Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

  • The 2025 Laramie Spotlight for Americana Fiction

    Home on the Range of Great Americana Stories

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction Award

    The Laramie Awards Celebrate Americana Fiction in All Its Forms

    The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Laramie closes on August 31, 2025!

    From the vast landscapes of the American West to the intimate stories of families building new lives on the frontier, from First Nation narratives that honor indigenous wisdom to contemporary tales that prove the western spirit lives on, the Laramie Awards celebrate the full spectrum of Americana fiction from Mexico through Canada. These are tales of courage, independence, survival, and the eternal quest for home and belonging.

    Americana fiction captures the willingness to venture into unknown territory, the determination to build something lasting from nothing, and the complex relationships between different cultures that have shaped this continent for generations. Whether set in the dusty streets of frontier towns or the modern ranches of today’s West, these stories explore themes that remain fundamentally American: freedom, justice, family, and the land that shapes us all.

    The Enduring Appeal of Americana Stories

    western themed porch with a barrel, bottles, and a hat and banjo on a chair

    The best Americana fiction explores the complex realities of life across different eras and cultures. These stories explore how the American mythos shapes lives across the continent, sometimes inspiring, sometimes haunting, always powerful.

    From the epic scope of pioneer journeys to intimate family dramas played out against vast landscapes, Americana fiction offers readers the chance to explore their roots and understand how the character was forged. These stories resonate because they deal with universal themes: survival, family loyalty, moral courage, and the search for justice, all while remaining distinctly grounded in American soil and values.

    Contemporary westerns prove that these themes remain relevant today, showing how the frontier spirit adapts to modern challenges while maintaining its essential character of independence, resilience, and connection to the land.

    Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!

    Sarita cover by Natalie Musgrave Dossett with a majestic horse galloping

    We’re thrilled to honor Natalie Musgrave Dossett, whose powerful novel Sarita claimed the 2024 Laramie Grand Prize with a story that Kirkus Reviews called “a powerful tale of revenge and perseverance in the face of danger.” Set in 1920 along the Texas-Mexico border, the novel follows nineteen-year-old Sarita after her younger brother JJ is killed by tequila smuggler Javier Salsito de Ortega, and the Texas Rangers refuse to help due to Prohibition and border issues.

    Determined to seek justice and prove herself worthy of inheriting the family ranch, Sarita crosses the Rio Grande into a world of deadly threats that proves far more dangerous and complex than she imagined. Dossett masterfully weaves together elements of thriller and historical fiction, creating what reviewers have compared to True Grit for its “plucky young girl on a mission to set her turbulent, dusty world right.” In addition to ongoing promotional features, Sarita will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame posts. Natalie Musgrave Dossett will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Sarita will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.

    Categories That Span the American Experience

    The Laramie Awards welcome Americana fiction across every tradition and time period:

    • Western Romance – Love stories set against the backdrop of the American West, where hearts are as wild as the landscape
    • Adventure/Caper – Action-packed tales of outlaws, lawmen, and those caught between justice and survival
    • Classic – Traditional westerns that honor the genre’s golden age while bringing fresh perspectives
    • Civil War/Prairie/Pioneer – Stories of the conflicts and journeys that shaped the American frontier
    • Contemporary Western – Modern stories that prove the western spirit lives on in today’s America
    • Americana – Broader American stories that capture the national character and experience
    • First Nation – Indigenous narratives that honor the voices and perspectives of those who have lived in North America since time immemorial

    Each category represents a different facet of Americana fiction, from traditional frontier tales to contemporary explorations of what it means to live here today.

    Explore All Historical Fiction Divisions

    The Laramie Awards are part of Chanticleer’s comprehensive celebration of historical fiction across all time periods:

    Whether your historical fiction explores ancient civilizations, recent decades, or the distinctly American experience, Chanticleer offers recognition for every period and perspective.

    Looking at Americana Excellence

    Check out some of these outstanding Americana fiction works we’ve celebrated recently!

    Cold As Hell
    By Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle

    The 2022 Paranormal (Now Shelley) Grand Prize Winner!

    James Crowley isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill cowboy. Nor is Cold as Hell, by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, your typical gunslinging western.

    Although he’s got all the right characteristics – tough exterior, snarky personality, and commitment issues – Crowley is much more than he appears. Resurrected to immortality straight from death’s “sickly sweet aroma,” Crowley is duty-bound as a Hand of God to serve the White Throne in its shadow war against demonic presences called the nephilim unleashed by freezing hell.

    But it’s not all ‘good guys versus bad guys’. As Crowley learns, “good choices don’t always mean doing right or wrong things. Especially when it comes to serving a Master like [the White Throne].” Forced to be the middle man between God and the Devil, Crowley has to decide for himself how to care for the people around him and bring true justice to fruition. Forced to be the middleman between God and the Devil, Crowley has to make his own choices about how to care for the people around him and bring justice to fruition. 

    Jam-packed with simmering romance, evil yetis, reckless bar fights, and other outlaw shenanigans, Cold as Hell will warm readers’ hearts as it freezes them to their seats with anticipation.

    Read More Here

    Guarded Hearts Cover

    Guarded Hearts
    By T.K. Conklin

    The 2022 Laramie Grand Prize Winner!

    Guarded Hearts by T K Conklin is a sensual romance in the Wild West, with all the passion and excitement natural to the setting.

    Sparks fly between a man with an outlaw past and a woman with a terrifying gift to heal or harm. Strykes is a man haunted both by a violent childhood and his time in an outlaw gang. But he has found a place in Rimrock, where he met LaRisa, an auburn-haired woman whom the townspeople have labeled a “witch” due to her healing herbs and rumors of her “powers”.

    LaRisa has kept her distance from people, afraid of her gift of healing touch that can turn dangerous, even deadly. But, when she comes to town to deliver her medicinal herbs, she makes her way to the livery with tasks for Strykes such as shoeing her horse or fixing a spring in her wagon. He is only too happy to oblige the auburn-haired beauty. The attraction between them is instantaneous, yet they both are hesitant to act on it, fearing they would hurt the other– he from his violent past, and she from her “witch” power.

    But when Strykes arrives at her isolated cabin, riddled with bullets, LaRisa knows she must use her healing touch to save him.

    Read More Here

    Rolling Home Cover

    Rolling Home
    By David Fitz-Gerald

    The 2023 Series Grand Prize Winner!

    David Fitz-Gerald concludes the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail series with a grand finale for an eclectic cast of characters, as the long wagon train is finally Rolling Home to their new lives in the wild west of Oregon.

    With the end of the trail just out of reach, however, their hopes dwindle and their hunger rages. The rigor of the western environment continues to test their determination and threaten vows of heartfelt romance. These weary people ache and mourn losses, while seeking new ways to survive and pull each other forward in the face of impending winter.

    This wagon train of travelers will also face venomous villains who have been lurking in the shadows, outlaws waiting for their best opportunity to pounce.

    Now they feel the traveling train is at its weakest, and strike without mercy. Dorcas and her family are in a desperate situation, clinging to the hope of a better life ahead. But even if they can hang on to reach that final destination, they doubt whether the life they’d planned in Oregon is still the future they want.

    Read More Here

    Loving Beth Cover

    Loving Beth
    By Bonnie Rose Ward

    A Chatelaine First Place Winner!

    In Loving Beth, a Christian historical romance by Bonnie Rose Ward, a young woman finds herself in dire straits when her widowed mother dies unexpectedly.

    Beth’s father had taken out loans to improve their property, but he was killed in the Civil War, leaving his wife and daughter to struggle to keep up with the payments. Now, Beth is alone without any means to keep her home—finding and taking in two young, abandoned children certainly doesn’t help. But even amidst her troubles, Beth’s thoughts keep going back to the mysterious and handsome stranger who found and brought home the body of her mother.

    Life is not easy in her tiny settlement in West Virginia, and young, pretty Beth finds that it is not about to get any easier. The new banker holds a grudge toward her for having rejected his advances, and the man’s snobbish wife is determined to make Beth’s life even more miserable. The loans that Beth and her mother worked to pay each month are suddenly due in full— but the banker’s unwanted and ugly advances are foiled with the appearance of the mysterious stranger.

