We’ve all been feeling the intensity of election season. No matter your politics, this has been a difficult year, and we know the toll it takes, especially for those of us who balance creativity with everything else life throws our way.
Based on feedback from our authors, we are offering a reprieve to anyone who needs it.
This is an exciting opportunity to ready work that might have missed the due date, and we’re happy to make it available!
Why Wait?
We’re already deep in the reading for everyone who already submitted. As always, the trust you show us with your work is both humbling and gratifying. We hope this extension gives everyone the space they need to submit with confidence.
The CIBAs are here to celebrate the stories you’ve worked so hard to share!
Non-Fiction and the BRAND NEW Chanticleer Cover Design Awards (CCDA) are still open too!
The Byzantine Cross by Dena Weigel starts at the end of an explosive rogue mission. Sarah Kraft is committed to saving a record of irreplaceable relics from a bombing mission in World War II. Despite her extraordinary success, the OSS spy is later put out in the cold by her handler, Albert Phillips, for a mistake she didn’t commit.
Years after World War II has ended and the Cold War is dominating headlines, Kraft has a new role as an art insurance appraiser in New York. The company’s lip service for their rich clients and irreverence for her skills don’t sit well with Sarah. It becomes clear that her moral compass will soon lead her into unemployment. But right at the end of her rope, Agent Phillips returns to recruit her back into the organization, now rebranded the CIA.
Sarah Kraft’s mission is simple: break into the Kremlin and retrieve an ancient relic from before the birth of Christ.
The story cycles through multiple points of view, all trained with deadly accuracy on Kraft. The prize she seeks is the titular Byzantine Cross. Carved from Noah’s Ark, it is a revered heirloom of the Romanov family and was last seen with Rasputin, the Mad Monk. Now, the Vatican, the Soviet Union, and the United States are all poised on a knife’s edge, wondering if the Cross’s rumored mysterious power could be the key to the next weapon of mass destruction.
Traveling to Rome before her trip to Russia, Agent Kraft circumvents the old office, wanting to avoid the man who betrayed her and ended her career in intelligence. The culprit, Kraft’s ex-lover, Marco, remained silent as her professional life was destroyed when he let her take the blame for his deception. He reappears in her hotel room, hoping to ingratiate himself with Kraft to further exploit her for his own gain. Still with the CIA and charming as ever, Marco is a dangerous seductive force. But he’s only one of the forces arrayed against her.
Kraft faces the calculating Cardinal Max and the ruthless mercenary Yuri Feodorov as they attempt to take the cross from Kraft.
Even as a man of the cloth, Cardinal Max’s plans for the Byzantine Cross go far beyond a rich score. He believes the relic is the key to world domination and undying worship from the faithful. On the other side of the coin, Yuri hopes to fulfill his darkest desires in addition to the payout he receives from killing Sarah Kraft. Together, these men weave an entangling web that Kraft might not escape.
The mystery around the Byzantine Cross deepens as she meets her MI6 connection, Nicolai Rodzyanko, once she’s inside the Soviet Union.
As complications arise and Nicolai’s cover is compromised, the two agents are forced to flee both the Kremlin guards and Yuri, heading south toward Istanbul. Whether or not the spiritual power of the cross is real, there’s no questioning they face danger at every turn. As Kraft continues to unravel the history of the cross and its connection to Rasputin, she decides she can only trust herself to choose where the relic will finally be safe.
The Byzantine Cross stands for more than a simple relic.
Like the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones, it symbolizes the collision of ancient beliefs and the desire for power, something to be feared and revered by those who pursue it. Weigel weaves in themes of loyalty and doubt as Kraft tries to discover what this power might mean, and who she can trust to help her.
The Byzantine Cross takes the best of James Bond and Dan Brown and adds a dark layer of suspense into Sarah Kraft’s adventure. Having a woman as the lead enhances the dangers faced and gives a unique perspective for the thriller genre, making this a great debut that promises more adventures to come.
