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When gold miners discover Choestoe Valley, Jebediah Collins must fight for his family – whether blood-related or not – in J.R. Collins’ historical adventure, Spirit of the Rabbit Place
Fourteen-year-old Jebediah Collins lives in paradise, also known as Choestoe Valley, or to the Cherokee as the “land where the rabbits dance.” The Collins consider Dancing Bear, a Cherokee elder, and his relatives as family. They share with and help each other in good times and bad.
When Jeb’s grandfather settled in the valley after immigrating from Ireland, he quickly learned the benefits of befriending the Native Americans living in the area. Now Jeb’s father, Thompie, gives freely of his farm’s bounty to the Cherokee, who help work the land and teach the Collins how to survive in this beautiful but deadly landscape. Cain, Jeb’s older brother even marries Rose, Dancing Bear’s daughter, and becomes a full-fledged Cherokee warrior in his own right. Dancing Bear symbolically adopts Jeb, who shares an age with his own son, Wolf. Jebediah and Wolf become blood brothers, learning to be Cherokee warriors together and taking on any and every adventure that comes their way.
Their adventures take a darker turn with the arrival of gold miners to their sacred valley.
These unscrupulous men threaten their very way of life. The ruthless miners capture Wolf and force him into slavery, pushing Jeb to risk himself for the chance to rescue his friend.
The third novel in the Choestoe series builds on a theme of unity. Jeb’s family and nearly all of the settlers in the valley honor and respect the Cherokee who inhabited this area long before the settlers arrived. From plowing fields to hunting game, the Collins family and Dancing Bear’s clan work seamlessly, easily with each other. Under the age-old adage, “treat folks how you want to be treated,” Jeb understands that what he does and says will be returned to him tenfold. Though the white man’s greed threatens to change his home forever, he would never make an enemy of the Cherokee, a people so much more knowledgeable than his own. He trusts implicitly and without question, and with that comes the need to protect and love his family.
The people of Choestoe take responsibility for one another.
Their hearts beat as one; their minds think as one. When any neighbor needs help, neither the settlers nor their Cherokee brethren forsake them, chasing down murderous outlaws and helping free slaves. More people than just Jeb’s family show this amazing generosity of spirit. Throughout the valley, families return in kind the goodness shown to them. Mrs. England, for example, takes in orphaned children, especially those with disabilities and special needs.
The settlers not only want to fight for their way of life, but also for the ancient ways of their Cherokee neighbors, who the gold seekers and US government treat more cruelly every day. This community defines the emotional journey of Spirit of the Rabbit Place.
Spiritualism plays an important role as well, with a mixture of and deep respect for Cherokee and Christian beliefs.
Jeb’s faith often brings him comfort and strength, and many times, the Cherokee turn to prayer for direction and guidance on huge decisions. Though he fears evil when he comes face-to-face with it, Jeb knows the Great Creator protects him and finds solace in the idea that no evil can hurt someone who is protected by the Peace of Jesus. All of the Cherokee warriors repeatedly assure Jeb, whose Cherokee name is Spirit Filled One, that he should trust in and heed the voice of the Spirit that comes to him; that very faith not only saves him and George Black Oak, Wolf’s blood uncle, but also shows them some much-needed information in the midst of an important emotional struggle. This faith shines through in Jeb’s loving nature and brings light to all those around him.
J.K. Noble’s first installment in her new YA series, Hale: The Rise of the Griffins, is a fast-paced adventure through a magical realm full of danger, deception, and mythical beasts.
Sixteen-year-old Hale was orphaned at a young age; his parents both mysteriously killed while on a family camping trip. His older sister, Carly, took him under her wing and raised him, making sure he was safe and that he always wore the amulet given to him by his father. But two years later, when Hale and Carly are both abducted and held captive by a violent man, Hale’s life takes another drastic turn he isn’t expecting. He’s swiftly ushered into a magical realm known as The Extraordinary Division of Malphora – a sister realm to The Human Division of Malphora – where Griffin’s reign supreme and monsters lurk across the lands.
Accompanied by a group of other kids also pulled into The Extraordinary Division of Malphora, Hale learns that he isn’t a simple human boy – he’s a Griffin with the power of Endurance, the strongest of powers among his kind.
