Author: chanti

  • The 2024 Humor and Satire Hall of Fame

    Humor and Satire Awards!

    The Humor and Satire Awards are here to bring you a laugh!

    ***No Joke! The Humor and Satire deadline is October 31st!***

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring satire, humor, political ideology, parody, fantasy, and allegory or fable. The Deadline for the 2024 Humor and Satire Book Awards is the end of October. 

    Looking to learn more about the Humor and Satire Awards? Click here!

    Lets take a look at the Winners of the Humor and Satire Award!

    Quantum Consequence
    By Mike Murphey

    Quantum Consequences, the fifth book in the Physics, Lust, and Greed Series by Mike Murphy, mixes conflicts from the past, present, and future as a group of time travelers clash over the fate of multiple worlds.

    Marta and Marshall have to protect Baptiste, a child living under the rule of his mother’s abusive boyfriend, Ignace Aguillard. When their friend Cecil is murdered, Baptiste inherits his money and stake in a secret governmental facility beneath the Arizona desert, the Historical Research Initiative Complex. To keep that money out of Aguillard’s hands and confirm whether Aguillard truly killed Cecil, Marta and Marshall take Baptiste to the HRI, revealing its true nature as the hub of interdimensional time travel.

    Meanwhile, a team of assassins and former HRI personnel, Gillis, Lexi, and Elvin, are instructed by a future version of Lexi to kill John Dexter– Lexi’s bitter ex and future higher-up in the dystopian Christian Fundamentalist States of America. They break into the HRI, now seemingly abandoned, to figure out whether they should take the job.

    Read More Here

    Delphic Oracle Cover

    Delphic Oracle, USA
    By Steven Mayfield

    The Coen Brothers meet Garrison Keillor in Steven Mayfield’s quirky, offbeat, and often hilarious Delphic Oracle, U.S.A.

    One June afternoon in 1925, seventeen-year-old Maggie Westinghouse, out walking alone as was her custom, comes upon a stranger in a railroad switch-house asleep on a pile of gunnysacks. Maggie, who has always stood a little apart from the town, has recently begun to experience visions that come upon her “in a leisurely way,” ending in a swoon and a restless sleep filled with exotic talk of which she later has no memory. No one knows what to make of it, but they soon will. After this afternoon’s chance encounter with July Pennybaker, a charming grifter on the lam, her world will never be the same. Neither will the town of Miagrammesto Station.

    Eighty-nine years later, in the days leading up to and following the July 4th weekend, domestic dramas are playing out across Delphic Oracle, Nebraska (nee Miagrammesto Station).

    Read more here!

     

    Certified Cover

    Certified
    By Roger Wilson-Crane

    Certified by Roger Wilson-Crane is a multi-award-winning comedy-drama, following one man down three sharp turns in his life trajectory.

    Based on real-life events, Certified shows the narrator’s birth, marriage, and death, three of the most significant milestones in human life. The book is divided into three sections.

    “One Unexpected Birth” explores his flawed string of relationships until he meets Dawn, the love of his life. However, a woman from the past makes a comeback, threatening to shatter his newly found happiness.

    “One Hapless Wedding” careens about his well-planned wedding in Puglia, Italy, which is trampled by Justin Timberlake who wants the same venue. “One Bizarre Death”, on the other hand, follows the loss of the narrator’s loved one and the pain and confusion that surrounds an unexpected death. Certified is full of humor, heart, and unexpected gems that one might find in a trunk of well-lived memories.

    Read more here!

    Cover of Arnold Falls by Charlie Suisman

    Arnold Falls
    By Charlie Suisman

    Charlie Suisman’s debut novel is a wonderful escape to a small fictional community in upstate New York. Here a melting pot of quirky residents brings Arnold Falls to life, a town with a unique history and charming inhabitants whose lives are intimately intertwined.

    Settled in 1803 by the unscrupulous Hezekiah Hesper, the town for unknown reasons was named after Benedict Arnold. Adding to the oddities, the closest waterfall is twenty miles away. The area is known for sudden bursts of crab apple-size hail pelting the landscape without any scientific explanation. Hence the incentive for “Hail Pail Day,” a neighborly tradition surrounding the distribution of galvanized bucket head-coverings.

    Suisman engagingly presents Jeebie Walker as the story’s primary narrator. A gay man in his early 40s, he moved north of the city in the hopes of a quieter life with his partner, Miles. Though things didn’t work out, Jeebie has settled into his fixer-upper, Queen Anne-style abode, and now seems a positive fixture in this hamlet.

    Read more here!

    The Kissing Rabbi Cover

    The Kissing Rabbi
    By Andy Becker

    Based on a true story, Andy Becker’s tale The Kissing Rabbi is a smart, witty, and engaging novel that takes readers into the heart of a Jewish community in the Pacific Northwest.

    Here a young, self-serving rabbi sets a town on edge when his salacious desires and personal financial agenda are brought to light by the people he was brought there to serve.

    Rabbi Mishegas Dreidel, a young orthodox leader, arrives in the quiet town of Destiny, Oregon. His intentions seem noble as he opens up a synagogue in his basement and establishes a flock of dedicated followers.

    Read more here!

    My Only Sunshine
    Lou Discher

    Lou Dischler delivers an intricately woven story about one well-meaning boy who tries to make sense of the crazy he’s been born into. Get ready for one belly laugh of an adventure in My Only Sunshine.

    Welcome to the Louisiana low country, home of 9-year-old Charlie Boone, a kid growing up in 1962. Charlie, a most unreliable narrator, concerns himself with giant wingless wasps and biting red velvet ants. Combine his critter-concerns with the legend of the giant slugs, the story of his mother taken up by a hurricane, and the episode of the puddle he and his brother dug that grew into a pond, then turned into a lake, and we have one wildly imaginative ride well-worth taking.

    Dischler delivers an epic tale that shifts from Charlie’s first-person point-of-view with his youthful ignorance coloring his observations to his Uncle Dan’s and “Aunt” Lola’s in third-person point-of-view. While Charlie ages and grows in wisdom as the story progresses, his uncle never seems to gain a lick of sense. Dischler skillfully applies the laws of magic realism to Charlie’s wonderful way of viewing his world. Uncle Dan’s story, on the other hand, derives from an inept conman’s rap-sheet – from failed grifts to bank robbery bungles that succeed only by accident. Dischler guides us, normalizing the ridiculous to the point that the characters jump off the page and set up camp in your living room.

    Read more here!


    Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Humor and Satire Winners is to submit today!

    Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

    Enter the CIBAs Today!

    Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your Humor or Satire story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2024 Humor and Satire Awards by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.

    The Humor and Satire Awards is your chance to shine!

  • The 2024 JOURNEY Awards Semi-Finalists for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction

    The 2024 JOURNEY Awards Semi-Finalists for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction

    Journey Narrative Non-Fiction CIBA BadgeThe Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey 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 in the judging rounds from the 2024 Journey Non-Fiction SHORT LIST. 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 at the Four Points by Sheraton sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    A Wreath with the words "CAC 2025" on it to celebrate the Chanticleer Author's Conference!

