Some dreams delight. Some terrify. Celeste’s dream haunts her in Susan Z. Ritz’s supernatural mystery, A Dream to Die For.
Celeste wonders why she would dream of a woman in danger. After all, it seems like someone else’s dream. As Celeste reflects on what she remembers, indistinct features begin to focus, revealing details. Celeste’s concerns for the unknown woman grow.
That dream, so tangible in the moment, refuses to leave her. How could it, with the woman in imminent danger? Celeste doesn’t realize that this dream will put her in peril. Can she find the answers she needs before a killer switches his target? Can Celeste and the unknown woman be saved?
Celeste rushes to the office of Larry–her therapist and Riverton’s acknowledged cult leader.
Despite her fiancé’s demands that she stop seeing Larry, Celeste hopes she’ll find the support and help she needs at his office. Instead, Larry convinces her to break up with her future husband. As for her beautiful engagement ring, well, that, of course, goes to Larry.
But when she describes the troubling dream to him, Larry trembles in fear, or was that fury? He throws her out of his practice. Later, Celeste returns to find Larry dead, murdered. The police are looking at Celeste as their primary suspect. Someone else’s dream becomes her nightmare.
In immediate need of a savvy defense attorney, Celeste pleads for help from an old friend.
Together the accused and her lawyer begin a fantastic, desperate, and risky investigation to find Larry’s killer. That strange dream, and the woman in it, become a surprising key to proving Celeste’s innocence.
Through their analysis of clues and suspects, they plunge into the depths of Larry’s cult, now in disarray. Both cult followers and doubters reveal many surprises. These two groups struggle against each other, but they may need to find a way to cooperate to expose the events that led up to Larry’s murder – and who did it.
A chilling mystery, author Susan Z. Ritz has filled her book with intrigue and subtle clues.
A variety of suspects hide the most compelling motives. Which of these Riverton characters, including Celeste’s intended, killed Larry? Can Celeste trust the guy, despite his questionable actions? This investigation puts her love for him to an extreme test. Can she live with him? Will she live without him? Should she fear him?
Ritz weaves a clever plot, set in a plausible contemporary social issue of a cult that demands complete loyalty and dominates every aspect of its followers’ lives.
How could Celeste prove her innocence and name the one who killed the cult leader? Celeste and others struggle to break the cult’s puzzling and psychological hold on them and learn to live free of it. Will the truth of the murder and the cult be discovered? Can Celeste save the woman in her dream? Will she find the killer before another person succumbs to A Dream To Die For?
The third Monday in January in the U.S.A. honors the American clergyman, activist, and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on his birthday. The first observance on a national level was in 1986. Dr. King gave his last speech on April 4, 1967, the night before he was assassinated. He was just 39-years-old.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. 1965
Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Is An Example We Should Never Forget by Janice S. Ellis, PhD.
If you ever doubt that one person can make a difference, the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example that we should never forget. Too often, we see a problem, an injustice, a need of any kind and feel we are helpless to do anything about it.
When confronted with a situation that needs a voice or action, we allow those feelings of helplessness and doubt to take over. We are besieged by questions like: Who am I? What can I do? Too often, we conclude we are powerless to do anything.
The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. is an example of how not to let those feelings of doubt and helplessness deter you. In the face of fear and constant threats of harm and death, Martin Luther King, Jr. refused to be deterred from his work to achieve racial and social justice.
As we reflect on thelife of Martin Luther King, Jr., we should be inspired to become engaged and involved with whatever issues or conditions concern us. As we pause to commemorate the birthday of King, the only question is: Do we care as much as he did? This is a question we should ask ourselves every day, at every opportunity.
There is no greater force or power than that of the human will. We see it all around. We see it in extraordinary athletic achievements in sports. We see it in the awesome achievements of those with physical or mental disabilities.
And then, there are those who have achieved incredible gains for others who have suffered physical oppression, social inequality, economic and judicial injustices, across generations for centuries. The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. is an example of one of those giants.
