Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

NEW: The 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (CCDAs) Short List for Fiction
The Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (The CCDAs) for Fiction recognizes artistic excellence across genre in great cover design. The CCDAs are a new Award Division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Our design is inspired by books designed by the incomparable Coraline Bickford-Smith. Her simple, beautiful, and evocative designs do so much to make the book work as a visual ambassador, capturing the essence of story and compelling potential readers to pick it up, click on it, or share it with others. A well-designed cover signals professionalism, sets expectations for your genre, and serves as a powerful marketing tool to stand out in both digital and physical spaces.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring clear genres, audience, time periods, typography, and longevity across genres of Historical Fiction, Romance, Literary, Satire, Speculative Fiction, and Youth Reads.

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 CCDA Fiction Long List to the 2024 CCDA Fiction SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 CCDA Fiction Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards novel competition for Fiction Books!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- J. Shep – The December Issue
- Neal Rabin – Flat an Edgy Voyage of Accidental Discovery
- Meredith Forde – The Protectee
- Raymond Paul Johnson – Conspiracy Ignited
- Judy Lannon – The Making of Genevieve
- Margaret Porter – A Change of Location
- Chuck Morgan – Resurrection the Deadly Mission
- L. J. Aldon – The Riddle of the Jeweled Cipher
- Chris Bennett – The Road To Revolution
- Travis Davis – One of Four
- Robert Brighton – The Phantom of Forest Lawn
- Abbe Rolnick – The Underpainting
- Marlene M. Bell – A Hush at Midnight
- Ann Philipp – Grand Theft Death
- Lucinda Brant – Noble Satyr Roxton Foundation Series Book One
- Lucinda Brant – Their Graces Roxton Foundation Series Book
- Jason Farrell & Michael De Weever – Secret of the Emerald Star
- Laura C. Rader – Hatfield
- Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Day Book Two in the Desert Hills Trilogy
- Kim Gottlieb-Walker – Lenswoman in Love
- Natalie Musgrave Dossett – Sarita
- Dave Lager – Losses
- Mark A. Gibson – Roses in December
- Mark A. Gibson – A Song That Never Ends
- Joy Ann Ribar – The Medusa Murders
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Book of Rules
- C.L. Olsen – Old Crabby Turtle
- M.J. Evans – Coal Dust and Dreams
- Graydon Dee Hubbard – Network Apprentice Behind the Scenes in Talk Television
- Michelle Morningstar – The Space Between the Divine and the Unholy
- R.W. Meek – The Dream Collector Book Book I Sabrine Sigmund Freud
- Lois Cahall – The Many Lives Loves of Hazel Lavery
- Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Breath Book One in the Desert Hills Trilogy
- Shami Stovall – Time-Marked Warlock
- Strider S.R. Klusman – Luna – The Adventures of Rhone & Stone, book 2
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Who will be the First Grand Prize Winner for the Fiction CCDAs?

Stay Tuned to find out!

Click here to learn more about the Cover Design Awards.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards for Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

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 annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
February 19, 2025
DIOMEDES In KYPRIOS: Diomedia Series Book 2 by Gregory Michael Nixon – Myths & Legends, Historical Fiction, Bronze Age

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

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

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

After many adventures, Diomedes arrives in Paphos and is recognized from Troy by the Akhaian (Greek) warriors already there. He becomes a war leader and seeks to unite the Peoples of the Sea gathered on the island of Kyprios for chaos is descending from the end-of-the-era Bronze Age Collapse. He attains his goal and at last meets with Lieia, who through incredible circumstances has also arrived and been acclaimed as the Goddess of Paphos.

After a murderous shipwreck, Lieia has struggled to shore and, because of her extraordinary beauty, has been mistaken for a new incarnation of the ancient Kypriot Goddess of Love. The people save her and celebrate her arrival. She is proclaimed Aphrodite—born of the sea foam. She is made Goddess-Ruler of the city, but this makes her enemies, and she becomes uncertain who she really is.

Diomedes and Lieia rule together, he as military commander, she as goddess-queen. Lieia must overcome the dangerous witch, Myrrha, who challenges her power. Diomedes, in his turn, must deal with two vicious villains who caused Lieia’s shipwreck and the beautiful youth, Adonis, Myrrha’s son, who seeks to kill him and become the lover of Aphrodite.

