The Ozma and Goethe Awards both close at the end of July! Don’t let your History become a Fantasy!
The Ozma Award for Fantasy Fiction and The Goethe Award for Post-1750 Historical Fiction close submissions on JULY 31st.
You can’t win if you don’t submit!
Submit to the CIBAs Today!
Only 10 days left to submit your books to the prestigious CIBAs and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!
The Ozma Awards for Fantasy and The Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction are still open until JULY 31st!
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Ozma Awards!
Lilla Glass – The Unseen
Charles Allen – The Order of the Red God
Jaime Castle & Andy Peloquin – Black Talon
Jonathan Uffelman – Book of Leprechauns: The Lore Gatherers
PJ Devlin – The Chamber
And a huge round of applause to this years Overall Grand Prize, and Division Grand Prize for OZMA
A Vengeful Realm by Tim Facciola!
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Goethe Awards!
William Maz – Bucharest Legacy: The Rise of the Oligarchs
And a huge round of applause to this years 2023 Goethe Grand Prize Winner- If Someday Comes by David Calloway
The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.
We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.
Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025) where Winners from all 25 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.
In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.
In YIMBY! Yes In My Back Yard!, Sheryl Recinos presents a simple yet powerful story that speaks to the heart of human kindness and the need to help our fellow man.
Most people are familiar with the term NIMBY, the acronym for “Not In My Back Yard”, referencing opposition to the construction of something perceived as undesirable in one’s neighborhood. But this passionate and heart-warming children’s book offers a positive transformation to the word.
Alongside quality illustrations by Amanda Ravensdale, this story explores the concept that people everywhere, both young and old, need our help.
Whether a homeless man in the park accepting food or a warm coat in winter, an elder woman getting help from a teen to climb the stairs, or an adult and child being welcomed by a family offering shelter, each scene emphasizes that “everyone needs a place to live sleep and stay safe.”
In another instance we see a father and his children admire their work after they transform a small structure into a freshly painted safe haven for someone. To show just how far reaching the homeless problem is, one image depicts a Native American looking out over the vast western landscape dotted with mountain ranges and roaming bovine.
Ravensdale’s illustrations are brightly colored, with fine detail and texture.
From the close perspective of a doe-eyed girl sipping a warming drink, to the mixed gathering of community members, all pictures reflect the story’s core sentiment.
In this engaging work, Recinos also includes suggestions for helping those who need housing in our own communities.
Consider food and clothing drives, sack lunch programs, and letters to legislators voicing concerns about the homeless. Further interaction includes questions posed to the reader about additional help they might offer. Several organizations are listed to further the cause of ending homelessness, including havens for both the young and old, as well as programs for homeless veterans.
The final page depicts colorful drawings and bios of the author and illustrator.
Recinos’s own experience with homelessness as a teenager is clearly reflected in her choice of subject matter. Ravensdale was born into a multicultural family and was influenced by an artist father. Growing up in countries around the world gave her a vast exposure to a variety of people.
With the Supreme Court’s recent debate regarding ticketing the homeless, YIMBY couldn’t come at a more pressing time. Though written for children, the book’s message offers a thought-provoking and compelling experience to be shared by young and old alike.
Fantasy isn’t just elves and magic. There is so many possibilities for a Fantasy Tale and we love that!
Let’s Dive into the Categories!
Magic, Heroes and Villains is classic High Fantasy like Lord of The Rings.
Coming of age is Fantasy typically looks at someone coming into their own, like Egwene al’Vere in The Wheel of Time, but it can also be aimed at a younger audience. For YA Fantasy see Dante Rossetti and for Middle Grade Fantasy check out the Gertrude Warner Awards!
Steampunk and Dieselpunk are a type of Alternative history and Counterculture, Steampunk being Victorian era sci-fi or fantasy, or both, with an emphasis on steam powered or gaslight technology and historical fashions.
Dieselpunk is a similar category but more like an industrial Art Deco, Film Noir aspects with aesthetics of the World Wars and Early Cold War. The video game series Bioshock, or Bladerunner could be seen as examples of Dieselpunk . There are quite a few different types of ‘punk’. Cyberpunk is one of the more well known, using 1980s futuristic aesthetics.
Historical Fantasy is similar to the previous, but with less of the Science Fiction elements. History with magic instead of History with weird tech.
