Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The 2024 Clue Short List 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 LONG LIST to the 2024 Clue Book Awards 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 SEMIFINALISTS 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
- Charlotte Stuart & Don Stuart – Midnight for Justice
- Hannah D Sharpe – Between Lies and Revenge
- Susan Rogers and John Roosen – Tree Pose
- Meredith Forde – The Protectee
- M.K. Tod – That Was Then
- Cathi Stoler – Out of Time: A Nick Donahue Adventure
- Lisa Towles – Codex
- M.M. Cochran – The Button Collector
- Peter Berk – First Line of Defense
- Charlotte Stuart – Raven’s Legacy
- Lisa Malice – Lest She Forget
- Corey Lynn Fayman – The Esmeralda Goodbye
- Marie Still – My Darlings
- 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
- J T Owens – The Fisherman Returns
- Ron Singerton – Ruptured
- Michael Grigsby – Forecasting Error
- Jeffrey Jay Levin – Deep Cover, The Unknowing Agent
- Dr. Sandra Tanner – Spirited Unraveling
- Saralyn Richard – Murder Outside the Box
- Sean Hagerty – Jones Point
- Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me
- Nannette Potter – Pierce the Darkness
- TJ Stecker – The Moth
- Mike Van Horn – The Fireteam
- Dana J. Summers – Hell’s Heart
- AG Flitcher – Black Rose Cocoon
- Dave Lager – Revelations
- Carl Vonderau – Saving Myles
- Chris Chan – She Ruined Our Lives
- Ray Collins – The General’s Briefcase
- Lo Monaco – Fallen In A Dark Uneven Way
- 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 11, 2024
MATILDE’S EMPRESS: The Visigoth Saga Book 3 by Robert S. Phillips – Historical Fiction, Ancient Rome, Historical Women Leaders

In Matilde’s Empress, book three of The Visigoth Saga by Robert S. Phillips we follow Matilde’s exploits during the decline of the Roman Empire, with unrelenting battles, meticulous period detail, and insight into how Romans and non-Romans alike dealt with shifting alliances and the frequent loss of loved ones.

Now eighteen, feisty and wise Matilde has lost a child, her lover, and her safety. After she escapes to Thessalonica where her stepbrother Alaric presides, a courier brings word of Emperor Arcadius’s desire to rid his Eastern kingdom of the Visigoths. All Roman subsidies for the Goth’s armed forces are canceled.

Ever the advisor, Matilde pushes for Alaric’s people to shift loyalties and align with Stilicho, the sympathetic Roman general who leads the Western kingdom’s military. Under the guise of delivering wedding gifts to the Western Emperor Honorius, a delegation departs to meet with Stilicho. However, not before Matilde enters a three-way marriage with Alaric and his wife, Pentadia.

During her travels, Matilde discovers she’s pregnant.

The web of politics becomes more complicated as Stilicho remains on friendly terms but will not go against the East. Soon after the delegation returns, Matilde gives birth to Theodoric. It quickly becomes apparent that without enough money to go around clans will soon fall on each other and dissolve into pure conflict. The chieftains appoint Alaric as King of the Goths, which bestows on him the responsibility to find his people a fertile land far from their enemies.

As their migration begins, they wade through a land of violence – battles within the barbarian tribes, between barbarian and Roman armies, and between Romans and Huns. Men are slaughtered, and their wives and children are sold to slave traders.

Amidst the bloodshed, Matilde – Queen of the Goths by virtue of her marriage to Alaric – is taken captive. She becomes enamored with a Roman general, Constantius, and they begin an affair.

Political machinations – treachery, poor planning by excessively proud men, frequent shifts of power – create an intriguing plot. But while Matilde’s love affairs provide some respite, the near-constant fighting and casual indifference to death wears at the heart. Even Matilde is not immune to the weight of it: “Constantius allowed the captured legionaries to swear allegiance to Emperor Honorius. Only a few refused. He had them executed, along with all the barbarian prisoners. I thought that brutal, but, indeed, how were we to manage prisoners?”

Even when there’s hope, sorrow lurks nearby: Matilde is finally released to go home to her family, only to find that a sickness has taken many. Alaric insists that their son Theodoric, his only heir, remain with him. He grants Matilde a divorce so that she can return to Italia with Constantius.

