An award winning, first place author of the Chanticleer International Book Awards, Strider began his writing career after twenty-five years as a fire fighter/EMT. The emotions and experiences of those calls carry themselves through every story, bringing true ‘been-there’ reality to the scenes.
With additional years as a business owner, general contractor, designer, wildland firefighter, big game guide, ski instructor, back packer and sword fighter, his wide range of knowledge is intricately woven throughout his stories.
To date, Strider has written YA (young adult), NA (New adult), and general fiction in the realm of: sci-fi western, light steampunk, dystopian (post apocalyptic), gaslight (early mechanism era) and just good fun reading.
Strider’s sessions will include a LIVE interview from Author in the Headlights as well as mini-interviews with authors at the conference. He will also be on panels focused on YA fiction, series writing, and podcast creation.
Still thinking about Registering for the Chanticleer Authors Conference?
Find out why The 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.
KIANNE BURGESS – Social Media Manager for D.D. Black, TikTokker, Social Media Manager
Kianne works as the full-time social media manager for the Bestselling Thriller author D.D. Black, handling his presence across Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. She focuses specifically on boosting sales and cementing his digital footprint through long tail digital marketing. As social media always changes, Kianne constantly is learning the newest and best ways to continue to build upon an already successful platform.
A writer herself, Kianne is currently working on the first book in a fantasy series. She plans on publishing her debut novel near the end of 2024. Her dream of being a writer has found a solid ground in her work with D.D. Black and allowed her to make even better inroads into the indie publishing community. She will be presenting a session on TikTok 101 for writers who are just getting started and are curious about BookTok and Reels.
Still thinking about Registering for the Chanticleer Authors Conference?
Find out why The 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.
We’re bringing together top experts in storytelling, marketing, book publicity, and publishing for the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference!
With two master classes (read our recent article celebrating those here!), we are just getting started with the incredible offerings at CAC24! Check out these amazing attendees and upcoming sessions below!
MICHELLE COX – OVERALL GRAND PRIZE AUTHOR
Near and dear to our hearts is Michelle Cox, the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. She suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there.
Her work has received multiple Mystery & Mayhem and Clue Awards from Chanticleer as well as the Overall Grand Prize Award for Best Book for her book A Spying Eye, in addition to several top-rated reviews and other accolades, so she might be on to something. Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade.
DIANE GARLAND – Your WorldKeeper – Continuity Senior Editor
An expert in world building and continuity, Diane Garlandand her editorial companyYour WorldKeeper,specializes in the world of continuity. Multiple USA Today best-selling and award-winning authors in various genres rely on her system of cataloging and organizing the minutiae and rules of their story worlds. Growing up as an AF Brat, Diane traveled extensively as a child, which has fueled her passion for travel and reading. She graduated from Florida State University and is a life-long learner. She, along with her husband and two cats, have recently relocated to Columbus, Ohio from the Seattle, Washington area.
Join Diane at her sessions about the necessity, creation, and organization of a story bible along with pointers on maintaining and using it to take your author career to the next level.
Sessions include:
Creating Worlds that Last
Continuity and Preparing for a Series
LISA SPICER – Producer, Editor, Writer
Our local expert on Book to Screen, Lisa Spicer has worked in television, film, and video production for over 30 years as producer, writer, and editor. Starting in the documentary unit at KCTS/PBS Seattle, later on she worked on the Bill Nye the Science Guy show, earning 3 Emmys. As an independent documentary producer, she has worked in Kenya, Mexico’s Lacandon rainforest, Northern Cheyenne and Lummi Indian reservations, Boulder, Seattle,
and Bellingham. Lisa has a BA in Broadcast Journalism and certificates in Filmmaking and Screenwriting (UW). Mid-career she earned an MA in Anthropology (WWU). Integrating anthropology into documentary, she
co-produced Homeless in Bellingham, an award-winning web series and documentary, and served as Consulting Anthropologist for the feature documentary, Cheech and Chong’s Last Movie. Recently
finishing an historical novel, Radio Smokva, she’s now writing about her back-to-the-land childhood and publishing a weekly series on Substack, Collective Effervescence: Research About the Counterculture.
