Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The 2024 Somerset Awards Long List for Literary and Contemporary Fiction
The Somerset Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Contemporary and Literary Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, magical realism, or women and family themes. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 SOMERSET Contemporary Fiction entries to the 2024 Somerset Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Somerset 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 Somerset Book Awards novel competition for Contemporary and Literary Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Conon Parks – Down and Out in Omaha
- Samantha Schinder – Loud Voices
- Rachel Valencourt – Twilight’s Brightest Star
- Deonna Kay – The Measure of Enough
- Torres & Firsht – Tell Me Your Plans
- Robert Steven Goldstein – Golda’s Hutch
- Natalie Musgrave Dossett – Sarita
- Robert Gwaltney – Sing Down the Moon
- Ann Bancroft – Almost Family
- Kat Caldwell – Bended Loyalty
- Christina Boyd – Woman in the Painting
- Lisa Gruwell Spicer – Radio Smokva a Croatian American Story
- David B. Seaburn – Until It Was Gone
- Maryann Clarke – Secrets at the Aviary Inn
- Craig Allen Heath – Killing Buddhas
- Wesley J. Wildman – The Winding Way Home
- Leslie Wibberley – The Unraveling of Emma Hill
- Leslie Kain – What Lies Buried
- Melissa Connelly – What Was Lost
- Abbe Rolnick – The Underpainting
- Alissa Butterworth – To Die Is Different Than Supposed
- Jonna Lyons Johnson – Tapping Light
- Neroli Lacey – The Perfumer’s Secret
- Rupert Taylor – Please Let Me Destroy You
- Zelly Ruskin – Not Yours to Keep
- Donna Norman-Carbone – Of Lies and Honey
- Julie Weary – Never, Ever, Always
- D. L. Whipple – The Outcast
- John W. Feist – Edged in Purple
- Graydon Dee Hubbard – Network Apprentice, Behind the Scenes in Talk Television
- William Robert Reeves – The In-House Politician
- Judith Krummeck – The Deceived Ones
- Leilana Rae – The Meaning Between Us
- Tamara Hart Heiner – Of Life, Love, and Other Noble Pursuits
- Ruth F. Stevens – The Unexpected Guests
- Reenita M. Hora – Vermilion Harvest – Playtime at the Bagh
- Allan Ishac – The Mystic In The Mews
- Keith McWalter – Lifers
- Ben Gonshor – The Book of Izzy
- J. Drew – On the Surface of the Sun
- Joy Ross Davis – The Goddess of Weaver Street
- Dianne C. Braley – The Summer Before
- Phyllis Gobbell – Prodigal
- Stephanie Alexander – Mean Low Water
- S.M. Stevens – Beautiful and Terrible Things
- Natia Khaduri – A Soldier’s Burden
- Kay Smith-Blum – Tangles
- Jeff Hartman – How To Win The Nobel Peace Prize
- Rich Miller – It Rhymes With Truth
- Anthony Horton – Unpaved
- Anne Heinrich – God Bless The Child
- Tamar Anolic – Like Water and Ice
- Patricia Averbach – Dreams of Drowning
- Antonia Gavrihel – Back to One: Take 4 Slating Magic Hour
- John David Graham – Running As Fast As I Can
- Meredith Walters – This Animal Body
- Woody Woodburn – The Butterfly Tree: An Extraordinary Saga of Seven Generations
- Cheryl Grey Bostrom – Leaning on Air
- Erika Shepard – Abomination Child
- Leslie DeBrock – The Frog-Eyed Gospel, A Texas Exodus
- Mary Behan – Finding Isobel
- Linda A Lavid – Quigley Tree: A Novel
- Chris Chan – She Ruined Our Lives
- Ann Bancroft – Almost Family
- Jeffrey Blount – Mr. Jimmy From Around the Way
- R.w. Meek – The Dream Collector: Sabrine & Sigmund Freud
- Mary Elizabeth Gillilan – Confluence
- Holly C LaBarbera – All I Know
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

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!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Somerset Grand Prize Winner

You Can’t Fool A Mermaid

By Judy Keeslar Santamaria

Click here to see the full list of 2023 SOMERSET Book Award Winners for Contemporary Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 SOMERSET Book Awards for Contemporary 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!
December 26, 2024
Sharing Beloved Holiday Traditions here at Chanticleer! Happy JOLABOKAFLOD 2024 and Le Reveillon de Noel
At Chanticleer, we love celebrating the holidays!

