I’m thrilled to announce that my next release, Splendor’s Orbit, is up for preorder!
This one is a sci-fi adventure and the first in a trilogy that I plan to rapid release (I’m currently revising book 3).
Ten years ago, Captain Colderaro was the star of the Confederacy Task Force. And then she disappeared.
Now, presumed MIA, she prefers to keep a low profile. Working as a pilot on a freighter ship, she occasionally accepts the odd refugee passenger to appease her humanitarian conscience. But things go downhill when her cargo turns out to be none other than the princess of a foreign race and her two bodyguards.
Embroiled in a galaxy-wide scheme, Captain Colderaro finds herself dodging the Confederacy Task Force, space pirates, and mercenaries intent on catching the princess.
Can she make it to the foreign planet without losing or damaging her cargo and still protect her identity?
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If you’re interested in an early copy for free in exchange of an honest review, fill up the form below and I’ll get back to you:
Today is my stop for Jacqui Murray’s blog tour for her latest book, Natural Selection.
The concept of how humans evolved is a curious and complex one, with not enough books on the topic. Kudos to Author Jacqui Murray for setting up these characters in such a time period, and basing them on true events! In this installment, Jacqui tackles a topic dear to me, because I can relate: an almost blind character, Ahnda. Having suffered an unfortunate series of event, Ahnda finds himself alone and almost blind. He has two options: give up and die, or keep going and achieve his goal (Finding Lucy and her tribe).
Read on to the end and find out what Author Jacqui Murray has to say about this character.
Title: Natural Selection
Series: Book 3 in the Dawn of Humanity series
Genre: Prehistoric fiction
Book summary:
In this conclusion to Lucy’s journey, she and her tribe leave their good home to rescue former-tribemembers 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.
A perfect book for fans of Jean Auel and the Gears!
Could an almost-blind person survive primordial Africa?
There’s a fascinating character in the Dawn of Humanity trilogy, with a big part in my latest book, Natural Selection, named Ahnda. Ahnda is a normal early man youth, growing up with his tribe, looking forward to hunting and knapping stone tools with the adults, until a series of mishaps land him alone, in an unknown area, and almost blind. Ahnda would like to give up, but then he would die so he makes the decision to keep moving toward his goal–to find Lucy and her tribe–until he can’t. He learns to rely on senses other than sight, to be furiously aware of his surroundings, to trust his ability to solve problems, and to never give up even when his journey seems impossible.
I hadn’t planned on Ahnda’s sight challenges when I started writing Natural Selection. I developed Glaucoma and suddenly, unbidden, Ahnda’s mishaps ended him in near-blindness as though the Universe was telling me to stop whining. Others have it worse. At first blush, I didn’t believe it was possible for him to survive, and then I read Enos Abijah Mills’ story, The Adventures of a Nature Guide. He had been exploring the peak of the Continental Divide, alone as was his norm, when he lost his vision to snow blindness. In the late 1800’s, there were no phones, compasses, or any other technology to help him out of this trouble. Most of us would ponder our mortality, but Mills rationally and calmly found his way back to civilization by employing his remaining senses:
“[Blindly, trudging through endless snow, I shouted] … listened intently … and noticed the direction from which the reply came, its intensity, and the cross echoes …”
The farther he traveled, the less Mills cared what nature threw at him. Each problem presented an opportunity to learn about the natural world and himself. That became the model for Ahnda. Today’s world has lots of sight-challenged individuals who function well with canes, seeing-eye dogs, and clickers, but Ahnda has none of those. Is it reasonable that he could survive? Let’s look at the science.
There is a lot of evidence backing up the ability to navigate one’s environment via sounds.
One: Bats fly in dark caves and find insect prey using a skill called echolocation. They produce sound waves outside of the human ear’s ability to hear to locate objects around them. You can do an Internet search for details.