Aided by his new friend River, Hale navigates the brutal world of young Griffin training set up by the leader of the Griffins – the powerful and respected Bayo. Except, Bayo isn’t entirely what he seems. He’s hiding a dark secret from Hale that could flip their entire world upside down, and if he’s not careful, Hale could end up bringing about his demise.
Noble crafts an intricate and vast world full of lore that will keep even the most avid fantasy reader engrossed.
The magic system uniquely draws upon many familiar mythological creatures – harpies, nymphs, witches – but offers its own spin, combining these old legends with the modern era’s ingenuity. It is clear that an immense amount of planning and work went into the creation of Malphora, and while some details may feel rushed at times, Noble gives the reader an adventure of a lifetime that they won’t be able to put down.
Not only does Noble’s magic system draw the reader in, but so do her characters.
The emotional ties between the cast are one of the book’s most vital attributes, exploring the trials of friendship, the heartbreak of love, and the dangerous things we’ll do to protect our family. The bond between Hale and Carly provides a solid start to the book. The friendship that forms between Hale and fellow Griffin River keeps the reader invested, not to mention the plethora of other characters and their interesting and often complicated personal ties to one another. Emotions run high in Hale: The Rise of the Griffins, and they will make any reader laugh, cry, and sing Nobel’s praises.
One young Black woman turns detective when she realizes her family is in jeopardy in Abena Sankofa’s debut novel, Up North.
Teenage songbird Phyllis Joiner dreamed of one day seeing the glamorous North. But when her Uncle has been apprehended for an alleged crime, her wish may be about to be granted in the most distressing manner, beginning in 1933.
Phyllis Joiner always managed to get in trouble in one form or other. But she has no idea what ‘trouble’ will look like. Nineteen-year-old Phyllis is well-known for her spirited singing and piano playing in her Pa’s joint – “Daddy Joiner’s” local Music Club in Colchester County, Louisiana. But the Joiners live in a county where black schools do not go beyond the middle grade, and white supremacy rules the land.
Problems multiply when Phyllis’ Uncle, Zachariah, has been apprehended for an alleged crime.
His accuser, the notoriously ruthless landowner Smith Owens, isn’t interested in justice, but something else entirely. He has a reputation for getting all who cross him jailed and worked to death on his land.
In a rare twist of fate for the Joiners, an African-American family in the Jim Crow South, they take their case to the court and win, but it turns out to be a Pyrrhic victory when a chilling threat letter arrives in the mail, warning them to pay $250 or “Get what’s coming to you on the Full Moon.” The tattered note is signed in none other than Smith Owens’ hand. Now even their congenial white neighbors do not want to be seen speaking to her family after they have been “marked” for retaliation by the Owens’ minions.
Phyllis’ Pa, who had already lived through voting riots when he was a boy, fears that a new riot will be around the corner if he doesn’t take appropriate action. And the situation with Phyllis’s education heading nowhere also bothers him, so Pa makes up his mind that the time has come for the Joiners and their extended families to sneak out of Colchester County. They plan to leave “by the light of the full moon” (which happens to be the end of the “death threat” letter’s grace period) to Chicago, where Ma Joiner’s sister, Ruth, lives.
The timing must coincide perfectly, especially since Pa could only procure train tickets to take them as far as St. Louis.
The family would need “agents” who could safely guide them to their destination. The Phantom Menace would be their last contact, getting them into the Black Belt of Chicago. Little do the Joiners know what harrowing adventures await them along the way, and even more once they get to Chicago. Although positive events occur, like Phyllis attending nursing school, and falling for a handsome Fairground officer, no amount of fitting in with the ways of the big city can protect her for long from her family’s hunted status.
When Smith Owens and his adult sons arrive in Chicago, he makes a deadly pact with one of the Windy City’s most terrible crime syndicates in a bid to hunt down the Joiner family for the location of a mysterious treasure he believes them to have inherited.
Now it falls to teenage Phyllis Joiner to turn sleuth, and track them down before they find her family – a goal that tosses her into the gritty reality of what it means to live “Up North” in the Windy City. It’s a reality that will force her to cast aside her lofty expectations, and become the Captain of her own fate, and her family’s protector in the process.
Enter Willard Lancaster, the Joiner family’s red-headed lawyer, a rebellious, street-smart scion attracted to any dangerous pursuit for a worthy cause. A throwback to his Abolitionist predecessor, he throws in his lot with Phyllis Joiner on her way to defend her family, only to find himself in the crosshairs of his own uncle’s wrath.