We love the sparkle, the singing, the presents—and we especially love celebrating the books!

Jolabokaflod, a Bookish Holiday

Jolabokaflod, an Icelandic tradition of gifting and reading books on Christmas Eve, began in 1944 when Iceland gained its independence from Denmark during World War II. Paper was one of the few products under rationed during the war, so bookish friends and family began sharing their love of books as a substitute for traditional gifts. Known as a nation of “bookaholics,” Iceland has a great reading culture, with over half the population being avid readers of at least eight books a year, according to a study conducted by Bifröst University in 2013.

The holiday, which translates roughly into English as ‘the Christmas book flood’, coincides with the retail cycle each year during the Christmas season.

Ever since Jolabakaflod was first celebrated the Icelandic book trade has published a catalogue called Bókatíðindi, or ‘Book Bulletin,’ in English. It is sent to every household in the country in mid-November during the Reykjavik Book Fair, and people use the catalogue to order books for their favorite people.

These gifts of books are given on December 24th and, by tradition, everyone begins reading the books they receive almost as soon as they are given, often while drinking hot chocolate or alcohol-free Christmas ale called jólabland. There is also a blend of two of Iceland’s most beloved drinks: Malt (a malty sweet soda) and Appelsin (orangeade). First pour the Appelsin into a a glass and add the Malt for a fizzy, festive non-alcoholic drink. If you pour the Malt first, then the foam from it will overflow the glass when the orangeade is poured in. Some consider this the most proper drink to celebrate Christmas in Iceland.

A Book You Love is The Perfect Gift for Jolabokaflod

How can you make Jolabokaflod a Christmas Eve tradition?

Christmas is such a busy time, and you may think, “I don’t have time for one more tradition!” Don’t worry—You’ve got an extra 12 days!

Design your Jolabokaflod tradition to fit your schedule. You can choose a different night to celebrate with a new book and hot chocolate! We like to crack open the spine of a new book during the 12 days of Christmas that follow Christmas day, giving us a reason to keep that holiday spirit alive until well into the New Year!

The Twelve Days of Christmas & Celebrations Around the World
- The twelve days of Christmas run from December 26th until January 6th (Three Kings Day).
- Some say the Twelve Days tradition is wishing good luck and cheer for each of the following months in the new year.
- Others say the first six of the days are to pay homage to the previous year and six of the days that are in the new year bringing hope and glad tidings for coming times.
- The Twelve Days of Christmas would be a welcome break for those who worked the land.
In Portugal, the 12 Days of Christmas is a tradition that starts on the 26th until Epiphany. Small groups of people go door to door in their neighborhoods singing songs, usually accompanied by instruments. Sometimes they are in traditional dress, sometimes not. They typically open with a song to ask the resident for food and/or drink, then continue singing about the birth of Jesus and sending good wishes for a happy new year. If a resident doesn’t treat the singers well or refuses to open his door, they may sing songs jokingly mocking them. If the singers are treated well, they will sing about how handsome and beautiful the hosts are and how generous and nice they are. (A great way to start the New Year!)

The Portuguese troubadouring does not take place until after Christmas Day and continues on to Three Kings Day also known as Epiphany. In Spain and many Latin American countries, gift giving is done on January 6th, while the gifts Santa Claus brings to children are opened on Christmas Day. In Italy, La Befana visits their homes on January 5th. She likes to be left a glass of wine and some antipasto, instead of Santa’s cookies and milk and the children find her gifts the next day.

I’d love to hear about your Yuletide Traditions!

Le Réveillon is our family’s (Kiffer & Argus) Christmas Tradition where we stay up on Christmas Eve way past midnight for the arrival of Père Noël” (Santa Claus) with a Christmas Eve Dinner that consists of a pretty table and multiple courses fancy meal (typically 8 courses), friends and family, and good times to make precious memories.

As always, there is much to do. And, I have given myself permission not to worry about the unwrapped presents, cookies that need to be made, and calling on friends and family. I have more than twelve more days! And sometime in the new year of 2025, I am going to celebrate Jolabokaflod. – Kiffer

We would love to hear about your holiday traditions!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays and Yuletide Greetings!