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. 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 OZMA Book Awards Short list to the SEMI-FINALISTS. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2024 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
K.N. Salustro – A Whisper from the Edge of the World
Susannah Dawn – Search for the Armor of God
Helen Garraway – Sentinals Banished
James McKenna – An October’s Journey: Poe’s Final Gift
Roxana Arama – The Exiled Queen: A Roman Era Historical Fantasy
Jenn Lees – Of High Kings and Mages: Arlan’s Pledge Book Three
Curt Locklear – Treasure and Murder In Ireland
Shami Stovall – Time-Marked Warlock
Charles Allen – A Graveyard of Ships
Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle – An Unexpected Hero
Glen Dahlgren – The Realm of Gods
Kolton Fitz-Gerald – Leon Sharp: The Scourge of Night
Kolton Fitz-Gerald – Leon Sharp: The Tides of War
Alan B. Gibson – Summer Storm (Magic at Myers Beach, Book 2)
J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
Susan Wands – High Priestess an Empress, Book Two, Arcana Oracle Series
R. M. Krogman – Liberation
James Malone – The Song of Theodore-Return to Rainbow Gardens
Ross Hightower & Deb Heim – Desulti
Erin Lark Maples – A Circle of Stars
Evette Davis – The Others
M.D. House – Crossroads of Awakening Memory
Ryan Schuette – A Seat for the Rabble
Rae St. Clair Bridgman – Fish & Sphinx
Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Serpent’s Spell
S.G. Blaise – Proud Pada
Logan D. Irons – Oaths of Blood
Prue Batten – The Red Thread
S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
W.B.J. Williams – Johnny Talon and the Goddess of Love and War
T.E. MacArthur – A Place of Fog and Murder
Shami Stovall – Academy Arcanist
J.A. Nielsen – The Claiming
David Scidmore – Aylun
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.
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.
The Faraway Mountains by Radu Guiaşu is a fascinating blend of fiction and autobiography that brings to light the restrictive nature of the Communist Era in Romania and throughout the Eastern European Bloc. Experienced through the eyes of a group of friends, their persistence to find their friend perfectly illustrates the importance of human connection, even within the cold confines of a communist country.
Guiaşu begins his story as a chronicle of the entwined lives of childhood friends Victor, Dan, and Alex—who embark on a quest to find their lost comrade, Gabriel. Along their journey, they debate the important issues of their day.
Their discussions reveal the intricacies of daily life from the broad, to the particular. Topics like the oppressive regime in the country, the egregious ineptitude of some high-ranking officials, the deterioration of living conditions, and the recent and shameful destruction of numerous architectural gems are discussed right alongside the possibility of the national football championship game being another sham, the rising cost of foreign blue jeans on the black market, and the record heat wave they left behind in the capital.
This work pays homage to those exceptional individuals who, in spite of the harsh conditions their government forced on them, retained their moral rectitude, bravery, and irreverent sense of humor. It is also a condemnation of everyone who worked in tandem with these oppressive systems.
In the second part of the book, Guiaşu depicts the mutual desire of two close friends to explore the bright promise of the West.
He goes into great detail about the complexities of obtaining permission to leave the repressive country of his origin. During his quest to weave his way through the red tape, he demonstrates the various ways in which officials took advantage of the situation to preach to the populace about the superiority of communist society and the inevitable, rapid collapse of the West.
As the story portrays, citizens were forced to stand up for a corrupt system where those in power took unjust privileges at the expense of those below them. Through the characters’ conversations we come to understand how the elite’s hatred for the less advantaged populous was fueled by the knowledge that many escaped their control to a less restrictive and more comfortable part of the world.
This novel goes deep into the subject of communism to present a realistic picture of what it is like to live under such an authoritarian form of government.
Guiaşu conveys the catalyst and motivation behind the regime’s blatant deceptions, indoctrination, repeated defeats, and continuous repression by deftly blending his personal experiences with fiction. He expands the story beyond the direct scope of a single person.
This work offers a fresh perspective on the value of freedom and independence while showing the brutal grip of a power that seeks to crush the characters’ last hopes of escaping.
Guiasu’s The Faraway Mountains is a novel that masterfully balances intellectual depth, emotional relevance, and creative perfection during brutally oppressive times.
Readers are fully drawn into the book as its vivid imagery and rhythmic language demystifies complex communist concepts and issues. Clever depictions of the many characters and their variety of reactions show how people deal with ambiguity and look for purpose when faced with hardship.
Shelter in a Hostile World, second installment in Mack Little’s Love and Peace series, is an epic tale of resistance, desire, and tragedy, saturating readers in the complexity of Igbo culture.
Little paints a character-rich portrait of the horrors of enslavement and the unthinkable violence against women in the Caribbean, locking people together in relationships molded by adversity.