    Read More Here

    These works demonstrate how the best Americana fiction combines authentic historical detail with compelling characters and universal themes that resonate across generations.

    See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

    We’re excited about all the exceptional Americana fiction we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

    The Laramie Awards recognize stories that capture the Americana spirit in all its complexity—the courage of pioneers, the wisdom of First Nations, the romance of the frontier, and the ongoing evolution of the American dream. Whether your story spans vast landscapes or focuses on intimate family dramas, these awards celebrate the distinctly Americana experience.

    Your Americana Story Awaits

    Great Americana fiction doesn’t just tell stories about the past—it explores what it means to be here now, what values we’ve inherited, and how those values continue to shape us today. Whether your tale unfolds in a frontier town, a contemporary ranch, or the complex borderlands where cultures meet, the Laramie Awards celebrate the authors who understand that the story of North America is still being written.

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction Award

    Saddle up and share your Americana story—the deadline is August 31, 2025!

    You know you want it…

    Submit to the Laramie Awards today and help us celebrate the full range of Americana fiction!

  • The 2025 Chaucer Spotlight for Early Historical Fiction

    Tales from the Distant Past

    A picture of Geoffery Chaucer as a white man with a gray goatee with the words "Chaucer Awards" across the bottom

    The Chaucer Awards Honor Early Historical Fiction Excellence

    The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Chaucer closes on August 31, 2025!

    In an age when stories spread by firelight and traveling minstrels, when legends were born from whispered tales and historical truth blended seamlessly with mythic storytelling, Geoffrey Chaucer understood the power of narrative to capture both the spirit of an age and the eternal human condition. The Chaucer Awards, inspired by the great poet whose “Prior’s Tale” gave Chanticleer its very name, celebrate this same tradition and honoring authors who bring the distant past to vivid life through masterful storytelling.

    As Chanticleer’s first historical fiction division, the Chaucer Awards represent our foundational commitment to discovering exceptional historical narratives. From the mists of pre-history through the grandeur of the Renaissance, these awards recognize the unique artistry required to transform ancient civilizations, legendary figures, and distant eras into compelling contemporary fiction.

    The Art of Ancient Storytelling

    book, glasses, old, buckles

    Writing early historical fiction demands extraordinary imagination and research skills. Authors must recreate worlds where written records are scarce, daily life was vastly different from our own, and the very foundations of modern society were still being formed. These storytellers serve as literary archaeologists, piecing together fragments of history, legend, and human nature to create authentic worlds that feel both historically grounded and emotionally true.

    The best early historical fiction doesn’t just transport readers to distant times—it reveals the timeless aspects of human experience that connect us across millennia. Whether exploring the political intrigue of Tudor courts, the epic journeys of Celtic heroes, or the daily struggles of medieval peasants, these stories illuminate how courage, love, ambition, and family loyalty have remained constant throughout human history.

    The challenge of early historical fiction lies in making ancient worlds accessible to modern readers while respecting the fundamental differences in how people thought, believed, and lived in earlier eras. The most successful works achieve this delicate balance, creating stories that feel authentically historical yet emotionally immediate.

    Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!

    We’re delighted to honor Rozsa Gaston, whose meticulously researched novel Maid of Honour: Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria’s Court claimed the 2024 Chaucer Grand Prize with a fresh perspective on one of history’s most infamous queens. Set in 1513 Europe, the novel follows young Anne Boleyn during her formative time as one of eighteen maids of honor at the court of Margaret of Austria, Europe’s most powerful woman, before her fateful journey to France and eventually to Henry VIII’s court.

    Gaston’s work exemplifies the scholarly depth and narrative skill that defines exceptional early historical fiction, exploring how Anne’s ambitious character was shaped by her early experiences with political intrigue, intellectual reform, and the complex dynamics of European court life. As one reviewer noted, this is “a young Anne in whom I absolutely believe, and who does much to explain the woman she’d become.” In addition to ongoing promotional features, Maid of Honour will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame posts. Rozsa Gaston will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Maid of Honour will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.

    Categories That Span the Ancient World

    The Chaucer Awards welcome early historical fiction across the full spectrum of pre-1750s history:

    • Pre-Historical Fiction – Stories from before recorded history, exploring humanity’s earliest experiences
    • Ancient Historical Fiction – Classical civilizations of Greece, Rome, Egypt, and other ancient empires
    • Dark Ages, Medieval, Renaissance – The transformative periods that bridged ancient and modern worlds
    • Elizabethan/Tudor – The golden age of English history and literature
    • 1600s – The century of exploration, scientific revolution, and political upheaval
    • World/International History Pre-1750s – Global perspectives on early historical periods
    • Americas – Historical Fiction Pre-1750s – Stories from the indigenous and colonial Americas
    • Legend Based pre-1750s Historical Fiction – Arthurian tales, Beowulf, and other mythic narratives
    • Norse/Celtic – Stories from the rich traditions of northern European cultures

    Each category represents a different window into humanity’s distant past, from intimate personal stories to epic tales of kingdoms and empires.

    Explore All of Our Historical Fiction Divisions

    The Chaucer Awards anchor Chanticleer’s comprehensive celebration of historical fiction across all time periods:

    Whether your historical fiction explores recent decades or the distant past, Chanticleer offers recognition for every period and perspective.

    Looking at Early Historical Excellence

    Check out some of these outstanding early historical fiction works we’ve celebrated recently!

    The Tale of the English Templar Cover

    The Tale of the English Templar
    By Helena P. Schrader

    Far from the romantic legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Helena P. Schrader’s The Tale of the English Templar faithfully captures the harsh decimation of the Knights Templar. Schrader offers a sobering, immersive look at one of history’s darkest betrayals. This is historical fiction worthy of legend with its feet planted firmly in research—not myth.

    Set in the early 14th century, the novel captures the downfall of the Knights Templar at the hands of French King Philip IV. With the Pope’s reluctant cooperation, the Templars are accused of heresy and tortured until they confess to crimes they didn’t commit. The king’s true motive? Their immense wealth.

    Among those captured is Sir Percy de Lacy, an English Templar who is swept up in a raid by local French soldiers and caught in a mass arrest on Friday, October 13th, 1307. What follows is a harrowing account of imprisonment, torture, and unlikely survival.

    Read More Here

    Diomedes in Kyprios Cover

    Diomedes in Kyprios
    By Gregory Michael Nixon

    Gregory Michael Nixon’s Diomedes in Kyprios, book 2 in the Diomedeia Series,continues the adventures of the godlike yet all too human hero, Diomedes of Tiryns, as he seeks to discover a meaningful destiny in the chaos of the Bronze Age Collapse.

    We begin after the fall of the Hittite Empire, four years after the destruction of Troy. He emerges from the dark river that runs through the underworld where the sacrifice of the Hittite Great King has just occurred, and he has rescued the Hittite Queen from certain death. Nearly drowned but still alive, he recalls only that he had vowed to reunite with the former Queen of the Hittites, the woman he loves named Lieia, at Paphos on the island of Kyprios (ancient Cyprus).

    Lieia must undergo her own “odyssey” to get to Paphos to meet Diomedes. She depends on her band of protectors, but they pay for fare aboard a ship with evil men who cannot be trusted.

    Read More Here

    Elodia’s Knife
    By Robert S. Phillips

    A Chaucer First Place Winner!

    Elodia is a young woman driven by dreadful circumstances to act with deadly force in the Robert S. Phillips novel Elodia’s Knife.

    What Elodia hoped would be her leap away from danger instead left her surrounded by perilous threats that now threaten to consume her. Armed with her courage, determination, instincts, and a trusty knife, Elodia faces a hostile world in foreign territory.

    Not all are against her though. Allies– even a friend– can be found, if Elodia can summon the bravery to listen to her feelings and own deep wishes.

    Young Elodia is unhappily married to an abusive husband. But when he tries to attack her again, she strikes back and kills him.

    Read More Here

    See our Review of Book 2 Here

    See our Review of Book 3 Here

    Shelter in a Hostile World Cover

    Shelter in a Hostile World
    By Mack Little

    Chanticleers 2023 Shorts Grand Prize Winner!

