I am thrilled to be helping to host the latest book launch of the fabulous author, 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. 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 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. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Natural Selection, Winter 2022.
Her latest book, Laws of Nature, is the second of the Dawn of Humanity trilogy, the first trilogy in the Man vs. Nature saga.
Jacqui was kind enough to answer a few of my burning questions:
1.Your day job was as a tech teacher. That’s about as far removed from the genre you write as possible. How hard was it to adjust to writing about a world without technology?
Surprisingly, it wasn’t hard at all. Though my characters have no technology—no wheel, no farming, no clothing or weapons—they do have the essential skills that inspire technology: big brains. They could think, plan, solve problems, respond to situations with intellect as well as instinct. I’ll call it pre-technology. I think those skills are required of anyone interested in using tech!
2. Prehistoric fiction is far removed from your earlier books. Was there something that inspired your original concept or just a love for the genre?
Prehistoric fiction was my first love. When I sent the first book in this trilogy (Born in a Treacherous Time) to a publisher, he told me early man stories wouldn’t sell but my characters were interesting. They were tenacious, committed, with a never-quit attitude—much like characters found in modern thrillers. At his suggestion, I incorporated those characteristics into the people of my Rowe-Delamagente series. While the stories are good, the thriller/military genres are saturated so I returned to my first love. As I developed the Man vs. Nature series, I realized that prehistoric characters are much like superheroes. They did the seemingly impossible regularly and without the fancy defensive and offensive devices of modern heroes.
3. Author Jean M. Auel and DreamWorks “The Croods” are probably some of the best known fiction in the genre. Why do those works, and yours, use that intersection between humanoids (such as neanderthal and cro magnon) as their premise?
Modern man loves superheroes. Primitive man was the world’s first superhero though he thought he was simply surviving. Sure, he was thin-skinned and clawless with tiny flat teeth (nothing like the fangs of his enemies) but he had a weapon other predators didn’t: a big brain.
Thrillers feature ordinary people saving the world against impossible odds. I used to call my stories “prehistoric thrillers” because those traits of never quitting, solving ridiculously complicated problems, and facing off against apex predators on a daily basis is what early man did. In my stories, you will find realistic characters surviving impossible odds by their wit, their cerebral abilities, not their physical dominance. That’s a thrilling story, don’t you think?
You can find Jacqui at all the places linked below her book trailer, but more importantly, here’s where you can find her book:
Available print or digital at: Kindle US Kindle UK Kindle CA Kindle AU Kindle India
Find Jacqui here:
Amazon Author Page
Blog
Instagram
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Twitter
Website
October 6, 2021 at 8:56 pm
I enjoyed Jacqui’s answers to your questions. I enjoy Jacqui’s books too. They are everything she says. And to think that we are decendants of those first superheroes! There’s a little bit of superhero in all of us.
October 6, 2021 at 9:20 pm
If only I knew where I’d hidden my inner superhero!
October 7, 2021 at 1:35 am
They tend to reveal themselves when you least expect and most need it. You’ll see.
October 7, 2021 at 1:35 am
If you have a checklist of ‘what is a superhero’, these guys would satisfy every box. Our predecessors were people to be proud of.
October 6, 2021 at 9:37 pm
Thanks for hosting Jacqui, Anita! It’s always great to learn more about my friend and fantastic writer.
October 7, 2021 at 1:36 am
Isn’t that the truth about these interviews. I keep most of my personal issues close to the chest but they dribble out in these sorts of chats. I guess that’s OK?
October 7, 2021 at 9:45 pm
It’s always a pleasure to have great authors (and people) for a visit 🙂
October 6, 2021 at 10:39 pm
Jacqui’s comparison between contemporary thrillers and her prehistoric fiction is just fascinating! I really enjoyed it.
October 7, 2021 at 7:31 am
I used to call these prehistoric thrillers but got a lot of push-back from the experts. But really, there are a lot of similarities!
October 7, 2021 at 9:46 pm
I had never thought of them that way until Jacqui explained it either, Elizabeth.
October 6, 2021 at 10:39 pm
Great interview. I always enjoy learning where stories came from.
