2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference focusing on Books to Film!
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. She teaches adaptation of books to scripts across North America. Kim has a diverse portfolio of scripts and novels that include Christmas, thrillers, and stalkers, although not in the same story.
Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2024, Kim Hornsby
We are beyond thrilled to have this long-time Chanticleerian join us again at CAC24 where she will present, teach, sit on panels, and participate. Kim will share her Books to Film journey with us along with the Tips and Tricks she has picked up on it. Don’t miss out on her special Kaffeeklatsch session either!
This book to film class is specifically an adaptation guide. Learn how to take your book, extract the scenes needed for a movie and turn it into a script. She concentrates on Plotting and Formatting (for film) with all the tips and tricks.
Thursday, April 18, 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Learn the Power of Pitch Decks, Log Lines, and Quick Pitches to Your Own Original Story to make an exec or producer realize they have to have this movie.
From Novel to Production – The Story of Dream Jumper’s Promise
How to Write the “TV movie” (which covers Hallmark Christmas, Lifetime Thrillers, and the 9 Act Script).
Why Write a Series Panel
Multi-Author Anthologies – the Why and How Panel In this session, Kim will touch on how she got her USA Bestseller status through a targeted campaign with other authors.
Life After You Finish Your Screenplay – How to market your work, yourself, be seen by producers, execs, studios. How to get a Lit Manager or Agent and if you need one.
All this and more, at the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the Chanticleer International Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony.
CAC24 Dates: April 18th – April 21st, 2024
Thursday, April 18th – Master Classes
Friday and Saturday, April 19th & 20th – Keynote Luncheons, Conference Sessions, Kaffeeklatsches, Networking “Happy Hours”
Saturday Evening, April 20th – The 2023 CIBA Banquet and Ceremony
Sunday, April 21st – Book Fair by Village Books (more info to come regarding Sunday’s activities). We have a few surprises in mind 🙂
CAC24 and the 2023 CIBA Banquet and Ceremony will be held at the Sheraton Four Points on Lakeway Avenue, Bellingham, Wash. Centered amid popular downtown attractions, the Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham Hotel & Conference Center is a haven of contemporary comfort and conveniently located.
New Liberty by George Cramer is a police procedural for readers who crave a gritty story in a modern urban jungle. It is not for the faint-hearted.
In New Liberty, a (fictionalized) Arizona city, a war is heating up between two rival gangs: the Black 4-Aces and the Latino Los Scorpios Locos. The cops of New Liberty’s Anti-Gang Enforcement Unit (AGE) are working hard to limit the damage. From the start, life within each of these organizations is stressful and complex.
Hector Navarro, a young officer, joins the AGE unprepared. Despite his Mexican heritage, he grew up in Connecticut, doesn’t speak Spanish, and was looking forward to embracing his love of motorcycles by being assigned to the city’s motorcycle unit. He has no idea how to talk to gangs, set up snitches, or even dress to not be identified as a cop.
Hector is assigned to Davey Jones, a slovenly drunk, as his street mentor in undercover work.
His first assignment in breaking into the gang world is to get a massage parlor worker to solicit him for sex, but a blunder on his part results in a humorous exchange. The investigation eventually leads to a tragic shooting– a double murder– that changes Hector’s life and, more tragically, the death of his partner. It sets into motion a sequence of events that will drill deep into the hearts of both gangs as well as the police who watch them.
New Liberty tells the stories of gangs and cops with the sharp eye of a documentarian.
The gangs’ operations, their casual murders of friends and foes alike, and the cold-eye battles for leadership are told with an authenticity that places the reader amidst the characters. One story stands out: a young woman is kidnapped by the Los Scorpios Locos, becoming a sex slave for the gang, and eventually a police informant at great personal danger. She gives a rare glimpse of the horror of sex trafficking that young women, and young men as well, face in the shadows of the modern world.
This same unsparing look is trained on the police as well. A shooting tragedy, the death of an officer and a gang leader both involving young Hector Navarro, is shown to have its roots well beyond the actions of one officer. It winds up having grave ramifications for the entire New Liberty police management.
Readers see the detailed planning of each group.
