Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The 2022 Laramie Book Awards Long List for Americana Fiction – a division of the 2022 CIBAs
The Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre. The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Laramie Americana entries to the 2022 Laramie Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2022 Laramie Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2022 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Jerry E. Bustin – Outlaws, Renegades, and Prickly Pear Jam
- Pamela Nowak – Necessary Deceptions: The Women of Wyatt Earp
- Shanna Hatfield – Distracting the Deputy
- James W McDonopugh – A Distant Ridge
- Bruce Gardner – Seeing Glory: A Novel of Family Strife, Faith, and the American Civil War
- David Nix – Dead Man’s Hand
- E. Alan Fleischauer – JTs World
- Susan Higginbotham – John Brown’s Women: A Novel
- Debra Whiting Alexander – A River for Gemma
- T.K. Conklin – Guarded Hearts
- Larry Boucher – Ferris Station
- Larry Boucher – The Scout
- Ed Davis – The Last Professional
- E. Alan Fleischauer – How the West Was Won then Lost …. Decimation
- M.J. Hayes – Son of the Mountain
- Sophia Alexander – Tapestry: A Lowcountry Rapunzel
- Gail Hertzog – Crossing the Ford
- Dena Smallwood – Syrie
- Betty Willis – Texas Quest
- Shanna Hatfield – Holiday Hope
- Susanna Lane – Imperfect Promise
- Eileen Charbonneau – Ursula’s Inheritance
- Harriet Cannon – Exiled South
- Margaret Arross – The Priest and the Charlatan
- Margaret Arross – El Viento
- Daniel Greene – Northern Blood (Northern Wolf Series Book 3)
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

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Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 LARAMIE Awards is Tom Sawyer Returns by E.E. Burke

Click here to see the 2021 Laramie Book Award Winners for Americana Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions for the 2023 Laramie Book Awards for Americana Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:
Winners will be announced at the 2022 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

CAC23 – Turn it up to 11! April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
October 5, 2022
THE OUTLAW GILLIS KERG: A Tale of Physics, Lust and Greed by Mike Murphey – Time Travel, Murder Mystery, Sci-fi Thriller

Be careful what you wish for, because it may turn on you in The Outlaw Killis Kerg by Mike Murphey.

It’s midway through the 21^st century, and time travel is spreading. Who doesn’t want to travel back in time to change their present? However, the best plans can often bring dire consequences. When those in the present invent time travel, then people in the future also have the same ability. What might the future impose on the past to change the course of humanity?

Marta Hamilton and Marshall Grissom believe their time-traveling days are soon coming to an end. But while vacationing on their boat, they’re attacked by a group of intruders; they leap into action to defend themselves, and after defeating their attackers they recognize one of them from the time travel office. Someone ordered this attack. The intrigue begins, energizing Marta and Marshall on a journey to overturn the political machinations of a powerful partnership between government and corporate power. Their search leads to the ultimate confrontation against the cult of vengeance and The Outlaw Gillis Kerg.

Despite the high stakes, Marta and Marshall keep their biting sense of humor.

When they discover a federal judge murdered, the clues indicate what they most feared. This murder was committed by an agent from the future, but how do you prove something like that? Marta and Marshall must find a way to do so, and catch the killer.

They are pushed, as a team, to risk their lives for the truth. Even when they realize they’re walking into a trap, they must move forward, with creative precautions. Marta and Marshall are a thrilling pair, diving into the storm, defying the forces against them, including those powerful opponents who sometimes act in unfamiliar, futuristic ways. Their challenging confrontations are an exciting read.

Author Mike Murphey has continued his epic Physics, Lust and Greed series with this fourth book that treats his readers to the same high level of action.

The author’s witty humor is laced throughout the dialogue, with pointed political satire. Readers will cheer for Marta and Marshall from the beginning, and find the other characters, including the US President, unique and entertaining. Some of these other characters may seem outrageous, but each follows their own motives.

Writing about all the past, present, and future actors invading different times could become overwhelming, but Murphey is very clear in his plotting and makes the action easy to follow.

Will Marta and Marshall prove the killer of the judge, come from the future? Can they catch that killer? How will they confront The Outlaw Gillis Kerg?

Mike Murphey’s series Physics, Lust and Greed was a Finalist in the Chanticleer 2021 Series Book Awards.

October 5, 2022
The M&M 2022 Long List for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries
The M&M Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Cozy and not-so-Cozy Mystery & Mayhem. The M&M Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring “mystery and mayhem,” amateur sleuthing, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery, perhaps with a touch of romance or humor. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. (For suspense, thriller, detective, crime fiction see our Clue Awards.)

