Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

SPOTLIGHT on the 2024 JOURNEY AWARDS Overcoming Adversity
The Search for the BEST Narrative Non-Fiction books on Overcoming Adversity for 2024!

The 2024 Journey Awards submissions close June 30, 2024

Accepting manuscripts and published work!

Your Journey Deserves to Be Discovered!

The CIBAs Levels of Achievements. Books are promoted each time they advance!

The Journey Categories are:
- Overcoming Adversity – Personal Journey
- Dysfunctional Family/Siblings
- Societal/Class/Race Issues
- Personal Journeys/Experiences/PTSD
- Drug Addiction
- Sexual Abuse
- Childhood Trauma
The Journey Awards were the first Non-Fiction Division ever opened by Chanticleer. You can now see the full range of Non-Fiction Divisions here. The sheer quality of the books describing Overcoming Adversity that we received was staggering. These stories demand to be heard, and we, as readers, are better for it.

Join us in exploring these amazing books that are overcoming adversity!

BARBED
By Julie Morrison
Grand Prize Winner for Journey Awards

Julie Morrison saddles up to take us for a ride through the harsh dry mountains of northern Arizona and beyond in her memoir, Barbed.

Readers visit the ranch where Julie’s parents try to keep the family legacy alive. Julie reveals a cowboy’s world where she meets walls instead of doors but never gives up.

Barbed opens with Morrison living in the rainy Seattle area with her husband. But the lure of a cowboy’s life on the range – working cattle and riding horseback – beckons them both. Julie needs salvation like this for her marriage, now distant and cold.

Continue Reading here!

A FRACTION STRONGER
By Mark Berridge
2022 Grand Prize Winner for Journey Awards

Author and businessman Mark Berridge, through the lived experience of himself and others after traumatic injuries, gained a wide understanding of overcoming disaster, and how to rehabilitate not only one’s body but mind and spirit as well. In sharing his wisdom, A Fraction Stronger is a must-read for anyone facing physical, emotional, or mental barriers.

On March 10, 2019, Berridge, due to embark on a work-related flight from his Australian home to the US later that day, went on a bike ride with some buddies. Following the group around a corner, he fell, striking his head; conscious, but unable to move his feet and legs. Hospitals would become his world as he dealt with spinal injuries and the long road to rehabilitation – relearning how to sit, stand, and walk.

He learned more than just how to move again.

Continue reading here

GOD, The MAFIA, MY DAD, and ME: A True Story of Secrets and Survival
By Lori Lee Peters
Grand Prize Winner for Collections in the Shorts Awards
First Place Winner for Journey Awards

God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me by Lori Lee Peters begins in the voice of a child, compelling not just for its narrative honestly, but for the fact that it might not be reliable. As the book opens, we learn that this narrator firmly believes she will be killed.

Readers can easily see through the childlike hyperbole, but that doesn’t detract from the intrigue. How did a kid come to such an extreme conclusion? Is there any seed of truth to it? These questions will hook readers from the start.

Author Peters set out to write a book about her dad. God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me tells the true story of her father, and his fascinating work helping the FBI tackle Mafia activity in Lodi, California. Yet in the end, this is a memoir in which the compelling lead character – young Lori – overshadows her father in many ways.

Continue Reading here!

A SKY Of INFINITE BLUE: A Japanese Immigrant’s Search for Home and Self
By Kyomi O’Connor
Grand Prize Winner for Mind & Spirit Awards

“It’s my armor,” Kyomi O’Connor realizes, as she sees herself continuing life as normal after her husband dies of cancer.

Grief brings with it many companions: childhood trauma, memories of difficult seasons of life, triumphant moments of growth, epiphanies, healing, love. In A Sky of Infinite Blue, Japanese immigrant Kyomi O’Connor allows grief to open her heart to the lessons of her past.

In particular, she recognizes emotional armor that since childhood, she has built up, torn down, and built up again. Through her relationship with her husband, her devoted Buddhist practice, and her trust in her “Self,” Kyomi makes meaning of her life and redeems her darkest memories. Readers walk through these memories with her as the book shifts between past and present.

Continue Reading here!

CHOP THAT SH*T UP!: Leadership and Life Lessons Learned While in the Military
By CSM Daniel L. Pinion
First Place Winner for Military & Front Line

In Chop That Sh*t Up: Leadership and Life Lessons Learned While in the Military, Daniel L. Pinion reminisces about his experiences in the US Army, both good and bad, before he retired as a Command Sergeant Major.