     

    These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2024 Journey Book Awards novel competition for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction!

    Join us in celebrating the Semi-Finalist authors and their works in the 2024 CIBAs.

    • Michael Salsbury – Running From Tragedy
    • Lynne Spriggs O’Connor – Elk Love: A Montana Memoir
    • Jane Kim Yu – Journey of Awakening and Higher Consciousness
    • Tamra McAnally Bolton – His 100th Year
    • Kirsten Throneberry – Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road
    • Irena Smith – The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays
    • Jennifer Gasner – My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis
    • Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me
    • Jill Vanneman – The Betterment Campaign
    • Linda M. Lockwood – Sky Ranch: Reared in the High Country
    • Etsuko Diamond Miyagi – Diamond – The Memoir of a Lost Daughter of Japan
    • Karen Elizabeth Lee – The Village That Betrayed its Children
    • Liz Alterman – Sad Sacked
    • Anne Gately – Sunburnt – A memoir of sun, surf and skin cancer
    • Natalie Kohlhaas – Hello Anxiety My Old Friend: Harness Your Invisible Superpower
    • Rachael Siddoway and Sonja Wasden – An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness
    • Léonie Rosenstiel – Protecting Mama: Surviving the Legal Guardianship Swamp
    • Ernestine Whitman – Countermelodies: A Memoir in Sonata Form
    • Jacqueline Acho – Cancer Culture: Fixing the Landscape by Infusing Empathy
    • Kathi N. Miner – The Committed Professor – My Fall from the Lectern to the Ward
    • Bridey Thelen-Heidel – Bright Eyes
    • Ginelle Testa – Make a Home Out of You
    • E. Adrienne Wilson – I’d Rather Be Dead Than Deaf: A Young Woman’s Journey with Liver Cancer
    • Lindsey Henke – When Skies Are Gray
    • Heidi Beierle – Heidi Across America – One Woman’s Journey on a Bicycle through the Heartland
    • Claudia Marseille – But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World
    • Mary Jumbelic, M.D. – Here, Where Death Delights
    • Lisa Rhyne – Coming Out of the Metaphysical Closet
    • Tracy Mayo – Childless Mother: A Search for Son and Self
    • Marsha Jacobson – The Wrong Calamity
    • David Vass – Liar, Alleged

    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 JOURNEY Awards is:

    Barbed: A Memoir

    By Julie Morrison

    Journey Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction Grand Prize Badge for Barbed by Julie Morrison

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

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Journey Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in 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!

  • PSYCHOLOGICAL SECRETS For EMOTIONAL SUCCESS by Dr. Kelly Rabenstein – Workplace Culture, Interpersonal Relations, Success Self-Help

     

    Blue and Gold badge recognizing Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success by Dr Kelly Rabenstein for winning the 2023 Mind and Spirit Grand Prize

    Do you often feel that you sabotage your personal and work relationships? In Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success, Dr. Kelly Rabenstein teaches readers exactly what psychological techniques will help them strengthen and maintain their interpersonal connections.

    Dr. Rabenstein is a licensed psychologist offering her extensive knowledge of how to make sound, conscious changes in mindset and perspective to help you thrive in relationships across the board. If a person can thrive, then they can be fully authentic to themselves and to those who surround them.

    Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success follows the structure of thoughtful explanations and emotional explorations, followed by insightful exercises at the end of each chapter to help readers understand and improve both their workplace culture and personal interactions. These questions reveal where we stand and how to develop a more balanced life.

    Dr. Rabenstein lays out the deceptively simple key to emotional success: a combination of awareness, education, and empathy.

    The book starts with the suggestion that the reader keep a simple journal, writing down a sentence or two to track daily happenings. These journal entries, plus mentally engaging questions within each chapter, bring clarity to your personal intentions. You can then begin to reform thought patterns and habits to better serve them.

    Empathy is a cornerstone of productive relationships, no matter which kind they are.

    Without compassionate listening and communication, relationships become stagnant as the wants and needs of others go unaddressed. While professional relationships aren’t put second here, Dr. Rabenstein offers particularly focused suggestions on communication between partners.

    This expert guidance clarifies the ins and outs of sending and receiving information between people. It also highlights the struggles that crop up when communication falls short, such as hiding needs or simply being dishonest. Any move toward improving or hampering communication in a relationship has a compounding effect, for the positive or for the negative.

    Our interpersonal relationships – business, romantic, and otherwise – are the paths to happiness. Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success opens our inner pathways wide for the reader who is ready to listen.

    Learn how to break down aspects of relationships, following clear and simple directions, and implement positive changes in each of them. It won’t be long until you reap the benefits of healthier connections and emotional success in every aspect of life.

    Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success by Dr. Kelly Rabenstein won the 2023 Grand Prize for the CIBA Mind & Spirit Book Awards!

     

  • The 2024 Global Thriller Hall of Fame for High Stakes Suspense!

    The World is in Danger

    But your Global Thriller Novel can save it!

    Global Thriller

    ***Submit Your Novel Today!***

    You have until October 31st to enter the 2024 CIBAs before this message will self-destruct!

    We’re here to celebrate the past Grand Prize Winners that showed us just how high stakes the suspense can be!

    Roman Conspiracy cover

    Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
    By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke

    Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller in Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy!

    In this multinational geopolitical thriller by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke, a power-crazed Russian oligarch wants to usurp the current Russian dictator to take his place as the head of the government. He forms his own paramilitary force to steal priceless paintings from a Vatican church with plans to resell them for billions to fund his campaign. But why stop there? He also explodes illicit small-scale atomic weapons to further destabilize the Russian leader and cast himself as the country’s new czar.

    Meanwhile, a crazed U.S. right wing military adjutant buys loads of AK-47s from the Italian mafia to arm U.S. paramilitary groups intent on enforcing their own far-right views in America.

    Read More Here

    Hybrid Hysteria Cover

    Hybrid Hysteria
    By Charlie Robinson

    Two professors uncover a conspiracy to sterilize liberal Americans with specially-manufactured electric cars, in Charlie Robinson’s thriller, Hybrid Hysteria.

    Dr. Theresa Lauzon, endowed assistant professor at SUNY-Canton’s Department of Automotive Engineering, comes to Charlie “CC” Cavanaugh, university Chaplain and physics PhD, with two troubling revelations.

    First, while testing an electric car donated by the Gauss Hybrid Electric Automobile Company (GHEA), she’d discovered troubling spikes in its battery’s electromagnetic field. She connects these spikes to a rash of infertility and miscarriages along the Pacific coast, where GHEA cars have boomed in popularity.

    Second, Theresa is pregnant, and the father is GHEA’s technician-on-loan to SUNY-Canton, Jay Fish. And though Fish recently disappeared from campus, Theresa has much more complicated problems.

    Read More Here

     

    The Chameleon Cover

    The Chameleon
    By Ron McManus

    The Chameleon: A Jake Palmer Novel by Ron McManus takes on one of the most terrifying issues in the modern world: nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists.