Modern and Urban Fantasy is exactly what it sounds like. Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files is a good example. Fantasy, but realistic. Magical Realism stands on its own, and can be found as a Category in the Somerset Awards!
Last, but not least is Myths and Legends and Fairy Tales. Classic Fantasy elements, Fairies, King Arthur, folktale type stories.
Fantasy can even have many crossovers with Science Fiction! The cast of Star Trek: Next Generation shows just the same thing.
Looking for your next Fantasy Read? Check out some of these incredible books we’ve reviewed!
THE CLAIMING: Fractured Kingdoms Book 1 By J.A. Nielsen
The illegitimate son of a human king accidentally binds himself to a Fae princess in J.A. Nielsen’s YA adventure, The Claiming. As war bears down on the kingdom of Telridge, can the two of them break the spell in time?
Lord Ferrous, ruler of Telridge, smells conflict coming for his people. Even so, he denies a mysterious request from the king of the Winter Fae, and sets his sons to prepare their land for war. His eldest, Prince Dirk, gathers his knights and begins to evacuate the common people to the protection of Telridge castle. His younger son Spense, born out of wedlock to the castle’s head cook, uses his finicky magic to Claim a bridge over a powerful river. If he succeeds, the passing will be barred to their enemies. But he fails to realize that the powerful living force he encounters isn’t the bridge at all.
Dewy, crown princess of the Summer Fae, is Claimed instead of the bridge. Her aunt, Lady Radiant, must exile her from their lands. While Dewy’s careless spirit chafed under Radiant’s authority, she grieves for her lost home.
A CIRCLE Of STARS: Four Crowns Series Book 1 By Erin Lark Maples
If you’re looking for a beach read with supernatural intrigue, A Circle of Stars by Erin Lark Maples will draw you in from page one. Ember “EJ” James, a newly-arrived stranger in the strange land of Prescott, AZ, immediately begins navigating unfamiliar territory, both physically and metaphysically.
Forty-something EJ doesn’t know it yet, but when she agreed to take over her deceased uncle Hollis’s shop in Prescott, she stumbled into a world of magical realism. The plant shop, as it turns out, is more than just that—it hides secret access to other realms, which supernatural beings will go to great lengths to access. Much like the plants in the shop, this tale is dark, tangled, and intriguing beyond belief.
Anyone else may have felt helpless. But EJ remains upbeat, charmingly self-deprecating, and resourceful to the end. There’s a great joy in seeing how she works through her new surroundings, unfazed by (almost) everything they throw her way.
SUMMER THUNDER: Magic at Myers Beach Book 1 By Alan B. Gibson
Lily struggles to keep her business, her son, and her home. But in Summer Thunder, first book of the Magic at Myers Beach series by Alan B. Gibson, Lily’s luck begins to turn as she connects with the enigmatic beach king Theos.
With the help of her friend and fellow business owner Greta “the Witch,” Lily tries to revitalize her fairy-themed decoration and figurine store. Her divorce from her abusive ex-husband Kelly is pending, and she must present a calm and reliable home to ensure full custody of her son Jamie. But when her kindly landlord, Ms. Coffey, passes away, she’s confronted with two options: lose her prime business location and upstairs apartment, or somehow make enough money to buy the building herself.
Enter Theos, a kitesurfing champion with adoring fans. He shows true appreciation for Lily’s fairy figurines, bringing her many more sales. But more importantly, Theos becomes deeply interested in Lily herself. Their romance begins on rocky footing, as Theos has a strange air about him and seems to vanish whenever a storm comes into town. But when he begins modelling for a new fairy figurine – aptly named Theos, the King – the two are drawn inevitably closer.
MISTRESS Of LEGEND: Guinevere’s Tale Book 3 By Nicole Evelina
In Mistress of Legend, the enticing finale of Nicole Evelina’s Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, matters are life-and-death by the second sentence, pulling readers deep into Guinevere’s fate in this retelling of Arthurian legend.
We come upon heroine Guinevere in the midst of an ill-fated romance with Lancelot. It’s far from her first troubled entanglement, but the stakes rise as she’s severely injured and faces even more threats, pursued by possible enemies. The novel’s beginning is woven with backstory, which adds suspense to the drama unfolding in Guinevere’s present. This summarizing might be slow for readers familiar with the series, but makes the story accessible for those who haven’t picked up the first two books.
