Author John W. Feist unfolds a true-love story, old-fashioned letter style, in his historical romance novel, The Color of Rain: A Kansas Courtship in Letters.
Three and a half years pass before Irene Webb, a college-educated schoolteacher, hears about the beloved Wilson family she stayed with as a boarder, caring for Harold and Wallis, their two sons. But the news sent to her in August of 1896 is not good; Allie, Frank’s wife, unexpectedly dies. “I realize this is no time for letters,” Irene writes to him before expressing her most profound condolences. Formalities aside, the letter sparks renewed friendship, and the two Kansas friends begin exchanging letters regularly.
A handsome, well-respected local banker and now eligible bachelor, Frank Wilson, is nothing less than a hot ticket item with “the path to [his] home … a pilgrimage for unmarried women bearing casseroles.”
While the attention is encouraging, he’s not interested in finding a replacement for Allie right away. Except for Irene. Three months after Allie’s death, Frank makes the day trip via two trains from Horton to visit her at her parents’ farm in Nortonville—a mere half-hour drive with today’s modern conveniences. Thus, a long-distance courtship commences.
Frank and Irene remain busy people – his with banking, and Irene (the oldest of seven children) cares for her ailing father and holds down the fort of the large Webb household. The two lovers keep to weekly letter-writing since they barely have the chance to see each other, especially when trials and tribulations convolute their individual lives. Irene cannot imagine the issues she must confront, including an enticing school principal offer, as she contemplates marriage.
Rising author, John W. Feist, utilized his storytelling skills to bring a love journey to life.
The benefactor of his grandparents’ courtship correspondence, Feist saw an opportunity to go back in time and recreate what “dating” looked like near the turn of the twentieth century. It’s difficult to imagine the formalities behind courtship, let alone women succumbing to patriarchal ties. But that was not necessarily the case with Feist’s grandparents.
If Irene wasn’t the intellectual she was, she might have balked at Frank’s direction toward marital preparation. Instead of following through with the usual romantic proposal, Frank gave her Orson Squire Fowler’s groundbreaking Creative and Sexual Science to read and for them to discuss. To his delight, she took up the challenge. Although the hefty read might have carried an undercurrent of male domination, what made it revolutionary was Fowler’s eye-opening stance that husbands and wives should be considered equals, an ideal Frank had with Allie and hoped he’d have Irene.
Of course, there is so much more to Frank and Irene’s relationship.
The Color of Rain: A Kansas Courtship in Letters goes beyond recording a family legacy; it is a human-interest story. Feist’s rich writing style stitches historical details, providing a seamless flow from letters-writing to narrative sections that capture everyday life’s realities amid unsettling times. Concerns over Indian Territory and Negro Freeman allotments (which Frank was involved in as a banker) and contracting diseases like malaria and typhoid (both Irene’s mother had, eventually dying from the latter) are two prime examples.
The Color of Rain: A Kansas Courtship in Letters is a must-read for all, especially history aficionados.
One of the most frequent questions we hear at Chanticleer is “What division should I submit my story to?” All our divisions are divided by genre and sub-genres. Some can be pretty tricky to parse. For example, is your mystery novel a Not-So-Cozy Mystery, a Thriller, or a Global Thriller?
First a breakdown on our Awards program genres, and then let’s talk about why it’s important for authors to understand their own genre.
The Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs)
We currently have 24 different divisions! Six of those are Non-Fiction, and the other 18 are some flavor of Fiction. You can see all of our Awards Divisions here. We’ll start with a focus more on the general sections on our website which are as follows:
Speculative Fiction
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Young Adult or Children’s Literature
Historical Fiction
Literary and Contemporary
Romantic Fiction
And, of course, Non-Fiction
Remember we have the Shorts and Series Awards, too, but both of those focus within these genres above. There’s a huge swath of other genres, hence each of the above categories being broken into at least three different genres, but that’s a good place to start.
The Complete Aubrey – Maturin Novels Set – 21 complete novels – Kiffer likes how the covers create a scene. And, yes, she has read the complete series.
Patrick O’Brien’s Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin series crosses many genres: Historical fiction, action/adventure fiction, romance (yes, romance), military fiction, etc.
The series starts in 1800 with the Napoleonic Wars and carries through to the Battle of Waterloo in late 1815.