Set in 17th century Igboland—the invaded region of Nigeria — and on the island of Barbados, Shelter in a Hostile World is a searingly brief novel packed with mesmerizing prose. It blends genres to create a literary language entirely its own.
Throughout Little’s story, readers follow the life and loves of Badu Obosi, a haunted revolutionary escaping enslavement to protect his daughter from sexual violence.
As he seeks shelter from the hostility of his exterior and inner worlds, he is submerged in memories of his early years as a passionate young man deeply in love with an unattainable girl named Ekemma. Although separated from him by class status in their Igbo community, Badu’s adoration for Ekemma is overwhelming and alters the course of his life.
Badu eventually finds a mature love with his current wife—an equally traumatized yet empowered Irish woman named Saoirse. She forces Badu to come to terms with his ghosts, regrets, and desires so he can release himself of his emotional wounds and forge a new life as a marriage partner and a free man in control of his own destiny.
Throughout it all, the paranormal manifestations of his past—known in Igbo culture as “Duppy”—threaten to undo him. In the end, Badu must let himself be rescued not only from his physical threats, but from the mental and emotional terrors that have kept him from living fully embodied.
Shelter in a Hostile World weaves in and out of time, place, and perspective, allowing us to see how Badu has been shaped by his experiences.
Throughout this short novel, Little masterfully entangles genre and theme — including coming of age, horror, romance, and action — creating an expansive collage that can touch a vast audience.
Little’s writing is not for the faint-hearted. Shelter in a Hostile World is a complicated, difficult story that invites readers to deconstruct plot, themes, and motives and find their way to the truth. Cultural expectations and traditions are troubled by the human experience. Fleshed out in vivid detail, these characters resist the constraints of easy interpretations.
Women experience a variety of sexual traumas, innocent people are the victims of slaveholders’ extreme brutality, and the ghosts of the wronged come back to reconcile with their wrongdoers, often in grotesque ways.
Even so, the novel forges a bridge between the inescapable past and the grueling present, allowing characters and readers alike to pass into a world where peace and hope can be found even amidst the most horrific of circumstances.
In the end, Badu realizes that all the regrets and desires “that pulled him in opposing directions receded until the whole of his thought and purpose crystallized into a ‘shelter in a hostile world.’” Similarly, this novel pulls together threads that appear to be leading in different directions and knits them into something whole and entirely its own.
Infused with sensory language and descriptions of setting, Shelter in a Hostile World pierces readers’ hearts and demands the dignity of their attention.
As the conjurer of complex, imaginative worlds, Ursula Le Guin is recognized as a literary titan of science fiction and fantasy. Spinning tales that examine the intricacies of familiar societal constructs within new and fantastic worlds is a magic that allowed Le Guin to explore new ways of imagining civilizations. It seems like a daunting task to take on, but Le Guin was born into a family primed for her questions. Last week was her birthday, and it’s never too late to support someone who was such a supporter of authors everywhere!
An Early Student of Society and Writing
Le Guin was born on October 21, 1929 in Berkeley, CA to anthropologist Alfred K. Le Guin and writer Theodora K. Le Guin. Brought up in a house filled with intellectual conversations and discussions about writing was the perfect combination she needed to fortify her vast imagination and endless curiosity and prompting her consideration of high-concept questions and new and innovative alternatives for the problems she witnessed in our own society. This placed Le Guin at the top of her class of speculative science fiction writers.
A Thoughtful Writer
Le Guin began her publishing journey in 1959 with a collection of eleven short stories, called Orsinian Tales. It was her first step into an imaginary world, writing about the fictional country of Orsinia and examining the right of the individual—sometimes alone, but often in conjunction with others—to his or her own thoughts and emotions, without society, or convention, or the State imposing restrictions. It was an auspicious start to her professional writing career, and established her as an author who was unafraid to explore the depths of philosophical and sociological themes.
Other notable works furthered that journey. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) explored gender and sexuality through the lens of an alien culture, winning both the Hugo and Nebula awards. The Dispossessed (1974) is a thought-provoking exploration of anarchism and capitalism, and the beloved fantasy series, A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), examined coming-of-age themes and the nature of power.
Themes that Continue to Demand Exploration
The themes of identity, culture, and human nature are still issues that we mere humans grapple to understand. Through Le Guin’s richly developed worlds and complex characters, we come to understand perspectives we may not have thought about previously. Her speculative fiction provides a platform to critique our own societal norms and explore alternative ways of living.