It should be noted that King was a teenager when he became interested in getting rid of racial injustice in America. It was an interest that turned into a mission—a mission that he pursued during his entire short life, a mission that costs him his life. Had he not died at the hand of an assassin and lived, we would be celebrating his 92ndbirthday!
When he felt compelled to fight to improve the plight of the oppressed, he did not know all the things he would confront. But, during the days, weeks, months and years, he stayed the course despite constant obstacles, threats, persecution, and physical and emotional abuse.
The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. is an example, which shows if you care enough, are bold enough, courageous enough, and believe enough,you can make a difference.
As we pause to commemorate Dr. King, each of us can give serious thought about how we can apply our efforts to make things betterwhereverwe can, as Martin Luther King, Jr. did.
“As we pause to commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we seem further away from the goals for which he worked and gave his life: Freedom, Justice, and Equal Rights for All! This is most evident in the growing racial discord and the threat to suppress the very basic right to vote. Again! Like Dr. King, we as individuals can work in our community, our city, our state to ensure that all of our citizens will be treated equally and with respect. One specific way we can do that, right now, is to work to ensure eligible citizens are able to cast their vote in the 2022 mid-term elections. There are many other things we can do, as individuals, to keep working to achieve a better world for those around us and all of our fellow human beings. What is the area where you can work to make a difference? Dr. King’s work is an example of the many areas where our involvement is still sorely needed.” Janice S. Ellis, PhD
Dr. Janice S. Ellis
For four decades, Janice Ellis has analyzed educational, political, social, and economic issues across race, ethnicity, age, and socio-economic status. Dr. Ellis holds a Ph.D. in Communication Arts, and two Master of Arts degrees, one in Communications Arts and a second in Political Science, all from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Her memoir,From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dreamwon Journey Book Awards Grand Prize (CIBAs) along with national and international awards.
Her new book,Shaping Public Opinion: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced, won the Nellie Bly Nonfiction Journalism Award. Restoring honesty and civility must be the priority among journalists and commentators if we are to serve a dependent and vulnerable public and safeguard a fundamental tenet of our Democracy–that is the focus of the book.
Both books have received and continue to receive great editorial reviews and endorsements as well as customer reviews.
Janice Ellis, a native daughter of Mississippi, grew up and came of age during the height of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. Born and reared on a small cotton farm, she was influenced by two converging forces that would set the course of her life. The first was the fear and terror felt by blacks because of their seeking to exercise the right to vote along with other rights and privileges afforded to whites. The second was her love of books, the power of words, and her exposure to renowned columnists, Eric Sevareid and Walter Lippmann, whose work solidified her belief that the wise use of words is what advances the good society.
Janice Ellis became determined to take a stand, and not accept and allow the conditions of that farm life, or the strictures of oppressive racial segregation and entrenched sexism limit what she could become. She became determined to use whatever talents God had blessed her with and the power of words to help improve the human condition.
We thank Janice S. Ellis, PhD. for contributing today’s article in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Every Author Needs an Effective Website, But What Should You Do to Manage Yours?
Now is the time to freshen your website or seriously consider creating one dedicated to your author brand.
The internet is confusing enough without having to look at the back end of a webpage that’s supposed to draw others in. For many authors, their website will be the first thing online readers will come across, and it should represent the best parts of you and your work.
AUTHOR BRAND – Your website your reflects your author brand
Like a Resume, the Author Website should highlight what’s special about you
If your book receives a positive review or award, crow about it on your website. You can see Nancy Thorne doing that on her site here for her book Victorian Town, which won a First Place blue ribbon in the Dante Rossetti Awards. Having that digital badge can be the difference between someone purchasing your book and passing on it.
Where else will people find information about you?
Aside from your author website, most readers will find out about you from bookstores, social media, through your publisher, or through Reviews and Awards as described above.
The only place you fully control is your Author Website
The Bones (wireframe) of Your Website
These are the key subjects your author website should touch on for readers:
Your AUTHOR BRANDING – this will be a blogpost to itself – please see links at the end of this article,
What do you write – Fantasy? Historical Fiction? Non-Fiction? Children’s Books?