Some of the stories and lessons he offers are heartbreaking, some are horrifying, and some are insightful. As it turns out, some are even heartwarming.

The author explains his origins: a quiet and uneventful childhood that did not give him much idea of what he should do with his life. Some counseling and a few incidents led Pinion, after high school, to the National Guard and eventually the US Army, where he found his life’s calling.

Continue Reading here!

SAINTS And SOLDIERS: Inside Internet-Age Terrorism, From Syria to the Capitol Siege
By Rita Katz
Grand Prize Winner for Nellie Bly

To many, atrocities such as mass shootings and violent counter-protests seem to appear out of thin air, undertaken by independent actors. But Rita Katz, in her groundbreaking exploration of internet-age terrorism Saints and Soldiers, reveals a sinister ecosystem of violence multiplying worldwide, visible yet largely ignored.

Katz– executive director of the counterterrorist organization SITE Intelligence Group– uses a strategic blend of primary media sources, personal narrative, and research analysis to unearth the haunting truths of internet-age terrorism. Although SITE once focused mainly on monitoring the actions of Islamist terrorist groups, Katz describes how it began applying the same tracking methods to white supremacists and neo-Nazis over a decade ago. As Katz writes, “the internet is more than just an asset for today’s new breed of terrorists. It is a necessity.”

Throughout Saints and Soldiers, Katz uses her decades of intensive experience to describe how a new generation of internet-born white supremacist movements followed the same trajectory as ISIS. She exposes the network of threads that link white supremacist violence such as the Christchurch massacre of 2019 to their origins on messaging platforms such as 8chan, Discord, Stormfront, and Telegram. Indoctrinating vulnerable minds with extremist neo-Nazi ideology, these violent groups use a “screw your optics” mantra that celebrates gruesome violence and the “saints ” and “martyrs” that drive their hateful cause.

Continue Reading here!

Thank you for joining us for this spotlight on the Journey Awards and a fraction of the incredible Non-Fiction that comes through our door!

We’re still feeling the joy and warmth from the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference! See what authors are saying about it!

Congratulations on a very informative conference and festive awards ceremony! The care and effort Team Chanticleer puts into the event was obvious.

I am honored that The Hanford Plaintiffs received a First Place prize in the Nellie Bly category. Nellie Bly was an amazing and accomplished woman.

It’s wonderful to be part of the Chanticleer “family”!- an honor!

— Trisha Pritikin

I had such an amazing time over the weekend!! From the wonderful hotel, classes/workshops, events, authors, 100-year-old war veteran, bagpipe author, and lucky enough to win another award.

Thank you all so much!! What a kickass group of wonderful individuals. Beyond grateful!!!

— Lori Lee Peters

A thousand and one thanks for putting on a great author’s conference! I learned a lot – some things that I was doing well (which is always nice to know) and new things I need to get to work on. And I made some great new friends, including you. It was well worth the time and expense.

— Dave Lager

While not a Journey Winner, there was no way these Blue Ribbon Winners were going to pass on a photo with 100-year-old veteran Burl Harmon.

Got a Winner?

The Journey Awards are open until June 30, 2024!

Submit Today!

Truth matters more than ever
May 30, 2024
APOCALYPSE In OUR TIME: The Accountant’s Apprentice Book 3 by Dennis M. Clausen – Paranormal, Metaphysical Fiction, Contemporary Social Issues

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:

“No one else saw what I saw that day. They only saw the huge, monstrous tsunami wave approaching from the west and engulfing the Mission Beach Pier. They did not see the demonic army forming on the horizon and threatening every living thing on the shore.

“… A. C. did what he said he would do. He used me as his camera to see present events—but also future possibilities. What I saw on the pier was not only a vision of the tidal wave that was approaching from the west. It was a vision of the future and the demonic forces of pure evil that were aligned against all life on the planet Earth.”

Apocalypse in Our Time gives us a peek into the future— or perhaps a peek into our own minds. A story of the world coming of age, so to speak, with menace on the horizon and possible salvation, if such a thing can exist.

As this story continues, the narrative becomes deeply intriguing. The beginning reintroduces readers to the setting and characters, and once this final part of the series begins in earnest it gives us a sense of wonder and mystery, while at the same time the alarming scenario escalates around Justin. The intensifying plot echoes through well-fleshed-out characters like Angelina, a young girl living in the homeless shelter, fascinated by Shakespeare and his works, who explores her own unique abilities—and connection with Levi.