Every action requires careful consideration, whether a police sting or a bloody raid on an opposing gang. The similarities in thinking between these three organizations are remarkable, even though some operate within a set of laws and others within the bounds of only money and violence.
This is a must-read for anyone looking for a great if harrowing story told with the unmistakable authority of someone who has been there and seen it all.
CHANTICLEER 10 QUESTION AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES
with Award-Winning Author, Dave Mason
Hello friends, we have another fabulous interview for you today. In 2021, Dave Mason took home the Grand Prize in the Hemingway Awards for his fascinating novel, EO-N. Here, he tells us how EO-N came to be and the subsequent heights it is now reaching! Take a minute or two and get familiar with Dave. You won’t be sorry!
Chanti: Tell us a little about yourself: How did you start writing?
Mason: In my day job, I’m a partner in a strategic design firm, so I write for my clients pretty much every day. For eleven years, my business partners and I hosted Cusp Conference — an annual conference “about the design of everything” — and one of our 2018 presenters suggested writing for fun as a way to reduce stress. I hadn’t written for anything like fun since about third grade, but that somehow made sense at the time, and I just started, mostly on the train to and from downtown, and mostly random stuff at first, but pretty soon my pattern-seeking brain began to put things together (news articles and my own sense of “what if”) and before I knew it, I had what seemed like the beginning of a novel. After sharing with some people who gave the rough manuscript an enthusiastic thumbs up, the damned thing took on a life of its own, and here I am, doing an author interview. Who knew?
Chanti: That’s funny. We knew! When did you realize that you were an author?
Mason: Still not sure that has been internally acknowledged!
Mason’s report card showing his writing chops early on.
Chanti: You’re cracking me up! Let’s talk about genre. What genre best describes your work? And, what led you to write in this genre?
Mason: Historical fiction / mystery? Is that a genre? Both EO-N and the works I have in progress are a little history, a little mystery, and a little contemporary social commentary. Maybe not a typical combination, but it gets me going.
Chanti: YES! Historical Mysteries or Mystery / Historical Fiction is certainl a genre! Owen Parry’s Call Each River Jordan: A Novel of Historical Suspense, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez, to name a couple. There are more, trust me. HUGE genre here. Do you find yourself following the rules or do you like to make up your own rules?
Mason: I didn’t realize there were rules. As I said, I never set out to write a novel in the first place. I just wanted some form of relaxation. That didn’t work out too well!
Chanti: You’re killing me. Seriously. Okay, how do you come up with your ideas for a story?
Mason: I’ve been fascinated with history my entire life. I spent my early childhood years in a small village in England, walking to a two-room school through the spooky graveyard of a church built somewhere around the 13th century. I’m the child of parents whose cities were bombed by the Germans, and my father was training to be an RAF pilot when the war ended (lucky for me!). When my family moved to Canada when I was eight, that opened up a whole new world of history to fire my imagination – stories of the Iroquois and Algonquin and Mohawk and coureur de bois were like gold to me. Plus, some archeologists uncovered an entire Roman fort in my little English village just after I moved away! So now I’m drawn to news articles and stories that pertain to newly discovered pieces of history, and I’m also highly aware of current world events and societal trends. So my guess is that my personal worldview + history resulted in EO-N, and is definitely embedded in new work I have on the go.
Chanti: What are you working on now? What can we look forward to seeing next from you?
Mason: I’ve got a couple of things going (Vikings meet Nazis meet NASA, for example), but just like EO-N, I have no idea if they’re any good or not. So as I did with EO-N, I’ll ask my wife if they’re any good (and she’ll say yes) then I’ll ask my siblings for unvarnished feedback (they have no problem providing that!) and will go from there. Both works in progress are in the same vein as my first book — history + mystery + contemporary societal themes, so I’m thinking maybe that’s my thing. Guess I’ll find out.
Chanti: How structured are you in your writing work?