Do you have an elevator pitch for each of your works? If so, this is where you put it. Then drill down with more info.
What information or services you provide?
Are you available to present?
Are you available for Book Clubs? (You do have a Book Club page—right?)
Do you promote/support any causes? Humane Society? Autism? Wildlife? Lover of Libraries? Board Games?
Schedule of where people can meet you? Author Events, Wine Tastings/Lavender Days, Comic-Cons?
Products (books) to sell –
Can they be purchased directly from your website?
Can they be purchased from your fav Indie bookseller? Amazon? Barnes and Noble? Bookchain?
Kudos given your works
Digital badges, links to awards and accolades
Access to your Blog – it should be easily available AND with at least once a week posts.
Blogposts do not have to be long – a short paragraph will do to keep it fresh and earning “browser love” i.e. ranking on search engines
An outdated blog suggests that you are not interested in what you are doing (writing/written).
BIO – why readers should READ your books rather than another author’s works in the same genre
Please have easily downloadable photos, short and snappy bio with an invitation to contact you (see below) if a more in-depth one is needed, and graphics of your book covers available for those who want to promote you and your work. For example – you are going to do a book signing at your local bookseller – they will want to be able to create posters, social media posts, mailings, etc. and will need this basic info easily and readily available.
Also, have links or a listing to where you have presented, been interviewed, and/or published, accolades and awards
Contact info – Social Media Links, a secure way of contacting you, and a place to subscribe to your newsletter .
Social media links – especially LinkedIn and Twitter
Subscribe to your newsletter (yes, you read that correctly)
Secure way of contacting you while allowing for your privacy
However you go about making your website, the first thing to check is that it’s presented cleanly. Simple is going to be better than an over complicated landing page with too many buttons to look at. There should be a natural progression to your website to help visitors navigate it with ease.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that Chanticleerian Rochelle Parry does a deep dive into this subject here here.
1. Communicating What you Write
Readers should automatically know what genre you write in when they look at your website. Ideally this is done with design and by saying it directly. Consider what images are important to the work you do and how you describe the genre of your work. Both should be front and center. Again, the design doesn’t need to be over the top or fancy, but rather focused on communicating directly to the reader to let them know if they’ve landed in the right space. For example, these are the first big buttons anyone who comes to ChantiReviews.com sees:
Obviously we consider our Newsletter, Awards, and Reviews to be fairly important. Ask yourself what the main purpose of your website is—selling books? Selling copyediting services? Providing reviews? Whatever that is, it needs to be the main focus.
2. About Page
This is where you’ll want a professional head shot and a little bit about you and your story. You can ease up on the advertising here, and talk more about why you’re passionate about the subjects you write about.
We’re all about giving this rooster some love here.
An author page that puts the author front and center is Janice S Ellis, PhD’s website here. You get a good sense of who Dr. Ellis is and the reason that she is a reliable authority for her books. A different route is to be a website that primarily highlights your book, like Avanti Centrae’s website here. You can see the difference in focus, especially since Dr. Ellis’s work tends to have a wider range of subjects, while Centrae’s focuses exclusively on VanOps novels and thriller series.
3. Books
Your books will undoubtedly be an important part of your author website. If you’ve won any awards, such as from our Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs), you should include your digital badge to help the book stand out to those who visit your site. Likewise, if you’ve received a good Editorial Book Review from us, you’ll want to make a note of that and link to the review.
The goal is to show readers that your book stands out, and that it’s well connected enough to receive widespread recognition.
One of the biggest things we see with author websites is they forget to list those awards. Your website is a storefront among millions of digital storefronts, and something needs to be there to make your product stand out beyond what other authors have.
4. Contact
The Contact page is where you have a chance to let your audience reach out to you. It’s a great spot for people to request your presence at their book club, writing group, author’s conference, or upcoming Awards Ceremonies.
Your Contact page is also an excellent place to gather information for your Newsletter. Your Newsletter lets you speak directly to your audience, cutting through the algorithms of social media and the whims of the internet to land directly in their inbox. Make sure you share information that’s fun and to the point of what might interest an audience.
