So, it’s been quite awhile since I’ve last engaged in anything writing. Around March 8, to be exact. If I’m honest, it was intentional. But not in a, ‘give up eating my broccoli and dumping in the dog’s dish,’ way.
Some of you may know that I’ve been working on a career change, due to having my fill of mental health issues arising from years of working as a Correctional Officer. But that’s H20 under the proverbial bridge, as they say. Though it never leaves you, not quite. The mind can forgive, but it never forgets, not those things.
Just a bit of backdrop there. I haven’t forgotten any of you, though I feel regret for not reengaging with the community sooner. Today is a fresh start, and I’m recommitting to picking up where I left off. It felt good to actually write again this morning.
I’ve been involved with some career retraining, and it’s been eating up my time and energy, so I took a break from all things writing.
I apologize, not for the break, but for dropping out without a word. I have to reread a book I was going to give a review on back in early March.
Today I’ll start reading your blogs again, going as steadily as time and energy will permit.
Never too late to start again, for any of us. Today is the first day of the rest of your life!
After a warm spell, winter’s back with her arm’s spread wide to give a chilly embrace for anyone who ventures outdoors. Speaking of chills, I had to crank up the electric fireplace and huddle under my blanket as I dove into this delightfully spooky tale.
Amazon’s take:
Ward Chatham, founder of Chatham Hollow, is infamous for two things—hidden treasure and a curse upon anyone bold enough to seek it. Since his passing in 1793, no one has discovered his riches, though his legend has only grown stronger.
In 1888, charlatan Benedict Fletcher holds a séance to determine the location of Chatham’s fortune. It’s all a hoax so he can search for the gold, but he doesn’t count on two things—Victor Rowe, a true spiritualist who sees through his ruse, and Chatham’s ghost wreaking havoc on the town.
More than a century later, the citizens of the Hollow gather for the annual Founder’s Day celebration. A paranormal research team intends to film a special at Chatham Manor, where the original séance will be reenacted. Reporter and skeptic Aiden Hale resents being assigned the story, but even he can’t deny the sudden outbreak of strange happenings. When he sets out to discover who or what is threatening the Hollow—supernatural or not—his investigation uncovers decades-old conflicts, bitter rivalries, and ruthless murders.
This time, solving the mystery isn’t about meeting his deadline. It’s about not ending up dead.
My take:
Personally, whenever I hear the word, “Hollow,” in a place name, I’m immediately intrigued as to its potential for supernatural events. Whether it be from a famous story I’m sure we’re all familiar with, or the fact that I grew up near a place called, “Plum Hollow,” which was storied to have a ‘seer’ back in the nineteenth century.
The title is but one link in the chain that rattled my enthusiastic anticipation each time I opened my Kindle. For me, this story had two key ingredients that I thoroughly enjoy; a good mystery and a rapid eye reading brush with the paranormal.
While I’m more familiar with Mae’s work and I know that Staci is also an excellent writer, when I bought this book, I wasn’t sure how well the two voices would blend. I can now testify that my concern was unfounded as their collaborative voices melded to form a flawless flow, even during the transition between several timelines.
Though all the characters brought something to the séance table, I especially enjoyed the banter between Aiden and Greer.
I highly recommend this book for those who relish a twisty tale, infused with history, humor, and netherworld antics, sans gore and slash.
Have I enticed you to learn more and grab a copy? Yes? Then please read on to meet Staci & Mae, and click on the links.
Staci grew up in Western Pennsylvania writing stories and poetry in my free time, so no one was surprised when I became a writing major in college. After receiving creative and professional writing degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, I went on to get my Master’s Degree in Professional Writing, and I worked in corporate communications until I had my children. Now I’m a freelance writer and editor and spend many of my days happily immersed in fictional worlds.
They say everyone has a story to tell. I wrote my first childish “masterpiece” at six and was immediately bitten by the writing bug. Since then, I’ve been composing nonstop, and have dabbled in multiple genres over the years, writing everything from fantasy, westerns, and horror to inspirational fiction, romance, and sci-fi.
