Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The 2024 Humor and Satire Spotlight for books that make us laugh!
No Funny Business!

The Humor and Satire Awards are open through the end of October!

We are delighted to celebrate the 2023 Winners of the Humor and Satire Awards!
- Eileen O’Finlan – All the Furs and Feathers
- Allyson Rice – The Key to Circus-Mom Highway
- Marco Ocram – The Awful Truth About The Herbert Quarry Affair
- Lou Dischler – The Rising
- Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
- Tom Strelich – Water Memory
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Humor and Satire Awards is:

Quantum Consequence: Physics, Lust and Greed Series, Book 5

by Mike Murphey

More posts are to come celebrating these amazing winners, but we’re here to tickle your appetite with these great books we’ve reviewed in the meantime!

THE GARDEN PLOT DIARIES
By Endy Wright

Endy Wright’s The Garden Plot Diaries is a delightful collection of four short stories about life, relationships, and consequences.

Wright captures the gossip and rivalries between factious groups of town folk, all between sixty and ninety-something, who have known each other since childhood and carry the grudges to prove it. Our delightful narrator professes, “I am a rambling old man with a tale to tell and in no hurry to tell it.” So, settle in.

Hailing himself from New Hampshire, Wright has set these stories in Monadnock, a New England town/region which he peoples with a menagerie of colorful octogenarians who drink, dance, and feud. In the voice of his narrator again, “[these are stories] of chaos creeping into God’s Garden.” Wright’s stories certainly do deliver a wonderful kind of chaos and pandemonium usually expected in a kindergarten class.

Read more here!

LIAR, ALLEGED: A Tell-All: Celebrities, Sex and All the Rest
By David Vass

Liar, Alleged: A Tell-All: Celebrities, Sex, and All the Rest is a raw and mature memoir, the account of a resilient individual, David Vass, who had felt ‘instinctively’ different and shunned since he was a child.

Vass was born in Baltimore as the seventh child of eight. His large family knew nothing more than chaos and absurdity, biting poverty, a violent father, and an eternal hand-to-mouth crisis. At an early age, he had recognized his inextinguishable fascination with other males, a discovery that he would later bring himself to express to his mother. He was pretty confident that being gay was core to who he would become.

By the time he was twenty-four, David’s parents had already passed on. But as fate would have it, he would come to meet ‘the mother he never had’ in the jazz legend Anita O’Day. She dealt with problems of alcohol, drugs, and men; the outcome had been nine abortions, stubborn guilt, and infamy as a heroin addict. Nevertheless, the two would become close confidantes until Anita’s demise at the age of eighty-seven.

Read more here!

DRUNK TALK
By Mike Davis & TL Banks

Authors Davis and Banks have combined forces to create this humorous but practical look at how people think and why they act as they do.

The essential message of this satiric volume is that most people tend to nurse false notions about their lives and the universe in general – notions that the authors rapidly and thoroughly debunk. They take the stance of a drunk hanging out at a bar, hearing about everything that goes on in people’s minds. In forty-eight segments, various human problems are examined, derided, and substituted for what many readers will consider far more rational viewpoints.

Some issues raised seem trivial – “Celebrities” who do not, as might be supposed, get to enjoy their fame since the general attitude toward them is “shut up and entertain us or else.” Other matters are significant. One of the longer treatises focuses on “Gods,” with the authors asserting that God is merely an imaginary projection, and religion only a means of seeing and believing what people want, “even if it’s not real or makes no sense.” A true, non-superstition-based belief system would impel people to help others more and take full responsibility for their actions.

Read more here!

Hot Air: An Arnold Falls Novel, Book 2
By Charlie Suisman

Charlie Suisman returns to the unique fictional town of Arnold Falls in his humorous novel, Hot Air.

Arnold Falls bristles with zany events, quirky locals, and colorful newbies. Above all, this memorable enclave buoys its people through heart, soul, wit, and a true sense of collective spirit.

Jeebie Walker returns as the story’s central narrator.

Read more here!

EVERYTHING THAT WAS
By Conon Parks, Chris Sempek, Mike MacNeil, Larry Knight

Everything That Was echoes myriad broken emotions born of the world in turmoil after 9/11, intricate and politically bold, and as disturbing in its brutal humanity as it is satisfying with witty jests.

The 9/11 terrorist attack has shattered the psyche of the American people. A volcanic eruption of questions demands the whys and hows of the attack. From this anger, a massive war on terror begins. This historical fiction reflects the chaos of 9/11 and its ensuing global chaos – resulting in a series of violent endeavors and events. Throughout Everything That Was, one can find a swarm of fragmented ideologies, mini memoirs of war veterans, and witness accounts – all screeching reasons for the attack, the ensuing war, and its consequences: political, ideological, and theological.

The book’s very structure expresses the central ideas of its content, making for an affecting read.

Read more here!

Whether the story makes us stop and pause or burst out laughing, we’re so happy to have reviewed these books!

Is your Humor or Satire Book Ready to turn it up to 11?

This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!

Your book deserves to be discovered
October 10, 2024
The 2024 Hemingway Book Awards Spotlight on 20th & 21st c. Wartime Fiction
The History of War is always important

Especially in Historical Fiction

The Hemingway Awards is our Division for Historical Fiction of 20th Century Wartime. Named for famed War Correspondent and Author Ernest Hemingway, his writings embody much of what this award covers. He didn’t write only war related content, but A Farewell to Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls are both amazing looks into the rather tumultuous early 20th century.

These are the categories for the 2024 Hemingway Awards for 20th and 21st century Wartime Fiction:
- World War 1
- World War 2
- Women in War
- Occupation/ Diaspora
- Espionage
- Love in Wartime
- Specific Campaign/ Theater/ Battle
The dropping of a nuclear bomb in Stanley Kubrik’s dark satire “Dr. Strangelove”

Submit Your Work Today!

We are delighted to celebrate the 2023 Winners of the Hemingway Awards!
- J.L. Oakley – The Brisling Code
- Kathryn Gauci – In the Shadow of the Pyrenees
- Michael J Cooper – Crossroads of Empire
- Ivan Luiz Hernandez – Isla Vulnerable
- Linda Stewart Henley – Kate’s War
- Jerena Tobiasen – Tsarina’s Crown
- William McClain – Alice’s War
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Hemingway Book Awards is:

The Silver Waterfall

A Novel of The Battle of Midway

by Kevin Miller

We love stories about wartime history here at Chanticleer. Here are some of the best books we’ve reviewed recently.

AN EMPTY HOUSE DOESN’T SNEEZE
By David Scott Richardson

In David Scott Richardson’s YA WWII historical novel, An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze, teenager Scott Johannsen—“Scotty” to his mom and friends—leads us on an adventure through the wartime Ravenna neighborhood in Seattle, Washington.