We will start posting our Twelve Days of Christmas articles starting on December 26th.
December 23, 2024
The 2024 Clue Semi-Finalists for Suspense/Thriller Fiction
The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Suspense and Thriller Mysteries. The Clue Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime-solving, we will put them to the test to discover the best! (For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards, and for High Stakes Suspense Novels please check out our Global Thriller Awards).

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 CLUE SHORT LIST to the 2024 Clue Book Awards SEMI-FINALISTS. 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 FINALISTS of the 2024 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Suspense and Thriller!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Pamela Beason – If Only
- Jeff Nania – Musky Run
- John DeDakis – Enemies Domestic
- Hannah D Sharpe – Between Lies and Revenge
- Susan Rogers and John Roosen – Tree Pose
- Meredith Forde – The Protectee
- M.K. Tod – That Was Then
- Peter Berk – First Line of Defense
- Charlotte Stuart – Raven’s Legacy
- Lisa Malice – Lest She Forget
- Corey Lynn Fayman – The Esmeralda Goodbye
- Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Change of Mission: A Jake Fortina Series Novel
- Jeannee Sacken – The Rule of Thirds
- Steven Walker – Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown
- Patrick Greenwood – Shores of Okinawa
- Chad Boudreaux – Homecoming Queen: A Small Town Political Thriller
- Dr. Sandra Tanner – Spirited Unraveling
- Saralyn Richard – Murder Outside the Box
- Sean Hagerty – Jones Point
- Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me
- Dana J. Summers – Hell’s Heart
- Dave Lager – Revelations
- Carl Vonderau – Saving Myles
- Chris Chan – She Ruined Our Lives
- Ray Collins – The General’s Briefcase
- Lisa Towles – Terror Bay
- Colleen Coyne – Bewept
- Shanessa Gluhm – A River of Crows
- Miriam Verbeek – The Forest
- Michael Pronko – Shitamachi Scam
- Wendy Bayne – Dark Entity
- Steve Lazarus – Call Me Sonny
- Sharon Lynn – IoT Gaslight
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!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Clue Grand Prize Winner

The Other Murder

By Kevin G. Chapman

Click here to see the full list of 2023 Clue Book Award Winners for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Clue Book Awards for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

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!
December 22, 2024
The Dante Rossetti Awards 2024 Long List for Young Adult Fiction
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, and Literary, we will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Books among them for the winners of the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. For Middle Grade Fiction check out our Gertrude Warner Awards and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 DANTE ROSSETTI entries to the 2024 Dante Rossetti Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Dante Rossetti 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 Dante Rossetti Book Awards novel competition for Young Adult Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Pam Binder – Raven Spirit
- Mark Kraver – The Willow
- John Be Lane – The Future Lies a Post-Dystopian Romantic Thriller
- Valerie Biel – Beyond the Cemetery Gate the Secret Keeper’s Daughter
- C.W. James – The Tomb of Ptahmes
- Kevin O’Flaherty – The Evolution of Nora O’Brien Pacheco
- Miki Mitayn – Heated Earth Aedgar Moves in
- Tory Gates – How the Story Ends
- Rande Goodwin – The Witchfinder’s Sacrifice (Book 2 of The Witches of Windsor)
- C.H. Brown – The Appearance of Power
- Sally DiPaula – Captain Moretti’s Daughter
- Laurie Stevens – The Return
- B. Lynn Goodwin – Disrupted
- Nat Bickel – The Catalyst
- Kelly Vincent – Ugliest
- Jeff Hartman – How To Win The Nobel Peace Prize
- John Daze – Rogues of the Crosslands Azorias Blade
- Lenore Borja – The Lost Portal (Mirror Realm Series Book II)
- C.E. Brown – Seeing Gray
- V. Romas Burton – Justified
- Kathryn Silver-Hajo – Roots of the Banyan Tree
- Michael J Bowler – Forever Boy
- Steve Schafer – eMortal
- CC Robinson – Divided: Book One In The Divided Series
- Glen Dahlgren – The Realm of Gods (The Chronicles of Chaos Book Three)
- Leslea Wahl – Charting the Course
- Jonathan Floyd – Lost on the Edge of Eternity
- Eileen Charbonneau and Jude Pittman – Spectral Evidence
- M. Ch. Landa – Vandella: Resilience
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Journey’s Travels – Mirrors
- D. K. Yamashiro – Anela’s Club
- J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
- John Middleton – The Pool of Initiation
- E. L. Werbitsky – The Marsh Keeper
- Mark Sabbas – The Monarchs
- Rebecca A. Nagy – Phoenix Rising: Initiation
- Felicia Farber – Fake Out
- Rae St. Clair Bridgman – Fish & Sphinx
- Maggie Hill- Sunday Money
- Joshua Witmyer – The Death of Capitalism
- Vito Dibarone – Botheration: Part One: The Missing Link
- Vito Dibarone – Botheration: Part Three: Epiphany
- Jennifer Haskin – The Clockwork Pen
- Maryanne Melloan Woods – Lazarus
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!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Winner