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 M&M entries to the 2022 M&M Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for 2022 M&M Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the next level of achievement in the CIBAs. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBAs divisions’ Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremonies on April, 27-30, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. at the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles have advanced to the LONG LIST of the 2022 M&M Book Awards for Mystery & Mayhem

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.
- Scott Kauffman – Saving Thomas
- Miriam Verbeek – The Website
- Michelle Cox – A Spying Eye
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Book of Rules
- Lori Roberts Herbst – Frozen in Motion
- Kathleen Kaska – Murder at the Menger and Eagle Crossing
- Eileen Charbonneau – Missing at Harmony Festival
- Nancy J. Cohen – Styled for Murder
- Charlotte Stuart – Not Me: Speluncaphobia, Secrets & Hidden Treasure
- Charlotte Stuart – Moonlight Can Be Deadly (A Discount Detective Mystery)
- M. A. Winslow – Cradle of Storms
- Sallie Barr Palmer – Name Your Poison
- Nicole Asselin – Concession Stand Crimes
- Tony Garritano – I Saw What I Saw: A Harmony Neighborhood Mystery
- AG Flitcher – Boone and Jacque: Cytrus Moonlight
- Elizabeth Crowens – Hollywood Holmes
- Lynn Slaughter – Deadly Setup
- Doug Dorsey – Kick Ball Slay: An Introduction To West Coast Swing…AND A Murder Mystery
- Cheryl Denise Bannerman – Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping
- Rima Ray – Ruby Roy and the Murder in the Falls
- Roxanne Dunn – Murder Undetected
- Susan Wingate – Gag Me: A Friday Harbor Novel
- Landis Wade – Deadly Declarations
- Judy L Murray – Murder in the Master
- Jen Shieff – The Final Call
- Dime Sheppard – Crime Writer
- Betty Jean Craige – Life and Death at Zoo Arroyo
- TJ Stecker – Dishonored
- Henry G. Brinton – Windows of the Heavens
- Lori Robbins – Murder in Second Position
- Traci Andrighetti – Valpolicella Violet
- Gail Meath – Songbird
- Betty Jean Craige – Death in Potter’s Woods
- Kathleen Rhoads Carpenter – Summer’s Cloud Over Berry
- E.E. Burke – Tom Sawyer Returns
- M. K Graff – The Evening’s Amethyst: A Nora Tierney English Mystery
- Carl and Jane Bock – Grace Fully
- Carl and Jane Bock – Day of the Jaguar
- Elizabeth Woolsey – Horse Doctor Adventures Small Town Secrets
- M. K. Dean – An Embarrassment of Itches
- Ellen Butler – Pharaoh’s Forgery
Good Luck to All as Your Works Compete to Advance to the Next Level of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Congratulations to Michale Scott Garvin whose work Ophelia’s Room took home the Grand Prize for the 2021 M&M Book Awards

“Michael Scott Garvin’s latest psychological thriller makes us question everything – and trust no one. Here’s one that will keep you up at night! Highly Recommended!” – Chanticleer Reviews

Here is the link to the 2021 M&M Book Award Winners!

Our next Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony will be held during CAC23 on April 27-30, 2023 for the 2022 CIBA winners.

Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

We are now accepting entries into the 2023 M&M Book Awards, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
October 4, 2022
THE SPIRITUAL FOREST: Timeless Jewish Wisdom for a Healthier Planet and a Richer Spiritual Life by Andy Becker – Gardening, Ecological Protection, Spiritual Philosophy

Andy Becker, a small-town lawyer in Washington State, found solace from the demands of his career through the joys of gardening, the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and the spirituality of Judaism. He shares this sensibility in The Spiritual Forest

In this sequel to The Spiritual Gardener, Becker delivers a quiet, meditative offering that showcases the special connection between ancient Biblical values and the modern concepts of environmentalism.

The narrative is both informative and thought-provoking. To show the connection between our spirituality and the sacredness of our planet Becker uses questions for the reader as a guide, provides resources to take action in protecting natural treasures, and encourages us to share this knowledge with future generations. In a nod to Dr. Seuss’ cautionary tale, The Lorax, Becker stresses the importance of teaching youngsters about a love and respect for the Earth.

While Jewish traditions teach that we must care for the Earth to preserve what God created, and the great Chasidic Masters often wrote of their connection to the forest and their love of trees, Becker is quick to point out that this reverence is not restricted to any one religion or culture.

When a forest is artfully likened to “the greatest synagogue God ever created,” it could just as well be a cathedral. Here he ethereally describes a walk through a grove of old sequoias, their beauty lending a palpable divinity amidst the softness of the forest floor and the shafts of light streaming down.