End of the world, or something more? That is left to the reader to decide. Certainly, after the events that the characters see and experience, the world—and they—will never be the same. Dennis Clausen’s third work in his trilogy is both ephemeral and thoughtful, making the reader wonder about the end of the world well after the end of the book.

May 29, 2024
A Spotlight on the Chanticleer Int’l CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction
The CYGNUS Book Awards

for Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction

and is a division of

the Chanticleer International Book Awards

The Future is Here. Are You Ready?

The 2024 CIBAs are well underway with submissions and the 2024 Cygnus Awards submission close at the end of June!

The Cygnus Awards are one of the first of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards ever! The quality and quantity grows annually, and we are so excited to see what 2024 brings! These are the categories:
- Alternate History
- Apocalyptic/Dystopian
- Hard Science Fiction
- Space Opera
- Soft Sci-Fi/Young Adult
- Speculative Fiction
- Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction)
And even in within those, there is what one might call “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” when it comes to genre.

Ethan Peck as Spock of Strange New Worlds now gets to offer the conventional Vulcan Wisdom

With plenty of exciting genres to choose from, it’s always fun to see new trends. For us Climate Fiction or Cli-Fi is one of the most exciting genres in SciFi today!

Cli-Fi often focuses on modern technologies and their impact on the environment, for good or ill.

This can be anything from a thriller looking at shadow governments fighting against progress meant to stem climate change, or it could even look at a dystopian world far in the future. The focus in Climate Fiction is closer to that of Hard Science Fiction and a cousin of Lab Lit, which you can see in the Global Thriller Awards rather than delving into Space Opera.

We’re delighted that the most recent Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 Cygnus Awards, Timothy S. Johnston, has won the Division Grand Prize coming from the Cli-Fi category!

The Shadow of War

By Timothy S. Johnston

The Blurb for it gives us chills:

In the world’s undersea realms, the superpowers are pressing. Climate change is ravaging the surface nations, and their militaries are surging into the oceans to seek out new resources to sustain their exploding populations. Now Truman McClusky, mayor of the underwater city, Trieste, must gather a team of operatives and travel the world to steal the most unique and deadly weapon ever invented for use underwater. War is looming, and to win a war, one must do whatever it takes, even if it means embracing your darker side.

The Shadow of War is book 5 in The Rise of Oceania series! We recommend adding it all to your TBR for a look at what The Expanse would be like if it took place underwater.
- See it locally at Village Books
- See it on Amazon
While the full review for An Island of Light is still forthcoming, we do have three reviews for Johnston’s series the Tanner Sequence you can see below:

You can see our reviews for all 3 books here!

Past Cygnus Book Awards Winners have been published by Titan, U.K. (of Dr. Who fame), Harper Collins Voyager, Vesuvian Media Group, Atheon Books, and others have gone on to be USA Today Bestsellers and Nebula nominated.

Thank you to everyone who submitted to the 2023 Cygnus Awards! We can’t believe that the whole adventure starts again when the first Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards close on June 30, 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.

Submit to the Cygnus Awards today!
May 29, 2024
Memorial Day 2024: Remembering Those Who Died in Service Through Words and Red Poppies

Chanticleer Remembers this Memorial Day

Honoring those who have died in service to our country on Memorial Day is a tradition that goes back to the Civil War, but it was the First World War that provided us a symbol of remembrance that we continue to see today – a red poppy.

The Red Poppy – A Symbol of Remembrance

The red poppy is an annual flower that grows for only one season, but produces hundreds of seeds that germinate almost anywhere. During World War I, the Ypres battlefield began to bloom waves of red poppies, and it was this sight that inspired Canadian doctor Lt. Col. John McCrae to write “In Flanders Fields,” a poem mourning the death of so many of his fellow soldiers.

After the United States entered World War I, an American professor Moina Michael read “In Flanders Fields” and was inspired her to write her own poem. In “We Shall Keep the Faith,” She solidified the red poppy’s place as a symbol of remembrance. Michael went on to teach disabled war veterans and eventually they began to sell silk versions of the red poppy to raise money. By Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) 1921, millions of silk poppies were sold across the United States and England to help Great War Veterans with housing and finding jobs. Michael, who died in 1944, is remembered as the “Poppy Lady” for her part in memorializing service members with a symbol that grows among them in the fields where they died.

Chanticleer honors those who served and who have made the greatest sacrifice.