    Shelter in a Hostile World, second installment in Mack Little’s Love and Peace series, is an epic tale of resistance, desire, and tragedy, saturating readers in the complexity of Igbo culture.

    Little paints a character-rich portrait of the horrors of enslavement and the unthinkable violence against women in the Caribbean, locking people together in relationships molded by adversity.

    Set in 17th century Igboland—the invaded region of Nigeria — and on the island of Barbados, Shelter in a Hostile World is a searingly brief novel packed with mesmerizing prose. It blends genres to create a literary language entirely its own.

    Throughout Little’s story, readers follow the life and loves of Badu Obosi, a haunted revolutionary escaping enslavement to protect his daughter from sexual violence.

    Read More Here

    See our Review of Book 1, the 2022 Chaucer Grand Prize Winner Here

    Mistress of Legend Cover

    Mistress of Legend
    By Nicole Evelina

    Chanticleers 2021 Series Grand Prize Winner!

    In Mistress of Legend, the enticing finale of Nicole Evelina’s Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, matters are life-and-death by the second sentence, pulling readers deep into Guinevere’s fate in this retelling of Arthurian legend.

    We come upon heroine Guinevere in the midst of an ill-fated romance with Lancelot. It’s far from her first troubled entanglement, but the stakes rise as she’s severely injured and faces even more threats, pursued by possible enemies. The novel’s beginning is woven with backstory, which adds suspense to the drama unfolding in Guinevere’s present. This summarizing might be slow for readers familiar with the series, but makes the story accessible for those who haven’t picked up the first two books.

    Many more characters appear, waving the web of intrigue Guinevere finds herself caught in.

    Read More Here

    See our Review of Book 1 Here

    See our Review of Book 2 Here

    These works demonstrate how the best early historical fiction combines rigorous research with compelling storytelling to bring ancient worlds to vivid life.

    See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

    We’re excited about all the exceptional early historical fiction we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

    The Chaucer Awards recognize the extraordinary scholarship and imagination required to recreate distant worlds and ancient civilizations. Whether you’ve spent years researching medieval manuscripts, exploring archaeological evidence, or reimagining legendary tales, these awards celebrate both your historical dedication and narrative artistry.

    Your Ancient Tale Awaits

    Great early historical fiction serves as a bridge between past and present, helping modern readers understand both how much the world has changed and how much human nature remains constant. Whether your story unfolds in a medieval castle, an ancient marketplace, or the legendary courts of Arthurian Britain, the Chaucer Awards celebrate the authors who keep the distant past alive through the power of exceptional storytelling.

    A picture of Geoffery Chaucer as a white man with a gray goatee with the words "Chaucer Awards" across the bottom

    Honor the literary tradition that inspired our name—the deadline is August 31, 2025!

    You know you want it…

    Submit to the Chaucer Awards today and help us celebrate the foundations of historical fiction!

  • ANTARAM: A Psychological Literary Fantasy Novel by Yashasvi Bhandari – Psychological Fantasy, Literary Fantasy, ADHD

     

    Antaram: A Psychological Literary Fantasy Novel by Yashasvi Bhandari is a journey towards not just self-discovery but self-creation. Arjun, a struggling writer and single father, knows for certain that he doesn’t want to continue the life path he’s fallen into but has no idea how to change course or in what direction he should go.

    Nearing thirty and pushing a broom at a dead-end job that’s going nowhere—just as every other job he’s held since he left school —Arjun clings to fantasies of bigger and better things.

    He was a bright star in school, but as an adult he’s been drifting inexorably toward the bottom. Something is keeping him down and holding him back, but he doesn’t know what that something is. When he’s fired yet again, it feels like all hope is lost.

    Arjun uses the fantastic journeys of his dreams and states of altered consciousness to push himself forward into a life that will lift him up instead of constantly reminding him that his brain isn’t wired quite like everyone else’s.

    From inside Arjun’s head, the reader is able to experience the perspective of someone who lives with a particular form of ADHD, specifically ADHD-I (ADHD-Inattentive) that limits focus and attention to time, causing them to lose track of immediate responsibilities in daydreams and mental spirals. The narrative does a marvelous job illustrating how difficult it is for Arjun to navigate social structures of modern life, work, and interpersonal interactions.

    Arjun marches to the beat of a different drummer, an erratic drummer, and in his story the reader is able to hear those beats for themselves.

    This grounded real-world struggle takes on otherworldly heights when Arjun finds himself inexplicably catapulted into his mindscape, “Antaram,” which in Sanskrit means “within.”

    Antaram combines literary fiction with a mishmash of fantasy tropes and archetypes, borrowing from such classics as The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland.

    Through this world of imagination, Arjun finds inspiration for both life and work that allows him to use his differences as strengths instead of weaknesses.

    Yashasvi Bhandari offers a fascinating psychological exploration in Antaram, both in the character of Arjun and in how the writing of this novel helped expand Bhandari’s own understanding of himself. Life imitates art imitates life in a full circle that compels readers to keep turning the pages of this fantastic ride.

     

    *This book comes with a Content Warning for violence, sexual assault, and drug and alcohol addiction.

     

  • The 2025 Goethe Hall of Fame for Late Historical Fiction

    The Goethe Hall of Fame

    Celebrating the Best Late Historical Fiction with the Goethe Awards!

    Goethe as the badge for the Post 1750s Historical Fiction Awards

    **Send Us Your Story by the end of August!**

    One of our many Historical Fiction Categories, Named after German Writer, Scientist and Playwright Johan Wolfgang Van Goethe (1749-1832), Considered to be one of the most Influential and Greatest Writers of the German Language.

    This Award Division covers anything after 1750, so there can be anything from The American Revolution, to the 1930s.

    For our other Historical Fiction Divisions, See the Chaucer Award for Pre-1750, Hemingway for 20th & 21st Century Wartime and Laramie for Western and Americana

    Let’s take a look at some of our Grand Prize Winners and Discover your next great read!

    Abigail’s Song
    By Alina Rubin

    Our review for the newest Grand Prize Winner is forthcoming. In the meantime, here is what some GoodReads readers have been saying:

    “Abigail’s Song is a powerful novel about Jewish/Gentile relationships set in 1800s England. The novel’s protagonist Abigail is a sixteen-year-old orphan who is taken in by a Jewish family after becoming severely ill on the streets. Abigail is skeptical of Jews at first but soon realizes that her prejudices were wrong and that she has been taken in by a family who genuinely loves and cares for her.

    The novel offers great chemistry between Abigail, David, and the rest of David’s family. Rubin has a penchant for writing sharp dialogue and an excellent eye for detail when observing Jewish customs.” -Eric

    “ABIGAIL’S SONG is a tender, heart-warming novel about young Abigail, an impoverished Catholic orphan in early 19th century England. Her path to happiness and fulfillment is blocked by death, neglect, prejudice, and ignorance, but in an almost true-Dickensian turn-of-events, she is found and adopted by a devoted, talented, and close-knit Jewish family.

    Acceptance, love, music, and even romance, comes Abigail’s way, and through the course of the novel she blossoms from a needy child into a young woman who not only knows how to harness her emotional strength, but can help others do the same.” -Ana

    See more here!

    If Someday Comes
    By David Calloway

    David Calloway’s moving historical fiction, If Someday Comes: A Slave’s Story of Freedom, tells the true story of his great-grandfather George Calloway, born into slavery on January 8, 1829. in Cleveland, Tennessee.

    It is a tale of determination, perseverance, and achievement before and during the Civil War. If Someday Comes covers George’s final years in slavery; detailed accounts of the Civil War and its impacts on George and his family, both Black and White.

    It is a family saga of survival and endurance.

    The story begins in Cleveland, Tennessee, March 6th, 1857. We meet George and his family, his wife Elizabeth, their infant daughter Baby Caroline, and the stratified world of slavery in which they live. Thomas Howard Calloway (Marsa Thom), is their White owner who owns the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, the South’s only copper mines, and the local bank. He is one of Cleveland’s prominent town leaders.