In veneration of the author’s Northwestern home state and its far-reaching apple industry, Becker appropriately focuses on the popularity and historical relevance of the “King of all fruits.” In equal fairness, he references the significance of all blooming fruit trees and their embodying principle of shared beauty and bounty.

Within this slim volume, each of the 18 chapters opens with a relatable and provocative quote ranging from the philosophical words of religious leaders and environmentalists, to those of entertainment moguls, or the simple, yet profound Joyce Kilmer musings that declare, “I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree.” This wide array of voices helps to broaden Becker’s intentions.

Captivating black & white photographs help introduce each new topic and illustrate in particular the solemn beauty of trees within their natural landscape.

The images of trees range from a giant entity that extends upwards and out of the roof of a ruin at Angkor Wat, intertwined with its anchoring roots, to a favorite family catalpa tree known to drop its jasmine-scented blossoms like summer snow. Each selection, whether a burned-out forest, a close-up of budding fruit, or a high-angle tree canopy provides a noteworthy accompaniment to Becker’s pondering revelations.

In his effort to raise awareness about religious thought and the ethereal divinity of our planet, Becker provides an even balance in speaking to our hearts and minds while keeping our souls and spirits rooted.

A compact, contemplative companion, The Spiritual Forest highlights a gentle yet knowledgeable perspective on blending pious thought and the need to save our natural environment. A powerful book for nature lovers and faithful believers.

September 30, 2022
DELPHIC ORACLE, U.S.A. by Steven Mayfield – Small Town Fiction, Family Saga, Contemporary Fiction

The Coen Brothers meet Garrison Keillor in Steven Mayfield’s quirky, offbeat, and often hilarious Delphic Oracle, U.S.A.

One June afternoon in 1925, seventeen-year-old Maggie Westinghouse, out walking alone as was her custom, comes upon a stranger in a railroad switch-house asleep on a pile of gunnysacks. Maggie, who has always stood a little apart from the town, has recently begun to experience visions that come upon her “in a leisurely way,” ending in a swoon and a restless sleep filled with exotic talk of which she later has no memory. No one knows what to make of it, but they soon will. After this afternoon’s chance encounter with July Pennybaker, a charming grifter on the lam, her world will never be the same. Neither will the town of Miagrammesto Station.

Eighty-nine years later, in the days leading up to and following the July 4th weekend, domestic dramas are playing out across Delphic Oracle, Nebraska (nee Miagrammesto Station).

Teddy Goodfellow, given to periodic fits of restlessness, has done a runner only days before the Fourth of July parade. Francis Wounded Arrow, attempting to change the battery in his nearly cherry 1929 Chevy pickup, has gotten his arm stuck and remains there at Peaseblossom Implement & Auto Parts throughout the afternoon, chatting nonchalantly with the various townsfolk, some of them family who wander by. Beagle Gibbs embarks upon his Religious Period and begins interviewing the different denominations in the town, to see which might suit.

When Teddy bolts, the town responds as it always does. They hold a pool, friends and neighbors, and family each predicting a date and time for his return. The countdown begins. When Francis holds court in Big Bob’s garage, pretending that nothing is amiss—and after he’s privately called upon the Great Father and several of the pantheon of Blessed Uncles to no avail—the entire Delphic Oracle Fire Department is galvanized into action and very nearly saves the day. And Beagle, after a tour of all that the different churches in town have to offer, loses his religious ardor in an unfortunate and rather painful mishap with a nail-gun on the roof of his mother’s house.

But what happens is only part of the fun. It’s how it all happens—the droll language, the turns of phrase, the reactions of the townspeople—that makes the story.

This is not a novel to be rushed. This is a novel for those who love tall tales, yarns, sitting on a summer evening on the wide porch, fanning against the heat, and passing the time telling stories. It’s a novel of reflection and escapade. A novel to be savored.

Structurally, the story is a twist of two timeframes, two narratives. In one, a story that began three generations in the past unfolds. In the other, a bustling town is brought to life through the concurrent stories of several members of the same extended family. The historical strand drives relentlessly forward, those two lives unfurling and intertwining, time passing. The contemporary strand ripples outward, taking in the town and its inhabitants in a luxurious and unhurried manner over a period that encompasses, in storytime, only a few weeks, but that covers, in reflective time, much more than that.

Time, too, is in a twist.