Boeing manufactures B-17s, his grandparents and neighbors grow victory gardens, his parents build a bomb shelter in their basement, and mandatory blackouts occur every night. Scotty navigates a chaotic world filled with danger and wonder yet finds security with family and friends in this heartfelt story.

Scotty runs with his pack—James, Marty, and Burr. We witness what lengths they will go to on a search for chocolate. With Ravenna Park as a backyard and Puget Sound just a short drive away, Scotty’s life is filled with exploration of the natural world. His fishing adventures with his dad in the Sound become an exciting way to supplement his family’s food rations as he dreams about netting a fighting salmon.

Read more here!

ROSES In DECEMBER: Hamilton Place, Book 2
By Mark A. Gibson

Roses in December is the epic conclusion to Mark A. Gibson’s compelling two-part family saga, Hamilton Place. Now focusing on the family’s next generation, James Hamilton Jr.—Jimmy—follows in the footsteps of the father he never met, a Vietnam War hero who died in battle, and ultimately finds his own path in life.

Pressured by a conning mother-in-law only out for monetary gain, the elder Jimmy’s widow, Becca, is pushed to marry Mack Lee, her deceased husband’s older brother who proves to be a cheating and abusive husband. Trapped in this loveless marriage, Becca hopes that attending church will remove her son from the toxic influence of her new husband and set him on the right path to a good life. But it’s the discovery of young Jimmy’s superior photographic memory that opens the door to a brighter future, and he sets a course to an outstanding medical career, coupled with military service in Afghanistan.

Gibson delivers the recent past with a great sense of immediacy, showing events that ripple into our contemporary world using pop references that are relevant in today’s world.

Read more here!

AFTER ME
By J. Shep

The arrival of a mysterious package makes for an enticing beginning in J. Shep’s After Me. Inside we find a manuscript with the same text as the book we’re about to read. This inventive start lends a sense of realism and truth to what follows and creates a vivid yet hazy quality, like memory itself.

After Me travels back in time to rural France just after World War II. The setting appears idyllic at first—almost unbelievably so. Still, there’s a disturbing undercurrent felt from the start. Not from an unwanted presence, but rather from an absence.

Told from the perspective of Ellande, a young boy, he recounts the summer his parents die in an accident and he and his nine-year-old little sister, Madeleine-Grace, are sent to their extended family’s summer home in France. Their care seems competent at first—but cracks in the façade gradually emerge as Ellande begins his tale.

Read more here!

EVERYTHING WE HAD: No Merciful War Book 1
By Tom Burkhalter

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.

Read more here!

These authors keep the recent past alive for us! We thank them for documenting these times and sharing their stories!

We hope to see your work in the 2024 Hemingway Awards!

This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!

Your book deserves to be discovered
October 9, 2024
MINNESOTA POEMS From The OUTPOSTS by Hari Hyde – Poetry Collections, Spirituality, Natural World

Hari Hyde reveals the mysticism of exploring chaotic nature and our human need to connect with it. He takes readers to sites of wonder, physical and conceptual, in his collection Minnesota Poems from the Outposts.

“Part 1: Middle Rivers” illustrates the shared liminal states of people and the natural world.

Aligning symbols of the turning seasons with people growing up in their communities, “Middle River, Minnesota” establishes our innate kinship with nature—as individuals and collectives. “School Bus” follows the transient days of childhood, while “Unruffled Railway” looks back from the end of an era, as the rails are now overgrown and unused. But, to be overgrown is to find life, and a new way of being after the end of that old cycle.

Meanwhile, “Moon Over Thief Lake” illustrates the need to commune with nature through beautiful but distant imagery.

Part 1 maintains a childlike playfulness in its use of language.

“Goose Capital” and “Young’s Store” give in to flights of fancy about the little details of rural life, while a trio of poems “Ye Olde Depot Theater, River Avenue”, and “Church Bell” fully immerse themselves in the charm of small communities.

But Part 1 also touches on the difficult challenge of maturity. “Milking Holsteins” and “Angus Cattle” find peace in a world where each creature has a role to play. But, matching the use of rivers as a thematic force of eternal change, “Minnesota Highway 59” reckons with the fact that there are some deep yearnings a person will never be able to satisfy.

These first poems open the book well, introducing both the setting of rural Minnesota and a focus on living in relation to its natural forces. Some of the themes in Part 1 could be expanded upon, but the warm poetic voice beckons readers to continue on.

“Part 2: Smalltown Outposts” broadens its scope to include a variety of notable locations, embracing the culture and history of Minnesota.

A mixture of compelling imagery and unique tones give each new location a sense of identity, especially in poems like “Split Rock Lighthouse (Lake Superior)”.

This combines with whimsical renditions of local mythology in “Paulette Bunyan” and “Mankato Man and Nature’s Plan” to instill in readers Minnesota’s vital, defiant soul.

Hyde also explores the human shadow of Minnesota’s history—the inner lives of those who made it—in “Minnesota’s Ten Millennial Girl” and “Blue Mounds State Park”. These poems describe the personality that history leaves to its locations but, at the same time, exposes the complexities that can’t be preserved over a long period of time.

Where Part 1 embraced communion with nature, Part 2 creates a thematic duality by highlighting our inherent conflict with it.

“Mankato Man and Nature’s Plan” puts this conflict in stark relief. The central figure defies his place as a tool in Nature’s hand. But “Red River Flood” shows how futile that fight can be, with the narrator choosing to become like the river itself rather than try to live in spite of it.

The rhyming can create awkward lines sometimes, but this section’s beauty is in its clear familiarity with its locations, which maintain their grandeur.

“Part 3: Inner Outposts” and “Part 4: Family and Faith” create another dichotomy—the inner self and its struggle to fit in with the outer world.

“Private Ponds”, “Secret Snow Bones”, and “The Outside” encourage trusting the inner self, finding meaning beyond societal expectations and dogma. But “The Believable Distance” and “Last Love” both recognize the pain in being distant from others.

These sections make playful use of metaphors, but in poems like “Guard Dog”, those become more complex and conflicted. The animal part of one’s mind tears and recoils at the chains that bind it.

As a whole, Parts 3 & 4 step into darker territory. Pain and suffering are reframed as the necessary teachers of survival—from the mundane to the divine—in “Ancient Apathy”. “Corporal Counselor” grapples with pride and envy as truly inescapable sins, innate to the inner self.

While there’s a return to some of the mysticism of childhood from Part 1, these later parts offer a more nuanced perspective on relationships.

This is particularly true among the poems most concerned with death, “Elegy for a Nobody”, “Get Well Cards (Calibrated)”, and “A Little Light”. While the themes of family and faith don’t interact much in general, these death poems find interesting connections between how death changes our relationships to each other and the deep desire to understand one’s meaning in the universe.

