Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

  • CYGNUS BOOK AWARDS for Science Fiction Novels – the Grand Prize Winner and First Place Category Winners – 2018 CIBAs

    CYGNUS BOOK AWARDS for Science Fiction Novels – the Grand Prize Winner and First Place Category Winners – 2018 CIBAs

    Cygnus Award for Science FictionCYGNUS BOOK AWARDS for Science Fiction, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

    We are excited and honored to officially announce the Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category Winners for the 2018 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction Novels at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony and banquet were held on Saturday, April 27th, 2019 at the Hotel Bellwether by beautiful Bellingham Bay, Wash.

    We want to thank all of those who entered and participated in the  2018 Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

    Sean Curley, the author of the previous Cygnus Grand Prize Winner, OVER,  announced the First Place Award Winners and the Grand Prize Winner for the 2018 CYGNUS Book Awards at the Chanticleer International Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony. PublishDrive and Hindenburg Systems awarded additional prizes to the 2018 CYGNUS Book Award winners. Thank you!

    2018 Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction First Place Winners – Best in Category

    • The Fortune Follies by Catori Sarmiento

    • It Takes Death to Reach a Star by Stu Jones & Gareth Worthington

    • Solar Reboot by Matthew D. Hunt

    • Apex Five by Sarah Katz

    • The One Apart: A Novel by Justine Avery

    • The Selah Branch by Ted Neill   

    Honorable Mention:  Ten Directions by Samuel Winburn

    Congratulations to the First Place Category Winners of the 2018 Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction. 

    And now for the

    CYGNUS BOOK AWARDS

    GRAND PRIZE WINNER for Science Fiction

    The Korpes File by J.I Rogers took home the 2018 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction Grand Prize Blue Ribbon.

     

    An email will go out to all First Place Category Winners and Grand Prize Winners with more information, the timing of awarded reviews, links to digital badges, and more before May 31st, 2019 (approximately four weeks after the awards ceremony). Please look for it in your email inbox.

    When we receive the digital photographs from the Official CAC19 professional photographer, Dwayne Rogge of Photo Treehouse, we will post the CYGNUS winners on this page.

    Click here for the link to the 2018 Cygnus Semi-Finalists.

    This post will be updated with photos and more information. Please do visit it again!

    The deadline for submissions into the 2019 Cygnus Book Awards is May 15, 2019 Midnight (PST).

    Our next Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 18th, 2020, for the 2019 CIBA winners. Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

     

     

  • 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards Update for the 2019 Chanticleer Authors Conference & CIBAs

    2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards Update for the 2019 Chanticleer Authors Conference & CIBAs

    The 2019  Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC) and the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) for 2018 wrapped up on Sunday, April 28th at five o’clock in the afternoon. Attendees and presenters began arriving on Wednesday, April 24th to participate in the Master Writing Craft workshops presented by the internationally bestselling author—Master of Suspense J.D. Barker and Top Senior Editor, Jessica Page Morrell.

    This unique and progressive conference was jammed packed with sessions serious authors featured sessions and workshops on the business, marketing, and technologies of publishing and of being an author. CAC19 attendees were also offered advance writing craft sessions and workshops. Hollywood was also represented at #CAC19 with Scott Steindorff, the ‘Hollywood Bookman’ and Major A-list Film Producer – and president of Stone Village Productions shared with us in his sessions and interviews his knowledge about  “What Hollywood Wants,”  “How to Construct Big Ideas,” “How Storytelling is Changing,” and more.

    2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards

    The 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards winners for sixteen divisions were announced on Saturday evening at the CIBA banquet and awards ceremony along with the 2018 Overall CIBA Grand Prize in conjunction with the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference. The ceremony was held at the ballroom of the luxurious Hotel Bellwether on the waterfront of  Bellingham, Wash.

    The CIBA celebration began at six o’clock in the evening with a cocktail party. Hindenburg Systems out of Denmark had a drawing for three excellent prizes that included a 2-year subscription to their state-of-the-art audiobook and podcast software systems,  a one-year subscription, and a really cool Hindenburg computer/commuter bag during the cocktail party.

    A coveted Chanticleer Blue Ribbon—You know you want one! 

    The Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony

    The CIBA Banquet and Ceremony began at seven-thirty in the evening with the banquet catered by the Hotel Bellwether and the Executive Chef Peter Birk. We began the CIBA announcements at eight o’clock with an explanation of the judging rounds and process. There were sixteen presenters who individually recognized all of the CIBA Semi-Finalists who were in attendance before announcing his or her division’s First Place Category winners for each of the sixteen divisions. PublishDrive and Hindenburg Systems presented each CIBA Blue Ribbon Award Winner with a prize certificate. After a short intermission, the awards presenters announced and recognized each divisions’ grand prize winners. Each one of the CIBA Grand Prize Award Winners was presented with a grand prize package from PublishDrive and Hindenburg Systems along with the coveted grand prize ribbons. The 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards ceremony concluded with the announcement of the 2018 Overall Chanticleer Book Awards Grand Prize winner.

