M. Jacqueline Murray
M. Jacqueline Murray is a multiple award-winning author whose innovative Maddie & Nate series asks a provocative question: What if the same two people met at different moments in time? Writing "Thoughtful Speculative Romance" under the Cole Jacobs Books imprint, her debut novel Out of Time won four 2025 International Firebird Book Awards, was named a finalist for the American Writing Awards in Women's Fiction, and received additional recognition including Author Shout Top Pick and New England Book Festival Honorable Mention.
At the core of the series are two big ideas: The quantum multiverse branches endlessly through superposition, while our consciousness follows just one fixed path. And a fervent belief that every person is connected to their one true soulmate.
The series follows engineer Maddie Cole and lawyer Nate Jacobs across three parallel timelines where they meet at different life stages. Out of Time (April 2022) features them at 78 and 83, Next Time (August 2024) shows them meeting in mid-life during the 1970s, and Our Time (2026) will complete the trilogy with their meeting in early adulthood.
Jacqueline's work challenges romance conventions by featuring mature protagonists, incorporating authentic STEM representation, and grounding speculative elements in real science, history, and places rather than fantasy. She crafts romance that respects readers' intelligence, where realistic characters face complex moral choices and the mysteries of human connection are explored through the lens of quantum physics with both imagination and truth.
Embodying the Renaissance ideal of the multi-faceted intellectual, Jacqueline's career spans environmental science (geochemist, hydrogeologist), senior product marketing leadership in medical devices and diagnostics, and strategic branding consulting for medical and biotech companies. She holds advanced degrees in Earth Science from the University of Waterloo and an MBA.
Her work appeals to crossover audiences spanning romance, women's fiction, and literary fiction. Jacqueline divides her time between homes in the USA, Italy, and Canada, and her weekly Readers Club newsletter reaches approximately 1,000 subscribers.