5. Interact
If you have a blog and people interact with it, take a little bit of time to respond to them. Likewise, if you have emails from you contact page or responses from your Newsletter, you can take the time to let people know you heard them and respond in a positive way.
Your interactions may not be this cute
This is part of the business side of being a writer, so set up some dedicated time each week to deal with it rather than letting it bother you a little bit every day. Schedules can be the best way to avoid the death of a thousand cuts.
One of the big ways we promote interaction is through The Roost. The Roost is our personally curated social media site that allows authors to network and ask each other questions, while at the same time taking advantage of some extraordinary discounts. Learn more about The Roost here.
6. Avoid Sales Resistance
Sales Resistance is when the design of your website prevents readers from following you or buying your products. This is a huge personal pet peeve of Kiffer herself. To avoid this double check all your buttons and links, and even consider setting up multiple buttons for one product that your visitor can click on to buy your work. It can help here to have a friend explore your website and test it out. A second pair of eyes (or more) can’t hurt!
Hand in hand with that, share your brand! Promote your new book, promote new merchandise, and remind people of the services you offer If you have a new book? Advertise it! Win a new Award or receive a good review? Advertise it! Make sure it’s clear how to contact you, and that your SEO is up to date. What’s SEO you ask?
7. SEO and Publishing Alphabet Soup (How you and your works are found in the Internet of Things)
Possibly the most confusing element to the world wide web is the idea of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Tags and Keywords are the first start to this. Rather than go with the first idea that comes to mind, so a little bit of searching. The word “raffle” has nearly 90 million searches on Google while “giveaway” has 335 million. Generally, you’ll want to focus on the one that’s more common. The exception to this rule is what makes you shine should be a keyword more unique to you. You can read more about SEO here.
SEO is all about driving traffic back to your website, and you can do this by referencing your website frequently and generously. Have it ready when people ask where to find you on podcasts or guest blogs, and double check to make sure that information is posted to send their audience back to you.
8. Social Media
Links to your social media help so much, because that’s a good way to stay in your reader’s mind throughout the day. You can link individually to your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and anything else, but what happens when you need to link to multiple sites (including your author website) from a space like Instagram?
No need to fear Social Media!
At the recent Chanticleer Authors Conference, VCAC21, Chelsea Bennett of LuLu and Alexa Bigwarfe talked about different ways to put up multiple links using Linktree and Shopify.
The big difference between the two is that Linktree is just for sharing links, whereas Shopify also doubles as a storefront, much like Squarespace, but it’s an all in one paid tool. If navigating multiple platforms is a challenge for you, Shopify may be worth the expense.
8. Newsletter
Your Newsletter is one of the best ways to connect with readers. Unlike social media, which is always filtered through automatic algorithms, people have signed up for and chosen to receive your newsletter. You don’t have to pay extra for it, just send it out to regularly tell your readers that you’re thinking of them, and to let them know how best to support you!
Newsletters can seem overwhelming, but you can break them down into a few simple steps. Here are a few possible choices:
Recent Publications
Status of Current Works in Progress
What You’re Reading
Writing Thoughts
Links to your Social Media
You know yourself best, so choose what works best. The other big question with a Newsletter is how often to send one out. Luckily, the answer is you can send it out as little as twice a year. While there should always be a way for your readers to support you in the letter, it’s important that the main thrust of it is in connecting with them.
Your newsletter is a chance to give your books a big hug
What is the Author Website, in the end?
Your website is the hub of your part of the community of writers you’ve joined. It’s like a small inn where you invite readers in and can provide resources and support to your fellow authors. Be kind and excellent to each other.
Thank you for joining us and please stay tuned for the next Chanticleer’s Business of Writing Tools and Tips Article!
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.
Fine artist and award-winning author Ron Singerton turns his astute attention to some little-known history, enmeshed in immortal names and enduring truth in his mystery romance novel, The Refused.
The story boils from the first page, depicting families from the North and South in 1859 America. The brewing conflict will pull all of them into its orbit. In the South we meet Charlotte, her half-brother and slave, Jerome, who sail to France at war’s end.