October 7, 2021 at 7:32 am
Anita asks great questions. And I like that there weren’t too many. Just enough to be interesting.
October 7, 2021 at 9:48 pm
It’s interesting isn’t it. Every author has to get that germ of an idea from somewhere.
October 7, 2021 at 12:10 am
It is funny that you write about a non-tech society when your job was so technically oriented, Jackie. Congrats on your new book!
October 7, 2021 at 7:33 am
I’ve struggled to get past that. The early versions of the first story were pretty technical. My beta readers weren’t happy at all and I listened to them!
October 7, 2021 at 9:50 pm
It’s probably easier to write without any tech than try and write a story set, say, in the 90’s and trying to remember what was around and what wasn’t!
October 7, 2021 at 12:32 am
I never stopped to think about the chasm between Jacqui being a tech teacher and writing prehistoric fiction, but I love her answer in that’s it’s not really that great a stretch. I didn’t realize that the Rowe-Delamagente series came before Jacqui’s prehistoric fiction but I remember Lucy being included in To Hunt a Sub. I thought she made for an interesting twist in that book.
All the best to Jacqui!
October 7, 2021 at 7:34 am
You have a good memory. I didn’t want to leave Lucy behind and she did seem to fit. I have another Rowe-Delamagente book almost finished so I’ll go back to that at some point.
October 7, 2021 at 9:51 pm
That really was a burning question for me because of that difference. Jacqui did a great job of answering it!
October 7, 2021 at 12:37 am
I love Jacqui’s answers to these questions. I never thought about it, but it is correct that primitive man is not much different from modern man in that there were problems to be solved and choices to be made. Fascinating! Thank you for featuring Jacqui today, AJ! And congrats, Jacqui!
October 7, 2021 at 9:52 pm
We look back at primitive man and think just that, primitive, but really tehy did quite a lot in moving humankind forwards.
October 7, 2021 at 1:32 am
Thank you so much for hosting me, Anita. I am excited to be here, in glorious Australia! It will be fun chatting with your efriends.
October 7, 2021 at 3:16 am
🙂
Forgot to click the ‘notify me’ button!
October 7, 2021 at 9:53 pm
It’s lovely to have you here, Jacqui. The weather is warming so the perfect time to stop by.
October 7, 2021 at 2:19 am
I’ve read Jacqui’s work, and I’d recommend them to anyone interested in the genre of prehistoric fiction. Lovely to get to know more about her through this interview!
October 7, 2021 at 7:35 am
Thank you so much, Damyanti. Your part of the world had some seminal clues to man’s evolution. I may be getting into that in the Next trilogy.
October 7, 2021 at 9:54 pm
Jacqui was a great sport in answering my questions 🙂
October 7, 2021 at 4:11 am
How great to see Jacqui here today! Thanks for hosting her and for asking such interesting questions.
October 7, 2021 at 7:37 am
Thanks, Lee. This is good timing with the next in the series a couple of months away. And your next is almost out–that is exciting!
October 7, 2021 at 9:54 pm
I’m glad you enjoyed the questions – it really was a chance for me to ask what I wanted to know, lol.
October 7, 2021 at 5:58 am
I enjoyed reading the interview, AJ, and Jacqui! I’m glad you proved the publisher wrong and had great success with your prehistoric books, Jacqui!
October 7, 2021 at 7:38 am
I am, too. I tried to see things through his eyes but in the end, I couldn’t. Nothing wrong with him at all. Prehistoric fiction just wasn’t what he was looking for.
October 7, 2021 at 9:55 pm
Funny how the industry doesn’t always know what readers might be looking for!
October 7, 2021 at 6:56 am
Jacqui has found her niche with prehistoricals and does an amazing job of bringing this period to life.
Thanks for featuring her:)
October 7, 2021 at 7:38 am
I do like this genre. It constantly intrigues me.
October 7, 2021 at 9:56 pm
Her voice and style certainly fit the genre.
October 7, 2021 at 7:00 am
Great interview and book! I agree they are superheroes and your books are thrillers for sure.