In the United States, Memorial Day occurs annually on the last Monday in May. This year that date falls on May 27th, and we want to celebrate the authors who bring those soldiers’ stories to life on the page. Here are just a few reviews of books with a military theme that we highly recommend!

Chop That Sh*t Up!
By CSM Daniel L. Pinion
Military and Front Line First Place Winner

In Chop That Sh*t Up: Leadership and Life Lessons Learned While in the Military, Daniel L. Pinion reminisces about his experiences in the US Army, both good and bad, before he retired as a Command Sergeant Major.

Some of the stories and lessons he offers are heartbreaking, some are horrifying, and some are insightful. As it turns out, some are even heartwarming.

The author explains his origins: a quiet and uneventful childhood that did not give him much idea of what he should do with his life. Some counseling and a few incidents led Pinion, after high school, to the National Guard and eventually the US Army, where he found his life’s calling.

Continue reading…

General in Command – The Life of Major General John B. Anderson
By Michael M. Van Ness
Hearten First Place Winner

Michael M. Van Ness, the grandson of “the general in command,” has created a remarkable biography chronicling the adventures of a farm boy who rose high rank in the US military and served with distinction in two world wars as a combatant, officer, and sage observer.

Born in 1891, John Benjamin Anderson must have had considerable intelligence as well as patriotism and grit, since he was accepted at West Point Military Academy at age 19, an honor conferred on only 130 applicants per year—and finished in the top third of his class. He would soon serve under General Pershing in the Mexican War, giving him the experience of combat and coincidentally, his first ride in an automobile. That deployment earned him inclusion in Pershing’s ranks in World War I. It was then his diaries began, and though he protested humorously that “I hate to write,” these personal recollections give readers an up-close picture of the devastation of warfare.

Continue reading…

Fly Safe: Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections from Back Home
By Vicki Cody
Military & Front Line First Place Winner

Not many people can capture the emotions that coincide with war, but Vicki Cody joins the ranks of those who do in her wartime memoir, fly Safe: Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections from Back Home.

This powerful memoir shows us the behind-the-scenes lives of the women, children, and families left at home while their soldiers set off for war, bringing us close to their raw vulnerability. Fly Safe fascinates as it informs readers of what one wife experiences as her commander husband leads his battalion to the middle east.

Cody takes us back in time to the early 1990s when the first President Bush called up troops in an operation called “Desert Shield,” which turned into Desert Storm. She captures the events that led up to our first conflict in the middle east, but far from being strictly pedantic and historical, centers on the warmth, love, and fears that most of the wives were experiencing. Her letters from her husband – and her journal entries read like daily affirmations and blend well in telling this story.

Continue reading…

Cold Peace
By Helena P. Schrader

Amidst the ruins of Post-WWII, Berlin struggles to rebuild from the ashes, torn apart and facing down the promise of another bloody dictator. A myriad cast, all shaped by that same war, become entwined with the broken city as its hour of need approaches.

Just as Germany is divided between the Americans, British, French, and Soviets, Berlin has been cut into pieces. But the balance of the occupation powers tips eastward as the Soviet Zone surrounds the city, giving them control of all ways into and out of Berlin – save for the air. The occupation currency is worthless thanks to Soviet over-printing, leaving Berlin on a barter system of cigarettes and black-market trading. In order for Germany to recover, the Western Allies plan to introduce a new currency, even if it angers the Soviet bear.

Continue reading…

Facing the Dragon: A Vietnam War Mystery Thriller
By Philip Derrick
Clue First Place Winner

Facing the Dragon by Philip Derrick explores the Vietnam War era through the eyes of an extraordinary high school student named Jim Peterson, who at fifteen made the varsity football team as a freshman. He’s intelligent as well as physically fit as he begins his journey in the backseat of a station wagon with his sister on their way to a family vacation, seemingly a typical teenager.

In the first couple of pages, his dad picks up a hitchhiker in an Army uniform, and the story takes off from there. Jim ends up separated from his family and tries to reunite with them in the Carlsbad Caverns; instead, he is the only witness to their murders.

Jim watches in horror as their bodies are disposed of in the Deep Pit of the Carlsbad Caverns, and shortly thereafter makes the decision to become the young soldier and follow the murderer to Vietnam where he will enact his revenge for his family.

Continue reading…

Thank you to veterans everywhere!