Nixon draws heavily on ancient legends to write these larger-than-life characters, threading them through this novel with great artistry. This is a short book yet a memorable epic, whose vivid setting and colorful characters will stay with the reader long after finishing the book.

In this Audible audiobook version, the narrator, Simon de Deney, captures the dramatic flair and clear articulation one would expect in mythic Greece, among the Hittites, on ancient Cyprus, and all the places this adventure takes us. De Deney is an actor whose classically trained voice will hold the readers’ full attention, leaving them with the metallic dust of the copper mines of Kyprios in their eyes and the sea spray of the vast Mediterranean on their lips.

For first-time readers/listeners of this series, Diomedes in Kyprios can be read as a stand-alone for the previous book is summed up in flashbacks and a chronological prologue. It will appeal to myth lovers of all ages, but also to those drawn to historical fiction based in the ancient Bronze Age and the mysterious Peoples of the Sea (and, of course, to lovers of historical romance). The book contains serious historical credentials, for the author suggests realistic interpretations of a number of unexplained mysteries of the Bronze Age Collapse.

February 19, 2025
ASK BIELLA: The Realism Series Book 3 by Syl Sebastian – Self-Help, Philosophy, Personal Transformation

Syl Sabastian’s Ask Biella is unlike today’s typical self-help books—ones that are quickly read, interpreted, and forgotten. Instead, Ask Biella is a thoughtful and thought-through self-help reference work featuring a fictional guide from Syl Sabastian’s core series fielding deep questions from real readers. It asks its audience for a different kind of commitment to its deep sharing: a raw, self-exploratory approach in which one creates a realistic-ideal world for themselves through the process of positivity and emphasis.

Ask Biella invites readers to turn inward for enlightenment, satisfying their questions with lasting internal empowerment rather than external compromises. Biella reveals the harmful mental habits to which we are all prone and points to the rope that can save us from ourselves. After all, according to Biella, “We, and we alone, are the creators of meaning.”

Biella’s world is rooted in real-world wisdom with an easy-to-follow candor, and pulls from Biella’s “Dictionary-of-Power,” hyphenating and capitalizing particular words and phrases for emphasis to change how the reader engages with the text. For example, Biella hyphenates and capitalizes the phrase “Thinking-Things-Through-TO-THE-END” to capture readers’ attention, changing the way readers’ brains respond to the words via emphasis. These specific words and phrases, or “tools-of-living,” cover a wide variety of topics.

From relationships to business endeavors, self-love to suffering, and social media to sobriety, Biella has something to offer those who seek answers.

At times the vocabulary of Biella’s Dictionary-of-Power loses its whimsical shape, and the author allows his personality to seep through. This change may catch the reader off guard with colloquial words such as “suckers,” “lol,” “kinda,” “umm,” and “bullsh***ers,” but it serves to bring a sense of our own human experience into contact with the divine wisdom of the Universe as explained by Biella.

Ask Biella is a visually beautiful book, featuring original digital art by Sabastian which complement the topics addressed by Biella throughout the book. Central figures find peace and attune themselves with positivity amid colorful surroundings in the art, and each depiction provides a window into Biella’s imagination, inspiring readers to visualize alternative solutions to their problems.

Ask Biella is intentionally formatted to create a lasting effect on the reader.

Each chapter entry includes a question from an external source, and Biella’s response is broken down into digestible categories, followed by hashtags that summarize the keywords addressed in the chapter. These small, organized segments reveal a rhythmic pattern in the book that provides the reader with the tools necessary to think through the ideas presented with clarity, interrogating the text, their personal experiences, and their beliefs to go “beyond the usual, convention, the expected and assumed.”

Syl Sabastian’s Ask Biella is an inventive approach to the self-help genre.

It invites readers to approach the questions in their lives with curiosity and internal satisfaction rather than providing neatly packaged solutions to common modern problems. Slipping at times it between its invented Philosopher, Biella, and its author, the overall message is clear and important to all readers: “Trust in yourself, Trust in your Goodness, Trust in your Honesty, and Trust in your Integrity. If you are Real in your being, Realness will follow.”

February 17, 2025
For the Love of Romance Novels – Celebrating Valentine’s Day with Chanticleer’s romance authors

Will your book be our Valentine?

