It’s HERE! #mystery #aviation #amreading #newbook #releaseday

Trade Paperback and Ebook (Camel Press, 2019)

Happy Release Day!

Join me in welcoming my debut novel into the world!

Sierra Bauer, aircraft mechanic, struggled against personal tragedy to reclaim control of her life and her aviation career, but when she discovers a frozen body in her inspection plane, she must prove her innocence and uncover the key to exposing a deadly aviation conspiracy before she becomes the next casualty.

It has been a long couple of years, from the time I signed the contract with my publisher to today. And before that, a few years of writing, revising, and revising some more.

Whew!

Follow me over the next couple of weeks as I tour through the blogs of some generous hosts. This writing community of ours is incredible, with writers supporting and encouraging each other. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to those who are letting me use their blog for a day to promote my book. THANK YOU!

Visit these blogs on the dates listed to learn more about Murder in Plane Sight :

March 13: D. L. Finn
March 18: Betsy Kerekes
March 19: Staci Troilo Audiobook Release Day!
March 21: Joan Hall
March 25: Jacqui Murray
March 27: Mae Clair

Order at     Amazon     Barnes and Noble     IndieBound

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So close now #mystery #aviation #release #amreading

The countdown continues! I’m both excited and terrified at the prospect of my first book going out into the world. The inevitable insecurities are careening through my mind:

• OMG, other people will read my book!
• Oh. My. God. Other people will read my book 😮
• Will they like it? Will anybody like it?
• All those people at work who already bought or will buy my book–what if they don’t like it? Will they still talk to me? (yes, I know it’s a totally unfounded fear 🙂 )
• What if nobody likes it?
• How am I supposed to write book 2 and market this one at the same time?
• How do I contact bookstores to have them carry my book?
• Where is my press kit? My publisher said they were putting one together.
• What about a newsletter? Oh man, I should have put a newsletter together already.
• When will I get my printed books? Will I get them by the first weekend in April for the Writers’ Institute?  *unintelligible grumbling*
• I have to schedule author events. When? Where?
• This is scary. What was I thinking?
• I’ll be fine. I mean, every author has to learn the ropes, right?
• Seriously, things will work out.
• Damn snowstorm. A-frickin’-gain. When will it end????

Hoo-boy. I know all writers go through this with their first book. Heck, probably with every book. Deep breath. Everything will be fine.

“Relax, love.”

My Muse drops a stuffed duffel bag beside the back door to my office. His blond hair is sunbleached, a counter to the bronze of his skin. His well-worn jeans and hiking shoes don’t quite work with the muscle shirt emblazoned with a surfing gator and “Spring Break” in eye-searing orange and green. He hangs a red hoodie on the coat tree.

“Where the hell have you been?”

He flashes his crooked grin. The skin around his eyes is noticably lighter than the rest of his face. “Enjoying some sunshine.” He makes a show of opening the door once again and looking over the yard. “And sand. You know, not that cold white stuff outside.” He shuts the door. “You do realize the equinox is in two weeks.”

“Your point?” We’re supposed to get another 6-9 inches of snow this weekend. Ugh. “Don’t you have some pull with Mother Nature? I mean, you being a Muse with a capital ‘M’ and all?”

He sits on a corner of my desk. “Naw. Besides, she’s got her own agenda. Last I talked to her, she was planning, and I quote–” he makes air quotes–“‘weather experiments’.”

Gulp. “Um, why don’t you tell her she can send Spring on stage. I think Winter needs a vacation.” Although this week was the first week in over a month where it didn’t snow, like, every other day.

He combs his short hair back with his fingers and chuckles. “Yeah, well, she can be really sweet, but when she’s in a mood …” He shrugs. “Anyway. Are you ready for the release?”

“You mean besides not being able to actually hold my brand-new novel until who knows when? Oh, and no press kit yet.”

“You got your website going, though.”

“Yes! Finally! And I linked it to my blog. And my blog has a link to my website.” About flipping time, too. One would think someone who worked in IT for as long as I did would have been able to finish it sooner.

