FYI: Sunday Snap will be back as usual next week.
Today, I’m delighted to welcome author and tech teacher Jacqui Murray from over at WordDreams. She has a brand new release out now in an unusual and fascinating genre.
Book Info:
Title: Born in a Treacherous Time
Series: Book 1 in the Man vs. Nature series
Genre: Prehistoric fiction
Cover by: Damonza
Available at: Kindle
Jennifer: Good morning, Jacqui. Born in a Treacherous Time sounds intriguing! Can you tell me a bit about it?
Jacqui: Thank you for having me, Jennifer. Here’s a short summary:
Lucy and her band of early humans struggle to survive in the harsh reality of a world where nature rules, survival is a daily challenge, and a violent band threatens to destroy everything Lucy thinks she understands.
If you like Man vs. Wild, you’ll love this book. If you ever wondered how earliest man survived but couldn’t get through the academic discussions, this book is for you. It will bring that world – East Africa 1.8 million years ago – to life in a way never seen before.
Jennifer: I can’t wait to read it. I’ve never read prehistoric fiction before, but it has been of interest to me ever since I saw the movie Quest For Fire. What prompted you to write the book, and your switch to this niche genre?
Jacqui: Born in a Treacherous Time is a spin-off of my previous book, To Hunt a Sub.
More specifically, it is a spin-off of Lucy, the ancient female who mentored Kali Delamagente, the female protagonist of that series.
Jennifer: Lucy was such an interesting part of that story. But why did you write a book in such a tiny niche?
Jacqui: Born in a Treacherous Time is written in the sub-genre of historic fiction called prehistoric fiction, a time before recorded history. There aren’t a lot of readers in this genre but they are devoted!
Because the only records are rocks, world building has proven difficult but Lucy (the heroine) really didn’t give me a choice. She nagged me to tell her story from my first page twenty years ago to my final draft. Now maybe Lucy will leave me alone!
Jennifer: You have a couple of noteworthy reviews you’d like to share with our readers, including a Kirkus review. Here they are:
Kirkus review: “Murray’s lean prose is steeped in the characters’ brutal worldview, which lends a delightful otherness to the narration …The book’s plot is similar in key ways to other works in the genre, particularly Jean M. Auel’s The Clan of the Cave Bear. However, Murray weaves a taut, compelling narrative, building her story on timeless human concerns of survival, acceptance, and fear of the unknown. Even if readers have a general sense of where the plot is going, they’ll still find the specific twists and revelations to be highly entertaining throughout.
A well-executed tale of early man.” (Click here for the entire review)
An early reader’s review: “Born in a Treacherous Time sheds light on a period of time that gave birth to the human race, and allow us to bear witness to the harshness and tenacious spirit that is uniquely human—to survive and endure. Readers with a thirst for knowledge and who enjoy historical fiction, this is a must read. I am looking forward to reading book 2 when it is published. I devoured the book in 2 sittings.”– Luciana Cavallaro, author of Servant of the Gods series and webmaster of Eternal Atlantis
Jennifer: Those are wonderful reviews. I love that this book has a strong and unique female lead. Thank you so much for this, Jacqui!
To learn more about my guest today, check out the following:
Author Bio: 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 series. She is also the author of over a hundred books on integrating technology into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for TeachHUB, monthly contributor to Today’s Author, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her books at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning.
Social media links:
http://twitter.com/worddreams
http://linkedin.com/in/jacquimurray
https://worddreams.wordpress.com
https://jacquimurray.net
Just saw this exciting book highlighted on another Jill Weatherholt’s blog! What a fascinating topic!
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Jacqui has been busy making her rounds! Yes, I think the premise is exciting. 🙂
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Jennifer, lovely to see Jacqui on your blog and the third one I read this morning whilst catching up!! Jacqui, you’re one busy lady! The book sounds superb and the hype is terrific. Good luck with the launch blog hop and thereafter! Xx
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Honestly, Annika, Jacqui’s schedule makes my head spin. I don’t know how she does it.