Who doesn’t love a good book? It’s full of angst, misunderstandings, sultry moments, and intriguing characters who break our hearts and sweep us off our feet. Like chocolate, romance is one of those extraordinary genres that can go with almost anything—Historical Romance, Mystery Romance, YA Romance, SciFi Romance, Fantasy Romance, the list goes on!

Nothing is better than sharing a book you love with someone you know will love it just as much as you.

The Science Behind Love

Science tells us that two people falling in love is a mix of biological, chemical, and psychological factors. Wouldn’t these same factors play into a reader falling in love with a book? Picture this, you’re in a bookstore scanning the shelves, suddenly, you see a cover that is beautiful, intriguing, mysterious. You pick it up and read the blurb. It teases you with just enough information to make you want to learn more. You read the first page and find out that what it is telling you is exactly what you were hoping for. Your excitement increases as you envision the night ahead, snuggling under the covers, turning the pages as you fall in love with the characters and join them in their journey to find love. As you read, your heart starts to race with anticipation, you cry, you laugh, and you swear your devotion to the love you’ve found between the covers of a book.

Is there anything better than a great love story?

The Love You Find Between the Covers

Romance is one of the bestselling genres out there, and it’s clear we’re all looking for love stories that move us. But falling in love isn’t a one step process. First, your curiosity is peaked when you first look at a cover, you judge it by look, page count, and other factors to see if it’s a book that fits you, then you find yourself fascinated when something unexpected happens in the first few pages. You’re hooked!

As you continue reading you find yourself captivated by the characters. Perhaps they are way more complex than you had anticipated, and you can’t bear the thought of leaving the story half-read, so you march on, feeling nervous, stressed, afraid, and hopeful as the characters go through the trials and tribulations they face in the plot. Now you are infatuated! You can’t put it down! What’s going to happen? Will they, or won’t they?

As you draw closer to the climax, you find yourself on the same rollercoaster as the characters. You empathize with the characters and want to see the love match made. You fight the despair of coming to the last page, knowing you’ll have to put these wonderful characters away when you are finished. Ohh! The agony!

As you place the book on your own bookshelf you find yourself thirsting for more. More love, more conflict, more moments where you think all is lost, but then…

You realize you’ve fallen in love!

The Chatelaine Awards finds the best romantic novels of the year!

At Chanticleer we love Romance Books, and we love to show it off with our Chatelaine Awards! Check out our current Finalists here! First Place Winners will be announced at the Chanticleer Authors Conference!

The Chatelaine Awards are where we find all our romance books about bookstores and beyond!

Are you looking for your next great romance novel? Find your perfect literary match with these Chanticleer romance authors!

A Sea of Glass
By Gail Avery Halverson
CIBA Grand Prize winner Chatelaine division

A Sea of Glass by Gail Avery Halverson is a sweeping historical novel that captivates readers as it takes us from the bustling world of Colonial Boston to the shores of Barbados. But the island’s burgeoning sugar industry harbors dark secrets for those trapped there, either by circumstance or by slavery.

The colonial backdrop is brimming with conflict. Businesses struggle under British taxation enforced by the hated Red Coats. With the dangers of traveling through pirate—and privateer—infested waters, there are more than enough shifting winds to keep readers engaged until the very end.

Lady Catherine Abbott-McKensie, her physician husband Simon McKensie, and their daughter Charlotte, enjoy the pace of life in Colonial Boston, but their peace does not last long.

Read more here…

Loving Beth
By Bonnie Rose Ward

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

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

Read more here…

Edged in Purple
By John W. Feist

Edged in Purple by John W. Feist welcomes readers to a place outside of time and space, a liminal space where characters of myth wait to return to their fated stories.

The Fold is a beautiful land, a near-utopia shepherded– literally– by Thetis and Peleus of Greek mythology. They raise the heroine of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Perdita, after her father had accused her mother of betraying him with another, the whole sad story a product of his own paranoia.

Perdita’s story is proceeding as it was written. She has already met Florizel, the man who should be the hero of her romance– when her story is intersected by another. Just as The Winter’s Tale features royal courts, doomed relationships, mistaken identities, and family murder, so too does an ancient Greek drama: the Oresteia of Aeschylus, the story of Agamemnon after the Trojan War.