All of us at Chanticleer have family who have served, and that makes holidays like Memorial Day important to us. We ask you to take time out of your day to remember the veterans in your life and those who have died in active service on this day of reflection.

Do you have a book with a military theme that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.

Have an Award Winner?

Your Story of Service Matters

Submitting to Book Awards is a great way to get your book discovered!

Anytime you advance in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, your name and book are promoted right here on our website, through our newsletter, and across social media. One of the best ways to engage in long tail marketing!

Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books, and to all those service members who continue to inspire us!

May 26, 2024
R&R: A Feast of Words by Maria Giuseppa – Contemporary Fiction, Friendships & Relationships, Covid-19 Fiction

In R&R: A Feast of Words by Maria Giuseppa, two life-long friends, Rachele and Raffaele, connect through letters and emails during the early stages of COVID quarantine.

Their conversations–fusing with each other and evolving rapidly through life stages–culminate in a long-overdue reunion and a trip to Portugal and Italy. Through the loss of a spouse, divorce, parenting struggles, and the apocalyptic reality of COVID-19, two real-as-life characters–oft-neglected in their daily lives–share their thoughts with one another across an intimate distance.

Simple and elegant, Giuseppa’s heartrending storytelling will inspire readers to live with intention and purpose–and perhaps, to cook more delicious food and write more meaningful letters.

R&R is a small, close story. With only two active characters, readers come to inhabit their daily monotony and to crave adventure and companionship alongside them. Despite each letter’s lack of timestamps, the current of time is constantly pressing forward in the background. Holidays come and go, tragedies break and are healed, even as some days feel never-ending.

At first, Rachele’s and Raffi’s confined spaces are palpably claustrophobic. “I think the world as we knew it no longer exists,” Rachele admits. But as time moves on and they realize there is more to their friendship than meets the eye, the world opens for them in both exciting and dangerous ways. Despite how long they’ve known each other and the correspondence that connects them, they realize that there is no end to the newness they uncover in one another.

In the end, their submission to vulnerability leaves them raw and at the mercy of their instincts, freeing them to live unabashed in their tenderness for one another.

While an undercurrent of romance keeps Rachele and Raffi drifting ever closer, this novella transcends any superficial sort of tale.

This is a story of two people who belong with each other no matter what form their belonging takes. Although hints of “long lost love” appear, the reader feels that no romance is necessary for a satisfying ending. As Raffaele admits to Rachele, “For the first time in my life, I am longing for something other than a lover. I want a true friend. You are the one.” This insistence on friendship continues throughout the novella, despite the romance that threatens their close connection.

They support each other through hardship, coach each other through difficult decisions, and love ceaseless despite mistakes and wrongs. With their letters, the characters create space for vulnerability and cultivate a communal understanding of selfhood despite the physical and social barriers that inhibit their ability to share their lives together.

R&R will linger in readers’ hearts for a lifetime, urging them to intentionally reflect on their own intimate details, including relationships, adventures, faith, regrets, secrets, loss, politics, trauma, travel, parenthood, and so much more.

The form of letters allows the characters, as well as readers, to “strip away boundaries and…share” the most vulnerable parts of their lives. Giuseppa weaves together the intricacies of the characters seamlessly into a world all their own. When readers reach the final page and leave Rachele and Raffi behind to finish their glorious adventure, they’ll be moved to feast on their own blessings as well, moving toward openness and belonging.

May 22, 2024
Announcing the 2023 CIBAs Overall Grand Prize Winner: Tim Facciola for A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance Book 1
We are deeply honored and excited to announce the 2023 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards

The CIBAs seeks out the best books across 25 different genre divisions featuring the best plots, characters, and stories out there. These books are put to the test until one is announced as the Overall Grand Prize Winner for the Year at the CIBAs Ceremonies, sponsored by The Chanticleer Authors Conference.

The Overall Grand Prize Division Winner was announced by Kiffer Brown, Michelle Cox, and D.D. Black at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beauitful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

This is the OFFICIAL Announcement for the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the 2023 CIBAs!

And NOW for the

2023 CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS

BEST BOOK

and

OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER

A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance Book 1

by Tim Facciola

Tim Facciola will also be awarded $1,000 USD in recognition of his 2023 BEST BOOK of the YEAR – Chanticleer International Book Awards – Sponsored by Chanticleer Reviews & Media.

Thank you Tim Facciola for participating in the 2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards. We look forward to receiving future work in our CIBAs.

