Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The 2021 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction – The Long List – CIBAs 2021
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (the CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction.

Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi), and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 CYGNUS Science Fiction entries to the 2021 Cygnus Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for 2021 Cygnus Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The 2021 CYGNUS FINALISTS will be selected from the CYGNUS Semi-Finalists.

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

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

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Carmela Dutra – The Others
- J.W. Zarek – The Devil Pulls the Strings
- Sarah Lahey – Nostalgia Is Heartless, Book Two
- Joe Butler – Of All Possibilities
- Michael Hicks Thompson – Clouds Above
- Spaulding Taylor – Last Star Standing
- Dale Renton – DART
- S. W. Lawrence, MD – Earth Dragon
- Alfred R. Taylor – Full Circle: Covert Invasion
- Max Mason – Novastrom: Adventures from the Zrax Wars
- Mark D. Owen – Impact
- Steven Seril – The Destroyer of Worlds: ‘An Answer to Every Question’
- Akosua Sankofa – Monmouth Deep
- John Teton – The Book of Geezer
- Alexander Mukte – Deeply Rooted Dreams
- Gary Clark – The Given
- Emae Church – Earth 101: Time to Run
- Rhett C. Bruno – Vicarious
- Timothy S. Johnston – Fatal Depth
- Peter Greene – Light of Ganymede
- Rebecca Danzenbaker – The Color of My Soul
- Dimple Patel Desai – The Lambda Factor
- John J Spearman – Pike’s Potential
- Charlene Newcomb – Echoes of the Storm
- David Davis – The Mistakes
- D.H. Ford – Cosmic Swap
- William M. Hayes – Save Him
- William X. Adams – Alien Dream Machine
- Michael J Metroke – The Masada Affair
- PA Vasey – Trinity Evolution
- Neal Thompson – Abandoned: A Sacred Mission
- Daniel C. McWhorter – Revival: The Gaia Origin, Book Two
- Jenn Lees – Restoring Time: Community Chronicles Book 4
- Kristie Clark – Dragon Gold
- Robert C Littlewood – Deviance
- Jenn Lees – Restoring Time: Community Chronicles Book 4
- Bernie Koenig – B.R.A.I.N.
- Matt MacBride – The Apex Gene
- Daniele Kasper – Cut Her Out In Little Stars
- William X. Adams – Alien Panic
- Elizabeth Crowens – A War in Too Many Worlds
- Sandra J. Jackson – Catching Butterflies
- David Davis – The Mistakes
- Dana Claire – The Connection
- Gina Detwiler – Forgiven
- Sam Stea – The Edge of Elsewhere
Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

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

Click here to see the 2020 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 CYGNUS Awards writing competition.

Please click here for more information.

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

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

FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.

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

Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!

Featuring: International Best Selling Authors: Cathy Ace and Robert Dugoni along with A+ list film producer Scott Steindorff.
August 3, 2021
AMPLIFY, MAGNIFY, & STIR UP TROUBLE for Your Main Characters – by Jessica Morrell – A Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox Blog Post

—Readers Want to Spend Time Immersed in Other Permeable Realities

Add Fuel to Your Characters’ Fires

Always know the forces that shaped your main characters. And then give them inner demons to overcome, such as intense abandonment fears, or a lie they’ve been telling themselves. While many stories are fueled chiefly by external conflict, when internal conflicts are staged alongside external conflict mucking up things, the whole story gets more realistic and deeper.

Top-ranking fictional characters need to be uncomfortable most of the time. Better yet, miserable. Now, of course, your story can’t be a waterfall of tears and teeth-gnashing angst in every scene. That could lead to melodrama. But varying levels of misery should be trickling through causing tension, conflict, and uncertainty. And characters can be rattled, twitchy, discombobulated, awkward, uneasy, troubled and disturbed.

Tips and Tricks for Shaping Your Protagonists

One trick to increase tension is to keep track of the number of your scenes, then track how many feature your protagonist in some kind of discomfort. Aim for high percentages. Make your protagonist worry and fear the worst.

Misery can be writ large–he loves me; he loves me not. It can happen in high-stakes battles or life and death circumstances, royal rivalries, ugly divorces, or the murder of a loved one. Your character can be lonely, unloved, and unappreciated. And whenever possible, in over his or her head.

Years ago I studied psychology and sociology in college because I was planning to go into law and I wanted to understand why people turned out the way they did. It took a few years to realize that I needed to return to my first love, stories, poetry, and all things writing. But in one sociology class an instructor mentioned it’s likely that at least one out of three people won’t like you. This insight, true or not, stuck with me.

Growing up and feeling pretty insecure much of the time, I wanted people to like me and was easily hurt when they didn’t. With age that’s diminished, but of course, it’s not fun if someone dislikes you for no good reason, or a perceived hurt that didn’t happen, or for the many reasons humans just don’t get along.

In fiction, this is magnified to create conflict, pain, and troubles. ~ Jessica Morrell

Amplify

A few more tips.

Small miseries amplify larger ones. Protagonists cannot always be in top form, primed for the next challenge. Sap their strength, will, confidence, and resources thus creating more uncertainty. Shape obstacles that wear down and weaken characters.

Create insecurity–immigrants struggling to survive in their new country, business owners striving against impossible odds, a farm family trying to endure during years of drought, an unstable and volatile home life, grinding poverty that seems inescapable. Often these stories will showcase the protagonist’s main personality traits and growth.

Stir in emotional hardships. These typically come from your character’s connective tissue to his or her past. If your main characters don’t have baggage, they’re flat. Typically, your character’s fears or weaknesses will stem from trauma, failure, or a troubled or difficult past. And whatever the baggage, it must be relatable.

A few more ideas for your stories:

Create situational troubles. Coming-of-age stories generally focus on the main character’s emotional growth, typically moving into adulthood. However, growth is never easy, and the character is often forced into challenges beyond his or her maturity levels. And the lessons learned will always be hard, harsh, or scary. The Finch siblings in To Kill a Mockingbird are a good example of this.

Adult characters can be coping with bitchy, hormonal teenagers going through a bad phase, demanding, uncaring bosses, impossible deadlines, a bad news relative showing up on your protagonist’s doorstep looking for a place to crash—with a grimy, pathetic-looking toddler and an aggressive dog.

Classic Plot Devices

Classic plot devices can be the perfect setup for this. An example is a character moving into a new place–the new kid in school {Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone}, or the newly hired personal assistant {The Devil Wears Prada}, boss, police chief {Robert Parker’s Jesse Stone series} or sheriff.

Offred (known as June before she was captured trying to escape into Canada) in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Women are to be silent and are not allowed to read or be taught to read or write (only the Aunts are taught but only to keep control over the handmaids.)

Even the “blue Gilead wives” are not allowed to read or write.