It took me a while to find my niche, but I’ve settled comfortably into the mystery/suspense genre. I have a passion for folklore, myth, and urban legends and that attraction often factors into my writing. You’ll find threads of archaic tales, cryptids, and mysterious places woven throughout many of my novels.
Professionally, I am a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and a past president of the Central Pennsylvania Writer’s Organization. I’m also proud to be one of the founding members of the award-winning writing blog Story Empire.
If I’m not camped out at my keyboard or have my nose buried in a book, I’m likely looking up blurry images of cryptids on Google, sorting through vintage photographs, or imagining life as a cat.
Today I have the pleasure of hosting prehistoric fiction author, Jacqui Murray. I’m excited about the release of her latest novel, Natural Selection, which is book #3 in her Dawn of Humanity series. I’ve read and highly recommend the first in this trilogy, Born in a TreacherousTime!
In this post, she’ll tell you about the latest release, but first, please check out the list of actual criticisms and tips that Jacqui’s gleaned from Twitter.
12 Writing Tips and 9 Criticisms I Got from Twitter Those of you who are either established authors, in-training, or anything in between, you probably already know the learning curve to become a writer is steep and endless. I’ve read a ton of how-to books, attended more than my share of conferences, and currently meet with fellow writers twice a month to discuss our passion. In each of these situations, no matter how often I attend, I learn something new. It will surprise none of you that I also find epiphanies in social media. Some streams offer one person’s insight on a chronic problem I also have. Others answer questions I couldn’t put into words enough to ask.
Here are some of the best writing tips I’ve gathered from social media the past year:
Get over your perfectionist tendencies.
If you’re having trouble meeting the minimum word count, it’s probably because you’re not being specific enough.
Keep a notebook with you at all times, and write in it. A lot.
Don’t compare yourself to other authors. Find your unique voice and write your stories.
If your story idea involves zombies, it probably has been done already.
If your scene sounds too much like a TV show or movie you’ve seen, cut it!
Writing’s hard. Good writing is even harder.
To uncover the plot of your story, don’t ask what should happen; ask what should go wrong.
Don’t let your dumb show.
Perfect is the enemy of good.
There are those who can make a $75 off-the-rack outfit look hand-tailored. Not true in writing. You can’t turn a bad novel into a good one by attaching a pretty cover.
Boldly go where other writers won’t.
Criticism:
To share the criticism I’ve received, I broadened the scope from social media to query letter responses, agents at writer’s conferences, Amazon comments, beta readers, and well-meaning friends:
What this story lacked in ambiance, it didn’t make up for with anything else.
From a trusted beta reader whose day job is doctoring: “I find you have idiopathic thinking.” When I asked what that was, she explained, “It’s thinking of unknown origin. In other words: What the f*** were you saying?”
From an agent who rejected my novel: I was whelmed.
About a too-complicated story I submitted: A bridge too far and a euphemism too short.
You promised a world-class thriller. I got a rerun of Fantasy Island.
“Why the h*** did you waste my time?” Sorry. Autocorrect. I meant to say, “Thank you for the submittal.”
I asked one agent for suggestions on fixing my story. Her response: “I got nothin’.”
“You wrote your MC right into a corner and she couldn’t escape, like a defective Roomba.”
“Nothin’ to see there.”
Have you found any great tips on your favorite social media?
Here’s a brief summary of Natural Selection. In this 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.
A perfect book for fans of Jean Auel and the Gears!
Excerpt:
Chapter 1
One Pack Ends, Another Begins
Africa 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.
Ragged-ear shook, dislodging the grit and twigs from his now-grungy fur. That done, he sniffed out White-streak’s odor, discovered she had also descended here. His injuries forced him to limp and blood dripping from his tattered ear obstructed his sight. He stumbled trying to leap over a crack and fell into the fissure. Fire shot through his shoulder, exploded up his neck and down his chest. Normally, that jump was easy. He clambered up its crumbling far wall, breaking several of his yellowed claws.
All of that he ignored because it didn’t matter to his goal.
Daylight came and went as he followed White-streak, out of a forest onto dry savannah that was nothing like his homeland.