    Professional photographer Dwayne Rogge of Bellingham based Photo Treehouse was available during the cocktail hour to take headshots and souvenir photos. He and his assistant also took photographs to record the award winners and division grand prize winners. These photos will be for digital download available by May 20, 2019. The link to the website for the complimentary digital photos will be emailed to all of the conference attendees. Printed photos will also be available for purchase on the website.

    The CIBA winners will be revealed—please standby…

    2018 CIBA Award Winners Announcements

    We will begin creating the website posting that recognizes the First Place Award Winners and the Grand Prize Winners of the sixteen divisions of the 2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards starting today, April 29, 2019. We appreciate your patience with us as it takes time to double-check, create the links,  recognize the winners and create the website posts. The CIBA website postings announcements will be in the order of the sixteen divisions’ submission deadlines starting with the Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction moving on to the last submission date for the Instruction & Insight Book Awards. We appreciate your patience as we move through the list.

    Each of the 2018 CIBA divisions winners will be posted on the homepage of the Chanticleer website under WRITING CONTEST NEWS.

    Please visit the Chanticleer Reviews’ website for more of our exciting updates and CIBA announcements! We will also post to our social media platforms:

    Twitter:  @ChantiReviews

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chantireviews/    @ChanticleerBookReviews & Media

    Instagram: @ChantiReviews

    Hashtags:  #CAC19   #CIBAs

    We thank you for your patience!

    SAVE the DATE:  The next Chanticleer Authors Conference is scheduled for April 17 – 19, 2020 with Master Classes held on Thursday,  April 16, 2020. We will announce the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Award Winners on April 18, 2020. 

  • Spring Cleaning Reminders – Writing Tips by Jessica Morrell, Senior Editor

    Spring Cleaning Reminders – Writing Tips by Jessica Morrell, Senior Editor

    We all, probably, know these writing tips, but if you are like me, I can always use a reminder to rid my writing of “spiderwebs,”  “dust bunnies,” and the “clutter” that can gradually accumulate in my writing.

    It is time to Spring Clean our writing habits with precise, fresh language. Jessica Morrell suggests searching for these culprits that can easily sneak into our writing.

    Add this checklist to your Writer’s Toolbox. 

    1. Said exclamations: Today’s readers are sophisticated and understand when characters are talking and that at times the character’s voices and emotions change. The notion is the ‘he said, she said’ parts of fiction appear invisible. Readers understand that a character might sound shrill by the circumstances and dialogue spoken so you don’t need to proclaim, Mary Ellen shrieked shrilly. Never write Jason emoted, pleaded, bantered, snarked, smirked, blasted, bleated, peeped, groused. Now occasionally in the midst of a horror story, you might want to underline how terrified a character is, but consider dabbing these attributions in only for the most terrifying or surprising moments.
    2. Clichés.  Oh how, I hate thee. Eliminate all your I took a deep breath. Ditto for eyes widened, out of the corner of my eye, jaw dropped, raven locks, and steely blue eyes. Then there is:  Each and every, knife to my heart, piece of cake, fire in the belly, he/she took my breath away. And before you write about your characters staring into each other’s eyes, think about how often it happens in real life and how often it happens in your stories.
    3. Mind matters, especially in the first person. You don’t need to report on how the character is reviewing things in his/her mind because this distances the reader and reminds her there is a narrator instead of the reader living amid the story world. So eliminate ‘mind raced‘ ‘thoughts raced‘ ‘mind’s eye‘ (a truly lame term), and ‘searching her mind.‘
    4. I saw. If you’re writing in close first person you don’t need the I saw or I looked part of the sentence. Example: I saw ahead of me three leprechauns frolicking merrily in the grass. Instead: Ahead three leprechauns frolicked merrily in the grass. Why? The reader wants to pretend that he or she is spotting the leprechauns along with the character. Also describing the leprechauns implies the narrator or character is seeing or observing. No need to state it.
    5. Prepositional phrases. Prepositions are the carbohydrates of language. Of course, we need them for clarity but use with care. Instead of a book of poetry, use poetry book. Instead of a tower of flames, use towering flames.

    So here’s the trick: Don’t always use the first word or phrase that pops into your head because you might be using rusty, old clichés. Or fix these dullards when you edit. Like stock still, fast asleep, choking back tears, stirred up a hornet’s nest, did a double take, under the radar, and never in her wildest dreams.

    Keep writing, keep dreaming, have heart. Jessica Morrell

     

    Jessica Page Morrell
    Jessica Page Morrell

     

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

    Jessica will teach a Master Class and advanced writing craft sessions at CAC19

    There are a few more seats available for her Master Class on Thursday, April 25.

     

    Master Class: Revision & Editing: Secrets of The Dark Arts

    Jessica P. Morrell ©

    Once you’ve finished a draft of your novel it’s time to buckle down. Because writers need to learn how to revise and edit themselves. Period. Revision skills are what separate amateur writers from polished and publishable writers.