Same for the ‘fish out of water’ scenario–the device the Back to the Future franchise exploited as Marty McFly moves around in time. So-called ‘fishes’ don’t know the rules or standards or the pecking order in the new environment. And definitely poor Arthur Dent of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy protagonist, the last known Earthling – Arthur Dent

Your story might center around a Florida native taking a district attorney job in Alaska or a small town girl moving to Paris. Your character will always have a lot to prove and master, so naturally he or she can get off on the wrong foot and things can go downhill from there.

Which is where antagonists and secondary characters come into the picture to stir up trouble. It’s pretty simple: fictional characters shouldn’t get along. In fact they should clash. Often. The mayor doesn’t trust the new sheriff, the cop who’s been with the force for ten years and wanted the chief of police job is sabotaging the new guy, and the 911 dispatcher just doesn’t care for him because he’s a dead ringer for a best-forgotten ex. Now, of course, protagonists need friends and allies, but if he or she doesn’t have frenemies and backstabbers, lying witnesses, out-for-revenge enemies, and other antagonists you’re overlooking a major source of conflict. The story will flatten and fizzle without these folks.

Can you imagine Harry Potter without Draco Malfoy? Or Lord (He Who Shall Not be Named) Voldemort

Draco Malfoy of the Harry Potter Series – He enjoyed making Harry’s life miserable.

At the same time don’t overlook piling on smaller, everyday, annoying, makes-life-harder miseries. And never overlook the potency of physical hardships to boost tension: Sleepless nights or a shocking homicide case so there’s no time to sleep. Headaches, hangovers, thirst, hunger, sweltering heat waves, freezing temperatures, aching backs, old injuries acting up. Stir in claustrophobia, fear of heights, and never been comfortable in the dark. Pile it on.

And Handy Links on Immersive Writing Craft:

https://www.chantireviews.com/2021/05/19/crafting-words-and-lassoing-jottings-writing-advice-from-jessica-page-morrell-a-chanticleer-writers-toolbox-post/

https://www.chantireviews.com/2019/02/02/immersive-fiction-a-different-perspective-by-jessica-morrell-and-kiffer-brown-writing-toolbox/

Jessica Page Morrell

Jessica Morrell is a top-tier developmental editor and a contributor to Chanticleer Reviews Media and to the Writer’s Digest magazine. She teaches Master Writing Craft Classes at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that is held annually along with teaching at Chanticleer writing workshops that are held throughout the year.

Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart. ~ Jessica

Chanticleer Editorial Services – when you are ready

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

Tools of the Editing Trade

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

If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer 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. Here are some handy links about this tried and true service: https://www.chantireviews.com/manuscript-reviews/

And we do editorial consultations. for $75.  https://www.chantireviews.com/services/Editorial-Services-p85337185

Writer’s Toolbox

Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox article.

Writers Toolbox a few more Helpful Links:

The INCITING INCIDENT: STORY, SETBACKS and SURPRISES for the PROTAGONIST – A Writer’s Toolbox Series from Jessica Morrell’s Editor’s Desk

ESSENCE of CHARACTERS – Part One – From the Jessica Morrell’s Editor’s Desk – Writer’s Toolbox Series

July 26, 2021
SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should be Practiced by Janice Ellis, Ph.D. – Media and Internet Politics, Political Advocacy, Human Rights

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™.

Real Advocacy Journalism™ theory pertains to foundational behavior and ethical standing for those who report on, translate, and share information with the masses. This theory identifies the tension between individualism and collectivism, the private sector and public sector, the ruling elite, and the dormant masses.

Real Advocacy Journalism™ eschews demagoguery and tribalism for a belief that reason, logic, facts, truth, and clear graphic language are the most effective instrument of public persuasion.

Remarkably well researched, Dr. Ellis shows throughout the book how Lippmann identified challenges to factual sharing of information and how he spoke to the importance of choosing words wisely.

Three tasks every journalist must consider in the pursuit of Real Advocacy Journalism, 1—separate words and their meanings in order to disentangle complex ideas, 2.-be effective at creating a visual picture to explain the words and concepts used, and, 3.-have a good understanding of the traits and characteristics of the target audience.

Lippmann knew the impossible task of considering everything that the typical listener may utilize in their life as a filter of information. As the audience grows, the number of common words and references diminishes. The information becomes more abstract, lacking a distinct character of its own. This phenomenon leaves the general audience to interpret the message as they see fit, not necessarily equal to the original information. Age, race, gender, social standing, mood, and “his place on the board in any game of life he is playing” inform how information is understood. The journalist must set the highest goal to clarify, evaluate and draw conclusions for readers and listeners too preoccupied or too removed from the actual events to judge clearly for themselves.

The problem occurs when the constant feed of partial information is based on opinion and not wholly on facts.

Information in its most proper form may be perceived as dull and uninteresting. To gain viewers, “opinion news” sources have become increasingly personal and deliberately dramatic to stop the viewer from tuning out or turning the channel. Not having the time, energy, or understanding to draw their conclusions, the listener accepts this partial information as truth.

Ellis cites Robert O. Anthony as saying, “The secret to Lippman’s ability to reach such a wide audience lay in his expert understanding of the information, his reasonableness of temper, his complete honest and profound attachment to the principles of liberty.”

Lippman’s “survivors,” Kennedy, Schlesinger, and others claim Lippman taught them how to think.

He perfected a rare ability to impose verbal order on chaos. Even when wrong, corrected, or later expanded on, the goal was not to be the only voice but to be like “the village light post.” Ellis’ book exposes the dangers of “opinion news” and how very counterproductive “celebrity journalism” truly is, as it puts profits and popularity (ratings) over actual truth.

Ellis encourages readers to research and discover the meaning of the words being used to grasp the whole picture of what any news source presents. Shaping Public Opinion: How Real Advocacy Journalism™ Should Be Practiced won Grand Prize in the 2019 CIBAs, Nellie Bly Awards for Longform Journalism.

July 19, 2021
JOEL EMMANUEL by J.P. Kenna – Mystery, Coming of Age, Pacific Northwest Literary Fiction
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.

His small world includes a nearby septuagenarian farmer who is the cabin’s landlord; an Indian from “the Rez” named Billy Sampson and his daughter; and Bruce, a suitor of his mother’s who has become the town’s hustling (and overextended) entrepreneur. This unique upbringing affects how Joel sees the world, as he comes face-to-face with adult matters, while other children his age are happy and oblivious to the difficulties of adulthood.

As the world away from rural Washington slides from President Carter to President Reagan, young Joel’s life changes when his actual father, George, shows up unexpectedly at his ninth birthday dinner.