Mason: I write when I feel like writing. And I don’t follow a structure. I recently learned the terms “plotter” and “pantser,” so I’ve tried to figure out which of those I am, and have come to the conclusion that I’m both — a “plantser”? I find I begin with an end in mind, then start, and figure it out along the way, doing all the necessary research and making adjustments as I go. Sometimes I feel as if the characters pretty much tell me what they should do, and I’m just along for the ride. Sort of. I have to admit that as a control freak in real life, it’s pretty cool to be able to create people and have them do crazy things. And kill them.
Chanti: That’s a lot of fun, I do have to admit! How do you approach your writing day?
Mason: With coffee. I like to write early in the morning. Like really early.
Chanti: I get it. When the house is still asleep. What areas in your writing are you most confident in? What advice would you give someone who is struggling in that area?
Mason: I’m not sure I’d say I’m fully confident in any area, but people tell me that my characters are real to them, that my plotting is solid, and that my research is sound. And maybe it’s my visual design background, but the people who ended up acquiring EO-N for film and TV told me they thought the book was “cinematic” — that they could see every scene and element in enough detail to make it real-ish. I have a friend in the live theater business, and he told me once that theater doesn’t happen on the stage, that it happens in the audience’s minds. That’s what I was shooting for with my novel. I didn’t realize it was called worldbuilding until someone used that word, and I googled it! So, my advice? That’s a tough one. The entire storytelling process is complex, and it seems to me you can get 95% of it right and still fail if the 5% takes the reader out of the world you’re trying to put them into temporarily. So it may seem obvious, but get it all as right as you can. Then have a bunch of people whose opinions you trust read it. Then make it even more right. And repeat that until you know you’re done. The grind is part of the fun. And words are a visual medium.
Chanti: I like that. Well said! It’s important to work on your craft. What do you do to grow your author chops?
Mason: I write more, and I listen to the people whose opinions I trust. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Chanti: Give us your best marketing tips, what’s worked to sell more books, gain notoriety, and expand your literary footprint.
Mason: I received interest in EO-N from a couple of publishing houses, but when they asked how I was going to market the book I have to admit I was taken aback. I naively assumed that’s what they would do, since I wrote it, my design firm formatted and designed it, and I had connections to editors. In the end, after learning more about the process (I knew nothing) I elected to self-publish. In my day job, I help people market their services and products, so it wasn’t a stretch to take that on. The usual mechanisms — substantial email lists, substantial social media usage (including advertising), and of course, gaining positive recognition in the form of reader reviews and of course awards such as The Hemingway Award (thank you!) are all fuel for the fire. Through those and other more mysterious factors like luck, EO-N ended up being acquired for film and television, which has also spurred interest, and to my continued amazement it has been a bestseller in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. My tip is: be good, be noisy, and be visible, because no one cares about your book until they do.
Chanti: Now, that’s what I call a success story! Congratulations to you!Who’s the perfect reader for your book?
Mason: I’m finding that out. EO-N is partly set in WW2, and involves some pretty dark stuff that’s historically accurate. In places it’s pretty action-oriented, and in others it’s pretty emotional. So, it really runs the gamut, and I’m finding out that it appeals to a wide range of people for different reasons. I’ve spoken with readers who are pilots in real life who’ve told me the flying scenes are spot on in terms of the technical stuff and riveting in terms of action. And I’ve spoken with a few book club members who admitted that EO-N was not a book they might have normally picked up, but that the emotional punch of it made them so glad they did. That surprise factor is a wonderful thing to hear.
Chanti: I think that’s what you call a book for just about everyone. Do you ever experience writers block? What do you do to overcome it?
Mason: This isn’t my day job, so I just don’t put that kind of pressure on myself. If it’s there, it’s there. If it isn’t, I’m somewhere else. It’ll happen when it happens.
Chanti: That’s very cool and probably helps a lot. What excites you most about writing?
Mason: I think it’s that I discovered (rediscovered?) something that I really enjoy. And that it actually does the thing that the Cusp Conference speaker said it would do. It relaxes me, while it energizes me. That’s a win-win. And if what I do gives someone a world they can immerse themselves in for a few hours, and they can come back to this one a little better for it, I’m happy.
Chanti: What is the most important thing a reader can do for an author?
Mason: If they enjoy the thing, talk it up! If they don’t, well, we can just keep that between us.
