Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: chanti

The 2023 CIBAs Humor and Satire Semi-Finalists
The Humor and Satire Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Humor and Satire. The Humor and Satire Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring satire, humor, political ideology, parody, fantasy, and allegory or fable. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Humor and Satire Fiction Short List to the 2023 Humor and Satire Book Awards SEMI-FINALISTS. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the Finalists of the 2023 Humor and Satire Book Awards novel competition!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
- Kenneth Arbogast – Whinesburg, Ohio
- Lou Dischler – The Rising
- Tom Strelich – Water Memory
- Mike Murphey – Quantum Consequence… Physics, Lust and Greed Series, Book 5
- Matthew Binder – Pure Cosmos Club
- Bill Boggs – Spike Unleashed: The Wonder Dog Returns
- W.T. Kosmos – Blaze Union and the Puddin’ Head Schools
- James Krieger – Not My Best Idea
- Eileen O’Finlan – All the Furs and Feathers
- Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
- T.C. Morrison – Send in The Tort Lawyer$
- Jason Ollander-Krane – Circus Home: A Novel of Life, Love and New Jersey
- Douglas Bachmann – Afterlife
- Allyson Rice – The Key to Circus-Mom Highway
- Marco Ocram – The Awful Truth About The Herbert Quarry Affair
- J Paul Rieger Jr (JP Rieger) – Clonk!
- Rob Brownell – Invention Is a Mother
- T.K. Sheffield – The Valentine Line
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging!

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 Humor and Satire Awards is:

Delphic Oracle, U.S.A
By Steven Mayfield

Click here to see the 2022 Humor and Satire Book Award Winners.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Humor and Satire Book Awards. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Screenwriter Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and coach and inspiring Mark Berridge, with more to be announced. CAC is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author and achieving your publishing goals.

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!
February 23, 2024
The Chaucer 2023 Book Awards Finalists for Early Historical Fiction
The Chaucer Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in pre-1750s Historical Fiction. The Chaucer Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

The Chaucer Book Awards competition is named for Geoffrey Chaucer the author of the legendary Canterbury Tales. The work is considered to be one of the greatest works in the English language. It was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed in 1483.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring Pre-1750s Historical Fiction, including pre-history, ancient history, Classical, world history (non-western culture), Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Tudor, 1600s, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Chaucer Early Historical Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2023 Chaucer Book Awards FINALISTS. Winners will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the FIRST PLACE and GRAND PRIZE WINNERS of the 2023 Chaucer Book Awards novel competition for Pre-1750s Early Historical Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
- Gail Avery Halverson – A Sea of Glass
- Gina Buonaguro – The Virgins of Venice
- Griffin Brady – The Hussar’s Duty
- James Hutson-Wiley – The Merchant from Sepharad
- Regan Walker – The Strongest Heart
- Juliette Godot – From the Drop of Heaven
- Yvonne Korshak – Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece
- Robert S Phillips – Elodia’s Knife
- C.V. Lee – Token of Betrayal
- Rebecca D’Harlingue – The Map Colorist: A Novel
- Rozsa Gaston – Margaret of Austria
- Mary Pat Ferron Canes with JR Foley – Dark Queen of Donegal
- Kerry Chaput – Daughter of the Shadows
- Rebecca Kightlinger – The Lady of the Cliffs: The Bury Down Chronicles, Book Two
- Adrienne Dillard – Keeper of the Queen’s Jewels: a novel of Jane Seymour
- Adam Alexander Haviaras – Sincerity is a Goddess: A Dramatic and Romantic Comedy of Ancient Rome
- Margaret Porter – The Myrtle Wand
- K.M. Butler – House Aretoli
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB 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.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 CHAUCER Awards is:

Mack Little, author of

Daughter of Hades

Click here to see the 2022 Chaucer Book Award Winners for Early Historical Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions for the 2024 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Early Historical Fiction. The 2024 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2025.

Please click here to submit to the 2024 Chaucer Awards

For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:
Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!