Read more here…

Splintered Dreams
By Diana Lynn

After decades spent in a loveless, broken marriage, Crisa wants another chance at love. In Splintered Dreams, a romance novella by Diana Lynn, she must first stumble through her own insecurities to find it.

When Crisa’s husband, Alan, dies unexpectedly she is left with a stark emptiness inside her heart. Her marriage had been a sham. Her husband’s infidelity and lies crushed her idea of love and left her with questions about who she is, what she wants, and will she ever trust someone with her heart again. Casual sexual relationships can’t fill the void. She needs true love.

Physical intimacy is only part of what Crisa desires. She yearns for the kind of love that lasts a lifetime.

Read more here…

Air Boat: Love is an Adventure
By Jacek Waliszewski

For readers interested in a unique romance, Air Boat: Love is an Adventure by Jacek Waliszewski offers a distinctive cast of characters and tense excitement in the sky.

Air Boat brings together a former Special Forces soldier, Luke, who prefers to keep to himself, an independent and sarcastic female pilot, Stella, and a three-legged Husky named Saint who marches to the beat of his own drum. These captivating characters embark on a fast-paced, page-turning tale.

Author Jacek Waliszewski starts this romantic adventure with a suspenseful scene of a vintage plane barreling towards the Twin Cities, accompanied by two F-16 fighter jets, before setting the stage for the two main characters to meet. The mystery of this scene will stick in the reader’s mind, drawing them forward with stark curiosity that only grows in excitement.

Read more here…

Happy Valentine’s Day to all lovers of the Romance genre from
Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media!

Looking for more quality time with us?

Join us at

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like J.D Barker, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and publisher Brooke Warner, 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.

We’d love to see you there!

February 14, 2025
NEW: The 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (CCDAs) Short List for Non-Fiction
The Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (The CCDAs) for Non-Fiction recognizes artistic excellence across genre in great cover design. The CCDAs are a new Award Division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Our design is inspired by books designed by the incomparable Coraline Bickford-Smith. Her simple, beautiful, and evocative designs do so much to make the book work as a visual ambassador, capturing the essence of story and compelling potential readers to pick it up, click on it, or share it with others. A well-designed cover signals professionalism, sets expectations for your genre, and serves as a powerful marketing tool to stand out in both digital and physical spaces.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring clear genres, audience, time periods, typography, and longevity across genres of Non-Fiction.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 CCDA Non-Fiction entries to the 2024 CCDA Non-Fiction SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 CCDA Non-Fiction Finalists List. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Short List and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards novel competition for Non-Fiction Books!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Anne Gately – Sunburnt a Memoir of Sun Surf and Skin Cancer
- Judy Taylor – Magpie Times Marshmallow World
- Marianna Marlowe – Portrait of a Feminist a Memoir in Essays
- Linda M. Lockwood – Sky Ranch Reared in the High Country
- Kim Sloan – Memoirs From the Frontlines Four States Two Years One Pandemic
- Meredith Wargo – Dawgs a True Story of Lost Animals and the Kids Who Rescued Them
- Karen Elizabeth Lee – The Village That Betrayed Its Children
- Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me
- Genét Simone – Teaching in the Dark a Memoir
- Kathleen Watt – Rearranged an Opera Singers Facial Cancer and Life Transposed
- Kasey Claytor – Finding the Light
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Who will be the First Grand Prize Winner for the Fiction CCDAs?

Stay Tuned to find out!

Click here to learn more about the Cover Design Awards.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards for Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