Sour Flower

By Maryanne Melloan Woods

Click here to see the full list of 2023 Dante Rossetti Book Award Winners for Young Adult Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult 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!
December 22, 2024
The 2024 Chatelaine Book Awards Semi-Finalists for Women’s Fiction and Romance
The Chatelaine Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Romantic Fiction. The Chatelaine Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best new books featuring romantic themes and adventures of the heart, historical love affairs, perhaps a little steamy romance, and stories that appeal especially to fans of affairs of the heart to compete in the Chatelaine Book Awards (the CIBAs). We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 CHATELAINE Romantic Fiction Short List to the 2024 Chatelaine Book Awards SEMI-FINALISTS. 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 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2024 Chatelaine Book Awards novel competition for Romantic Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Reenita M. Hora – Vermilion Harvest – Playtime at the Bagh
- Leslie Wibberley – The Unraveling of Emma Hill
- Jenn Bouchard – Considering Us
- John W. Feist – Edged in Purple
- Kim Gottlieb-Walker – Lenswoman in Love
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – A Cup of Revenge
- Davalynn Spencer – Covering Grace
- Nancy Herkness – Royal Caleva: Luis
- Jo Morgan Sloan – The Key
- Laurel Osterkamp – The Side Project
- George T. Arnold – The Heart Beneath the Badge
- Sonja N. Griffing – Chasing Noelle
- Linda Broday – Winning Maura’s Heart
- Melissa Collings – The False Flat
- Eve M. Riley – The Secret
- Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Day, Book Two in the Desert Hills Trilogy
- Karen Janowsky – Her Name Was Lola
- S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
- Karen Janowsky – Dear Prudence
- CK Van Dam – Lone Tree Claim: On the Dakota Frontier
- Amanda Sue Creasey – An Expected End
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

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!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Chatelaine Grand Prize Winner

A Sea of Glass

By Gail Avery Halverson

Click here to see the full list of 2023 Chatelaine Book Award Winners for Romantic Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic 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!
December 20, 2024
The Laramie Awards 2024 Long List for Americana Fiction
The Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Western, First Nations and Americana Fiction. The Laramie Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 LARAMIE entries to the 2024 Laramie Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Laramie 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 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Western and Americana Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Robert Brighton – Winter in the High Sierra a Love Story
- Susanna Lane – Enduring Promise
- Linda Paul – The Last Gypsy Queen
- Jeanne Gehret – Secrets To the Wind
- Alice Vonkannon Hodapp – Heart’s Blood
- Natalie Musgrave Dossett – Sarita
- Kregg P.J. Jorgenson – 1886 the Last Campaign
- David Fitz-Gerald – First Drive
- Barry Robbins – Voices of the Civil War
- Heidi M. Thomas – Goth-girl to Cowgirl
- David Fitz-Gerald – A Grave Every Mile A Pioneer Western Adventure
- Patricia Roberts Wright – A Siren Called Truth
- Imogen Martin – Under A Gilded Sky
- Jonita Mullins – The Tearful Trail
- Linda Broday – Courting Miss Emma
- Donald Willerton – Death in the Tallgrass
- CK Van Dam – Medicine Creek Claim: On the Dakota Frontier
- Woody Woodburn – The Butterfly Tree
- Evelyn Fletcher Symes – Five Horse Winter
- Brook Allen – West of Santillane
- Sean James – The Vengeful Kind
- John Hansen – Crazy Woman Creek
- Heather Miller – Yellow Bird’s Song
- M. B. Zucker – The Middle Generation: A Novel of John Quincy Adams and the Monroe Doctrine
- Craig Hipkins – Bandy
- John G. Russell, III – Four Corners But Verily Only Two Choices
- Josie Olsvig – Freedom’s Tears The History of the Civil War in Charleston, South Carolina and Port Royal Sound
- C.M. Huddleston – Esther
  Karen Lynne Klink – At What Cost, Silence? Book 1 of The Texian Trilogy
  Nate Granzow – Black Cordite, White Snow
- Charlie Steel – Tom Sharp: The Man and the Legend (A Novel)
- Tim Piper – The Powell Expeditions
- Paul Buchheit – 1871: Rivers on Fire
- Lynn Downey – Dude or Die
- Daniel Greene – Northern Shadows (Northern Wolf Series Book 5)
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!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Laramie Grand Prize Winner