See Tim Facciola’s Division Grand Prize Win in the 2023 Ozma Awards here

CONGRATULATIONS Tim Facciola!

The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!

From all of us at Chanticleer International Book Awards and Chanticleer Reviews.

Looking for your Division?
- See Fiction Grand Prize Winners here!
- See Non-Fiction, Series, and Shorts Grand Prize Winners here!
THANK YOU to CAC24 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

And to FRIENDS of CHANTICLEER REVIEWS:

D.D Black, Kim Hornsby, Christine Fairchild, Maggie Marr, Cathy Ace, Robert Dugoni, Chris Humphreys, Mark Berridge, Bradley Metrock, Scott Steindorff, and Paul Hanson of Village Books

We have exciting news for the Chanticleer Community on the horizon so do stay tuned!

You know you want a coveted Chanticleer Reviews Blue Ribbon!

Submit your works (manuscripts or novels published after or on January 1, 2019, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awards today! Entries are being accepted into the 2024 CIBAs in all 18 fiction divisions and seven non-fiction divisions.

Be sure to register early for the 12th Chanticleer Authors Conference (dates TBA!)

Be well. Stay Healthy. Take Care!

An email will go out to all 2023 CIBA award winners prior to July 30, 2024, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated many times before “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!”

As always, please contact us at info@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions!

We need good books, now more than ever!

The Chanticleer Reviews Team
May 21, 2024
Announcing the 2023 CIBAs Grand Prize Winners for Non-Fiction, Shorts, and Series!
A Huge Congratulations to all of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs) Division Non-Fiction, Book Series, and SHORTS Grand Prize Winners!

Every tier of the CIBAs is an important one, though few rise to be one of the coveted Division Grand Prize Winners!

All First Place and Grand Prize winners were announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 29th at the Chanticleer Banquet.
- See Fiction Grand Prize Winners here!
- See the Official Overall Grand Prize Winner Post here!
Let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.

Want to join in the fun? Submit to the 2024 CIBAs today!

Now, presenting the Non-Fiction Awards Grand Prize Winners!

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 I&I Awards is:

Eating Together Being Together:

Recipes, Activities, and Advice from a Chef Dad and Psychologist Mom

by Julian C.E. Clauss-Ehlers and Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 NELLIE BLY Awards is:

You Have to be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live

by Paul Kix

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 HARVEY CHUTE Awards is:

Using Behavioral Science in Marketing

by Nancy Harhut

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 MIND & SPIRIT Awards is:

Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success

By Dr. Kelly Rabenstein

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

Running Away from the Circus

By Nove Meyers

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 MILITARY & FRONT LINE Awards is:

Chasing the Daylight

by JoAnna Rakowski

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

Barbed: A Memoir

by Julie Morrison

Now, presenting the Shorts & Series Awards Grand Prize Winners!

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 SHORTS Awards for Collections and Anthologies is:

Shelter in a Hostile World

by Mack Little

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 SHORTS Awards for Short Stories and Essays is:

The Heart of Kublai Khan’s Menagerie Keeper

by Catherine Brown

A Manuscript

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

Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail

by David Fitz-Gerald

We have badges available starting with the Short List. If you need a digital badge reflecting your tier level, please email info@ChantiReviews.com with your division and rank, and we will send you one as soon as possible.

The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!

Make sure your Award gets the attention it deserves on Goodreads.com

In the Librarian Manual on Goodreads, you can go to your Book Edit Page — Literary Awards.

You want to list the Award for Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) Winners, and be sure to include the year and what place you received. For example:

The year Long List, Short List, Semi-Finalist, Finalist, First Place, Division Grand Prize, or Overall Grand Prize Winner

Note from Goodreads: “To add a new award or edit an existing award, you’ll need help from one of our volunteer librarians or a staff member.” For assistance, post in the Goodreads Librarians Group.

Always double check that you’ve written everything correctly before posting it. The search function for Awards on Goodreads is both case and punctuation sensitive.

The Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 CIBAs is Tim Facciola’s A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance Book 1

The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
See Fiction Grand Prize Winners here!

See the Official Overall Grand Prize Winner Post here!

You can see all our Amazing Finalists below:

2023 Fiction Finalists

2023 Non-Fiction Finalists

2023 Shorts and Series Finalists
Well done climbing the CIBA Levels of Achievement!

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in June. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.

Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.

The Chanticleer Team
May 21, 2024
Announcing the 2023 CIBAs Grand Prize Winners for Fiction!
A Huge Congratulations to all of the 2023 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs) FICTION Division Grand Prize Winners!