Some say Aubrey and Maturin are the inspiration for “inseparable fictional duos” such as Kirk and Spock of the original Star Trek TV series (79 episodes) by Gene Roddenberry, Holmes and Watson sixty stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the award-winning Navajo Nation mystery series by Tony Hillerman, and Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear of theLongmire novel series.
Understanding Genre:
When writing in general, it helps to think of your work in terms of different points of view. Often English teachers will refer to this as the Rhetorical Situation of your writing, which comes in the following parts:
Audience: Who will be reading it? This is more than people who buy your book, but also your writing group, beta readers, professional editors you pay, agents, publishing editors, bookstore employees, and then the specific people to who your book will appeal.
Medium: Quite literally what is it written on and how it is delivered. Paper, ebook, audiobook, graphic novels, hybrid.
Message: What it says
Genre: The conventions and context regarding how this information is typically presented
Purpose: The intention of the writing
Naturally, we’re going to focus on Genre here.
Take a moment and consider this question: What is Genre? It may even be worth pausing to write down your thoughts before continuing.
It’s a little more complicated than “Apples and Oranges”
In “Dukes, Deaths, and Dragons: Editing Genre Fiction” from What Editors Do, Tor Executive Editor Diana Gill Diana Gill asks the same question, and she provides her own answer:
“What is genre? Merriam-Webster defines it as ‘a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.’ Genres of fiction include mystery, science fiction, romance, fantasy, westerns, erotica, and horror. Genre fiction can be commercial, it can be literary—and it can be both.”
A quick internet search shows that there are typical standards for most genres when it comes to word count, which can help when plotting or editing your work. Let’s look at that genre list from before, but add in word counts:
You can read up on some more of the general rules of genre in this older, but still worthwhile blog from Ruth Harris here.
Standard word counts for different genres are important to keep in mind as knowing how long your novel is affects your storytelling!
Speculative Fiction 90,000-120,000
Mystery 70,000-90,000
Young Adult 50,000-80,000 (much shorter for Early Readers and Middle Grade)
History 100,000
Literary 100,000
Romance, 50,000 + (shorter is usually better for romance)
Non-Fiction is a little too varied to put a fine point on it. George Saunders tells his reader in A Swim in a Pond in the Rain that he received “the Cornfeld Principle” from movie producer Stuart Cornfeld, which states:
“[E]very structural unit needs to do two things: (1) be entertaining in its own right and (2) advance the story in a non-trivial way.”
George Saunders
If your story is excessively long, it may be worth it to look at entire chapters and ask yourself that question. At best, you may find out you have two books, or as we have seen here at Chanticleer, three books instead of one, but no matter what happens your story will probably be stronger for it.
A reminder from Kiffer: Remember each chapter should have its own story arc and should end in such a way that the reader can’t wait to indulge in the next chapter as the story develops its overall arc.
Each story within a series should contain a portion of the overall arc of the series.
This works for whatever genre or genre’s you are working in—even those with fractured time-lines.
What is the point of genre, or, put another way, who uses genre?
This goes back to the question of Audience when we consider a book. Remember who we said might be reading this with an eye toward genre:
Your Writing Circle
Beta Readers
Professional Editors
Agents
Publishing Editors
Bookstore employees
Distributors (the gauntlet of a successful sales strategy)
ISBN – & Cataloging
Library of Congress
Copyright
Your Readers!
While understanding the genre can help you with narrative conventions and writing decisions, writing in a genre also establishes an unspoken contract between you and the reader. If you break the contract, your readers might be a little frustrated with you. That said, common forms of genre blending can be found in Young Adult Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, and Romance Fiction.
You might be asking why on earth you would need to even bother with a genre when all you want to do is reach your readers directly. Well, there’s a simple answer…
Marketing! Marketing! Marketing!
What will you do to help your book be discovered?
Knowing your genre not only helps you understand the conventions (like length) for what you are writing, but it also helps readers find your book. Think about when you go into a bookstore. Is there a section you automatically beeline for? Do you look to see if they’ve separated out Horror from SciFi and Fantasy instead of putting it all in Speculative Fiction? Are you a frequent peruser of the Local Author shelves? Having clear sections and genres (even more abstract ones like Local Authors) helps to orient your reader to best find your book!
Author Platform = Discoverability
In spite of how having a clear genre can help book sales, we often hear is that someone’s book defies genre, or it can only be described as the most literary fiction around, or it just doesn’t fit one of the 24 Awards divisions we offer. Well, those authors aren’t alone in that feeling.