    Read More Here

    After The Rising & Before The Fall
    By Orna Ross

    After the Rising and Before the Fall Cover

     

    Award-winning Irish author Orna Ross has created a volume comprising the first two novels of The Irish Trilogy, drawing from her Irish birth and upbringing for a special grasp of the country’s history, how its wars and political strivings have affected its people directly, personally, over multiple generations.

    Her two books take on a span of time rooted in the early 1920s and delve deeply into the interlocking fate of the extended family and ancestry of Jo Devereux. Jo, the book’s central narrator, leaves Ireland in her twenties, only returning in her forties in 1995 when she learns that her mother is near death.

    The journey back will draw her into the family’s complex relationships, and reacquaint her with Rory, her former, and perhaps only, true love.

    Read More Here

    The Aloha Spirit
    By Linda Ulleseit

    Cover of The Aloha Spirit by Linda Ulleseit

    In Linda Ulleseit’s novel The Aloha Spirit, we meet the plucky heroine, Dolores, as her father leaves her.

    “Dolores’s father deemed her useless when she was seven. Neither he nor her older brother, Pablo, ever said that, but every detail of their leaving told her so. Papa had tried to explain the Hawaiian custom of hānai to her. All she understood was the giving away, leaving her to live with a family not her own.”

    Her story starts in 1922; the place, multi-ethnic, multilingual Hawaii. Papa, a sugar cane cutter from Spain who worked in Hawaii, decides to take his son Pablo with him to seek his fortune in California. His wife died five years earlier. He leaves 7-year-old Dolores with a large family on Oahu in an arrangement called hānai, an informal adoption. Dolores doesn’t know the family well. She feels abandoned, with no idea when or if her father will send for her or return.

    Read More Here

    Peccadillo At The Palace: An Annie Oakley Mystery
    By Kari Bovee

    Kari Bovée’s Peccadillo at the Palace, the second book in the Annie Oakley Mystery series, is a historical, mystery thriller extraordinaire. Fans of both genres will thrill at Bovée’s complex plot that keeps us guessing from its action-packed beginning to the satisfying reveal at the end.

    The book opens with the Honorable Colonel Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show to England on a voyage to perform for Queen Victoria. They are not on the high seas long, when Annie’s beloved horse, Buck, jumps overboard. Her husband and the Queen’s loyal servant, Mr. Bhakta, jump in to save the horse, or was Mr. Bhakta already dead before he reached the water? Thus, begins the mystery of who killed Mr. Bhakta, leaving all to wonder, is the Queen safe?

    Someone wanted the Queen’s man dead, and he is, but was it a matter of racism, intrigue, or an accident? Annie’s search for clues points her in several directions, but is it the doctor, or the woman dressed in rags with the posh accent, or the crass American businessman and his floozy wife? All have motive.  Even Annie’s husband has motive with his Irish background and ties to the Fenians and the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

    Read More Here

    Thank you for celebrating our Goethe Hall of Fame Winners with us!

    Remember to add your next reads to your StoryGraph or Goodreads account! Now that you’re set on your next five reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Goethe Winners is **Send Us Your Story by the end of August!**

    Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

    Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians!

    Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

    The Best Books Grand Prize Book Award Badge
    You know you want it…

    If you have a great Post 1750 Historical Fiction Story, submit it to us before the end of August to enter the 2025 CIBAs!

  • The 2025 Hemingway Hall of Fame for 20th and 21st c. Wartime Fiction

    The Past Always Impacts the Present

    Ernest Hemingway looking off to the right

    Enter by August 31st to be considered for the 2025 Hemingway Book Awards for Wartime Fiction!

    Wartime Fiction set in the twentieth century asks us to reflect most keenly on the most difficult times in our recent history. At Chanticleer, we are here to face war time history with the Hemingway Awards in Historical Fiction; Romance and Romantic Fiction; Mysteries, Thrillers, and Suspense Fiction of the time; Literary works and Satire and anything else that author imaginations can dream up.

    To read more about Ernest Hemingway, please click here. 

    Please note that fictional accounts of the United States Civil War should be submitted to the Laramie Book Awards for Americana Fiction. It is sobering to note that more human life was lost in the Civil War than in ALL of the wars, battles, and skirmishes that the U.S. has participated in added together. Civil wars are considered to be the deadliest of all wars.

    Historical Book Awards here at Chanticleer Reviews and the CIBAS.

    The CIBAs started with one historical fiction division, The Chaucer Book Awards, which split off the Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s historical fiction. Then the Goethe Book Awards split off a new division, the Hemingway Book Awards for Wartime Fiction.

    The Hemingway Awards might be young, but we already have Five Amazing Grand Prize Winners to share with you!

    Of White Ashes cover by Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto

    Of White Ashes
    By Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto

    Our review for the newest Grand Prize Winner is forthcoming. In the meantime, here is what GoodReads readers have been saying:

    “In “Of White Ashes,” Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto tell the tales of two individuals and how their lives intertwine during one of the most horrific times in history: World War II. Based on the true stories of Mr. Matsumoto’s parents, this utterly captivating novel represents historical fiction at its finest, and most heartbreaking.” -Amy

    “Constance and Kent have written an insightful story about the experience of Japanese Americans during WWII. The weaving of a love story with history is so well done and it draws the reader into the story and inspires you to turn page after page. Ultimately, it is about the human story to survive, grow and find love amidst the circumstances life brings to us. Artfully done, many lessons from the past but lessons we can use for the future.” -Michael

    “I found my favorite novel of the year, in this tragic but beautiful story of two families, each experiencing WWII in different countries and in different ways, who meet and are able to blend their experiences and suffering into rich and satisfying lives.”

    -Leanna

    Find the book here! 

    The Silver Waterfall Cover

    The Silver Waterfall: A Novel of the Battle of Midway
    By Kevin Miller

    In The Silver Waterfall, author retired U.S. Navy Captain Kevin Miller reveals the intricate and deadly turns of the Battle of Midway, a combat shaped by transforming warfare, and one that would in turn shape the rest of WWII’s Pacific Theater.

    After their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Navy seeks to draw American aircraft carriers into an ambush, to secure Japanese power over the Pacific. In a time of great upheaval for warfare technology, aircraft carriers dominated both sea and sky. So, to destroy the USS Enterprise, Yorktown, and Hornet, Chūichi Nagumo— commander of the Japanese First Air Fleet— brings to bear his own four carriers, HIJMS Akagi, Hiryū, Kaga, and Soryu.

    But the Americans had cracked the Japanese communication codes, so as the First Air Fleet launches their provoking attack against the Midway Islands, the American carriers are already steaming into position. From June 4th to June 6th of 1942, planes filled the skies above the remote Pacific waters, both American and Japanese pilots dashing back and forth, knowing that either they sink the enemy’s carriers, or they’ll have none of their own to return to.

    Read More Here

    Running with Cannibals Cover

    RUNNING WITH CANNIBALS
    By Robert W. Smith

    Robert W. Smith tells the story of a forgotten war and the fractured peace that follows in his powerful historical fiction novel, Running with Cannibals.

    It has been said that “War is hell.” It has also been opined that “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” Running with Cannibals is a no-holds-barred, candid portrayal of a war that is glossed over in U.S. history, the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902. It was the first war fought overseas by the U.S.

    Running with Cannibals begins with an unnamed man on the run from an unjust accusation bought with blood and money.

    Read more here!

    EO-N Cover

    EO-N
    By Dave Mason

    A young boy in Norway makes a discovery while playing with his dog, opening the mystery of EO-N by Dave Mason, a detective story spanning multiple decades and both sides of the Atlantic, a deep dive into the horrors of Nazi Germany, and a heartfelt love story.

    A small metal fragment leads to the discovery of a downed WWII twin-engine Mosquito fighter-bomber hidden in snow and glacial ice for nearly 75 years. The crash site yields an initial set of clues, one of which finds its way across the world to Alison Wiley, a biotech CEO in Seattle. Having recently lost her mother, and, a few years earlier, her brother in Afghanistan, she finds her days full of despair, but the discovery makes a distant connection to her long-lost grandfather, and she flies to Norway. There, she meets Scott Wilcox, a Canadian researcher assigned to investigate the discovery after his government learned that the crashed aircraft belonged to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Their attraction is both intellectual and emotional, but the quest to uncover the plane’s mysteries and the fate of Alison’s grandfather place any romance to the side.