Many more characters appear, waving the web of intrigue Guinevere finds herself caught in.
Evelina builds this setting through well-researched cultural details, like the holidays and rites of Guinevere’s pagan world, and the symbolism and ideology of the Christianity that threatens to blot her world out.
Plus, check out our 2023 Overall Grand Prize Winner, A Vengeful Realm by Tim Facciola!
A roaring start with a queen planning her husband’s execution while full of regret for what must be done. Magic is forbidden, knights and gladiators are doing their best to make their way through a complex political world, and the prince is just trying to keep his family safe. Excellent for anyone who loves Brandon Sanderson!
Thank you to everyone who submitted to the 2023 Ozma Awards! We can’t believe that the whole adventure starts again when the Ozma Awards close on July 31st, 2024.
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.
With their park damp from the rain, seven snails line up for their next thrilling race in Ruth Amanda’s Ess-Car-Go!
Frogs, bugs, birds, and even a curious cat come to cheer on the famous snail racers, from the stylish Sterling to the easily-distracted Sherlock. And as each one runs into their own kind of trouble; this trophy could go to anybody!
All the racers are easy to root for, with their mishaps fitting the natural oblivious image of snails.
Written in an energetic two-piece rhyming scheme, this story builds excitement all the way to the end.
Each snail is introduced with a cute, memorable design and a few accompanying rhymes to show their prowess and personality, getting readers as engaged in the race as all the critters in the park. Their distinctive colors keep the race clear, while helping to show there are many kinds of snails in the world—and sometimes even in just one stretch of grass.
The rhymes cleverly fit in some vocabulary words like “hydroplane”, and the back of the book even includes a list of fascinating snail facts, teaching kids and adults alike more about these strange garden creatures.
Whimsical watercolor illustrations absolutely fill Ess-Car-Go! with detail.
There’s always more to draw the eye across the page, from colorful plants to the menagerie of adorable critters—each with their own kind of visual charm.
Along with that dedication to detail, the illustrations play with funny animal visual gags. They indulge in the wonderful silliness of a frog doctor, birds and insects trying to help their favorite racer, and of course the shell-spraining speeds that these snails achieve—all while maintaining a real sense of suspense as the finish line approaches.
Travel Writing beckons us to leap into the unknown!
Travel writing tells us to buy that plane ticket, jump on that train, or gas up the car to chase after the dream of earning a living writing about the many incredible places you find when you step outside your front door. But all dreams require a little forethought.
The Annual Kite Festival in Rockaway Beach, OR is an exciting spectacle of high-flying kites, handled by masterful kite operators. -Dena
Here are our top tips for how to hit it out of the park with travel writing and make your journey compelling!
Getting the Story
1. Find the Story
Just like it is with all writing meant to sell, writers must stay abreast of trends to ensure their work is marketable.
Online and print travel magazines are a good place to start. Day trips are always a hot topic, and you can follow local and regional periodicals to stay up to date on what’s new in your area. A general periodical focused on travel will provide you with a wider view of interesting places to explore.
Travel associations and travel and tourism offices are a treasure chest for travel writers! Their representatives work hard to steer you in directions that are timely, interesting, and full of possibilities for a great article. Cultivating these relationships will reward you with insider information, guided press tours, and future writing opportunities.
Remember to reach out to your Circle of Influence, too! Reaching out to your traveling friends and associates to find the places they are most interested in will also give you valuable insight. Where do they want to go? How will they spend their time when they get there? What questions do they have that you can find the answers for? The answers to these questions will be a catalyst for a compelling article that reaches the right readers.
Finally, you’ll want to consider your own interests when looking for your next travel story. Think about what you enjoy when you travel, and contact those groups directly to find out what is new and exciting so you can help promote it for them. If the relationship goes well, they may come to know you as a dependable writer and eventually reach out to you with story ideas!
One of the most delicious burgers in the Pacific Northwest is found at Mock Crest Tavern in North Portland, OR. Juicy and flavorful! – Dena
2. Research
Good research will help you find an interesting angle for your article and lead you to those bits of lesser known information that will elevate your article above the others focusing on the same topic.