    Amidst the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, the world’s superpowers recognize that both nations possess large nuclear arsenals, which intelligent, well-armed fanatics threaten to steal for their own nefarious purposes. If these weapons went off, they could easily lead to World War III. To prevent this, the U.S. eagerly takes on the role of supervising the security of these weapons in both countries.

    In this terrorism thriller, India and Pakistan clash over the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan’s leaders decide to secretly deploy a variety of nuclear weapons to the front, sending them along backroads in unmarked trucks. But in a carefully planned attack, terrorists kidnap one of these vehicles containing three nuclear weapons, before substituting a precise duplicate truck to take its place. The theft is not discovered until the decoy truck reaches its destination.

    Read More Here

    Cover of William Maz's The Bucharest Dossier, Chanticleer Grand Prize Global Thrillers Winner 2020

    The Bucharest Dossier
    By William Maz

    Bill Hefflin is a man apart—apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love

    At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin—a disillusioned Romanian expat—arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset, code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems, including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.

    With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces, including his own CIA and Boris—the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.

    The Bourne Identity Meets John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

    Buy it here!

    Solstice Shadows
    By Avanti Centrae

    Something really nasty is afoot in the world as the Russians attempt to build a super quantum computer so powerful that it will be able to hack into America’s computer capabilities, bypassing even our most advanced protection and control or shut down every computer in the U.S.

    As we find out about halfway through Solstice Shadows: A VanOps Thriller, the second book in Avanti Centrae’s VanOps thriller series, they’ve run a test of their capabilities by using a prototype to shut down Manila in the Philippines, a city of nearly 14 million people. The test shuts off its electrical power, lights, traffic signals and causes its citizens to tear the city apart. A fine test case for its potential impact on the USA.

    All they need to complete their evil system is some rare superconductivity material that appears to have come from a meteorite that allegedly landed on Earth at roughly the same time as Moses led his people out of Egypt. The clue to its location is an ancient star map dating back to those times now in the possession of Maddy Marshall, the heroine of the VanOps’ first book. Also in her possession are slivers of the actual meteorite that she can activate with her mind, giving her the ability to meld with the ancient material and hurl deadly fireballs at an enemy.

    Read More Here

    The Moving Blade
    By Michael Pronko

    The Moving Blade by Michael Pronko won GRAND PRIZE in the CIBA 2018 Global Thriller Awards for Lab Lit and High Stakes Thrillers!

    What exactly was Bernard Mattson up to when he committed seppuku* at his Tokyo home – or, was it murder? This is just one of many questions Michael Pronko incites in readers in his latest novel, The Moving Blade.

    Another set of questions: What was so important about Mattson’s collection of rare Japanese shunga—centuries-old erotic art—that someone ransacked the house for it while his family attended his funeral? Or was it all about the significant role that the elderly Mattson had in formulating, then turning against, the SOFA** agreements, and the book he intended to publish about the unfairness of the agreements to Japan today?

    Read More Here


    Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Global Thriller Winners is to submit today!

    Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

    Submit to the CIBAs Today!

    Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your Thriller story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2023 Chatelaine Awards by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.

    The Global Thriller Awards is your chance to shine!

    The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!
    The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!

    And remember! Registration for the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference is open now! Space is limited and seats are already filling up. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

  • The 2024 Hemingway Hall of Fame for 20th and 21st Century Wartime Fiction

    The Past Always Impacts the Present

    Ernest Hemingway looking off to the right

    Enter by October 31 to be considered for the 2024 Hemingway Book Awards for Wartime Fiction!

    Wartime Fiction set in the twentieth century asks us to reflect most keenly on the most difficult times in our recent history. At Chanticleer, we are here to face war time history with the Hemingway Awards in Historical Fiction; Romance and Romantic Fiction; Mysteries, Thrillers, and Suspense Fiction of the time; Literary works and Satire and anything else that author imaginations can dream up.

    To read more about Ernest Hemingway, please click here. 

    Please note that fictional accounts of the United States Civil War should be submitted to the Laramie Book Awards for Americana Fiction. It is sobering to note that more human life was lost in the Civil War than in ALL of the wars, battles, and skirmishes that the U.S. has participated in added together. Civil wars are considered to be the most deadly of all wars.

    Historical Book Awards here at Chanticleer Reviews and the CIBAS.

    The CIBAs started with one historical fiction division, The Chaucer Book Awards, which split off the Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s historical fiction. Then the Goethe Book Awards split off a new division, the Hemingway Book Awards for Wartime Fiction.

    The Hemingway Awards might be young, but we already have Four Amazing Grand Prize Winners to share with you!

    The Silver Waterfall Cover

    The Silver Waterfall: A Novel of the Battle of Midway
    By Kevin Miller

    In The Silver Waterfall, author retired U.S. Navy Captain Kevin Miller reveals the intricate and deadly turns of the Battle of Midway, a combat shaped by transforming warfare, and one that would in turn shape the rest of WWII’s Pacific Theater.

    After their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Navy seeks to draw American aircraft carriers into an ambush, to secure Japanese power over the Pacific. In a time of great upheaval for warfare technology, aircraft carriers dominated both sea and sky. So, to destroy the USS Enterprise, Yorktown, and Hornet, Chūichi Nagumo— commander of the Japanese First Air Fleet— brings to bear his own four carriers, HIJMS Akagi, Hiryū, Kaga, and Soryu.

    But the Americans had cracked the Japanese communication codes, so as the First Air Fleet launches their provoking attack against the Midway Islands, the American carriers are already steaming into position. From June 4th to June 6th of 1942, planes filled the skies above the remote Pacific waters, both American and Japanese pilots dashing back and forth, knowing that either they sink the enemy’s carriers, or they’ll have none of their own to return to.

    Read More Here

    Running with Cannibals Cover

    RUNNING WITH CANNIBALS
    By Robert W. Smith

    Robert W. Smith tells the story of a forgotten war and the fractured peace that follows in his powerful historical fiction novel, Running with Cannibals.

    It has been said that “War is hell.” It has also been opined that “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” Running with Cannibals is a no-holds-barred, candid portrayal of a war that is glossed over in U.S. history, the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902. It was the first war fought overseas by the U.S.

    Running with Cannibals begins with an unnamed man on the run from an unjust accusation bought with blood and money.

    Read more here!

    EO-N Cover

    EO-N
    By Dave Mason

    A young boy in Norway makes a discovery while playing with his dog, opening the mystery of EO-N by Dave Mason, a detective story spanning multiple decades and both sides of the Atlantic, a deep dive into the horrors of Nazi Germany, and a heartfelt love story.