“Jonah and the Great Fish” stands out as a unique take on this section’s view of God. Here, animals are to humans as humans are to the divine. But the might of nature tests the boundaries of this metaphor. A great and terrible sturgeon reigns as a bloody demon, and it’s only through the help of nature’s small and wriggling things that the fish can be bested.

This poem serves well as a transition point to the fifth and final part of the collection, “The Wild.” Here, the core ideas and writing style of Minnesota Poems from the Outposts both shine at their brightest.

“Moose Head” grants intention and emotion to the forces of the natural world, while reinforcing its incompatibility with human society. This poem and “Arrowhead Northern Lights” create a compelling combination of descriptive language and poetic contrasts. All underscored by a palpable appreciation for the wilderness of Minnesota.

“Into the Woods” and “Lake of the Woods” experiment most with structure and poetic flow, to fascinating effect.

Both are much longer than any other poems in the collection, with lines and paragraphs shifting in size as they explore new parts of the wilds. They take this time to fully immerse a reader in their contrasting views of wilderness.

The narrator finds that, to truly go “Into the Woods” and become a part of them, one has to give themselves up to the beautiful ways of nature. It’s a welcoming of the raw, physical world.

“Lake of the Woods”, on the other hand, seeks divinity in the beasts of the water. Recurring symbolism aligns the lakes with the sky—a celestial realm, where humans can touch and even enter, but will find themselves reflected back in challenging ways.

And yet, for all of the woodlands’ chaos and strangeness, people come.

Here, in these final poems, Hyde returns to the incessant yearning. The distance between a person and the worlds of men and trees alike might be vast, but the quest to cross it is equally as meaningful.

October 9, 2024
The 2024 Global Thriller Award Spotlight for High Stakes Suspense
The World is at Stake

Can your book save the day?

The Global Thriller Awards is our Division for all the Spy stories, International Conspiracies, and Science based novels. While some of the categories in this Division may have overlap with some others, Global Thriller stands strong in it’s quest to portray potentially World-Destroying Events.

The Categories in Global Thriller for High Stake Suspense are are:
- Historic: Theater of War, Spycraft, and more!
- Lablit: Real Science meets “What-If?” scenarios that feel all too plausible!
- Science Fiction: Sometimes the threat comes from outside our known reality like Alien or Predator
- Dramatic: Classic Die Hard style consequences
- Action/Adventure: ‘Nuf said
- Cybertech: Also known as Cyberpunk. Typically a Dystopian like story, commonly with 1980’s aesthetics and Futuristic technology.
We’re ready for your Thriller Today!

The Global Thriller Book Awards Close at the end of October! Don’t let your book miss out on the chance to be discovered!

We are delighted to celebrate the 2023 Winners of The Global Thriller Award!
- D. L. Wilburn Jr. – The God Protocol: Dragon
- Glenn Dyer – Trust No One
- Mark James – Friendship Games
- Randall Krzak – Ultimate Escalation
- Susan Rogers and John Roosen – Cobra Pose
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is:

Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy

By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke

For our Spotlight Articles we love to highlight some of the best High Stakes Suspense Thrillers that have come our way! Pull out your pen and paper, because your list of books to read is about to get longer!

MAJOR JAKE FORTINA And The TIER ONE THREAT
By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke

Why would Iranian terrorists break into a Paris cemetery and steal the bones of an American Jewish WWI veteran? The answer lies in the deadly parallel history of WWI and the Spanish flu, but it’s a mystery that Jake Fortina will have to uncover in Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s thriller, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat.

During WWI, the Spanish Flu killed millions of people—some estimates as high as 100 million—but a Jewish nurse tossed off the flu like a cold and continued to serve her country. Iran’s leaders believe the DNA in her bones will let them develop a virus that could kill Americans and Israelis by the millions while simultaneously developing immunity for Iran’s own population.

This threat drives the story as it reaches deep into multiple countries and their governments, who collectively try to figure out the importance of the bones theft and, ultimately, what to do about it.

Read more here!

REVENGE: A Bruce and Smith Thriller Book 2
By Randall Krzak

Randall Krzak raises the bar of the thriller genre with Revenge, the action-packed second book in the Bruce and Smith series.

Javier retires from the Army and his despised desk job at the Pentagon. He lived for the action of working in the field, so as a civilian, he tries to build an international investigative agency called The Brusch Agency. Thanks to his connections from the military, he can do exactly the work he wants, with the people he chooses.

Krzak sets up this book meticulously, building conflicts in the first several chapters. Javier needs to apply for his concealed-carry permit and private investigator’s license while finding office space for his agency, but his plans are staggered as his condo is broken into and trashed. Despite his investigation and that of law enforcement, the culprit remains a mystery.

Read more here!

THE BRISLING CODE
By J.L. Oakley

In The Brisling Code, a fast-paced first installment of her historical thriller series, Oakley weaves a brilliant portrayal of the perils met by the Norwegian Resistance during WWII.

Layered perspectives—from resistance workers, traitors, and even an SS Officer—create a rich world through which readers can understand the sacrifices that were made to free our world from the tyranny of Nazi Germany.

Immersed in volatile Nazi-occupied Bergen, Norway, fearless young intelligence agent Tore Haugland and his team of organizers work tirelessly to protect the essential work of the Norwegian resistance.

Read more here!

APOCALYPSE In OUR TIME: The Accountant’s Apprentice Book 3
By Dennis M. Clausen

In The Accountant’s Apprentice III: Apocalypse In Our Time by Dennis M. Clausen, the director of a homeless shelter sees subtle changes in the community around him, changes that are both worrisome and bizarre—portending a change to the world beyond human understanding.

The story of Justin Moore, director of a homeless shelter in San Diego, continues. In the previous books in the series, he has met individuals who seem to be not quite of this world. A.C., a mysterious man in a wheelchair who played an important role earlier in the trilogy, is gone as of the third book, but his wheelchair is now being used by another man— seemingly catatonic and with no name. This man is known only as “Levi” by the staff at the bus depot where he was found, but Justin finds there is something more to him beneath the surface. Levi seems to have certain things in common with A.C., but with unique abilities. Justin is warned by a woman that the man he knows as Levi may be dangerous, but is he? And who is she, anyway?

So many questions are raised, and Justin has few if any answers. In the previous book, he saw a demonic army gathering on the horizon. Was that real? A.C. had given Justin a limited ability to see the future, and a horrifying promise of things to come:

Read more here!

These authors kept us on the Edge of our Seat, and we can’t wait for more!

Flip the switch and enter the Global Thriller Awards today!

This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!

Your book deserves to be discovered
October 8, 2024
The 2023 Hearten First Place Winners for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction

The Hearten Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Nove Meyers’ book, Running Away From The Circus will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Clue 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 Hearten 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 Hearten Winners!