Lisa will lead a workshop called How to Read a Film, with a focus on enhancing your fluency in the language of film. Rooted in the practice of mise-en-scene, learn how meaning is conveyed through elements such as camera angle, set design, motif (shapes), lighting, actors, sound, all of which work together in support of the narrative.
How to Read a Film and Writing Tips & Tools with the Screen in Mind – by Lisa G. Spicer
Writing for the screen or with the screen in mind, whether narrative or non-fiction (documentary) film.
Ex: From any story, what is selected to be scripted and filmed? How is it framed (what do we see)?
Ex: Screenplays are written in present tense
As related to writing, film borrows from theater by using elements of mis en scene and motif.
Ex: How do theater directors use props and costume to support the narrative?
Writing for film or with film in mind can be informed by the craft and how films are actually made.
Ex: Basic camera terminology, used throughout entire process: writing, filming, editing.
JANET OAKLEY – Award-Winning Author and Historian, and Community Leader
The leader of our usual suspects and historian extraordinaire, J. L. Oakley writes historical fiction that spans the mid-19th century to WW II with characters standing up for something in their own time and place. She is an award-winning author and a recipient of the 2013 Bellingham Mayor’s Arts Award; the 2013 Chanticleer Grand Prize; the 2014 First Place Chaucer Award; an Everybody Reads and Bellingham. When not writing, she demonstrates 19th-century folkways in the schools and at San Juan Island National Park. She also has a cat who thinks she’s editing. Read pick and the 2015 WILLA Silver Award, Pulpwood Queen Book Club 2016 backlist pick for February 2016.
As a First in Category winner in the Goethe, Laramie, and Chatelaine Awards for Mist-chi-mas: A Novel of Captivity, the Chaucer Award for Timber Rose and The Jøssing Affair, the Hemingway Grand Prize Winner for The Quisling Factor and the OVERALL Grand Prize for her book, Tree Soldier, Janet will present at the 2021 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Ceremonies (The CIBAs) on Sunday evening and recognize the finalists and announce the Grand Prize winner, and perhaps the Overall Grand Prize winner on Sunday evening.
J.L. Oakley is an expert in presenting on the following:
Renaissance Man and one of the most interesting people you’ll meet, Strider is an award winning, first place author of the Chanticleer International Book Awards, Strider began his writing career after twenty-five years as a firefighter/EMT. The emotions and experiences of those calls carry themselves through every story, bringing true ‘been-there’ reality to the scenes.
With additional years as a business owner, general contractor, designer, wildland firefighter, big game guide, ski instructor, backpacker and sword fighter, his wide range of knowledge is intricately woven throughout his stories.
To date, Strider has written YA (young adult), NA (new adult), and general fiction in the realm of: sci-fi western, light steampunk, dystopian (post apocalyptic), gaslight (early mechanism era) and just good fun reading.
Strider will be presenting in and around the following topics:
A Huge Congratulations to all of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs) Shorts and Series Finalists!
Every tier of the CIBAs is an important one, though few manage to rise this far in the ranks.
For our Shorts and Series Authors, this post has links to all of the Finalist Awards for the 3 CIBA Division Lists we have for Longform work like collections, anthologies, and novellas; Short Prose like Short Stories and Essays; and Series. We will have a separate post for Fiction and Non-Fiction.
All Finalists in attendance will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, and we will announce the Winners at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 20th at the Chanticleer Banquet. We can’t express how excited we are to be able to do this in person with our fully vaccinated and boosted staff in a healthy metro area.
Now let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.
The remaining tiers are the First Place Winner, the Grand Prize Winners, and finally, the coveted Overall Grand Prize Winners. The Overall Grand Prize Winner takes home the $1000 and more! See the Book Award details here.
Now, presenting the links to the Non-Fiction Awards Finalists
The Official 2023 CIBA Lists of the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for all Divisions of the CIBAs will start to be posted after April 21st, 2024.
