Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The 2021 CIBAs Finalists for Non-Fiction!
A Huge Congratulations to all of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs)

2021 Non-Fiction Book Awards Finalists!

Every tier of the CIBAs is an important one, though few manage to rise this far in the ranks.

For our Non-Fiction Authors, this post has links to all of the Finalist Awards for the 7 CIBA Divisions we have for Non-Fiction. We will have a separate post for Fiction and one more post for the Shorts Awards for both Individual Works and Collected Works, as well as the Series Book Awards.

All Finalists in attendance will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, and we will announce the Winners at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, June 25th at the Chanticleer Banquet. We can’t express how excited we are to be able to do this in person with our fully vaccinated and boosted staff in a healthy metro area.

Now let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.

The remaining tiers are the First Place Winner, the Grand Prize Winners, and finally, the coveted Overall Grand Prize Winners. The Overall Grand Prize Winner takes home the $1000 and more! See the Book Award details here.

Now, presenting the links to the Non-Fiction Awards Finalists
The Official 2021 CIBA Lists of the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for all Divisions of the CIBAs will start to be posted June 29th, 2022.

Now Accepting Entries into the 2022 CIBAs.
If you don’t submit, you can’t win!

We have badges available starting with the Short List. If you need a digital badge reflecting your tier level, please email info@ChantiReviews.com with your division and rank, and we will send you one as soon as possible.

The 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference is June 23-26, 2022

Don’t Delay, Register Today!

Goodreads Icon

Make sure your Award gets the attention it deserves on Goodreads.com

In the Librarian Manual on Goodreads, you can go to your Book Edit Page — Literary Awards.

You want to list the Award for Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) Winners, and be sure to include the year and what place you received. For example:

The year Long List, Short List, Semi-Finalist, or Finalist.

Note from Goodreads: “To add a new award or edit an existing award, you’ll need help from one of our volunteer librarians or a staff member.” For assistance, post in the Goodreads Librarians Group.

Always double check that you’ve written everything correctly before posting it. The search function for Awards on Goodreads is both case and punctuation sensitive.

The Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2020 CIBAs was Rebeca Dwight Bruff’s book Trouble the Water

This year we introduced the Non-Fiction Division for Military and Front Line Book Awards. These books focus on Narrative Non-Fiction that highlights the lives of service members, medical workers, and generally those who engage in public service. This is a division we’ve been waiting to launch for years, and we felt this was the year to make it happen. While we still are updating our site for this division, all 24 of our other CIBAs are now accepting entries for 2022.

The competition is already heating up!

Submit today!

Remember, you don’t have to be present to win, but it sure is a lot more fun! The CIBAs Ceremonies will also be livestreamed for those who can’t attend in person. Information about how to watch will be sent out by the week of the Conference to all finalists.

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 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace along with experts in the business and marketing and promotion for authors from Kickstarter to Hindenburg.
May 19, 2022
MALEVOLENCE – A Hollywood Mystery by Britt Lind – Women Sleuth, Mystery Thriller, Suspense Thrillers

Britt Lind delivers the second book in her Hollywood Mystery series, Malevolence. Rosemaria Baker, a former homicide detective, serves as a Beverly Hills city prosecutor.

As an assistant DA, Rosemaria investigates the death of a teenage prostitute at a plush Beverly Hills hotel. At first, no one realized that the girl’s murder could uncover a criminal conspiracy headed by a congressman with millions of dollars at stake.

Rosemaria lives with her boyfriend, Josh, a former alcoholic she met while investigating another crime. Josh, now sober, works as a performance-shy songwriter. His love song features in a high-profile motion picture, his first major show break. A major celebrity, Joell, described as part Adele and part Celine Dion performs this song.

Josh’s passion for animal rights acts as a foundation in his relationship with Rosemaria.

In the first book, Josh and Rosemaria adopt two panthers, giving the big cats a place to call home. Now, Josh’s attention turns to Sammy the elephant. For years this poor creature endured abuse at the L.A. Zoo and Josh is committed to freeing it. His efforts will ultimately involve Joell, a broad swath of Hollywood entertainers, spokespeople for the city’s homeless community, and eventually the L.A. City Council.