    A small metal fragment leads to the discovery of a downed WWII twin-engine Mosquito fighter-bomber hidden in snow and glacial ice for nearly 75 years. The crash site yields an initial set of clues, one of which finds its way across the world to Alison Wiley, a biotech CEO in Seattle. Having recently lost her mother, and, a few years earlier, her brother in Afghanistan, she finds her days full of despair, but the discovery makes a distant connection to her long-lost grandfather, and she flies to Norway. There, she meets Scott Wilcox, a Canadian researcher assigned to investigate the discovery after his government learned that the crashed aircraft belonged to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Their attraction is both intellectual and emotional, but the quest to uncover the plane’s mysteries and the fate of Alison’s grandfather place any romance to the side.

    At first, the crash doesn’t appear exceptional, until certain contradictory and confusing clues emerge that make it clear that the circumstances that led to the plane’s fate were anything but simple.

    Read more here!

    THE QUISLING FACTOR
    By J. L. Oakley

    During World War II “quisling” became a byword for a particular type of traitor, one who not only betrays their own country but also actively collaborates with the invaders. The origin of the term was taken from an actual person, a Norwegian named Vidkun Quisling, who didn’t merely cooperate with the Nazis but actually headed a collaborationist regime in his own country.

    The Quisling Factor takes place in the immediate post-war period, as the Nuremberg Trials are gearing up in Germany. Norway is conducting its own post-war legal purge of collaborators at all levels of government.

    The story is a direct follow-up to the author’s award-winning World War II novel, The Jøssing Affair. This second novel focuses on the physical and emotional toll of war, and its precarious weight of peace on the survivors.

    Read more here!


    Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Hemingway Winners is to submit today!

    The Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards Overall Grand Prize sticker for the CIBAs

    Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

    The Blue and Gold Best Book Awards for the CIBAs
    You know you want it…

     

    Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

  • Building Frankenstein’s Monster: Creating Characters That Move Your Readers

    “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
    Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

    Writers of every genre all face the challenge of creating meaningful, memorable characters that are fully fleshed out and believable. It’s a feat of magic that, if done right, creates the kind of characters that readers connect with and may even glance something they recognize within themselves.

    Frankenstein, lab, monster, igor, movie, black and white

    Get out your scalpels my writing friends, because today we’re going to dissect how to create a great character!

    When a writer sets out to create a memorable character they assume the role of a mad scientist, taking pieces of a person’s physical, intellectual, and emotional self and mixing them together to create their version of the type of person they need for their plot. It’s a delicate procedure of hitting the right mark, without going over the top or leaving them flat and uninteresting. If done right, a writer can create an unbreakable link between their characters and the reader, regardless of whether it’s a human, animal, or even a monster!

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a great example of this. The plot’s profound exploration of human nature, ethics, and the consequences of scientific ambition makes for fertile ground for showing the complexities of her realistic and fantastical characters. The sympathy Shelley is able to elicit from the reader for her “Monster” makes the novel resonate with readers across all boundaries and offers rich lessons for writers looking to craft their own unforgettable personas.

    Vitruvian Man, leonardo da vinci, black, white, circle, square

    Here’s a deep dive into how Shelley developed her characters and what we can learn from her approach.

    1. Complex Protagonists

    One of the most striking features of Frankenstein is its dual protagonists: Victor Frankenstein and his creation, often referred to as “the Monster.” Both characters are distinctly different, multi-dimensional, and able to elicit empathy despite their flaws.

    Lesson: Embrace Complexity

    When creating characters, avoid the temptation to make them purely good or evil. Victor is ambitious and passionate, but his hubris leads to tragedy. The Monster, on the other hand, starts as a blank slate, driven by a desire for companionship and understanding but ultimately succumbs to despair and violence. By portraying your characters with a mix of virtues and vices, you invite readers to explore the complexities that are ingrained inside each character.

    2. Strong Drive

    Shelley provides compelling motivations for her characters, which drive the narrative forward. Victor’s desire to have dominion over life and death through his creation stems from a blend of intellectual curiosity and personal loss. The Monster’s longing to find his humanity in the love and acceptance he expects to receive from others illustrates the fundamental human need for connection.

    Lesson: Define Clear Motivations

    When crafting your characters, think deeply about what drives them. Their goals should be relatable, allowing readers to understand their choices, even when those choices lead to tragic outcomes. Clear motivations can create a strong emotional bond between the reader and the character, which makes each individual journey more impactful.

    people, heart, books, colors

    3. Relationships that Shape Identity

    The relationships between characters in Frankenstein are critical in shaping their identities and trajectories. Victor’s relationships with his family, friends, and the Monster highlight themes of isolation, responsibility, and the consequences of neglect. The Monster, a blank slate at his incarnation, responds to Victor’s mishandling of his care with a combination of confusion and sadness until he eventually becomes a dark force who turns to self-imposed isolation to save himself.

    Lesson: Develop Interconnected Relationships

    As you build your characters, consider how their relationships influence their development. Interactions with others can reveal vulnerabilities and strengths, adding depth to your characters. Show how relationships can uplift or destroy, creating a dynamic that enriches the narrative.

    4. Thematic Depth

    Shelley’s characters are not just vehicles for the plot; they embody the novel’s themes of ambition, isolation, and the quest for understanding. The struggles of both Victor and the Monster reflect broader questions about humanity’s place in the world.

    Lesson: Infuse Characters with Thematic Significance

    Think about how your characters can serve as representations of the themes you want to explore. Their experiences should resonate with the central ideas of your story, prompting readers to reflect on larger questions. When characters embody your themes, their journeys become more profound and thought-provoking.

    red, black, two people, man, woman

    5. Evolution Through Conflict

    Both Victor and the Monster undergo significant transformations throughout the novel. Their encounters with conflict force them to confront their values, desires, and the repercussions of their actions.

    Lesson: Allow Characters to Grow and Change

    Conflict is essential for character development. Whether it’s internal struggles or external challenges, ensure your characters face obstacles that force them to grow. By the end of their journey, they should reflect on their experiences and provide a satisfying arc that resonates with the reader.

    Mad science, scientist, lab, skulls, light

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers a masterclass in character creation. By embracing complexity, defining clear motivations, developing meaningful relationships, infusing thematic depth, and allowing for character evolution through conflict, you can craft characters that leave a lasting impression on your readers.

    As you write, remember that characters are not just components of your story; they are the heart and soul that breathe life into your narrative. Take a page from Shelley’s playbook, and let your characters inspire, challenge, and engage your audience in a dialogue that transcends time and space.


    Thank you for joining us in celebrating a literary icon, Mary Shelley!

    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.

    Is your book an Award Winner?

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    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!

    The Shelley Awards for Paranormal Fiction features an image of Mary Shelley at her writing desk

    The Shelley Awards for Paranormal & Supernatural Fiction are open through Oct 31st!

    Don’t miss out on your chance to introduce your characters to new readers!


    Chanticleer Editorial Services – when you are ready

    Did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services? We do and have been doing so since 2011.

    Tools of the Editing Trade

    Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).

    If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or David at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or DBeaumier@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.

    We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis. Contact us today!

    Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.

    A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service. Here are some handy links about this tried and true service: https://test.chantireviews.com/manuscript-reviews/

    And we do editorial consultations. for $75.  https://test.chantireviews.com/services/Editorial-Services-p85337185

    Writer’s Toolbox

    Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox article.