    It’s not easy, and yes it can seem daunting. But then, it’s a learned skill like many others, so we’re going to dig in with a four-step program. Why four steps you ask? You cannot work effectively at all levels of a novel or memoir at the same time. You need to work first with the structure and straighten out the big problems, then move down to the next level. It’s pointless to become preoccupied with single paragraphs or sentences if the whole structure is shaky. After all, some of those paragraphs you’re obsessing over might not make it to the final draft. In fiction, you’re assuring that each of the three acts—intro or set up, adding complications, resolving the conflict, all exist in the right proportion and contain the appropriate twists and reversals. In the same way, you need to tackle each chapter, section, subsection, paragraph, and sentences.

    This workshop is designed for fiction writers and memoirists to refine your first draft in thoughtful, organized steps.

    Workshops and Sessions Jessica will teach at the 2019 Chanticleer Authors Conference: 

    During the Conference:

    Immersive Fiction in 3 Sessions:

    Writing Fiction so Readers Land Amid Your Story and Don’t Want to Leave. Ever.

    We live in a clattering, distracting world that pulls at readers’ attention and senses. To compete your fiction needs be immersive, as in an alternate reality that your reader can enter into. Thus your readers are experiencing it, not simply reading it. An immersive story is an intimate, sensory story. It takes place in a world that a reader can see, smell, feel, and hear and it’s based on characters readers come to know and care deeply about. With the opening pages, readers are swept into a world that is so resoundingly real and intricately constructed that they leave their ordinary lives to venture forth and live daily along with the characters.

    Immersive Fiction Part 1:  Atmospherics

    Readers want to feel as if they’re part of a story world interacting with viewpoint characters. Fictional worlds that are immersive are nuanced, intricate, and alive with significant details. We’ll sort through what makes details significant and necessary. Plan to delve into atmosphere and tone, often under-appreciated techniques in a writer’s toolbox, yet they can be so effective to heighten suspense, create reality, and underline emotions and key moments. We’ll highlight how to use weather, lighting, interiors, unsafe places, and what I call “surround sound.” Finally, we’ll also discuss the key elements needed of world build in realistic genre fiction such as historical, sci-fi, and fantasy, and to make your stories memorable and immersive.

    Immersive Fiction Part 2: Your Sometimes Heart-breaking, Sometimes Messed-up, Sometimes Heroic Fictional Cast

    For many writers, the most fun of creating a story is fleshing out characters who battle, grow, and plop into heaps of trouble. Because readers need relatable, yet irksome, yet potent story people to follow and fret over. Their flaws and mistakes drive us crazy, their choices and moral dilemmas worry us sick, their triumphs feel as sweet as our own.
    Characters first need to be intriguing and readers need to meet them at a pivotal, irreversible moment. From there they’ll tread where we dare not, fall in love with losers and sometimes winners, and take on monsters when we’d be cowering. But still characters, including secondary characters, need a vivid essence and need to be bigger than life. And by story’s end they need to grow, also called an arc. This workshop will delve into the more intricate aspects of character building and creating arcs, the art of creating characters who will live in the reader’s heart and memory.

    Immersive Fiction Part 3: Stakes and Motivations

    One major reason that people ‘buy into’ storytelling of all types is that there are serious stakes involved. Readers need to feel as if they also have a stake in the story. Stakes create tension, but most of all dread in a story because a character’s happiness, perhaps even his life, depends on them. The stakes might mean saving a vulnerable child snatched by a creepy predator, or saving the galaxy, or defeating Voldemort and his Deatheater.

    Motivations are the reason characters attempt any action in a story. You’ll learn that motivations are deeply felt, drive a story, and will require a character’s chief personality traits to fulfill. We’ll discuss how motivations reveal backstory and a character’s inner world, create goals, and will exact a cost as the story progresses. We’ll discuss a variety of stakes, motivations, and goals so that you’ll learn clear examples of how all are entwined with plot and character.

    If you would like to learn more about the sessions and Master Writing Craft Workshops please click on this link that goes to https://www.chantireviews.com/chanticleer-conference/

  • Sean Curley – Computer Scientist, Technical Executive, Humanist, and Author

    Sean Curley – Computer Scientist, Technical Executive, Humanist, and Author

    Sean Curley with his Chaucer Grand Prize novel. Propositum, at the Historical Novel Society Book Fair.

    Sean Curley is a computer scientist, technical executive, humanist, and author. We at Chanticleer know him as a true renaissance man.

    His accomplishments include building out seven software companies, founding and spearheading numerous non-profit, humanist organizations, running Oracle’s documentation and engineering teams (Sean is Vice President of Oracle’s* Product Development division) consisting of over 10,000 books, implementing deep-learning to automatically translate books into ten languages, working overseas multiple times, and publishing two award-winning novels—Propositum, historical fiction and OVER, Science Fiction. You can read Chanticleer’s reviews by clicking on the titles. 