Especially looking forward to reading this one! 🙂
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Thanks so much, Annika. My good friends are here for me, aren’t they? I am so appreciative.
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It’s great to see Jacqui and her book over here, Jennifer. I’m about 2/3 of the way through the read and I’m loving it (I seem to be sharing my progress at each of her stops along the tour. Lol). A talented writer and riveting read. 🙂
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That is great to know, Diana, that you’re loving it, and that you’ve been hopping along all the stops. I will be reading it very soon and I’m looking forward to it more than ever. 🙂
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Thanks, Diana–and do continue to share your progress. In fact, what a great idea! I may add that to future blog hops.
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Such a good book, Jacqui. I’d love to host an interview combined with my review when I’m done reading. Let me know if you’re up for it. 🙂
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Absolutely! I’ve had any number of agents and readers tell me prehistoric fiction is fantasy because it takes place in a world constructed by the author (because we know so little about that primordial time). I think you have my email?
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I never considered it as fantasy because it is based on fact and pre-history. Hmm..
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That was my first (and second and third) reaction too. But, they persisted and finally convinced me that for this particular piece of historical fiction, it could be seen as a crossover. If you look at the writing of the Gear’s about early North American inhabitants, they incorporate pieces that sound more fantastical than plausible.
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Pretty sure I do. 😀
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Sounds interesting
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Thanks, Joanne!
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Sounds like a very compelling read! I loved the premise of Clan of the Cave Bear, so I guess that makes me a prehistoric fiction enthusiast 😉
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I guess it does, Jan! Thanks for checking out Jacqui’s blog hop. 😊
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There’s a lot about survival in both Clan of the Cave Bear so that could be it too!
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This sounds very intriguing indeed – prehistory is my favourite part of history, possibly because it is so mysterious – interesting what Jacqui says about the difficulties of world building, I’d imagine that there would be more freedom with no recorded history, but I guess it wouldn’t be easy to put yourself in the mind frame of someone who has so little compared to what we have today.
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The world must make sense–that’s about the only requirement. I had early readers challenge the animals I had in Lucy’s world–were they mammoth or mastodons? Thankfully, it is well researched so I could answer confidently!
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I’m sure your research was diligent,
Jacqui.
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Well, that is one of the reasons it took over 20 years!
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Indeed, there are major challenges to writing a book in this genre. On the one hand you’d think you would have more license, but on the other you’d have to imagine Lucy’s unique point of view!
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Sounds fascinating!
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Yes, and a definite departure from our usual reading choices. Thanks for dropping in, Connie!
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Thanks, Connie. It definitely isn’t the norm!
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Jacqui, I just bought it and it’s on my Kindle. I look forward to reading it this summer!
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Thanks for telling me. I’m excited!
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I’m looking forward to reading Jacqui’s book. She has worked so hard on this project. Thanks for joining the tour, Jennifer. Congratulations to Jacqui!
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Yes, me too, Jill. By the way, if you’d like to hop over here for a Q and A on your new book, you are more than welcome. 😊
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That sounds great, Jennifer. I appreciate the offer. 🙂 Have a great Sunday!
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Thanks so much, Jill. I’ve been looking forward to getting to know Jennifer’s community.
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I’ve never read prehistoric fiction before either. Am looking forward to it. I didn’t realize it was already out. I’ll definitely grab a copy. Congrats, Jacqui!
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I was going to read it right after Little Dorrit, until I realized it was over 300,000 words! Will have to take a break from it to read Jacqui’s. 😁
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300,000 words?! Oh my. 😄
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I’d asked hubs to recommend his favourite Dickens for me to read. Of course all of his books are big tomes!
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Good grief that’s long! Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit? He’ll surely make it worth every word.
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I think most of his books are long because he wrote them in serial instalments for his readers. I’m not that far in yet but I can vouch for its appeal already.
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Just out, a few days. It’s that time when I am checking the Kindle results daily, or more. I need to stop doing that!
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That’s a hard thing to resist, Jacqui!
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Ha, I hear you. 😄 Got my copy!
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Yay!
🙂
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