Writing coach, editor, and award-winning author John DeDakis brings his storytelling and editing know-how to CAC2025!
While telling a story is a feat that belongs to the creative mind, an editor relies on both his creative mind and his logical mind to shape a story. Finding strong and vulnerable points in a story isn’t always an easy job, especially when a deadline looms over your head, but when your career has taken you into a busy newsroom like Sr. Editor John DeDakis, you’ll find your story elevated to its highest level in no time at all!
The Path to Network Newsrooms
John DeDakis knows a lot about shaping a story into its finest form. He began his writing career in 1969 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, covering the 1970 anti-Vietnam war riot as a journalist for his campus radio station. He went on to receive his Bachelors of Arts in Journalism, then joined the U.S. Army as a Special Events Reporter at The American Forces Network in Europe where, from 1972-74, he had the opportunity to interview many notable people, including legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock.
DeDakis’s career in news reporting continued after his service when he became a reporter for a local NBC affiliate station in Madison, Wisconsin. That move led to the position of General Assignment Correspondent with CBN News in Virginia, and, eventually to his role as CBN’s White House Correspondent during the last three years of Ronald Reagan’s presidency from 1983 to 1988. Through that position he interviewed two Presidents, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
Into the Editing Room and Onto the Bookshelves
In 1988, DeDakis took his skills to CNN for a 25-year stint as first a writer, then as the writing supervisor of CNN’s “Daybreak.” He also provided copy edits for the network’s major anchors and became the Senior Copy Editor for the Emmy and Peabody-Award winning news program “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”
DeDakis hasn’t slowed down since leaving the business of broadcast news. Instead, he transitioned into a career as a novelist and turned his attention full time to creating high-intensity thrillers with his indomitable character Lark Chadwick. Introduced in his debut novel, Fast Track, she is the title character in the Lark Chadwick Mystery series that includes six books and counting.
A Beacon of the Writing Community
With a desire to share his knowledge and experience with other writers, DeDakis has become an invaluable asset to the greater writing community. His writing coach and editing services, his journalism and creative writing workshops, and his podcast offer advice for authors and journalists as they strive to elevate their own writing with the skills DeDakis learned over the course of his career.
DeDakis has racked up a long list of achievements since becoming a published author. He served as the Writer in Residence at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta, taught university level writing courses, and was a guest lecturer at American University in Washington, D.C., joining an illustrious list of guest speakers that includes legendary White House Correspondent Helen Thomas and Bob Schieffer of CBS News.
Whether he is editing a news story or he’s making news with his growing list of thrillers, John DeDakis is dedicated to bringing clear and concise writing to his fans. Through his training at the news desk, he’s honed his editing skills to a fine point and gained an intuitive sense of how to tell a story that’s as compelling as any news flash you’ll find on the nightly news.
Chanticleer is excited that the accomplished novelist, journalist and editor, John DeDakis, will be joining us this year at CAC2025!
Chanticleer is thrilled to host John DeDakis at theChanticleer Authors Conference (CAC2025)and the International Book Awards (CIBA) on April 3-6, 2025, to share her knowledge with Chanticleer authors.
Don’t miss out on this chance to learn from author, coach, editor, and podcaster John DeDakis!
An Environmental Thriller inspired by the 9.2 Good Friday earthquake of 1964 in South Central Alaska, M.E. Schuman’s Where the Sleeping Lady Lies is a story of political espionage and environmental danger.
The legend of the Sleeping Lady is a tale of a giant woman who falls asleep waiting for her lover to return from battle. When tragic news arrives that her lover was killed, the other women cannot bear to wake her, and to this day the Sleeping Lady still lies as part of the landscape.
In the present day, Sam is on her way back to Alaska, a few weeks after a catastrophic earthquake has hit.
She received a call from her friend Jackson, whose twin Jacob, is missing and presumed dead. Though Jackson is careful about what details he shares over the phone, there’s something not adding up about the earthquake and a mining operation his friend Camden was involved in.
Sam soon learns that her best friend Shelby has also been missing since the earthquake. Urged to come home, Sam investigates a company called ARKose, who was conducting a highly secretive mining project in the area. As she and her comrades uncover more information about the company’s shady motivations, it becomes a race against time to stop future catastrophes that would cost countless lives.