About Dave Mason:
Born in England and raised in Canada, Dave Mason is an internationally recognized graphic designer, a Fellow of The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and a co-founder of a number of software companies. He divides his time between Chicago, Illinois and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. EO-N is his first novel.
Elodia is a young woman driven by dreadful circumstances to act with deadly force in the Robert S. Phillips novel Elodia’s Knife.
What Elodia hoped would be her leap away from danger instead left her surrounded by perilous threats that now threaten to consume her. Armed with her courage, determination, instincts, and a trusty knife, Elodia faces a hostile world in foreign territory.
Not all are against her though. Allies– even a friend– can be found, if Elodia can summon the bravery to listen to her feelings and own deep wishes.
Young Elodia is unhappily married to an abusive husband. But when he tries to attack her again, she strikes back and kills him.
By her own hand, she is set free from a brutal life, yet not fully liberated. Now her husband’s family pursues her, intent on revenge. Elodia must flee for her life, driven into the unknown, alone across the Danube River. She can never return, but what she finds before her is a crumbling empire on the brink of war. They view her as one of the enemy, to be conquered and enslaved. Refusing to be bound again, she keeps her knife close at hand, and her wits about her at all times.
Elodia is captured upon landing by men who blame Gothic peoples, like her, for the troubles in the Western Roman Empire of the late 4th century CE. But among them is Caius, who sees her in a different light.
He treats her not as a prisoner, but as a person. Is his compassion genuine? As he oversees the work he orders her to complete, that’s when she first notices his smile. A small smile, and a friendly one. Will Caius become a possible ally? Even someone she could trust? Or possibly more? Elodia allows hope to churn within her. But she cannot dwell on that hope alone. She will need to foster the strength to rise out of slavery in this foreign place.
Elodia takes thrilling actions to seize the day and take control– to lead a Roman city.
Elodia’s Knife surrounds readers with a vivid and riveting time in early history.
Author Phillips shows the fascinating details of how people of those times faced the challenges of life and a complex society. He skillfully weaves the decline of the Roman Empire– a world on the brink of collapse– into the pulse of this exquisite story.
Lives and times change, but human nature is at the heart of it all. The struggles of these characters leap off the page with fervor. Readers will cheer for Elodia as she fights with hope fueling her soul and Elodia’s Knife clutched, at the ready.
Missing Values by Michael Grigsby is a story about corruption that allows evil to flourish, set against the spreadsheets and data that give one man with little power but an extreme drive a chance to check that evil.
At least for long enough to save his son. And himself.
Mark Twain famously proclaimed that “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.” Centuries earlier, Sir Francis Bacon said that “knowledge itself is power”. Ace statistical analyst Patrick Gray works at the intersection of those two famous quotes, using his ability to tease knowledge – or at least actionable information – out of myriad statistical data gathered on every human on the planet – or at least every human who has ever bought anything.
When a bloody massacre is discovered at the job site where his teenage son, PJ, was working, with two eviscerated corpses left in pieces on the floor, the police assume that PJ was a third victim. There’s so much in the way of blood, body parts, and other forensic evidence that no one is 100% sure of anything. Because PJ and the two confirmed victims were young black men, and those two victims were involved in gangs, the police rely on assumptions without caring to truly investigate anything at all.
Patrick knows his son wouldn’t get caught up in gangs or drugs. Most of the police dismiss this as parental wishful thinking, except for one local cop and one FBI agent who have both seen this pattern before – and are certain it leads to a criminal enterprise that no one wants to touch.
Especially when that enterprise, a national cartel known as the Red Rings, has so many cops and agents under its thumb or eating at its bountiful table.
Patrick Grey and FBI Agent LaWanda Thompson look into the abyss of the Red Rings – and the abyss looks back to grab them both. They end up right where they need to be to expose the evil that destroyed LaWanda’s family and plans to destroy Patrick’s as well unless they bring it down – or become part of it.
Missing Values is a suspenseful thrill ride of a story told from two wildly divergent perspectives that meet in an explosive ending.
Patrick Grey and LaWanda Thompson are the heroes, whose involvement seems righteous – even as they swerve and stumble along their broken path.