As always, please contact us with any questions or suggestions at info@ChantiReviews.com.
February 23, 2024
The 2023 CIBAs Mind & Spirit Short List for Spirituality and Enlightenment Non-Fiction
The Mind and Spirit Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Enlightenment and Well-Being Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Mind and Spirit Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring enlightenment, motivational/self-help, spirituality, mindfulness, well-being, meditation, and energy. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2023 Mind and Spirit Non-Fiction Long Listto the 202 Mind and Spirit Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2023 Mind and Spirit FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the Semi-Finalists of the 2023 Mind and Spirit Book Awards novel competition for Enlightenment, Spirituality, and Mindfulness Non-Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
- Summer McStravick – Stuff Nobody Taught You: 40 Lessons from M.E. School to Help You Stop Feeling Miserable and Start Feeling Amazing
- Kirsten Throneberry – Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road
- Susan Drury – Elevating Your Origins to Love: A Guided Journey of Transformation, Healing and Power
- Elizabeth Blake Thomas – Living With Intention
- Meliors Simms – The Secret Lives of Teeth
- Karen Roberts – The Blossoming of Women: A Workbook on Growing from Older to Elder
- Rosanna Ienco – Enter the Journey: A Mystical Guide for Rebirth and Renewal
- Jenn Henry – Resilience: A Different Kind of Strong
- Kelly Bulkeley – The Spirituality of Dreaming: Unlocking the Wisdom of Our Sleeping Selves
- Pierre Pradervand – The Gentle Art of Spiritual Discernment
- Steven Greenebaum – An Afternoon’s Dictation: Inclusive Revelation for the 21st Century
- Terri Kim – The Enlightenment Stories Represented in the Samgook Yusa and the Princess Bari
- Maureen Kane – A Guide Back to You
- Kasey J. Claytor – The Money Map, A Spiritual Guide for Financial Success
- Luisa Frey – Trust the Signs
- Melo Calarco – Beating Burnout, Finding Balance
- Shanita Liu – Dear Durga: A Mom’s Guide to Activate Courage and Emerge Victorious
- Anne Barriault – Tales from Naples and Sorrentine Stories
- Mike Lutz – Jesus Speaking Devotional Prayers
- Alexander V Girman, Cynthia J Girman – A Voice from Heaven: From Earthly Struggles to Thriving in the Afterlife
- Aesha Tahir – Unhunched: Discover Wellness Through Posture
- Ray Catania – You’re Still Alive, Now Act Like It: Empower Elevate and Enlighten Your Consciousness
- Ryan Baxter – Mother Stella: Her Song of Love
- Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo – Threads of Awakening: An American Woman’s Journey into Tibet’s Sacred Textile Art
- Grieg de la Houssaye – The Energy To Thrive
- Vincent Genna – The Secret That’s Holding You Back
- Dr. Kelly Rabenstein – Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB 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.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 MIND & SPIRIT Awards is:

A Sky of Infinite Blue

By Kyomi O’Connor

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Click here to see the 2022 Mind and Spirit Book Award Winners

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Mind and Spirit Book Awards for Enlightenment and Well-Being Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

See our Full List of Non-Fiction Divisions here!

Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!
February 22, 2024
The 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards Finalists for Middle Grade Fiction
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Middle Grade Fiction. The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

The Gertrude Warner Book Awards competition is named for Gertrude Chandler Warner, the wonderful author of The Boxcar Children.

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Contemporary Middle Grade, SFF & Paranormal Middle Grade, Mystery Middle Grade, Historical Middle Grade, Adventure Middle Grade, and Graphic Novels. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards here and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards here.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2023 Gertrude Warner Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are the FINALISTs of the 2023 Gertrude Warner Book Awards novel competition for Middle Grade Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
- Sue C Dugan – SOS
- Alex Paul – The Amarrat Invasion
- Chris Norbury – Little Mountain, Big Trouble
- V Knox – Snow Behind the Door
- Zane Re-Bloom – The Magic of Moon & Herbs
- Marsha Tufft – The Sea Turtle Spy Project: Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures? Book 4
- Malinda Andrews – Awaken
- Peter Serko – Hattie’s War
- Andrew Dolberg and Rob Long – The Great Weather Diviner: The Untold Origin of Punxsutawney Phil
- Vincent M. Miceli – The Last Triceracorn, Book One
- Liese Sherwood-Fabre – Wilhelmina Quigley: Magic School Dropout
- Elizabeth R. Jensen – Fire & Wolves: A Tale of Etria
- Kevin Dunn – Vicious is My Middle Name
- Sheri Graubert – Molly Shipton, Secret Actress
- Barbara Gold – Operation Save PawPrints, an Izzy Rose Green Mystery
- L.T. Caton – Find Me In Time: Meeting Columbus
- Susan Diamond Riley – The Sea Witch’s Revenge: A Delta & Jax Mystery
- Rae Knightly – EXOSTAR (The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1)
- Alisse Lee Goldenberg & Joseph Goldenberg – Lucky At Bat
- Mark Cheverton – Facing the Beast Within
- Cintia Alfonso Fior – Moraline
- Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Kingdom of Trolls
- Ben Gartner – One Giant Leap
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

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

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

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Orclick hereto go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:

MYSTERY FORCE, Volume 1

by Ted Neill and Suzi Spooner

See the Full List of Gertrude Warner 2022 Winners here!