Lisa Niver – Brave-ish

Newlywed Niver was on the adventure of a lifetime. She had quit her job, rented out her condo, and was traveling around Asia. To the outside world, Niver was a woman living out her dreams of exploring ancient ruins in Cambodia and seeing orangutans in Borneo. In private, she was keeping a dark secret. But, when she found herself lying on a sidewalk in Thailand, looking up at the sky in severe pain, she knew things had to change. At age forty-seven, Niver found the courage to set course on a new life.

Feeling like a failure, pushing fifty, and moving home to her parents’ house to start again from scratch, Niver started taking one tiny “brave-ish” step at a time to take her life far away from the old one and into the adventurous world of travel writing. These small hurdles led to the challenge of trying fifty new things before turning fifty. From diving into shipwrecks, swimming with sharks, bobsledding at 3 Gs, to indulging in wild escapades, Niver found herself traversing the world on a journey of reinvention, personal growth, and discovering what it actually means to be “brave.”

While Brave-ish chronicles Niver’s inspiring expeditions to distant corners of the world including Myanmar, Cuba, Morocco, Kenya and Mongolia this is more than a travelogue. Niver’s story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of perseverance. Brave-ish inspires readers to dream big, take risks, and embrace the unknown to create a life filled with wonder and excitement, even when courage seems elusive.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Lally Pia – The Fortune Teller’s Prophecy

When a military coup in Ghana leads to the abrupt closure of Lally Pia’s medical school, she is left stranded there, thousands of miles away from her family in California, with no educational prospects or money. Adding to her turmoil is her discovery that her American Green Card has been botched, which means she has no country to call home. But a Sri Lankan priest told Lally that she would one day become a “Doctor of Doctors” —and she is intent on proving him right.

This sizzling multicultural roller coaster illustrates the power of self-determination as Lally, a young immigrant with a drive to succeed, takes on obstacle after obstacle—an abusive relationship, the welfare state, and a gruesome job where she has to dismember human bodies—in order to fulfill her dreams. A story that will resonate with anyone who has faced cultural and immigration hardships, The Fortune Teller’s Prophecy is a nail-biting journey across continents, through hardships, and into ultimate triumph.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Tony Jeton Selimi – A Path to Excellence

Become the master of your destiny with this proven blueprint for achieving your true potential.

Are you tired of settling for mediocrity? Do you want to become the high-achieving person you know you can be? Are you ready to let go of your limiting beliefs and step into the prosperous, successful, and fulfilled life you know you are meant to have?

If so, A Path to Excellence™ is for you.

Thoroughly researched with authentic advice and ground breaking strategies, this illuminating blueprint for self-mastery invites you on a journey to realize your full potential, clarify your vision, and dare to achieve your dreams.

Inside, you’ll join #1 bestselling, award-winning author, Tony Jeton Selimi as he reveals a proven path to achieving the highest levels of personal and professional excellence. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Tony went from living homeless and penniless as a victim of civil war, to becoming a self-made millionaire and internationally recognised authority on emotional intelligence and maximising human potential.

Built on his critically acclaimed The Octagon of Excellence Method, this book breaks down Tony’s 30 years of experience into an easy-to-digest blueprint, challenging you to step beyond your limits and become the master of your destiny.

From Chanticleer:

On the belief that life isn’t just the random cards one is dealt, A Path to Excellence by Tony Jeton Selimi offers a blueprint—the octagon of excellence—to succeed personally, professionally, and spiritually.

Transcending the pitfalls and spontaneous stumbling blocks along the path of life can open the door to self-actualization and progression. As someone who experienced bullying, sexual abuse, early disability, and homelessness, Selimi sets on to become a beacon of light to the hopeless and marginalized.

Within each soul lies a bud of genius waiting to blossom. This book focuses on purpose, vision, and persistence to clear the way to that fullest potential. Affirming challenges as immutable truths of life, Selimi employs Buddhist teaching and personal anecdotes to encourage a head-on confrontation with one’s struggles and promotes a feeling of gratitude. As a blend of philosophical wisdom and practical experience, the initial chapters help readers acknowledge their current life situation, perceiving challenges as epochs of potential.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Trudy Wells-Meyer – Some Things Are Simply Meant To Be

A teenager’s dream, the immigrant — Coming to America. . .

A belief something extraordinary is possible. Starry-eyed she arrives in New York on a massive ocean liner from England, the first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty in the distance, her extended arm — like a welcome — what a goose-bump-moment. Alone, with 2 small suitcases, she steps onto American soil, speaking little English. A life unknown, fear a constant companion. She is 23.

Her trust in faith and fate guides her life, believing in the power of possibilities as far back as growing up in a tiny Swiss village, where even dreaming had its limits. Living above her parents’ hair salon, a stranger’s phone call, an American, with a German accent . . . visits her humble home, a one-hour taxi ride from Zürich, to offer her a job in Atlanta or Houston. As the handsome out of the ordinary mystery man leaves, Mom, and her Swiss stare embarrassing Trudy, holding her hands he says, “See you in America”. In the dark cold hallway, rooted to the floor with a broken leg, a cast to her knee, she utters words: “This . . . has something to do with later.”

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Aurita Maldonado – The Zen of Dancing in the Rain

Society has become a place where combat veterans would rather commit suicide than live. Many who “have it all” are discovering that they still feel miserable but can’t figure out why. They feel powerless under the boredom of what society deems necessary.

Aurita Maldonado is a Puerto Rican woman warrior and Afro Latin dance instructor who chose a different path before and after her two combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

She received a Purple Heart for wounds received in Afghanistan before leaving the Army to align her thoughts, words, and actions. She adopted a new mission: cultivate peace, happiness, and learn to become her own best friend. All while learning to live as one with Mother Earth.

Aurita rejected lucrative government jobs, sold her possessions, and moved to Haines, Alaska, in 2010 to begin her journey with PTSD and self-acceptance. An extreme athlete, she used movement to help her navigate the storms with a grin until she was suddenly paralyzed from the waist down in a fight against a deadly rat lungworm infection.

The perspective shifts she adopted to continue to enjoy life while learning to use her body again will make you reassess your choices to settle for the status quo.

This is an inspirational memoir of a remarkable woman’s journey to stumble in style as she navigates seemingly insurmountable tragedies early in life. It is a story of triumph and discipline. Joy and sorrow. A portrait of a Lady Hurricane dancing, both literally and figuratively as one with the storms of life.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

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

You can see our Hall of Fame on the Hearten Grand Prize Winners, including Nove Meyers’s incredible book Running Away From The Circus here.

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

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

Submit to the Hearten Awards Today!

October 7, 2024
I See You! How to Identify Your Book’s Target Audience
Every genre is a competition

Let’s face it, finding those who are looking for a book just like yours isn’t always easy. But finding your target audience is key to creating a base of loyal fans clamoring for your next novel. Understanding of your target audience allows you to tailor your messages to more effectively gain their attention and improve your marketing return on investment (ROI). You’ll be able to create content that resonates with your target readers, boosts engagement, and ultimately drives conversions. A win, win, win!!