In addition to the murdered girl, Rosemaria investigates other cases. Those include a senior citizen accused of embezzling funds from an old folks’ home, an undercover cop overly involved in the crimes of his teenage posse, and an alleged beating of an elderly chauffeur by his employer–a prominent physician and a large political donor.

Walter Atkins, her new boss, makes Rosemaria’s job difficult. Atkins wants her to go soft on the physician because of his high-profile connections to local politicos. When he fails to dissuade her, his anger turns to rage. But Rosemaria finds ways, including at least one devious scheme, to get him off her back.

Her main concern remains the murdered girl because of its potential ties to a larger crime.

The murdered girl overheard something when she visited the hotel room of some political figure. Those words cost the girl her life. If leaked, the information could destroy a carefully nurtured criminal enterprise involving the passage of a bill through Congress with the potential illegal payoff of millions of dollars.

Rosemaria’s investigations soon uncover two young prostitutes who knew the murdered girl. Now, they find themselves in danger of being killed because of what their friend might have told them. Would-be assassins make several attempts on their lives. They track the sex workers no matter how well their protectors work to keep them safe, leaving Rosemaria to wonder just how high up the corruption goes.

Anyone who talked to the girl or her friends might have a target on their back.

Malevolence – A Hollywood Mystery is the second book in the highly-rated series by Britt Lind. Like the first book, Malevolence weaves the themes of commitment and love, along with animal rights into the narrative. And in the end, those who should get their comeuppance do.

For readers who like their police novels with a good heart, strong female leads and a well-integrated animal rights theme, Malevolence—a Hollywood Mystery will excite and satisfy.

May 18, 2022
The 2021 CIBAs Finalists for Fiction!
A Huge Congratulations to all of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs) Finalists!

Every tier of the CIBAs is an important one, though few manage to rise this far in the ranks.

For our Fiction Authors, this post has links to all of the Finalist Awards for the 16 CIBA Divisions we have for fiction. We will have a separate post for Non-Fiction and one more post for the Shorts Awards for both Individual Works and Collected Works, as well as the Series Book Awards.

All Finalists in attendance will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, and we will announce the Winners at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, June 25th at the Chanticleer Banquet. We can’t express how excited we are to be able to do this in person with our fully vaccinated and boosted staff in a healthy metro area.

Now let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.

The remaining tiers are the First Place Winner, the Grand Prize Winners, and finally, the coveted Overall Grand Prize Winners. The Overall Grand Prize Winner takes home the $1000 and more! See the Book Award details here.

Now, presenting the links to the Fiction Awards Finalists
The Official 2021 CIBA Lists of the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for all Divisions of the CIBAs will start to be posted June 29th, 2022.

Now Accepting Entries into the 2022 CIBAs.

If you don’t submit, you can’t win!

We have badges available starting with the Short List. If you need a digital badge reflecting your tier level, please email info@ChantiReviews.com with your division and rank, and we will send you one as soon as possible.

The 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference is June 23-26, 2022

Don’t Delay, Register Today!

Goodreads Icon

Make sure your Award gets the attention it deserves on Goodreads.com

In the Librarian Manual on Goodreads, you can go to your Book Edit Page — Literary Awards.

You want to list the Award for Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) Winners, and be sure to include the year and what place you received. For example:

The year Long List, Short List, Semi-Finalist, or Finalist.

Note from Goodreads: “To add a new award or edit an existing award, you’ll need help from one of our volunteer librarians or a staff member.” For assistance, post in the Goodreads Librarians Group.

Always double check that you’ve written everything correctly before posting it. The search function for Awards on Goodreads is both case and punctuation sensitive.

The Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2020 CIBAs was Rebeca Dwight Bruff’s book Trouble the Water

This year we introduced the Non-Fiction Division for Military and Front Line Book Awards. These books focus on Narrative Non-Fiction that highlights the lives of service members, medical workers, and generally those who engage in public service. This is a division we’ve been waiting to launch for years, and we felt this was the year to make it happen. While we still are updating our site for this division, all 24 of our other CIBAs are now accepting entries for 2022.

The competition is already heating up!

Submit today!

Remember, you don’t have to be present to win, but it sure is a lot more fun! The CIBAs Ceremonies will also be livestreamed for those who can’t attend in person. Information about how to watch will be sent out by the week of the Conference to all finalists.

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 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace along with experts in the business and marketing and promotion for authors from Kickstarter to Hindenburg.
May 18, 2022
INDEPENDENT LIVING WITH AUTISM: Your Roadmap to Success by Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Autism & Asperger’s Syndrome, Parenting Books on Children with Disabilities, Mental Health (Books)

Author and autism counselor Wendela Whitcomb Marsh has created a specialized guide for those with autism, seen through the eyes of five characters of different ages, with differing needs and aspirations in her book, Independent Living with Autism: Your Roadmap to Success.

Boldly launching her work with the ambitious chapter, “Solutions,” Marsh depicts some of the possible departure points for her readers: those just out of school, those who were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder or who self-diagnosed, and all who face the challenges of ASD, whether alone or with family or social supports.

Marsh relays her story, focusing on the lives of five individuals with ASD.

Her five role models are: Jacob, age 18 and a high school senior facing an uncertain future; Emily, 22 and still living at home with over-protective parents; Zach, 33, who without a formal diagnosis investigated AS websites to gain clues to his particular issues; Maria, 45, divorced mother of twin daughters who are now off at college, leaving her alone and indecisive; and Robert, a sixty-two-year-old man who has inferred his AS by helping his daughter with his autistic grandson. A year will pass, during which these five people will take greater charge of their lives, aided by incidents, friends, and advice they encounter along the way.

Marsh examines the lives of her autistic characters in terms of many of the most prevalent aspects of their disorder, which can present itself in widely differing ways.

A person with ASD may feel a terror at loud noise, disgust at certain smells, fear of physical contact, obsession about a certain game or musician, the need to walk with heavy steps or slap one’s thighs rhythmically or compulsively tap one’s ears, talk too loud or too softly, avoid conversation or dominate it, all the while unaware of how these behaviors might seem to the “neurotypical” people around them.

Each of Marsh’s five subjects will learn from others and by their own diligence what changes they need to make, and what habits they may have that are in no need of alteration.

Jacob must ask a counselor’s help in inviting a girl to the prom, and that conversation changes not only his approach but his intended invitee – with positive results. Emily is determined to live on her own, even though it will mean confronting her father about the handling of her monthly support checks and learning to coexist harmoniously in a group home environment. Zach is fortunate to get a job as a temple caretaker so he pays no rent, but will branch out to other, more sociable work when experiences and practice make him ready. Maria, though very nervous about being with other people, luckily lands a home-based job as a book editor, and finds socialization with other women when she joins a book club. Robert, whose career as a TV repairman went dry when the technology changed, spends time with his “old geezer’s club” until he blurts out some inappropriate, but to him logical, remarks, and apologizes, disclosing that he has autism and gaining new acceptance.

Marsh, with two autistic adult children, concentrates her professional efforts on working with neurodivergent adults and their families. As shown in the highly organized, down-to-earth “case studies” presented here, the goal is always increasing independence for her clients, whether that means making radical changes in their habits, or understanding and embracing their quirks and helping others understand and accept them. Her panorama covers life events such as housing, recreation, and employability, and offers a list of references for further road-mapping by her readers. Her book will be of great help to those with ASD, their families, counselors, and indeed, almost anyone looking to hone social, personal and work skills and advance in all realms of life.

Independent Living with Autism by Wendela Whitcomb Marsh won Grand Prize in the 2020 CIBA I&I Book Awards for Instruction and Insight, and it’s one book we highly recommend!