The 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC24 on April 20, 2024. Save the date for CAC24, scheduled April 18-21, 2024, our 12-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2024 GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards are open now! Enter here!

See all 25 of our CIBA Divisions here!

Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!
February 22, 2024
LIGHTEN The LOAD: Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail Book 2 by David Fitz-Gerald – Historical Fiction, Oregon Trail, Mystery

Once on a grand adventure to a new life with her husband and young family, Dorcas suddenly finds herself the sole shepherd for her children into the unknown, in David Fitz-Gerald’s historical fiction novel, Lighten the Load.

Owner of a fully loaded wagon, in a train of travelers on the truly wild western trail, Dorcas must give every decision her full attention. She faces immediate life-altering choices, some threatening her own safety and others putting her children at terrible risk. The expedition rolls forward over a mystery yet to be solved and an underlying paranormal mystique.

On this dangerous venture west, Dorcas is called upon often to help and comfort her fellow travelers. As she and her family face escalating dangers and devastating catastrophes, can she learn to Lighten the Load and accept help when she desperately needs it?

Dorcas and her children struggle to adjust to all they’ve faced since they left home.

This future was certainly her husband’s dream, but did she really share it? Dorcas and her family begin this episode of their lives where there is no sign of civilization other than the people of the wagon train where they’ve hitched their hopes. And as her oxen struggle to pull forward their heavy wagon, Dorcas debates if Oregon is still the best future for them. With all the deaths so far on the trail, will any of them even reach Oregon?

The leader of their caravan has concerns too, and offers a controversial solution. Dorcas is called to the campfire to meet a man willing to marry her. Though she embraces the romance, of her own choosing, her heart and thoughts weigh heavy on her. She takes responsibility for her children and the tragic circumstances of those around her: her new friend’s difficult pregnancy; those who are grieving; and others who are discouraged from pursuing their dreams. And always that push, rolling forward deeper into new territory.

The difficulties on the trail contrast with majestic views of the great outdoors, as well as the camaraderie, sacrifice, and friendship of those around Dorcas, and the vision of what could be.

There are surprises around every corner. A lingering mystery casts a shadow over the notorious lothario, Armand Bartholamieux. Clues begin to surface, and Dorcas seeks answers. All the while, she cares for her children, trying to teach them lessons of self-reliance. But her daughter Rose continues to be drawn towards a supernatural force. Dorcas worries and debates how to best help her daughter, until Rose disappears. And lurking in the shadows are the mysterious Viper and his brothers.

Hitch your team up for a memorable journey into the 1850 American West. Award-winning author David Fitz-Gerald skillfully guides readers through vivid descriptions of a setting filled with ever-changing extremes.

Lighten the Load will introduce you to fascinating characters who relentlessly continue their life’s journey toward destiny. Dorcas must learn how to move forward after all she’s faced, and if she can, she just might find Oregon, a bright future, and even blooming love.

February 21, 2024
TESSY TURTLE by Anna Casamento Arrigo, Illustrated by Jryona – Children’s Picture Books, Marine Life, Climate Change

“We are turtles, one and all, in oceans and on land. But we’re in danger of dying if you don’t lend a hand!” warns Anna Casamento Arrigo in her heartwarming children’s book, Tessy Turtle.

Sweet Tessy, along with her underwater friends, explains the life cycles of sea turtles and the environmental hazards they face daily due to their most dangerous predator: human beings. Written in lilting rhyme with vibrant illustrations on every page, Tessy Turtle captures the hearts of the young and not-so-young, reminding readers of our responsibility to the living beings and ecosystems we live amongst.

As readers swim beside tour guide Tessy, she points out the symbiotic relationships and friendships of sea life.

Barnacles cling to the backs of turtles for safety and turtles eat long green seagrass to keep it from growing unmanageable and disrupting other sea life from hunting. Tessy also exposes environmental barriers to the underwater critters’ happy lives, such as pollution and over-fishing.

Through story and rhyme, Tessy Turtle promotes positive conversations around climate action and encourages little ones to make a difference in their worlds.