Another: Sight-challenged people can learn to move around well using a combination of sonar, echolocation, and “clicking”. If you didn’t know they were sight-challenged, you wouldn’t know. Interested? Search “Daniel Kish” and “Perceptual Navigation” for more information.
I bet all of you know at least one physically-challenged individual that doesn’t let that stop them at. all. Share those stories in the comments!
About Jacqui Murray:
Jacqui Murray 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 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.
The Canis’ packmates were all dead, each crumpled in a smeared puddle of blood, Upright killing sticks embedded where they should never be. His body shook, but he remembered his training. The killers’ scent filled the air. If they saw him—heard him—they would come for him, too, and he must survive. He was the last of his pack.
He padded quietly through the bodies, paused at his mate, broken, eyes open, tongue out, pup under her chest, his head crushed. A moan slipped from his muzzle and spread around him. He swallowed what remained in his mouth. Without a pack, silence was his only protection. He knew to be quiet, but today, now, failed.
To his horror, a departing Upright looked back, face covered in Canis blood, meaty shreds dripping from his mouth, the body of a dead pup slung over his shoulder. The Canis sank into the brittle grass and froze. The Upright scanned the massacre, saw the Canis’ lifeless body, thought him dead like the rest of the decimated pack. Satisfied, he turned away and rushed after his departing tribe. The Canis waited until the Upright was out of sight before cautiously rising and backing away from the onslaught, eyes on the vanished predators in case they changed their minds.
And fell.
He had planned to descend into the gully behind him. Sun’s shadows were already covering it in darkness which would hide him for the night, but he had gauged his position wrong. Suddenly, earth disappeared beneath his huge paws. He tried to scrabble to solid ground, but his weight and size worked against him and he tumbled down the steep slope. The loose gravel made gripping impossible, but he dug his claws in anyway, whining once when his shoulder slammed into a rock, and again when his head bounced off a tree stump. Pain tore through his ear as flesh ripped, dangling in shreds as it slapped the ground. He kept his legs as close as possible to his body and head tucked, thankful this hill ended in a flat field, not a river.
Or a cliff.
When it finally leveled out, he scrambled to his paws, managed to ignore the white-hot spikes shrieking through his head as he spread his legs wide. Blood wafted across his muzzle. He didn’t realize it was his until the tart globs dripped down his face and plopped to the ground beneath his quaking chest. The injured animal odor, raw flesh and fresh blood, drew predators. In a pack, his mate would purge it by licking the wound. She would pronounce him Ragged-ear, the survivor.
Ragged-ear is a strong name. A good one.
He panted, tail sweeping side to side, and his indomitable spirit re-emerged.
I live.
But no one else in his pack did.
Except, maybe, the female called White-streak. She often traveled alone, even when told not to. If she was away during the raid, she may have escaped. He would find her. Together, they would start over.
Today is the release day of my newest novel, Shadow Walker.
I’d appreciate some support!
Freedom’s never come at a higher price.
Nine Houses rule the nation, and Melaina stays away from them at all costs. She lives by one hard rule: never mingle with the supernatural.
Driven by fear of discovery, she remains on the fringes of society, occasionally stealing to provide for her aunt and her brother. When the opportunity to work for a corporation not owned by a House falls into her lap, she can’t believe her luck. With a forged non-magical certification in hand, she’s ready to embrace a bright future.
Unfortunately, the future is an ambush by blackmailing thugs, notorious assassins, and an unscrupulous House leader.
Entrenched in House conflict, Melaina’s dream of normalcy has turned into her worst nightmare.
Now, to save her brother and family secrets, she’ll have to partake in one last dangerous heist. Success meant exposing her forbidden magic, but Failure could cost the lives of everyone she loves.
Over the weekend I managed to set up the preorders for the first two books in my upcoming series.
Give me your thoughts!
Cover image for Shadow Walker
Nine Houses rule the nation, and Melaina stays away from them at all costs. She lives by one hard rule: never mingle with the supernatural.