Le Guin’s Legacy: A Monolith of Science Fiction and Societal Commentary
Upon Ursula Le Guin passing on January 22, 2028, she had established herself as a significant influence in both science fiction and feminist literature and inspired countless writers and thinkers to consider new societies. Her work has garnered numerous accolades, including the National Book Award, the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, and she has left a profound literary legacy known for their depth and relevance in contemporary discussions on the important issues faced by civilizations.
Happy 95th birthday, Ursula Le Guin!
Born October 21, 1929 Berkeley, Calif. She entered the next dimension on January 22, 2018, Portland, Oregon.
Interested in exploring new worlds through today’s science fiction authors? We encourage you to dig into stories written by Chanticleer’s authors .
Unanimity By Alexandra Almeida
First Place winner of CIBA Cygnus award
Alexandra Almeida probes the philosophical and ethical depths of wealth, technology, pop culture, and religion in a world ravaged by global warming through her sci-fi adventure,Unanimity: Spiral Worlds #1.
Readers will delight in the gradual reveal of both the technology within the story and the dramatic history between many of those involved with the creation and evolution of that technology.
Tom, a screenwriter, works with Harry, the genius inventor of the world’s most popular AI (artificial intelligence) app, to create a simulation that will nudge people toward acting morally.
The Last Lumenian By S.G. Blaise Cygnus Grand Prize Winner
Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but inThe Last Lumenianby S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.
Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.
“Terms of Service” are those cryptic notes that accompany computer devices and applications, spelling out their rules. The novel,Terms of Service,by Craig W. Stanfill, turns those notices into the foundation of a dystopian horror story where Artificial Intelligence (AI) controls virtually every aspect of human behavior.
Kim works for a giant AI corporation. It’s her task to train AI systems to interface with human beings, even as those systems make life difficult for the average person. AIs are not alive, not sentient, but they provide the precise terms of service under which every person in major metropolitan areas must live.
Ruthy Ballard’s latest middle-grade novel,Elvia and the Gift of Passion,takes us to another planet in a distant galaxy. But the journey begins grounded on Earth.
Elvia lives a dull-as-dishwater life with her boring parents, Sally and Earl Hill. She dreams of living in Tanzania (or on Mars) after a DNA test reveals she is 99.1% Zulu, with a dash of Irish to explain her red hair.
When her mother wins a safari in a work raffle, Elvia’s dreams start to materialize. As the stubborn and dissatisfied daughter of two overprotective parents, Elvia does what any child in her situation would do; she ditches them. In the meantime, her parents try to fit in some relaxation and see the sights without their daughter.
This trip becomes far stranger than Elvia could have imagined.
Stone: Rhone and Stone Series, Book One Strider S.R. Klusman
Award-winning author, Strider S. R. Klusman’sStone: Rhone and Stone Series, Book Oneis set in the high desert outside of the dusty town ofSkragmoore.
With all the trappings of a western, he draws us into the Badlands and takes us on a merry and hair rising journey through lake strewn caves and the dusty little town ofSkragmoore. This YA adventure will have readers riveted in place to find out what happens next.
Rhone has survived alone in the wilderness since his mother’s death, but he has learned to thrive and spends more and more time out of doors under the open sky than at home in his old, dilapidated house. So, when he hears a voice, and no one else is there, he is confused to say the least. Where is the voice coming from and why won’t it shut up?
Thank you for joining us in celebrating the science fiction visionary, Ursula Le Guin!
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?
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 (Formerly Known as the Paranormal Awards) are open until October 31st!
Let’s celebrate the past winners and visit the Hall of Fame for the Shelley Awards!
Becoming Crone
By Lydia M. Hawke
She wanted purpose. She got dark magic and war.
Claire Emerson is adrift. After a lifetime as a wife, mother, and grandma, she never saw divorce or loneliness coming and is desperate for some sense of purpose. But when her sixtieth birthday brings a snarky gargoyle, an annoyingly sexy wolf shifter, and an unknown magical calling, she thinks she’s losing the only thing she has left: her sanity.
Refusing to believe she’s the powerful defender of humankind her so-called protectors claim, Claire attempts a return to her safe life… only to have her powers ignite when she’s attacked by dark supernatural creatures. And without the training she was supposed to have received, she has no idea how she’ll defeat sinister mages plotting her demise.