Whether you’re launching your debut novel or running a marketing campaign, understanding your readers can make all the difference in your success. Here’s a guide to help you effectively identify your target audience.

Identifiers That Will Help You Find Your Target Readers

Analyze Your Current Readers

Start by examining your existing readers. That can be family, friends, co-workers, or anyone that you’ve shared your work with and know they want to read more. Look for common characteristics such as age, gender, location, income level, and interests. Once you get your website set up, tools like Google Analytics and social media insights can provide valuable data about who is already engaging with your brand.

Conduct Market Research

Talk to your current readers to find out what initially interested them enough to read your book. This can be done informally through conversations with pointed questions that will help you understand what drives your readers’ purchasing decisions.

Create Buyer Personas

Once you have sufficient data about your readers, develop a reader character description. Just like the character descriptions you create when developing your characters, these are semi-fictional representations of your ideal readers. The information should include the demographics, behaviors, goals, and challenges your readers experience. A well-crafted reader persona is an asset to guide your marketing strategies and content creation, making them more interesting to your readers.

Analyze Other Authors in Your Genre

We all want our books to land on the bookshelves next to the best writers in our genre, so you better have a good understanding of your neighbors on that shelf will be. Study other writers’ books to see how they market their novels. Look at their covers, size, messaging on the cover, how they present the content, and then look those authors up on the web to see how they extend their marketing to their online presence.

Engage on Social Media

Using tools you already have in place gives you a leg up on identifying your ideal reader. Using your social media platforms as a goldmine for understanding your audience can really bring in a payload of new readers. Pay attention to the conversations happening in your genre, join relevant groups, regularly post, engage with your followers, and encourage them to share your content across their social media channels. Their comments and feedback can provide insights into their preferences and pain points.

Test and Iterate

Identifying your target audience is an ongoing process. Launch small campaigns or create content tailored to different segments of your audience, then analyze the results. Use A/B testing to determine what resonates best, and be prepared to adjust your strategies based on feedback and performance metrics. The better the campaign the more readers it will reach!

“A/B testing, at its most basic, is a way to compare two versions of something to figure out which performs better.” Learn more from the Harvard Business Review here!

Considerations to Remember

Segmentation: Your audience is likely diverse, so consider segmenting it into smaller groups based on specific characteristics. This allows for more personalized marketing strategies.

Adaptability: Audience preferences can change over time. Stay informed about trends and be willing to adapt your approach as needed.

Feedback Loop: Encourage and monitor feedback regularly. This ongoing dialogue can provide invaluable insights into your audience’s evolving needs.

Identifying your target audience is a crucial step toward building a successful brand. By taking the time to understand who your customers are, what they need, and how they think, you’ll be better equipped to create meaningful connections that drive engagement and sales.

Remember, your audience is the heart of your business as an author! Knowing your audience is key to unlocking your full potential.

Chanticleer Editorial Services – We’re ready 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 Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@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/
October 7, 2024
SEA TIGERS And MERCHANTS: Salem Stories Book 2 by Sandra Wagner-Wright – US Historical Fiction, Family Saga, Maritime Historical Fiction

Two families vie for power in mercantile 18^th-century Salem. Sea Tigers and Merchants, the second book in Sandra Wagner-Wright’s Salem Stories series, returns to a world of treacherous storms, tantalizing wealth, and the demands of high society on its children.

Elias Hasket Derby, Sr. has kept his promise to his wife Eliza—they rule Salem. Hasket’s merchant ships bring in great fortune, while Eliza holds court as the most influential woman in the city’s social spheres. And their ambitions have grown to meet their station. Hasket launches his riskiest endeavor—the Grand Turk, a ship so massive she’s nearly too heavy to be pulled out of the docks. Meanwhile Eliza, snubbed by George Washington’s stay at another family’s mansion, insists they build a house so grand it will put all others to shame.

Such success, of course, draws the envious eye of Hasket’s competitor.

The Crowninshield family has an uphill battle before them. The patriarch, George, Sr., is unable to employ all his own sons as captains of his small fleet—leaving them to work for their uncle Hasket. But George shares Hasket’s ambition. With the support of his wife, Hasket’s sister Mary, he builds greater ships of his own. If only he could get his eldest sons to follow his wishes, all his goals would fall into place.

But the pressures of the Crowninshield family weigh heavy on its sons, Geordie and Edward.

Geordie throws himself eagerly upon the waves to travel far from home. When he does walk the shore of Salem, he spends his nights at Ship Tavern, where he takes an interest in the newly arrived barmaid, Lizzie Rowell.

Edward had all but left the family years ago, moving away from Salem and marrying into a fishing family of much simpler means. But escaping the control of a man like George Crowninshield isn’t so easy, even if serving on one of his ships puts him in serious danger. Duty to family is of the utmost importance in Crowninshield’s world.

From the wealthiest merchant to an overworked barmaid, everyone must decide what they’re willing to risk for a better life.

Lizzie Rowell risks her aunt’s fury, and the loss of her home and occupation, for the affection of Geordie Crowninshield. And when an unexpected complication arises between them, Lizzie finds herself at the mercy of those with more wealth and power than she could ever hope to touch.

Wagner-Wright imbues Salem with authentic life, drawing readers into the last decade of the 18^th century.

Sensory descriptions flow in the cool sea air, carrying the smell of bridal fruitcakes and bitter hull-sealing pitch. We see the finery of wealthy dress, and the structure of lavish mansions as the characters wait on the shore for their far off dreams to come true.

Moments of hardship and pain punctuate the seafaring journeys, reminding readers of just how difficult it was to run a ship in days past, and why the goods they carried were so valuable. The captains have to handle the material needs of a great wooden vessel and its crew, while dealing with ever-shifting markets and unstable—or even hostile—foreign governments.

Readers get a view into the complexities of trade in the early days of the United States. Without a strong navy backing them, these American merchants have to tread carefully around both pirates and privateers. We also act as witness to the growing social world in the burgeoning country, with historical figures like George Washington playing his part as a living fixture of high society. Eliza rants about his visit upstaging her daughter’s wedding, while bemoaning his choice of residence.

Sea Tigers & Merchants maintains its accurate image of life in Salem with clearly focused research and a deep fascination for the historical setting.

Such a complex time in history could be difficult to grasp, but Wagner-Wright keeps the story clear and well-paced. She uses her grasp of the setting to carefully guide readers through the precarious world of trade and sailing in Early American history. By providing enough context for unfamiliar details, she prevents readers from missing key notes in the story. Which is especially impressive with such a large cast of characters.

Family legacy shapes this cast of characters, defining every relationship they have.

The new and old generation alike must make personal sacrifices for the sake of their family and reputation. Some begin to crack under that pressure, like Elias, Hasket’s heir, whose penchant for gambling leads him into mounting debt.

