Title: Survival of the Fittest
Author: Jacqui Murray
Series: Book 1 in the Crossroads series, part of the Man vs. Nature saga
Genre: Prehistoric fiction
“Five tribes. One leader. A treacherous journey across three continents in search of a new home.”
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 but 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.
**Read on further for sample extract**
Available at:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NKM58GB/
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NKM58GB
Kindle CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07NKM58GB
Kindle AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07NKM58GB
My question to Jacqui:
How do you differentiate Xhosa (this book’s main character) from the human species that probably led to her extinction?
Homo erectus (Xhosa) was a brilliant creature, worthy of our respect and admiration. This species is the longest lasting human species ever. Where her predecessor chose flight over fight, she never did, always confronting her enemy , always believing that she could win.
But, sometimes, that’s not enough. Though she was tough, aggressive, and tenacious, like the alpha animals she defeated, a smarter human species was her undoing.
At least, lots of scientists think so. Truly, there are lots of theories.
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 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
Social Media contacts:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/worddreams
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher
Linked in: http://linkedin.com/in/jacquimurray
Blog: https://worddreams.wordpress.com
Author page: https://jacquimurray.net
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
Her foot throbbed. Blood dripped from a deep gash in her leg. At some point, Xhosa had scraped her palms raw while sliding across gravel but didn’t remember when, nor did it matter. Arms pumping, heart thundering, she flew forward. When her breath went from pants to wheezing gasps, she lunged to a stop, hands pressed against her damp legs, waiting for her chest to stop heaving. She should rest but that was nothing but a passing thought, discarded as quickly as it arrived. Her mission was greater than exhaustion or pain or personal comfort.
She started again, sprinting as though chased, aching fingers wrapped around her spear. The bellows of the imaginary enemy—Big Heads this time—filled the air like an acrid stench. She flung her spear over her shoulder, aiming from memory. A thunk and it hit the tree, a stand-in for the enemy. With a growl, she pivoted to defend her People.
Which would never happen. Females weren’t warriors.
Feet spread, mouth set in a tight line, she launched her last spear, skewering an imaginary assailant, and was off again, feet light, her abundance of ebony hair streaming behind her like smoke. A scorpion crunched beneath her hardened foot. Something moved in the corner of her vision and she hurled a throwing stone, smiling as a hare toppled over. Nightshade called her reactions those of Leopard.
But that didn’t matter. Females didn’t become hunters either.
With a lurch, she gulped in the parched air. The lush green grass had long since given way to brittle stalks and desiccated scrub. Sun’s heat drove everything alive underground, underwater, or over the horizon. The males caught her attention across the field, each with a spear and warclub. Today’s hunt would be the last until the rain—and the herds—returned.
“Why haven’t they left?”
She kicked a rock and winced as pain shot through her foot. Head down, eyes shut against the memories. Even after all this time, the chilling screams still rang in her ears…
The People’s warriors had been away hunting when the assault occurred. Xhosa’s mother pushed her young daughter into a reed bed and stormed toward the invaders but too late to save the life of her young son. The killer, an Other, laughed at the enraged female armed only with a cutter. When she sliced his cheek open, the gash so deep his black teeth showed, his laughter became fury. He swung his club with such force her mother crumpled instantly, her head a shattered melon.
From the safety of the pond, Xhosa memorized the killer—nose hooked awkwardly from some earlier injury, eyes dark pools of cruelty. It was then, at least in spirit, she became a warrior. Nothing like this must ever happen again.
When her father, the People’s Leader, arrived that night with his warriors, he was greeted by the devastating scene of blood-soaked ground covered by mangled bodies, already chewed by scavengers. A dry-eyed Xhosa told him how marauders had massacred every subadult, female, and child they could find, including her father’s pairmate. Xhosa communicated this with the usual grunts, guttural sounds, hand signals, facial expressions, hisses, and chirps. The only vocalizations were call signs to identify the group members.
“If I knew how to fight, Father, Mother would be alive.” Her voice held no anger, just determination.
*****
Get your copy now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NKM58GB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i2
Or add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44286388-survival-of-the-fittest
Congratulations, Jacqui! Thanks so much for hosting, Jina!
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I am blessed with all the folks who agreed to host me, Jill. I love the blogosphere!
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Me too! 🙂
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it was my pleasure.
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Thank you so much for hosting me, Jina. I’m excited to chat with your efriends!
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It was my pleasure – and honor – to have you here. Thanks for giving me the chance to be part of it!
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I love the excerpt. Reading it, I felt like I was there, experiencing what Xhosa was going through first hand. I’m adding this to my “to read” list.
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Thanks, Kymber! That’s exactly what I was aiming for.
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I had the same feeling too!
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Sounds fascinating. I remember reading Golding’s The Inheritors some years ago and being engrossed, yet prehistoric peoples are so rarely visited in fiction.
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I haven’t seen that one. I’m going to check it out. Thanks!
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I haven’t heard about that one either. And you’re right, prehistoric fiction is unusual and not really explored.
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Sounds intriguing.
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It does indeed. Thanks for the visit!
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It’s definitely not the normal historical fiction!
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Sounds interesting! Thank you for sharing Jina!❤️❤️
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Thanks! I love stories about strong competent women!
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it really is!
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Great to learn more about this book! Congrats Jacqui 🙂
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Thanks for visiting, Christy. This book and the next are the last of what I wrote quite a while ago. Then, I’ll be writing from scratch. Yikes!
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Great review! Sounds like an interesting read:)
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I think so to. Thanks for the visit!
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Thanks, Cecelia. I think this book might fit what I see on your blog–the can-do woman who fixes what breaks. Nice blog, BTW.
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Thanks!
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A battle for survival/domination between species. A very interesting premise. Kind of a prelude to our (homo sapiens) current role in the world.
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It is. We dominate lots of animals but not all. And when you look at our roots, you might wonder how we even survived. I did, and figured it out!
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yeah, a prelude that has on the repeat button – we keep on making the same mistakes. the only difference is that as time passes, we do it in a more civilized way.
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Fabulous post
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Thank you. I’m excited to be here.
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Thanks. And sorry for the late response.
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Congrats, Jacqui – awesome excerpt!
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Thanks for visiting, Teri. I love blog hops!
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Jina, lovely to see Jacqui here celebrating the launch of her latest book! A great question and I was fascinated to learn about the tenacious and fighting spirit of Xhosa’s people … but that they lost to smarter (?) us! Good luck to Jacqui with her book and I can’t wait to read it! 😀
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Thanks for joining, Annika. Homo erectus by all measures seemed to be one of the toughest human species. They lasted longer than any other but still, disappeared. The best guess is because Homo sapiens was just that much smarter. Oh well.
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I’m into science fiction series again and this is one of those moments of what would have happened if Homo sapiens hadn’t prevailed … endless possibilities for fiction writers!
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It’s an interesting concept – the idea of how we evolved – and it makes for a great story!
Thanks for the visit and sorry for the late response.
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Terrific book, of course–you know what I think of it. Sharing… : )
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Thank you so much, Cathleen. I am humbled.
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Great review.. .
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thanks.
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Thanks, Chiru. Appreciate the visit.
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