    Sean will present a session on BLOCKCHAIN and PUBLISHING at the 2019 Chanticleer Authors Conference. Blockchain and publishing were right up there with audiobooks for buzz-worthiness at the Digital Book World, London Book Fair, and ALA (American Library Association) publishing conferences. It is looming on the radar and is touted to be the next big thing in the INDIE publishing industry. We are fortunate to have Sean Curley decipher the techno talk for us. I know of no one else who would be qualified to speak to authors about Blockchain and the publishing industry than author and computer scientist, Sean Curley.

    The New Paradigm of Blockchain Publishing

    What is Blockchain and how could it impact the publishing industry? You’ve heard about bitcoins or cryptocurrency, which are one of the many uses of Blockchain technology, but did you know that the same concepts that have made bitcoins so popular can be applied to books? How might that work?

    There are advantages to a blockchain-enabled publishing paradigm, but the industry may be slow to adopt this cutting-edge technology. This talk will cover the basics of blockchain technology, how it could be used for publishing, and more importantly tracking, books, and some of the caveats.

    Admittedly, these concepts are fairly new and somewhat technical. Nevertheless, these ideas are something every writer, especially self-published, should understand.

    *About Oracle 

    With more than 380,000 customers—including 100 of the Fortune 100—and with deployments across a wide variety of industries in more than 145 countries around the globe, Oracle offers an optimized and fully integrated stack of business hardware and software systems. Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center–from servers and storage to database and middleware, through applications. Learn more about Oracle http://oracle.com/us/corporate.

     You can find Sean through Amazon, Linked-In, or Facebook, or at writer’s conferences where he is a frequent speaker.

    PROPOSITUM by Sean P. Curley CHAUCER Grand Prize Winner for Historical Fiction
    OVER by Sean P. Curley CYGNUS Grand Prize WInner for Science Fiction

     

     

  • Carol M. Cram – Award-winning Author of Historical Fiction, Communications Expert, & Academic

    Carol M. Cram – Award-winning Author of Historical Fiction, Communications Expert, & Academic

    Carol M. Cram is the author of three novels of historical literary fiction. Her first novel, The Towers of Tuscany (Lake Union Publishing, 2014) and her second novel, A Woman of Note (Lake Union Publishing, 2015), were both designated Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society in the UK, and both won First in Category for the Chaucer and Goethe awards (Chanticleer Book Awards), with The Towers of Tuscany also winning the Grand Prize Chaucer Award for best historical novel pre-1750. Her third novel, The Muse of Fire, published in January 2018 by Kindle Press (e-book) and New Arcadia Publishing (print), won the Bronze for Best Historical Fiction from the Independent Publishers’ Book Awards and is currently short-listed for the Goethe award.

    Carol has also written over fifty best-selling college textbooks in computer applications and communications for major US publisher Cengage Learning and was on faculty at Capilano University in North Vancouver for over two decades. In addition, she was Vice President of Clear Communications Consultants and facilitated communications workshops for corporate and government clients.

    Carol holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Reading in England, an MA in Drama from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Carol and her husband, painter Gregg Simpson, live on beautiful Bowen Island near Vancouver, BC.

    SESSIONS & PANELS 

    • Tapping into the Experts for Researching Your Work in Progress
      • Whether or not you write Thrillers, Science Fiction, Mysteries, Contemporary Social Themes, YA,  Historical, or any genre, Carol’s guidelines and Tips for connecting with sources and tapping experts will come in handy.
    • NaNoWriMo Panel – Or Why I Broke Up with NaNoWriMo OR Why Am I Obsessed with NaNoWriMo
      • There is no doubt that this will be a lively panel discussion!
    • Historical Authors Panel
    • Carol M. Cram will announce the new CHAUCER Book Awards winners on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the Chanticleer International Book Awards ceremony.

    And she adores cookbooks and traveling! Check out Carol’s blog –it is like going on a mini-vacay!

  • Creative Tools for Gaining Media Attention by Allison Vborva, Publicist

    Creative Tools for Gaining Media Attention by Allison Vborva, Publicist

    Pitching Your Book Release to the Press: Creative Tools for Gaining Media Attention

    “Is it even worth my time to send out a press release for my book launch?”

    This question came up during a kaffeeklatsch at last year’s Chanticleer Authors Conference and judging by the lively discussion at the table, it was a dilemma on the minds of many participants that weekend. In today’s flooded media landscape, is it still possible for small press and indie authors to get press for their book releases? And if so, how?

    My answer that day? Yes, but…

    As an indie or small press author, you can still gain earned media attention (print and digital) for your book launch. But if you think you’re going to get there with a run-of-the-mill press release, think again.

    In preparation for this year’s conference, I want to expand on the answer I gave that day, along with a few new pieces of advice to help authors gain earned media attention with a little luck and a whole lot of creativity.

    There are four to seven thousand new titles released daily. Your book release is not the headline.

    Your Book Release Is Not the Headline

    When I sit down to work with an author on a press release or an earned media package, here is the first thing I tell them: your book release is not the headline. To get the attention of the press, we need to hand them news that goes beyond “Author Releases New Book.”