Life and love in Paris become the vibrant heartbeat in The Refused.
Jack Volant, an aspiring painter and Union cavalry officer, wounded at Gettysburg, travels to Paris following the war to become a more accomplished artist. It is there that he begins a tumultuous relationship with Charlotte, a sculptor who sells her work to Empress Eugenie, wife of the Emperor, and a noted art patroness.
Jack’s younger brother Steven, while still in America, becomes embroiled in an affair with a professor’s wife. When the professor, an expert shot, learns of it, he challenges the young man to a duel. Fearing for his life, Steven changes his name and flees to Paris where he engages in the eerie occupation of unwrapping mummies in the salons attended by the elite.
All these dynamic characters, many involved in intrigue and murder, will interact in the decadent City of Light. They enjoy its ambience for only a short time, however, before war finds them once again. In 1870, the influence of the Empress, Prussian militarism and national rivalry will lead to disaster for France in the Franco Prussian war, the siege of Paris. In the chaos, Charlotte, deeply in love with Jack, waits anxiously as he attempts to save his brother and Jerome from the Prussian onslaught.
The Refused is more than the title of a novel.
Jack will find himself accepted by and creating new works alongside the Impressionist painters. Their adopted sobriquet, the Refused, stems from their rejection by the mainstream critics of the day. Their band includes Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Degas, Cezanne, and Renoir. They all resolve to paint what they want and hope for success, even if it be posthumous.
This novel explores far more than artistic expression.
Even after Prussian victories in the field, Paris holds out and becomes a hotbed of the Parisian underclass, the Communards. Jerome, with his sympathy for the desperately poor, joins the movement, putting his life in danger. As turmoil explodes around them, Jack, Charlotte, Steven, and Jerome attempt to survive as the reign of Emperor Louis Napoleon III and the Second Republic implode around them.
Singerton writes with verve and intelligence. He fashions several interwoven plots in numerous historical settings, while making all his players come to life as credible people, some with high aspirations and others with low scruples.
The author provides useful background in his “Author’s Notes.” He cites the real people and fact-based events that he selected for this engaging tale. The narrative encompasses formal dueling, womanly wiles, shadowy views of a typical morgue, costuming, cafés, conditions in Paris in wartime, and many other fine touches that powerfully immerse the reader in the times and places.
Singerton served in Asia with the US military, was a Civil War cavalry reenactor, an art and history teacher, and enjoys saber fencing and horsemanship. He has penned notable works of historical fiction. And significantly, he is also, like several of the book’s protagonists, a professional artist. All these interests weld neatly together into this enthralling novel, sure to please his current audience and garner new readership.
The Nellie Bly Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Long Form Journalistic and Investigative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Nellie Bly Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Social Science, Data Driven Reporting, Equality and Justice, Ethics, Human Rights, and Activists Groups. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Nellie Bly Non-Fiction entries to the 2021 Nellie Bly Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Nellie Bly Finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Short List. 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.
These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS position of the 2021 Nellie Bly Book Awards for Journalistic Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Azim H. Jiwani, MD – Humanizing Medicine: Making Health Tangible
Betty Jean Craige – Ruminations on a Parrot Named Cosmo
Burl Harmon – Combat Missions
Dori Jones Yang – When the Red Gates Opened
Dr Kate Dolan – Beating Drug Addiction in Tehran: a Women’s clinic
Jim Lichtman – Trust and Confidence
Julie Ryan McGue – Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging
Martha Bolton with Linda Hope – Dear Bob… Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of WW2
Daisy Hernandez – The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease
Nicole Evelina – America’s Forgotten Suffragists: Virginia and Francis Minor
Richard Jespers – That I Do Not Lose You: One Man’s Family Roots
Richard Lui – Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness
Abe Streep – Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana
Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D. – Advancing the Good Society: Real Advocacy Journalism in Action
Cheng Wang – From Tea to Coffee
Grover Nicodemus Street RN, Sandra de Abreu Guidry-Street MD, & Ja-ne de Abreu – Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic
Hafiz Sheriff – History As I see It And Others
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. 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.