Their investigation is a combination of the traditional police procedural with a riveting ‘lone wolf’ hunt for justice and a surprisingly fascinating peek into the world of math and statistical analysis. Patrick uses his expertise in a way that allows the reader to comprehend it, keeping them focused on a subject that takes on the uncharacteristic excitement of a thriller.
In opposition to Patrick and LaWanda, the reader dives into the dirt, mire, and pure evil of the Red Rings through the perspective of their chief agent, kidnapper, and ‘recruiter’ for special orders. It’s a journey through dangerous and depraved places, populated with even more depraved people, and is not for either the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.
In the end, Missing Values is a story of good versus evil, one where good has to get down in the muck to save as many as possible from an evil that almost drags them too deep to escape.
Readers who enjoy bloody suspense and mysteries that make one question all the characters and their motivations will be riveted by every twist and turn in this pulse-pounding thriller.
The Hearten Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Uplifting & Inspiring Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Hearten Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. 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 Hearten Non-Fiction Short List to the 2023 Hearten 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 2024Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the Finalists of the 2023 Hearten Book Awards novel competition for Uplifting and Inspirational Non-Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following Semi-Finalist authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
Lynne M. Kolze – Please Write: Finding Joy and Meaning in the Soulful Art of Handwritten Letters
Anna Casamento Arrigo – Patience Insanity & Wisdom
Lisa Niver – Brave-ish, One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless After Fifty
Lally Pia – The Fortune Teller’s Prophecy: A Memoir of an Unlikely Doctor
Duncan McLauren – Owning Your Destiny
Julie Morrison – Barbed: A Memoir
Shanita Liu – Dear Durga: A Mom’s Guide to Activate Courage and Emerge Victorious
Trudy Wells-Meyer – Some Things Are Simply Meant to Be
Tony Jeton Selimi – The Unfakeable Code®
Tony Jeton Selimi – A Path to Excellence
Art Berman – Art in the Middle Ages: A Memoir of Midlife Renaissance
Nove Meyers – Running Away From the Circus
Patrick M. Garry – The Power of Gratitude: Charting a Path Toward a Joyous and Faith-Filled Life
Nove Meyers – Running Away From the Circus
Kate Hudson-Hall – Anxiety Hacks: Proven Techniques, Tools and Tips to Calmness
Hollie Stuart – I Can See For Miles
Cory Mortensen – The Buddha and the Bee
Julie Scolnik – Paris Blue
Cort Casady – Not Your Father’s America
Steven Greenebaum – An Afternoon’s Dictation: Inclusive Revelation for the 21st Century
Dian Seidel – Kindergarten at 60: A Memoir of Teaching in Thailand
Aurita Maldonado – The Zen of Dancing in the Rain: Becoming One with the Storm
Grant Harper Reid – The Apocalypto Kid Goes to College
Nanette J. Davis Ph.D. – Raging Currents: Mental Illness and Family
Catherine DeMonte – Beep! Beep! Get Out of My Way!: Seven Tools for Powerful Creation and Living Your Unstoppable Life
Dr. Kelly Rabenstein – Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success (It’s All About Love)
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.
We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Hearten Book Awards for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction & Memoir. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC24.
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.
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Named in honor of the British poet & painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti who founded the Pre-Ralphaelite Brotherhood in 1848.