    Think about it: editors and bloggers get sent dozens of press releases every day. Unless you’ve just written the sequel to a New York Times bestseller, you need to give them a reason to care about you and your book above all the others. In other words, you need to present them with an angle that will help them place your book release as part of a larger story. What makes you stand out and why will their readers care?

    Brainstorming Your Media Angle

    It can be difficult to step back from your book and look at the bigger picture. But that’s what you have to do if you want to create a human interest story around your book release.

    Here are a few questions to get you brainstorming:

    • What compelled you to write this book?
    • How is it different from other books in your genre?
    • Was your process for writing or researching the book unusual? If so, how?
    • Is the subject of your story particularly relevant to current events?
    • Is the subject or setting of your book particularly relevant to a niche group of people?
    • Is there anything about your personal story that would interest readers? For example are there obstacles you’ve overcome, or an unusual current or former profession?

    Targeting Your Message to Your Audience or Come Up  “Crickets”

    Once you’ve brainstormed all of the things that make your book release unique, it’s time to dial down and refine your message.

     Remember though: when it comes to media pitches, one size doesn’t fit all. The surest way to guarantee zero response for your news is to send a blanket email to the media that contains a formulaic press release. I can promise, you’ll hear crickets in return. 

     

    Your media pitch should change depending on the outlet and the intended audience. For example, a regional print magazine featuring notable women might be interested in how your memoir ties to current events or why your novel is set in a particular location. A book blogger, on the other hand, will probably care more about the background story of how you became an author or the quirky methods you use when you research historical fiction.

     I usually recommend writing two or three different press releases — one for industry-specific press like book blogs; one for local and one for regional presses; and if it applies, one for a niche audience. The more targeted you get — both in your press release and in the personalized emails you send to the media — the better your chances of getting your news featured.

      Don’t come up “crickets”  in your press releases and book launch strategy.

    More Tips On Getting Media Attention – Session at Chanticleer Authors Conference

    If you plan to attend the 2019 Chanticleer Authors Conference, I will have even more tips and plenty of time for questions during my session, “Getting Media Attention as a Small Press or Indie Author.” You’ll walk away with concrete tools for writing press releases, pitching to the media, and preparing for press interviews.

    Allison Vrbova, Two Willows PR & Marketing

     

    Publicity and marketing consultant Allison Vrbova has helped countless small press authors, independent artists, and entrepreneurs beat the odds to gain media attention in regional and national publications. You can learn more about her consulting work at www.twowillowseditorial.com

     

  • Ronald E. Yates, Award-winning Author, Professor, & Foreign Correspondent — Panel Moderator and Interviewer at CAC19

    Ronald E. Yates, Award-winning Author, Professor, & Foreign Correspondent — Panel Moderator and Interviewer at CAC19

    Ronald E. Yates is an award-winning author of historical fiction and action/adventure novels, including the popular and highly-acclaimed Finding Billy Battles trilogy. His extraordinarily accurate books have captivated fans from around the world who applaud his ability to blend fact and fiction.

    Ron is a former foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and Professor Emeritus of Journalism at the University of Illinois where he was also the Dean of the College of Media.

    His award-winning book, “The Improbable Journeys of Billy Battles,” is the second in his Finding Billy Battles trilogy of novels and was published in June 2016. The first book in the trilogy, “Finding Billy Battles,” was published in 2014. Book #3 in the trilogy (The Lost Years of Billy Battles) was published by Mill City Press in June 2018. All three books have placed in the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

    He is also the author of The Kikkoman Chronicles: A Global Company with A Japanese Soul, published by McGraw-Hill. Other books include Aboard the Tokyo Express: A Foreign Correspondent’s Journey through Japan, a collection of columns translated into Japanese, as well as three journalism textbooks: The Journalist’s Handbook, International Reporting and Foreign Correspondents, and Business and Financial Reporting in a Global Economy.

    Ron lived and worked in Japan, Southeast Asia, and both Central and South America where he covered several history-making events including the fall of South Vietnam and Cambodia; the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing; and wars and revolutions in Afghanistan, the Philippines, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala, among other places.

    His work as a war correspondent resulted in several awards, including the Inter-American Press Association’s Tom Wallace Award for coverage of Central and South America; the Peter Lisagor Award from the Society of Professional Journalists; three Edward Scott Beck Awards for International Reporting, and three Pulitzer nominations. Ron is a proud graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas and a veteran of the U.S. Army where he served in the Army Security Agency.

    Ron Yates will moderate panels and conduct interviews at the 2019 Chanticleer Authors Conference. 

  • TAPPING the EXPERTS – Researching for Your Works in Progress by Carol M. Cram

    TAPPING the EXPERTS – Researching for Your Works in Progress by Carol M. Cram

    Guidelines for Connecting with Sources and Experts While Researching Novels

    Editor’s Note: Whether or not you write Thrillers, Science Fiction, Mysteries, Contemporary Social Themes, YA,  Historical, or any genre, these guidelines for connecting with sources and tapping experts will come in handy.