May 18, 2022
FROM BRICK and DARKNESS By J. L. Sullivan – YA Urban Fantasy, Mythology, Coming of Age

Dreams become a reality for a high schooler who gets more than he bargains for when he unwittingly releases a demon in J. L. Sullivan’s urban fantasy novel, From Brick and Darkness.

Fifteen-year-old Baxter (Bax) Allen encounters a creepy homeless-looking man at his apartment complex with purple eyes. The stranger, who asks for Greg, Bax’s estranged father, hands him a ring affixed with a purple stone. The man says that the costume jewelry is valuable, although Bax has difficulty believing his claim.

At school the next day, as he shares his weird experience with his best friend, Jason, Bax accidentally rubs the ring, the stone emits a hypnotic glow, and a small monkey-like creature appears, saying, “How can it serve?” Once Bax and Jason realize that the ring summoned a genie (or Janni, as the creature says), the two plan to investigate this strange phenomenon further at Bax’s house. One thing leads to the next, and before the boys know what’s going on, Ashley, Bax’s neighbor catches a glimpse of Janni. She joins the boys and is sworn to secrecy about this enchanted creature.

Although Janni’s job is relegated to fetching objects instead of granting wishes, Bax wonders if it has untapped power, especially when Bax has a vivid dream involving his estranged father.

The dream activates the ring, causing it to emanate a purple light. Janni, who admits to knowing where to find a more powerful djinn – an ifrit, more akin to a demon – leads the trio to an ordinary box fitted with yet another purple jewel. Bax rubs it, producing a gastly-looking creature that Bax immediately orders back in the box.

That evening, Bax has another vivid dream that, to his horror, exactly matches the death of Nick Ruiz, a popular student at Truman High. The mysterious conditions behind Nick’s demise can only point to one culprit: the ifrit. Bax and his friends feverishly scramble to find a way to stop the demon from unleashing more harm. What the trio doesn’t know is that the ifrit has more sinister plans in the works.

Rising young adult author, J. L. Sullivan, combines mythology, theology, and astronomy to create an invitingly fresh, nail-biting coming-of-age teen tale.

At the center of all the “ologies” is an ordinary teen with ordinary desires, except that he often wonders about the father he barely knew who seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. Sullivan excels at making not only Bax Allen a real person, but making the entire St. Louis-based environment come to life. In Bax’s world, teens are just teens with hormones, angst, bullies, and rumors galore.

But what happens when, amid a commonplace high school atmosphere, one teen accidentally walks into a realm beyond the three-wish genies’ basic concept? Sullivan’s imagination takes “curiosity killed the cat” to a new level when not just Bax but his clever best friend and Bax’s annoying teen neighbor are grouped as an unlikely trio on a research-driven quest that turns deadly. Because Janni and the ifrit only answer to Bax, he constantly finds himself in sticky situations. Tension builds between him and his mother as his excuses pile on top of one another.

Sullivan’s sure and engaging writing style offers a well-balanced mix of narration and dialogue with a small but mighty supportive cast that provides readers with an inside scoop on the main character’s thought processes and internal struggles. Scenes slowly build, especially while highlighting victims and surly characters, creating non-stop tension and a gripping page-turner.

From Brick and Darkness is guaranteed to become a new teen favorite.

May 16, 2022
CITY Of PEACE by Henry G. Brinton – Murder Mystery, Religious Tension, Multicultural

Religions and personalities collide, mix, and meld in this vibrant multicultural, multinational mystery by author Henry G. Brinton, set in the engaging town of Occoquan, Virginia.

Harley Camden never heard of Occoquan before he is assigned there by his bishop. She insists on a change of venue for him because both his sermons and his management of church affairs have lost their flavor – understandably – after his wife and daughter were killed in Brussels, by Islamic terrorists who used nail bombs to make their horrifying statement.

Camden realizes that he needs the change, and soon finds that, despite his inner pain, Occoquan has many charms, and many charming residents who go out of their way to make him feel at home.