An interesting example of this is Kazuo Ishiguro’s book The Buried Giant. Ishiguro seemed to be reluctant to call the book fantasy, and indeed you’ll find it in the general fiction section of most book stores. (The same is true for his book Klara and the Sun, which is narrated by a robot, but somehow not science fiction.) Ursula K. LeGuin, a fervent champion of genre fiction, had this to say:
“Familiar folktale and legendary ‘surface elements’ in Mr Ishiguro’s novel are too obvious to blink away, but since he is a very famous novelist, I am sure reviewers who share his prejudice will never suggest that he has polluted his authorial gravitas with the childish whims of fantasy.” (Read the full Guardian article detailing this here)
The Brilliant Ursula K. Le Guin
So What Does Genre Do?
Genre is a form of categorization that helps people sell your books. Ishiguro, as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature can sell work on his name alone. And using a genre isn’t so bad! Think about times that you’ve queried for your manuscripts or even when you see people pitching their work on Twitter’s #pitmad event. You see books advertised saying:
The next Harry Potter!
Jack Reacher fans have found their new series!
Friends of Tolkien fantasy will be happy here!
Perfect for Star Trek and Star Wars fans alike!
While these claims may be less original than agents and publishers would like, they get the idea of genre across, and if you’re familiar with those titles you know exactly the kinds of books being described without even reading a summary.
Then there is the advice of J.D. Barker, Master of Suspense
CROSSING GENRES and WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT!
J.D. Barker asked his attendees at his presentation at a Chanticleer Authors Conference session, “What do you write? Thrillers? Mysteries? Paranormal?”
Hands were flying up. Then he asked, “Horror?” Sharon Anderson’s hand flew up. He looked at her for a couple of seconds and said, “I guess you’ll be happy with not making much money, then.”
Say What?
He went on to explain how authors limit their audiences when they use certain words. Horror, it turns out, is one of those words. Many people read thrillers, quite a few read mystery novels, and who doesn’t like a good paranormal? But when you say “horror,” people tend to shy away. Sure, you’ll get your fans. But, as Barker adroitly pointed out, you may not get those readers who love the other genres – and would most likely love what you have to offer, too.
This is important because your horror novel may contain elements of a thriller – why wouldn’t it? Likewise, your novel probably has a storyline that needs solving. The point J.D. was making is this – don’t scare away your readers by telling them your novel is only one thing. Think carefully about your marketing and promote your work in such a way as to garner the largest appeal. (Read the full interview with J.D. in our magazine.)
JD Barker presents at CACs and VCACs.
Having a flexible genre that fits into a more popular one (consider paranormal and horror or paranormal and romance) has the potential to greatly expand your readership.
If you’re having trouble identifying your genre and need another pair of eyes on your work, you can always sign up for one of our Manuscript Overviews here.
Keep an eye out!
Did you enjoy this article? We’re planning on doing a series breaking down the ins and outs of different genres in a series of Genre Deep Dives to help you know if your work is a police procedural or a cozy mystery – or whatever else you might be writing!
Thank you for spending part of your writing day with Chanticleer Reviews!
Chanticleer Editorial Services – when you are ready
Did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services?We do and have been doing so since 2011.
Tools of the Editing Trade
Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).
If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.
We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top editors on an ongoing basis.Contact us today!
Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.
As a wealthy member of the landed gentry, Fitzwilliam Darcy has obligations in Colette Saucier’s mashup, Pulse and Prejudice: The Confessions of Mr. Darcy, Vampire.
Darcy must secure a suitable match for his younger sister, maintain his cool facade of indifference, and live as quietly as possible. He refuses to consider marriage for himself due to his unusual “affliction.” Forced to live a shell of his former existence for the past six years, Darcy relies on his valet, Rivens, for his every need. He shuns most company because Darcy is a vampire. So, when his close friend, Charles Bingley, insists that Darcy accompany him to a country ball, Darcy is loath to accept. When Bingley meets and is immediately captivated with Jane Bennet, Darcy suspects the Bennets are fortune seekers, interested only in finding wealthy matches for the five Bennet daughters, including the fiery Elizabeth, Jane’s sister.
As Bingley spends more time with Jane, Darcy is thrown together with Elizabeth and begins to see something extraordinary in the headstrong girl, so much so that he fears his growing hunger goes beyond mere admiration. When Darcy feels his control beginning to slip, he knows he must distance himself from Elizabeth, but he soon learns nothing, not even distance, can diminish the strength of his need.