    One of the questions I get asked frequently when people discover I like to write historical novels is “How do you do your research?” I don’t have a pat answer (I wish I did!). The reality is that I “do my research” as I’m writing a novel and that, for me, it’s my least favorite part of the process. There, I said it!

    I know many historical novelists who adore research, who like it even more than writing, but I’m not one of them. I like research. I enjoy prowling through dusty libraries and doing endless Internet searches and reading stacks of books, but most of the time I’d rather be writing my story.

    That said, I have picked up some techniques over the past few years that I’ll share in this blog to help you find your feet when you’re researching and writing a novel set in the past. Getting the facts right is very important. You discover that the first time a reader finds a mistake (and tells you about it).

    In my novel set in early 19th Century London, I had a character refer to the third season of the year as “Fall.” A British reader set me straight, in no uncertain terms. Thank goodness she was a Beta reader and I was able to catch the error before the novel was published!

    Books are great, the Internet can’t be beaten for looking up and verifying facts quickly, and libraries are awesome. But even better are the academics who write all those books and articles. In other words, the experts. Many experts are happy and eager to share what they know with you. And many go well beyond just answering questions.

    Following are some tips and advice for reaching out and working with subject matter experts.

    Do your homework before contacting a subject matter expert. You don’t want to waste an expert’s time asking questions that you could easily answer yourself with a bit of reading. Consult books and articles to become as conversant as you can with the subject and then prepare a list of specific questions to focus the discussion. Experts who see that you’ve made an effort to understand their field are usually very generous with their time and interested to hear about your Work in Progress.

    Keep the number of questions reasonable. A half-hour interview is about right, although if your expert wants to go on longer, sit back and enjoy! You never know what great information you’ll get—often on a subject you weren’t looking for but that will fit beautifully into some part of your story. Experts are often fascinated by the creative process and may suggest plot ideas based on their more in-depth understanding of the period. When an expert says something like “What if you have your character do such and such…”, listen up!

    Experts care a great deal about their fields of expertise and as a result, most welcome the opportunity to work with a novelist to bring their knowledge to a wider audience. An academic I consulted for The Muse of Fire told me how thrilled he was that someone apart from his students was interested in early 19th Century British theater.

    Make sure you end an interview with a request for additional book and research recommendations. Most experts are happy to provide you with more references than you’ll probably have time to read.

    Find experts by looking up faculty lists at universities, consulting bibliographies, conducting searches for specialist groups, and asking for recommendations. You can click the Ask a Librarian link on any Library website to get all sorts of academic questions answered. Before contacting experts—generally by email—familiarize yourself with their credentials and read at least some of their articles and books. When you take the time to read their writing, you’re more likely to ask intelligent questions.

    Photo Credit: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons
    Soldiers in front of the wood of Hougoumont during the reenactment of the battle of Waterloo (1815)

    Another place to find experts, particularly in specific historical eras, is to seek out re-enactment groups and themed events such as Renaissance Fairs. Here you’ll find experts who have really steeped themselves in your period and are eager to share what they know.

    Approach experts with a polite email that includes a short description of your Work in Progress and a few sample chapters. In my experience, experts are most eager to help when I give them an opportunity to first read my work. Many want to be sure they are associating their names with writing that they personally like.

    For all three of my novels, I’ve been fortunate to have experts give me advice during the writing process and then to read drafts of my novel to catch stray errors. Several of them became almost as invested in the accuracy of my novel as I was and are now fans!

    In your introductory email to an expert, make sure you include your own web address in your signature line and a short summary of your own background and credentials. I know that several of the experts I’ve reached out to told me they checked out my website before replying to my request. They understandably wanted to verify my background and learn about my books before connecting with me.

    Thank experts in your acknowledgments. I always include historical notes at the end of my novels to cite books I consulted while writing. I also personally thank experts with whom I’ve connected personally. Everyone appreciates being thanked.

    Send complimentary copies of your novels to experts who have provided you with significant help. I think it’s money well spent to let the people who have helped me know how much I appreciate them.

    We are incredibly fortunate as novelists to be able to easily connect worldwide with experts in a dizzying array of subjects. I’ve visited with the curator of the Narrenturm—an anatomical museum housed in Europe’s first insane asylum in Vienna; taken tea in London with an expert on 19th Century women composers; become good friends with a professor of medieval art history, and connected with several wonderful specialists in early 19th Century British theater. Each of them did much more than just answer my questions. They actively contributed ideas about plot and character motivation appropriate to the era I was writing in and inspired me to explore all sorts of new ideas.

    You never know what might come from your interactions with experts once you get the nerve to approach them – respectfully and after having done your homework.

    And then all you need to do is weave what you’ve learned into a compelling novel that people will not want to put down. Easy, right?