It sieves back and forth and collapses in on itself. The past informs the present; and the present (for us readers), the past. Most of our primary present-day characters, the ones we live with over the course of a few weeks in July and August of 2014, remain anchored solidly in time. But the many characters who move like constellations about those steady poles—those we often encounter plucked out of their own timelines—are typically out of sequence.

This is a novel where a child new to the world, a toddler wailing in a crib, is elsewhere in the tale of the grandfather, long deceased. The stalwart man remembered in the present as the founder of the town puts in an appearance in the past, sixty-odd years after that founding, as a doddering grandfather who’s soiled himself. Another of those long-ago individuals was the flesh and blood precursor to the decades-old human skeleton partially unearthed by Regretful Peasebottom’s dog in a nearby vacant lot two days before the parade.

The same events sometimes reappear from different perspectives, and we put the full stories together like puzzle pieces, fitting now a future piece, now a past. A prism-puzzle, these pieces twirl and refract the light off themselves and one another, until we understand that the story of one forms a part of the story of all and the story of all reaches into the story of each.

The effect is a fully fleshed-out town of long acquaintance, filled with people who seem to live and breathe on the page. The author becomes not so much a novelist, as through his narrator an amanuensis. And to spend time with this novel is not so much to read a story as to take up residence in the town for several madcap weeks, every bit at home as though, like the narrator, you’d never truly lived anywhere else.

Delphic Oracle U.S.A won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Mark Twain Book Awards for Humor and Satire.

September 26, 2022
THE INSANE GOD by Jay Hartlove – Cosmic Horror, Paranormal Mystery, LGBT+ Fiction

Sarah, a transgender schizophrenic teenager, has spent the past seven years in a psychiatric ward. When all her symptoms of schizophrenia disappear after receiving a special necklace from a nurse, she must learn to live in a world that moved on without her, in The Insane God by Jay Hartlove.

She receives strange visions of two opposing gods in battle with each other, which Sarah and her brother Nate work together to understand. The reality of these visions threatens to endanger the lives of everyone on Earth unless they change the course of an eternal battle.

The Insane God touches on topics such as mental illness, mental health, gender identity, and racism.

While the author tells a complex story with these subjects, he doesn’t fully address them all to a satisfying degree.

What Hartlove does well with The Insane God is create a surreal horror novel. Sarah and Nate quickly accept their strange new reality, contending with surreal visions of these monster-like gods in a cataclysmic struggle of the cosmos. The Insane God will appeal to readers who like their expectations subverted.

Sarah shows remarkable strength in keeping herself together despite everything she has to endure. Because she is dealing with present and past struggles, her character development suffers within the confines of the story’s length and pace. The chapters that focus on Sarah generate the most interest through strong emotional engagement. Her gift is given by the necklace she wears; Sarah can just take it off and walk away from the conflict, but she chooses to face the gods, hoping that she can make a difference.

The Insane God is fast-paced, driving readers on with an excited curiosity to know what strange thing will happen next.

As the story reaches its climax and Sarah’s dreams are rapidly defying the laws of time and reason, it seems the threat is insurmountable. Will Sarah be able to fulfill her part in the workings of the universe? A strong current of humor balances this horror, even until the end.

Jay Hartlove’s The Insane God is a surreal science fiction journey that struggles at times to find its rhythm, but nevertheless tells an enthralling story like none other. Readers will be left wanting to see Sarah continue to grow, hoping that her story does not end here.

September 23, 2022
Word Nerd – Using the Best Word – the PERFECT Word by Kiffer Brown
Learning another language has always been my portal to understanding the nuances of my own language, American English. Currently, I am trying to learn European Portuguese to add to my faltering French and German. It is a very slow process but still appeals to my word nerdiness that I attribute to my Latin classes in high school.

In reviewing books and many other types of media, my most frequent complaint is when the writers are lazy with their word usage. Not punctuation. Not verb agreement. Not even when the writers are being pedantic. What makes me twitch the most is Lazy Word CHOICE!

Not that the words must be sesquipedalian. (Definition at the end of the post.)

For example, the word PERFECT.

Would any of these words below be a better fit than “perfect” for conveying your thoughts with a more exact meaning?
- impeccable
- without fault
- flawless
- faultless (slightly different than flawless)
- incomparable
- sublime
- ideal
- the best
- shiny new
- perfection
- absolutely
None of the words above are sesquipedalian (ahem), but they do have slightly different connotations to convey your thoughts more exactly, don’t they?

And now, as promised, the definition of sesquipedalia: very long words.

Sesquipedalian: a person who uses big words to sound smart.

Even though Diane Garland and I are lexicomanes, I hope that we do not come across as sesquipedalian. However, no one would accuse me of being pauciloquent.