Rising author Abena Sankofa pens a fascinating story of one young Black woman’s “underground” journey from Louisiana to Chicago and ultimate sleuthing to protect her family from bounty hunters.
Sankofa provides a small but realistic cast set within the precarious years of The Great Migration. Her writing style varies from light to downright nail-biting. Phyllis (Sankofa’s heroine) performs in her father’s music clubs, faces harassment at nursing school, and falls in love – all amid several life-threatening situations.
Sankofa punctuates her fictional plot with factual information. Examples include a mix-and-match of Chicago’s expositions, maps that outline the Black Belt area of Chicago, and “patrons” (guardians, so to speak) to keep watch over Black neighbors. Even though the Black quarter of the city is a safe haven for her, at the all-Black Nursing School which she makes it into, Phyllis faces pressure from classist schoolmates. One particularly striking aspect is the generational viewpoints of Black history. Phyllis’s grandmother tells of the symbolism behind quilt making. Pa recollects sharecropping days and riots over voting rights. Both grandmother and father provide essential nuances of what Phyllis’s ancestors endured on the way to their freedom – all of which Phyllis should never forget even as she races to uncover the location of a rumored family inheritance worth millions.
Sankofa’s approach to storytelling preserves truth.
As she produces a story of perseverance and strength amid a burgeoning romance, she includes music from the gilded Jazz Age and classics that appropriately enhance her narrative. Some favorites include W. C. Handy‘s “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “St. Louis Blues,” and George and Ira Gershwin‘s “I’ve Got Rhythm,” Benny Goodman and his Orchestra‘s “Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing),” and Ella Fitzgerald‘s “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” to name a few.
Up North will touch a nerve and claim a place in today’s world. In short, Abena Sankofa’s debut novel is nothing short of brilliant and a novel we can highly recommend.
**Please Note: This author is currently seeking representation. Follow the process on Sankofa’s website by clicking here.
The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Suspese and Thriller Mysteries. The Clue Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime-solving, we will put them to the test to discover the best! (For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards, and for High Stakes Suspense Novels please check out our Global Thriller Awards).
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Clue Suspense/Thriller Fiction entries to the 2021 Clue Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Clue Shortlist. 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 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Thriller/Suspense Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Tom Galvin – The Auction
Steph Mullin and Nicole Mabry – The Family Tree
Lynn Yvonne Moon – The Agency – Tablet of Destiny
Alicia Dill – Beyond Sacrifice
Tony Ollivier – The Amsterdam Deception
J. Luke Bennecke – Waterborne
AJ Thibault – Deadly Serious
Jane Rosenthal – Del Rio
Chuck Morgan – Crime Exploded, A Buck Taylor Novel
Bryn Smith – Magnus Nights: The Helios Incident
James A. Ross – Coldwater Revenge
John Stafford – Call of Vengeance Series, Book 4: A Hand of Vengeance
T.L. Bequette – Good Lookin’: A Joe Turner Mystery
Ernesto H Lee – Flawed Beauty
Justin M. Kiska – Now & Then
Amy S. Peele – Match: A Medical Murder Mystery
Leah Angstman – Falcon in the Dive
Erik Foge – We Know Your Name
Kevin G. Chapman – Fatal Infraction (Mike Stoneman Thriller #4)
Rip Converse – Callie Awakens
Jule Selbo – 10 Days, A Dee Rommel Mystery
Emily A. Myers – The Truth About Unspeakable Things
D. J. Adamson – Into The Storm
Roberta Seret – Gift of Diamonds
Susan Lynn Solomon – What’s Past is Prologue
Rhett C Bruno – The Roach
Mary Keliikoa – Denied
Lyle Howard – An Eye For An Eye
Laurie Buchanan – Indelible: A Sean McPherson Novel, Book One
Robert Honor – Bogart’s Hat
Valerie J. Brooks – Tainted Times 2
Shelley Nolden – The Vines
Chuck Morgan – Crime Conspiracy: A Buck Taylor Novel
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.