The Last Man

By Thomas Goodman

Click here to see the full list of 2023 Laramie Book Award Winners for Western Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Laramie Book Awards for Western 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!
December 20, 2024
The 2024 Gertrude Warner Long List for Middle Grade Fiction
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Middle Grade Fiction. The Gertrude Warner Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Gertrude Warner Book Awards competition is named for Gertrude Chandler Warner, the wonderful author of The Boxcar Children.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Contemporary Middle Grade, SFF & Paranormal Middle Grade, Mystery Middle Grade, Historical Middle Grade, Adventure Middle Grade, and Graphic Novels. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards here and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards here.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 GERTRUDE WARNER Middle Grade entries to the 2024 Gertrude Warner Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Gertrude Warner 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 Four Points by Sheraton sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Gertrude Warner Book Awards novel competition for Middle Grade Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Brian Starr – The Missing Children of Blackwood
- Valerie Biel – Haven
- Thomas Kuhn – Tommy Rocket and the Goober Patrol
- Michael L Ross – The Horse at Phantom Beach
- Norah Lally – Back To Bainbridge
- CK Van Dam – When the Chokecherries Bloom
- Lawrey Goodrick – Half-Life
- Christopher & Christine Kezelos – Intergalactic Jack and the Child of the Prophecy
- Debbie Noble Black – Deetjen’s Closet
- Gregory Saur – Drink the Blood
- M.J. Evans – Coal Dust and Dreams-The Story of a Girl and Her Pit Pony in the Coal Mines of South Wales
- ~CRK – ZCN & Friends: The Angel’s Curse
- Elisa Eliot – Zak Vs. Zombies
- Donald Willerton – War Train
- Claire Bahamon – The Giving Gifts
- M.C. Dingman – Samantha Smee: A Pirate’s Life
- Maggie Lynch – The Power of S.A.D.
- Jason Colpitts – Miss Adventure’s Misadventures
- Stephanie Brick – The Secret Doors of Cannondale
- Jane Hershberger – World of Green, World of Gray
- Sue C. Dugan – Mayday
- Douglas D. Meredith – Shelter: Generation Mars, Book Two
- Douglas D. Meredith – Water: Generation Mars, Book Three
- Carolyn Armstrong – No Time To Waste
- Sherry Roberts – The Galaxy According to Cece
- Linda Moore Kurth – Born for Trouble
- Laura J Peterson – The Totally Tubular Travels of Josie Baker
- Susan Diamond Riley – The Sea Devil’s Demise: A Delta & Jax Mystery
- T. Lynne Jackson – Mr. K’s Sonata – A WWII Novel
- Rae St. Clair Bridgman – Fish & Sphinx
- Bronwen Butter Newcott – Race to the Great Invention
- Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Serpent’s Spell
- Jill Pabich – A Misery of Magpies
- Aaron Arsenault – The Climate Diaries: Book One: The Academy
- Dr. Mythomaniac – The Strange Case of Mr. Beets
- Tamar Anolic – The Tunnel to Darkness and Light
- Sandy Grubb – Just Like Click
- David Towner – The Spectacular Life Of Benito Martin Del Canto
- Shirley Miller Kamada – No Quiet Water
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

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!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Gertrude Warner Grand Prize Winner

EXOSTAR

By Rae Knightly

Click here to see the full list of 2023 Gertrude Warner Book Award Winners for Middle Grade Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy 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!
December 19, 2024
The Chaucer 2024 Long List for Early Historical Fiction
The Chaucer Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Early Historical (Pre- 1750) Fiction. The Chaucer Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