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring stories of all shapes and sizes written to an audience between the ages of about twelve to eighteen (imaginary or real). Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Romance, and Literary, we will put them to the test and choose the best Young Adult Books among them for the winners of the Dante Rossetti Book Awards for Young Adult Fiction. For Middle Grade Fiction check out our Gertrude Warner Awards and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Dante Rossetti Book Awards Short List and have advanced to the 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 2024Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2023 Dante Rossetti Book Awards novel competition for Young Adult Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
Trish MacEnulty – Cinnamon Girl
Marie Powell – Spirit Sight (Last of the Gifted: Book 1)
Rande Goodwin – The Witchfinder’s Serpent
J.A. Nielsen – The Claiming
Lynn Yvonne Moon – Mirrors: Book 2 of Journey’s Travels
B. Lynn Carter – The Eyes Have It
Jack O’Brien – The Last U-Boat
Lou Dischler – Jokes to Tell When You’re Dead
Stephen Haunts – Diary of a Martian: Soul Soldiers
M.J. Evans – Finding Fionn – A Mystery Inspired by the Kidnapping of the Irish Racehorse Shergar
Maryanne Melloan Woods – Sour Flower
S.P. Somtow – Club X: Vampire in the Closet
George R. Wolfe – Into the River of Angels
Brooke Maddaleni – Let Me Go
Michele Kwasniewski – Falling Star: Book 3 of The Rise and Fall of Dani Truehart
Liz Alterman – He’ll Be Waiting
S.R. Klusman – Luna: Book 2 of The Adventures of Rhone & Stone
Janilise Lloyd – The Whisperer’s Wish
Yun Johnson – The Book of Lost Spirits
V. Romas Burton – Fortified
Joan Wright Mularz – Slate
Aurora Winter – Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse: The Marvelous Multiverse App
Kerry Chaput – Chasing Eleanor
Lynn Yvonne Moon – Fish Scales
K.M. Messina – Gemja – The Message
Michael J Cooper – Crossroads of Empire
M.J. Evans – The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy
John Blossom – The Last Football Player
Jennifer Haskin – Hierarchy of Blood
Jennifer Haskin – The Clockwork Pen
Sophia Krich-Brinton – A Song Like the Wind
Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Kingdom of Trolls
Susan Dwyer – Strangers Saints and Sinners
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.
Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews
Orclick hereto 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 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:
Wages of Empire
by Michael J. Cooper
The 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC24 on April 21, 2024. Save the date for CAC24, scheduled April 18-21, 2024, our 12-year Conference Anniversary!
Submissions for the 2024 DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards are open now. Enter here!
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 are thrilled to announce that D.D. Black, Amazon international bestselling mystery and crime author, to keynote and present at the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference. He also writes media thrillers under the name A.C. Fuller.
D.D. Black / A.C. Fuller – Amazon International Bestselling Author
Adam is a full-time author with more than 30 published books under two different names — A.C. Fuller and D.D. Black. Previously, he was an adjunct professor of journalism at New York University and has taught writing and book marketing at conferences and libraries all over the country and internationally. He lives with his wife, son, and three dogs in Kitsap County.
Fans of Robert Dugoni, Michael Connelly, Lisa Regan, and David Balducci are going to love this series and writers will appreciate what D.D. Black will bring to their Writer’s Toolbox!
“D.D. Black evokes comparisons to John Grisham’s finest — The Firm and The Pelican Brief — with a touch of Woodward and Bernstein’s All the President’s Men.” ROBERT DUGONI – #1 Amazon and New York Times Bestselling Author of My Sister’s Grave
Incorporating Mystery and Suspense Techniques Into Any Genre—Fiction or Memoir
D.D. Black will cover both structure and scene-level craft elements.
Topics in this Master Writing Craft Class will include:
Using examples from best-selling literary fiction, mysteries, fantasy, and even memoirs, you’ll learn professional techniques for weaving compelling mystery and suspense into your book, regardless of genre.In the class we will:
Discuss how to incorporate the mystery novel structure into non-mystery genres, such as literary fiction, memoir, sci-fi, and fantasy
Study the use of the elements of mystery in wildly different award-winning and best-selling books, such as: “The Round House” by Louise Erdrich, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling, and “Dreams from My Father” by Barack Obama
Learn to ask questions both big and small to keep readers intrigued
Talk about how to craft clues, red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers for maximum intrigue
“Mystery is a whisper, not a shout.” – Kate Atkinson
CAC24 will be held at the Sheraton Four Points Lakeway, Bellingham, Wash. Discounted room rates for conference attendees are available.
Free Parking is available.
Additional Sessions by D.D. Black
Additionally, D.D. Black (aka Adam (A.C.) Fuller) will present sessions, participate on panels, and hold a kaffeeklatsch during the CAC24 (Friday, April 19th and Saturday, April 20th). Topics will include: Marketing for Indie Authors, Creating and Sustaining a Series Tik Tok for Authors, Going Wide – Selling Books Internationally, Selling on Amazon.