Of course, George has past transgressions, as we all do. Still, the boy bonds with his father, assisting in his coal business while his mother’s relationship with Bruce becomes complicated. The family takes an apartment in town as Nance moves from selling vegetables at a roadside stand to helping run Bruce’s real estate office. Joel is content with his time on boats and bicycles and at ease with hard work such as splitting wood. However, the interactions between the men in his mother’s life warp his understanding of the world.

Bruce’s precarious financial position – or perhaps his non-Native capitalistic thinking – leads him to repossess his old fishing boat from Billy’s cousin Gerald. The repercussions of this one decision pit Native Americans against townies, and forces Joel to choose sides in the subsequent murder trial.

Kenna weaves his literary suspense like a true master, making farms and equipment come alive, all while using them to represent the flow of change and time. Each place, each scene, each vehicle, and each tool is imbued with meaning. Kenna’s characters have strong relationships with their place in the world, which makes it easy for the reader to internalize. In fact, Kenna captures a way of life that seems impossible today, focusing on the human story and systems of the time, and makes them universal and accessible to contemporary readers.

J.P. Kenna’s story of changing and butting cultures beats at the heart of Joel Emmanuel, and readers will surely enjoy it. Joel Emmanuel won 1st in Category in the Somerset Awards for Literary Fiction and the Clue Awards for Suspense Fiction.
July 16, 2021
The DEVIL PULLS the STRINGS by J. W. Zarek – Young Adult Epic Fantasy Adventure, Young Adult Fantasy Action Adventure, Young Adult Urban Fantasy

The protagonist and all-around decent guy, Boone Daniels, is in a heap of hurt in JW Zarek’s new Young Adult novel, The Devil Pulls the Strings.

One would think being plagued by an evil spirit wendigo since age six would be enough inconvenience to last a lifetime, but when Boone jousts with his best bud at a Ren Faire and accidentally deals a mortal blow, the hurt he experiences suddenly lands on a sliding scale of 1 to 1 million. And Boone Daniels becomes a millionaire, so to speak.

No ordinary guy, Boone makes a living as a handyman and swashbuckling knight at Renaissance Faires around Missouri. He’s also uniquely gifted with a form of eidetic memory coupled with synesthesia. What’s that? Simply put, synesthesia allows people to see colors and taste things when they hear music – and an eidetic memory allows folks to memorize whatever they’ve seen or heard one time. But that’s not all. Boone can time-travel, make friends with almost any feline or shapeshifter, and convince a certain immortal he’s worth more as an ally than a snack. No kidding, Baba Yaya loves human meat.

After wounding his best friend, Boone promises to fill in for him as lead vocalist in the band, The Village Idiots, for a major gig in New York City.

The gig caps off the Dragons and Nymphs Annual Charity Ball – a blood drive. (The irony of this will make readers chuckle.) After the band plays, a mysterious score of music by Niccolò Paganini will be played by the best violinist of the time, who also happens to be Boone’s fast-friend-confidant-maybe-girlfriend-we’ll-have-to-see, Sapphire Anjou. Sapphire, the French Ambassador’s daughter, has connections that tie her deeply to the Lavender and Rose Society. There’s more to these societies. The Dragons and Nymphs want nothing but destruction and chaos, while the Lavender and Rose Society maintain order and work to keep people alive. And both societies seek the magical score. You see, no one actually has the Paganini sheet music. It’s a mystery and plenty of people die and get maimed in the pursuit of the piece, but finally, just in the nick of time, Boone and Sapphire obtain it.

What’s so special about this piece of music?

It’s magic, of course! Whoever plays the Paganini score can summon anyone they want. The Dragons and Nymphs want it to summon Ambrogio, their Vampire All-Father, who now resides in Hell. One immortal wants it to free her sister, who’s been caught in a pocket universe (you’ll have to read the book to figure out what that means). And then there’s the nefarious all-around baddie, Ambrozij Sinti, humiliated as a young boy, who now seeks his revenge by using the Paganini piece to summon the Devil himself and destroy the world. The stakes are high, and there’s no time to lose.

Told in first-person by hero Boone Daniels, J. W. Zarek spins an epic fantasy with tons of action, adventure, and folklore.

His writing peppers readers with alliteration in trios, that serve to tighten phrasing to speed up action scenes, evoking visceral responses. Readers feel the panic Boone feels as the world closes in around him. Does it work? Like a charm. Almost perfect, readers will surely love this first in series, epic fantasy world and fall in love with Zarek’s leading man because of it.

Somewhere between The Librarians meets The Magicians – mixed with the flawed hero archetypes of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden and Harold Hearne’s Atticus O’Sullivan, Zarek’s hero brings fans of the genre something new to dig their teeth into – and that’s an excellent thing. Fans will be thrilled to learn that the novel will release in Graphic Novel format soon!

The Devil Pulls the Strings won a whopping four Ribbons at the 2021 CIBA Ceremonies, a First Place Ribbon in both Ozma and Cygnus, as well as the Grand Prize in Paranormal, and the Overall Best Book of 2021 for the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

July 12, 2021
RESCUED, JT Thomas Adventures Book 1 by E. Alan Fleischauer – Action/Adventure, Romantic Action/Adventure, Mystery Action/Adventure

Alan Fleischauer ushers in his new Action/Adventure Western series with Rescued – and gives us a protagonist worthy of the title “hero.“

John Thurgood (JT) Thomas just found the most unusual cave, housing a strange treasure trove of high-end furniture, extraordinary inventions, and a custom gun. While he’s enjoying his mountain view and wondering what should happen with the goods, he spies another unusual site. Three women follow a wagon of dangerous-looking desperados. JT can’t help but step in, little knowing that action will alter his entire life. As a former lieutenant colonel in the Civil War and U.S. Marshal, JT rescues the three women and finds a fourth sitting in the wagon. He immediately abandons his cave camp and takes the women to nearby Point Stevens Pass, Colorado, where he stays until their safety is secured.

One of the women, however, leads the gang and is responsible for kidnapping the others. Jean Cantrell, a bloodthirsty bank robber, and murderer flees town before the women spill the beans – but not before leaving behind a dead banker.

Hellbent on capturing Cantrell, JT pursues the villain, but another woman, Annabelle Hewitt, insists on accompanying him. JT and Annabelle soon realize their feelings may run more profound than those of “victim and rescuer” when they take shelter in the very cave JT had earlier abandoned. Inside, they soon discover a secret. However, Cantrell isn’t about to give up her need for revenge and her greed, and soon, the new couple will face off with the kidnapper again, and their lives will take an incredible turn once again.

So many characters in this novel are unbelievable survivors, especially the female characters.