The chapters shift from focusing on different points-of-view, so readers get a wider scope of the actions and motivations of the characters.
Author M.E. Schuman has traveled the world and has a master’s in environmental science and policy, which gives Where the Sleeping Lady Lies a strong understanding of the issues it tackles.
There is quite a bit of science jargon in the dialogue, but Schuman does a good job at working explanations into the story. Sometimes this exposition can be a bit heavy, but this can be necessary in most cases when writing about complex scientific concepts.
Where the Sleeping Lady Lies brings an interesting and refreshing scenario to the Eco-thriller genre, with plausible modern-day science rather than near-future or outlandish environmental circumstances.
M.E. Schuman’s Where the Sleeping Lady Lies is a subtle yet exciting environmental thriller that skillfully explains scientific concepts and findings in a way that makes it accessible to readers without losing the details that are important to the plot. This makes Where the Sleeping Lady Lies an especially satisfying read for people interested in science.
Like the Colossus of Rhodes, Tim Facciola has his feet solidly set in two different lands.
In one, he is the creator of heroes. In the other, he is the 2024 CIBA Overall Grand Prize winner for his novel, Scales of Balance, the first in the Vengeful Realm trilogy.
Facciola doesn’t come unarmed to this dual role. In his fantasy series, his hero, Zephyrus, exhibits the same determination Facciola has shown on his journey to becoming an award-winning author, putting skills that are both innate and earned into his epic tale based on Roman gladiators.
Creating Real and Fictional Worlds
Writing wasn’t always Facciola’s calling, but his story has always been waiting to be told, in both his ability to write and in his interest in ancient worlds. His varied background includes being a lyricist in a punk rock band, and an expert in the art of hand-to-hand combat and ancient weaponry. In The Scales of Balance, Book One of the Vengeful Realm trilogy, Facciola brings all the grit and raw emotion of punk to a fight where his hero relies on the author’s real-world experience with weapons to win his freedom.
Creating worlds seems like something of magic, but an immense amount of work goes into such a complex world. Facciola, an admitted “heavy, heavy plotter,” spent years developing his story and understanding his characters. He starts with the places, things, and social systems that make up his imaginary world. Next, he makes decisions about the magical rules and historic context. After that, he moves onto conjuring up the cast of characters, always very conscious that to give them life, the reader must experience a fulfilling arc. As he approaches the end of his plotting exercise, Facciola chooses archetypes of the story. This involves considering the motivations and psychological characteristics for each character, and how they will interact with their fellow creatures within the story. Finally, he ponders the thematic thread he wishes to weave through his story and the intense emotional load that an epic based on Roman history should receive.
This rich storytelling is on full display, not only in the entire Vengeful Realm series, but in the dark prequel, Ghosts of Rheynia, a Shelly Finalist!
The Award-Winner Emerges
But Facciola’s business talent has also created a world of his own in the publishing arena. Last year at the 2023 CIBA awards, Facciola’s Scales of Balance won the Grand Prize award in the Ozma Division and received the prize for Overall Grand Prize for “Best Book of the Year.” When he took the stage that night, he told of his journey to becoming a published author. As many of our authors know, that story is one of highs and lows, victories and setbacks. Ultimately, it’s a tale of a literary endurance; a warrior reaching a goal that had at one time seemed distant.
A Champion Returns
This year at CAC25, Facciola returns in another role—one of mentor. The wise person who has traveled the same road before others and now shares his knowledge with those coming behind him. He has become a writing coach, helping other writers hone their stories to get them ready for publishing. He also continues to feed his passion for training with maces, clubs, staves, and swords, and when he isn’t writing he’s out in the wild where he hikes, paddleboards, and spends time daydreaming of other worlds.
Chanticleer is very excited to have Timothy Facciola join us again at the Chanticleer Authors Conference!
Chanticleer is thrilled to bring Tim Facciola back to the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC2025)and the International Book Awards (CIBA) on April 3-6, 2025, to share her knowledge with Chanticleer authors.