Tessy provides young readers with examples of simple preventative measures– such as picking up after themselves at public beaches and avoiding touching the little green creatures– to encourage a safer world for all living things.

Anna Casamento Arrigo invites empathy and challenges readers to take action in this beautiful sing-song lesson on marine life. Tessy Turtle is sure to spark little readers’ imaginations and stick to their hearts like a barnacle.

February 19, 2024
The M&M 2023 Semi-Finalists for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries
The M&M Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Cozy and not-so-Cozy Mystery & Mayhem. The M&M Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring “mystery and mayhem,” amateur sleuthing, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery, perhaps with a touch of romance or humor. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. (For suspense, thriller, detective, crime fiction see our Clue Awards.)

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 M&M Book Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for 2023 M&M Finalists. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBAs divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles have advanced to the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2023 M&M Book Awards for Mystery & Mayhem

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.
- Trish MacEnulty – The Whispering Women
- Craig H. Bowlsby – The Cyrano Solution
- Ruud Richardson – The Girl Who Never Was
- B.T. Polcari – Fire and Ice
- B.T. Polcari – Against My Better Judgment
- Liese Sherwood-Fabre – The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait
- Gail Grant Park – We Are Shadows: An Irish Ghost Story
- Rebecca Olmstead – Dreams and Illusions
- Charlotte Stuart – In$ured to the Hilt
- Anna St. John – Doomed by Blooms
- Elizabeth Crowens – Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles
- Patrick E. Craig – The Quilt That Knew
- A.J. McCarthy – A Stranger in the Family
- Traci Andrighetti – Tuaca Tan
- E. W. Finke – Coyote’s Wail
- Mary Seifert – Fishing, Festivities & Fatalities
- Michel Prince – Always a Groomsman
- M.K. Dean – A Corpse in the Condo
- Kate Hallock – Nine Ways to Die: An Enneagram Murder Mystery
- Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
- Cindy Sample – Birthdays Are Murder
- Carolyn Summer Quinn – Cloudy with a Chance of Answers
- Michelle Cox – A Haunting at Linley
- Charlotte Whitney – The Unveiling of Polly Forrest
- Kim Herdman Shapiro – The Raven’s Cry
- Lori Roberts Herbst – Negative Reaction
- Lori Roberts Herbst – Photo Finished
- D.R. Ransdell – Party Wine
- Connie Berry – The Shadow of Memory
- Christine Knapp – Murder on the Widow’s Walk
- Christine Knapp – Murder at the Wedding
- M. A. Monnin – Death In The Aegean
- Erica Miner – Aria for Murder
- Wendy Bayne – Guilds and Gunpowder
- Matthew Cost – Velma Gone Awry
- Jule Selbo – 9 DAYS, A Dee Rommel Mystery
- Amy S. Peele – Hold
- Kim Davis – Buttercream Betrayal
- D. J. Adamson – With a Vengeance
- Lyn Squire – Immortalised to Death
- Brigitte Goldstein – Death of a Diva–From Berlin to Broadway
- Eleanor Tatum – Countess of Change
- Kim Davis – Muddled Matrimonial Murder
- Brandon Lawniczak – Riding in Circles
- J. Ivanel Johnson – Just A Stale Mate
- Mary Seifert – Santa, Snowflakes & Strychnine
- T.K. Sheffield – Vintage Model, the Backyard Model Mysteries Book 1
Good Luck to All as Your Works Compete to Advance to the Next Level of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 Mystery & Mayhem Awards is:

A Spying Eye

A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel

by Michelle Cox

Here is the link to the 2022 M&M Book Award Winners!

We are now accepting submissions into the 2024 M&M Book Awards for Cozy-And-Not-So-Cozy Mysteries!.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!
February 18, 2024
DAUGHTER Of HADES by Mack Little – Historical Fiction, Caribbean Piracy, Slavery

Mack Little’s historical fiction novel Daughter of Hades explores the lives of slaves during the age of pirates.

Little’s research shines in her thoughtful presentation of the Caribbean islands, the escaped slaves who found freedom amongst them, the lives of buccaneers and maroons, and their daring and dangerous exploits.

On the first page, Little introduces us to Geraldine, or “Dinny”, running for her life from her owner, Owen Craig, who has just raped her.

Dinny’s father had arranged for her to be removed from the plantation before Craig molested her, but he’d miscalculated Craig’s lust. Dinny is rescued by her twin brother, Jimmie, and Leixiang, and taken to the Hades, a pirate ship captained by the buccaneer Duff.