Gather the information given to you by the tourism associations and other groups, then do a little research on your own to find interesting details to give your story a unique spin. For example, if you are writing about the best hiking boots to wear on extreme hikes, find out who the designers are and what makes them experts in hiking footwear. By doing this you’ll be telling readers of your articles you are an authority on travel topics they are interested in.
Beautiful glass art fills Robert Adamson’s Island Art Glass Studio on Whidbey Island, WA. I visited while on a press tour for the Whidbey Island Arts Council and found the many colors mesmerizing. And watching his artists work in their glass blowing shop was a special treat! – Dena
3. Get the Inside Scoop
People love hearing from the locals, and locals love telling people about places and events they love near their home.
Adding quotes from people who are involved in events or owners of restaurants, hotels, or activities will provide depth, color, and validity to your article. Convey their enthusiasm for their events/activities and let the reader feel it through compelling writing.
Not only will you be creating a great article with quotes, readers will be given an insider’s view into the experience as they learn the basic information that will enable them to book their next big adventure! Get out your old journalism notes to get the “who, what, why, where, and when” information to fill in your article and up the value of the content, then find one or two quotes that will add interest to your article, and be sure to cite the person if required.
Tillamook, OR’s annual “Pig and Ford” races have been a fan favorite since 1923. Drivers must stop in the middle of the race to catch a pig and take him for a ride. It’s a wild and thrilling event! – Dena
4. A Personal Perspective
It’s time to put yourself into the writing!
What was your experience like? Seek out those special moments that really connected with you and tell them as if you were talking to a friend who is about to visit the same place. Use your five senses to infuse your article with compelling, sentient writing the reader can connect with and feel confident they understand what you’ve experienced. Keep in mind, you want to be honest in your writing, and keep negativity out if you want to be invited back for future writing gigs.
I ran across the street band playing at Portland, OR’s Skidmore Fountain. Their music made me think of Appalachian music from the past. – Dena
Travel writing is an exciting adventure, both on the road and on the page! Starting off right with these tips in mind will help you get the story, write an interesting article, and get noticed by the people who need good writers to get the word out to support their local tourism. Whether you travel across the world or down the block, you’ll find endless amounts of inspiration for your travel writing adventure.
Interested in travel writing? Here are just a few great authors writing about their adventures!
In Cassandra Overby’s encyclopedic guide Explore Europe On Foot, readers are taken through a step-by-step process of dreaming, planning, and hopefully soon experiencing memorable, slow travel ventures of a lifetime. Whether it’s choosing a route and destination, deciding what to pack, finding appropriate accommodations and food options, or dealing with inevitable challenges, Overby supplies a world of information in this colossal foot travelers’ bible.
Square Up: 50,000 Miles in Search of a Way Home By Lisa Dailey
Although she and her husband had planned to take their family on a ’round-the-world adventure, she didn’t expect their plans to come together on the heels of grief, after losing seven family members in five years. Square Up shows us that travel not only helps us understand and appreciate other cultures, but invites us to find compassion and wisdom, heal from our losses, and discover our capacity for forgiveness, as well as joy.
Thank you for joining us for this Writer Toolbox Article
There is so much to learn and do with Chanticleer!
From our Book Award Program that has Discovered the Best Books since the early 2010s to our Editorial Book Reviews recognizing and promoting indie and traditional authors, Chanticleer knows your books are worth the effort to market professionally!
The traditional publishing tool that indie authors can use to propel their writing careers to new levels? Check it out here!
Do you have a book about travel 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 abouthere.
You can see our full list of Non-FictionBook Awardsis 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!
Now pack your bags, grab your laptop, and get exploring, writing, and creating great stories!
In Loving Beth, a Christian historical romance by Bonnie Rose Ward, a young woman finds herself in dire straits when her widowed mother dies unexpectedly.
Beth’s father had taken out loans to improve their property, but he was killed in the Civil War, leaving his wife and daughter to struggle to keep up with the payments. Now, Beth is alone without any means to keep her home—finding and taking in two young, abandoned children certainly doesn’t help. But even amidst her troubles, Beth’s thoughts keep going back to the mysterious and handsome stranger who found and brought home the body of her mother.