Don’t miss out on this chance to learn from
award-winning author Tim Facciola!
These wonderful authors put themselves out there, and we are honored to have been able to promote them throughout the 2024 CIBA year and beyond! Good luck in these final rounds of judging!
The world of publishing continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Technology has become central to every aspect of the industry, from writing and editing to marketing and distribution. At Chanticleer, we take pride in offering a conference that embraces the latest in publishing technologies. Our event provides a comprehensive look at the best tools and strategies authors can use to build their brands, market their work, and increase sales. We’ll explore everything from AI and metadata management to cutting-edge marketing techniques, ensuring you are well-equipped to thrive in today’s digital landscape.
In addition to offering invaluable business and marketing insights, we are also featuring select advanced writing craft classes to help authors take their writing to the next level. Whether you’re looking to improve your storytelling techniques, explore new narrative structures, or refine your manuscript, CAC25 has something for everyone.
Headliners
J. D. BARKER- Int’l Bestselling Thriller Author
J.D. Barker is the New York Times and international best-selling author of numerous novels, including DRACUL and the wildly popular 4MK series. He is currently collaborating with James Patterson. His books have been translated into two dozen languages, sold in more than 150 countries, and optioned for both film and television. Barker resides in coastal New Hampshire with his wife, Dayna, and their daughter, Ember.
CHRISTINE FAIRCHILD – Author, Book Doctor, and Dialogue Expert
Christine Fairchild offers 35+ years experience as a writer, editor, and book doctor. She’s conducted celebrity interviews (XFiles, SciFiMall.com), edited for technical giants (Microsoft, Hitachi), and served as a marketing/readability specialist for consumer products (DHL, Cingular, AT&T). She now specializes in Suspense fiction and helps authors take their work, and their career, to the next level through her online workshops, classes at conferences and one-on-one book-doctoring of clients’ novels. She also writes suspense and historical fiction, so she understands the challenges authors face in their craft and the publishing industry.
KIM HORNSBY – USA Today Bestselling Author, Producer, and Screenwriter
Kim Hornsby is a USA Today Bestselling Author and Produced Screenwriter known for adapting her novels to screenplays. With 16 novels and as many screenplays Kim is also a movie producer, with Braving Rapids, a Family Adventure and Secret Life of My Other Wife, a Lifetime Thriller slated to release early ’25. Comfort & Joy starts filming for a Christmas ’25 release as well as Christmas in Crystal Creek. She teaches her method of adapting from book to film at conferences nationally including Chanticleer, the RWA and PNWA. Her Christmas Romance novels and Suspense Mystery novels have sold over half a million books and she’s thrilled write happy-ending stories for her readers.
A mother, dog owner, kayaker, painter, and avid adventurer, Kim loves to travel but when home she writes from a desk overlooking her forested acreage on an island off Seattle conjuring up entertainment with gutsy heroines amongst diverse and inclusive characters to represent real life.
Can’t make it on Friday? Saturday-only passes are available! These passes include lunch, the banquet, and participation in the Saturday Book Fair at the Bellingham Yacht Club, followed by the Village Books Book Fair the next day at their flagship store in Fairhaven!
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com. We try our best to reply within 3 business days.
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.
Thank you again to everyone who participated in the 2024 CIBAs! We wish you all the best of luck during these final rounds of judging and hope to see you at CAC25, April 3 – 6, 2025!
Best regards, Kiffer Brown, David Beaumier, Dena Weigel, Anya Mueller, Scott Taylor, Argus Brown and Team Chanticleer
Before the Scramble: A Scottish Missionary’s Story by Roderick Sutherland Haynes reveals the day-to-day writing of an early Christian missionary in what is now Malawi—one of very few such first-hand accounts to have survived nearly a century and a half.
Driven from Scotland by evangelical zeal, economic depression, and the lionized stories of David Livingstone, James Sutherland travels for months to the Eastern coast of Africa. But the young agriculturalist still has a long journey ahead of him before he arrives at the Livingstonia Mission on Lake Nyasa (now Lake Malawi). He boats up the rivers Zambesi and Shire alongside fellow missionaries and workers from local African tribes.