The Roman Empire continues its fall, as usurpers such as Constantine arise, and allegiance to the Western and Eastern emperors is easily turned by gold.

All sides continue to loot, plunder, and pillage any unfortified community. Incestuous marriages are made as power plays. When a longtime Roman ally of Alaric’s is murdered, the empire’s last grasp of power loosens. In 410 CE, Alaric leads the Goths to sack Rome.

Lands and migrations are granted, only to see more battle over those lands. Within a year, Britain is no longer Roman. Within eight years, the Romans finally conceded to allowing barbarian tribes to live peacefully within their territory.

Despite her years of foresight and reasoned counsel, men continued to discount Matilde for being a mere woman. Even Constantius loses interest when she fails to provide him with an heir. Her closest friend, Placidia—ready to marry Constantius once the two divorce – tells her, “A wife either produces sons or she is not a good wife. Your brilliance and other qualities were interesting but not essential.”

In a few years, however, Placidia seeks her help in fending off Honorius. Matilde muses, “Of course, I will go. My next adventure is just beginning.”

This final chapter in The Visigoth Saga will satisfy readers with Matilde’s tale of a girl who grows into a woman on her own terms. Phillips dives into the ancient world and brings readers with him to stand side-by-side with a legendary warrior heroine.

December 11, 2024
A HAUNTING At LINLEY: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox – Cozy Mysteries, Murder Mysteries, Women Sleuths

Dire darkness descends upon Castle Linley in A Haunting at Linley by award-winning author Michelle Cox. Lord Linley is dead, black blankets and sashes cover windows, mirrors, and all sources of light. Mourning overtakes all—well, almost all.

Henrietta and her husband, Inspector Clive Howard, return to England and the estate. They come to offer comfort, but quickly discover the family needs much more help than anticipated.

Lord Linley’s death is only the first.

Another death follows, and it’s clearly murder. The killer remains a threat among the estate’s residents and guests, who witness yet more extraordinary and concerning activities.

Henrietta and Clive find Lady Linley beside herself with grief. Her son Wallace shows patience with his mother but has his hands full with his own emotions and the practical concerns of the estate. A fast-evolving financial crisis due to pending taxes and other complications demands immediate action. After all, Wallace is now Lord Linley.

Henrietta and Clive help where they can. Wallace decides to quickly put the estate, or at the very least parts of the estate, up for sale. He presses on despite great resistance from his mother and other people involved.

A local realtor arrives to show the home to a potential buyer, but the sale is called off when the agent is found poisoned. Everyone at the estate becomes suspects. A local inspector begins questioning them, but, with Clive’s own background as an inspector and the investigations he and Henrietta have conducted, the duo grow concerned that the local police may be inept. To solve the murder, they have to open their own investigation.

The family, guests, and staff at Castle Linley all have their own distinct and compelling motives to uncover.

As Clive and Henrietta explore different possibilities and question the suspects, they run into personal danger. The haunting of the castle adds a further eerie dimension to the facts of the case, as Lady Linley is certain the culprit must be the spirit of a maid who had been hanged.

In the meantime, other family members outside England are left to manage crises of their own. Elsie and Gunther are living peacefully on a farm in Omaha, meeting life’s struggles head on. Then Elsie is stunned to find Oldrich Exely at their door one day. He has an idea for a specific course of action Elsie must take to change her life, and he is determined to make her comply. Julia struggles with terrible marital issues. Melody is plunged into mischief and can’t find her way out. The historical setting of the 1930’s is well presented across this variety of locales.

The award-winning duo of Henrietta and Inspector Howard continues with a complex new puzzler in this seventh book of the series.

A Haunting at Linley maintains the cozy, suspenseful plotting. It’s filled with interesting clues that invites readers to try to solve the mystery alongside the investigators.

Each character remains consistent in personality throughout the series and is fascinating to follow and analyze as their character continue to develop throughout each book. An abundant array of suspects are on display for the reader to scrutinize their actions, motivations, and secrets. As the suspense builds on every page, the apparent paranormal incidents will keep you wondering who or what has taken up A Haunting at Linley.

A Haunting at Linley by Michelle Cox won Grand Prize in the 2023 CIBA M&M Awards for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries.