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 12th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference is April 19-21, 2024
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, or Finalist.
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.
Remember, you don’t have to be present to win, but it sure is a lot more fun!
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.
Three Cheers for for the CIBAs 2023 Non-Fiction Book Awards Finalists!
Every tier of the CIBAs is an important one, though few manage to rise this far in the ranks.
For our Non-Fiction Authors, this post has links to all of the Finalist Awards for the 7 CIBA Divisions we have for Non-Fiction. We will have a separate post for Fiction and one more post for the Shorts Awards and Series Awards.
All Finalists in attendance will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, and we will announce the Winners at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Chanticleer Banquet.
Now let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.
The remaining tiers are the First Place Winner, the Grand Prize Winners, and finally, the coveted Overall Grand Prize Winners. The Overall Grand Prize Winner takes home the $1000 and more! See the Book Award details here.
Now, presenting the links to the Non-Fiction Awards Finalists
The Official 2023 CIBA Lists of the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for all Divisions of the CIBAs will start to be posted after April 21st, 2024.
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 12th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference is April 19-21, 2024
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, or Finalist.
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.
Remember, you don’t have to be present to win, but it sure is a lot more fun!
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.
🌷 Happy Spring to our Northern Hemisphere Chanticleerians! 🌷
🍂Happy Fall to our Southern Hemisphere Chanticleerians! 🍁
This time of year is the time for the
Annual Chanticleer Authors Conference
CAC24!
and the highly anticipated
Chanticleer International Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony!
When we start seeing tulips and daffodils coming up with snow geese and Trumpeter swans flying across the sky, we know that it is time for the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference here in Bellingham, Wash. Did I tell you how much I love this time of year in the Pacific Northwest? These photos were taken about a 15 minute drive south from here.
But I digress.
We are here to discuss Working with Ingram, Selling on Amazon, Pitching, the Art of Subtext, Podcasting, and more for #seriousAuthors!
These are just a few of the sessions that CAC 24 is offering in just a few short weeks!
Please check back often as we continuously update the CAC pages.
Susan V. Meyers – Creative Writing Program Director at Seattle University and Pushcart Prize and Best American Series Nominee. Her novel Failing the Trapeze won the Nilsen Award.
Nicole J. Persun is an award-winning and internationally bestselling author with a master’s degree in Creative Writing & Instruction. Nicole has written and published in multiple genres, most recently book club fiction under the pen name Jennifer Gold.
Kim Hornsby is a USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author along with being a sold, multi-optioned, and produced screenwriter. Her Chanticleer Paranormal Book Awards winning novel,The Dream Jumper’s Promise, is in development with plans to film in late 2024. We are excited for her Romcom Christmas movie,Christmas in Crystal Creek,that is slated for filming in 24/25.
D.D. Black’s Thomas Austin Crime Thrillers series has garnered more than 30,000 Amazon reviews and have earned the #1 Best Seller in Mystery Series. Ranked #1 in Traditional Detective Mysteries in Books and Kindle Store. Previously, he wrote thrillers under the name A.C. Fuller, including The Alex Vane Media Thrillers, The Ameritocracy Series, and The Crime Beat. Altogether, he’s written and published over thirty books.
Reenita Malhotra Hora is the CEO of Chapter by Episode Productions. She has years of experience growing organizations from startups to medium-sized businesses through storytelling, creative marketing and business strategy. Hora has also written seven books.
She has contributed to Reuters, the South China Morning Post family section, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN, Asian Investor, Times of India, Business Line, Bloomberg on-air news reporter, writer, and producer, Rolling Stone, and the Economic Times.
Give a huge round of applause to all of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs) Finalists!
Every tier of the CIBAs is an important one, though few manage to rise this far in the ranks.
For our Fiction Authors, this post has links to all of the Finalist Awards for the 16 CIBA Divisions we have for fiction. We will have a separate post for Non-Fiction and one more post for the Shorts Awards and Series Awards where you can find all the 2023 Finalists!