Lei is drawn to Dinny, and when he finds out Craig raped her, he tells Duff against Dinny’s wishes. Duff organizes a retaliatory raid.

Their revenge sets in motion a series of events that Duff and Company must overcome, namely the wrath of the Craig family.

Little exposes the harsh cruelty and treatment of slaves during the 17^th century, revealing a life in the Caribbean that was sometimes beautiful for the Maroons, but was also fraught with danger and the constant fear of being recaptured and punished to near death.

Expertly building this world, Little fills it with characters that readers will love and hate, especially as they root for Dinny, Lei, and Duff.

Dinny’s future looks bleak, and she gains knowledge of Owen Craig’s father that shrivels her heart against the Admiral and his housekeeper Jane.

With the whole island aware of Admiral Craig’s deviant ways, and Jane’s assistance in finding him young boys to satisfy his lust, the clock is ticking before the island erupts in violence. Little’s plot twists and turns to keep readers on the edge of their seats as she slowly reveals the resolution to Craig’s revenge.

Author Little’s research into the history of buccaneers and the lives they led– right down to the democratic approach some captains took in including their crew in the decision-making process– creates a rich setting for this tale. Her skill in developing such a varied cast of characters will delight readers, and the love story that ties the novel together will draw readers in until the very last page.

Daughter of Hades will provide hours of entertainment and satisfy history buffs and romance readers alike. Little enthralls us with Dinny’s compassion, courage, determination, and strength, as this intelligent woman pursues a life of conviction and honesty.

Daughter of Hades by Mack Little won Grand Prize in the 2022 CIBA Chaucer Awards for Early Historical Fiction.

February 16, 2024
The 2023 OZMA Book Awards FINALISTs for Fantasy Fiction
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. These books have advanced to the Long List in the 2023 CIBAs OZMA division.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Ozma Fantasy Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2023 Ozma Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are the Ozma Book Awards Finalists for Fantasy Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
- Tim Facciola – A Vengeful Realm: Book One: The Scales of Balance
- L.R. Braden – Of Mettle and Magic
- Lilla Glass – The Unseen
- Ross Hightower & Deb Heim – Argren Blue
- Amber Kirkpatrick – Until the Rising
- Charles Allen – The Order of the Red God
- Jaime Castle & Andy Peloquin – Black Talon
- Crystal D. Grant – Shadowcast
- Ekta R. Garg – In the Heart of the Linden Wood
- D. K. Willis – The Unexpected
- Dale Griffin – The Last Lion of Karkov
- Jonathan Uffelman – Book of Leprechauns: The Lore Gatherers
- PM Black – The Solar Realm – Silver Slayer
- PJ Devlin – The Chamber
- Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Kingdom of Trolls
- L. Ryan Storms – Temper the Dark
- Alex B. Harper – Of Light and Nightmares: The Ashes of Magic Trilogy, Volume I
- S.G. Blaise – Proud Pada
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

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The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 OZMA Awards is:

Soar a Burning Sky

By Steven Michael Beck

See the full list of 2022 Ozma Award Winners here

The 2023 OZMA Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC24 on April 20, 2024. Save the date for CAC24, scheduled April 18-21, 2024, our 12-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2024 OZMA Book Awards are open now. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!
February 15, 2024
Valentine’s Day 2024 – SWEET READS From Chanticleer with all the Genres of the Heart

Will your book be our Valentine?

At Chanticleer we love Romance Books and we love to show it off with our Chatelaine Awards! We’re currently working as hard as we can to get out the Finalist List for those Awards, and you can see the Semi-Finals for them here! Who will win? Only time will tell.

However, right now we just want to celebrate some of the best romantic books we’ve been able to discover. Like chocolate, romance is one of those extraordinary genres that can go with almost anything! Historical Romance, Mystery Romance, YA Romance, SciFi Romance, Fantasy Romance, the list goes on!

Even better, romance is one of the bestselling genres out there! Being able to add that tag to your book makes it that much more marketable! For our own Chatelaine Awards, we’re always happy to crow about our winners!

Our 2022 Chatelaine Grand Prize Winner was Operation Mom by Reenita Malhotra Hora.

What does Chanticleer have to say about Operation Mom?

Master storyteller Reenita Malhotra Hora’s YA romance Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man takes us on a charming journey through the life of one teen, Ila Isham.