The Chaucer Book Awards competition is named for Geoffrey Chaucer the author of the legendary Canterbury Tales. The work is considered to be one of the greatest works in the English language. It was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed in 1483.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring Pre-1750s Historical Fiction, including pre-history, ancient history, Classical, world history (non-western culture), Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Tudor, 1600s, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 CHAUCER entries to the 2024 Chaucer Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Chaucer 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 Four Points by Sheraton sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Chaucer Book Awards novel competition for Early Historical Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Laura Gwendolyn Hill – The Saxon Sword the Song of Artemis Book One
- Mark Kraver – The Willow
- Dean Cycon – A Quest for God and Spices
- Liz Sevchuk Armstrong – To Remain Vigilant
- Ursula Werner – Magda Revealed
- Julie L. Brown – No One Will Save Us: A novel
- Patrice Hapke – Summer of the Bear
- Jessica Russell – Hot Winter Sun
- Eric C. Miller – No Sympathy For The Devil
- J.C. Corry – The Storyteller’s War
- Rozsa Gaston – Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria’s Court
- Stefan Scheuermann & Paul Alexander – King of the Gulls
- Jessica Tvordi – The Schoolmaster
- Malcolm David Logan – The Wind in the Embers – A Story of the Fall of Rome
- C.V. Lee – Betrayal of Trust
- Roxana Arama – The Exiled Queen: A Roman Era Historical Fantasy
- Chuck Locklear – A Storm Coming
- Logan D. Irons – Sands of Bone
- Johnny Teague – The Lost Diary of Mary Magdalene
- Sheri Graubert – Molly Shipton, Secret Actress
- Jean Gill – Among Sea Wolves
- Peggy Joque Williams – Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles
- M.N. Stroh – Rise of Betrayal
- John D. Cressler – Merchants of Iniquity
- Laura C. Rader – Hatfield 1677
- Catherine Hughes – In Silence Cries the Heart
- Lisa Llamrei – Feather of Ma’at
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!

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Chaucer Grand Prize Winner

The Merchant From Sepharad

By James Hutson-Wiley

Click here to see the full list of 2023 Chaucer Book Award Winners for Early Historical Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Chaucer Book Awards for Early Historical 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!
December 19, 2024
EXOSTAR: The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1 by Rae Knightly – Sci-Fi, Middle Grade Adventure, Space Opera

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.

Trinket doesn’t know exactly who or even what she is.

Her memories begin at age six with a mad scientist she believed, or at least hoped, was her creator. But the old man is dead, and Trinket is alone and looked down upon by the residents of her backwater colony as a ‘piece of scrap’. Her dreams of escape are on the verge of coming true when she’s captured by the occupying forces of the Remnants who are gobbling up the galaxy, even as Woolver and his crew attempt to stage a rebellion.

The Remnant’s Supreme Leader is convinced that Trinket, whether child or android, is the key to the biggest treasure the galaxy has ever seen. Trinket knows only that there is some great secret locked in her mind—or maybe it’s her memory banks—that will either save the universe or destroy it. And her, as well.

Exostar is fast and utterly furious from the very first page.

Trinket’s search for identity will resonate with young readers, while older science fiction fans will also be caught up in the struggles of the wider galaxy. The epic fight between good and evil, the fractured Alliance vs. the rapacious Remnants, is sure to light a spark in any and all readers.

As the opening salvo in The Lost Space Treasure series, Exostar does an excellent job of setting the scene for the ongoing adventure.

Trinket begins as a young person searching for herself, and it’s clear from this first book that the series will be her coming of age journey where she finds that identity, whatever it might be. She has been beaten down by her circumstances and will have to learn to stand confidently on her own two feet—even if one of those feet is attached to a prosthetic leg.

The universe in which Trinket finds herself is in a chaos that deepens over the course of Exostar. There is a huge struggle on the horizon of this epic space opera. The reader is introduced to it in careful stages as Trinket learns that the galaxy she will have to navigate is much bigger than her small town on its tiny planet could have prepared her for. As her perspective expands, her universe gets bigger, and she brings the reader right along with her on a grand adventure of deadly peril and potentially universe-shattering consequences.

Exostar by Rae Knightly won Grand Prize in the 2023 CIBA Gertrude Warner Awards for Middle Grade Fiction.

December 18, 2024
Cover Design and the new Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (CCDAs) are open now!

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover—Or Do!

Your Cover Deserves Recognition

Make your book *POP* and succeed in the CCDAs!

We’ve all heard the saying, but those of us in the industry know the truth: your cover only has three seconds to catch the eye of a reader. That’s right – three seconds. The cover sells the first book, but it’s the content that keeps readers coming back for more.