December 9, 2024
FISHING With HYENAS by Theresa Mathews – Life at Sea, Surviving Loss, Women’s Memoirs

Theresa Mathews’ memoir, Fishing with Hyenas, is filled with adventure, love, and the spirit of an explorer, all on the high seas. In the audio version, the author herself tells this gripping story of love and death, grief and recovery.

Mathews begins the book in a place most difficult for her. She takes us through her emotional devastation at the news of her husband’s death. We see all the stages of her grief from the initial call: denial, disbelief, bargaining, and finally acceptance. Readers will be hooked in the first chapter.

She then deftly fills in the gaps with the backstory of how she met her husband Bart, their first date, their decision to commit to one another, and her first time she went for a ride on his Harley. These are often hilarious recaps of her anger and frustration, and her examination of what this relationship with a man who loved the sea would mean for her city-girl life.

Mathews alternates between the present and past with perfect pacing, giving readers a balance between the immersion in and relief from the intense emotion of her husband’s unexpected death.

She perfectly captures the experience of grief, revealing her weaknesses and her strengths. The support she received—and the support she gives in return when tragedy hits the families of her friends—is truly inspiring.

Mathews paints the colorful world of what living and working on the ocean meant for Bart and herself.

She explores the limits of surviving on the Pacific in a tuna boat with a dead engine. She masterfully builds tension, then releases it, just as the ocean swells take hold of their boat, then release them. Mathews takes us through storms both emotional and meteorological, and by the time she wraps up this heartfelt memoir, we are on the other side of grief and loss and perhaps have a new idea of how to survive ourselves.

This memoir embraces reality head-on. It reveals the best and the worst about fishing: being at sea for months at a time, weathering monster storms with only a small crew to manage the onslaught of waves and high winds, and sometimes, dealing with the raw guilt of surviving that crashes down upon a person.

Old timers will appreciate reminiscing about fishing large schools with colorful jigs, when fish were still sold at market value.

Mathews captures the love of the sea held by her late husband and the members of the Hyenas—a name that has a fabulous story to tell on its own. She develops salty characters that we grow to love, only for us to grieve when they are gone. We relate to Mathews’ own grief and her struggles after Bart’s death. Even if we’re not fishermen, we easily understand the depths of her loss.

Readers of women’s fiction, memoir, fishing, boat stories, or survival stories will all draw something from this excellent audiobook of Mathews’ memoir Fishing with Hyenas. They’ll find much to laugh, cry, and get goosebumps about as they come to understand the many perils of loving a man who loves the sea.

This is a five-star listen!

Fishing with Hyenas won First Place in the 2017 CIBA Journey Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction.

December 6, 2024
The 2024 Hearten Book Awards Short List for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction
The Hearten Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Inspiring and Uplifting Non-Fiction and Memoirs. The Hearten Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 Hearten Non-Fiction LONG LIST to the 2024 Hearten Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2024 Hearten Semi-Finalists. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC25).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

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 sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2024 Hearten Book Awards novel competition for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction!

Join us in celebrating the Short List authors and their works in the 2024 CIBAs.
- Elizabeth Fulgaro – Learning to Love (Not Loathe) Me
- Linda M. Lockwood – Sky Ranch: Reared in the High Country
- Genét Simone – Teaching in the Dark
- Wendy B. Correa – My Pretty Baby: A Memoir of Seeking Truth and Finding Healing
- Jenell M. Jones M.Ed. – Shattered
- David Hutton – Drums of a Distant Tribe
- Douglas Green – The Teachings of Shirelle: Life Lessons from a Divine Knucklehead
- Dr George Ackerman – A Son’s Journey from Parkinson’s Disease Caregiver to Advocate
- Ingrid McCarthy – I Stood Among the Ruins and Cried
- Kasey Claytor – Finding the Light
- Jia Apple – The Tell
- Olivia Goodreau – But She Looks Fine
- Etsuko Diamond Miyagi – DIAMOND: The Memoir of a Lost Daughter of Japan
- Lynne Spriggs O’Connor – Elk Love: A Montana Memoir
- Jane Kim Yu – Journey of Awakening and Higher Consciousness
- L.A. Witt – I Changed My Mind: My Journey from Infertile to Childfree
- Mimi Zieman – Tap Dancing on Everest
- Liz Alterman – Sad Sacked
- Rachael Siddoway and Sonja Wasden – An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness
- Christina Ford – In Search of Mr Darcy: Lessons Learnt In The Pursuit of Happily Ever After
- Glenda Goodrich – Solo Passage: 13 Quests, 13 Questions
- Ginelle Testa – Make a Home Out of You
- Jennifer Cramer-Miller – Incurable Optimist: Living with Illness and Chronic Hope
- Susan Bloch – Travels with my Grief
- Mark Steven Porro – A Cup of Tea on the Commode: My Multi-Tasking Adventures of Caring for Mom. And How I Survived to Tell the Tale
- Laura Hall – Affliction: Growing Up With A Closeted Gay Dad
- Susan Cole – Holding Fast: A Memoir of Sailing, Love, and Loss
- Louise Privette and Tristan Peigné – Dancing Through Life: A Memoir
- Ben LeBoutillier – Practical Advice for a Better World
- Kathleen Watt – REARRANGED: An Opera Singer’s Facial Cancer and Life Transposed
- Tony Jeton Selimi – The Unfakeable Code®
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!