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 2020 NELLIE BLY Awards is William “Mecca” Elmore & Susan Simone for Prison from the Inside Out: One Man’s Journey from a Life Sentence to Freedom
We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Nellie Bly Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.
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.
The Mind and Spirit Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Enlightenment and Well-Being Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Mind and Spirit Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring enlightenment, motivational/self-help, spirituality, mindfulness, well-being, meditation, and energy. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Mind and Spirit Non-Fiction entries to the 2021 Mind and Spirit Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Mind and Spirit Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-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.
These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Mind and Spirit Book Awards novel competition for Enlightenment, Spirituality, and Mindfulness Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Ramzi Najjar – The Ultimate Human Secrets
Mike Lutz – Jesus Speaking
Tammy Green – Living Without Skin: Everything I Never Knew About Fierce Vulnerability
Michael Vincent Moore – Mastering your Emotional Heart-Print
Beth Gibbs – Enlighten Up!
Rosemary A. Schmidt – The Happy Clam
Carolyn Lee Arnold – Fifty First Dates After Fifty: A Memoir
Starr Regan DiCiurcio – Divine Sparks: Interfaith Wisdom for a Postmodern World
Ben R Teeter – Falling Into All
Randi Benator – Awaken to Your Calling
Richard Lui – Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness
George Marino , CPA, CFP – Beyond Balancing the Books: Sheer Mindfulness for Professionals in Work and Life
David Soh Poh Huat – Care Giving Gift of Unconditional Live
David Soh Poh Huat – Nature Gifts of the Soursop Leaves
Bedri Cag Cetin Ph.D. – Sacred Life: Healing from the Virus in Consciousness
Reagan J. Pasternak – Griffin’s Heart: Mourning Your Pet With No Apologies
Carlo Pietro Sanfilippo – AfterLIFE, Waking up from My American Dream
Dr. BethAnne K.W. – Revelations of The Sky: 133 passages on the alchemy of grief
Ramzi Najjar – The YOU beyond you: The knowledge of the willing
Judith Briles – When God Says NO – Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present
Labar Laskie – Above the Din: Diary of the HepC Wonder Drugs
Meg Nocero – Butterfly Awakens: A Memoir of Transformation Through Grief
Angela Quijada-Banks – The Black Foster Youth Handbook
James Martin – Revelation Through Science
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.
We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Mind and Spirit Book Awards for Enlightenment and Well-Being Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.
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.
The HARVEY CHUTE Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Business and Enterprise Non-fiction. The Harvey Chute Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring motivational, strategy, technology guides, social media, finance, investing & money, communications, marketing, business, and economics. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. The best will advance. Which titles will be declared as winners of the prestigious Harvey Chute Book Awards? We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremonies April 21-25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person. Looking for our other Non-fiction categories? Keep an eye out for our long lists for The Nellie Bly Awards focusing on journalism, The I & I Awards focusing on business, The Journey Awards focusing on Narrative Non-fiction, and Mind & Spirit Awards.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Harvey Chute Non-Fiction entries to the 2021 Harvey Chute Book Awards SHORT LIST. Finalists will be selected from the Short List. 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.
These titles are in the running for the Finalists Level of Achievement for the 2021 Harvey Chute Book Awards novel competition for Business, Finance, and Enterprise Non-Fiction!
Congratulations to the 2021 Harvey Chute Short Listers!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Stan Bernard, MD, MBA – Brands Don’t Win: How Transcenders Change the Game
Ross Brand – 100 Livestreaming & Digital Media Predictions: Top Content Creators Help You Succeed in an Era of Rapid Change
Thomas Wideman – Welfare Cheese to Fine Caviar: How to Achieve Your Dreams Despite Your Upbringing
Anthony C. Delauney – Owning the Dash: The No Regrets Retirement Roadmap
Bruce Graham – Unemployment and You
David Cutler – The Game of Innovation: Conquer Challenges. Level Up Your Team. Play to Win.