Lexicomane: lover of dictionaries

Pauciloquent: using few words in speech or conversation

The main point is that as a writer, you do not want to bumfuzzle your readers or listeners.

Bumfuzzle: confuse, perplex, fluster

To bring this diverting (aka fun, I hope) post to a close, I would like to share some words that I read in a business journal that are supposed to make you sound smarter. However, their synonyms might work better in your works. It depends. Right? Right! Or as my friend with whom English is a second language admonishes me to say, “Correct? Correct!” instead of right—especially when giving directions.
- articulate (well-spoken)
- accolades (kudos)
- brevity (concise)
- adulation (excessive flattery)
- anomaly (odd)
- pithy (brief, clever remark)
- lucid (clear and intelligible)
- bespoke (custom-made)
- diatribe (rant)
- vitriolic (nasty, scathing comment or action)
- aplomb (confidence)
- resplendent (shining brilliantly)
Do you have some words that you would love to share or ones that you think should be abolished (scrapped) from the English language? Let me know!

REMINDER to WRITE FAST and EDIT SLOW

And remember to not worry about word choice when you are creating your first or second draft.

WRITE FAST!

Edit Slow!

Handy link to our Write Fast, Edit Slow post with a practice exercise.

Word choice editing comes after you get your story’s first or second draft draft down in words from the “mindfilm” that you experience when you are creating a work.

I do hope that you have enjoyed reading this post at least half as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time,

Keep on Writing! Kiffer

Chanticleer Editorial Services – when you are ready

Did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services? We do and have been doing so since 2011.

Tools of the Editing Trade

Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).

If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.

We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top editors on an ongoing basis. Contact us today!

Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions are being held.

A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service. Here are some handy links about this tried and true service: https://test.chantireviews.com/manuscript-reviews/
September 20, 2022
TOO SOON The NIGHT: A Novel of Empress Theodora (The Theodora Duology Book 2) by James Conroyd Martin – Historical Fiction, Eastern Roman Empire, Women Leaders

Too Soon the Night by James Conroyd Martin shows the thrilling heights to which Empress Theodora rose and the crushing depths to which she fell, in the latter half of her life. This story picks up from Fortune’s Child, the first volume of this epic duology.

This half of Theodora’s incredible journey opens at its close – as she succumbs to the cancer that drove her to dictate the record of her life. She left the task of recording her meteoric rise from actress to empress in the hands of the scribe and historian Stephen, even though she imprisoned him for several years out of fear that he would reveal her greatest secrets.

But as much as Stephen should hate her for her cruelty, he has his own axe to grind against the man who would slander Theodora after her death with a scurrilous character assassination disguised as biography. So he takes up his pen and continues his recording of – if not Theodora’s unvarnished truth – at least something closer than whatever her enemies would conjure to blacken her name.

Where Fortune’s Child focused on Theodora’s early years and her rise to power with Emperor Justinian, Too Soon the Night follows her many attempts to consolidate power, protect Justinian, and secure their legacy – even with no direct heir for their throne.

In spite of the chasm of time between the mid-first century A.D. and the early 21st century, Theodora’s drives and fears are easy to empathize with and understand, even as her complex machinations push the story forward.

The story is split between Theodora’s history as she tells it to Stephen, and Stephen’s perspective of Theodora as he carries out her will.

He provides insight into Theodora’s motives and the court and city in which she lives, allowing the reader to see the Empress both as she wants to be seen and as she truly is.

The story’s setting shows people jockeying for positions in Justinian’s court, unrest among the populace, and the Emperor’s unrealistic dreams of turning the Mediterranean back into a Roman sea. These struggles and desires give the story its tension, framing the life of a singular woman, uniquely powerful for her time.

This is a long and complex journey, befitting an equally long and complex saga. Those who start at the epic’s beginning will be rewarded with an utterly compelling immersion in a fascinating life.

Too Soon the Night by James Conroyd Martin won Grand Prize in the 2021 CIBA Chaucer Awards for pre-1750s Historical Fiction.

September 19, 2022
Got a Mystery? Get a Clue! Suspense/Thriller Awards open until the end of September!
Fall into a good book with us this September as we walk down the Chanticleer Clue Book Awards Hall of Fame.

It doesn’t take a sleuth to realize the best way to have your work to be discovered is by submitting it to the Clue Book Awards Program!

Just take a look at some of these incredible authors who have won the past Clue Awards!