All Finalists in attendance will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, and we will announce the Winners at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 20th at the Chanticleer Banquet. We can’t express how excited we are to be able to do this in person with our fully vaccinated and boosted staff in a healthy metro area.
Now let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.
The remaining tiers are the First Place Winner, the Grand Prize Winners, and finally, the coveted Overall Grand Prize Winners. The Overall Grand Prize Winner takes home the $1000 and more! See the Book Award details here.
Now, presenting the links to the Fiction Awards Finalists
The Official 2023 CIBA Lists of the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for all Divisions of the CIBAs will start to be posted starting on Wednesday, April 24th, 2024.
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 12th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference is April 19-21, 2024
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, or Finalist.
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.
Remember, you don’t have to be present to win, but it sure is a lot more fun!
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.
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.
We only see Lori’s father through Lori’s eyes, so he seems larger-than-life. Lori herself becomes the truly fascinating figure, especially as her life grows more complex with age. At first, the book holds little suspense, as young Lori unpacks the seemingly-straightforward details of her and her father’s life. Yet what seems to be an idyllic childhood starts to break down as the narrator reveals her complicated family dynamics and very real fears. Lori’s fear of God takes on a literal meaning, far beyond religion. In fact, it starts to tear apart her life.
Author Peters provides every detail with remarkable calmness, giving a window into the adult writing the story.
Yet the book maintains the voice of a child until near the end, which may leave readers wishing for more reflection from present-day Lori. Instead, we walk closely with young Lori through the twists and turns of a childhood plagued by fear. Her father’s challenges dealing with the Mafia undercover become more tangible, and in some ways, easier to face. They seem to pale in comparison to Lori’s nebulous personal troubles, especially since she’s so afraid to speak them out loud.
Peters includes moments from her father’s perspective, recreated from later research. These recreations feel less lively than other scenes, but ultimately, the book is more memoir than biography. Scenes increasingly focus on Lori’s life as time progresses, and readers will feel drawn in by the truthful way she relates her struggles.
God, the Mafia, My Dad, and Me avoids traditional chapter headings, and initially jumps back and forth through time, which can create some confusion. However, later sections settle into a steady rhythm as Lori enters adulthood, plagued by growing anxiety and secret issues with grasping reality itself.
Watching her slowly confront, then overcome, these inner problems is the heart of the book, and provides an ending even more satisfying than her father’s win over the Mafia.
As a narrator, Lori offers compelling moments of honesty and understanding, such as when she goes through a messy divorce with vast compassion for her soon-to-be ex. When she grows up, the adult Lori emerges as a stronger and more reliable narrator, giving readers reflection and depth that ties the book together. This warm and thoughtful voice that will keep readers invested throughout the story.
To say that fifteen-year-old Rick Leibnitz has had a difficult childhood would be an understatement. Abandoned by his mother when he was eleven and left with a physically and mentally abusive father, Rick’s teenage anger is justified in A Map of the Edge by David T. Isaak.
After a violent episode with his father, Rick is caught holding drugs for a girl he hopes to impress and is sent to a juvenile detention center. There, he refuses to capitulate to the demands of his jailers until his probation officer offers him not only a possible reprieve but also, for the first time in his life, listens to Rick’s problems.
When he is handed back to his father’s custody, his nightmare life continues until Rick is befriended by Lincoln Ellard. Linc finds Rick a place to stay after a vicious beating from his father, and the two quickly become inseparable, with Linc eventually bringing Rick in on his drug dealing business. In his adolescent mind, Rick has it made–drugs, girls, popularity, but the good times end abruptly when a rival drug dealer attacks Rick and Linc, leaving their relationship perpetually plagued. When a close friend nearly overdoses, Rick again finds himself in over his head.
The novel’s title perfectly sums up Rick’s predicament. He is on the edge of everything.
Rick hovers on the edge of adulthood in many ways. At fifteen, he is too young to get a job or to be on his own, stuck living with his cruel, angry father who takes out his own wasted choices on everyone else. Rick can remember the beatings his mother suffered, and he feels that her leaving him is justice for his lack of action to protect her. But now, he has become the target of his father’s wrath and can’t legally escape it. Eventually, he refuses to even try to get along with his father and chooses defiance, which leads to even worse treatment.