Withstanding the trials of unfamiliar landscape, constant travel, and tropical disease, Sutherland makes it to the largely British-controlled region around Lake Nyasa. Here, his work has only begun. Early missionaries worked in many fields at once to keep their stations running, and Sutherland takes on the even greater task of helping establish a new mission on a more promising plot of land.
From November 2nd, 1880 to May 20th, 1881, Sutherland recorded his experiences—not with an eye to being etched in history, but as one man in a complex and mercurial world. Haynes frames Sutherland’s journal entries with historical context, creating a fuller picture of this pivotal moment.
Before the Scramble contains clear and extensive research—into Sutherland himself, the many other figures who shaped the Lake Nyasa region, and the wider colonization of Africa. Primary sources and the works of various history experts match the authenticity of Sutherland’s own records. Readers will find bountiful references for further exploration of their own.
This book begins with a broad-scope introduction to the time and place where Sutherland worked, including maps which make British Central Africa approachable even to those with little previous knowledge of it. Haynes examines the influence of figures like David Livingstone on the mindsets and motivations of people in the late 19th century, further illustrated by Sutherland’s own writings on their work.
Before the Scramble gives Sutherland’s entries enough space to breathe, preserving his authenticity as a direct witness and actor.
Sutherland writes simply compared to intentional historic records of the time, and in that simplicity gives his honest account of a land and people he’s never seen before. He shows the paternalistic views of his time, including a genuine belief in his spiritual calling as a missionary, but also curiosity and awe at the unfamiliar natural beauty of the Lake Nyasa region.
His specific language provides ample opportunity to learn about the terminology of the day, and what it reveals about the culture surrounding these missionaries. Sutherland writes this personal journal with an unguarded voice, open about the particular hardships of travel as well as his thoughts on the various people he meets—African, Arab, and British alike.
These journal entries conclude with a number of poems that Sutherland referenced, as well as three letters he sent back to his family members. These give a rare insight into his personal emotional perspective on life at the time, a fascinating piece of history that can’t be found outside of such direct first-hand accounts.
As Sutherland illustrates the complexities of his life, Haynes gives a nuanced explanation of the role these early missionaries played in the eventual colonial scramble for Africa.
Haynes points out the Victorian attitudes that people like Sutherland held and which were used to justify European imperialism: the cultural supremacy of Europe; the moral imperative to convert ‘heathens’ to Christianity; the desire to bring commerce and ‘civilization’ to Africa.
While the history of colonialism bears out the immeasurable violence behind these ideas, Before the Scramble considers the moral nuances of people like Sutherland, especially as he witnesses some of the cruel Arab slave trade that European powers claimed to be fighting against.
Regardless of intentions, Haynes explains how the work of these missionaries established infrastructure and social dynamics that would empower the following imperial conquest. And how, in turn, that conquest would provide the powerful backing for future missionaries to achieve their goals of conversion.
This truly unique record shows the intricacies of daily life that are so easily scoured away by the sands of time.
Before the Scramble is both a fascinating read in itself and a valuable companion piece for broader-scope historical writing about the early missionaries in central-Southern Africa. Sutherland’s ground-level experience of the Lake Nyasa region provides a glimpse into the challenges and subtle realities of those who walked a similar path to him. History readers, however well-seasoned, will find Before the Scramble a remarkable and human account of journey, purpose, and complex colonial groundwork.
Through Quick and Quinn, Erica Mimran Sherlock’s young adult novel, follows two intertwined journeys of grief, healing, and questioning the status quo.
The titular characters Quick and Quinn both experienced family tragedies at a young age but deal with the aftermath in very different ways. After Quick’s family moves to a new town in an attempt to get away from so many memories of what they had lost, Quick and Quinn start attending the same school. Shortly thereafter, in their junior year, everything changes.
While working together on a class assignment, Quick and Quinn find they share an interest in research. Their friendship slowly grows beyond their shared hobby and becomes the missing piece of each other’s healing journey.
With graduation creeping ever closer, Quick and Quinn have many tough decisions ahead of them.
They struggle to mend the wounds still present within themselves and their families and fear their friendship might not last. Much as Quick and Quinn hope to stay in each other’s lives, the natural course of adulthood threatens to turn adolescent relationships into mere fond memories.