For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards, and for High Stakes Suspense Novels please check out our Global Thriller Awards
Winners will be announced at the 2021 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
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 Global Thriller Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Supernatural Fiction. The Global Thriller Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring suspense, thrilling stories that put the balance of world power or that will end the world as we know it. We include with Global Thrillers the Lab Lit genre. Lab Lit is when Fiction Meets Real Science and Research or stories that are based on real science and research up to a certain “what if” point.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Global Thriller High Stakes Fiction entries to the 2021 Global Thriller Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Global Thriller Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the FINALIST positions. 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 SHORT LIST of the 2021 Global Thriller Book Awards novel competition for High Stakes Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Kristie Clark – Killing Dragons
Kristie Clark – Dragon Clan
Dimple Patel Desai – The Lambda Factor
Paul Mark Tag – Retribution Times Two
Timothy S. Johnston – Fatal Depth
Ron McManus – The Chameleon
Gordon Bickerstaff – Tears of Fire
John Stafford – A Hand of Vengeance
Andrew Kaplan – Blue Madagascar
Roberta Seret – Treasure Seekers
Spaulding Taylor – Last Star Standing
Norman M. Jacobs, MD, Ms – A Divine Wind
Randall Krzak – Mission: Angola (Xavier Sear Thriller Book 1)
Stu Jones & Gareth Worthington – Condition Black
Avanti Centrae – The Doomsday Medallion
E. R. Barr – Gods In The Ruins: A Vatican Archives Thriller
Richard Garis – Magenta is Missing
Joe McNeil – Confronting the Enemy
Kevin Wilde – The Rookie and the Raven
J Lawrence Matthews – One Must Tell The Bees
Stu Jones & Gareth Worthington – Condition Black
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 Global Thriller Book Awards for High Stakes Fiction. 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.
You can hear the clicking of keys as you type up your next report, desperate to make tomorrow’s press.
You know what’s coming. It’s the Nellie Bly Awards deadline at the end of November, and you have a book that will stop the presses! The Nellie Bly Book Awards for Investigative, Long-form Journalism, and Biographies.
The Nellie Bly Awards are named for an American investigative journalist. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran, Bly launched her career into the spotlight by posing as a mental patient to enter the insane asylum on Blackwell’s island. Writing her exposé on the abuses being committed there cemented her role as a leading name in investigative journalism.
Illustration of Blackwell’s Asylum
Her work had an immediate effect:
Approximately one month after her articles ran in print, many of the most glaring problems she reported had improved: better living and sanitary conditions were instituted, more nourishing meals were provided, translators were hired for the foreign born who were not necessarily mentally ill but simply could not understand their keepers, and the most abusive nurses and physicians were fired and replaced (PBS.org).
Nellie Bly – Early Life and Legacy
Before that, she began writing under the name Nellie Bly after being invited to write a regular for the Pittsburgh Dispatch. WomensHistory.org lays more of her life out here. One thing noted in several articles is that Nellie Bly chose her name from a song by Stephen Foster. You can listen to the song and see the lyrics here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOcVjq67CsA
Bly “became renowned for her investigative and undercover reporting, including posing as a sweatshop worker to expose poor working conditions faced by women” (Biography.com). In addition to her excellent reporting and support for civil rights, Bly was also a bit of an adventurer. Inspired by the book Around the World in Eighty Days, her newspaper, the New York World sent her to see if she could break the fictional record. She succeeded, making the journey in only 72 days! A record that would last until 1890.
Around the World in 72 Days by Nellie Bly
Dr. Janice Ellis on The Importance of Journalism
We’ll link to the review of her book soon, but we thought we would let Janice Ellis, PhD and Nellie Bly Grand Prize winner, talk about the importance of journalism. Here’s what she has to say:
Dr. Janice Ellis
With all of the divisive and false information being communicated, the public needs Real Advocacy Journalism today more than ever. There is a growing, if not urgent, need to understand the difference between the advocacy journalism being practiced today and Real Advocacy Journalism™. More importantly, we all need to readily recognize when one or the other is at play in trying to influence public opinion, or urge a hopeful, trusting public to take a particular action.
What is the difference between advocacy journalism as it is practiced today and Real Advocacy Journalism™? Much of the advocacy journalism occurring is partisan, biased, and often blurs the lines between truth and lies, facts and fiction, and often presents fake news as real news. The purpose and objectives of this advocacy journalism constitute propaganda to gain public support for the interest and agenda of a few, a special interest group, or a small constituency rather than for the good of the majority. The public needs Real Advocacy Journalism today to put America back on the right course.
With all that in mind, let’s dive into some of the best Journalism books reviewed by Chanticleer!
SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced
By Janice Ellis, Ph.D.