“Maybe so, but you never did a lot with web stuff. You did more basic programming and regular troubleshooting.” He loops an arm around my shoulders. “You did fine, love. Now, let’s see what kind of wine and chocolate you stocked up on. I might have to make a run.”

I have to say I’m glad he’s back, even if I’m not writing just now. I have workshop handouts to finish, and blog reading to catch up on. Sorry I’m so far behind, but I’ll catch up.

You can find the link to my website at the top of the page, or right here:  Julie’s Author Website. It’s nothing fancy; I’m taking Dan Blank’s advice about keeping it simple. I’ll have to do some tweaks once the book comes out, and make sure I add the audiobook when it comes out on March 19, one week after the book.

I’ll be hunkering down during yet another snowstorm. Then rain next week. As if the 6-9 inches over the weekend won’t be enough.

Stay tuned! Stay safe! And keep writing!

Book Release: Survival of the Fittest #amreading #newrelease #crossroads

Today I’m helping celebrate Jacqui Murray’s latest release, the first book of her Crossroads series.

The book is set in prehistory, when human survival depended less on brute strength and more on outwitting predators. Did those early humans have a way to explain their luck when they managed to survive until the next day? 

Survival of the Fittest hints at a spiritual side to man. Is that accurate?

Scientists have no idea when man’s spirituality started. Because 850,000 years ago (when Xhosa lived) is considered prehistory—before any sort of recorded record—there’s no way to tell. Survival of the Fittest offers one speculative theory of how that could have happened.

Short Blurb:

Five tribes. One leader. A treacherous journey across three continents in search of a new home.

Short Summary:

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.

Chapter 1 Excerpt:

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…

Book information:

 Title and author: Survival of the Fittest by Jacqui Murray
Series: Book 1 in the Crossroads series, part of the Man vs. Nature saga
Genre: Prehistoric fiction
Cover by: Damonza 

Available at: Kindle US Kindle UK Kindle CA Kindle AU

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:
 http://twitter.com/worddreams
http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher
http://linkedin.com/in/jacquimurray
https://worddreams.wordpress.com
https://jacquimurray.net

 

The excitement is real #mystery

So, last week we got about an inch and a half of snow on Saturday, and 40-50 mile an hour winds (blizzard) on Sunday.

What does an inch and a half of snow look like after a day of blizzard winds?

Glad you asked.

The building beyond, that you can just see over the top of the drift, is a metal pole barn we call the machine shed, because that is where the previous owners would keep farm equipment. The mound in the middle of the drift is our brush pile/burn pile. Overall, I would estimate the drift is more than 8 feet high. The distance between the grove and the silo is probably 60 feet or more.

Sooo tired of snow. On the bright side, it’s not supposed to snow again for a few days. I know; after the past month, I’m not sure I believe it either. 🙂

Promo stuff. Ugh. I did order some bookmarks and flyers/posters. They didn’t turn out too bad.

Next up is my author website. I decided to leave the blog alone, and just link it to the author site (and vice versa). That way I don’t have to work the blog into the site. I have to keep reminding myself to keep it simple.

At this point I’m wondering when I’ll get a chance to write again. Seriously. But once everything is set up, it should be pretty easy to maintain. Especially if I don’t have to monkey around with the blog.

I have a workshop for my Sisters in Crime chapter to work on. It’s scheduled for Saturday, March 9, which so far is forecast to be snow-free.

Please don’t let it snow. Heck, as long as you’re at it, how about a whole week or two without snow? The solstice is three weeks away!

Daughter and I are going to see the new How to Train Your Dragon movie tonight. I don’t go out to see movies very often; I usually wait until they come out on DVD and get them from the library, but there are a select few I’ll see in the theater. Can’t wait! (Hopefully we can still get out the driveway; we got 2 1/2 inches of new fluffy snow. We should be fine as long as the winds don’t kick it around too much).