The characters of Quick and Quinn come alive through their shared but distinct experiences with grief and tragedy.
Everyone deals with grief and trauma differently, with Quick retreating to the internet for his “digs” and Quinn drawing towards meditation and crystals. The supporting characters throughout Through Quick and Quinn are understated but support the narrative’s focus on the two protagonists.
Young readers will relate to Quick and Quinn’s feeling of not belonging as they start high school, as well as how one teacher can make all the difference.
The emotional focus of the story is very effective. Quick and Quinn are well fleshed-out and their interactions are complex and meaningful as their internal journeys through grief and healing grow organically from their similar pasts. This demonstrates how important their relationship truly is.
Erica Mimran Sherlock’s Through Quick and Quinn is a debut young adult novel about growing up and growing out of grief, and how life-changing the power of love can be.
When Reenita Malhotra Hora taps that first keystroke at the start of her next book she’s not looking to soften the truth to match what the public believes.
Her mission is to bust stereotypes and celebrate authenticity.
Telling the South Asian Story
Born in India, a country whose motto is “Truth Alone Triumphs,” Malhotra Hora is dedicated to the idea that authenticity is key when it comes to telling the stories of the South Asian people. Her writing doesn’t rely on tales of flashy Bollywood-style weddings and great food to lure readers in. Instead, her stories reflect the lives of everyday people living in a land that is as colorful and varied as the beautiful saris worn by its women.
Throughout her childhood Malhotra Hora heard the stories of India’s past from her grandfather and discussed the writings of Plato and Aristotle with her father, an avid follower of Greek philosophy. This informal education in history and ethics informed her writing when she eventually moved to the United States where she achieved career success in the world of business and journalism. She has since produced content for Bloomberg and other corporate entities and her writing has been published by major media companies like The Wall Street Journal, The Hindu, The New York Times, South China Morning Post, CNN, among others.
Breaking Out on a New Path
In 2021, during the height of the COVID pandemic, Malhotra Hora took a leap of faith with her writing and left her very successful career in business to turn her full attention to telling stories that represented her upbringing, her place of birth, and the people who influenced her throughout her life. It was a frighteningly big step to take, leaving a well-cultivated and prosperous career to lean into the creative world of fiction, but that did not deter Malhotra Hora. Her commitment to portraying her culture, with all its beautiful complexity, drove her onward. Today, she has authored nine books, comprising both non-fiction and fiction works.
Malhotra Hora’s first book, Operation Mom, is a young adult tale about a teen girl’s quest to simultaneously find the super star she has a crush on and a new romance for her overly-attentive mother. It’s a delightfully, humorous story with lovable characters and laugh-out-loud situations. It proved to be a great start to a literary career that has earned her well-deserved praise and eventually the reputation of being the South Asian ‘Nora Ephron.’
With a style that sizzles with great characters and scenarios, Malhotra Hora’s fiction is funny and compelling. She continues to unapologetically pursue her conviction to portray her characters with unbridled authenticity, and her stories beat with the heart of a vibrant culture. She strives to represent truth as she captures the essence of the South Asian spirit in children’s stories (When Ayra Fell Through the Fault), young adult tales (Operation Mom), novels (Vermilion Harvest), and nonfiction books (Ayurveda: A Holistic Approach to Health) where she shares wellness advice focused on the Hindu traditions of the Ayurveda philosophy.
An Ambassador of Truth
Regardless of being thousands of miles from India, its spirit continues to live on through Malhotra Hora’s writing. It’s taken her around the world and won multiple awards and accolades, including the Chanticleer International Book Award in the Chatelaine division for romance.
To Reenita Malhotra Hora it is clear that representing her South Asian culture in its truest form connects with people around the world. It’s a natural extension of the commitment she continues to carry that always puts authenticity first in her writing.
Chanticleer is thrilled to bring Reenita Malhotra Hora back to theChanticleer Authors Conference (CAC2025)and the International Book Awards (CIBA) on April 3-6, 2025, to share her knowledge with Chanticleer authors.