Tim, who lays claim to no religion, introduces him to the remarkable history of the region, staunchly abolitionist during the Civil War. Tim also tells him about the Bayatis, an Iraqi family who operate the local bakery. Not long after Camden’s arrival, the complacent riverside town is rocked by sudden tragedy when Norah, the baker’s daughter, is murdered; the presumption made by law enforcement is that her father Muhammad is guilty of a ritualistic killing because Norah had consorted with a man, thus dishonoring her family.

To preach the Christian gospel, find forgiveness in his enraged anti-Islamic mind, and to find a way to bring together the many strands of spirituality in the town – Christian, Jewish, Muslim – will be a task that Camden never expected to take on.

Tormented by strange, seemingly prophetic dreams, and guided to meet a Coptic Christian couple and a Jewish woman about whom he receives psychic “messages,” Camden will also befriend the Bayatis and begin, almost without meaning to, to investigate Norah’s murder. In doing so he will uncover obscure but meaningful lore with a bearing on the town’s dilemma, providing regenerative fodder for his emotive sermons. In seeking Norah’s actual killer, he will also imperil himself, and ultimately uncover a terrifying danger hovering over Occoquan.

Brinton knows whereof he writes, as a Presbyterian minister and well-known journalist whose articles often encompass the themes of multiculturalism, religious understanding, and tolerance.

Examining as he does the thorny religious and political issues gripping the nation and our world today, Brinton makes Camden a spokesperson for those crucial themes. Mining materials from the history of the Galilean city of Sepphoris as the “city of peace” brings his story into broader focus, while the real-life town of Occoquan is almost a character in the book’s plot, so deeply does Brinton delve into its unique and admirable qualities.

The first in a series of Harley Camden sagas, City of Peace is a tale of disruption and chaos – followed by reconciliation and interfaith resolve – that will fascinate readers of intelligent mystery fiction and make them seek more offerings from this talented wordsmith.

City of Peace by Henry G. Brinton won 1st Place in the 2019 CIBA Mystery & Mayhem awards for Cozy & Not-So-Cozy Mysteries.

May 14, 2022
TROUBLE the WATER by Rebecca Dwight Bruff – Black & African American Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction,

Robert Smalls’ life should have been one for the history books.

Smalls was born a slave in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. When the first shots of the Civil War were fired upon Fort Sumter, Smalls was an experienced helmsman aboard a small cargo ship plying the coastal waters of South Carolina and the neighboring states. Once the war broke out, he found himself working to support a cause that kept him, his wife, and their children locked in chattel slavery.

But in a daring escapade that fell somewhere between a raid and a rescue, Smalls planned, with the help of his fellow crew members (also slaves) aboard the CSS Planter, to abscond with the ship, its cargo of munitions taken from Fort Sumter, and bring their families. The plan was to sail the ship as though its white officers were still on board, pretending to be carrying out their orders—at least until the ship was out of the reach of Fort Sumter’s guns.

If they failed to fool the Confederate batteries as they passed by in the night, the crew planned to set fire to the munitions in the hold rather than return to slavery. If they didn’t manage to strike down the Rebel colors and raise a white flag of surrender before they reached the Union blockade of the harbor, they’d be killed.

But no price was too high to pay for the hope of freedom.

This is the story of Smalls’ life from his childhood enslaved to Henry McKee through his hiring out in Charleston to his well-planned, well-executed and incredibly lucky escape, told in this fictionalized autobiography as if seen through the eyes of Robert Smalls himself.

The reader is inside the protagonist’s own thoughts and feelings as he grows from a childhood of slavery under the watchful eyes of his mother to learn at a very young age that the world in which he lives is designed to keep him in a cage. The unfairness of his world is in the very air that everyone around him breathes. To the point where those who benefit from that unfairness don’t even recognize that they are perpetuating the problem—no matter how good or how righteous or God-fearing they believe they are.

The lessons are hammered home as Smalls grows up to be a man who can never chart the course of his own destiny or make his own decisions—until he takes that destiny in his own hands at the wheel of that ship.