The Power of a Great Book Cover Design

Imagine you’re in a bookstore. You’re looking for a thriller that’ll keep you turning pages late into the night. Do you pick the book with a woman walking down a shadowy alley, or the one with a serene beach scene under a vibrant sky?

If you love suspense and intrigue, you know which one you’re looking for. If you prefer travelogues or romances, the other choice is obvious. A great book cover doesn’t just look nice – it taps into the emotions and expectations of the reader. It’s a visual cue that signals what lies within.

In today’s competitive market, first impressions matter more than ever, especially with the rapid rise of digital books. A book’s cover is the first thing potential readers see, and it’s often what makes them decide whether or not to pick up your book, click on it, or share it with others.

Best Practices for Designing an Effective Book Cover

Your cover is a visual ambassador, capturing the essence of your 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.

It’s not just a cover – it’s your book’s first opportunity to shine!

Consider the Genre

The first step in designing a great book cover is getting to know what your readers will be expecting. Your cover should have it’s own distinct look, but don’t be a rebel and put a cute kitten on a horror book (unless there’s blood splattered all around, of course). The cover should accurately represent the book’s content and genre to resonate with the intended audience. Pay attention to details and find elements that make clear what genre your book belong sin.

Think About the Future

If your book is the first in a series, design a cover that can be act as a template for future books. Use different colors or features that stay within the norms of the genre and connect all the books to one visual theme. The James Bond series is a great example of carrying the cover’s theme across several books. Several editions have been published, and each time the books carry a strong theme with little adjustments that hint at the plot of the book. Readers can easily see that each book belongs with the other, but they retain their individualism at the same time because the style retains a similar book.

Typography Matters

Typography can be a focal point that you can use to visually communicate emotion. Light, fluid script will be a clue for the reader that the plot will reflect the same tone. Heavy, bold script conveys a serious tone that is appropriate for stories with dangerous or important themes. And if your story takes place in a foreign land, there are several fonts that depict the writing associated with their culture. You can try using up to two different typefaces, such as a serif and sans-serif, to separate the title from the the other information on the book—the blurb, reviews, or the author name. More than that can look messy.

Avoid Clutter

Too many images, typefaces, and other information can make it difficult for the viewer to understand the cover’s core message. You want your design to immediately be understandable when someone sees the book. Clear images, readable text, and a strong layout will keep the look of your cover accessible for readers.

Use Contrast

Style can profoundly affect the effectiveness of your book cover. Using contrasting colors between the background, the imagery, and the typography will catch the attention of people looking at a row of books more effectively than a flat look with monochromatic color combinations. In the case of The Hunger Games series, the mockingbird medallion is made a stronger element by using yellow-gold, either as a background color or as the color of the medallion itself, makes the key message of the cover stand out. Mockingjay’s cover shows how a strong contrast between light and shadow cast upon the bird in flight can carry that same theme using unexpected colors that suggests a different theme for this specific book, but using the same elements lets readers know it’s part of the series.

Consider the Size

Books come in all shapes and sizes, and size matters when it comes to cover design. Your book will probably need to look good as a full size cover, a digital thumbnail, and ideally as a square or banner. Whether your book will be sold in digital, print, or audiobook formats, consider how the cover will look in different sizes and whether it’ll stand out on the shelf next to similar books in your genre. The right size can help your book feel approachable and accessible to readers.

Your book cover has three seconds to attract its reader. Three Seconds!

Capture readers with a cover that jumps out at them, intrigues them, and makes it impossible to pass by your book with these tips and you’ll find more readers pausing as they peruse the shelves. With an intriguing cover you have already gotten your foot in the door of your next committed reader!

Chanticleer Book Cover Design Awards celebrates the visual art of storytelling with

TWO NEW CIBA Award Divisions

Chanticleer is proud to announce two new CIBA Awards for Cover Design in the Fiction and Non-Fiction genres!

The first awards will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Ceremony and Banquet that will hosted on Saturday, April 5th, at the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

Click here for more information on the COVER DESIGN AWARDS for NON-FICTION works.

Click here for more information on the COVER DESIGN AWARDS for FICTION works.

Click here for more information about the Chanticleer International Book Awards program.

As always, please email info@ChantiReviews.com with any questions or suggestions!

December 17, 2024