Life is not easy in her tiny settlement in West Virginia, and young, pretty Beth finds that it is not about to get any easier. The new banker holds a grudge toward her for having rejected his advances, and the man’s snobbish wife is determined to make Beth’s life even more miserable. The loans that Beth and her mother worked to pay each month are suddenly due in full— but the banker’s unwanted and ugly advances are foiled with the appearance of the mysterious stranger.
Ward effectively describes the harsh day-to-day work Beth must do to keep her farm afloat.
She reminds us in no uncertain terms that, yes, deciding which rooster to butcher and process is an integral part of the process to simply put dinner on the table.
Beth McCullough’s world is clear and well-characterized. The writing pays close attention to its setting, with different characters speaking in regional accents, providing the characters with a natural feeling to their speech.
Loving Beth is a heartwarming historical romance.
Author Bonnie Rose Ward describes a time and place long ago, portraying the struggle for women who are left behind in the aftermath of a devastating war, relying on their faith and friends to carry them forward, while finding love in an unexpected place.
One of our many Historical Fiction Categories, Named after German Writer, Scientist and Playwright Johan Wolfgang Van Goethe (1749-1832), Considered to be one of the most Influential and Greatest Writers of the German Language.
This Award Division covers anything after 1750, so there can be anything from The American Revolution, to the 1930s.
Let’s take a look at some of our Grand Prize Winners and Discover your next great read!
If Someday Comes By David Calloway
This is the true story of my Great-Grandfather George Calloway, a slave in Cleveland, Tennessee, before and during the Civil War. It is written as historical fiction, based on George’s life, and stories I heard growing up. It is a tale of determination, perseverance, and achievement.
George protected his family through war, famine, and plague; he risked his life repeatedly to protect his owner’s family, and thus his own wife and children.
More fact than fiction, George’s story has also been my journey, grappling with the humiliation of slavery; sorting through the many myths and false modern-day narratives, and discovering a long lost relative, I found that to understand America, you must first understand the Civil War. George was then, and remains, a hero of our family.
Winner, the 2023 Phillis Wheatley Historical Fiction Prize
Grand Prize Winner, 2023 Goethe award for Historical Fiction
Winner, The 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards African American Fiction Award
Award-winning Irish author Orna Ross has created a volume comprising the first two novels of The Irish Trilogy, drawing from her Irish birth and upbringing for a special grasp of the country’s history, how its wars and political strivings have affected its people directly, personally, over multiple generations.
Her two books take on a span of time rooted in the early 1920s and delve deeply into the interlocking fate of the extended family and ancestry of Jo Devereux. Jo, the book’s central narrator, leaves Ireland in her twenties, only returning in her forties in 1995 when she learns that her mother is near death.
The journey back will draw her into the family’s complex relationships, and reacquaint her with Rory, her former, and perhaps only, true love.
In Linda Ulleseit’s novel The Aloha Spirit, we meet the plucky heroine, Dolores, as her father leaves her.
“Dolores’s father deemed her useless when she was seven. Neither he nor her older brother, Pablo, ever said that, but every detail of their leaving told her so. Papa had tried to explain the Hawaiian custom of hānai to her. All she understood was the giving away, leaving her to live with a family not her own.”
Her story starts in 1922; the place, multi-ethnic, multilingual Hawaii. Papa, a sugar cane cutter from Spain who worked in Hawaii, decides to take his son Pablo with him to seek his fortune in California. His wife died five years earlier. He leaves 7-year-old Dolores with a large family on Oahu in an arrangement called hānai, an informal adoption. Dolores doesn’t know the family well. She feels abandoned, with no idea when or if her father will send for her or return.
Peccadillo At The Palace: An Annie Oakley Mystery By Kari Bovee
Kari Bovée’s Peccadillo at the Palace, the second book in the Annie Oakley Mystery series, is a historical, mystery thriller extraordinaire. Fans of both genres will thrill at Bovée’s complex plot that keeps us guessing from its action-packed beginning to the satisfying reveal at the end.
The book opens with the Honorable Colonel Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show to England on a voyage to perform for Queen Victoria. They are not on the high seas long, when Annie’s beloved horse, Buck, jumps overboard. Her husband and the Queen’s loyal servant, Mr. Bhakta, jump in to save the horse, or was Mr. Bhakta already dead before he reached the water? Thus, begins the mystery of who killed Mr. Bhakta, leaving all to wonder, is the Queen safe?