Don’t miss out on this chance to learn from author and podcaster Reenita Malhotra Hora!
In her stunning memoir, Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road, Kirsten Throneberry weaves together the highs and lows of a road trip packed with life wisdom, where she explores grief, spirituality, and rekindled hope.
Throneberry’s achingly vulnerable memoir splits its readers’ hearts and tenderly sews them back together.
In the aftermath of the devastating loss of her husband, Kirsten sells her home and takes her two small sons, two elderly pups, and eccentric mother on a year-long road trip around the United States in their new-to-them Bigfoot RV.
Encouraged by the same spirit guides whose earlier advice for her husband’s health left her broken and untrusting, Kirsten must learn to face the open road with an equally open heart and mind.
Kirsten forces herself past her comfort level, attempting to heal old wounds, confront and patch up her relationship with her mother, and curate a life of wonder and independence for her sons. All the while hoping that as she carries out her mission, she will somehow be able to restore her faith in her guides and herself.
Throneberry guides readers toward their own life-fulfilling adventures, reminding them, “The point is not simply to live, but to shake yourself awake, to open your eyes, eyelash after eyelash, until you finally understand your true nature.”
Learning to live through humble collaboration, true intuition, and radical acceptance is core to this heartwarming autobiography.
Throneberry intentionally exposes her life—both its exquisite beauty and deep suffering—in each and every sentence, creating a relationship with the reader that feels truly authentic.
First unfolding in Hawaii, the narrative follows the family to their home in Seattle and around the country until their journey leads them all the way back to the Pacific Northwest region. The intricate play between places, people, and timelines will make readers feel like they have returned home as well.
At times jaw-dropping terrifying, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and curl-up-in-the-fetal-position sad, Throneberry beautifully sculpts not one but five interwoven lives out of the rubble of life-altering loss.
Guided empowers readers to expand what they believe is possible and to connect with the guides that inspire them. Kirsten Throneberry is a vibrant and deeply empathetic storyteller. Bold, courageous, and attentive to delicate relationships, her story is studded with bright jewels of inspiration that will carry readers through their own difficult journeys.
Readers of Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road will feel held by these pages, no matter what battles they face. After all, as Throneberry writes, “Despite the unexpected and sometimes heartbreaking twists and turns inherent in any life, we are never truly alone. Something is always pushing us forward, onto the next situation or person that will encourage our evolution.”
Every voice is unique, and every perspective is worthy of knowing.
Women authors have always held an illustrious place in the literary world, and while their work is often talked about in terms of the advancement of women overall, many women authors have also contributed to the business of telling stories by challenging the technical conventions of writing as well as presenting a woman’s authentic experience.
Storytelling is the thread that connects our societal web, so it’s imperative there is room for everyone.
National Women’s History Month
For National Women’s History Month, celebrated each year in March, Chanticleer celebrates the fantastic women who forged new literary paths and have been an extraordinary influence and joy to have in our own community. We are delighted to take this time and recognize just a few influential women authors in history.
Disc of Enheduana, Akkadian Period, circa 2300BCE
The World’s First Author: Enheduana
The most influential in the cannon of women authors has to be Enheduanna (circa 2300BC). A Mesopotamian high priestess, she is the world’s first named author, and she is credited with writing forty-two poems and several hymns in cuneiform on clay tablets. She used her writing to help her father, Sargon the Great, unite his empire (also the world’s first) under a shared religion. Her poem titled Exhaultation of Inana is her most famous work, but her hymns went on to set the tone, style, and form of the hymns quoted in the Bible to this day.
Using writing to influence positive change is a noble endeavor. Jane Austen, (1775 – 1817) author of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, was an outspoken critic and commentator at a time when women had little opportunity to express their thoughts. Her books explore the strict social structure and financial instability of women born in her era. She infused her stories with irony and humor, making them digestible to a larger audience who may not agree with some of the underlying commentary within the story. Austen is credited with creating free indirect discourse, a literary style that combines third person and first person narration, giving readers access to her characters’ inner thoughts to foster intimacy and emotional bonds with the reader.
I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.