The 2021 Grand Prize Winner of the Clue Awards was Shelley Nolden for The Vines

Born and raised in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area, Shelley Nolden headed east after matriculating from the University of Minnesota. After living in New York City for five years while working in finance, she and her husband decided they weren’t meant for city life and moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Shelley’s debut novel, The Vines, was released on March 23, 2021. Her obsession with forbidden North Brother Island in New York City’s East River, as well as her personal health history and passion for equality, heavily influenced the creation of this historical fiction thriller.

You can read more about North Brother Island here.

See the full list of 2021 Clue Winners here.

The 2020 Grand Prize Winner of the Clue Awards was Chris Karlsen for A Venomous Love.

Detective Rudyard Bloodstone is facing the most bizarre crime spree of his career as a copper on the Victorian streets of London. Someone is using a poisonous Cape cobra as a weapon.

What begins as a simple robbery scheme turns deadly when a wealthy businessman is killed via cobra attack, the crimes go from strange to deadly. Rudyard (Ruddy) and his partner, Archie Holcomb, have few clues and no idea what would cause such a change in the criminal’s behavior.

Chris Karlsen was born and raised in Chicago. A retired police detective, Karlsen spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. Her desire to write came in my early teens. After retiring, she pursued that dream. She writes three different series: Knights in Time (Paranormal Romance), (Romantic Thriller), and the newest is The Bloodstone Series. Each series has a different setting and some cross time periods.

She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs.

See the full list of 2020 Clue Winners here.

The 2019 Grand Prize Winner of the Clue Awards was Joanne Jaytanie for Salvaging Truth.

Famed marine biologist and researcher Claudia Rawlings is presumed dead. When Claudia’s research vessel goes down, her daughter Riley goes on a desperate search to discover what happened, eventually turning to Dagger Eastin, co-owner of Hunters and Seekers a marine salvage business. Dagger soon realize this isn’t a simple search and reclaim mission when someone takes a shot at him during an exploratory dive with Riley.

Former Navy SEALs, Dagger, and his partners Kaleb LaSalle and Stone Garrison are the definitions of relentless, and they quickly become embroiled in the investigation that has caught the attention of some very influential people, all seeking Claudia’s important research. And while Riley learns that her mother has left behind clues to her missing research, the Hunters and Seekers pull out all the stops to help and protect her. The wild scavenger hunt sends Dagger and Riley on a trip to discover the truth, but Russian spies, big oil cronies, and psychopathic hitmen lurk around every corner.

Joanne was born and raised in Sherburne, New York, a quaint village surrounded by dairy farms and rolling hills. From the moment she could read she wanted to explore the world. During her college years, she slowly crept across the country, stopping along the way in Oklahoma, California, and finally Washington State, which she now proudly calls home. She lives with her husband and Dobermans, in their home located on the Olympic Peninsula with a panoramic view of the Olympic Mountains.

Joanne writes romantic suspense, paranormal, mystery-thriller, supernatural suspense, and contemporary romance. She loves to submerge herself in the world of her characters, to live and breathe their lives and marvel at their decisions and predicaments. She enjoys a wide variety of books including paranormal, suspense, thriller, and of course romance.

See the full list of 2019 Clue Winners here.

The 2018 Grand Prize Winner of the Clue Awards was Timothy Burgess for California Son

California Son, the second installment in the Liam Sol Mystery series by Timothy Burgess, presents another action-packed mystery for protagonist Liam Sol to solve. Honorably discharged after his tour of duty in Vietnam, Liam returns to his primarily Hispanic neighborhood of Baja La Bolsa, a coastal town near LA, California, where trouble finds him.

In his role as a journalist, Liam takes interest in the daily pleas of a Hispanic mother to find her son’s murderer, pleas that the mostly white La Bolsa Police seem to ignore. After an article he writes in hopes of renewing interest in the case appears in La Bolsa Tribune, the mother is found dead in her apartment. No stranger to death or violence, Liam soon finds himself on the personal side of a hunt for the killer of not only the son but also the mother.

Growing up in Southern California, Tim Burgess was always fascinated by the 1960s surf culture. Though he was only a child, he could tell this was not a Beach Blanket Bingo world. Beneath the innocent surface of the sun and the sand lurked a dark and dangerous undercurrent. The setting, he realized, would be perfect for a mystery series. The Never-Ending Swell and California Son are the first two books in the Liam Sol Mystery Series.

Tim grew up in West Covina, CA. and graduated from Cal Poly, Pomona–Go Broncos!