Driven by fear of discovery, she remains on the fringes of society, occasionally stealing to provide for her aunt and her brother. When the opportunity to work for a corporation not owned by a House falls into her lap, she can’t believe her luck. With a forged non-magical certification in hand, she’s ready to embrace a bright future.
Unfortunately, the future is an ambush by blackmailing thugs, notorious assassins, and an unscrupulous House leader.
Entrenched in House conflict, Melaina’s dream of normalcy has turned into her worst nightmare.
Now, to save her brother and family secrets, she’ll have to partake in one last dangerous heist. Success meant exposing her forbidden magic, but Failure could cost the lives of everyone she loves.
As a binge reader, I often come across many great books that are, for the most part, overlooked by the majority of readers. It’s disappointing to tell a friend, “Hey, I read so and so book,” only to realize the other person not only never heard of the book, but has no idea who the author is.
So, I wanted to start sharing some books I enjoyed very much, but that I think don’t get enough credit.
For this post, I will be introducing The Guild Codex Universe by Annette Marie.
There are four series in this urban fantasy world and one magic system. I’ve read them all and enjoyed each equally.
First, let me introduce you to the series, where the characters are interwoven:
The Guild Codex: Spellbound
The Guild Codex: Demonized
The Guild Codex: Warped
The Guild Codex: Unveiled
And here’s the first book in each one, as well as a goodreads description and a brief thought:
Spellbound
Image taken from Goodreads
Starting with Three Mages and a Margarita, this series is complete at eight books, all of which are amazing.
Goodreads description:
“Mages, psychics, sorcerers, druids, demons—and a human with a feisty attitude, no magic, and one last chance at gainful employment.”
I loved the fact that Tori is one tough kick ass human, no hidden powers, no magic at all, but she stands equally to all the supernaturals and is just as badass – and sometimes more.
This was the first book I read by this author, but not the last.
Demonized
Image taken from Goodreads
Starting with Taming Demons for Beginners, this series is complete at four books.
Goodreads description:
“When shy bookworm Robin found a hellish creature imprisoned in her uncle’s basement, she never intended to make a contract with the rare, deadly demon. And their contract? His protection in exchange for… cookies. There’s no way that could go wrong.”
Between this one and Spellbound, the two series really come alive. I read them in their reading order, which you can find here.
Warped
Image taken from Goodreads
Starting with Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors
There are three books in this series, though there are more to come, and I can’t wait!
Goodreads description:
“When psychic conman Kit is arrested, all he wants to do is escape. Instead, he finds himself partnered with by-the-books MagiPol agent Lienna and tasked with bringing down his ex-partner-in-crime. That might make escaping custody a tad more difficult.”
Narrated from the pov of a male character and a convict as well, this is, by far, the one to make you laugh in the middle of the night. You can’t help but root for the underdog – and yes, it’s action packed as well.
Unveiled
Image taken from Goodreads
Starting with The One and Only Crystal Druid, there are four books published in this series, and like Warped, there are still more to come.
Goodreads description:
“When ex-convict and incompetent witch Saber encounters the notorious Crystal Druid, she tries to kill him. Then she discovers a mysterious fae on a deadly rampage. Together, they have a chance to stop it—if she can resist stabbing her new ally.”
I’ll admit that after reading about Zach as a secondary character in the other three series, I was so excited to finally read his story, that when I finally picked it up and found it told in the female’s pov, I was disappointed. I wanted Zach as the lead character, and for that, my enjoyment dimmed. That doesn’t mean that this series isn’t awesome, because it is, only that I felt betrayed when I picked up the first book and found the story told in someone else’s pov.
So that’s it. Have you ever read any of the above?
There are other books by this author in other worlds – Steel and stone, and they’re great reads as well – yes, I’ve read them all. But to keep this post short, I’ll stop here, for now. Next week, I’ll come back with a new post and a new author.
Do you know any similar books overlooked by the majority? Let me know in the comments below!