Someone wanted the Queen’s man dead, and he is, but was it a matter of racism, intrigue, or an accident? Annie’s search for clues points her in several directions, but is it the doctor, or the woman dressed in rags with the posh accent, or the crass American businessman and his floozy wife? All have motive. Even Annie’s husband has motive with his Irish background and ties to the Fenians and the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
The Lost Years of Billy Battles By Ronald E. Yates
(2018 Overall Grand Prize Winner)
For those not familiar with the series, Yates presents his books as works of “faction,” a story “based in part on fact” but also “augmented by narrative fiction.” The protagonist, William Fitzroy Raglan Battles, born in Kansas in 1860, lives a full 100 years and takes part in some of the most significant events of his time. He encounters key figures of the day (Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, President Wilson, Francisco “Pancho” Villa, among others), gives us their backstories, and quietly appraises them.
Yates, a journalist with a keen eye for nuance and subtlety, has created a protagonist with superb critical thinking skills. William, a journalist, and occasional soldier examines people and transactions from every angle. Just as at ease in a Kansas saloon as he is at the captain’s table on a grand ocean liner on the Pacific, Billy Battles is also ruthlessly honest about his shortcomings and feels tremendous guilt when he acts impulsively or inadvertently causes harm to others. Yates has crafted a fully human character who is easy to admire, perhaps because he is admirably cognizant of his own flaws.
I’ve begun few books as eagerly as I did this one. Having read the first two volumes of Ronald E. Yates’ extraordinary trilogy, Finding Billy Battles, I couldn’t wait to continue his story in the final volume, The Lost Years of Billy Battles. The third installment lived up to the exceedingly high standard set in the first two volumes. Billy Battles is as dear and fascinating a literary friend as I have ever encountered. I learned much about American and international history, and you will too if you read any or all of the books. Each is an independent work, but if read in relation to the others, the reader experiences that all too rare sense of complete transport to another world, one fully realized in these pages because the storytelling is so skillful and thoroughly captivating. Trust me; you’ll want to read all three volumes.
Thank you for celebrating our Goethe Hall of Fame Winners with us!
Remember to add your next reads to your StoryGraph or Goodreads account! Now that you’re set on your next five reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Journey 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!
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! Here are some recent achievements from our authors:
The Winter Heir, the second book in J.A. Nielsen’s Fractured Kingdoms series, picks up where the first book, The Claiming, leaves off—with its protagonists struggling under the weight of a vital bargain.
Lady Dew Drop, Dewy to her friends—and her frenemies—is languishing in the court of the Winter Fae, a summer princess nearly frozen in both heart and spirit as she does her best to fulfill the pact she made with the Winter King. Meanwhile, the man who got her into this mess, the human mage and illegitimate princeling of Telridge—Spence Ferrous—tries to fulfill the deal for her.
But the story is much bigger than these two young lovers. The Winter King is dying without a legitimate heir. And it’s his own proud, arrogant fault. As much as both the humans and the Summer Fae would be willing to let him suffer the consequences of his own actions—he’s not the only one who will.
The resulting power vacuum will destabilize all three kingdoms AND the balance of the seasons between winter and summer. Will they or nil they, separately or together, the whole world needs them to find the heir that the Winter King once discarded.
It will be the making of both Dewy and Spence—and their breaking as well.
Where the first book in this series brought Dewy and Spence together, this second chapter in their coming-of-age adventure pulls them in opposite directions as they each need to come into their own without the other to lean on.
But in their separate treks to far-off lands among far-flung friends, allies, and those they believed were their enemies, the depth of the world building will turn the reader’s fantasy expectations in surprising directions.
The secondary characters who appeared to occupy stock fantasy roles in the first book turn out to be anything but mere archetypes.
Even more of a switch from traditional epic fantasy, while there are plenty of heroes in The Winter Heir—there are no true villains.
Instead, there are characters who have stepped out of that mold and into a complexity that shows they have heartbreaks and regrets, and have learned from their mistakes— even if it is almost too late.
Rather than a battle of good versus evil, the underlying theme of The Winter Heir is about maintaining a balance.
Winter needs Summer, Summer needs Winter, and the human community in the middle needs all of them to make peace instead of war—no matter what their neighbors might be trying to foment.