See the full list of 2018 Clue Winners here

And the 2017 Grand Prize Winner of the Clue Awards was Kaylin McFarren for Twisted Threads

Interested in a holiday cruise? Surround yourself with luxury, romance, secrets and multiple murders while traveling through the Caribbean with author Kaylin McFarren in her new sexy, action-packed book, Twisted Threads. There is only one assignment for a Japanese crime lord’s favorite assassin: take out a dastardly couple in less than ten days. But can Akira Hamada complete her mission without losing her head and heart during her most steamy and complicated hit thus far?

It isn’t part of the assignment to fall in love with someone close to murder suspects, Sara and Paul Lyons, but then Akira has never been bound by rules. Devon returns Akira’s feelings with all his being. However, there are notorious secrets between them, and now this surging romance is putting his life at risk as well. With no avenue for escape, multiple disappearances and murders increase the onboard tension. And that’s not all. Descriptions of the steamy scenes behind closed doors are beyond intense, with exhilarating adult situations and language.

Kaylin McFarren has received more than 60 national literary awards, in addition to a prestigious Golden Heart Award nomination for Flaherty’s Crossing – a book she and her oldest daughter, New York Times/USA Today best-selling author Kristina McMorris, co-wrote in 2008. Prior to embarking on her writing journey and developing the popular Threads psychological thriller series, she poured her passion for creativity into her work as the director of a fine art gallery in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon; she also served as a governor-appointed member of the Oregon Arts Commission.

See the full list of 2017 Clue Winners here

Again, a huge congratulations to Shelley Nolden, the most recent Clue Grand Prize Winner. We are honored to continue to promote and celebrate the winning books of the CIBAs.

Have an excellent Suspense/Thriller? The Clue Awards closes at the end of September! Submit today!

Chanticleerians in the News? We love celebrating our Chanticleer Authors! Anytime you have something to crow about, email us at info@ChantiReviews.com to let us know!
September 16, 2022
Back to School with the Little Peeps Awards that Recognize the Best Early Readers and Picture Books – Chanticleer Hall of Fame!

Start your Early Readers out right with the Winners of the Chanticleer Little Peeps Awards—a Diverse and Imaginative Collection!

Back-to-school books are easier than ever for those who are just learning to read as we can look at the marvelous First Place and Grand Prize Winners of The Little Peeps Awards!

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience for Early Readers with the Little Peeps. Story books, Beginning Chapter Books, Picture Books, Activity Books, and Educational Books. These books have advanced to the Long List for the 2021 CIBAs. (For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards, for Middle Grade Readers see our Gertrude Warner Awards.)

The Following our the Little Peeps Grand Prize Winners over the past 5 years!

Victoria and the Big, Brave Breath

by Andrea Vaughan

Andrea Vaughan’s Victoria and the Big Brave Breath is a beautifully illustrated children’s book, written to ease conversations about anxiety and worry with a child.

This story teaches children how to calm their nerves by focusing on their breath, using a clever onomatopoeia to help. Vaughn’s book is a timely must-read!

Victoria and the Big, Brave Breath starts with a little girl named Victoria recognizing that she is often worried. She lists examples (trying new foods, going to the doctor, playing in the park) of her anxieties. Physically-speaking, Victoria’s hands sweat, her knees shake and her tummy hurts when her feelings appear. Her teddy bear best friend Baxter has a suggestion for her to ease these unfamiliar (and uncomfortable) feelings.

See the full list of 2021 Winners here.

Great As A Button

By Masoud Malekyari

Masoud Malekyari’s Great As a Button is a delightful children’s book that places a soulful little plastic adornment at center stage in a thought-provoking story that offers up a positive lesson about self-worth.

This tale unfolds from a first person POV as a lonely, black plastic button that falls off a shirt. The button ruminates over its plight of feeling too plain to be noticed, and wishes perhaps to be a sock, a key, or a pair of glasses, i.e., a more important item that the button surmises someone would go out of their way to look for.

Amidst encounters with an inquisitive dog and some playful ants, the button has longings to reside in a big castle while adorning a king’s coat, or to sail across the ocean while attached to a boat captain’s slicker. Fate suggests that the button might be in trouble if snatched up by birds; lucky if used by a seamstress; or forlorn when not chosen like the more ornate accessories in a tailor’s shop. When given to a young boy, surprising opportunities send the button in an unexpected direction where ultimately, he discovers newfound importance on a sunny winter’s day.

See the Full List of 2020 Winners here!

Galdo’s Gift: The Boovie

By Trevor Young & Eleanor Long

In Galdo’s Gift: The Boovie, Eleanor Long & Trevor Young create an interactive animated story that helps children learn about their unique gifts through an imaginative tale and diverse vocabulary.