    At first, the crash doesn’t appear exceptional, until certain contradictory and confusing clues emerge that make it clear that the circumstances that led to the plane’s fate were anything but simple.

    Read more here!

    THE QUISLING FACTOR
    By J. L. Oakley

    During World War II “quisling” became a byword for a particular type of traitor, one who not only betrays their own country but also actively collaborates with the invaders. The origin of the term was taken from an actual person, a Norwegian named Vidkun Quisling, who didn’t merely cooperate with the Nazis but actually headed a collaborationist regime in his own country.

    The Quisling Factor takes place in the immediate post-war period, as the Nuremberg Trials are gearing up in Germany. Norway is conducting its own post-war legal purge of collaborators at all levels of government.

    The story is a direct follow-up to the author’s award-winning World War II novel, The Jøssing Affair. This second novel focuses on the physical and emotional toll of war, and its precarious weight of peace on the survivors.

    Read more here!

    Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Hemingway Winners is to submit today!

    The Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards Overall Grand Prize sticker for the CIBAs

    Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

    The Blue and Gold Best Book Awards for the CIBAs
    You know you want it…

    Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

  • The Importance of Reading During National Wellness Month

    Stop for a moment.

    Think about your favorite place to read a good book. It could be a beach with swaying palm trees and the back and forth rhythm of the ocean. Or maybe it’s a silent forest, where every bird’s chirp can be heard from far away.

    Now, open the first pages of a new book and relax as you escape into another world. 

    Wellness Month, blue, green, person, heart

    Are you relaxed? Of course, you are! Study after study has concluded that one of the best activities for your overall wellness is reading a book. Not a screen—a story. Something that allows you to momentarily escape reality and live in another’s shoes—or slippers, sandals, high-heels, loafers, or boots.

    August is National Wellness Month, and we at Chanticleer want to honor the far too overlooked, yet massively important, value that reading provides to a person’s overall well-being. Using the mind, body, and spirit model, we’ll explore how the act of reading has positive effects in ways science is only now coming to understand.

    Books, lifting, man, dead lift

    The Physical Benefits

    Readers May Live Longer

    A 2016 study published in Social Science & Medicine found that book reading could be associated with a survival advantage. The study found the following:

    A 20% reduction in mortality was observed for those who read books, compared to those who did not read books. Further, our analyses demonstrated that any level of book reading gave a significantly stronger survival advantage than reading periodicals.

    Reading Encourages a Focus on Health Information

    Understanding and being able to comfortably read sometimes complicated health information is called “health literacy,” and people who exhibit good health literacy are better able to prevent, protect against, and manage health problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    Being able to prevent illness in the first place offers the best benefit of reading for self-care. And it’s not only health-related information that helps you become more health literate. Many memoirs tell incredible health journeys, and fiction often relies heavily on scientific information or personal accounts of navigating illness. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask for book recommendations that would empower you when you want to improve your health. Reading is part of the health journey.

    Head, woman, man, ladder, books, mental health, reading

    The Mind of a Reader

    Slow Down Cognitive Decline by Reading

    It’s not hard to imagine that brain-stimulating activities help reduce signs of cognitive decline. Putting your thoughts, imagination, and analytical talents to the test keeps those neurons firing. When you read, you’re exercising the mechanics of your brain—pushing your memory further, processing information to analyze it in different ways, strategizing how to use new knowledge.

    Reading makes your mind run its obstacle course so it stays in peak condition. Over time, your brain better handles the effects of aging and improves its ability to remember, reason, learn, and pay attention. Studies continue finding evidence that active readers show slower rates of memory loss and less decline in thinking skills. Stretching the brain’s multifaceted abilities creates cognitive reserve that may help offset age-related changes or damage to the brain.

    Go team brain!

    Reading Boosts Intelligence

    You’re probably not shocked by this revelation. It only makes sense that the more you read, the more intelligent you become. Your vocabulary increases, your knowledge base grows, you become more comfortable with complex thoughts and strategy, you become a faster reader, and reading can actually increase your IQ. Throughout life, a reader’s intelligence can continue growing as they absorb more information through reading.

    Happy, man, books, running

    Reading Refreshes the Spirit

    Reduces Stress

    Give yourself a moment to relax by escaping into your imagination. It’s a healthy way to unplug and escape from everyday stress we all share in life. Fiction carries greater benefits when it comes to emotional health and overall well-being.

    Shines Up Your Social Skills 

    Reading can enhance your social skills by providing examples of social interaction to learn from. Research shows that people who read often have stronger social and behavioral skills compared to non-readers.

    Specifically, reading fiction may help people become more empathetic by giving them opportunities to understand what others think and feel. It may also promote self-confidence and assertiveness, essential components of wellness and self-care.

    Wellness Reading Recommendations from Chanticleer Authors

    Are you ready to get healthy by reading more? Based on the wellness benefits we’ve explored, here are book recommendations from award-winning Chanticleer authors, organized by the type of wellness support you’re seeking:

    For Building Resilience and Overcoming Challenges

    A Path to Excellence
    First Place in the CIBA Journey Awards

    On the belief that life isn’t just the random cards one is dealt, A Path to Excellence by Tony Jeton Selimi offers a blueprint—the octagon of excellence—to succeed personally, professionally, and spiritually.

    Transcending the pitfalls and spontaneous stumbling blocks along the path of life can open the door to self-actualization and progression. As someone who experienced bullying, sexual abuse, early disability, and homelessness, Selimi sets on to become a beacon of light to the hopeless and marginalized.

    Read more here…

    Guided, book cover, rv, cactus, monument valley

    Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road

    In her stunning memoir, Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road, Kirsten Throneberry weaves together the highs and lows of a road trip packed with life wisdom, where she explores grief, spirituality, and rekindled hope.

    Throneberry’s achingly vulnerable memoir splits its readers’ hearts and tenderly sews them back together.

    In the aftermath of the devastating loss of her husband, Kirsten sells her home and takes her two small sons, two elderly pups, and eccentric mother on a year-long road trip around the United States in their new-to-them Bigfoot RV.

    Read more here…

    For Spiritual Wellness and Mindfulness

    The Spiritual Forest Cover

    The Spiritual Forest
    By

    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.

    Read more here…

    For Emotional Intelligence and Relationship Health

     

    Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success

    Do you often feel that you sabotage your personal and work relationships? In Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success, Dr. Kelly Rabenstein teaches readers exactly what psychological techniques will help them strengthen and maintain their interpersonal connections.

    Dr. Rabenstein is a licensed psychologist offering her extensive knowledge of how to make sound, conscious changes in mindset and perspective to help you thrive in relationships across the board. If a person can thrive, then they can be fully authentic to themselves and to those who surround them.

    Read more here…

    For Creative Expression and Healing

    Patience Insanity and Wisdom Cover

    Patience Insanity and Wisdom
    By 

    Patience Insanity and Wisdom, Anna Casamento Arrigo’s poetry collection, dances seamlessly between reflective, philosophical, whimsical, colorful, and especially therapeutic.

    In her author bio, Arrigo shares that she turned to poetry as part of her recovery from a stroke. This gives a glimpse into the true depth of these poems, which offer healing to the reader as well. Arrigo deals with issues of love and loss, depression and survival, and life itself. Her poems carry the echo of her struggle, softly alluded to, but not blatantly laid bare.

    Read more here…

    Celebrate Wellness Writing with Professional Recognition

    Whether you’re writing a personal story or sharing another person’s incredible journey, professional recognition celebrates the craft behind transformative narratives. Your wellness-focused writing deserves the same recognition as the authors featured above.

    Chanticleer International Book Awards recognizes outstanding nonfiction that supports readers’ wellness journeys through specialized divisions:

    Instruction & Insight Awards: Perfect for non-fiction that teaches, guides, and empowers readers with practical wisdom

    Mind & Spirit Awards – Ideal for works exploring spirituality, enlightenment, self-help, mindfulness, well-being, meditation, and personal transformation

    These awards recognize the skillful writing behind memorable, impactful nonfiction that genuinely helps readers improve their lives.