    Writers Toolbox  a few more Helpful Links: 

    The INCITING INCIDENT: STORY, SETBACKS and SURPRISES for the PROTAGONIST – A Writer’s Toolbox Series from Jessica Morrell’s Editor’s Desk

    ESSENCE of CHARACTERS – Part One – From the Jessica Morrell’s Editor’s Desk – Writer’s Toolbox Series

  • A SEA Of GLASS: The Stockbridge Series Book 3 by Gail Avery Halverson – Historical Fiction, Colonial America, Slavery

    blue and gold badge recognizing A Sea of Glass by Gail Avery Halverson for winning the 2023 Chatelaine Grand Prize

     

    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.

    After a very personal tragedy, Catherine starts imagining life would be better in her homeland of England. But when a free black woman who works for the McKensie’s attempts to do something out of the ordinary, Catherine finds she has reason to stay in Boston and stand up for what she believes is right.

    Catherine’s not the only soul struggling in this tenuous world of Colonial America.

    Her brother Charles is planning to invest in a sugar plantation in Barbados. He soon sets sail with his wife, Arabella, to visit the plantation in person. But on their way, they are beset by pirates and are separated from each other. Eventually, Arabella makes her way back to Boston, but her trauma from the pirate attack renders her nearly mute.

    News of the plundered ship sends Simon to Barbados to find Charles, and they both discover the dark underside of the “Barbados Plan to Prosperity.” A plan with dire costs to both Catherine, Arabella, and the slaves who smolder at their unjust treatment.

    A Sea of Glass includes excellently researched details, but its greatest strength is the relationships between the characters.

    The reader will find themselves invested in everyone’s lives, both in their successes and perils. The rich emotion behind these characters will make readers empathize deeply with them.

    As the third book in the saga of Lady Catherine Abbott and Simon McKensie, A Sea of Glass artfully shares the details a new reader would need, while not frustrating returning fans.

    Any lover of historical fiction will find a meaningful read in A Sea of Glass, with the preceding Stockbridge Series fully living up to it.

    A Sea of Glass by Gail Avery Halverson won Grand Prize in the 2023 CIBA Chatelaine Awards for Romantic Fiction.

     

  • The 2023 Book Series First Place Winners Roundup

    A stack of books flying into the blue sky for the Book Series AwardsThe Series Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Genre Fiction (and now Non-Fiction). The Grand Prize Winner, David Fitz-Gerald’s Series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Series contest page year ’round!

    The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

    While these Award Winning Series are all Multi-book sagas, we are going to showcase the most important part of a Series. The beginning. Having a good start makes it memorable. The first book is the foundation, laying the first stitches into what later becomes a whole tapestry, telling their story.

    Join us in celebrating the 2023 First Place Series Winners!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    John J. Spearman – FitzDuncan

    Introducing Casimir “Caz” FitzDuncan, a resident of the medieval kingdom of Aquileia. He makes his living retrieving things when the law will not help.

    A woman has come to him, seeking his assistance in escaping a contract to marry a nobleman with a foul reputation. After their meeting, she is kidnapped not far from his residence.

    Caz is accused of abducting her and forced to investigate her disappearance. Aided by his friend Freddy, Lord Rawlinsford, and Freddy’s mysterious cousin Lucy, Caz works to find the kidnapper.

    Be careful Caz, the closer you get to finding the truth, the more tangled you are in a web designed specifically to trap you.

    In this fantasy adventure book series you will be whisked away in a medieval time of magical realism, masters of sword fighting, and action & adventure that won’t allow you to put the book down.

    Will Caz be able to rescue an innocent victim and save himself when skill with a sword is not enough?

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    James Hutson-Wiley – The Sugar Merchant

    When Thomas’s family is annihilated in a raid, his life changes forever. Wandering for days, starving and hopeless, he is rescued by a monk and is taken to live at the abbey of Eynsham. There he receives a curious education, training to be a scholar, a merchant and a spy. His mission: to develop commerce in Muslim lands and dispatch vital information to the Holy See.

    His perilous adventures during the 11th century’s commercial revolution will take him far from his cloistered life to the great trading cities of Almeria, Amalfi, Alexandria and Cairo.

    But the world in which he lives is chaotic. Struggling with love and loss, faith and fortune, can Thomas carry out his secret mission before conflict overtakes him?

    Spanning the tumultuous medieval worlds of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, The Sugar Merchant is a tale of clashing cultures, massive economic change and one man’s determination to fulfil his destiny.

    From Chanticleer: 2019 Chaucer 1st Place Winner

    Narrated by a boy who grows up in a monastery and is trained to be a spy, The Sugar Merchant is set in the late 11th Century when the Great Crusades were on the verge of erupting in Europe and the Middle East.

    When Thomas is forced to flee after rebels attack his family, he is finally discovered, ragged and starving, by a giant of a man named Leofric. Taken under the wing of the monks at Eynsham Abbey, Thomas is educated while accepting the strict discipline of the Benedictine order. In his late teens, he is surprised and disappointed to learn he will not join the Order but will be employed as an agent and spy. His task will be to find, secretly copy and send back manuscripts written by Islamic scholars. These documents contain knowledge that the Catholic Church needs to maintain its control.

    Accompanied by Leofric, who taught him the arts of war based on his own checkered past as a mercenary, Thomas travels to Spain, to the city of Granada (called Gharnatah at the time). His travels will take him through the known Catholic realms and beyond, and, paradoxically, afford him the chance to meet, befriend and be aided in the abbey’s mission by good men of other faiths, both Muslim and Jew. As a cover for his work for Eynsham, he adopts a persona as a merchant of sukkar, or sugar, a commodity that will soon have excellent trading value. When a beautiful Muslim girl crosses his path, all that he has been taught will come into question as he strives to do what he believes to be right.

    Read More Here

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Alice McVeigh – Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel

    Sixteen-year-old Susan Smithson – pretty but poor, clever but capricious – has just been expelled from a school for young ladies in London.

    At the mansion of the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she attracts a raffish young nobleman. But, at the first hint of scandal, her guardian dispatches her to her uncle Collins’ rectory in Kent, where her sensible cousin Alicia lives and “where nothing ever happens.”

    Here Susan mischievously inspires the local squire to put on a play, with consequences no one could possibly have foreseen. What with the unexpected arrival of Frank Churchill, Alicia’s falling in love and a tumultuous elopement, rural Kent will surely never seem safe again…

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Tom Burkhalter – Everything We Had

    Everything We Had Cover

    November 1941: War is coming to the Pacific.

    In Europe, the Nazis are triumphant. England is under siege by air and sea. France has fallen to the Nazi Wehrmacht, which in turn fell on Soviet Russia. The Red Army is reeling in full retreat, with the Nazis at the gates of Moscow itself.

    In the Pacific, Japan has been at war with China since 1937. Her war industries depend upon imports of scrap metal and oil from what are now the Allied nations. When an embargo is placed on imports to Japan, they are left with a year’s supply of oil to supply their armed forces.