     

    Carol M. Cram, CIBA Award-Winning Author (both Goethe and Chaucer Historical Book Awards) for these outstanding novels:

    Carol M. Cram will announce the new CHAUCER Book Awards winners on Saturday, April 27, 2019, at the Chanticleer International Book Awards ceremony. She is also presenting at the sixth annual Chanticleer Authors Conference. Her award-winning historical fiction books will be available in the CAC19 Books By the Bay Book Fair hosted by Village Books on April 27 & 28, 2019.

     

  • Cami Ostman – psychotherapist, editor, writing coach

    Cami Ostman – psychotherapist, editor, writing coach

    Cami Ostman holds a B.Ed. in English from Western Washington University and an M. S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific University. She is the author of Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, co-editor of Beyond Belief: The Secret Lives of Women in Extreme Religions, a contributor to Adventures Northwest and to her own blog, 7marathons7continents.com. Cami is also the founder of Red Wheelbarrow Writers, a community of writers in Western Washington and a blogger for psychologtoday.com. She has been profiled in Fitness Magazine and her books have been reviewed in O Magazine, The Atlantic, and Washington Post. Having spent fifteen years as a psychotherapist, and now serving as a writing coach and editor, Cami specializes in helping authors “figure out what they really have to say.” She is currently working on a novel and on her second quest memoir.

    Cami has long been interested in how the words we use to describe ourselves actually serve to CREATE our identities. Her experience in writing supports this, as does her work as a psychotherapist for the past fifteen years. When she wrote about turning herself into a runner on a quest to do a marathon on every continent, she became a runner on a quest to do a marathon on every continent.

    Cami will present the following sessions on Sunday, April 28th

    Making Money with Back End Programs: How to take the content of your non-fiction book and create programming people will pay you for.

    Master Mind Your Book: Using the Story Spine as a tool to move you forward when your writing gets stuck.
  • 10 Question Interview with Multi-Award-Winning Author, MICHELLE RENE – Book Discovery, AuthorLife, Book Marketing

    10 Question Interview with Multi-Award-Winning Author, MICHELLE RENE – Book Discovery, AuthorLife, Book Marketing

    * On the weekend of her new release, The Dodo Knight, we invite you to get to know one of our favorite authors, the incomparable, Michelle Rene!

    Recently I had the opportunity to interview the creative advocate and the 2017 CIBA Overall Grand-Prize Winning Author, Michelle Rene, in our 10 Question Interview Series. It is no wonder her novels, short stories, and articles are consistently gaining recognition and winning awards. She is not only over-the-top talented, she is also generous with her time.

    Michelle Rene won the CIBA Overall Grand Prize in 2017 for her novel, Hour Glass, a unique and entertaining twist on the Calamity Jane legend, complete with engaging characters and extraordinary storytelling! A novel we highly recommend.

    Chanticleer: Tell us a little about yourself: How did you start writing?

    Michelle Rene: I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I actually spent a whole summer vacation hand-writing a two-hundred-page novel when I was thirteen. However, I was also very invested in art. I had my first artist job in video games at age sixteen, so when it was time to choose my career/college path, I chose to go to art school.

    While art was paying the bills, I continued to write, honing my craft and learning all I could about

    this ever-changing literary world. It was in 2014 that my first novel was published. I Once Knew Vincent went on to receive several indie awards, including Chanticleer’s First in Category for the Chaucer Award.

    Since then, I’ve had numerous novels, novellas, short stories, and essays published. Several went on to win significant indie awards. I’m extremely proud to say my novel, Hour Glass, won Chanticleer Review’s Best Overall Book Award for 2017.

    Chanticleer: We are very proud of your Overall WIN, as well! Congratulations! Let’s talk about genre. What genre best describes your work? And, what led you to write in this genre?

    Michelle Rene: I have a love/hate relationship with genre. The necessities of it are obvious. In the world of marketing, we have to know how to market a story and who to market it to. As far as my reading habits, I just look for a good story. I don’t really care what kind of story. In writing, I like that same freedom.

    That being said, I would say I write historical fiction and speculative fiction. Every once in a while, they overlap. I call myself a creative advocate, and most of my life has been in the pursuit of creativity. Writing speculative fiction quenches that thirst.

    As for historical fiction, I’m a huge museum buff, and history fascinates me. I count it a duty to try to make time periods and historical figures come to life as something more than names and dates on a page.

    Chanticleer: That’s what we love about you – and that’s why Hour Glass won! Do you find yourself following the rules or do you like to make up your own rules?

    Michelle Rene:  I’m not a fan of writing rules. The idea is rather rigid for something as creative as writing. I think there are good practices and guidelines to be aware of, but I always cringe when I hear someone say, “you can’t…” when criticizing someone’s stylistic choice. For every hard-and-fast writing rule, there is someone who broke it beautifully.

    My advice for emerging authors who ask for my “rules” is rather unimpressive. Don’t give up. That’s my only rule for writing. Keep going. Write more. Figure out your voice through trial and error.

    Chanticleer: Really, that’s the best advice anyone could give. Don’t Give Up. We should make t-shirts… What do you do when you’re not writing? Tells us a little about your hobbies.