D.D. Black will also present a CAC24 Keynote Address along with participating in the 2023 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday evening, April 20th.
Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D., is the Nellie Bly Book Awards (CIBA) for Investigative and Long Form Journalism Works Grand Prize winner and the Journey Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity (CIBA). Her works address political, racial, educational, and socioeconomic news and issues.
Dr. Ellis has been an author for more than thirty years and writes for columns for newspapers along with broadcasting on radio and streaming services. We are honored that she has submitted and received Chanticleer International Book Awards and Chanticleer five-starred book reviews, for the following books, that have also received other prestigious awards and stellar reviews from Kirkus and Midwest Book Reviews.
We saw that Dr. Ellis’s column for MLK Day was published in the Missouri Independent this morning, along with publications across the country that have picked it up. We always love to crow about the successes of Chanticleerians!
Here is a blurb from Dr. Ellis’ article (published with her permission) and the links below where you may click on it to read it in its entirety.
It is an inspirational and thought-provoking article to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. today. And timely!
Photo of Martin Luther King, Jr. at his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the U.S.A. Capitol on August 28, 1963. Photo from the National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian
King began his fight to gain equal rights for Blacks, poor Whites and other disenfranchised groups years before the March on Washington. He continued the fight until his assassination in 1968 at the young age of 39.
We will never know how long he would have stayed the course, working for equal justice, equal opportunity, equality in housing, employment and education to become standard practice, ingrained in the fabric of American life.
But he let us know how deeply his beliefs and faith ran: “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” – Janice Ellis, Ph.D.
Below is the growing list of 20+ publications (so far) that have picked up this important opinion piece by Dr. Ellis where you may read the article in its entirety:
Janice S. Ellis, M.A., M.A., Ph.D., a native daughter of Mississippi, grew up and came of age during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement.
Dr. Ellis has been an executive throughout her career, first in government, then in a large pharmaceutical company, and later as a president and CEO of a marketing firm and a bi-state non-profit child advocacy agency. In addition to those positions, she has been writing columns for more than four decades on race, politics, education, and other social issues for newspapers, radio, and online. Her commentary can be found atjanicesellis.com.
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).
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 ourDante Rossetti Awards hereand for Children’s Literature see ourLittle Peeps Awards here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Fiction Short List to the 2023 Gertrude Warner 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 2024Chanticleer Authors Conference.
These titles are in the running for 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.
Tomás Pérez-Zafón – Trotter and the Twins: The Magic of Imagination
Sue C Dugan – SOS
Gregory Saur – Drowning Hate
Jenna L. Campbell – Camp Silversand and the Lost Heart of the Lake
Alex Paul – The Amarrat Invasion
Marsha Tufft – The Sea Turtle Spy Project: Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures? Book 4
Chris Norbury – Little Mountain, Big Trouble
V Knox – Snow Behind the Door
Zane Re-Bloom – The Magic of Moon & Herbs
Malinda Andrews – Awaken
Marsha Klopmeier Tufft – The Buoyancy Project: Putney Hicks Inventor Adventures, Book 2
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
Eileen Hobbs – Under the Golden Rain Tree
Caryn Rivadeneira – Frankinschool (Book 1): Monster Match
Elizabeth R. Jensen – Fire & Wolves: A Tale of Etria
Maxine Rose Schur – The Word Dancer
Kevin Dunn – Vicious is My Middle Name
Sheri Graubert – Molly Shipton, Secret Actress
Barbara Gold – Operation Save PawPrints, an Izzy Rose Green Mystery
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
L.T. Caton – Find Me In Time: Meeting Columbus
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.
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!
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.
Hello friends, we have another fabulous interview for you today. In 2021, Dave Mason took home the 
Born in England and raised in Canada, Dave Mason is an internationally recognized graphic designer, a Fellow of The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and a co-founder of a number of software companies. He divides his time between Chicago, Illinois and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. 
The Hearten Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Uplifting & Inspiring Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Hearten Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).
The Dante Rossetti Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Young Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