Hora introduces Ila and her best friend Deepali, two boy-crazy teens on a summer quest. Readers will fall in love with the smart, sassy, angst-filled, rebellious Ila. A typical teenage girl, Ila lives in Mumbai with her mom and Sakkubai, their house manager. Ila’s mother calls her obsessed, but that seems unfair. Is she obsessed just because her every waking minute is spent thinking of Ali Zafar, famous pop icon, singer, and heartthrob? Or is she obsessed with fellow classmate Dev?

No, Ila couldn’t be taken with Dev because he’s one of three young men that her best friend Deepali is juggling in her summer experiment of exploring her “feminine mystique.” This turn of phrase becomes just one of many opportunities for Hora’s humor to shine as Ila remarks, “That’s a book by Gloria Steinem . . . no Betty Friedan.” Deepali’s response? “Yaar. Don’t be so literal.” The delightful balance between Ila’s book smarts versus Deepali’s street smarts carries us through Hora’s expertly crafted story.

Read more here!

Operation Mom also took home a First Place Blue in the Dante Rossetti Awards for Young Adult Fiction. We’d love to share other romance books that meet with other genres and why they touch our heart!

A SPYING EYE: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel
By Michelle Cox
2023 Overall Grand Prize
Grand Prize for the M&M Awards for Cozy Mysteries

A Cozy Mystery Romance!

Brooding Château du Freudeneck, just outside Strasbourg, France has villains in the drawing rooms, stolen art hidden in the cellars, and bats in the belfry – all the best elements for a 19th-century Gothic mystery.

However, in Michelle Cox’s novel, A Spying Eye it’s the 20th century. The Great War is passed, but the next war already looms on the horizon. The people of Strasbourg feel the growing conflict sharply, at the heart of Alsace-Lorraine, a fertile region that has been contested between France and Germany since time immemorial.

Which means those bats are in the unfortunate head of the elderly Baron Von Harmon, the current lord and master (as much as he’s still able to be, at least) of the Chateau, while the stolen art is pursued by both the villainous Nazis and the only slightly-less villainous agents of Britain’s MI5.

Read more here!

THE LAST LUMENIAN
By S.G. Blaise
2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

A SciFi Romance!

Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but in The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.

Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.

Wanting to fight against the injustice and horrific treatment of the refugees, Lilla tries desperately to prove herself, especially after a disastrous first mission where she not only crashes her ship but also ends up in the hands of General Callum, leader of the Teryn Praelium.

Read more here!

NORTH QUEEN
By Nicola Tyche

A Fantasy Romance

Norah Andell, Princess of Mercia and future North Queen, has been missing for three years.

Her father secreted her away to protect her from a prophesied attack in a ten-year war, but he dies shortly after their departure and takes her location to the grave. Alexander Rhemus, Lord Justice to Queen Regent Catherine, Norah’s grandmother, was told by a seer that Norah would be found in the deep forests of the Northern Kingdom, and has searched the woods ceaselessly. Having loved her since they were children, Alexander’s desperation leads him to the Wilds, a legendary and feared area where men often do not return. So opens The North Queen.

To Alexander’s shock, he finds Norah, who has no memories of her former life or even of her own name. At first, she refuses to believe she’s the missing princess, now Queen, and bristles against her newfound world and the restraints it casts upon her.
Norah struggles with a position she doesn’t want, governing a people on the verge of starvation and facing an arranged marriage to protect her people from the Shadow King, a ruthless man hell-bent on taking her kingdom.

Read more here!

A PLACE Of REFUGE: Book Four of First Light
By Linda Cardillo

A Historical Romance

Izzy Monroe has lost herself. Three months after an accident that damaged a portion of her brain, she isolates herself in her parent’s home on Chappaquiddick Island, on the eastern end of Martha’s Vineyard.

She has spent her life in the world of academia, working on a doctorate in literature at Harvard, but now with her short-term memory gone, she has to give up her dreams. Her emptiness and doubt have left her rudderless and deeply depressed.

When her former college roommate, Maria, suggests she intern at Portarello, Maria’s grandfather’s self-sustaining farm in the Italian countryside, Izzy isn’t immediately convinced she can make the journey alone much less work at the successful inn and thriving farm. However, Izzy remembers the peace she felt there on the one visit she and Maria made years ago, and she knows this is her only chance to regain any sense of normalcy.

Read more here!

Thank you for joining us on this adventure of books, and we hope you found a read that caught your fancy!

Looking for more quality time with us?

Join us at

The Chanticleer Authors Conference

Featuring authors like D.D. Black, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

We’d love to see you there!

February 14, 2024