Grand Prize in Nellie Bly Awards
Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D., introduces the journalistic theories of Walter Lippmann in her new non-fiction work,Shaping Public Opinion: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced.
Walter Lippmann, considered one of the foremost journalists in the field over the last 100 years, was a mentor in absentia of Dr. Ellis in the art of advocacy journalism. During Lippmann’s 40+ year career, his columns were syndicated in over 250 newspapers nationwide and over 25 other international news and information outlets. Lippman focused on the ethical dissemination of information, especially about communities, society, and the world. A theory, which Dr. Ellis calls Real Advocacy Journalism™.
An intensely personal and compelling narrative, Waking Up Dying offers an insider’s perspective of the passage through cancer beginning with Duke’s wife’s diagnosis of stage IV glioblastoma brain cancer—typically a fatal condition.
Duke found the entire caregiving experience an agonizing, non-stop emotional rollercoaster: unbelievably frustrating, emotionally searing and increasingly chaotic.
The author’s story of his dedicated and loving role as caregiver entails four phases of this tortuous journey: the couple’sdaily copingwith the disease; the author’sstruggle through the health care system; theemotional realityof caregiving his dying wife; and thecarefully documented materialput forward as a basis for reforming the care system.
THE WINTER OLYMPICS: An Insider’s Guide to the Legends, Lore, and the Games
By Ron C. Judd
Flashbacks, gruesome accounts, victories relived, analysis, and competitors’ profiles of the Winter Olympics are revealed in Ron C. Judd’s captivating compendium titledThe Winter Olympics: An Insider’s Guide to the Legends, Lore, and the Games.
Judd doesn’t just report the scores, the times, the winners and the losers. He relays the human drama that unfolds during the Games—the glorious victories and, yes, the gut-wrenching agonies—the very stuff that becomes tomorrow’s lore and legends.
Ron C. Judd is like a Joseph Campbell of the Olympic Games. He writes of transcendent experiences, of impossible feats, and, he says, “of moments that are beyond description.” But describing these moments is exactly what he does. Judd deftly captures and vividly relates the escalation of emotions, the split-second moments that separate the winners from the losers after decades of day-in and day-out grueling training, the sweaty reality of the Olympics along with the heady glory and magic he has witnessed and experienced first-hand.
FIRE CALL! Sounding the Alarm to Save Our Vanishing Volunteers
By George DeVault
In his first job as a newspaper reporter, DeVault attended many emergencies – and firefighters were always on the scene. Gradually he discovered that the vast majority of America’s firefighters are volunteers, often leaving their regular jobs by prearrangement or rushing out from home in the middle of the night to respond to every conceivable crisis, from a simple kitchen fire to a multi-car crash to the cataclysmic events of 9-11-01.
With the encouragement of empathetic wife Melanie, also a reporter, De Vault joined the firefighting ranks as a volunteer in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, while fully immersed in his journalistic career with Rodale Inc. He answered every call, about 5,000 over a thirty year period, no matter what else was going on in his life – even on a day when Melanie was in the hospital dealing with her own emergency.
Looking to submit to our other Non-Fiction Divisions? See them all here!
When you’re ready,did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services?We do and have been doing so since 2011.
Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).
If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.
We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis.Contact us today!
Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.
A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information availablehere.
And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.
If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Reviewhereor to one of our Chanticleer International Awardshere.
And remember! Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today! CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!
CAC22 will feature Cathy Ace, Robert Dugoni, Scott Steindorff and more! We are excited!
Writer’s Toolbox
Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Spotlight article.
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. These books have advanced to the Long List in the 2021 CIBAs OZMA division.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Ozma Fantasy Fiction entries to the 2021 Ozma Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Ozma Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the FINALIST positions. 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–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.