Every tier of the CIBAs is an important one, though few rise to be one of the coveted Division Grand Prize Winners.
- See Non-Fiction, Series, and Shorts Grand Prize Winners here!
- See the Official Overall Grand Prize winner Post here!
This post has links to each of the 16 individual CIBA FICTION Divisions’ Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners. We will have a separate post for Non-Fiction Award Winners which will include the Shorts Awards, and the Series Awards’ winners.

All First Place and Grand Prize winners were announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 20th at the Chanticleer Banquet. It is a huge honor for us to have the opportunity to recognize all Finalists, First Place Winners, and Grand Prize Winners with you live and in-person!

One of the most memorable moments was Awarding Burl Harmon, a 100-year-old veteran, his First Place Ribbon for Military & Front Lines Non-Fiction

Let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.

Want to join in the fun? Submit to the 2024 CIBAs today!

Now, presenting the links to the 2023 CIBA Fiction Division Awards Grand Prize Winners!

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CYGNUS Awards for Science Fiction is:

The Shadow of War

By Timothy S. Johnston

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

A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance, Book 1

By Tim Facciola

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

Becoming Crone

By Lydia M. Hawke

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is:

Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy

By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke

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

The Other Murder

By Kevin G. Chapman

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Mystery & Mayhem Awards is:

A Haunting at Linley

by Michelle Cox

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:

Sour Flower

by Maryanne Melloan Woods

Manuscript

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:

EXOSTAR

The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1

by Rae Knightly

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 LITTLE PEEPS Awards is:

The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans

by Shaziya M. Jaffer, Brad W. Rudover, and Jessica Alexanderson with Scrap University

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

The Last Man

by Thomas Goodman

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

The Merchant from Sepharad

by James Hutson-Wiley

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

If Someday Comes

by David Calloway

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

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CHATELAINE Book Awards is:

A Sea of Glass

by Gail Avery Halverson

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 MARK TWAIN Awards is:

Quantum Consequence:

Physics, Lust and Greed, Book 5

by Mike Murphey

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

You Can’t Fool a Mermaid

by Judy Keesler Santamaria

We have badges available starting with the Short List. If you need a digital badge reflecting your tier level, please email info@ChantiReviews.com with your division and rank, and we will send you one as soon as possible.

The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!

Make sure your Award gets the attention it deserves on Goodreads.com

In the Librarian Manual on Goodreads, you can go to your Book Edit Page — Literary Awards.

You want to list the Award for Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) Winners, and be sure to include the year and what place you received. For example:

The year Long List, Short List, Semi-Finalist, Finalist, First Place, Division Grand Prize, or Overall Grand Prize Winner

Note from Goodreads: “To add a new award or edit an existing award, you’ll need help from one of our volunteer librarians or a staff member.” For assistance, post in the Goodreads Librarians Group.

Always double check that you’ve written everything correctly before posting it. The search function for Awards on Goodreads is both case and punctuation sensitive.

The Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 CIBAs was Tim Facciola’s Book A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance Book 1

The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
See Non-Fiction, Series, and Shorts Grand Prize Winners here!

See the Official Overall Grand Prize winner Post here!

You can see all our Amazing Finalists below:

2023 Fiction Finalists

2023 Non-Fiction Finalists

2023 Shorts and Series Finalists
Well done climbing the CIBA Levels of Achievement!

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in June. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.

Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.

The Chanticleer Team
May 21, 2024
THE SOWER Of BLACK FIELD by Katherine Koch – Historical Fiction, WWII, Religion & Community

In The Sower of Black Field, Katherine Koch’s historical fiction novel, Father Viktor Koch— a 67-year-old Catholic priest— presides over a monastery in a small German village, as the Nazi regime sweeps through the country.

The time is April, 1941. Fr. Viktor’s order, the U.S.-based Passionists, built the monastery eight years prior, providing employment for most of the villagers and remaining a symbol of their faith.

Fr. Viktor has lived in Europe for over 20 years, but balances his love of Germany, its land, its mysticism, with his American roots. He will need all his personal and religious resources over the next four years as the Nazis take hold in the village and, later, the Americans come to “de-Nazify” the town and hold its people responsible for the horrors of the Holocaust.

The village is far more Catholic than Nazi, even as the regime does its best to turn its citizens away from their faith.