While it’s true that the path of writing is a solitary one, getting published isn’t. In fact, there isn’t an author out there who wouldn’t agree with the fact that publishing a book is the work of a team.
While I’d been absent from the blogosphere for most of this year and the last, I spent all my time (the free ones) up in a tree, enjoying the moonlight.
Cat in a tree at night – according to Pixabay.
I mean, in my dreams. In my waking hours (though I might or not have been lucid because I can’t remember how the time passed by), I wrote an upcoming trilogy, which I’ll be posting about in the following weeks.
For today, I wanted to take the time to thank some of the authors who’ve helped and supported me in my latest endeavor.
Author Tyler Colins, for reading my books and for the proofread – but especially for being a good friend. I treasure all the back and forth emails we share. You’re an amazing person, an amazing writer, and an amazing editor.
Thank you. I did sniff back some tears of despair when you told me “house” should be in upper case, but I gritted my teeth and went back through book 1 and book 2, and capitalized all 500+ “house”. And yes, I went over one by one because not all the “houses” in the story belonged to a house of power. But hey, I survived.
Author E. Denise Billups. Thank you for always being there whenever I despair about the layout format. Your help is the reason my books are well-formatted, and I appreciate you always taking the time to reply to my emails, format my books – which sometimes you do more than once because I keep messing it up – and for always replying to my rants. And most of all, thanks for being my friend for the past five years.
I promise I’m learning the war strategy for layout format, and hopefully, one day, you’ll tell me that I’ve done it right. My fingers are crossed. Hopefully, they won’t get stuck like that.
I’ve been hearing about the merger for Penguin Random House with rival Simon & Schuster for some time now. Who here never played monopoly?
Some people say less competition is better, but what they forget to consider is that without competition, options become limited. If the Big 5 becomes 4, there’s nothing stopping another merger to happen, then another, and another, until there’s one publishing house monopolizing the publishing industry.
When competition is gone, there’s no stopping the provider from setting the rules that benefits them the most, with the prices that benefits them the most.
I’ve read an article today that even established author, Stephen King, stood up against the merger, regardless that his books are published by Simon & Schuster.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter!
Here’s a quote, and the link for the article below that.
“Blockbuster horror writer Stephen King testified on Tuesday as the star witness in the Justice Department’s case against the merger of publishing giant Penguin Random House with rival Simon & Schuster. The author, whose own books are published mostly by Simon & Schuster, said he had watched as consolidation in the industry lowered pay for lesser-known colleagues.”
It’s been months since I’ve last posted here. So much has happened. I’ve started a few times to post, but I never hit the publish button.
The other day, I had the honor to be invited to a fun and entertaining interview by fellow writer and blogger Jonathan Pongratz. He’s the author of Reaper: A Horror Novella, among a few others.
Reaper: A Horror Novella book cover
So, without further ado, come take a look!
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Through an unknown magic you are teleported to the world of a book you’ve recently read. Where have you ended up?
Jina: Velaris, from A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas. Most make-believe places in books are plagued with war and monsters (at least most books I read), but Velaris is a wonderful place, filled with happy people. So much so that only its citizens know about its existence (to prevent an influx of people and corruption, as well as for protection). To everyone else, Velaris, (or The Court of Night as outsiders know it), believe the place to be in another location, and to be a nightmarish court, fraught with violence.
Jonny: Wow, what a change of scenery from your typical reads! I don’t think I’d know what to do in such a happy setting since I’m used to blood, guts, and scary stuff. Enjoy some deep, calming breaths while it lasts, I suppose.
Woosh! I’ve been transported to D. Wallace Peach’s The Ferryman and the Sea Witch. Oh lordy, I’m terrified of the ocean! As long as I’m in the city of Brid Clarion or Haf Killick I’ll be okay, but put me on a boat and I’ll probably be seasick the entire time. Not to mention the dire fate I’ll suffer from the merrow if I fall overboard. Get me outta here!
Come read the rest – it’s a fun and entertaining post!
Jina S. Bazzar 