Annabelle is the most obvious example of these fierce women. Annabelle is married to a violent, dangerous man, Marcus. They lived in New York, where Annabelle trained as a nurse under the tutelage of Marcus’s father; however, when Marcus turns to alcohol and womanizing, Annabelle makes up her mind to leave with their daughter. Marcus isn’t about to let her go, though, and chases her down, takes their daughter from her, and leaves her penniless and abandoned. Annabelle refuses to return with him and works as a housekeeper in an inn until she saves money to keep traveling. While traversing the vast plains, a group of Cheyenne takes her prisoner. She earns the respect of the tribe as a healer, but her adventure doesn’t stop there. Annabelle creates her own business as a midwife and returns from a visit when the Cantrell gang takes her. Meeting JT makes her even more resolved, especially when the two embark on a trip back to New York to take back her daughter and get her freedom legally through a divorce.

Annabelle isn’t the only female survivor.

Though unbelievably evil in a “super-villain” way, Jean Cantrell is also a survivor. While Annabelle gains strength and independence by helping others, Jean chooses the opposite route; nevertheless, her story is one of survival in the brutal world of the Old West. Jean takes on one of the oldest occupations open to women and becomes a whore until she stumbles into a bank robbery where she quickly, remorselessly kills the would-be robber and takes the money. Once Jean realizes how much easier her life can be, the transition from prostitute to outlaw is quick, and no one gets in her way. Though her path is bloody and ruthless, she knows what she must do to survive. She is respected, albeit through fear, and no one, but JT, is willing to challenge her. Evil or not, Jean is a survivor.

Another great theme in the novel is the kindness of strangers, best seen in the actions of JT Thomas.

JT is the consummate good guy. Lovers of old westerns will recognize his gallantry in that comfortable, protector of weak way. He cannot stop himself from helping everyone he meets. He not only saves these women, but he also insists on paying their way, buying them clothes, and finding other people to safeguard them when he leaves to chase Jean Cantrell. When the plot transitions to the big city of New York, JT proves to be the hero again and again. He becomes fast friends with Mrs. C, the owner of a failing hotel, and finds a way to refurbish and restore her hotel. When he meets Annabelle’s daughter, he makes sure she is cared for in all forms, including hiring her boyfriend to manage the hotel. With a few loose ends left at the novel’s end, JT’s heroic actions seem likely to be continued in subsequent adventures.

From the rugged mountains of Colorado to the grit and glitz of New York City, this novel is a fast-paced, twisting adventure that lovers of westerns will devour. Rescued (JT Thomas Adventures Book 1) took home 1st in Category in the 2019 CIBAs for LARAMIE, Western Fiction.

July 9, 2021
Part Three of Three Official Postings of the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners
We are deeply honored and excited to continue to announce the 2020 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) with our third of three official postings.

Click here to visit the First Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.

Click here to visit the Second Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

The winners were recognized at a special CIBAs ceremony held on June 5th, 2021 in-person and by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians participating and interacting from around the globe and North America.

We cheered on the CIBA Premier Finalists with our bubbly of choice from wherever we were Zooming!

Raising our glasses to cheer the CIBA Winners!

We want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 24 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for the

Six Non-Fiction Divisions:

Journey, Hearten, Harvey Chute, Mind and Spirit, I & I, and Nellie Bly

along with the FIRST Winners for the

Short Story, and Book Series Awards,

and concluding with the

OVERALL 2020 GRAND PRIZE WINNER

for the

2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards

The JOURNEY Book Awards for

Narrative Non-Fiction, Memoirs, and Biographies

Grand Prize Winner is

THE PARROT’S PERCH: A MEMOIR OF TORTURE AND CORRUPTION IN BRAZIL by Karen Keilt

The Journey First Place Category Winners are:
- Susan E Casey – Rock On: Mining for Joy in the Deep River of Sibling Grief
- Laila Tarraf – Strong Like Water: Lessons Learned from Leading with Love
- Steve Mariotti – Goodbye Homeboy
- Steve Rochinski – A Man of His Time: Secrets from a Halfway World
- Susan E. Greisen – In Search of Pink Flamingos: A Woman’s Quest for Forgiveness & Unconditional Love
- Renee Hodges – Saving Bobby: Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community
- Barbara Clarke – The Red Kitchen
The INSTRUCTION and INSIGHT Book Awards

for How-To Guides, Travel Guides, Cook Books, Self-Help, and Enlightenment

Grand Prize Winner is

INDEPENDENT LIVING WITH AUTISM by Wendela Whitcomb Marsh

The I & & First Place Category Winners are:
- Peggy Sullivan –Blissfully Single, A Single’s Guide to Finding Happiness
- Judy Taylor – Save That Rug! A How-To Guide for Repairing Hooked Rugs
- Dennis J Kotchmar – The Joy Of Searching, Buying and Selling, Antiques and Home Décor from France and England
- Leslie Bains – Let’s Take A Hike: 7 Family-Friendly Trails of Nantucket
- Carole Bumpus – Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Book Two
- Jill Sherer Murray – Big Wild Love: The Unstoppable Power of Letting Go
The NELLIE BLY Book Awards

for Investigative and Long Form Journalism Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

PRISON FROM THE INSIDE OUT by William ‘Mecca’ Elmore & Susan Simone

The Nellie Bly First Place Category Winners are:
- Ashley Conner and Cierra Camper – Memoirs of Michael: The Hurricane Project
- Kris Newby – BITTEN: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons
- Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D. – Cause and Civility: Imploring Reason and Respect From An Advocate Journalist, Book I (now, Advancing the Good Society: Real Advocacy Journalism™ in Action, Book I Ethics and Values)
- Patricia Martin Holt – EMPOWER A REFUGEE, Peace of Thread and the Backyard Humanity Movement
- Gigi Berardi – FoodWISE: A Whole Systems Guide to Sustainable and Delicious Food Choices
- Ted Neill – Two Years of Wonder
The HARVEY CHUTE Book Awards

for Business & Enterprise Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

EDGE: TURNING ADVERSITY INTO ADVANTAGE by Laura Huang

The Harvey Chute First Place Category Winners are:
- Gary M. Shiffman – The Economics of Violence: How Behavioral Science Can Transform our View of Crime, Insurgency, and Terrorism
- Susanne Tedrick – Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators
- Rachel Thompson – The BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge
- Marcus Kirsch – The Wicked Company
- Anthony Delauney – Owning the Dash
- Tikiri Herath – Your Rebel Dreams: Discover Your Purpose and Passions to Power Up Your Life
- Mike D. Kinney – Navigating Your Safety Culture Journey
The MIND & SPIRIT Book Awards

for Spirituality and Enlightenment Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