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Hearten Awards is:

Running Away From The Circus

By Nove Meyers

See the full list of 2023 First Place Hearten Winners here!

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Hearten Book Awards for Inspiring and Uplifting Narrative Non-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 5, 2024
IVER And LUKE And The FRIENDS-For-OTHERS CLUB: Owning the Dash Kid’s Books by Anthony C. Delauney, illustrated by Chiara Civati – Children’s Friendship Books, Picture Books, Children’s Determination Books

Iver and Luke and the Friends-for-Others Club by award-winning author Anthony C. Delauney, tells an accessible moral tale about helping one’s friends. With relatable characters and vivid illustrations in a panorama of colors by Chiara Civati, it’s a story that will surely garner the rapt attention of little book lovers.

Life sometimes leads us into unexpected storms, throwing us off balance for a while before we get back to our feet. Some of these setbacks require us to change and recognize that we are not alone. It is during these times of adversity that we discover who our true friends are and how much we can lean on their shoulders to make it through the bad.

Iver and Luke and the Friends-for-Others Club keeps young readers engaged while teaching them the values of resilience, hard work, and true friendship through a cast of endearing characters.

When Iver and Luke’s mother suffers a severe leg injury after falling off her bike, their father takes up the responsibility of being her caregiver while she recuperates at home. Little Iver and his brother enthusiastically offer to help with the many chores at home in an attempt to lighten their father’s duties. They create a “Family Jobs List,” jotting down all the work that needs to be done daily, weekly, and monthly. However, a shadow of doubt is cast upon the two when they realize the duties are too many and they don’t know where to start.

Apprehensive but determined, Iver and Luke start their new tasks with firm resolve as they forge ahead to establish a money-making venture. The two boys are quickly overwhelmed by their new routine. But thankfully, their friends note their sluggishness at school and realize they need to help the two boys. Providing a real-life example that proves true friends are life’s most valuable gifts.

This story offers children vibrant illustrations, characters they can identify with, and a story that will make them see the world through a new lens.

Delauney deftly handles complex issues such as sickness, caregiving, household chores, cooperation, compassion, and the value of being a good neighbor. He creates a safe place for young readers to ponder and slowly digest the lessons learned. The pleasant choice of font, the use of warm colors, and the dynamic designs on each page enhance the storytelling and will keep kids glued to the story.

Delaney’s read-out-loud tale is a great avenue into a conversation about supporting your community for parents who want to cultivate a sense of responsibility and good decision-making in their children.

Iver and Luke and the Friends-for-Others Club by Anthony C. Delauney is an achievement that provides both entertainment and valuable life lessons and should be a staple on every child’s bookshelf.