Smalls’ well-planned escape is the pivotal point of this true story. That desperate night makes for gripping, edge-of-the-seat reading as the small ship and its anxious crew, along with their praying families, ride the edge between hope and terror for a chance at freedom—no matter the cost.

But the heart and soul of the story are in the hero’s journey from a childhood as he grasped the cruel institution of slavery through growing consciousness of his precarious place in a world set against him. It’s not just that the reader is able to walk with him, but in this first person perspective his thoughts are laid bare and the reader can feel him reach for his own truth – and his own answers. Rebecca Dwight Bruff wrote a timely and brilliant debut novel that captures the lion-hearted Congressman Robert Smalls who continued to push boundaries for the political rights of African Americans.

Trouble the Water is an inspiring story of courage and grace under fire in its many forms. It rings with a voice of heroism along with thoughtfulness and sincerity. Stories matter.

Trouble the Water won the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Overall Grand Prize for 2020.

May 13, 2022
The 2021 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies – The FINALISTS – CIBAs 2021
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Collected Works such as Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Shorts Book Awards Short List to the 2021 Shorts Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual or in-person.

NOTE: We are posting the Individual Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas in a different post. These are Collected Works

These titles are in the running for the FIRST PLACE WINNERS of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards novel competition for Short Story Collections, Essay Collections, and Anthologies!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.

These titles have advanced to the FINALIST stage of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards competition!
- Grendolyn Peach Soleil – The Mermaids Melt at Dawn for Fantasy and Myth
- Russ Colson – Kernels of Mind – for Philosophical SciFi
- Leah Angstman – Shoot the Horses First for Americana Fiction
- Helena P. Schrader – Grounded Eagles for 20th c. Wartime Fiction
- Susannah Dawn – I’m Not What I Used To Be, Yet I Am Who I’ve Always Been – Excerpts From My Journey for Personal Journey Non-Fiction
- K. – Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories for Literary Love Stories
- Domenick Venezia – The Edwerd Chronicles for Magical Realism
- Elizabeth Crowens – New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst for Anthologies and Mixed Media
- Jeff Richards – Everyone Worth Knowing for Literary
- Maria Rybakova – Quaternity: Four Novellas From The Carpathians for Contemporary Themes
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Through a Glass Darkly for Contemporary Themes
- Judy Taylor – The Boy Who Wrote Poetry for Family Stories
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 SHORTS Awards for Short Story Collections is Pierce Koslosky Jr. for A Week at Surfside Beach

Click here to see the 2020 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Shorts Book Awards. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace and along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
May 12, 2022
The 2021 SHORTS Awards for Short Stories, Essays, and Novellas (Individual Works) – The FINALISTS – CIBAs 2021
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, and Novellas. The Short Story Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

The Chanticleer International Book Awards program discovers today’s best works. The Short Stories Awards discovers the Best New Shorts in Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Shorts Book Awards Short List to the 2021 Shorts Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

NOTE: We are posting the Collected Works such as Short Story or Essay Collections and Anthologies in a different post.
These are Individual Works

These titles are the FINALISTS of the 2021 Shorts Book Awards for Short Stories, Essays, Novelettes, Novellas!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.