EXIT THE MAZE: ONE ADDICTION, ONE CAUSE, ONE CURE by Dr. Donna Marks

The Mind and Spirit First Place Category Winners are:
- Cindy Rasicot – Finding Venerable Mother: A Daughter’s Spiritual Quest to Thailand
- Nancy Pickard – Bigger Better Braver
- Jennie Lee – Spark Change: 108 Provocative Questions for Spiritual Evolution
- Anna Carner – Blossom – The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
- Marianne Ingheim – Out of Love: Finding Your Way Back to Self-Compassion
- Jill Sherer Murray – Big Wild Love: The Unstoppable Power of Letting Go
The HEARTEN Book Awards

for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

LOVE, LIFE, AND LUCILLE by Judy Gaman

The Hearten First Place Category Winners are:
- Annerose D. Watts – Blue Plate Journey
- Katherine Snow Smith – Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker, Missteps, and Lessons Learned
- Michael M. Van Ness – GENERAL IN COMMAND: The Life of Major General John B. Anderson from Iowa Farm to Command of the Largest Combat Corps in World War II
- Keturah Kendrick – No Thanks: Black, Female, And Living in the Martyr-Free Zone
- Evelyn Kohl LaTorre – Between Inca Walls – Peace Corps memoir
- Deborah Tobola – Hummingbird in Underworld: Teaching in a Men’s Prison
- Suzanne Kamata – Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair
- Cerridwen Fallingstar – Broth from the Cauldron; A Wisdom Journey through Everyday Magic
- Bill Pullen – It Started at The Savoy
Congratulations to the Inaugural

AWARD WINNERS for the

Short Story Awards and Short Story Collections

of the CIBAs

The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for the CIBA Short Story Collections

Grand Prize Winner is

A WEEK AT SURFSIDE BEACH by Pierce Koslosky Jr.

Congratulations to The SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS FINALISTS!
- Lindy Ryan – Dead of Winter
- Janet Oakley – Hilo Bay Mystery Collection
- Sean Thomas Dwyer – Voices I Hear
- Susan Lynn Solomon – T’was the Season
- Abbe Rolnick – Tattle Tales: Essays and Stories Along the Way
The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for Short Stories, Novelettes, and Novellas

Grand Prize Winner is

SAVONNE, NOT VONNY by Robin Lee Lovelace

Congratulations to The SHORT STORY & NOVELLAS FINALISTS!

SHORT STORIES and NOVELETTES

Historical Fiction (Chaucer/Goethe/Laramie/Hemingway)
- Kristie Clark – Dragon of the Sea
- Vali Benson – Blood and Silver
- Grendolyn Soleil – Snow Dust and Boneshine: The Chronicles of Granny Witch
- Marina Osipova – From Stalin with Love
Mystery & Suspense (M&M/Clue)
- J. J. Clarke – Dared to Fly
- Alan E. Fleischauer – Sherlock and the Tiger
- Joanne Jaytanie – Twice As Bad, Miss Demeanor, P. I. Series
Out of This World Fiction – Speculative Fiction
- Robin Lee Lovelace – Savonne, Not Vonny
- Alexandrea Weis – Sisters of the Moon
- Matilda Scotney- Joy In Four Parts
- Sarena Ulibarri – Inviting Disaster
- Grendolyn Soleil – Snow Dust and Boneshine: The Chronicles of Granny Witch
Contemporary/Literary/Satire (Somerset/Mark Twain)
- Susan Lynn Solomon – Reunion
- V. P. Evans – N
- V.P. Evans – W
- Michelle Rene Magee – Danielle’s Inferno
- Dennis M. Clausen – The Accountant’s Apprentice
Chatelaine
- Joanne Jaytanie – Christmas Chemistry, Forever Christmas in Glenville, Book 3
- Vicki Batman – Raving Beauty
- Gail Meath – Fire Blossom
- Joanne Jaytanie – P.I. I LOVE YOU, Miss Demeanor, P.I. Book I
Congratulations to the

Inaugural AWARD WINNERS for the

FICTION SERIES

of the 2020 CIBAs

The BOOK SERIES Book Awards

for Fiction Series

Grand Prize Winner is

THE DEVIL’S BOOKKEEPERS by Mark Newhouse

The Noose, The Noose Tightens, The Noose Closes

Congratulations to the First Place Category Winners

for the CIBAs New Division for Fiction Series Book Awards!

CHATELAINE Book Series Awards for Romantic Fiction

Multi-cultural/Inter-racial Romance Series:
- The Prodigy Slave by Londyn Skye
  - The Prodigy Slave: Journey to Winter Garden
  - The Prodigy Slave: The Old World
  - The Prodigy Slave: The Ultimate Grand Finale
Regency/Georgian Romance Series:
- The Donet Trilogy by Regan Walker
  - To Tame the Wind
  - Echo in the Wind
  - A Fierce Wind
Historical Romance Series:
- The Lavender Meuse Trilogy by Gail Noble-Sanderson
  - The Lavender House in Meuse
  - The Passage Home to Meuse
  - The Lavender Bees of Meuse
HEMINGWAY Book Series Awards for Wartime Historical Fiction

The Devil’s Bookkeepers – Three Books by Mark Newhouse
- - The Noose
  - The Noose Tightens
  - The Noose Closes
CLUE Awards Series for Mystery & Suspense
- The Annie Oakley Mystery Series – Three Books by Kari Bovee
  - Girl with a Gun
  - Peccadillo at the Palace
  - Folly at the Fair
LARAMIE Series Awards Western, Americana, Civil War Fiction

Americana Fiction
- An American Journey Novel Series – Four Books by Richard Alan Schwartz
  - The Emigrant
  - The Pioneer
  - The Surgeon
  - The Soldier
GOETHE for Historical Fiction Series, post-1750s
- The Poland Trilogy – Eastern European Literature -Three Books by James Conroyd Martin
  - Push Not the River
  - Against a Crimson Sky
  - The Warsaw Conspiracy
DANTE ROSSETTI Book Series Awards for Young Adult Fiction
- The Adventures of Jonathan Moore Book Series – Three Books by Peter Greene
  - Warship Poseidon
  - Castle of Fire
  - Paladin’s War
M & M Book Series Awards for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries
- The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Mystery Series – Five Books by Michelle Cox
  - A Girl Like You
  - A Ring of Truth
  - A Promise Given
  - A Veil Removed
  - A Child Lost
OZMA Book Series Awards for Fantasy Fiction
- Terribly Serious Darkness Gaslamp Fantasy Book Series – Three Books by Sam Hooker
  - Peril in the Old Country
  - Soul Remains
  - Now Before the Dark
PARANORMAL Book Series Awards for Supernatural Fiction
- The Winters Sisters – a Paranormal Romantic Suspense Series – Four Books by Joanne Jaytanie
  - Chasing Victory
  - Payton’s Pursuit
  - Willow’s Discovery
  - Corralling Kenzie
SOMERSET Book Series Awards for Contemporary, Literary, & Mainstream Fiction
- The Anne McFarland Book Series – American Literature – Three Books by Jill G. Hall
  - The Black Velvet Coat
  - The Silver Shoes
  - The Green Lace Corset
CONGRATULATIONS to ALL!