    Japan surrounds American possessions in the Philippines on three sides. The US Army is making a desperate, last-minute attempt to reinforce the Philippines garrison, but the clock is ticking for the Japanese, with their oil running out. The armed forces of Imperial Japan may attack the Philippines at any moment.

    Two brothers, Jack and Charlie Davis, are pilots in the US Army Air Forces. They are part of the reinforcements sent to the Far Eastern Air Force, charged with air defense of the Philippines.

    For Jack and Charlie, in a time when the US is on the brink of world war, a simple question must soon be answered: what will I do when the Japanese come?

    From Chanticleer:

    Everything We Had, book one of Tom Burkhalter’s No Merciful War series is an inexorable thrill that will grip readers tight. It starts with a poker game, through which a main character’s luck soon becomes evident. But will that luck hold out?

    Jack—the poker player—and Charlie—Jack’s older brother—have been separated by war, even though that war has yet to be declared. Everything We Had focuses more on the machinations leading up to US involvement in World War II than on actual combat. The gears of war that have so many young men caught in them move with gradual but inevitable force, and so Everything We Had takes a more thoughtful approach to a historic moment in time.

    Connecting with the characters is a gradual process as you get to know the intricacies that make up their individual personalities. This sets the reader up to feel the emotions of the characters as they face an uncertain fate, and throughout the book the author’s clear and methodical research shines with details such as specific views, locations, and—most notably—comprehensive descriptions of the airplanes Jack and Charlie pilot. This allows the reader to become deeply familiar with the motivations of the characters and the capabilities of the airplanes they fly.

    The importance of their family gradually emerges, too, through their mother’s letters and their memories of their father who flew racing planes. The more readers learn, the more attachment they feel to these characters, giving weight to the growing danger they face.

    Read More Here

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Dave Lager – Ro’s Handle

     

    An overzealous rookie cop. A biased old-boys club. Will she have to shoot her way in? Ro Delahanty never let her dream of becoming a cop out of her sights. Between years of black-belt judo lessons and sharpshooting championships, she thought she could handle anything the academy threw her way. But as the only female rookie on the force, she soon discovers it’ll take a warrior’s determination to get out from behind the desk and into the action.

    Knowing she’ll have to work twice as hard for half the respect, she refuses to let distractions like a new boyfriend block her target. And her sacrifices will be well worth it if she can secure a “handle” that brands her as an equal instead of the butt of a joke. When a simple field assignment spirals into a heavily-armed hostage standoff, will Ro and her trusty Sig Sauer P229 .357 aim true or will she miss the shot she’s trained her whole life to take?

    Ro’s Handle is the first book in the gritty Ro Delahanty police procedural series. If you like tenacious heroines, crime scene drama, and high-octane shootouts, then you’ll love David Lager’s torn-from-the-headlines tale. Buy Ro’s Handle and test your aim on a straight-shooting criminal case today!

    Find it on Amazon

    Jode Millman – Hooker Avenue

    2022 Clue 1st Place Winner

    Being a Good Samaritan is hazardous.

    Amid a violent Hudson Valley thunderstorm, Jessie Martin discovers a woman lying unconscious in a roadside ditch. The badly beaten victim, Lissie Sexton, a local prostitute, claims she’s escaped the attack of a killer.

    Jessie’s more than a casual driver who passes by; she’s a criminal-defense attorney. And Lissie is more than an ordinary hooker. She’s the key witness in a cold case under investigation by Jessie’s estranged longtime friend, Detective Ebony Jones.

    And now Ebony can’t find her witness. Jessie’s new boss has sent Lissie into hiding. If Jessie reveals Lissie’s location she compromises her client, her firm and her professional ethics. If she doesn’t, she risks alienating not just Ebony but the entire police department backing her.

    A simple act of compassion forces Jessie to choose between her duty and her friend.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Mark A. Gibson – A Song that Never Ends

    A Song that Never Ends Cover

    Home.

    For over three hundred years, that’s what the Hamilton family has called a shrinking swath of farmland in the Appalachian foothills of South Carolina.

    Home.

    That’s the failing tobacco farm where Walter and Maggie Hamilton choose to raise their three children. Walter has big plans to make the farm more profitable, but his plans are interrupted by World War II and family heartbreak. Walter returns from the war a changed man and finds Maggie, too, has changed, neither of them for the better. But at least their family is together again at…

    Home.

    More than anything, that’s where their eight-year-old son, Jimmy Hamilton, wants to be. However, after an unspeakable tragedy, he’s sent away from the only life he’s ever known to live with a kindly uncle in North Carolina.

    Home.

    That’s where Jimmy is finally going to be, unless fate has plans of its own…

    A Song that Never Ends is the first installment of the Hamilton Place series, an epic family saga extending from the Great Depression to present day. Through war and peace, love and loss, triumph and tragedy, follow the Hamilton family on their journey from a run-down farm in South Carolina, through the jungles of Vietnam, to the top of the world in New York City, and beyond the gardens of stone at Arlington.

    From Chanticleer:

    A Song That Never Ends, the first volume of a two part series by Mark A. Gibson, opens a dramatic fictional saga of the Hamilton family from the late 1930s Depression era, to 1967 and the Vietnam conflict. Here against the backdrop of a South Carolina tobacco farm, we come to witness a family in turmoil.

    The calm and reserved Walter Hamilton and his rebellious, impulsive wife Maggie strive to build a life and raise a family. But the couple is tested by a series of misfortunes—miscarriages and stillbirths, and Walter’s enlistment during WWII leaving him with guilt-induced PTSD as he deals with the memory of fallen comrades.

    At the center of this heartfelt story is James, the middle child, who at the tender age of eight is forced from his home due to a horrific accident and sent to live with a widower uncle.

    James proves to be an extremely intelligent and talented youngster who longs for a connection to his family. In the meantime, he learns from his gracious uncle to deal with dire situations and unexpected circumstances in life, as well as the importance of having a charitable heart. Under the tutelage of this kind, caring, and nurturing man, the story begins to evolve into a coming-of-age tale.

    Read More Here

    Find it Locally and on Amazon


    Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2023 Series First Place Winners!

    Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    Got a great Fiction Book? The 2024 Series Book Awards are open through the end of October!

    Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest
    Submit to the Series Awards Today!
  • The 2023 Somerset First Place Winner Roundup 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 Grand Prize Winner, Judy Keeslar Santamaria’s book, You Can’t Fool a Mermaid, will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Somerset contest page year ’round!

    The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

    The 2023 Somerset Winners were announced at the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

    Join us in celebrating the 2023 First Place Somerset Winners!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    David Fitz-Gerald – If Its the Last Thing I Do

    It’s 1975, and Misty Menard unexpectedly inherits her father’s business in Lake Placid, New York. It never occurred to her that she could wind up as the CEO of a good old-fashioned manufacturing company.