    Michelle Rene: I’m a trained artist, so I like to paint, sculpt, draw, etc. I’m a firm believer in the idea that all creative ventures work toward telling a story in some way. I adore museums, reading, audiobooks, and learning new things. I’m also a belly dancer and occasionally perform at festivals and Renaissance fairs.

    Chanticleer: I’ve seen your costumes! You’re serious about everything you do. That’s very impressive. Where do your story ideas come from?

    Michelle Rene: I have no idea. Get it?

    Seriously, I tell everyone that my muse is extremely abusive. I once read that an author pictured her muse as this quiet girl who whispered beautiful, creative things to her through the bars of a vent.

    Mine is a sledgehammer-wielding jerk who shows up when I’m trying to sleep and regularly bashes in my head until I write the story. Sometimes, I see something interesting at a museum or a get inspired by a painting, but the story I want to tell hits hard and is a nuisance until I write it.

    Chanticleer: Good for you to pay attention to that muse. I mean, how could you help but pay attention! Name five of your favorite authors and describe how they influence your work.

    Michelle Rene: I have an extremely eclectic taste in reading, so this will look like a random list. Harper Lee because To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the first books I read over and over again. She showed me how to inject poetry in your prose in a simple way. David Sedaris because I’ve never laughed so hard in my life, and he taught me about humor in the absurd. Mary Roach because I never knew I liked reading or writing nonfiction until I read Stiff. Neil Gaiman because he has the same skeptical beliefs I do about genres and writes that way. Finally, Charlaine Harris because she’s one of the only authors who can write about vampires, shifters, and fairies, and I’ll eagerly read every book in her series.

    Chanticleer: Great list of authors. I, too, love Mary Roach for Stiff, but I suppose that’s no surprise to those who know me… Give us your best marketing tips, what’s worked to sell more books, gain notoriety, and expand your literary footprint.

    Michelle Rene: There are two things I’d list here. One is a slow burn marketing technique, and the other is a quick one. The quick boost is to run a sale (either discounted or free) and blast it through every social media and subscription channel you can for the day the sale begins. I’m not a believer in keeping your book discounted for more than a few days though.

    The slow burn technique takes a lot more effort but has the longest tail of benefit. Go to conferences, enter contests, and teach classes where you can. If you do those things, you will connect with amazing people who can help you along the way in ways you can’t imagine yet.

     

    Some of Michelle Rene’s other books for you to explore!

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Alice Liddell was the muse for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. But before the book was published, a rift opened between Carroll and the Liddell family. Also dubbed the “Liddell Riddle,” historians still speculate as to what happened to separate the famous author and his muse. Michelle Rene has imagined a beautiful and heart-breaking story of a special friendship and its unfortunate end. Told from the viewpoint of Alice herself, The Dodo Knight will transport you to Victorian England… and into the heart of a very special little girl. Pick up your copy of The Dodo Knight today!

     

     

     

     

    Chanticleer: Good tips. Thank you for those. What are you working on now? What can we look forward to seeing next from you?

    Michelle Rene: I’m working on two projects. One is a sci-fi mystery series about a psychoanalyst who can go into peoples’ minds. Currently, I have the first book done and am working on number two in the series.

    The other project is a historical fiction novel based Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. She was a Civil War surgeon when women weren’t allowed to do that, and she was the only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

    Chanticleer: Oh, both sound delicious! I cannot wait to read them. Speaking of readers, what is the most important thing a reader can do for an author?

    Michelle Rene: Rate our books, review our books, tell your friends, and share our posts. In today’s literary world, there is a sea of books coming out every day. Word of mouth is our best long-term sales generator. If you tell people you liked my book, they are more likely to believe you than any advertisement I put out there.

    Chanticleer: This is so true. Thank you for saying that. What excites you most about writing?

    Michelle Rene: It is a powerful and equalizing force in the world. As long as you can string sentences together, you have a voice. Your story can be told. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are. Your wallet and waistline have no bearing. You don’t even have to be formally educated. Everyone’s story is possible, and stories change the world.

    Chanticleer: Thank you, Michelle, for participating in our 10-Question Author series. You are delightful! 

    Don’t you want to follow and like everything Michelle does? I do! Please check out her links – and share this interview with your friends!

    https://twitter.com/MRene_Author

    https://www.michellereneauthor.com/

    https://www.facebook.com/mrene.author/

    https://www.instagram.com/mrene_author/

    mewing_arts@yahoo.com

    Michelle’s Bio:

    Michelle Rene is a creative advocate and the author of a number of published works of science fiction, historical fiction, humor and everything in between. She is the author of novels, short stories, essays, and video games.

    She has won indie awards for her historical fiction work. Her novel, Hour Glass released to rave reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. It won Chanticleer Review’s “Best Book of the Year” award in 2018. Her experimental novella, Tattoo, released with a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly and was listed in Foreword Reviews top eight sci-fi/fantasy books this spring.

    When not writing, she is a professional artist and all-around odd person. She lives as the only female, writing in her little closet, with her husband, son, and ungrateful cat in Dallas, Texas.