Family and business become ever more complicated as they intersect. Hasket is not only George’s greatest rival, but also his brother-in-law. He employs his nephews as captains, despite knowing their father’s ambition is to topple him and his growing business empire. Even marriage can’t soothe these strained bonds completely. A person’s very attendance to their loved one’s wedding carries heavy implications.

Stepping between the perspectives of its ensemble, Sea Tigers & Merchants gives a rich view of these characters’ inner lives.

Their personalities shine through dialogue and thought. Each person has a unique understanding of the world, prompting readers to consider deeply what they think about the figures of this story. Although mistakes abound driven by selfishness, fear, or unrelenting pressure, it’s easy to empathize with everyone’s particular struggles.

Captain Nathaniel “Nath” Silsbee stands out early on. Not a member of either powerful house, his own family has fallen on hard times, and it’s only by succeeding on the sea that he has any chance to saving his mother and siblings. He perseveres through misfortune, giving his voyages a gripping importance.

As we see these characters grow through the years, a universal need becomes clear. Everyone seeks to follow their inner compass and yet be understood by those around them.

Whether a character knows exactly what they want in life, or is in ways a stranger to themselves, they yearn for connection beyond the practical demands of power and wealth. This theme is never more pressing than in the question of marriage. The hope for a true partner shines on the horizon, but all could be lost by a person’s conflicts with their place in society, be it on land or sea.

For some, the sea is a tool of commerce, a treacherous but bountiful place to build their fortune. For others, it tethers itself to the soul as a deep connection from which they cannot drift away.

Each time someone sets out to sea, there’s no guarantee they’ll return. For those with a family, they risk leaving them behind without the means to support themselves. But for captains, especially those with shares in the ship or cargo, the reward is enough wealth to build an entire life. Readers will feel the desire and apprehension of these seafarers, while getting to see the myriad ways fortune can ebb and flow.

But even if someone makes their fortune and comes to shore for good, their heart might linger forever on the waves. That life creates a distance between people. Wagner-Wright takes the time to explore in detail how the sea shapes each character’s view of themselves, and their connections back home.

With the next generation starting households of their own, this series is poised to continue its expansive saga.

Sea Tigers & Merchants concludes with exciting steps laid out before many of the characters, setting up the next part of the tale. Historical fiction readers will find a complex and satisfying tale in Sandra Wagner-Wright’s Salem Stories series.

Read the review for book one in the Salem Stories, Ambition, Arrogance, and Pride here!

October 7, 2024
The Little Peeps First Place Roundup for Children’s Literature!

The Little Peeps Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Childrens and Early Readers. The Grand Prize Winner, Scrap University’s book, The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Little Peeps 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 Little Peeps 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 Little Peeps Winners!

Beth Davis – Lacinda the Lion is a Super Youneek Beast

Lacinda the Lion was born in a tiny town where being a Super Youneek Beast wasn’t always celebrated. Her friends and family didn’t know quite what to think of her! She faces some challenges and curious eyes when she goes to school for the first time, but there’s an awesome learning moment for all at the end of the day! This book is a touching story about being unique, gaining self-esteem, and celebrating exactly who you are!

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Adalgisa and David Nico – Fish in the Desert: The Untold Story of the Death Valley Pupfish

When some think of Death Valley, a barren wasteland comes to mind. Far from it, the area, now a protected national park known for its extreme temperatures, is teeming with a diverse range of endemic species, plants, and terrain. Fish in the Desert explores the fascinating and tiny ‘pupfish,’ the world’s rarest fish who have withstood the harsh conditions of Death Valley since the Pleistocene epoch.

The story follows Adele, a young girl, on a road trip with her family to Death Valley National Park in Southeastern California near the border with Nevada. Adele spots a beautiful and tiny blue and purple fish that the park’s Aquatic Ecologist tells the family is called a pupfish, an endangered fish species renowned for its ability to exist with the intense heat and salt and even adapt to a changing ecosystem over thousands of years.

Young readers will learn that the tenacious pupfish, originally among many types of sea life, is the only species to have survived the climate change and extreme conditions of Death Valley and that there are even subspecies of pupfish that evolved separately in different pools of water.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Ruth Amanda – Geckos in The Garden

Is there anything more fun than hunting for geckos in your garden? This delightful counting book, told in whimsical rhyming couplets, invites readers to explore the wonder and joy of tromping through nature to look for geckos.

There’s one on the patio! And another in the shrubs! Before you know it, the whole morning will go by happily hunting geckos. Readers will find one, two, three, four… well, you get the idea. Geckos are everywhere, and they’re oh so much fun to discover.

From Chanticleer:

Geckos in the Garden by Ruth Amanda is a children’s counting book that takes readers through a delightful, rhythmic, aesthetically pleasing romp past a series of hidden geckos.

Amanda starts out with just one gecko in the garden. Every page after, one more is added amongst myriad natural details such as flowers, a snail, a palm tree, garden taps, rocks, a mango tree, leaves, a gate, a bird’s nest, a pond, and more.

Amanda demonstrates a natural sense of narrative arc even within a counting book—readers will feel the climax of the adventure when they arrive at the ninth gecko and read the line, “I spot one—two—no, six—no, more! Nine!” The escalation of the words’ momentum makes the ninth and tenth geckos more dramatic. Furthermore, the clever dénouement includes the narrator realizing the geckos might watch them just as much as they watch the geckos, and this is written alongside an adorable picture of a gecko looking in the window of the narrator’s home.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Jonna Laster – Nutshell Regatta

Grandma took a handful of nutshells from her sweater pocket. I saw empty peanut and walnut shells and asked what they were for. Grandma smiled, “Not shells but sloops and sailboats. This is the HMS Goober”.

From Chanticleer:

In Nutshell Regatta by Jonna Laster, the narrator’s grandmother reveals adventures in nature that could easily be missed without her watchful eye.

With her wise guidance, clouds turn into campers, dandelions hold moon yokes, leaves sing, and a broken branch takes on the form of a fox. Most importantly, twigs and pebbles become sailors who embark on a grand regatta in their nutshell sloops and sailboats.

Three ships come to the forefront of the story. Two of them sink, their twig sailors swimming safely to a nearby lily pad, while one continues on. Its passengers Burt the pebble and Betula the birch twig encounter what appears to be disaster, but when they fall over a waterfall, the grandmother guides the narrator to listen close. When they hear a faint “yipeeeeee” from the bottom of the waterfall, it’s clear that all has turned out well.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon

T.K. Sheffield – The Night Icelandic Horses Saved Christmas Eve

Manuscript

Raven Howell – Friends Come in All Sizes

Patience and kindness are important when you want to make new friends, but it’s hard not to consider what it would be like to have a gangly giraffe or chilled-out polar bear as a pal.