Have a great weekend, all!

My chair. Seriously. Go sit somewhere else.

 

Snowstorm? Again? Good excuse to work on promo stuff

Yep. We got 10 inches of snow on Wednesday. Another storm coming in this weekend is forecast to grace us with another 4-6 inches of snow.

I shovel the snow off the deck so it doesn’t build up. The deck is anywhere from 3 1/2 feet to 5 feet high depending on the ground (decks are generally level, the ground is not 🙂 ) Most of the deck is now level with the snow I’ve been shoveling off.

I’m running out of places to put it. This next snow is supposed to be wetter than the stuff we have been getting. Wetter snow = heavier snow, but also snowman snow. Maybe I’ll just build snowmen instead of shoveling.

Sooo tired of snow. Sooo can’t wait for spring. The vernal equinox is a month away, and as we experienced last year, it is no guarantee spring will arrive with any haste. Damn.

So, in light of the wonderful–not–storm, I’ll keep plugging away at promo stuff. I just listened–well, watched–a Dan Blank series about author websites. If you don’t know Dan Blank, you’re missing out. Seeriously. He was a keynote speaker at Writers’ Institute a few years back. He’s got some great advice for writers. And he always includes pics of his two boys in his weekly newsletter.

Anyway, the gist of the series was simplicity. Keep things simple. And connect with the reader as you would a person in real life. I have to say I’m kind of more okay with my author website not being finished yet. I think the whole idea of being simple will help me fend off the feeling of being overwhelmed by all the choices: themes, plugins, pages, oh my!

A lot of things still need to be done between now and March 12. I was hoping my Muse would stop by, but so far, no sign of him. I think he got bored with my looking through seed catalogs last night.

His loss. Me, well, I’m just wishing for more spring, less snow.

Another thing I’m chewing on is signing up for book festivals. There is a writers mini-conference (with an opportunity to sell books) happening in a month that my sister-in-law is involved in as part of a Friends of the Library group. I won’t be going this year, since I have no idea when I’ll be getting print books. She did invite me to the dinner the evening before the event, where David Housewright is the keynote speaker. Cool!

There are other opportunities, and I need to toss my hat into the ring for panels our Sisters in Crime chapter does. The group is a valuable resource, from events authors can participate in to getting the scoop about writers’ conferences. I can’t make Left Coast Crime, and Thrillerfest, but Bouchercon is in Dallas this year. Might have to go to that one.

Still no sign of my Muse. Hmm. I wonder if he and Mr. E are off on a pub crawl again. Anyway, today’s docket includes finalizing some promo stuff, ordering some swag, and I think I’ll squeeze some more seed catalog browsing in there. Between shoveling, of course. 😐

Keep Writing! If you are in the path of this weekend’s storm yet again, stay safe and warm!

 

Winter, you need to go. Seriously.

Since I didn’t get a fresh picture of the snow we’ve gotten over the past 2 weeks, I’ll recycle this one, which doesn’t show the foot of snow we now have. So, imagine another 10 inches of snow in the picture.

The weather people say our average temperature for this time of year should be around 30 F.

High temp today: all of 10 F.

We are now within 6 inches of the all-time snowiest February on record. As it is, we are in 4th place.

Talk about wonky weather. Yep, I’m done with it. Soo ready for spring.

As I’m shooting in the dark putting my website and email list and newsletter and everything else that comes with it together, part of me is thinking about seed catalogs. I usually take an evening and look through seed catalogs during the New Year’s holiday time off.

I have a stack of seed catalogs, and haven’t looked at a single one yet.

And the inevitable question: garden or no garden?

Then the inevitable ‘hold on there’: tomatoes fresh from the garden. ‘Nuff said.

Oh, and all the other things that taste so much better fresh from the garden, like asparagus, cucumbers, beets, peppers, kale, zucchini, green beans, cilantro, onions, etc.

And the next inevitable thoughts: Weeds. Mosquitoes. Rabbits.

Effing rabbits.