    Wellness writing is about creating emotional connections that resonate long after the final page. Professional recognition validates your contribution to readers’ wellness journeys.

    Chanticleer Editorial Book Reviews also provide the professional third-party validation that wellness-focused authors need. Our comprehensive reviews serve as powerful marketing material while demonstrating that industry professionals recognize your work’s value to readers seeking personal growth and healing.

    A typewriter with Chanticleer Reviews advertising Editorial Book Reviews

    Explore Editorial Review services to add professional credibility to your wellness-focused writing.

  • The 2024 Hemingway First Place Roundup for 20th & 21st c. Wartime Fiction

    Ernest Hemingway looking off to the rightThe Hemingway Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of 20th Century Wartime Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto’s book, Of White Ashes, will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Hemingway contest page year ’round!

    The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

    The 2024 Hemingway Winners were announced at the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

    Join us in celebrating the 2024 First Place Hemingway Winners!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    R.L. Pace – Rising Son

    After centuries of self-imposed isolation, the Empire of Japan has re-emerged onto the world stage.

    From their poverty-stricken farm in a remote village, the Sakai family sends their eldest son to the New World to begin life in the cane fields of Hawaii. There he is forced to adapt to a new climate, culture, and searing racial intolerance. With his new “picture bride”, the young man must flee the grueling sugar plantations for California, where their immigrant dream continues to elude them. Finally arriving on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, they will try to raise a family in a new era of hope.

    Meanwhile, the son of a Japanese consular attaché, born and schooled in the USA, is whisked back to his homeland for military training in the tense months before the outbreak of WWII. His assignment to a clandestine spy operation targeting the western United States leaves him stranded with severe injuries. His recovery, his tenuous situation, and a newly kindled romance finds him questioning his true allegiance. Is Japan his homeland, or is it the US where his heart calls him?

    From the splendid palaces of tsars, emperors and sugar barons to the dirt floor hovels of society’s most desperate, many of the historical figures who shaped the modern world come to life. Experience through these characters how simple misunderstandings, poor statecraft, and devastating wars whipsaw the lives of those they rule, often with tragic consequences.

    Rising Son is an epic saga spanning a century in the lives of two families as their challenges, secrets, and desires intertwine. It is the story of simple people navigating a difficult world. A story of fear, of racial bigotry, of deception, honesty and love. Equal parts romantic adventure and cautionary tale.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Katherine Koch – The Sower of Black Field

    A Priest’s Courage. A Village’s Redemption. A True Story of Faith and Resistance in the Third Reich.

    In a Bavarian village gripped by Nazi tyranny, an American priest’s faith will be tested like never before.

    Father Viktor Koch has spent the war quietly ministering to his parish, keeping their faith alive under the watchful eyes of Nazi authorities. But as Germany crumbles in 1945, a shocking discovery thrusts the village into a moral crisis.

    A mass grave of concentration camp victims lies on the village’s border. When American liberators demand justice, the commander gives the villagers an impossible choice: unearth and bury the dead within 24 hours—or face mass execution.

    With time running out, Father Viktor must summon extraordinary courage to protect his people. But can he convince the Americans of the villagers’ humanity, or will the legacy of Nazi atrocities condemn them all?

    Inspired by true events, The Sower of Black Field is a poignant and gripping historical novel of resilience, faith, and redemption.

    From Chanticleer:

    In The Sower of Black Field, Katherine Koch’s historical fiction novel, Father Viktor Koch— a 67-year-old Catholic priest— presides over a monastery in a small German village, as the Nazi regime sweeps through the country.

    The time is April, 1941. Fr. Viktor’s order, the U.S.-based Passionists, built the monastery eight years prior, providing employment for most of the villagers and remaining a symbol of their faith.

    Fr. Viktor has lived in Europe for over 20 years, but balances his love of Germany, its land, its mysticism, with his American roots. He will need all his personal and religious resources over the next four years as the Nazis take hold in the village and, later, the Americans come to “de-Nazify” the town and hold its people responsible for the horrors of the Holocaust.

    The village is far more Catholic than Nazi, even as the regime does its best to turn its citizens away from their faith.

    Read More Here!

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Tim Turner & Moisey Gorbaty – The Reluctant Conductor

    Feeling stifled as a Jew living in a Moldovan shtetl, violinist Elazar just wants to find love and eventually succeed his father as conductor of the family band and hardware business. But that could take years, and in 1922 Kalarash, there are very few girls his age and he’s known all of them since he was a child. He would love to move to Kishinev, Odesa, or Kyiv on his own and become a musician, but he knows it would kill his mama, and he’d feel guilty for the rest of his life.

    At his cousin’s wedding in Kishinev, Elazar falls for Ita Kaplan, a wealthy heiress from Bolgrad, a key trade city on the Black Sea near the Romanian border, but she shuns him because she dreams of moving to Paris and becoming a painter. He then loses his heart to Mariam Gabashvili, the blossoming daughter of a local vintner, but his papa forbids him from marrying her because she’s not Jewish.

    History-the rise of Stalin, his brutal takeover of Ukraine, and later Hitler’s invasion of the USSR-grants Elazar’s wishes in ways he never dreams, sending he and his family on an epic flight to Uzbekistan, where they endure the war, and then back to Moldova, where they pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

    In this stunning novel based on true events, Tim Turner and Moisey Gorbaty brilliantly re-create Jewish life in the Soviet Union, where, while life was punishing and brutally unfair, one violinist finds music in devastation and conducts his family-his orchestra-in such a way as to not let the horrors defeat them or hate to overcome them.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Kay Smith-Blum – Tangles

    Also a 2024 Somerset First Place Winner!

    Oppenheimer was just the beginning.

    When a harpooned whale offers proof the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is endangering all life in the Columbia River Basin, Luke Hinson, a brash young scientist, seizes the chance to avenge his father’s death but a thyroid cancer diagnosis derails Luke’s research. Between treatments, he dives back in, making enemies at every turn. On an overnight trek, Luke discovers evidence that Mary, his former neighbor, embarked on the same treacherous trail, and her disappearance, a decade prior, may be tied to Hanford’s harmful practices mired in government-mandated secrecy.

    A love story wrapped in a mystery, this stunning Cold War home-front tale reveals the devastating costs of the birth of the nuclear age, and celebrates the quiet courage of wronged women, the fierce determination of fatherless sons, and the limitless power of the individual.

    Tangles is a genre-defying must-read for our time.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Kathryn Gauci – Midnight in Istanbul

    ‘Meet me near the Galata Bridge in thirty minutes. On the quay – the Karaköy side – at the pier, opposite Ali’s Fish Tavern. Don’t be late.’ There was a slight pause. ‘Make sure you’re not being followed.’

    ‘How will I recognise you?’ I asked.

    ‘You won’t. I will recognise you.’ There was a click and the line went dead.

    Istanbul 1943. A place where you can easily lose yourself: an intoxicating mix of the orient – sweet and sensual – combined with an ever-present sense of adventure, intrigue, and danger. A place where the unknown lurks in the shadows of its famous winding streets and minarets; in every nightclub and backstreet cafe; on every ferry ride which makes you wonder if you will reach the other shore; and perhaps most of all, in the arms of every beautiful woman who declared her love for you.

    Elliot Caldwell, an OSS agent operating from neutral Turkey, finds himself entangled in a dangerous mission to aid the Austrian resistance group known as CASSIA or the Maier-Messner group, which delivers vital information about Nazi armaments factories, including the production of the infamous V-2 rocket.

    But after two men are found murdered, Elliot is forced to conclude there is a traitor in the network. In a cat and mouse game to uncover who it is, the network suffers a crushing blow with devastating consequences.

    Based on real events, this is the story of one of the most important resistance groups of WWII, whose contributions were crucial for Operation Crossbow and Operation Hydra, both preliminary missions for Operation Overlord.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Travis Davis – One of Four: World War One Through the Eyes of an Unknown Soldier

    One of Four Cover

    Also a 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design First Place Winner!