George Marino CPA – Beyond Balancing the Books: Sheer Mindfulness for Professionals in Work and Life
Gustavo J. Gomez, Ph.D. – Private Money Lending: Learn How to Consistently Generate a Passive Income Stream 2nd Edition
Heather Wilde – Birth of a Unicorn: Six Basic Steps to Success
Howard Tiersky – Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance
Kate Dixon – Pay Up! Unlocking Insider Secrets of Salary Negotiation
Max James – Harder I Fall, the Higher I Bounce
Nayana Williams – The Lifespan Movement
Cash Nickerson – Negotiating As a Martial Art
Dori Jones Yang – When the Red Gates Opened
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.
We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Nellie Bly Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.
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.
DV Chernov delivers the first book of the Anna Sokolova series, an historical thriller Commissar: A Novel of Civil War Russia destined to capture readers’ attentions and have them coming back for more.
Chernov seamlessly blends historical figures with fictional characters in Commissar. Shining above them all is Anna Sokolova, a revolutionary who fights to protect the newly formed Cheka. Her idealistic goal is to improve the lives of her fellow countrymen.
Anna Sokolova steps off the pages as a gutsy and beautiful woman who is also vulnerable and idealistic. She will do anything it takes to find the British spy “Reilly,” a real character from history, who threatens her country’s new political system.
Chernov sets the scene in Moscow in 1918, after the revolution.
The big players in this international espionage thriller are broken down into two opposing forces: the Red and the White armies. However, outside influences from Britain and the United States complicate the struggles. Anna pursues the British spy, but he eludes capture even with her best agents’ intelligence.
Chernov expertly exposes the British and American desires of maintaining their outside capitalist ideologies within Russia. This forces the Reds to fight harder to preserve the newly formed government.
Anna’s romantic involvement with Sergei, her longtime friend and mentor, falls apart when Sergei becomes withdrawn and places the party over her. Anna’s family disappoints her as well. They intend to flee Russia to Switzerland and resume their bourgeoisie life of wealthy business owners. Anna stays behind and throws herself into her work. Will she ever catch the spy Reilly?
One day, Anna meets William, a representative of the American Red Cross, and with him plans the mission that will change her path forward. Together with Egorov and William, she drives a Rolls Royce, of all things, to southwestern Ukraine to entice a group of anarchists to help her catch the elusive Reilly.
There is another reason for her mission, one involving the Russian treasury and the Bolshevik cause.
Anna approaches Makhno, who helps her organize an ambush and attack of the heavily armed and guarded train transporting the gold, but he has two conditions. He gets all the gold as well as the train. Anna convinces him to split the gold 50/50, and she gets Reilly. Soon the mission details fall into place.
The mission unfolds in a tense battle that claims the life of Anna’s friend and comrade in arms, Egorov. The many deaths weigh on Anna. Coupled with another failure to capture Reilly, Anna’s confidence is rocked, which leaves her questioning the decisions made by her superiors and what the Bolsheviks have come to represent.
Even after her successful retrieval of three times the amount of gold she’d anticipated, Anna loses her drive for the cause. Her successful mission assures her a place in the government as a rising star, and as the winds of war change, the Reds gain control of the government.
Chernov’s masterful blending of fictional with non-fictional characters and events creates a blockbuster read. He gives us a high espionage thriller through the eyes of a daring protagonist, Anna Sokolova, and delivers a riveting story that will keep readers up into the night. Moreover, Chernov’s attention to detail will impress the most avid historian, and his storytelling will appeal to lovers of historical fiction and spy thrillers alike. Highly recommended
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 2021 Laramie Americana Long List to the 2021 Laramie Book Awards SHORT LIST. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions.FINALISTS will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).
The 2021 Laramie Finalists will be selected from the Laramie Semi-Finalists.
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, hybrid, or in-person.