And NOW for the

2020 CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS

BEST BOOK

and

OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER

TROUBLE THE WATER

by Rebecca Dwight Bruff

Rebecca Dwight Bruff will also be awarded $1,000 USD in recognition of her 2020 BEST BOOK of the YEAR – Chanticleer International Book Awards – Sponsored by Chanticleer Reviews & Media.

A Chanticleer Review of Trouble the Water will be featured in the in the SPRING 2022 quarterly edition of the Chanticleer Reviews Magazine (print and epub) along with other promotional and marketing opportunities along with an interview with the author, Rebecca Dwight Bruff.

Thank you Rebecca Dwight Bruff for participating in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards. We look forward to receiving future work in our CIBAs.

We look forward to toasting Rebecca in person at our next gathering–hopefully in 2022. We are so happy that she joined us virtually for the CIBA announcements at our special ceremony on June 5th, 2021.

CONGRATULATIONS REBECCA DWIGHT BRUFF!

From all of us at Chanticleer International Book Awards and Chanticleer Reviews.

THANK YOU to VCAC21 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

And to FRIENDS of CHANTICLEER REVIEWS:

Cathy Ace, J.D. Barker, Robert Dugoni, Chris Humphreys, Bradley Metrock, Jessica Morrell, Scott Steindorff, and Paul Hanson of Village Books

We will post more photographs and information. Do check back and subscribe to the Chanticleer Reviews e-news letter.

The video recordings of VCAC21 will be available on VIMEO. More information to come.

We have exciting news for the Chanticleer Community on the horizon so do stay tuned!

You know you want a coveted Chanticleer Reviews Blue Ribbon!

Submit your works (manuscripts or novels published after or on January 1, 2019, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awards today! Entries are being accepted into the 2021 CIBAs in all 18 fiction divisions and seven non-fiction divisions.

Be sure to register early for the 10th Anniversary 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference that will start on April 7th, 2021 with the 2022 CIBA banquet and ceremony scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 10th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. If we cannot move forward with CAC22 due to the coronavirus, we will host another LIVE and HYBRID Chanticleer Authors Conference and 2021 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards ceremony.

Pivot and Oscillate are the Words for Today’s Challenging Times.

An email will go out to all 2020 CIBA award winners prior to October 30, 2021, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated many times before “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!” –even if it is virtual!

As always, please contact us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions!

Be well. Stay Healthy. Take Care!

The Chanticleer Reviews Team
June 30, 2021
A YEAR of LIVING KINDLY: Choices that will Change Your Life and the World Around You by Donna Cameron – Spiritual Growth Self-Help, Happiness Self-Help, Communication and Social Skills

Donna Cameron’s guide, A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You, invites readers to live more richly, thoroughly, and fruitfully.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy Cameron’s guide to kindness is to drink it in slowly, for a year, as its structure suggests. Savoring one of its 52 meditations – thoughtful, introspective, resonate, and wide-ranging discussions – each week. She turns to a new topic grouping with the advent of each new month, traversing the four parts, the “seasons,” as the year progresses.

Of course, as Cameron will tell you, living a year of kindness is not, in the end, enough; it’s a journey suited to a lifetime. But the habit of it, the joy of it, can take root throughout a year.

Based on the experiences of its author, the book’s foundation lies in the work of a lifetime of nurturing nonprofits and championing causes from the varied perspectives of executive, consultant, trainer, and volunteer. The guide incorporates observation and situates itself also in research. In and among her insights, Cameron weaves the thoughts, studies, and findings of cultural anthropologists, philosophers, physicians, psychologists, investigative journalists, mindfulness experts, and other teachers. The source notes at the back are modest enough to be accessible to those outside academia, yet extensive enough to show sinew.

So that readers might more easily incorporate these habits of thought into their own lives, each meditation ends with a Kindness in Action exercise. Together, these exercises are the passageways to reshaping ourselves.

The four seasons – Discovery, Understanding, Choosing, and Becoming – mirror the natural contours of such a journey.

In Discovery, we learn about kindness: what it is and what it isn’t, the health benefits that being kind grants, how we might begin to be truly warm and caring. In Understanding, we learn the barriers to kindness – from within and without – and delve more deeply into opening ourselves to this way of encountering the world. In Choosing, we explore the courage that kindness can take, the roles of vulnerability and curiosity – yes, curiosity – play, and what it means to extend compassion to all, including standing up to bullies, online and off. In Becoming, we settle in to look soberly at the challenges, at what we might do to create a kinder world, and at what it means to live in kindness every day.

This structure makes for a powerful presentation and easy entry into the eddies and currents of these gently meditative discussions. But it is not, as Cameron herself notes, necessary to follow a linear path. A reader could just as quickly open the book and flip to any point within it to encounter something rich and thought-provoking to ponder that day, that week, that month.

In this journey to kindness, we might each of us follow whichever path calls to us.

Giving our whole selves to kindness helps us to become whole.

A Year of Living Kindly is a generous book brimming with open good-heartedness and calm practicality, with guidance firm yet gentle. Wise, yet itself kind. Cameron undertakes her journey from a position many would recognize – not so much unkind as hurried, distracted, disengaged. Perhaps in the habit of being, when the situation calls for it, “nice.” Civil, not especially warm. Cautious, not connected.

Cameron invites us instead to be open to the world. To be generous with our time and our talent, in word, deed, and spirit. To be aware of and awake to others. To be fully present. To be, fully.

She invites us to embrace kindness as a way of embracing life. Adopting the “mantle of kindness,” she says, will enable each of us to enjoy more entirely in the abundance of our own lives and in the richness the world has to offer. Such a journey connects us more deeply with ourselves and others, enabling us to live our best lives. And such kindness spreads. When we give so wholly of ourselves, others tend to take that gift and pass it along.

The case she makes is compelling. The message, timely. It’s an invitation that’s difficult to resist, particularly in the company of such a guide. In the world it seems we’ve all been hurtling toward in the past five years or so, Donna Cameron’s steady voice and clear-eyed vision is a balm for the soul.

Perhaps, just perhaps, with enough kindness, we might indeed remake neighborhoods, remake communities, and transform the national temper. A Year of Living Kindly placed 1st in Category in the CIBA 2019 Instruction and Insight Awards for Non-Fiction How-To manuals.

June 30, 2021
Part Two of The 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners
We are deeply honored and excited to continue to announce the 2020 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) with our second of three official postings.

Click here to visit the First Posting out of Three Official Announcements for the 2020 CIBA Winners.

Click here to visit the Third Posting out of Three Official Announcements for the 2020 CIBA Winners.

The winners were recognized at a special CIBAs ceremony held on June 5th, 2021 in-person and by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians participating and interacting from around the globe and North America.