Can Claire overcome creaky joints and major hot flashes in time to save the world —and her own life?
James Crowley isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill cowboy. Nor is Cold as Hell, by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, your typical gunslinging western.
Although he’s got all the right characteristics – tough exterior, snarky personality, and commitment issues – Crowley is much more than he appears. Resurrected to immortality straight from death’s “sickly sweet aroma,” Crowley is duty-bound as a Hand of God to serve the White Throne in its shadow war against demonic presences called the nephilim unleashed by freezing hell.
But it’s not all ‘good guys versus bad guys’. As Crowley learns, “good choices don’t always mean doing right or wrong things. Especially when it comes to serving a Master like [the White Throne].” Forced to be the middle man between God and the Devil, Crowley has to decide for himself how to care for the people around him and bring true justice to fruition. Forced to be the middleman between God and the Devil, Crowley has to make his own choices about how to care for the people around him and bring justice to fruition.
Jam-packed with simmering romance, evil yetis, reckless bar fights, and other outlaw shenanigans, Cold as Hell will warm readers’ hearts as it freezes them to their seats with anticipation.
The protagonist and all-around decent guy, Boone Daniels, is in a heap of hurt in JW Zarek’s new Young Adult novel, The Devil Pulls the Strings.
One would think being plagued by an evil spirit wendigo since age six would be enough inconvenience to last a lifetime, but when Boone jousts with his best bud at a Ren Faire and accidentally deals a mortal blow, the hurt he experiences suddenly lands on a sliding scale of 1 to 1 million. And Boone Daniels becomes a millionaire, so to speak.
The realms of demons and angels clash, as the possibility of romance, plunges the beings of Hell into chaos. Kaylin McFarren’s Soul Seeker follows the otherworldly set as they flee for their lives, uncover millennia-old secrets about one another, and face the possibility of love in a very dangerous world.
But first, the demon, Crighton, wreaks havoc on his human target, a man named Poe, devastating the man and his family. You could say, Crighton’s at home collecting wicked souls for his boss, Lucifer. His villain persona is put into question when he meets the angel, Ariel. At first, Crighton believes the angelic Ariel would make an excellent prize for the prince of darkness, as the demon is well aware that his master adores ruining pretty things. However, when an undeniable attraction emerges between them, they wrestle with each other, pitting strength against strength. Beware any who would do anything to tear these two apart—that would spell certain death.
Katy Novacs is haunted, both by her past and the laughing specter that reminds her of it. When her friends bring her to Niagara-on-the-Lake in the hopes of lifting her spirits, she finds that their inn has a ghost of its own who has a tale that might save her.
Katy comes to the Niagara Inn in a mire of sorrow, fear, and trauma. Though her friends try to help her move forward with her life, to fall in love and open herself up to other people again, Katy’s stay at the inn only seems to drain her further. Both she and her friends question her sanity as she becomes certain that she’s sharing a room with the spirit of a dead woman, but when Abigail eventually reveals herself, it is to tell Katy a story that she needs to hear—that of Abigail’s life.
Award-winning author, Joy Ross Davis’ latest work, The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove, ventures beyond the paranormal into the surreal. Like Medusa on a bad hair day, the lives of characters are intertwined and twisted in a snaky snarl of conflicting human desires, terrifying inexplicable events, and the lingering afterlives of ancient, supernatural beings.
Davis gifts us with a 21st-century legend, replete with mythological themes and creatures, and snippets of folklore and superstition melded with documented vagaries of weather, obscure herpetology, and creates a mystical potion worthy of Circe. In other words, Davis gives us a thrilling read!
Rumors about suspicious deaths have put Preacher’s Cove, Alabama, a small, historic town notorious for powerful, killer storms, on the map. Hap Murray, Huntsville’s Channel 12 field reporter, with family ties to the Cove, arrives in town on assignment, armed with only limited knowledge of the town’s history of inexplicable deaths. The rumors speculate that the local pastor may be involved.
Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Shelley Winners is to submit today!
Note: The Awards don’t officially close until the deadline changes on the website! Don’t miss out!
Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!
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
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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 2025Chanticleer Authors 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.
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.
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.
This newest division of the CIBAs is already exceeding our expectations! Your Book Deserves to be Discovered!
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).
Shelter in a Hostile World
The 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).