    After years of working for lawyers, Misty knows a few things about the law. Her favorite young attorney is making a name for himself, helping traditionally owned companies become employee owned, using a little-known, newly-passed law. When he offers to help Misty convert Adirondack Dowel into an ESOP, pro bono, Misty jumps at the chance.

    The employees are stunned, the management team becomes hostile, and the Board of Directors is concerned. Misfortune quickly follows the business transformation. A big customer files for bankruptcy. A catastrophic ice jam floods the business. Stagflation freezes the economy. A mysterious shrouded foe plots revenge. Misty’s family faces a crisis. The Trustee is convinced something fishy is going on, the appraiser keeps lowering the company’s value, and the banker demands additional capital infusions. Misty thought she had left her smoking addiction and alcoholism in the past, but when a worker’s finger is severed in an industrial accident, Misty relapses.

    Disasters threaten to doom the troubled company. After surviving two world wars and the Great Depression, it breaks Misty’s heart to think that she has destroyed her father’s company. All she wants is to cement her father’s legacy and take care of the people who built the iconic local business. Can a quirky CEO and her loyal band of dedicated employee owners save an heirloom company from foreclosure, repossession, and bankruptcy?

    From Chanticleer:

    If It’s The Last Thing I Do by David Fitz-Gerald tells the story of Misty Menard, a 69-year-old woman who in 1975 returns to her upstate New York hometown to attend the funeral of her beloved father. She is dumbfounded to find she has inherited his business, making wooden dowels and buttons.

    A receptionist for most of her adult life, with no business experience, she is at best ill-suited to the job. Personal problems hang over her as well, as a divorcee determined to keep sober and cigarette-free while in weekly therapy. But to keep her father’s memory alive, she is determined to keep the business afloat while she decides what to do with it in the long term. The last thing she imagined she would be doing on the cusp of 70 was running a business.

    She turns the business into an employee-owned enterprise, an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan.) This gives her employees a shot at owning part or all of the business. The skill with which If It’s the Last Thing I Do integrates ESOP into its story, making it digestible, is among its many pleasures.

    Read More Here

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    J.A. Wright – Eat and Get Gas

    Thirteen-year-old Evan Hanson is always the last in her family to know what’s going on—at least, that’s how it feels. Her father, Gene, who’s been meaner since he began serving in Vietnam, isn’t around much, and she likes it better that way. But then her brother, Adam, gets drafted and her anti-war mother, Endura, takes him across the border to Canada, leaving Evan alone with Gene and her younger, special needs brother, Teddy.

    When he realizes Endura isn’t returning, Gene takes Evan and Teddy to Eat and Get Gas, his mother’s café and gas station in Hoquiam, Washington. There, as well as her no-nonsense but loving grandma, Evan encounters Aunt Vivian, a teasing but caring know-it-all; Uncle Frankie, injured in Vietnam and suffering from PTSD; Paco, the draft dodger Frankie is hiding; Hal and Hubert, the strange but gentle next-door neighbors who play the piano like virtuosos and help out when they’re needed; and Louanne, Frankie’s reserved, sensitive sister. She is drawn in particular to Louanne, who was disfigured by a car accident that killed the rest of her and Frankie’s family.

    At Eat and Get Gas, Evan finds a new freedom, and she starts to carve out a place for herself by helping in the café and sorting mail for Uncle Frankie, who runs a postal route in addition to running the gas station. She eventually, too, learns some of the family secrets she’s been kept in the dark about—and comes to understand that her mother isn’t coming back any time soon.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    B. Lynn Carter – Jus Breathe

    It started the day she heard Daddy slur, “She ain’t mine. You had the nerve to name her Dawn. Look at her! You shudda named her Midnight!” Then Daddy left… for good. And the loving music that had filled Dawn’s life went silent.

    That was the day that a “Midnight” Duckling appeared in the mirror, took up residence in her chest, and controlled her ability to breathe. That was the day she learned to recognize “leaving time” . . . her superpower.

    Couched in speculation, Jus Breathe is the tale of a young Black woman’s struggle to defy her inner “Duckling” and embrace her true self. Set in New York City during the turbulent sixties, it’s an improbable love story with precarious impulses, secret pasts, and inner demons.

    Dawn, a survivor, flees her stepfather’s violent home. While struggling to go to college, she perfects sofa-surfing and hones her ability to leave situations in an instant. But in the mist of the chaotic uprising that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, serendipity spins Dawn into Danny’s world.

    Toxically in love, no longer a “leaver,” Dawn realizes that in order to survive, she must break free of Danny’s dominance. But that Duckling, who’s allied with Danny, threatens to squeeze the life-breath from her if she dares to leave . . . that ugly, midnight-black Duckling, she has to kill.

    From Chanticleer:

    A young woman strives to survive without a home, even as she must fight herself and her instincts, in Jus Breathe by B. Lynn Carter.

    “It’s more like I walked away,” I said, fractured memories of the day I left surging into my mind. “My mother married herself a husband. It’s like the tale of the evil stepfather, I guess.” The words were spilling out. “On the first day that we moved in with him, he almost broke my jaw. So I left. She had to let me; you know – the survival thing. She knew. We both knew.”

    In New York City during the tempestuous 1960s, Dawn flees an abusive family situation after her father leaves the family and her mother remarries. Determined to stay in education, she couch-surfs with friends and explores her contacts through school. Dawn manages to live and even graduate. With the help of sympathetic teachers and a social worker who believes in her, she goes to college. Dawn finds friends and boyfriends and makes her own way toward adulthood.

    And then her life goes awry again, though this time, she has a harder time choosing whether to run.

    Read More Here

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Leslie Liautaud – Black Bear Lake

    Adam Craig still has nightmares about the last summer he spent on the shores of northern Wisconsin’s Black Bear Lake.

    The Chicago stock trader thinks he has it under control – until fallout from an explosive August in 1983 threatens his marriage. So Adam returns to remember that month-long family reunion, where he was busy wrestling with developing adolescence, a parent’s failing health, and watching his cousin Dannie’s desperate cries for help. At 14, Adam’s fear and anger were constantly threatening to pull him under while the current running through his family flowed, inevitably, toward tragedy.

    It was too much to bear back then. But will reliving those painful memories hurt or help Adam as his adult life teeters on the edge of collapse?

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    James Gish Jr. – When Blackbirds Dream

    Blue and Gold Somerset First Place Winner Badge for Best in Category

    Jennifer Gold – Halfway to You

    An ambitious podcaster and her reclusive interviewee embark on a life-altering journey to uncover long-lost truths in this immersive story about love, travel, and family secrets.

    Forty years ago, aspiring writer Ann Fawkes left the United States for a Mediterranean adventure that opened her heart to travel and love. After a chance encounter propelled her into the publishing world, she released her first novel, an instant bestseller―and the last book she ever wrote.

    Now, Ann lives a reclusive life in the San Juan Islands, hiding from the public and its probing questions. But when podcaster Maggie Whitaker convinces Ann to sit for an interview, Ann agrees on one condition: Maggie must keep her story off the record.