The first page opens with a poem sharing a personalized gift with the reader. Then, we meet the frog King, and his kingdom Galdovia. His land is “where the wild wind whistles while the songbird sings” and he narrates the story, voiced by Brian Murphy.

The townsfolk of Galdovia move on the page in textured illustrations. They need a hero to undertake an important adventure, with the promise of a gift from the King to whoever completes this quest. Enter four great heroes who start their journeys in the hope of earning the King’s reward.

Tapocketa is pleased and excited to be supported by Creative Enterprise 2022. This support will enable us to explore and build knowledge in the possibilities for our work in combining AR, animation and print media. Visit their site for more information on the interactive journey that is Galdo’s Gift. www.tapocketa.com

See the Full List of 2019 Winners here!

The Tooth Collector Fairies: Home from Decay Valley

By Denise Ditto

The need for good dental care and its effect on the tooth fairies working behind the scenes is colorfully highlighted in this action-packed book for children of all ages.

Author Denise Ditto has created a delightful fantasy realm where fairies — like the prankster Jolene, the dedicated Batina, and proud, fast-flying Lucas — learn to collect and process teeth left for them by children everywhere. Jolene has finally gotten her Tooth Collector credentials and can join friends in their assignments. The story follows Batina into the messy room of a boy named Scooter, whose tooth shows signs of deplorable brushing habits. When she brings the tooth back to Brushelot for inspection, she fears the worst.

Sure enough, Batina is banished to Decay Valley until Scooter learns how to treat his teeth better, based on a letter she will leave for him encouraging better habits. Meanwhile, Jolene, who tried to help Batina by painting the ugly tooth white, is in big trouble with Crown Mistress Molar. Lucas, the fastest flyer, delivers Batina’s note to Scooter. But who will collect Scooter’s next tooth and rescue Batina from Decay Valley?

https://www.toothcollectorfairies.com/ Denise Ditto, a native Texan, is a freelance writer who loves writing for children. She started working on The Tooth Collector Fairies series in 2012. She also enjoys writing about a variety of other topics, often focusing on recollections from her childhood and growing up in Houston. Her short story The Art of Ironing was published in OMG, That Woman!, a woman’s fiction anthology released in April 2013. Her short story City of Angels was published in Tales of Texas Short Stories Volume 2 – 2019.

Denise recently retired her position of Exe Director at Houston Writers House to concentrate on her writing. She is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is the American Business Women’s Association – Woven since 2012.

See the Full List of 2018 Winners Here!

Lessons from a Cat: The Moon and Star; Midnight and Moonlight

By Peggy Sullivan, M. Ed.

In Peggy Sullivan’s award-winning book, The Moon and Star: Lessons From a Cat, readers learn how a charming, tiny white cat finds solace in her connection with the Moon as she goes through life’s challenges and changes.

Star lives happily with a tall girl and two other cats. She runs, dances, and hunts for goldfish in a backyard pond. But this mindful cat soon realizes that life is full of unpredictable circumstances. Though she moves to a college town and has new and fun experiences, Star feels sad when she loses a feline friend, even more so when the tall girl goes off on her adventures.

Luckily Star is a cat with an attraction to the Moon. Its magical glow helps the little cat gain a sense of calm. The peacefulness Star feels stays with her, regardless of changes in her life or surroundings. Though Star and the tall girl move many more times, this sensitive cat realizes the light of the Moon offers a unique sense of serenity wherever her journey takes her.

Peggy Sullivan is a licensed mental health counselor (retired), relationship and children’s expert, mother, and lover of cats. She retired from Okanogan County Juvenile Department after serving as the staff guardian ad litem, court services manager and CASA program director. She recently retired from her private mental health counseling practice in Bellingham, Washington. She makes her home in a cozy cottage amidst old growth cedar trees with her two Russian Blue cat sisters.

See the Full List of 2017 Winners Here!

Again, a huge congratulations to Andrea Vaughan, the most recent Little Peeps Grand Prize Winner. We are honored to continue to promote and celebrate the winning books of the CIBAs.

Have a Heartwarming story that kids need to read? The Little Peeps Awards closes at the end of September! Submit today!

Chanticleerians in the News? We love celebrating our Chanticleer Authors! Anytime you have something to crow about, email us at info@ChantiReviews.com to let us know!

2021 Overall Grand Prize Winner’s Book now being performed as a play in California

Nellie Bly Award First Place and Grand Prize Winner featured across the nation

Laramie Grand Prize Winner spotlighted by the Mark Twain House Museum

Grand Prize Winner for the Shorts Collections Awarded Artistic Grant in New York

From Little Peeps and beyond, we’re proud to have you as part of our community!

September 16, 2022