These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALS of the 2021 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
David Fitz-Gerald – Waking Up Lost
Chase Pletts – The Loving Wrath of Eldon Quint
E.E. Burke – Tom Sawyer Returns
Kimberly Burns – The Mrs. Tabor
Leah Angstman – The Only Way to Cheat a Hangman
E. Alan Fleischauer – Tommies
Kalen Vaughan Johnson – Raid of Souls
Catherine M. O’Connor – Dust Covered Lies
Michael Eisenhut – Brothers of War, The Iron Brigade at Gettysburg
Pamela Nowak – Never Let Go
Forest B. Dunning – Death at Lame Deer
Will Astrike – The Knack and The Skills of Ezra Lacey – Series
Samantha Specks – Dovetails in Tall Grass
Kenneth Arbogast – Sorrow Ledge
E. Alan Fleischauer – Kidnapped
Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Breath, Book One in the Desert Hills Trilogy
T.K. Conklin – Outlaw’s Redemption
Betty Willis – Texas Quest
Glen Craney – The Cotillion Brigade: A Novel of the Civil War and the Most Famous Female Militia in American History
David Fitz-Gerald – The Curse of Conchobar: A Prequel to the Adirondack Spirit Series
George T. Arnold – Wyandotte Bound
Michael R. Frontani – Dante’s Forge
Chris Bennett – Road to the Breaking
Michael L. Ross – Across the Great Divide: Book 2 The Search
Daniel Greene – Northern Hunt(Northern Wolf Series Book 2)
Bryan Ney – Absaroka War Chief
Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.
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.
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.
Award-winning author, Strider S. R. Klusman’s Stone: Rhone and Stone Series, Book One is set in the high desert outside of the dusty town of Skragmoore.
With all the trappings of a western, he draws us into the Badlands and takes us on a merry and hair rising journey through lake strewn caves and the dusty little town of Skragmoore. This YA adventure will have readers riveted in place to find out what happens next.
Rhone has survived alone in the wilderness since his mother’s death, but he has learned to thrive and spends more and more time out of doors under the open sky than at home in his old, dilapidated house. So, when he hears a voice, and no one else is there, he is confused to say the least. Where is the voice coming from and why won’t it shut up?
Rhone has been carrying the stone in his pouch for several years.
The most beautiful stone he’s ever seen, it is his prized possession and now it’s talking? Yet, somehow he is calmed by the voice and develops a sense of well being as it speaks. Soon Rhone is talking back and finds the stone’s intelligent conversation philosophical and instructive. His new friend educates him about how a lump of mineral can communicate with a human and where it came from.
As part of a meteor that struck earth in the distant past, Stone’s story unfolds with the skill wielded only by Klusman’s master storytelling. Stone’s mission is to find more of his kind, the “We,” and Rhone pledges his services to help and his undying friendship.
Meanwhile in the dusty town of Skragmoore, we meet Commissioner Dodge.
A heavy-handed boss who drives his men with a clenched fist ready to strike. Dodge is planning his escape from the dying town, and when news reaches him of a beautiful stone that flashes blinding light, he knows it must be an artifact, and his dream of escape grows closer than he imagined. Thus begins the misadventure, and Rhone soon loses stone to Dodge’s men.
Rhone will never give up on Stone, though.
The bond they forged in the short time they were together is too strong for him to ignore, and Rhone won’t let his friend suffer at the hands of Dodge, who only wants to use Stone for his own gain. Rhone understands fully the Dodge will treat Stone as an object, not the sensitive, sentient being he is. Rhone uses the lessons that Stone instilled in him to memorize a route out of the maze of the badlands and rescue Stone.
The Counsel has Dodge on their radar as a person of interest for poorly overseeing his commission, and they have also been informed of Stone. Agents Aundrea and Bran arrive in the Badlands in search of this stone and the boy who found it.
Klusman’s fast-paced novel keeps readers turning pages to learn the fate of Rhone and Stone.
Rhone becomes the unlikely hero who will do anything to help his friend and unwittingly exposes Dodge whose ruthless and cold-hearted nature lose him any friend he ever had. Part fantasy, part western, part YA, part adventure/thriller, Klusman’s novel melds genres seamlessly to give us a riveting and rollicking story of friendship, trust, and adventure. This five-star read will keep readers entertained and wanting more! And they are in luck because Book II in the Rhone and Stone series carries on the adventure.