We cheered on the CIBA Premier Finalists with our bubbly of choice from wherever we were Zooming!

Btw, Kiffer’s favorite Champagne!

We want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 24 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2020—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for the Laramie, Chaucer, Goethe, Hemingway, Chatelaine, Mark Twain, and Somerset Awards.

Coveted Chanticleer Blue Ribbons!

We are honored to present the

2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards

Grand Prize Winners

The 2020 CIBA Winners!

The LARAMIE Book Awards for

American, Western, Pioneer, Civil War, and First Nation Novels

The Grand Prize Winner is

TROUBLE THE WATER, A NOVEL by Rebecca Dwight Bruff
- Eileen Charbonneau – Mercies of the Fallen
- James Kahn – Matamoros
- Daniel Greene – Northern Wolf
- David Fitz-Gerald – She Sees Ghosts? The Story of a Woman Who Rescues Lost Souls
- Gerry Robinson – The Cheyenne Story
- J.B. Richard – Jesse
- Mike Shellenbergar – Quail Creek Ranch
- Mike Shellenbergar –Refuge
- J. Palma – The Chaffee Sisters
- Fred Dickey – Days of Hope, Miles of Misery – Love and Loss on the Oregon Trail
The CHAUCER Book Awards for

Pre-1750s Historical Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

BIRD IN A SNARE by N.L. Holmes
- B.L. Smith – The Fall of the Axe
- Helena P. Schrader – The Emperor Strikes Back
- Denis Olasehinde Akinmolasire – The Mission to End Slavery
- Thoren Syndergaard – Ripley of Valor
- Brook Allen – Antonius: Son of Rome
- Janet Wertman – The Path to Somerset
- Regan Walker – Summer Warrior
The GOETHE Book Awards for

Post-1750’s Historical Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

THE ALOHA SPIRIT by Linda Ulleseit
- Wendy Long Stanley – The Power to Deny
- Ben Wyckoff Shore – Terribilita
- Donna Scott – The London Monster
- Michelle Cameron – Beyond the Ghetto Gates
- P. L. Jonas – Beneath a Radiant Moon
- Dorothea Hubble Bonneau – Once in a Blood Moon
- Jule Selbo – Breaking Barriers: A Novel Based on the Life of Laura Bassi
The HEMINGWAY Book Awards for

20th Century Wartime Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

THE QUISLING FACTOR by J.L. Oakley
- Helena P. Schrader – Where Eagles Never Flew: A Battle of Britain Novel
- Conor Bender – Jubilee
- Leslie K. Barry – Newark Minutemen
- Kathryn Gauci –The Poseidon Network
- Brigitte Goldstein – Babylon Laid Waste
- Catherine A. Hamilton – Victoria’s War
- Jon Duncan – Heart of the Few
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Lavender Bees of Meuse
The CHATELAINE Book Awards for

Romantic Fiction and Women’s Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

WHEN THE WIND CHIMES by Mary Ting
- Linda Stewart Henley –Estelle: A Novel
- Lindy Miller –The Magic Ingredient
- Alexandrea Weis – The Christmas Spirit
- Linda Lee Graham – A Thimbleful of Honor
- Gayle Woodson – After Kilimanjaro
- Eileen Charbonneau –Mercies of the Fallen
- Carol Van Den Hende – Goodbye, Orchid
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Lavender Bees of Meuse
- Barb Warner Deane – The Whistle Stop Canteen
- T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
The MARK TWAIN Book Awards

for Humor and Satire

Grand Prize Winner is

ARNOLD FALLS by Charlie Suisman
- Lenore Rowntree – Cluck
- Wayne Edmiston – UNfatally Dead: to thaw or not to thaw?
- Haris Orkin – You Only Live Once
- Elizabeth Crowens – Dear Bernie, I’m Glad You’re Dead
- Alex J. Tremari – Dragoncast
- Matt Tompkins – Odsburg
- J.P. Kenna – Toward A Terrible Freedom
The SOMERSET Book Awards

for Literary, Contemporary, and Mainstream Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

A SEASON IN LIGHTS by Gregory Erich Phillips
- Sara Stamey –Pause
- Candi Sary –Magdalena
- Kathleen Reid –Sunrise in Florence
- T P Graf – As the Daisies Bloom
- Julie Weary – Knowing Marjorie Thane
- Barbara Linn Probst – Queen of the Owls
- Jennifer Gold – Keep Me Afloat
- Lainey Cameron – The Exit Strategy
- Susan Wingate – How the Deer Moon Hungers
Congratulations to ALL!

We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

Be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE us Facebook and on Twitter @ChantiReviews

Please standby for our next post ( that will honor:
- Journey Book Award Winners
- Hearten Book Award Winners
- Harvey Chute Book Award Winners
- Mind and Spirit Book Award Winners
- Nellie Bly Book Award Winners
- Instructional and Insight Book Award Winners
- Short Story Book Award Winners
- Book Series Book Award Winners
And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2020 CIBAs!

Stay Tuned for Part 3 that will announce the Overall Grand Prize Winner!

We are now accepting entries into the 2021 and 2022 Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://www.chantireviews.com/contests/

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com We will try our best to respond within 3 business days.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2020 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team
June 29, 2021
The 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners | Part One
We are deeply honored and excited to announce the 2020 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs). The Finalists were recognized at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Ceremonies, and the First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners were announced June 5th, 2021 by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2020 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony was originally scheduled for April 21 – 25, 2021. Each year, Chanticleerians from around the globe come together to celebrate and cheer each other on at the annual CIBA banquet and awards evening at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether that is situated on beautiful Bellingham Bay, Washington State.

However, in order to celebrate being able to meet in person in even a limited capacity (due to the fact that we all able to be vacinated in time), we postponed the First Place Winner and Grand Prize Ceremonies to June 5th, 2021 at the Hotel Bellwether with local Chanticleerians attending cheering each other on along with cheering on the virtual attendees. Champagne was poured and shared as the 2020 CIBA Grand Prize Division Award Winners were announced. After the event the small gathering of Chanticleerians were able to dine together immediately after in the Admiral Room of the Hotel Bellwether.

CIBA Grand Prize Winners in Before Covid Times

We’ve now hosted two virtual events and are pivoting to yet another new normal where events will now be expected to be in person and virtual! We were glad to still host VCAC21 on schedule with inimitable presenters like Cathy Ace, J.D. Barker, Bradley Metrock, Dr. Janice Ellis, Jessica Morrell, Paul Hanson, and more! Many of our presenters have already contacted us about the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference currently scheduled for April 7-10, 2022, and we are optimistic that we will be able to host that one in person as vaccinations continue to sweep the US.