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 annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
February 13, 2025
NEW: The 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (CCDAs) Long List for Fiction
The Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (The CCDAs) for Fiction recognizes artistic excellence across genre in great cover design. The CCDAs are a new Award Division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Our design is inspired by books designed by the incomparable Coraline Bickford-Smith. Her simple, beautiful, and evocative designs do so much to make the book work as a visual ambassador, capturing the essence of story and compelling potential readers to pick it up, click on it, or share it with others. A well-designed cover signals professionalism, sets expectations for your genre, and serves as a powerful marketing tool to stand out in both digital and physical spaces.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring clear genres, audience, time periods, typography, and longevity across genres of Historical Fiction, Romance, Literary, Satire, Speculative Fiction, and Youth Reads.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 CCDA Fiction entries to the 2024 CCDA Fiction LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 CCDA Fiction Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards novel competition for Fiction Books!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- J. Shep – The December Issue
- Neal Rabin – Flat an Edgy Voyage of Accidental Discovery
- Jim Antonini – Bullets for Silverware
- Jim Antonini – The Butcher and the Butterfly
- Meredith Forde – The Protectee
- Raymond Paul Johnson – Conspiracy Ignited
- Judy Lannon – The Making of Genevieve
- Jean Rover – And Then Spring Comes
- Margaret Porter – A Change of Location
- Chuck Morgan – Resurrection the Deadly Mission
- L. J. Aldon – The Riddle of the Jeweled Cipher
- Jeff Hartman – How To Win the Nobel Peace Prize
- Chris Bennett – The Road To Revolution
- Travis Davis – One of Four
- Robert Brighton – The Phantom of Forest Lawn
- Abbe Rolnick – The Underpainting
- Marlene M. Bell – A Hush at Midnight
- Natia Khaduri – A Soldier’s Burden
- William Robert Reeves – The In-House Politician
- Ann Philipp – Grand Theft Death
- Lucinda Brant – Noble Satyr Roxton Foundation Series Book One
- Lucinda Brant – Their Graces Roxton Foundation Series Book
- Jason Farrell & Michael De Weever – Secret of the Emerald Star
- J.P. Rieger – Sunscreen Shower
- Laura C. Rader – Hatfield
- Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Day Book Two in the Desert Hills Trilogy
- Kim Gottlieb-Walker – Lenswoman in Love
- Natalie Musgrave Dossett – Sarita
- Dave Lager – Losses
- Mark A. Gibson – Roses in December
- Mark A. Gibson – A Song That Never Ends
- Joy Ann Ribar – The Medusa Murders
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Book of Rules
- C.L. Olsen – Old Crabby Turtle
- M.J. Evans – Coal Dust and Dreams
- Graydon Dee Hubbard – Network Apprentice Behind the Scenes in Talk Television
- Michelle Morningstar – The Space Between the Divine and the Unholy
- Michael J Bowler – Forever Boy
- R.W. Meek – The Dream Collector Book Book I Sabrine Sigmund Freud
- Lois Cahall – The Many Lives Loves of Hazel Lavery
- Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Breath Book One in the Desert Hills Trilogy
- Shami Stovall – Time-Marked Warlock
- Strider S.R. Klusman – Luna – The Adventures of Rhone & Stone, book 2
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Who will be the First Grand Prize Winner for the Fiction CCDAs?

Stay Tuned to find out!

Click here to learn more about the Cover Design Awards.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Chanticleer Cover Design Awards for Fiction.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

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 annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
February 12, 2025
INCARNATE: The Third Entity by Russell Marcum Jr. – Crime Thrillers, Christian Fiction, Philosophical

Incarnate: The Third Entity by Russell Marcum Jr. merges the suspense of a crime thriller with the weighty themes of Christian theology. This crafts a unique narrative that explores second-chances, faith, and divine purpose.

The story follows Jake McCallum, a deputy sheriff from Western Virginia whose life unravels after a series of devastating blows. Wrongfully charged with a false and trumped up accusation of mail fraud then abandoned by his closest friends, Jake faces the loss of his career, his fiancée, and his freedom. At rock bottom in prison, while waiting for death, Jake experiences a profound spiritual awakening. This reversal is galvanized by Eli, a chaplain whose faith and guidance inspire Jake to embrace Christianity. Beyond that, Jake redefines his life in pursuit of a divine quest to find and protect the incarnate Holy Ghost, a child prophesied to bring salvation to the world.

Marcum Jr.’s novel stands out for its bold concept.

Jake’s transformation from a broken man to a determined protector echoes biblical trials like those faced in the story of Job. His character arc solidifies as he navigates spiritual challenges and physical dangers. The stakes are immense, with plot lines involving corrupt officials, assassination attempts, and Jake’s ultimate hope and search for a divine sign. The novel’s combination of a modern-day thriller coupled with theological explorations creates an ambitious narrative. Readers who resonate with the book’s Christian themes will likely find the message deeply affirming.

Fans of spiritual fiction will appreciate the philosophical depth of Incarnate: The Third Entity.