Out of This World Fiction (Cygnus, OZMA, Paranormal)
- Susannah Dawn – Command of the Butterfly
- Gina Detwiler – Before: Jared’s Story
- Susan Faw – The Wizard of Bastion
Mysteries and Suspense (Mystery/Thriller/CLUE)
- Dalton Mire – A Chance to Serve
- M. K. Wiseman – Sherlock Holmes & the Ripper of Whitechapel
The Historicals (Chaucer/Goethe/Hemingway)
- Kristie Clark – Dragon of the Sea
- Elizabeth Wolf – The Royal Foetus: A very short novel based on the very short life of King Louis XVII
- Breakfield and Burkey – Out of Poland
- Joy Ross Davis – The Sutler of Petersburg
- Nicole Evelina – Consequences
Somerset – Literary & Contemporary Fiction
- Toni Ann Johnson – Homegoing
- Mekiya Walters – Bathwater (or, The Miseducation of Ness Chairmonte)
- Frances Howard-Snyder – Face to Face
- Dalton Mire – A Minefield of Memories
- Grace Sikorski – How To Become a Mother
Box of Chocolates Assortment
- Lindy Miller – Sleigh Bells on Bread Loaf Mountain
- Jean-Jacques Jura – Acadian Chronicles: When Ancestors Look Down
- Barry Robbins – Oh Daddy Chronicles: The Tasting
Narrative Non-Fiction
- Lisa Lynn Veith – Gold Medal
- J. L. Oakley – Putting Things Away
- Vicky Oliver – A Valentine to my Mothers and Other Dubious Role Models
Graphic Stories
- Kourtney Spadoni – In The Underwood
- Clayton Marshall Adams – The Mask
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2020 Shorts Awards for Short Stories is Robin Lee Lovelace for Savonne, Not Vonny

Click here to see the 2020 Shorts Book Award Winners and Finalists.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Shorts Book Awards. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Author Cathy Ace along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
May 12, 2022
LIFE FORCE PRESERVE: Book 1, Anna and the Resurgent of Precious Blood by Courtney Leigh Pahlke – Mystery, Thriller, Conspiracy

What is lurking in the shadows? When did these footprints appear outside her house? Anna is sure she’s being followed again in Courtney Leigh Pahlke’s mystery thriller, Life Force Preserve.

What is it that follows her? She’s still recovering from the last dire, grave accident. Now Anna can only wonder if that dark day, the worst day of her life, even was an accident. Someone or something is after her. With no idea why, Anna doesn’t know where to turn for help. How will she find her way, now that something beyond her control has knocked the life she loved out from under her?

Anna is suffering from disabling injuries after a shocking car accident that killed her beloved mother. Her father, brother, and best friend are all a phone call away and dedicated to helping Anna recover. Sometimes it’s surprising how far away that phone call can be. When Anna takes a terrible fall in the snow outside her house and regains consciousness, there’s a figure rushing nearby her, moving erratically and watching her. She can’t get a good look at it. Is it her imagination? She has to get away, to find safety. She has to get herself back to the hospital where they can help her.

Anna is able to make it to a cab and the hospital. What she discovers there is good news and bad news.

Tests reveal that her healing is miraculously ahead of schedule. It’s truly a mystery to the doctors how she is mending. They order more tests and procedures to be sure what they’re seeing is real. For Anna, this heartening news is quickly overshadowed by suspicious strangers in the hospital corridors. An ominous movement in her direction, a watchful stare, several others giving her too much attention and Anna is once again on the alert and on the run.

Anna’s fears are confirmed when she’s approached by Bryan. He’s a stranger yet knows about her situation. His concern and his actions to help are puzzling, but he convinces her to trust him. They leave for a safe place where Bryan introduces his associates. That’s when he explains what is after Anna and why. Her only hope, according to Bryan, is to join them in their own desperate fight against these brutal beings. Their efforts are the last chance to stop these villains from achieving their terrifying goal. Bryan offers no guarantees, and Anna must decide if she can trust him.

Author Courtney Leigh Pahlke’s Anna is a most thoughtful and courageous protagonist confronting a life altering crisis.

Now we see how Anna has to rethink what remains of her life and gather her remaining strength and judgement to find her way forward into a turbulent future. The author skillfully immerses the reader deep into Anna’s point of view so we can see the world around her as she does, feel her emotions, and weigh her choices right along with her. Anna is surrounded by an engaging group of characters. The plot pacing builds subtly at first, then intensifies with the suspense of what may be following Anna. The excitement compounds with the revelation that the risk is even bigger than Anna ever imagined. As threats close in, Life Force Preserve stands guard.

Life Force Preserve by Courtney Leigh Pahlke won 1st Place in the 2019 CIBA Global Thriller Book Awards for High-Stakes Thrillers.

May 11, 2022