At the June 5th, 2021 Ceremonies, we are excited to recognize the 18 Fiction and 6 Non-Fiction CIBA Divisions for the First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners!

First of all, we want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 23 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increases exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division.

The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division. You can order promotional stickers and such here.

A Recap of the CIBA Selection Process
- The 2020 CIBAs have 18 Fiction Divisions and 6 Non-fiction Divisions.
- First Place Category award winners were selected for each one of the 24 divisions from an overall field of titles that progressed to the Premier FINALIST Division Level from the Division Semi-Finalists positions from the Shortlists, the Long List, and the infamous beginning slush pile rounds.
- One Grand Prize award winner was selected from the First Place Category Award Winners for the 23 CIBA divisions.
- One Overall Grand Prize award winner was selected from the 24 divisions of Grand Prize Award Winners
All 2020 CIBA FINALISTS were recognized with their respective division at the CIBA awards ceremony that was held each evening of VCAC21.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for Cygnus, Ozma, Paranormal, Global Thrillers, M&M, Clue, Little Peeps, Gertrude Warner, and Dante Rossetti Book Awards.

THANK YOU to VCAC21 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

We are honored to present the

2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards

Grand Prize Winners

The 2020 CIBA Winners!

The CYGNUS Book Awards

for Science Fiction Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

THE LUNA MISSILE CRISIS by Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle
- Mark T. Sneed – Bully Nation
- JL Morin – Loveoid
- Timothy S. Johnston – The Savage Deeps
- PA Vasey – Trinity’s Fall
- Russ Colson – The Arasmith Certainty Principle
- Zach Fortier – Volk: Book one of The Overseer series
The OZMA Book Awards

for Fantasy Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

DIVINITY’S TWILIGHT: REBIRTH BY Christopher Russell
- T. Cook – Shin
- Michelle Rene – The Canyon Cathedral: The Witches of Tanglewood, Book Two ( YA)
- Gordon Preston – Zendragon
- H.J. Ramsay – Ever Alice
- Alison Levy – Gatekeeper: Book One in the Daemon Collecting Series
- Jeny Heckman –The Warrior’s Progeny
- Glenn Searfoss – Cycles of Norse Mythology: Tales of the AEsir Gods
- KC Cowan & Sara Cole – Everfire
The Paranormal Book Awards

for Supernatural Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

SOUL SEEKER by Kaylin McFarren
- T. K. Thorne – House of Rose
- R.B. Woodstone – Chains of Time
- Ryan Young – The Shepherd’s Burden
- Lydia Staggs – Azrael
- Franklin Posner – Boston Betty
- Meg Evans – Enthrallment
- Neil Chase – Iron Dogs
- E. Alan Fleischauer – Just Die
The GLOBAL THRILLER Book Awards

for High Stakes Thrillers, Lab Lit, and Suspense Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

THE BUCHAREST DOSSIER by William Maz

Pub Date: March 15, 2022
- Randall Krzak –Colombian Betrayal
- Matt Andrus – UFO
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – The Agency – Tablet of Destinies
- Avanti Centrae – Kiss of the Cobra – An M2 Action Thriller
- Rafael Amadeus Hines –Bishop’s Law
- Erik Foge – One Way Roads
The CLUE Book Awards

for Thrillers, Suspense, Legal, Detective, and Procedural Crime Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

A VENOMOUS LOVE by Chris Karlsen
- Toni Bird Jones –The Measure of Ella
- Kari Bovee – Folly at the Fair
- Ken Farmer – Three Creeks
- Shanessa Gluhm – Enemies of Doves
- Martin Roy Hill –The Fourth Rising
- J.J. Clarke – Dared to Run
- Corey Lynn Fayman – Ballast Point Breakdown
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Denied, A Buck Taylor Novel
- Theo Czuk – The Black Bottom
The M & M Book Awards for Mystery & Mayhem

for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries

Grand Prize Winner is

THE DISCOVERY by Patrick M. Garry
- Lori Roberts Herbst – Suitable for Framing
- Michelle Cox – A Child Lost
- Ana T. Drew – The Murderous Macaron
- Lina Hansen –In My Attic – A Magical Misfits Mystery
- Perry Miller – Lethal Injection
- Tina Sloan – Chasing Cleopatra
LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards for

Early Readers and Picture Books

Grand Prize Winner is

GREAT AS A BUTTON by Masoud Malekyari and Illustrated by Sebastião Peixoto
- Ellie Smith – Tex the Explorer Journey Through the Alphabet
- D.K. Brantley – Every Mummy Has a Mommy
- Dr. Justine Green – Completely Me
- Courtney Shannon Strand – Ella’s Umbrella
- Lindy Ryan – Trick or Treat, Alistair Gray
- Johnny Ray Moore –ANTHILL FOR SALE
- Raven Howell – So You Want a Puppy?
- PJ McIlvaine – Little Lena and The Big Table
GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards

for Middle-Grade Books

Grand Prize is

KASSY O’ROARKE, CUB REPORTER by Kelly Oliver
- Robert C. Feol – A Journey to Mouseling Hollow
- Catherine Grangaard –A Fairy’s Tails
- Poem Schway – The Infinity Pendant
- Ruthy Ballard – Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy
- Ben Gartner – The Eye of Ra
- Jay Spenser – The Barn Owl Mystery
- Carmela Dutra – Little Katie Goes to the Moon
The DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards

for Young Adult Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

THE BEST WEEK THAT NEVER HAPPENED by Dallas Woodburn
- Michelle Rene – The Canyon Cathedral: The Witches of Tanglewood,Book Two
- Sara Hosey –Iphigenia Murphy
- Felicia Farber – Ice Queen
- Susanne Dunlap – The Paris Affair
- Chynna Laird – Just Shut Up and Drive
- L.L. Eadie – Yearning for the Unattainable
- Jodi Lea Stewart – Blackberry Road
- Strider S. R. Klusman – Within Reach
- Ivy Cayden – Everything All At Once (Book 1, Chorduroys and Too Many Boys™)
Congratulations to ALL!

We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

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Please standby for our next posts that will honor:

Click here to visit the Second Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.

Click here to visit the Third Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.
- Laramie Book Award Winners
- Chaucer Book Award Winners
- Goethe Book Award Winners
- Hemingway Book Award Winners
- Chatelaine Book Award Winners
- Mark Twain Book Award Winners
- Somerset Book Award Winners
- Journey Book Award Winners
- Hearten Book Award Winners
- Harvey Chute Book Award Winners
- Mind and Spirit Book Award Winners
- Nellie Bly Book Award Winners
- Instructional and Insight Book Award Winners
- Short Story Book Award Winners
- Book Series Book Award Winners
And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2020 CIBAs!

We are now accepting entries into the 2021Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://www.chantireviews.com/contests/

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com We will try to respond within 3 business days.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2020 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team
June 26, 2021