    From New York Harbor to the battlefields of France, relive World War I through the eyes of an unknown soldier, as told through his diary. See how the 100-year-old diary brings a father and his estranged son back together by retracing his experiences fighting in the battlefields of France in 1917 – 1918 to his final resting place—the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

    His diary was found next to his lifeless body by a young French girl who witnessed his death and bravery as he tried to protect his fellow soldiers. How the unknown soldier felt and what he experienced fighting on the Western Front in World War One —his day-to-day struggles and life as a private and then as an NCO. As he led his men into combat. The pride and fear he felt and the overwhelming stress he encountered, sometimes frozen with fear from the sheer brutality of modern warfare from all sides. His bravery in combat and leadership in training and on the battlefield. How he coped as he watched his fellow soldiers, battle buddies, and friends die one after another. Some from battlefield injuries from conventional weapons and gas attacks, but also diseases from the unsanitary conditions of trench warfare and influenza. His only wish was to come out alive, a wish that would never come true.

    But return home, he did.

    From Chanticleer:

    One of Four: World War One Through the Eyes of an Unknown Soldier by Travis Davis is a compassionate and intimate portrait of the tenuous and unforgiving First World War, as shown through the eyes of an American soldier on France’s front lines. Based on real people and events in 1918 France, One of Four begins with a young French girl, Camille, who stumbles upon a diary lying next to an unknown American soldier. He was killed among his comrades in a German ambush near the banks of the Aire River, as he tried to protect his fellow soldiers. When Camille comes of age, she leaves her hometown to seek a better life in Paris. There, she is killed after joining a German resistance group. But before her death, she tucked the soldier’s diary in her Bible and hid it in a local bookstore.

    Decades later, a man by the name of Walter travels to France with his son, Alex, to whom he’d become estranged after the painful divorce from Alex’s mother. He hopes this will be a journey of healing and exploration and that their time together will revive their shaky relationship. While there, Alex purchases the Bible left by Camille many years ago. By reading the hidden diary entries of the soldier together, Alex and Walter’s relationships takes an unexpected turn.

    Read More Here!

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Bharati Sen – My War, My Child

    A law student at Dhaka University, Afsana’s future is bright. Her greatest concern is whether or not her parents will approve of her marriage. When they do, the young bride knows she can face anything the future holds.

    Then war breaks out.

    Six years later, she encounters a ghost from her past—her first husband, presumed dead in the fighting.

    My War, My Child vividly and compassionately tells the story of Bengali birangona, the war heroines, whose lives were brutally torn apart by the 1971 War for Independence. Though the fight resulted in the freedom and independent nation so craved by the Bengali people, hundreds of thousands of women’s lives were devastated, leaving them to scrape together the pieces and carry on as best they could—often with children and orphans forced upon them.

    This is a piece of history you’ve never heard before, an inside look at the resilience and strength of women around the world.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    H.W. “Buzz” Bernard – When Heroes Flew

    For B-24 bomber pilot Al Lycoming, the mission was history in the making. For Women’s Airforce Service Pilot Vivian Wright, it was a chance to put her skills to the ultimate test…and share in the burden of combat.

    Dispatched to Benghazi on mysterious orders, Al Lycoming finds nearly 200 other B-24 bombers being assembled…and a top secret assignment that will catapult them all into seemingly impenetrable Nazi defenses.

    Their mission: a daring low-level attack on Hitler’s extensive oil refineries.

    But when his co-pilot falls ill at the last moment, Al secretly finds help from an unlikely source—Vivian.

    Together, the two fly towards dark skies filled with enemy flak and fighters…and into the pages of history.

    With perspectives from American and German pilots alike, When Heroes Flew masterfully weaves together one of the most dangerous and incredible aerial operations of World War Two with a riveting tale of bravery, suspense, and self-sacrifice.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Hemingway First Place Winners!

    Ernest Hemingway looking off to the right

    Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    Got a great Historical Fiction Book that looks at times of war?

    The 2025 Hemingway Book Awards are open through the end of August!

    Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest
    Submit to the Hemingway Awards Today!

  • VITAL MISSION: Jake Fortina Series Book 4 by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Military Thriller, Contemporary, War in Ukraine

     

    Vital Mission, the fourth book in Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s Major Jake Fortina series, is a military thriller with exceptional heart. It goes beyond combat tactics to explore the traumatizing impact of war on those who wage it.

    Vital Mission confronts the true cost of war, not in headlines, statistics, and maps, but in kitchens, schoolyards, and the private corners of people’s minds.

    The story opens in February 2022 as Russia conducts a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Jake Fortina, a former US Army commander and military attaché living in Italy with his wife and small child, observes the invasion from a distance, Fortina is troubled by old instincts and a sense of helplessness.

    In Mariupol, Ukrainian mother Olena tries to protect her sons from raining shells. When tragedy strikes, the boys are taken in by Russian soldiers participating in a disturbing child-relocation operation dressed up as a “rescue.” From there, readers follow the boys on a journey full of heartbreak and quiet bravery.

    Margarita Romanova, a young Russian field medic with a difficult history, steps into this emotional scene when she’s assigned to care for the displaced children.

    She develops an unexpected connection with Sergiy and Gleb. Through her eyes, readers face the moral conflict of a soldier choosing between duty and compassion. Meanwhile, Jake’s point of view provides a glimpse into the emotional toll of seeing a battle you can no longer fight, yet cannot ignore.

    Vital Mission is brisk and cinematic with frequent shifts of perspective. Its tight pacing constantly engages readers with the narrative while still allowing room to bring in great emotional depth.

    Steinke strikes a masterful mix between urgency and empathy, utilizing simple yet powerful words to draw each scene. Whether in a darkened gym where children whisper into their covers or along a frostbitten tree line where Ukrainian soldiers lie in wait, the language Steinke uses is visceral and immersive.

    The story never feels bloated with complex politics or overly technical military jargon. This lets Steinke’s great strength in his character work shine. He quietly builds layers of emotion, especially around the two boys, without ever slipping into melodrama. There’s a haunting restraint to many of the scenes and a clarity that layers every moment with gravity through the author’s intense voice and emotional precision.

    That deep level of emotional impact is felt most through the desperation the children experience in their captivity. Readers feel the weight of a child’s confusion, desperation, and growing awareness that the world around him might not make sense for a long time—if ever.

    Vital Mission isn’t just a story about war alone. It is also a story about humanity.

    Children are forced to grow up overnight, soldiers question their orders, and love shows up in the unlikeliest places. Readers who are drawn to stories with emotional insight, moral complexity, and real-world relevance will find Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s Vital Mission hard to put down—and harder still to forget.

  • The 2024 Goethe First Place Roundup for Late Historical Fiction

    Post 1750s Historical Fiction AwardThe Goethe Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Late Historical (Post 1750s) Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Alina Rubin’s book, Abigail’s Song will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Goethe contest page year ’round!

    The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

    The 2024 Goethe Winners were announced at the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

    Join us in celebrating the 2024 First Place Goethe Winners!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Janis Robinson Daly – The Path Beneath Her Feet

    Steeped in rich historical detail, Dr. Eliza Edwards, the ingénue student in The Unlocked Path, becomes the mature mentor, steadfast in her calling to effect social change by addressing women’s health issues and guiding others to realize their dreams. In 1936, as the Depression ravages careers, Eliza re-defines her abilities, traveling to Georgia and Tennessee as she reclaims her purpose and rediscovers her ambitions. Returning to Boston, she endures heartbreak with the eruption of World War II, bringing chaos to the world and sending her sons into battle. Will her unyielding pursuit to limit suffering and save lives sustain her amid the tumultuous landscapes of 1930s and 1940s America?

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Sandra Wagner – Wright- Sea Tigers and Merchants

    Sea Tigers & Merchants

    Also a 2024 Series Award Winner!

    In 1790 the United States has a new Constitution. George Washington presides as the first elected president. Abroad, France and Britain are at war. And by 1795 seafaring Americans are accosted on the high seas by French privateers and British naval ships.