October 7, 2021 at 7:39 am
Thanks, Denise. I know I could never do what Lucy does on a daily basis. She lets nothing stop her when it comes to survival.
October 7, 2021 at 9:57 pm
Maybe Jacqui has stumbled across a subgenre, the prehistoric thriller.
October 7, 2021 at 7:04 am
A fun interview. I’ve read all of Jacqui’s books, I think, and I do love her pre-historic “superheroes.” And thank goodness they were just that or none of us would be here to wonder about them. I’m always happy to learn more about Jacqui’s writing journey and her thoughts about the characters and time they lived. Congrat Jacqui and thanks for the feature, Anita.
October 7, 2021 at 7:40 am
If you look dispassionately and logically at our predecessors, you’d say they will not survive. And yet they did. That always excites me!
October 7, 2021 at 9:58 pm
I’m glad you enjoyed the interview, Diana.
October 7, 2021 at 7:14 am
You can’t go wrong buying Jacqui Murray’s books. I’ve loved every one of them.
October 7, 2021 at 9:59 pm
And when you get a good series it’s great to know they are writing more!
October 7, 2021 at 7:41 am
Thank you, Anneli. I love sharing the grit, brilliance, and cleverness of what some have called “cavemen”. Not.
October 7, 2021 at 10:53 am
We don’t really think about how our big brains took us from pre-history to today. It’s kind of amazing to ponder.
October 7, 2021 at 10:00 pm
It makes you wonder what are brains might actually be capable of and how much we really use them (I’m pretty sure I’m not using a lot of mine, lol).
October 8, 2021 at 2:00 am
That’s true! And not just a big brain, but which part of the big brain. Neanderthals had bigger brains than we do but more concentrated on physical stuff than planning. Interesting…
October 8, 2021 at 3:25 am
Wonderful interview about a fascinating genre! I’ve never seen prehistoric fiction being compared to thrillers and how the characters in both genres have similar traits, but it does make sense. I’m more of a back-to-the-basics girl than a technology lover! 🙂
October 8, 2021 at 7:23 pm
Technology can be wonderful some of the time, but I do miss the days when we didn’t have technology in our pockets.
October 10, 2021 at 1:11 am
I didn’t see it at first, either. Historical fiction like my prehistoric is more about interesting facts than superhero characters but as I got to know Lucy and her tribe, I realized they had to be amazing to survive their world! I must admit, that idea didn’t resonate with agents!
October 8, 2021 at 11:03 am
You raised some really good questions responded to with some really good answers. It’s fascinating how Jackie compares the intelligence and skills of Neanderthals with today’s technology.
October 8, 2021 at 7:24 pm
I’m glad I asked the question because I would never have thought of it in those terms. Jacqui explained it really well.
October 10, 2021 at 1:18 am
For their time, they were astounding humans (of our genus), well suited to a physically impossible environment. Their demise seems to settle the argument of the importance of a big brain. Um, yes! Very!
October 8, 2021 at 1:52 pm
What fun! I’m so intrigued! Congratulations, Jacqui! I’m intimidated by how prolific you are 😉
October 8, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Jacqui is very diligent and sets goals she actually sticks to. I’m hoping some of that rubs off on me while she’s visiting!
October 10, 2021 at 1:13 am
You should meet me in person. I’m about the opposite of intimidating! Thanks for visiting, Jenny.
October 9, 2021 at 10:12 pm
I always enjoy reading about Jacqui’s writing process for this series. Tackling pre-history is challenging but very rewarding.
October 10, 2021 at 1:16 am
I too enjoy reading how writers come up with stories. You’ve shared some amazing backstory on yours. I think your brain never stops.
October 9, 2021 at 10:59 pm
I came from Jacqui’s blog. Loved reading her responses to your questions, Anita. I really liked it when she said her characters have the skills that parallel the capability of technology – you try and more often than not it will lead you somewhere. Anything is possible and agree we can all be superheroes
October 11, 2021 at 1:14 am
Thanks for visiting, Mabel. Anita has a wonderful blog. Lots of interesting topics and her posts are quick. I can usually read them in under a minute (I love that, BTW).