A friendship mission prompts two boys to regard would-be companions of many shapes and sizes, and their imaginative adventures hatch brand new, unexpected buddies.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

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

You can see our Hall of Fame on the Little Peeps Grand Prize Winners, including Scrap University’s incredible book The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans here.

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

Got a great Fiction Book? The 2024 Little Peeps Book Awards are open through the end of September!

Submit to the Little Peeps Awards Today!

October 6, 2024
The 2023 M&M Awards First Place Roundup for Cozy and Not-so-Cozy Mysteries!
The Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries. The Grand Prize Winner, Michelle Cox’s book, A Haunting at Linley will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the M&M 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 M&M 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 M&M Winners!

Liese Sherwood Fabre – The Adventure on the Purloined Portrait

A long-buried past. A stolen portrait. The artist’s murder. Can Sherlock discover the connection between the three before he’s stopped permanently?

Sherlock can’t shake his apprehension about a family trip to Paris. His mother’s unflappable confidence vanished months ago, and her anxiety has set the whole family on edge. His greatest fears are realized when they witness the death of one of Mrs. Holmes’ former suitors.

As Sherlock seeks to unravel the reason behind the artist’s murder, he unearths a long-buried secret about his mother and survives several attempts to keep him from getting to the truth.

Can he bring a murderer to justice before he’s buried with these hidden secrets forever?

The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait is the gripping fourth case in The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes. If you enjoy traditional historical mysteries, you’ll love this origin series about the world’s greatest consulting detective.

Find it on Amazon

Gail Grant Park – We Are Shadows: An Irish Ghost Story

Moira Gallagher has been conversing with ghosts since she was five. Now as an adult, she’s finally putting that ability to good use.

Moira’s ability to talk with the dead gives her detective agency, Gallagher Investigations, an edge in uncovering secrets the past has buried. With the help of her sisters, Nuala and Deirdre, she assists those unsettled spirits in finding peace by righting the wrongs done to them before they found themselves on the Other Side. The past collides with the present as these Irish sisters solve cold-case murders and mayhem through their dreams, paranormal visitations, and spunk.

If you enjoy a cozy mystery, ghosts of the friendly and not-so-friendly variety, or anything Irish, you’ll love We Are Shadows.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Rebecca Olmstead – Dreams and Illusions

Suffering a crisis of faith, will one woman’s cryptic visions lead to the path of healing and save her sister from death row?

Gabrielle Dorian believes God has turned against her. Despite prophetic dreams, the grieving boutique owner resents that her alleged gift didn’t prevent her parents’ accidental deaths or protect her husband from a fatal worksite accident. So after receiving a panicked call from the last of her family, the distraught woman shelves her own sorrow and rushes to Seattle to rescue her estranged sister.

Discovering her sibling has been charged with murder, Gabrielle begins to fear the worst when her brother-in-law is missing and his best friend mysteriously comes up with bail money. Battling a hated former classmate in charge of the case, she fights through the murk of suspicious clues that all point to a guilty verdict.

With her last loved one’s life on the line, can she uncover the truth before it’s too late?

Dreams and Illusions is the riveting first book in the Gabrielle Dorian Mysteries Series. If you like headstrong heroines, fast-paced drama, and dark twists, you’ll love Rebecca Olmstead’s tale of doubt and redemption.

Find it on Amazon

Elizabeth Crowens – Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles

Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that’s exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, when the police and city pound ridicule Basil Rathbone and ask, “Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog?” Basil also hires the B. Norman Agency to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.

The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil’s on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Patrick E Craig -The Quilt That Knew
- A young girl buried in the woods for forty years…
- A desperate killer loose in the village…
- A mysterious quilt and a golden ring…
Jenny Hershberger returns to Apple Creek, Ohio, the village where she grew up. But this is not a happy homecoming. She’s been called upon to solve a horrible crime. But will the killer find her first…

Find it Locally and on Amazon
Lyn Squire – Immortalized to Death

Death strikes England’s foremost novelist, his latest tale only half told. Was he murdered because someone feared a ruinous revelation? Or was it revenge for some past misdeed? Set in the Kent countryside and London slums of 1870, Immortalised to Death embeds an ingenious solution to Charles Dickens’s unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood within the evolving and ultimately tragic consequences of a broader mystery surrounding the author himself. Debut author Lyn Squire kicks off his fascinating Dunston Burnett Trilogy with legendary Victorian novelist Charles Dickens dead at his desk, pen still in hand. Convinced that the identity of Dickens’s murderer lies in the book’s missing denouement, Dickens’s nephew and unlikely detective, Dunston Burnett, sets out to complete his uncle’s half-finished novel. A stunning revelation crowns this tale about the mysterious death of England’s greatest novelist, and exposes the author’s long-held secret.

Find it on Amazon

E.W. Finke – Coyote’s Wail

The baffling death of a beloved Elder. A convocation of eagles, sacred messengers of Kji-Niskam, poisoned. Mi’kmaw First Nation Chief Peter Joe must learn who’s behind the killings before more die. A determined wildlife activist, a self-important Minister of Parliament, a virulent poison, and a plan to eradicate Newfoundland’s newest and smartest predators tangle his trail to the cause and perpetrator, and put his life in danger.

Are things as they seem? The Old Ones’ stories hold the answers.

Find it at Barnes & Noble

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

You can see our Hall of Fame on the M&M Grand Prize Winners, including Michelle Cox’s incredible book A Haunting at Linley here.

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

Got a great Fiction Book? The 2024 M&M Book Awards are open through the end of September!

Note: Submissions are open until the dates update on the website!

Submit to the M&M Awards Today!
October 5, 2024
Illuminating the Shadows of Gothic Fiction: Celebrating Anne Rice’s Legacy on Her Birthday

Celebrating the Supernatural Legacy of Anne Rice!

Anne Rice, a name synonymous with the gothic and supernatural, has left an indelible mark on the literary landscape. Her unique storytellinginvites readers to sink their teeth into the richly textured worlds of vampires, witches, and the occult. Best known for her groundbreaking series The Vampire Chronicles, Rice transformed the public’s perfection of vampires from the tuxedoed count Bela Lugosi’s Dracula into creatures that were not only glamourous, but deeply emotional and philosophical. Lestat and Louis are not just beings of the night, but the are immortals grappling with the human condition.

Bela Lugosi’s Dracula from 1931

Growing Up in Gothic New Orleans

Born on Ocotber 4, 1941 in New Orleans, a city famed for its gothic architecture and rich spiritual history, Rice found her most powerful inspiration in its haunted corners. Her early years were shaped by loss with both her mother and grandmother passing away by the time she was sixteen. She sought refuge in literature, immersing herself in the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley. Under their influence, Rice’s imagination bloomed, combining dark imagery and complex emotional landscapes that would define her career.

While pursuing her master’s degree in English at San Fransisco State University, she married Stan Rice with whom she had two children, Michele and Christopher. Tragically, Michele was diagnosed with leukemia at age six. To cope with the grief, Anne Rice turned to writing, creating her first novel, Interview with a Vampire.