They take over the monastery despite Fr. Viktor’s strenuous efforts to hold onto it. Their next major push is to remove crosses from the schools. That measure is met with a petition from the villagers, a move that threatens to land them in prison.

We get to meet several villagers who personify the conflict between their way of life and Nazi fanaticism.

Norbert and his wife and family run the local bakery, a central food supply to the villagers. His anti-Nazi stance threatens his life as well as destroying this important community resource. Helene, a woman who lost her husband who served in Hitler’s army, will do anything to protect her two sons from their forced enrollment in the Nazi youth corps.

Klaus, her oldest son, endures his militarist, cult-like corps training. Hans, the youngest, remains true to his Catholic faith. This look into the indoctrination of Germany’s children remains one of the most powerful aspects of this novel.

Among the Nazis, the party official Seiz becomes the lens through which we see even the most dedicated member recoil when he finds out first-hand the horror of the Holocaust— as it reaches deep into the village in a horrifying, unexpected way.

Faith in God, and the testing of that faith, is interwoven throughout the novel.

As Nazi horrors close in on the village, the heavily religious community finds itself questioning how a just and merciful God can allow these acts to happen. Even Fr. Viktor must dig deeply into his faith to answer the unknowable “framework” of God’s plan.

When the war nears its end, the town becomes flooded with refugees from other parts of Germany. Stories of Russian atrocities and rumors of American “gangsters” flood the small, outlying town. When liberty finally comes, the conquerors impose their own set of rigors on the people, further testing the faith of adults and children alike. Fr. Viktor is stressed to his limit as he becomes the village’s voice.

The Sower of Black Field shows us everyday Germans as peace-loving people of faith trying to survive during WWII, a side of that terrible conflict not often shown.

A picture emerges from this novel of people caught up in a conflict not of their making, resisting as they can from its evils, and finding strength in the courageous example of their pastor.

May 20, 2024
TO PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE: A WW1 Windy City Novel by Robert W. Smith – Historical Fiction, WWI, Chicago History

In To Pledge Allegiance: A WWI Windy City Novel by Robert W. Smith, Conor Dolon, a defense lawyer, investigates the suspicious death of his friend, and ends up unearthing horrifying family secrets as well as deeply ingrained espionage activities.

Conor, Irish-American living in Chicago, receives shocking news. His wife Maureen has been abducted by a bunch of vigilantes walking the streets of the city and sporting flag armbands. The previous evening, Maureen had agreed that her outspoken support of the IRB (Irish Republican Brotherhood) in Ireland and her neutrality actions were becoming risky given the unpredictability of the current political climate.

Even when she eventually returns unharmed, the police officer who found her did not detain the kidnappers despite their evident presence. As Conor subsequently discovers, his wife’s captors questioned her attitude toward the Kaiser, involvement in Irish groups, and allegiance in the case of war.

When a friend is shot during a warehouse burglary, Conor is once more taken aback. He later finds out from a nurse that, despite the hospital saving his life, he unexpectedly passed away from an infection.

This friend had not previously suffered fever symptoms, so the nurse finds that stated cause strange. Conor goes out to look into his friend’s death, and bumps into a woman he’d saved earlier from hooligans pestering her during a peaceful demonstration. She turns out to be the daughter of one of his primary suspects, a ruthless and vindictive man who leads a prominent gang. But her elegant sense of style rapidly wins Conor over, almost shattering his marriage to his wife.

And as information about the affair surfaces, Conor’s wife reveals a fifteen year old secret about her involvement with one of Conor’s close friends from his early years in Chicago—the man who had helped him navigate the quagmire of the city’s politics.

The events of World War I in Europe in 1917 serve as the backdrop, instilling this story with real historical elements such as the Department of Justice approving a group of criminals and even giving them badges to carry out their violence.

An immigrant family of well-known Irish Republicans—the Clan-na-Gael—has also been well depicted. The author carefully shows the role that many organizations played in Chicago, a city which has been at the epicenter of powerful movements opposing the nation’s war policy. Readers fascinated with history and World War politics will appreciate the richness of material in this book, including details on the largest-ever patriotic group’s endeavor, fully backed by the US government, to suppress opposition and foster nationalism.

Robert W. Smith’s book To Pledge Allegiance: A WWI Windy City Novel is a story propelled by likable characters who remain true to their era.

It weaves action, romance, mistrust, familial insecurities, and war-related themes into a narrative that will hold the reader’s attention from beginning to end. An engaging, judicious and well-written work!

May 15, 2024