These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Joseph Riddle – The Seventh Talent
Susannah Dawn – Battle for the Armor of God
Jenn Lees – The Crossing. Arlan’s Pledge Book 1
Susan Chapek – The Scarlet Mantle
Mario Chavez – The Continuous Loop
Kelly Brewer – Water Witch
P.H.C. Marchesi – Florissant
David Fitz-Gerald – Waking Up Lost
PJ Devlin – The Chamber
Laurel Anne Hill – Plague of Flies: Revolt of the Spirits, 1846
James Priest – Kirins: The Seer of Serone
Clayton Marshall Adams – The Mask
Mary K. Savarese – The Girl in the Toile Wallpaper
Allegra Pescatore – Where Shadows Lie
Anton Anderson – The Seekers: Soul Ties
KC Cowan – Asa’s Redemption
Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
J.W. Zarek – The Devil Pulls the Strings
J.P. Hostetler – Around Curiosity’s Edge: Hidden Meridians
L. A. Thompson – Isle of Dragons
G.L. Cramb – Druid Quest: Maegics Heir, Book 1
Adron J. Smitley – Jinn
Mark A. Alvarez II – Dutybound: Light Wings Epic Vol. 1
Susan Faw – Heart of Tunise
Taylor Fenner – Monsters & Mist
S.J. Hartland – The Last Seer King
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.
The Paranormal Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Supernatural Fiction. The Paranormal Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs) is looking for the best books Paranormal books featuring magic, the supernatural, weird otherworldly stories, superhumans (ex. Jessica Jones, Wonder Woman), magical beings & supernatural entities (ex. Harry Potter), vampires & werewolves (ex. Twilight), angels & demons, fairies & mythological beings, magical systems and elements. These books have advanced to the Long List Level of Achievement in the 2021 CIBAs.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Paranormal Supernatural Fiction entries to the 2021 Paranormal Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Paranormal Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the FINALIST positions. 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 SHORT LIST of the 2021 Paranormal Book Awards novel competition for Supernatural Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Kaylin McFarren – Annihilation
Avanti Centrae – The Doomsday Medallion
Robert Herold – Moonlight Becomes You
Rebecca Kightlinger – Megge of Bury Down: The Bury Down Chronicles, Book One
Diamond Ligues – The Bird of Hermes Shall Get its Wings
Catori Sarmiento – But the Wicked Shall Perish
Elizabeth Crowens – The Time Traveler Professor – Book Three: A War in Too Many Worlds
J. W. Zarek – The Devil Pulls The Strings
K.T. Anglehart – The Wise One
AJ Thibault – Ghost Town
JP McLean – Blood Mark
J.G. Schwartz – The Curious Spell of Madam Genova
Henry Anderson – Cape Misfortune
Miki Mitayn – The Conscious Virus
John Stafford – A Hand of Vengeance
Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
Ryan Young – The Shepherd’s Duty
Susan Lynn Solomon – What’s Past is Prologue
J.D. Belcher – The Inescapable Consequence
James G. Robertson – The Ripper
T.K. Conklin – Outlaw’s Redemption
D. J. Adamson – Into the Storm
Jim Gish – Snake Prayers
Juju – The Costly Wish
Jonathan Floyd – Lost on the Edge of Eternity
David Fitz-Gerald – The Curse of Conchobar
Nola Nash – Crescent City Sin
Nola Nash – Crescent City Moon
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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 Somerset Awards: Understanding Literary Fiction
Ah yes, literary fiction, often thought of as the highest form of writing. If only people could define exactly what it means.
Here are a few of Somerset Maugham’s work that typify literary fiction:
Of Human Bondage
The Razor’s Edge
The Moon and Sixpence
And far too many to list here.
Let’s start with some writing tips from Somerset Maugham himself.
There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.
I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don’t.
The fact that a great many people believe something is no guarantee of its truth.
To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.
Impropriety is the soul of wit.
When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.
We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.
I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.
If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.
What a start! We still need to figure out this Literary Fiction business though. Before we dive into that, if you want to read more about Somerset Maugham, consider looking out our previous spotlight here where we discuss him at length!
To read more about the time he wrote in, click here.
So What is Literary Fiction?
The easiest way to attempt to answer this question is to start with what Literary Fiction is being defined in opposition to. Literary Fiction is not Genre Fiction.
So what’s Genre Fiction?
Genre Fiction is written for people to enjoy it generally. It often follows a formula that uses conventional storytelling. The stories are meant to entertain, are plot driven, and they usually have a happy ending. As a result, there’s almost never a question of how to market genre fiction, making it easier to sell.
So, if we take the opposite of all those and apply them to literary fiction, what do we get?
It doesn’t follow a formula
Uses unconventional storytelling
Examines what it means to be human
It can be difficult to read
Character focused (not plot)
Endings vary or can even be uncertain
LIterary Fiction isn’t an exact science
That’s a tough sell! Of course, not all of these elements need to apply
Many literary fiction books are the kinds that stay with us for years after we read them. Chances are the longtime favorite that changed your life is a literary fiction book, or at least possesses some elements of it.