    Determined to change Ann’s mind before she loses her job, Maggie agrees. But as she learns about Ann’s life―particularly the love affair that inspired her novel and the decisions she made in its wake―Maggie realizes Ann’s story intersects with her own in shocking, life-changing ways.

    A sweeping, heart-wrenching novel that spans decades and continents, Halfway to You explores the distances we create between ourselves and the ones we love most and what it takes to finally bridge them.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Donna Norman-Carbone – All That Is Sacred

    When Lynn and her husband set out for a weekend retreat to repair their rocky marriage, icy roads lead to a fatal collision that ends Lynn’s life. Stranded between the physical world and the afterlife, Lynn experiences the grief of her loved ones as they process her death.

    Lynn’s life-long friends are tortured by not only loss but also unspoken wounds in their friendship. With clever influences from above, Lynn coaxes them to reunite at a beachside cottage on the one-year anniversary of her death. Determined to prompt their healing so they can help her family move on, Lynn reminds them of a sacred promise, hoping it will lead to truths they can’t face on their own. Will it be enough to remind them of the power of their bond?

    As Lynn struggles to repair the relationships she left behind, she soon realizes the greatest challenge will be letting them go.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Nova Garcia – Not That Kind of Call Girl

    Julia Navarro, a plucky newspaper call center manager, juggles like a pro—not tennis balls but quirky employees, cranky customers, and a sleazy boss. Pregnant and short on time to complete her “get ready for baby checklist,” Julia rushes to fill a job vacancy by hiring Carmen Cooper, a shy, inexperienced college student.

    When Julia finds out Carmen never made it to work, she and a newsroom pal go undercover to find out why. Their shocking discovery leads them to cook up a half-baked plan to save Carmen from a Hollywood legend turned hermit, a man she calls “Papa.”

    Will the gamble pay off or pave a path of twists, turns, and tragedy?

    Find it Locally and on Amazon


    Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2023 Somerset First Place Winners!

    Mainstream Contemporary Fiction Awards

    You can see our Spotlight on the Somerset Awards here!

    Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    Got a great Fiction Book? The 2024 Somerset Book Awards are open through the end of October!

    Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest
    Submit to the Somerset Awards Today!
  • The 2024 M&M Mystery and Mayhem Long List for Cozy and Not-so-Cozy Mysteries!

    The 2024 M&M Mystery and Mayhem Long List for Cozy and Not-so-Cozy Mysteries!

    Cozy Mystery Fiction AwardThe Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Light-Hearted and Cozy Mysteries. The M&M 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 “mystery and mayhem,” amateur sleuthing, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery, perhaps with a touch of romance or humor. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. (For suspense, thriller, detective, crime fiction see our Clue Awards.)

    These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 M&M entries to the 2024 M&M Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 M&M 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

    A Wreath with the words "CAC 2025" on it to celebrate the Chanticleer Author's Conference!

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards novel competition for Cozy Mysteries!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!

    • Tawn Skousen – Seashells and Scoundrels
    • Anna St. John – Clocked Out
    • A.J. McCarthy – Smoke and Secrets
    • Brooke Maddaleni – Next Door
    • Valerie Taylor – A Whale of a Murder
    • David T. Isaak – Things Unseen
    • Bob Kelly – Chicago Detective Jack Fallon in the Mystery of the Exotic Escort Murders
    • ML Barrs – Parallel Secrets
    • Claire Dowley – Mud
    • S.A. Reeves – The Bookshop Mysteries: A Bitter Pill: A Small Town Cozy Mystery
    • C.B. Wilson – Labradored to Death
    • Marlene M. Bell – A Hush at Midnight
    • E. W. Finke – The Sweet Bounty
    • Brooke Maddaleni – Let Me Go
    • MJ Mac – A Shiver on the River: A Kennedy Reeves Mystery
    • Sallie Barr Palmer – A Dinner to Die For
    • Andrea Barton – The Godfather of Dance
    • Charlotte Stuart – In$urance to Die For (A John Smith Mystery Book 2)
    • Don Stuart – Censure and Repeal: A Washington Statehouse Mystery
    • Patrick E. Craig – The Boy In Blue Denim
    • TK Sheffield – Model Ghost
    • Nancy Raven Smith – Bushwhacked in the Outback – A Land Sharks Cozy Mystery Adventure
    • Lori Roberts Herbst – Graven Images
    • Jennifer S. Alderson – Collecting Can Be Murder
    • Jordan Garde – Final Rest: A Windmerle Falls Mystery
    • Ann Philipp – The Zucchini Fairy Murder
    • Kris Courtney – Florida Retirement Is Murder
    • Gail Noble-Sanderson – A Cup of Revenge – A Drew Davies Railway Mystery – Book 2
    • Elizabeth Crowens – Bye, Bye Blackbird
    • Roxanne Dunn – Murder Richly Deserved
    • Jeanne Matthews – If Two Are Dead
    • M. K. Graff – Death in the Orchard: A Trudy Genova Mystery
    • Aaron Woolsey – The Butler Did It
    • Brandon Lawniczak – Lake Level
    • Timothy Stecker – The Moth
    • Joy Ann Ribar – The Medusa Murders
    • Shannon Bennett Riester – Heists and Horoscopes
    • Christine Knapp – Murder on the Books
    • Lorenzo Petruzziello – The Taste of Datura
    • Margaret A. Blenkush – Welcome to Bellechester
    • Mary Seifert – Creeps, Cache & Corpses
    • Robert Sells – An Affair with Murder
    • Kathleen Donnelly – Hunting The Truth
    • TK Sheffield – Model Wave
    • Tracy Carter – Lawyers, Dogs, and Money
    • Colette Tajemna – The Corpse in the Trash Room
    • D.R. Ransdell – Dervla Alarms the Nanas
    • Lyndsay Constable – The Puzzled Heiress
    • M. S. Spencer – In the Crosshairs: The Body on Leffis Key
    • Chris Chan – Nessie’s Nemesis
    • Steve Lindahl – Ginger’s Shoes
    • Rolynn Anderson – When Winds Howl
    • Karen Gilleland – Diamond and the French Blue
    • E. Alan Fleischauer – Sherlock and The Tiger: Book 2, The Egg and More
    • Michelle Bennington – Dumpster Dying
    • Jonny Thompson – The Limestone Manor
    • Miriam Verbeek – The Forest
    • Zaida Alfaro – In the Key of Dead: A Miami Music Mystery
    • Kari Bovee – The Pryce of Conceit
    • L. J. Aldon – Riddle of the Haunted Hoard
    • Lori Robbins – Murder in Fourth Position
    • Luke Swanson – Curtains on A Christmas Carol
    • Sharon Lynn – Death Takes a Fall: A Cotswold Crimes Mystery

    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 M&M Grand Prize Winner

    A Haunting at Linley

    By Michelle Cox

    Blue and gold badge recognizing A Haunting at Linley by Michelle Cox for winning the 2023 Mystery & Mayhem Grand Prize

    Click here to see the full list of 2023 M&M Book Award Winners for Cozy Mysteries.

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 M&M 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!