosa must face the reality that this enemy doesn't want her People's land. He wants to destroy her.

Available at: Kindle US Kindle UK Kindle CA Kindle AU

About Jacqui:

Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers, and the Man vs. Nature saga. 

She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice,  a columnist for TeachHUB and NEA Today, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. 

Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Quest for Home, Summer 2019. You can find her tech ed books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning

                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Author Jacqui Murray

 Click the links below to connect with Jacqui online:

http://twitter.com/worddreams                                                    

http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher

http://linkedin.com/in/jacquimurray

https://worddreams.wordpress.com                                             

https://jacquimurray.net

Thanks, Jacqui. I'm intrigued by a story that takes place 850,000 years ago. What about you? Please leave your comment below. Thank you.