An Examination of Why We Are the Way We Are; Charlotte Brontë
Writing, it can be said, is our thoughts laid bare. This idea came to life through the writing of Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855). Her most notable work, Jane Eyre, is a bildungsroman following the protagonist through her growth to adulthood. It revolutionized prose fiction by focusing on moral and spiritual development through an intimate first-person narrative, thereby exhibiting that psychological journey in the actions and events of the story. She has been called the “first historian of the private consciousness” and the literary ancestor of writers such as Marcel Proust and James Joyce.
I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.
Frank Authenticity in Representation; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Honesty in her depiction of her community, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977) creates prose that gets right to the heart of things, honestly and authentically. This isn’t easy when your writing includes multiple characters’ perspectives within one story. In Ngozi Adichi’s second book, Half of a Yellow Sun, she offers five points of view that tell of the brutality of the Nigerian Civil War. Her ancestral Igbo background deeply informs her writing as she explores the themes of religion, immigration, gender and culture.
We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man. Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support but why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.
The world’s bestselling author of fiction is mystery writer, Agatha Christie (1880-1975). Author of sixty-six detective novels, she excelled at creating stories that placed the reader in the middle of a mystery, offering them a chance to solve it as her character uncovers the clues. Her writing is known for its sharp dialogues, fast-paced narration, and clever plot twists, and her skills in misdirecting the audience on where the story goes is legendary. Christie’s smart characters and intriguing murder cases makes her one of the best in the genre, even to this day.
It’s no good starting out by thinking one is a heaven-born genius—some people are, but very few. No, one is a tradesman—a tradesman in a good honest trade. You must learn the technical skills, and then, within that trade, you can apply your own creative ideas; but you must submit to the discipline of form.
These are just a very few of the influential women writers we celebrate during National Women’s Month. In paying tribute, we acknowledge that storytelling is a human endeavor. Not one to be carried by a single group of writers, but rather a tool of self-expression that needs participation from all facets of society so that we can better relate to one another, learn from one another, and continue to grow as a society.
Chanticleer is proud to represent amazing women authors!
Celebrate women authors during National Women’s History Month by picking up one of the novels written by these authors!
Exostar By Rae Knightly
Gertrude Warner Grand Prize Winner
It has been said that “the Golden Age of Science Fiction is twelve.” Rae Knightly’s Sci-Fi adventure, Exostar, embodies this childlike sense of wonder that the best of the genre evokes in its readers.
Twelve-year-old child-robot Trinket takes off on a rocketing spaceship straight towards danger and excitement, with the mostly able assistance of the blue-furred spy and saboteur Woolver Talandrin. Trinket is searching for identity—as all the best young science fiction protagonists do. Woolver is trying to bring down an evil empire—as all the other best science fiction protagonists do.
Together they’ve been thrust into the kind of epic tale that is guaranteed to keep young readers on the edge of their seats—including the twelve-year-old that lurks inside every science fiction fan.
Marianne Marlowe’s memoir, Portrait of a Feminist, reveals the evolution of her feminism through a collection of thought-provoking essays.
“I would say, if it were possible, I was born a feminist” is at the heart of Marlowe’s story. She relates to this defining identity throughout years spent in Peru, California, and Ecuador, where she navigates childhood, marriage, motherhood, and a professional career.
The section titles reflect periods in Marlowe’s life that correspond to nature’s rhythms—“Seeds Planted”, “The Growing Years”, “Maturation”, and “Harvesting”—and maintain strong connections between her thematically-linked experiences.
As a Peruvian American woman, Marlowe navigates the concepts of gender, race, and culture from a personal and critical point of view.
Shelter in a Hostile World By Mack Little Shorts Grand Prize Winner
Shelter in a Hostile World, second installment in Mack Little’s Love and Peace series, is an epic tale of resistance, desire, and tragedy, saturating readers in the complexity of Igbo culture.
Little paints a character-rich portrait of the horrors of enslavement and the unthinkable violence against women in the Caribbean, locking people together in relationships molded by adversity.
Set in 17th century Igboland—the invaded region of Nigeria — and on the island of Barbados, Shelter in a Hostile World is a searingly brief novel packed with mesmerizing prose. It blends genres to create a literary language entirely its own.