Here’s some contemporary Literary Fiction you may have heard of:
The term “literary fiction” is controversial and for good reason. As more “literary” writers venture into genre fiction, the lines of distinction have blurred. Sometimes, it’s not always clear. Perhaps, it is genre fiction that’s just pushing its own boundaries.
It’s clear that Literary Fiction is a complex genre, worthy of being written and read. We’re happy to say that we’ve done our fair share here at Chanticleer! Check it out below!
HARD CIDER By Barbara Stark-Nemon Grand Prize Winner in Somerset Awards
Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.
Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.
MARTHA By Maggie St. Claire First Place Winner in Somerset Awards
In the unique and compelling voice of an aging woman teetering on the edge of financial ruin, Maggie St. Claire’sdebut novel,Martha,takes the reader from affluent residential areas of Los Angeles to its urban streets of despair, shadowing a 71-year-old, retired bank teller as she comes to grips with the challenges and adversities that threaten her existence.
This is the story of Martha Moore, many years divorced, estranged from her only child, and living a lie, as she enters her golden years. The most important things in her life, outside her pride in her desirable Hancock Park bungalow, are her book club friends. She attends their meetings dressed in her finest, projecting what she hopes is the image of a well-educated, well-to-do, Los Angeles dowager. The three wealthy women who comprise the remainder of the group are her best, perhaps only friends, and sometimes that’s a stretch.
MOURNING DOVE By Claire Fullerton First Place Winner in Somerset Awards
Camille Crossan appears to be living an idyllic life in Claire Fullerton’s poignant, evocative novel,Mourning Dove. Living in a superbly appointed mansion in “magnolia-lined and manicured” Memphis during the 1960s and 1970s, Camille’s family life shimmers with Southern charm. Her mother, Posey, usually outfitted in a Lily Pulitzer shift, Pappagallo shoes, and a signature shade of pink lipstick, is a beauty with the wryest sense of humor and steel determination.
As a young girl, Camille, known as Millie, sees how those in her mother’s social orbit are captivated by her aura, how men are easily seduced by her flirtatious charm. Society is a game played by those who know its rules, and Posey means to win. Every time. She, however, isn’t even the charismatic one in the family – that’s Finley, Millie’s older brother, who brims with intelligence, startling good looks, and messianic magnetism. A peek beneath the shiny surface of gracious Southern living, however, reveals enormous cracks in the foundation of the Crossan family. One of the first things the adult Millie tells us about her brother is that he is dead. She takes the reader back, though, to their childhood and coming of age, a tumultuous journey that both binds and separates the siblings.
Judy Keeslar Santamaria’s skillfully crafted debut novel, Jetty Cat Palace Café, takes the reader from the sophisticated urban areas of Washington state to its remote cranberry coast, accompanying professor Morgen Marín on a life-altering quest.
Like a present-day recipient of a DNA test gone wrong, when 34-year old Morgen, celebrated pianist and music professor, leaves after visiting her elderly grandmother Eleanor, her mind is spinning. Eleanor, preparing for the inevitable, shared family history, documents, and longstanding questions, which blindsided her granddaughter.
JOEL EMMANUEL By J.P. Kenna First Place Winner in Somerset and Clue Awards
Set in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, Joel Emmanuel by JP Kenna rewards its readers with the story of a boy coming of age and how he understands the changes around him. Kenna’s style echoes the English novels of the 19th century.
Young Joel Emmanuel Webber, named for a Wobbly executed long ago in 1915, lives with his mother, Nance Raindance, in a cabin on the Skagit River near Seattle before it was a technopolis. Their world is antiquated even for the 1970s and defined by farming, fishing, and basics like a woodburning cookstove, kerosene lamps, and candles. Joel calls his mother by her given name, doesn’t know his father, and lives an open life free of school and, even occasionally, clothing. He is sensitive and easily succumbs to tears.
When you’re ready,did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services?We do and have been doing so since 2011.
Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).
If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.
We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis.Contact us today!
Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.
A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information availablehere.
And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.
If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Reviewhereor to one of our Chanticleer International Awardshere.
And remember! Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today! CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!
Writer’s Toolbox
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When gold miners discover Choestoe Valley, Jebediah Collins must fight for his family – whether blood-related or not – in J.R. Collins’ historical adventure, Spirit of the Rabbit Place