And there’s Book 2, along with the 6 or 7 rough drafts in its wake. Not sure what I’m going to say to my editor when she asks when she’ll be able to see it. Or a synopsis.

So maybe I’ll take a night and look through seed catalogs. Pick out one new thing to grow. Maybe I’ll do pumpkins this year; haven’t done those for a while. Or maybe brussels sprouts–I didn’t do those last year, but I love them, especially roasted with sweet potatoes. Maybe I’ll plant marigolds around the perimeter, just to make me feel better about trying to keep the rabbits out. And maybe spinach again, since I now know that spinach seeds are only viable for a year; no wonder those leftover seeds from two years ago never came up.

I guess this means I’ll do a garden. There is something about growing plants and being in touch with the dirt that renews the soul. It will probably be neglected, because writing. And promoting. Which also reminds me I have some blog tour posts to finish and send out. If you are on my list, I’m hoping to get them to you by the beginning of the week. I’ll be in touch. (If you aren’t on my list and want to be, let me know 😀 )

Have a great weekend!

Ta-da! #amreading #mystery #coverreveal

Happy Finally-can-get-out-of-the-driveway Day!

The past few weeks have been a reminder that yes, it IS winter in Minnesota, and yes, it SUCKS if you have to drive anywhere. Last week we had the polar invasion of the “OMG Cold” temps and wind chills. This week was the week we got all the snow we should have been getting all season.

Needless to say, I am so glad I can work from home. Although, there is something to be said about getting out of the house for 10 hrs (8 hr shift + 1 hr commute both ways). And cabin fever has become one of my “favorite” terms this week.

Hubs finally cleared the driveway last night. We got 4-5 inches of snow in the first wave, and an additional 2-4 inches in the second wave, so he waited until both waves went through before snowblowing. Remember, we have a 1/4 mile driveway, so there was no way I was getting out until he cleared the drive. Oh, and the ground blizzard afterwards. It was like we were in one of those National Geographic episodes they film in the Arctic. Or the Antarctic. Take your pick.

So, all that time the past week I didn’t have to commute I spent working on my promo stuff. You know, figuring out how to build a website, designing FB headers, Twitter headers, waiting impatiently for my publisher to fix stuff. The usual.

Thing is, we’re within 6 weeks of release, and according to my editor, they are WAY behind. Turns out they have been enjoying the same type of lousy winter weather we’ve been having. They are out in the Northwest, and while here in MN we get some ice and a lot of snow, in Seattle they don’t get quite as cold. And hills. Lots of hills. So icy + hills = not fun. So I decided to “help”. Actually, I decided I can’t wait any longer for them to get some of this stuff done.

Are you ready?

You sure?

In case you were wondering about the ferret, you’ll have to read the book to find out. Heh. See what I did there?

You really sure you’re ready?

3 …

2 …

1 …

Ta-Da!

Release date: March 12, 2019

 Sierra Bauer, aircraft mechanic, struggled against personal tragedy to reclaim control of her life and her aviation career, but when she discovers a frozen body in her inspection plane, she must prove her innocence and uncover the key to exposing a deadly aviation conspiracy before she becomes the next casualty.

Here are the links for pre-order:  Barnes and Noble        Amazon

BE AWARE there will be an ebook as well, but my publisher has not listed it yet. There will also be an audiobook that should be available at the same time; the audiobook publisher is working to match the book’s release date. I still have to add search categories to the Amazon listing, but there are some good posts around about how to do that.

Whew. Okay, I feel better now. Sort of. There is still a lot to do and not a whole lot of time in which to do it.

The next thing on the list is lining up compadres who would like to help spread the word on release day. Give me a shout if you want in: jmgoebel (at) outlook (dot) com (don’t ask. really.) or use the contact form on my About page. I already have a few takers. Still working on those release posts 🙂

I hope to unveil my author website soon, with a cool countdown to the release.

This is getting both exciting and scary.

Okay, back to work. Have a wonderful weekend all!