The novel asks big questions about faith, redemption, and the presence of God in everyday life. Jake’s quest to protect a young boy that he believes to be the incarnate Holy Ghost provides a fresh take on Christian storytelling, blending the tension of a thriller with the reflective tone of a morality tale. Those intrigued by stories of spiritual awakening intertwined with suspense will find much to enjoy here.

Ultimately, Incarnate: The Third Entity is a thought-provoking story with an impressive conceptual foundation.

For readers drawn to the overlap of spiritual discovery and suspense, Russell Marcum Jr’s novel delivers a unique journey of redemption, sacrifice, and divine purpose. This is a story for those ready to reflect on the complexities of faith and fate while enjoying the twists and turns of a high-stakes thriller.

For readers seeking a novel that weaves high-stakes action with deep spiritual reflection, this story offers an intriguing and thought-provoking journey.

February 12, 2025
PORTRAIT Of A FEMINIST: A Memoir in Essays by Marianna Marlowe – Feminism, Memoirs of Women, Essay Collections

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.

In one instance, Marlowe feels pressured by her family to adopt the perspective that men can’t be expected to be faithful. When her adulterous cousin attempts to buy back his wife’s affection with a gold Rolex, the wife divorces him. Although Marlowe feels guilty for betraying her family’s beliefs, she ultimately finds satisfaction with this conclusion to her cousin’s marriage. Marlowe’s use of Spanish dialogue also lends authenticity and cultural flair to her work.

Marlowe approaches meaningful topics from domestic abuse and inequality in marriage to definitions of beauty and women’s rights—or lack thereof—in patriarchal religions, contextualizing them within her observations and her interactions with family, friends, and strangers. This grounded approach makes her writing both candid and intimate.

As teacher and mentor to a new generation, Marlowe’s ideals come full circle as she challenges readers to reflect on the principles of feminism and their continued evolution in today’s society.

From deciding whether or not to take her husband’s surname in marriage to the stress of raising two boys who will eventually leave home to face a world enmeshed in inequality, Marlowe’s smart and sobering writing urges us forward to fight for an important caus`e.

For those drawn to deeply personal memoirs that evoke a nuanced understanding of male and female equality, Portrait of a Feminist proves a rich and rewarding experience.”

February 10, 2025
Happy Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of The Little House on the Prairie series!

For many generations of children, their first introduction into the world of the Western genre is through The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Born in the “Big Woods” of Wisconsin, Laura spent her youth traveling across the great American prairie in a covered wagon. She watched as her father was the first to break ground on their Kansas farm and followed the construction of a railroad across the Dakotas. Laura lived an iconic American life, and lucky for us, she created stories from those memories and gave us a beloved children’s series.

Laura Ingalls was born on February 7, 1867. Today, that would make her 158 years old. Our own Dena Weigel was one of the children influenced and inspired by Ingalls, and we are delighted to have her share what she learned about the Western genre from Ingalls’ work. So cozy up around the fire and join us as Dena takes us back in time to see the world as it once was when a child crossed the country in the back of a covered wagon.

Dramatic Surroundings

For me, the most meaningful part of Laura’s writing comes through in her talent for setting the stage. Colorful sunsets, the smell of an approaching storm, or the screech of a panther as it pursues it’s prey—Laura had a special talent for describing her surroundings. Likely, that comes from years of “being the eyes” for her blind sister, Mary.

Perfect for young readers, she wrote simple sentences that didn’t condescend, and sprinkled them with slightly uncommon, but more specific, words for them to learn. It wasn’t just a pink sky; it was a salmon-colored streak across a lavender sky. For a young reader and future writer, this illustrated that word choice is impactful in both meaning and substance. It adds to the meaning of the sentence, but it also adds to the feeling the sentence provokes in the reader.

The Ingalls Family (left to right): Caroline, Grace, Laura, Charles, Carrie and Mary

Colorful Characters

The cast of characters in Laura’s stories follow the traditional hallmarks for the Western genre, enhanced by the unique voice of the protagonist.

Until this point, most imagery for the Wild West featured cowboys, gunslingers, and bounty hunters, but in the Little House series it is Laura, a girl the age of four to around eighteen throughout the series, who offers a new voice and a new perspective. That’s just the start of what makes her Little House books so special.

Given the time period, most Westerns have limited space for female characters. Teachers, wives, sex workers, and the stray “wild” woman are about all the fairer sex can claim in this genre that’s frozen in time. Laura offers something new. The main protagonist is a spunky girl with complex thoughts and a yearning for adventure. Through her experience we get a new perspective in this very familiar genre.