Not physically big enough to stand up to his father, he seeks an escape in alcohol and drugs, a decision which leads to his first sexual encounter with the girl whose punishment he took on himself. Both the juvenile detention and that encounter push him again closer to the edge of adulthood. He romanticizes his imprisonment as a chivalrous gesture that is sure to lead to a grateful and lovesick Stacy. When she refuses him after his release, he’s pushed beyond his emotional capacity and turns to self-harm in multiple ways.
After meeting Linc, Rick thinks his life is finally turning around.
Linc convinced Rick that the drugs they sell and use aren’t really hurting anyone but instead are expanding their thinking. The two of them skirt the edge of reality and LSD-induced illumination. For a time, Rick lives on this edge of 1960s teenage idealism. He parties, with others and alone, has sex with lots of girls, and makes excessive amounts of money with little effort. He listens to Linc’s pontificating, believing him to be enlightened and knowledgeable.
When the boys are attacked by rival drug dealers, Rick reaches the edge where the fun stops and danger becomes real. His entire perception changes, and he cleans himself up as he and Linc drift apart. When Lisby, one of Linc’s many girlfriends, tries to commit suicide, Rick finally takes the advice of his probation officer, Leo, seriously. As his only true champion, Leo has attempted to keep Rick on the straight and narrow throughout the novel, but it isn’t until this last near-tragedy that Rick seems to understand. While the edge is exciting, its precariousness leads to destruction.
Identified by John Wilander is a dystopian novel about the omniscient power of our potential cyber future.
West, a young man, spent 15 years in prison for hacking government systems. His mother, a highly visible activist against his imprisonment, is also trying unsuccessfully to get her health insurance to pay for her fight against a deadly medical condition. In Identified West believes the government is responsible for illegally blocking her insurance and vows to find out who’s behind the effort and put his mom back on the insurance rolls.
This is no easy task. Cybersecurity is now a fully linked global enterprise called the G20S, an expansion of today’s G20 nations. Virtually every form of human activity across the world can be logged by the system. It will take a small crew of talented hackers who call themselves the Survivors to develop unique hacker tools for West to break into the system, find the guilty, and get his mother insured. At every point, success could slip out of their grasp.
The Survivors make for a wild and charming cast of characters, well-integrated into their futuristic world.
One is a former adult actor who was pushed out of the business by AI fakes. Another, cheekily named BestBye, plays with a Rubik’s Cube Snake, with virtually endless possible solutions.
Identified maintains strong plausibility. Reading it is virtually a handbook for people curious about what hackers do and how they do it.
Nothing is out of bounds. Even a faked auto accident is a tool to develop a new identity among this group. Every move they make is under surveillance, with arrests and long prison sentences awaiting even the smallest misstep. Readers will feel awe at the efforts the Survivors make to hack the system, and share their dread at being caught.
Ultimately, this novel shares with readers the thrill of breaking into a closed system, doing what no one else can do, and defeating it no matter what the cost. Despite the futuristic setting, everything outlined in the book, from the government controls to the hackers’ tools, feels grounded in our world. This is confident writing, from an author who knows this subject deeply.
Near and dear to our hearts is Michelle Cox
An expert in world building and continuity, Diane Garland
Our local expert on Book to Screen, Lisa Spicer has worked in television, film, and video production for over 30 years as producer, writer, and editor. Starting in the documentary unit at KCTS/PBS Seattle, later on she worked on the Bill Nye the Science Guy show, earning 3 Emmys. As an independent documentary producer, she has worked in Kenya, Mexico’s Lacandon rainforest, Northern Cheyenne and Lummi Indian reservations, Boulder, Seattle,
The leader of our usual suspects and historian extraordinaire, J. L. Oakley writes historical fiction that spans the mid-19
STRIDER KLUSMAN – Award Winning Author and Host of the 
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.