Why did she go here?
He embraced the tenderness that pulsed throughout his usually-limber body. It kept him angry and that made him vicious. He picked his way across streams stepping carefully on smooth stones, their damp surfaces slippery from the recent heavy rain, ignoring whoever hammered with a sharp rock inside his head. His thinking was fuzzy, but he didn’t slow. Survival was more important than comfort, or rest.
Ragged-ear stopped abruptly, nose up, sniffing. What had alerted him? Chest pounding, breathing shallow, he studied the forest that blocked his path, seeking anything that shouldn’t be there.
But the throbbing in his head made him miss Megantereon.
Ragged-ear padded forward, slowly, toward the first tree, leaving only the lightest of trails, the voice of Mother in his head.
Yes, your fur color matches the dry stalks, but the grass sways when you move. That gives away your location so always pay attention.
His hackles stiffened and he snarled, out of instinct, not because he saw Megantereon. Its shadowy hiding place was too dark for Ragged-ear’s still-fuzzy thinking. The She-cat should have waited for Ragged-ear to come closer, but she was hungry, or eager, or some other reason, and sprang. Her distance gave the Canis time to back pedal, protecting his soft underbelly from her attack. Ragged-ear was expert at escaping, but his stomach spasmed and he lurched to a stop with a yowl of pain. Megantereon’s next leap would land her on Ragged-ear, but to the Canis’ surprise, the She-cat staggered to a stop, and then howled.
While she had been stalking Ragged-ear, a giant Snake had been stalking her. When she prepared her death leap, Snake dropped to her back and began to wrap itself around her chest. With massive coils the size of Megantereon’s leg, trying to squirm away did no good.
Ragged-ear tried to run, but his legs buckled. Megantereon didn’t care because she now fought a rival that always won. The She-cat’s wails grew softer and then silent. Ragged-ear tasted her death as he dragged himself into a hole at the base of an old tree, as far as possible from scavengers who would be drawn to the feast.
He awoke with Sun’s light, tried to stand, but his legs again folded. Ragged-ear remained in the hole, eyes closed, curled around himself to protect his vulnerable stomach, his tail tickling his nose, comforting.
He survived the Upright’s assault because they deemed him dead. He would not allow them to be right.
Sun came and went. Ragged-ear consumed anything he could find, even eggs, offal, and long-dead carcasses his pack normally avoided. His legs improved until he could chase rats, fat round ground birds, and moles, a welcome addition to his diet. Sometimes, he vomited what he ate and swallowed it again. The day came he once again set out after what remained of his pack, his pace more sluggish than prior to the attack, but quick enough for safety.
Ragged-ear picked up the female’s scent again and tracked her to another den. He slept there for the night and repeated his hunt the next day and the next. When he couldn’t find her trace, instinct drove him and memories of the dying howls of his pack, from the adults who trusted their Alpha Ragged-ear to protect them to the whelps who didn’t understand the presence of evil in their bright world.
Everywhere he traveled, when he crossed paths with an Upright, it was their final battle.
Interested? Find out how you can grab your copies of this series and come meet Jacqui!
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.
Book information: Title and author: Natural Selection by Jacqui Murray Series: Book 3 in the Dawn of Humanity series Genre: Prehistoric fiction Editor: Anneli Purchase
First, I just want to wish my neighbors south of the border a Happy Memorial Day Weekend. I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the holiday, now that things are getting a bit more back to normal.
Today, I’m reviewing Virtually Gone, A Mended Souls Novel, by Jacquie Biggar. This is number 6 in a series of 8 books written by various U.S.A. Today Best Selling Authors.
What Amazon Says:
From USA Today Bestselling Author, Jacquie Biggar, comes a gripping techno-thriller, part of a multi-author series tied together by an interlocking cast of characters, all centered around the fantastic new promise of high technology and the endless possibilities for crime that technology offers, in a world where getting away with murder can be not only plausible, but easy…if you just know how.
Investigative reporter Julie Crenshaw stumbles upon the case of a lifetime–one that could cost her everything.