Ingalls rethought more than just women on the page. Other more typical Western characters set the stage for interesting challenges and interactions. Settlers, Native Americans, and townspeople bring a variety of conflict, wants, and needs that make Westerns so relatable more than a century after the era.

The differences in society’s understanding of prejudices do stand out at times in Laura’s books, and there is much worthwhile commentary on her writing. While they undeniably exist, during Laura’s day they were, sadly, common. She wrote about these controversial moments in a way that doesn’t question it, but she does present the separation of cultures that were a part of our country’s commonly accepted ethics at the time.

Exciting Plotlines

Raging rivers, fierce tornados, and roving bandits all show up in the Little House series. Always miles from the civilized world, there is plenty of opportunity to up the ante with intense plotlines. But there’s also the gentle spirit of a loving family to be a counter balance to the sudden, jarring, dangerous experiences each book brings to the table.

Reading them as a child, I often missed the level of danger Laura and her family experienced, but as an adult I understand the seriousness of the glances her parents shared when they talked of a week long blizzard or their rush to put out a prairie fire. The family was nearly murdered, almost starved to death, and much worse during their nomadic years, and Laura handles all these events with the soft truth a child requires.

Action! Action! Action!

When you think of Westerns, you think action. In the saddle, in the saloon, and on the farm. While Laura doesn’t take us into the saloon, she does provide us with the action you’d expect from a Western. Her father stands up against an angry mob while working as a railroad paymaster. A bully gets what she deserves when Laura drives her into a leech infested creek. And we see Laura racing at breakneck speed on a bareback horse across the open prairie. If your child likes the freedom you’d expect in the Wild West, Laura’s stories are a great choice. She’s bold, she’s adventurous, and she represents a childhood that both boys and girls will be excited to read about.

Just like Laura, I grew up on the Kansas prairie and the Little House series often captured many of the things I experienced there. The sound of a meadowlark in the morning, cooking over campfires, and watching as a sunset lights up the evening sky. For young readers, the Little House series continues to open the door to the beautiful landscapes, wily characters, and amazing adventures that fans of the Western genre yearn for as they ride off into the sunset.

Happy birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Thank you for introducing me to the beautiful, untamed world of Western literature.

Are you looking for a reading adventure for your children? We encourage you to dig into stories written by these Chanticleer authors.

Exostar
Rae Knightly
Grand Prize Winner of the CIBA Gertrude Warner award

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.

Read more here!

The Ghost in the Garden
Alisse Lee Goldenberg

In Alisse Goldberg’s engaging young adult mystery, The Ghost in the Garden, a curious 11-year-old must face the challenges of moving to a new city, losing old friends, making new ones, and encountering historic specters in her new home.

Sophie Madison seems none too happy about her recent move from the bustling city of Calgary, Ablerta to the smaller, quieter landscape of Stratford, Ontario. But upon arrival with her parents, she begins noticing the charm of the place, appearing like a step back in time. Their new house in particular catches her interest, with its tall turret topped by stained glass window panes where Sophie’s bedroom will be. In addition, the wild beauty of the backyard garden draws her in.

Soon, a mysterious blonde-headed girl named Tabitha appears in the garden.

Read more here!

Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrol
Thomas R. Kuhn

Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrolby Thomas R. Kuhn follows Nate, a young boy growing up in the 1970s, whose friendship with the kid genius robot builder, Tommy Rocket, leads him into mysterious adventures.

Tommy’s father invented the Prometheus chip that gives sentience to robots, and from a young age Tommy started creating a gang of robots called the Goober Patrol. Eccentric and wheelchair-bound, Tommy prefers to tinker with his robots at home. But he befriends Nate after he saves Tommy from bullies.

When Tommy’s aptly named ‘Monster-bot’ gets loose, Nate is tasked with finding and securing the rogue bot before anyone finds out. But the two boys soon find out there is more at work than one missing robot. There’s another tinkerer in town and they’re building their own special group of robots—which look just like one of Tommy’s creations. Nate and Tommy have to find out who has gotten their hands on the Prometheus chip before it’s too late.

Read more here!