    Tensions rise as American merchants continue to trade. Among them, Hasket Derby and Captain George Crowninshield acquire wealth and build maritime empires while their sons and other adventurous young men take risks on the high seas and in the exotic ports at Isle de France, India, and China dodging accidents, disease, British warships and French privateers. A rich cargo, the turn of a card, or an unlucky storm can make or break a young man’s career. But men like Nath Silsbee fight for the chance to make their fortune and become part of America’s promise.

    Women are equally determined and adventurous. Orphaned Lizzie Rowell takes a job at Ship Tavern, and meets the dashing Captain George Crowninshield Jr., a man far above her station in life. Torn between duty and desire, Geordie must choose between his family’s expectations and his growing affection for a mere tavern maid.

    In this historical page-turner, family bonds are tested and romantic dreams challenged against the backdrop of ambition and adventure on the high seas. Immerse yourself in the captivating world of trade and intrigue in the new United States of America.

    From Chanticleer:

    Sandra Wagner-Wright’s audible version of Sea Tigers & Merchants: A New American Generation, Salem Stories Book 2 continues the sagas of two prominent families that dominate the shipping industry of young Salem. Narrator Christa Lewis fully embodies the unique characters of this swashbuckling historical adventure.

    Wagner-Wright takes us back to 1790. In recently independent America, the next generation of the Crowninshield and Derby families try to continue building their fortunes on the treacherous high seas. Threats of pirates, storms, and ever-changing economies drives their fates, their successes, and their failures. Wagner-Wright’s skillful pen brings to life each young person, female and male, as they variously seek out or shun a chance at love on shore.

    Captain George Crowninshield and Haskett Derby duke it out for power and control of the Eastern Seaboard, with their families caught up in the contest.

    Wagner-Wright shows how these merchants brave great risk through maritime exploits in France, the Netherlands, the West Indies, Africa, and Asia. During their adventures on the sea, these captains fight relentlessly for the vessels—which become as famous as those captains themselves.

    Read More Here!

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    James Conroyd Martin – Napoleon’s Shadow Wife: A Novel of Countess Marie Walewska

    Embark on a voyage through unconditional love, power, and betrayal!

    How could an emperor like Napoleon Bonaparte be so captivated by the twenty-year-old Polish Countess Marie Walewska—admittedly a rare beauty but of minor nobility—that their affair would last through both his marriages? And if it wasn’t romance that first drew Marie to Napoleon, what was it?

    At just eight years old, Marie finds her life forever changed by the death of her father, killed in battle against the Russians. This tragedy sparks a deep, lifelong patriotism in her as Poland is fragmented and divided among Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

    A fan of Napoleon since her school days, Marie eagerly seizes the opportunity to meet him when he passes through the former Poland, his intention to secure military support for his campaign to conquer Russia. She seeks only to express Poland’s gratitude and hope he would restore the nation’s independence. She never imagined a romantic entanglement. But Napoleon, taken with her patriotism, youth, and beauty, soon sets his sights on her—and begins a campaign to win her heart.

    Though Marie resists, powerful forces pressure her—just as they had in her marriage—to give in to the emperor’s desires.

    Expect to be immersed in Marie’s world, where love and loyalty collide amidst a galaxy of powerful aristocrats, politicians, and military leaders. You’ll journey from Marie’s manor house on the plains of Poland to cosmopolitan Warsaw, through grand palaces in Austria, France, and Italy—before sailing to the Island of Elba, where destiny awaits.

    Find it on Bookbub and Amazon!

    Florence Reiss Kraut – Street Corner Dreams

    A suspenseful family saga, love story, and gangster tale, wrapped into one great book club read . . .

    Just before WWI, Golda comes to America yearning for independence, but she tosses aside her dreams of freedom and marries her widowed brother-in-law after her sister dies giving birth to their son, Morty.

    In the crowded streets of Brooklyn where Jewish and Italian gangs demand protection money from local storekeepers and entice youngsters with the promise of wealth, Golda, Ben, and Morty thrive as a family. But in the Depression, Ben, faced with financial ruin, makes a dangerous, life-altering choice. Morty tries to save his father by getting help from a gangster friend but the situation only worsens. Forced to desert his family and the woman he loves in order to survive, Morty is desperate to go home. Will he ever find a safe way back? Or has his involvement with the gang sealed his fate?

    Another stunning work of historical fiction by Florence Reiss Kraut, Street Corner Dreams is an exploration of a timeless question: how much do we owe the families that have sacrificed for and shaped us—and does that debt outweigh what we owe ourselves and our own hopes and dreams for a better life?

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Leo Daughtry – Talmadge Farm

    It’s 1957, and tobacco is king. Wealthy landowner Gordon Talmadge enjoys the lavish lifestyle he inherited but doesn’t like getting his hands dirty; he leaves that to the two sharecroppers – one white, one Black – who farm his tobacco but have bigger dreams for their own children. While Gordon takes no interest in the lives of his tenant farmers, a brutal attack between his son and the sharecropper children sets off a chain of events that leaves no one unscathed. Over the span of a decade, Gordon struggles to hold on to his family’s legacy as the old order makes way for a New South.

    A sweeping drama that follows three unforgettable families navigating the changing culture of North Carolina at a pivotal moment in history, readers have been raving that Talmadge Farm is one they cannot put down. Perfect for fans of Wiley Cash and Amor Towles.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Jeza Belle – Blood Rouge

    Josef Dietrick lives with his self-absorbed mother, abusive step-father, and bullying step-brother, Marteen, in 1930s Berlin, Germany. When a brutal sexual attack at the hands of Marteen’s friend, Tielo, sends Josef homeless into the streets, he is taken in by the kind-hearted Lucas and his sister Anke.

    Over time, gender-fluid Josef transforms into die blaue blume, the blue flower of Schöneberg, at one of the last underground cabarets for gay men and their entertainers, known as dolls.

    A raid on the Rote Schwein leads to the capture of both Josef and Lucas who are violently carted off to Dachau, the notorious death camp. Here Josef is forced to choose between his lover Lucas or his now-Nazi childhood assaulter, Tielo. Forced into a form of slavery, Josef hatches a desperate plan to save both Lucas and himself forever.

    Will Josef choose self-preservation or to live authentically? Can he do both?

    Warning: contains sexual assault.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    R.W. Meek – Sabrine and Vincent Van Gogh, Book 2 of the Dream Collector

    Sabrine, hospitalized for five years at the infamous Salpêtrière Asylum for Women, gains her release due to the intervention of her sister Julie Forette and a young Sigmund Freud. The reunited sisters are introduced to the dazzling art milieu of 1886 Paris, and soon become close friends to the leading Impressionists. Sabrine attracts a cult following as a poetess, the enigmatic “Haiku Princess.” Seemingly cured by Freud of her Grand Hysteria, Sabrine soon enters into a tumultuous relationship with Vincent van Gogh.

    Jule and Sigmund Freud, alarmed by the eerie parallels between the emotionally volatile couple and their self-destructive impulses, begin an urgent search to discover the root causes for Sabrine and Vincent’s growing psychoses. Julie, ‘The Dream Collector’ seeks their most unforgettable dream for Freud’s interpretation and revelations occur.

    The Dream Collector is an exploration of the psychological consequences of betrayal, abandonment–and the redemptive power of art.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Sherry V. Ostroff – The Wall at the Sugar Factory

    When Shaindel Pogrebiski’s life is shattered and uprooted by the senseless looting and murder that follow the civil war in Ukraine in 1919, she needs to figure out how to survive. With only her young daughter, Shaindel must flee the turmoil. But where will she go? While the world seems indifferent to the bloodbath upending Shaindel’s homeland, who will take in the refugees fleeing for their lives?

    The era of the anti-Jewish riots, the pogroms in Ukraine from 1918-1921, has taken on new scrutiny. Some scholars suggest that this period which resulted in great atrocities against the shtetl Jews, perpetuated by their neighbors, was really the beginning of the Holocaust. The pogroms normalized the slaughter and created ready and willing executioners for the Nazis. Their goal of making Europe Judenrein became easier.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon!

    Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Goethe First Place Winners!

    Post 1750s Historical Fiction Award

    Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Goethe Awards!

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