When Julie is called on to investigate a string of sexual abuse cases, she doesn’t expect to land in the crosshairs of a serial rapist. Soon she’s in a race to find the facts before a killer makes her the headline.
Detective Matthew Roy is frustrated with his inability to track a rapist terrorizing his city. Added to that, his partner’s reporter girlfriend is dogging his every step and won’t heed his warnings. Time is ticking with the perpetrator escalating his crime to murder. Matt needs to find the killer soon, or chance losing someone he cares for- the question is, how?
My Turn:
The game is afoot in this mountain road twisty, twenty-first century style whodunnit.
The plot is chock full of red herrings and dead leads that will keep the reader guessing. The technical information is included, but skillfully woven into the plot as to avoid impeding the flow.
Descriptions are equally finessed into the word building with just enough to conjure up the image.
I found Detective Matthew Roy to fit a bit snugly into the chalk outline of “the lone wolf, with a traumatic past and a chip on his shoulder,” however, it works for this story.
Overall, I highly recommend this book.
Four Stars !
Meet Jacquie:
Jacquie Biggar is a USA Today bestselling author of romance who loves to write about tough, alpha males and strong, contemporary women willing to show their men that true power comes from love. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and loves to hear from readers all over the world! In her own words: “My name is Jacquie Biggar. When I’m not acting like a total klutz I am a wife, mother of one, grandmother, and a butler to my calico cat. My guilty pleasures are reality tv shows like Amazing Race and The Voice. I can be found every Monday night in my armchair plastered to the television laughing at Blake’s shenanigans. I love to hang at the beach with DH (darling hubby) taking pictures or reading romance novels (what else?). I have a slight Tim Hortons obsession, enjoy gardening, everything pink and talking to my friends.”
Well, sunshine for the 2nd day in a row here, and I’ve just received my 1st COVID vaccination shot, yesterday. Aside from a bit of muscle ache, nothing (yet) to report. I guess we can call that a good day.
Speaking of good, I just finished reading Bill Ward’s book, Revenge.
What Amazon Says:
There is no greater motivator for evil than a huge sense of injustice!
Tom Ashdown, an unlikely hero, owns a betting shop in Brighton and gambles with his life when he stumbles across an attempted kidnapping, which leaves him entangled in a dangerous chain of events involving the IRA, a sister seeking revenge for the death of her brother and an informer in MI5 with a secret in his past.
Revenge is a fast paced thriller, with twists and turns at every step.
In a thrilling and violent climax everyone is intent on some form of revenge.
My Turn:
I really enjoyed this action-packed thriller with the plot of a twisty straw. The mundane meets the larger-than-life in an unusual crisis, and an underdog finds a great new home.
Revenge has the essential ingredient of character development and a maturing of the main characters. I finished this book quickly, as it kept me flipping those pages.
Aside from some punctuation issues and the occasional point of view shift, that had me rereading, it was a fantastic read. I’m giving this one, FOUR STARS.
Meet Bill Ward:
Bill’s love of reading commenced at a very young age. He credits his Gran for encouraging his interest by regularly taking him to the local library after primary school. At boarding school, when the lights went out in his dormitory, he was often encouraged by the other boys to tell stories. English Literature was always his favourite school subject.
A long and successful career in IT saw him live and travel all over the world. With hindsight it was the start of his writing fiction but they were called business proposals in those days!
Having always enjoyed different cultures, the one life lesson Bill has learned is “wherever you go you will find good and bad people. This is not determined by colour, race, religion or country.”
Recently retired from the corporate world, Bill has finally fulfilled his lifelong ambition to become an author and has now written nine thrillers, with the expectation of many more to follow.
Bill lives in Nottingham, UK with his German wife and has seven daughters, a son, a stepson, three horses, a dog, two cats and two rabbits! When he’s not writing he’s probably watching his football team West Brom, who he has now been watching for over fifty years!
Empowering suburban dads to master the art of living - from maintaining pristine lawns and home improvement to taking care of family, personal finance, and self-care. Your one-stop resource for a fulfilling suburban lifestyle.
Mark Bierman 