More seasoned YA fantasy readers will be reminded of Julie Kagawa’s now-classic, best-selling Iron Fey series, with its tale of plots, espionage and forbidden romance between rivals. The quest for balance among factions and seasons sees hints of the recent Up-and-Under series by Seanan McGuire writing as A. Deborah Baker, and even a touch of Narnia hidden in the harsh winter snow.
The saga continues beyond the end of this book, with a peaceful and happy ending yet out of reach. There’s more to come, and readers will be waiting for it eagerly!
If you’ve been looking for a Fantasy to read, try out some of our Award winners!
A Vengeful Realm Book 1: The Scales of Balance
By Tim Facciola
We’re coordinating the review with Tim to go out in October with his next book release! The full series is out now, and you won’t regret reading it! Check out his website here and see it on Amazon here!
Soar a Burning Sky By Steven Michael Beck
Earth is linked in a symbiotic relationship with its spirit twin, a hidden utopia called EonThera. But as the paradise begins to inherit the harsh realities of Earth’s drastic climate change, EonThera urges action – before both realms collapse, in Steven Michael Beck’s Soar a Burning Sky.
What if there was an “earthly paradise,” a mirror of Earth – a terratopia that is an awe-inspiring existential representation of how amazing planet Earth could be? This fantasy fiction presents a synergic relationship between Earth and this soul, as together they sustain the Ticking – a heartbeat that nurtures both. But as Clayton Cramer puts it, “Abandon all thoughts of Utopia – humans are involved.”
As a result of the two realms’ mutual existence, one’s failing health accounts for the fall of the other. The soul of Earth, EonThera, is collapsing. It is plain that the enemy is ignorance, primarily Earth’s, and with this knowledge comes the recruitment of the four unlikely Earthly warriors to aid the two realms before they fall from a burning sky.
Sixteen-year-old Catalina Delgado’s hopes of marrying her love are troubled by strange, unnatural dangers, in Laurel Anne Hill’s novel, Plague of Flies.
Like every dutiful daughter in 1846, Catalina worries about her reputation. However, she must also gain the approval of Ángelo Ortega’s family. Unfortunately, when three strangers ride onto her family’s small ranch in Alta California, she knows that more than her dreams are at risk. Alta California has just been invaded by the men of the Bear Flag, and Catalina fears what will become of her homeland now that it has been claimed by the Yankees. The nearby ranch owned by the valiant General Vallejo has been raided, owners and their servants terrorized and held captive. Plus Bear Flaggers have murdered additional friends of Catalina’s family on a beach.
Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth By Christopher Russell
Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth by Christopher Russell is the opening of a High Fantasy epic about the rise and fall of vast empires.
The story grows from unfinished business between three brothers gifted with magic and power but chose different paths to achieve safety and security for themselves and the people who followed them.
These different paths culminated in a battle where the fate of their world is balanced precariously on a knife’s edge. Darmatus and Rabban are engaged in a war to the death with their oldest brother Sarcon. Sarcon believes the road to that safety lies in power alone, that the only way to be secure is to crush all his enemies, no matter how heinous the deeds required.
Sixteen-year-old Nat is a boxcar kid. It’s the Dust Bowl era, and Nat has lost everything: his grandmother, his family home, and a sense of belonging. He hops trains across Texas in search of a place for himself amid so much loss. Outside of Amarillo, Nat feels a peculiar sensation, a tug from destiny, that pulls him toward the small town of Tanglewood. However, instead of finding a job and some much-needed food, he discovers Polly Jones, a teenager like himself, chained to a post with a sign above her reading, “Thou shalt not suffer a witch.”
Nat can’t bring himself to abandon her to the small-minded, fearful townsfolk and immediately becomes her protector until the arrival of Camille Renoir Lavendou, a local woman who operates Miss Camille’s Home for Wayward Children. No one dares stop Camille from releasing Polly and taking both teens with her because Camille is reputed to be in the “witchin’ business” herself. Nat’s excitement at the prospect of food and a place to stay quickly turns to disbelief and wariness when he steps inside Camille’s sanctuary. What he thought was a ploy on Camille’s part to keep the nosey townsfolk at bay doesn’t seem to be a trick at all when he meets those who are under Camille’s care.