December 4, 2024
The 2024 Chatelaine Book Awards Short List 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 Long List to the 2024 Chatelaine Book Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Chatelaine 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 SEMI-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
- Olivia North – Sharp Edges
- MaryAnn Clarke – Secrets at the Aviary Inn
- 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
- Margaret Porter – A Change of Location
- Nancy Herkness – Royal Caleva: Luis
- CK Van Dam – Medicine Creek Claim: On the Dakota Frontier
- Phillip Vega – Fury in her Eyes
- Jo Morgan Sloan – The Key
- Laurel Osterkamp – The Side Project
- Omayra Velez – The General’s Gift
- Susan Bagby – Home for Love
- David A. Stone – Spruce Harbor Possibilities
- 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
- Jerry Madden – Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s: A Love Story
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 3, 2024
The 2024 Goethe Book Awards Short List for Late Historical Fiction
The Goethe Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Post 1750 Historical Fiction. The Goethe 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 Victorian, Georgian, Regency, International History, 20th Century, and all the possible historical topics that an authors imagination can dream up for the Goethe Book Awards division. Our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward from the 2024 Goethe Late Historical Fiction LONG LIST to the 2024 Goethe Book Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Goethe 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 sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2024 Goethe Book Awards novel competition for Late Historical Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Tessa Floreano – Murder & Matrimony in the Castello
- Janis Robinson Daly – The Path Beneath Her Feet
- Kim Gottlieb-Walker – Lenswoman in Love
- Jeanne Gehret – Secrets to the Wind
- Donna Russo – Vincent’s Women: The Untold Story of the Loves of Vincent van Gogh
- William Robert Reeves – The In-House Politician
- Louis Trubiano – What Once Was Promised
- Katherine Koch – The Sower of Black Field: Inspired by the True Story of an American in Nazi Germany
- Sandra Wagner-Wright – Sea Tigers & Merchants: A New American Generation
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – A Cup of Revenge
- J.R. Holland – Vigilante Love Song
- Susan Higginbotham – The Queen of the Platform: A Novel of Women’s Rights Activist Ernestine Rose
- Brook Allen – West of Santillane
- James Conroyd Martin – Napoleon’s Shadow Wife: A Novel of Countess Marie Walewska
- Sean James – The Vengeful Kind
- Georgina Hogue – Cloud Cap
- Linda Ulleseit – Innocents at Home
- Florence Reiss Kraut – Street Corner Dreams, A Novel
- Paula Butterfield – Missing Mr. Moonlight
- Reenita M. Hora – Vermilion Harvest – Playtime at the Bagh
- Carolyn Summer Quinn – Until the Stars Align
- Leo Daughtry – Talmadge Farm
- Jeza Belle – Blood Rouge
- John David Graham – Running As Fast As I Can
- R. W. Meek – The Dream Collector, Book II “Sabrine & Vincent van Gogh”
- Annette Gagliardi – Ponderosa Pines: Days of the – Deadwood Forest Fire
- Sherry V. Ostroff – The Wall at the Sugar Factory
- Alina Rubin – A Girl with a Knife
- Alina Rubin – Abigail’s Song
- M. B. Zucker – The Middle Generation: A Novel of John Quincy Adams and the Monroe Doctrine
- Heather Miller – Yellow Bird’s Song
- João Cerqueira – Perestroika
- Adrienne Stevenson – Mirrors & Smoke
- Gail Ward Olmsted – Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip
- C.M. Huddleston – Esther
- Karen Lynne Klink – At What Cost, Silence? Book 1 of The Texian Trilogy
- Diane Byington – Louise and Vincent
- Jerry Madden – Steel Valley: Coming of Age in the Ohio Valley in the 1960s
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 Goethe Grand Prize Winner

If Someday Comes

By David Calloway

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

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Goethe Book Awards for Late 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 3, 2024
Last Chance for Discounted Conference Registration! Cyber Sale ends today!
The Biggest Chanticleer Deal of the year!

Celebrating Cyber Monday

The Chanticleer Authors Conference!

The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!

Publishing is the Hub of Technology

Join the New Era of Content Creation in All Its Forms

Take Your Writing Craft and Multichannel Marketing

to the Next Level at #CAC25

LAST CHANCE to use code CAC25TRZRFH4X for a $100 Discount

Our deepest discount for the conference.

Check out these T.G.I.A.N.A.T. SPECIALS

Your Ultimate Writing Career Opportunity Awaits at CAC25!

It’s Cyber Monday, and the sale ends TONIGHT!