Mayday
Sue C. Dugan

In Sue C. Dugan’s middle grade adventure,Mayday: Land, Sea, and Air Series Book 2,thirteen-year-old Jessie and her father, Adam, take an unexpected detour when their plane crashes on a secluded island.

On their final vacation before Adam begins chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, Jessie and her father take off in their Cessna aircraft over the boundless, azure Atlantic Ocean. Jessie’s anxiety about her father’s health is on high-alert during the trip, especially when she remembers her mother’s cancerous death.

Twenty minutes into their flight, the sky grows gloomy, and the wind picks up speed from all sides.

Read more here!

If you’d like to loose yourself in tales of the Old West, we suggest these Chanticleer authors.

A Grave Every Mile, Book One of the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail
David Fitz-Gerald
Grand Prize Winner of the CIBA Series award

Each day’s trumpet blasts the predawn quiet of the sleeping wagon train, demanding that its migrating families face what’s ahead, whether incredible scenery or mortal danger, in David Fitz-Gerald’sA Grave Every Mile.

This beautifully told story mixes adventure, survival, community, and history, all shown through the eyes of Dorcas, a feisty mother of four. She’s dreamed of hitting the trail to the storied West for so long, but much about this trip and their destination remains unknown.

Another wagon travels alongside hers. Who are they? Will they remain strangers, or become friends? Now that Dorcas stands with her family at the trail’s starting point and on the brink of changing their lives forever, a tremor of doubt surfaces about what lies ahead. Is her family strong enough to face their future? Will it be everything she and her husband hoped for? That future is 720,000 turns of the wagon wheels away, and there may beA Grave Every Mile. It all starts with that first pull by the team of oxen.

Read more here!

Guarded Hearts
T.K. Conklin
Grand Prize Winner of the CIBA Laramie award

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

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

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

Read more here!

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Do you have a book that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.

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Submitting to Book Awards is a great way to get your book discovered! Anytime you advance in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, your name and book are promoted right here on our website, through our newsletter, and across social media. One of the best ways to engage in long tail marketing!

Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books!

February 7, 2025
I USED To BE SHY A Children’s Book: An Illustrated Story With Songs About Inclusion, Belonging, and Compassion by Mike Mirabella and Lenny Lipton, illustrated by Amy O’Hanlon – Children’s Books, Picture Books, Inclusion & Friendship

In I Used to Be Shy, from the Carla Stories by Mike Mirabella and Lenny Lipton, Carla meets a nervous boy with physical disabilities at Camp Allbelong. Through their friendship, Carla helps him become confident enough to join in the camp games in this compassionate illustrated story about inclusion told through song.

We begin with Carla’s bright yellow light contrasting with the boy’s deep, lonely blue representation. As their friendship grows, those two colors begin to mix, becoming a vibrant green that paints the heartwarming, pastoral scenes of Camp Allbelong. When the boy joins his peers in the center of these illustrations, his blue color takes on a new tone that reflects the expansive sky in the background.

Amy O’Hanlon’s delightful illustrations show how one friendship can bloom to become a garden full of many relationships.

As Mirabella notes, children with disabilities, such as his and Lipton’s own two daughters, are often left out of social activities. The story’s message of making space for everyone shows through Carla, who befriends the boy and encourages him to open up to the other children. As a result, we can see how quickly his mood changes to excitement and friendliness. With the compassion of his fellow campers and accommodations made by the staff, he even joins games like kickball that could otherwise prove difficult for someone who needs crutches to walk.

I Used to Be Shy encourages readers to sing along with the playful lyrics by Lenny Lipton, composer of the classic Puff the Magic Dragon, as they follow this meaningful story of acceptance.

Written as a duet, this song is shown in easy-to-read colored text that reflects the characters’ emerging friendship, with each singer trading verses, then as alternating lines as the two characters connect with one another. Mirabella & Lipton’s lyrics create a back-and-forth rhyming scheme which makes this song particularly fun to sing with old or new friends. Sheet music in the back of the book provides readers with a way to learn this song– as well as a bonus song called “Little Brown Pony” using instruments.

I Used to Be Shy is a sweet tale about opening up to those around you and finding friendships that extend well beyond words alone. Inspired by the daughters of Mirabella & Lipton, this book is for any child who might share the boy’s shyness. A must-read showing how wonderful it is when we all belong.

February 7, 2025