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If you’re looking for a beach read with supernatural intrigue, A Circle of Stars by Erin Lark Maples will draw you in from page one. Ember “EJ” James, a newly-arrived stranger in the strange land of Prescott, AZ, immediately begins navigating unfamiliar territory, both physically and metaphysically.
Forty-something EJ doesn’t know it yet, but when she agreed to take over her deceased uncle Hollis’s shop in Prescott, she stumbled into a world of magical realism. The plant shop, as it turns out, is more than just that—it hides secret access to other realms, which supernatural beings will go to great lengths to access. Much like the plants in the shop, this tale is dark, tangled, and intriguing beyond belief.
Anyone else may have felt helpless. But EJ remains upbeat, charmingly self-deprecating, and resourceful to the end. There’s a great joy in seeing how she works through her new surroundings, unfazed by (almost) everything they throw her way.
Erin Lark Maples builds suspense quickly as the narrative unwinds, blending modern popular fiction with classic fantasy worldbuilding.
There’s a rather fantastical number of attractive men, but it is fiction, after all, and Maples quickly subverts reader expectations. What at first seems to be shaping into a classic fantasy romance gets turned on its head as would-be suitors become anti-heroes, even antagonists. The question soon changes from “Who will EJ choose?” to “How will she get out of this mess?”
As the plot thickens, EJ and the reader alike have much to keep up with: many names and complex rules of the fantasy world EJ’s just discovering. It has portals, pathways, history, artifacts—all the markers of a well-built world. Since readers see it through EJ’s very confused eyes, it’s easy to feel lost, but the real-world details help keep things grounded.
Much of the action takes place indoors, as EJ figures out how to run a plant shop-slash-supernatural meeting place. The plants themselves serve as a clear metaphor: they begin as overwhelming responsibilities but become friendly forces as EJ finds her way. Detailed descriptions of plants, moths, and even food become excellent foreshadowing.
Though it employs timeless fantasy elements, this is undoubtedly a text of the information age. Maples has the subtle yet admirable ability to give her characters modern tech—smartphones, online forums—without breaking her world’s spell.
Specific pop culture references further cement ACircle of Stars as a thoughtfully modern book. EJ herself is no stranger to contemporary issues: divorce, single parenting, planning events for terrible customers at her old job. But as she finds her path in Prescott, those issues fall away. Now, she’s instead confronted with unthinkable enemies and her own emerging supernatural power. Yet, these supernatural struggles ultimately help her come to terms with her real-world challenges.
Soon, EJ starts learning to merge her two worlds. She’s an experienced event planner, after all, and don’t her supernaturally-gifted neighbors still need events planned? She starts working toward her first big event in Prescott: an opening bash for the revived plant shop.
Her party-planning keeps the suspense aflame as we wait to see how things go down. Not all the invited guests are amicable, and many have dangerous abilities.
As chaos ensues and the stakes grow higher, it’s not always easy to tell who’s doing what and why, especially with so many magical abilities and clandestine connections at play. Like EJ, the reader often discovers what’s really going on a bit after the fact. However, the occasionally-campy banter in some scenes helps shed light on the details. It’s all in keeping with the book’s tone: a none-too-serious journey through magical possibilities. One of Maples’s best qualities as an author is her ability to show that magic can mean superhuman abilities and real-world serendipity, all at once.
This book is a great choice for lovers of smart beach reads, unbreakable women, and modern magical realism. At first, the novel’s resolution risks feeling a bit too easy. Yet there’s a surprising shift in perspectives just before the end, sending a quick signal that the story is far from over—we might see more through a different character’s eyes. This is Maples reminding us that A Circle of Stars is only the first book in her Four Crowns series. Though EJ’s world may seem settled for now, readers will be hungry for a sequel, to find out what she does with her newfound power.
In Loving Beth, a Christian historical romance by Bonnie Rose Ward, a young woman finds herself in dire straits when her widowed mother dies unexpectedly.
The Winter Heir, the second book in J.A. Nielsen’s Fractured Kingdoms series, picks up where the first book, The Claiming, leaves off—with its protagonists struggling under the weight of a vital bargain.
If you’re looking for a beach read with supernatural intrigue, A Circle of Stars by Erin Lark Maples will draw you in from page one. Ember “EJ” James, a newly-arrived stranger in the strange land of Prescott, AZ, immediately begins navigating unfamiliar territory, both physically and metaphysically.