This is your last chance to save on the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC25) — the event that will help you take your writing career to the next level. Join us April 3-6, 2025, at the Bellingham Yacht Club in beautiful Bellingham, WA, for an experience that could change everything.

Seats are filling fast, and you don’t want to miss this incredible opportunity to learn from industry experts and network with fellow authors. You’ll gain valuable insights into the world of publishing, marketing, and digital content creation, plus exclusive sessions on:
- Expanding Readership
- Audiobook Creation
- Advanced Writing Craft
- SEO & Metadata Strategies
- Social Media Marketing for Authors
- And so much more!
Save $100 off Conference Registration

Use code CAC25TRZRFH4X

Limited seats available — this is your chance to join a supportive, inspiring community of authors.

You don’t have to attend to win, but it’s sure a lot more fun!

After securing your spot at CAC25, take advantage of our Editorial Book Reviews—the perfect next step for your manuscript! But that’s not all! We also offer Audiobook Reviews and Children’s Book Reviews—so no matter your format, we’ve got you covered.

Sign up today and let us help you make your book shine with professional reviews that include SEO, metadata, and long-tail promotion.

Check out these awesome deals!

Chanticleer Editorial Book Review Package for $395 with Discount Code

Purchase the book review package now and you can redeem it anytime in the future.

Use this code upon checkout to receive the once a year CYBER discount of $100: WEDTAKZV6XUZ

Discount Valid for Book Reviews and Audio Book Reviews

Click here to purchase a Chanticleer Book Review Package for only $395.

Audio Book Reviews are also eligible for Chanticleer’s only CYBER SALE of the YEAR!

Our Book Review Package (Regularly $495) includes SEO, Meta-Data, Tagging, and Long Tail Social Media Promotion.

Don’t delay! Be one of the lucky few to get in on this incredible rate.

Use this code on checkout for a $50 discount on

Children’s Picture Book and Early Readers Reviews:

PZ44KAAPAG9H

Click here to purchase a Chanticleer Book Review Package for only $275 with discount code above

Need assistance?

If you have any questions or need a hand registering, we’re here to assist you! Reach out to us at info@ChantiReviews.com — our team is ready to help!

From all of us at Chanticleer, we wish you a wonderful Cyber Monday!

Thank you for being part of our incredible Chanticleer family. We can’t wait to see you at CAC25!

Kiffer, David, Anya, Scott, Dena, Argus, and the entire Chanticleer Team!
December 2, 2024
A GRAND PAUSE: A Novel on May 14, 1945, the USS Randolph, Kamikazes, and the Greatest Air-Sea Rescue by Gary Santos – Historical Fiction, WWII Pacific Theater, WWII Naval Aviation

In A Grand Pause: A Novel on May 14, 1945, the USS Randolph, Kamikazes, and the Greatest Air-Sea Rescue by Gary Santos, readers board the US Naval aircraft carrier alongside its crewmen as World War II’s Pacific Theater reaches a critical point.

This compelling novel opens with a startling description of the US Navy caught in the bloodiest and longest battle in its history. Through a wide cast of characters, from sailors to pilots, officers to the deck crew, everyone plays a vital role in keeping the USS Randolph running amidst the most heated naval combat of World War II.

Santos writes every moment of these nightmarish battles with intensity and authenticity.

Rich details provide a visceral experience for the reader as they feel, see, and breathe each nuance of the desperate fight to stop the kamikazes from reaching their targets. These kamikaze attacks move so quickly readers will need to catch their breath. To feel as if an attack is truly happening while turning the pages is a testament to Santos’s talent. His entwining of fact with fiction is seamless.

With meticulous detail, Santos describes the moment when Ensign John Morris and his gunner Cletis Phegley are shot down.

Readers share the stomach-dropping terror of a descent to an unknown fate. When the USS Randolph sets a plan in motion to rescue the men before the Japanese can get to them, their heart-pounding, desperate hope becomes inescapable.

With a lifetime working in aviation, Santos is deft at explaining the intricacies of what the pilots, flight crew, and officers experienced. As the actual son of one of the crew members in this historical event, he delivers its emotional reality with lasting impact.

A Grand Pause is a must-read that will grab the attention of any historical or wartime reader who wants to be truly submerged in a heart-stopping, passionate military story. Gary Santos brings the past into the present!

December 2, 2024