Years later, Rice recalled a prophetic dream she had months before the death of her daughter. In it, she was told that “somethings wrong with her blood.”

The Beginning of the Vampire Chronicles

Interview with the Vampire introduced readers to Louis de Pointe du Lac, an immortal vampire recounting his centuries-long tale of suffering, love, and loss to an intrigued reporter. The lush prose called on classic fin de siècle literature descriptions as seen in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, while infusing it with modern depth. Readers were captivated by the exploration of immortality, isolation, and Louis’ inner turmoil, creating a new kind of vampire – one who yearned, not just for blood, but for meaning. The Vampire Chronicles became a beloved series focused mostly on Louis’ maker Lestat de Lioncourt – the iconic golden haired rebel with the face of an angel.

This created more than a vampire series: It created a cultural movement. Vampires wrestling with questions of morality, religion, and humanity left behind the mold of good versus evil. Lestat came forward as a symbol of charisma, power, and vulnerability. Through him, Rice turned the idea of vampires from monsters of fear into beings of empathy that are capable of love and introspection, drawing readers into their eternal struggle.

The success of The Vampire Chronicles catapulted Rice into the literary spotlight and paved the way for a resurgence of interest in gothic fiction for future horror authors to create their own interpretations of vampire mythology.

Then and now. On the left is Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Cruise as Louis, Lestat, and Claudia in the original 1994 screen adaptation. The 2022 AMC series on the right is still running as of this posting and features Delainey Hayles, Jacob Anderson, and Sam Reid as Claudia, Louis and Lestat.

While Rice is primarily known for her vampire novels, she has written witches, werewolves, and even had a period of writing exclusively Christian fiction. Her supernatural writings explored spirituality, sexuality, and mortality, blending philosophical questions most often found in literary fiction into the paranormal and horror genre.

An Everlasting Legacy

Anne Rice’s impact on literature and popular culture is undeniable. Her works have inspired countless adaptations, including films, television series, and even musicals.

You can hear the musical score for Lestat, the Musical by none other than Sir Elton John here.

Through these mediums, Rice has introduced a new generation to her haunting vision of vampirism, and inspired the works of contemporary authors like Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight and Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series which was adapted to True Blood.

On the left we have Sookie and Bill from True Blood and on the right is Bella and Edward from Twilight. Both are classic modern vampire stories that wouldn’t be very different without Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles

Rice’s characters often represent a rich interior life coupled with vibrant descriptions of the world and setting that reflects an older style of writing with lyrical prose that explores the human psyche.

Bryce Lankard/Getty Images

Anne Rice passed away on December 11, 2021, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate with readers and writers alike. Her lyrical prose, atmospheric settings, and unforgettable characters remind us that the supernatural is not only a realm of monsters, but a reflection of the human condition. As we celebrate Rice’s birthday, we honor her ability to blend horror with heart and her profound influence on modern supernatural fiction. Like Lestat and Louis, her stories live on – endlessly captivating, forever haunting.

If you are a fan of things that go bump in the night, we encourage to take a bite into these Chanticleer authors’ tales of supernatural.

Merging Paths
By Vince Bailey
CIBA Grand Prize award for a Series

Having escaped unjust imprisonment at the Fort Grant facility for juveniles, Curtis Jefferson is on the run, in Merging Paths,the third installment of Vince Bailey’s gripping, paranormal, Curtis Jefferson Series.

With only a small jug of water and the clothes on his back, Curtis has to cross the Sonoran Desert and find a way back to his mother and grandmother in Jacobs Well. But his trip is plagued by more than thirst, hunger, and fear of animals. A racist sheriff’s deputy, Myron Aycock, is hellbent on finding Curtis not only for the acclaim such an arrest will give him but also for vengeance against the beating he received at the hands of the aspiring boxer.

Trapped and desperate, Curtis is rescued by a mysterious figure and taken to Isabel and Ray Cienfuegos. After hearing Curtis’s unsettling stories about Fort Grant, the two understand that they have all been fighting the same evil forces – under the control of the sadistic Ezra. In a final confrontation, Isabel faces off against the wicked spirit, but just as they believe their problems are over, a new threat arises under the guise of friendship, and Isabel makes a life-changing decision that will mark her forever.

Read more here!

The Devil Pulls The Strings
By J. W. Zarek
CIBA Grand Prize award in the Shelley Division

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.

No ordinary guy, Boone makes a living as a handyman and swashbuckling knight at Renaissance Faires around Missouri. He’s also uniquely gifted with a form of eidetic memory coupled with synesthesia. What’s that? Simply put, synesthesia allows people to see colors and taste things when they hear music – and an eidetic memory allows folks to memorize whatever they’ve seen or heard one time. But that’s not all. Boone can time-travel, make friends with almost any feline or shapeshifter, and convince a certain immortal he’s worth more as an ally than a snack. No kidding, Baba Yaya loves human meat.

Read more here!

The Street Between the Pines
By J.J. Alo

Something strange and terrible stirs in Frank Cavanaugh’s basement, in J.J. Alo’s psychological-thriller,The Street Between the Pines.

The giant hole at the bottom of Frank’s house wasn’t there before. Something so very ugly and dangerous is down there. Something with bright, glowing eyes. Adrenalin pumps through Frank’s aging body as he scrambles for the exit. Behind him, a low gurgling growl.

In suburban Connecticut, Iraqi war veteran Curtis is still fighting to surviving on multiple fronts. Curtis struggles with severe PTSD, visions of the war that continually overwhelm him. Now, after being released from jail after a manslaughter conviction, having caused a fatal auto accident, he struggles to put his life together. All the while, he navigates a shaky relationship with his wife Amy, and a complex connection to his autistic son Wes.

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Requiem for a Queen
By Kaylin McFarren

To what lengths will a person go when ultimate power is within reach? Requiem For A Queen by Kaylin McFarren explores the depths of greed that propel a daughter to defy her father, the Devil himself.

Lucinda uses evil means to pursue an equally dark end, the crown of Hell. How can this woman be stopped, and an innocent child she’s stolen away be saved? Is there anyone willing to step forward, and muster the strength to stand up against the destructive battle between the Devil and his daughter?

Samara, a hybrid between angel and demon, can only save her abducted son by stepping into that battle.

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Thank you for joining us in celebrating the supernatural horror Anne Rice!

The Shelley Awards are open now!

Do you have your own Supernatural or Paranormal novel that’s ready to be discovered? Formerly the Paranormal Awards, the Shelley Awards are open now and ready for the best Supernatural read of 2024!

The 2024 Shelley Awards are open until Oct 31, 2024!

Thank you again to the authors who wrote these frightfully fun books, and to Anne Rice, who inspired so many to pick up the pen!

October 4, 2024