Two families vie for power in mercantile 18th-century Salem. Sea Tigers and Merchants, the second book in Sandra Wagner-Wright’sSalem Stories series, returns to a world of treacherous storms, tantalizing wealth, and the demands of high society on its children.
Elias Hasket Derby, Sr. has kept his promise to his wife Eliza—they rule Salem. Hasket’s merchant ships bring in great fortune, while Eliza holds court as the most influential woman in the city’s social spheres. And their ambitions have grown to meet their station. Hasket launches his riskiest endeavor—the Grand Turk,a ship so massive she’s nearly too heavy to be pulled out of the docks. Meanwhile Eliza, snubbed by George Washington’s stay at another family’s mansion, insists they build a house so grand it will put all others to shame.
Such success, of course, draws the envious eye of Hasket’s competitor.
An enigmatic raven-haired beauty mysteriously murdered and cast into a stranger’s grave, left for scurrilous resurrection men to uncover in the dark of night! In Jeanne Matthews’s historical mystery If Two Are Dead, Detectives Quinn Paschal and Gabriel Garnick take up this case of vicious murder and ignite a mire of secrets and resentment at the pinnacle of 1867 Chicago society.
After catching the body-snatchers in the act of stealing a freshly buried corpse to sell for medical research, Quinn and Garnick realize the body found in Emmett Buck’s grave is by no means that of a young man, but that of a woman, whose bloody head and clean clothes point to a complex mystery. With only her appearance and some identifying jewelry, Quinn insists they can and will catch the killer of ‘Marietta A.V.’ Enlisting the help of an unscrupulous journalist, they locate her husband, a wealthy and influential doctor.
The woman’s husband, Dr. Horace E. Vinings, offers them an incredible reward if they can find Marietta’s killer. But Quinn and Garnick suspect he might not like the answer he receives.
Featuring authors like J.D Barker and book doctor Christine Fairchild, our annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!
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.
In Y.S. Pascal’s The Zygan Emprise Trilogy, Shiloh Rush and her partner William “Spud” Escot act as our guides on a wild rocket ride through the universe.
Shiloh and Spud share a secret. By day, they’re actors in the sci-fi TV series “Bulwark.” By night, on weekends, and whenever they get the call from their ‘real’ boss, they return to their true work as secret agents for the galaxy-spanning Zygan Federation.
Their job is to keep the peace, fight terrorists and rebels, and protect the universal timeline from nefarious villains who would do anything to rewrite history in their favor. Earth is, of course, a key to the future of the galaxy beyond the imagination of even the most Earth-centric Terran.
This thrilling adventure pulls from all corners of the science fiction genre—from Star Trek: First Contact to classic movies like The Last Starfighter and Galaxy Quest, and even the sci-fi master Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy.
The Zygan Emprise Trilogy travels faster than light over a vast canvas of intergalactic empires, political machinations, tyrants who have lost their way, and heroes who need help finding theirs.
In Shiloh Rush, readers will find a protagonist with more than a bit of attitude as she searches for her brother. She soon learns he’s not the only one who needs saving, and along the way she discovers who her true friends are and just how many of them are also her real enemies. As many great sci-fi heroes do, Shiloh realizes that the black and white world she thought she belonged to is lined in shades of grey, and it’s easy for anyone to hide their current darkness behind the light of their past good deeds.
Shiloh’s adventures are tremendous fun, especially as her course grows darker and more dangerous along the way. Her partner’s secrets—many, many secrets—add to the depth of the story and ultimately to their true friendship. Political betrayals, heel turns, and Shiloh’s constant investigation into the falsehoods of the galaxy around her will keep readers guessing until the very end.
Whether it be through Shiloh’s hit TV series, her secret agent work for the Zygan Federation, or her journey to find the truth of her own origins, The Zygan Emprise Trilogy by Y.S. Pascal takes readers on exhilarating, heart-stopping romps through the universe.
KIM HORNSBY – USA Today Bestselling Author, Producer, and Screenwriter
In her stunning memoir, Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road, Kirsten Throneberry weaves together the highs and lows of a road trip packed with life wisdom, where she explores grief, spirituality, and rekindled hope.