Based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, this novel is a fantastic adaptation which most Austen fans will love.
It has the cozy familiarity of the classic with an unexpected twist, creating something that feels as comfy as your favorite jeans but is sexy as a little black dress. In this retelling, the author explores the same time-tested love story as the original but from Darcy’s perspective, which in and of itself is truly interesting; however, add the fact that he is a vampire, and the story explodes in a fresh, new way while seamlessly aligning with the original. Even the vocabulary and sentence structure of the novel matches that of Austen, making the story seem like the perfect companion.
Darcy’s tortured psyche is the star of this novel.
Ironically, this dynamic character experiences a dramatic change that makes him much more human – although he is not – than in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. As the plot follows that of the original, the reader can see and feel his growth from a man of extreme pretension, a man spoiled by his parents into believing himself above most of society. Though he must maintain this belief for decorum and the safety of others, he is also a lonely man who misses that human part of himself that he has suppressed.
In the beginning, Darcy doesn’t realize how miserable he is nor how much he hates himself, but the more time spent with Elizabeth, the more he sees the “pinnacle of [his] self-loathing.” Having pretended indifference for so long, Darcy now feels unworthy of Elizabeth’s love or forgiveness for the many slights he gives her and her family. Darcy also wonders which part of him, the vampire, or the bit of humanity to which he clings, that Elizabeth excites. His yearning for her goes beyond anything he experienced as a man and drives his vampire nature insane. He cannot stay away from her, nor does he desire it. He wants her body and blood, but he mostly wants to be worthy of her love. In short, she brings him back to life and makes him feel, maybe for the first time. He is the perfect tortured, dark hero, and romance lovers will not be disappointed.
The Corpse Wore Stilettos by MJ O’Neill brings down the house in a most delightful way.
Four months ago, Kat Water’s life fell apart. Her father, a prominent insurance broker, was arrested on racketeering charges, accused of laundering money for the mob. A successful museum curator in Boston, Kat immediately dropped everything to return to St. Louis, leaving her fiance and career behind. With all of their possessions seized and their bank accounts frozen, Kat’s mother, Lauren, and her grandmother, Theodora, are left poverty-stricken. Kat, with her family name now dragged through the mud by the media, can only find a job in the county morgue. With her minor in biology and her detail-oriented personality, she finds her work most rewarding.
When tasked with processing the body of a believed prostitute, it’s all business as usual.
But the deceased girl doesn’t bear the typical signs of her profession. Then a gun-toting bad guy steals the body before Kat begins her task. Oops. Now, once again, Kat’s family steps in as fodder for the rumor mill, and everyone believes the body must be connected to her father, his crimes, and the mob. Kat determines to find the body, solve the mystery of the girl’s identity, and clear her family name. She grudgingly teams up with the distractingly attractive ex-military special forces turned security firm owner, Burns McPhee. As they chase the mystery – and the body – all over St. Louis, the two realize the girl’s death is part of a much larger, much more dangerous plot.
This novel’s character line-up shines!
With one misfit eccentric after another, they all seem to work seamlessly to create a memorably fun read. From shoe-obsessed drag queens to heroic strippers, this novel definitely delivers on character development. Grand, Kat’s grandmother Theodora, sparkles. The borderline “geriatric Nancy Drew” is a hoot! Often the feisty troublemaker, Grand cannot help but instigate – or fan the flames – in any bad situation. If she isn’t “shopping” in their police-patrolled, off-limits former home, she’s running around in kitschy visors (one for all occasions) and making revenge scrapbooks on ways she’ll get even with her long-time nemesis.
Another example of character craftsmanship is DC, Kat’s best friend and co-worker. He is, perhaps, the most interesting of all the supporting characters. With his fashion savvy and his cat therapist, DC has a flair for the dramatic. As Kat’s figurative and literal sidekick, he is in the middle of all the action. When he turns superhero – complete with costume – Kat engineers a complicated rescue scheme to get him away from what he believes are Russian mobsters. Kat’s other co-workers won’t disappoint either with super-timid Henry, gothic Meg, Marshall the perv, and Sam the tattooed, motorcycle-riding, aspiring chef.
Armed with outstanding fashion sense, a minor in biology from Harvard, and uncanny random facts that she spouts whenever nervous, Kat Waters is an absolutely unique and memorable character herself.
Her entire life, Kat’s been pampered and made to feel special. Her life was exactly on the expected trajectory: great job, correct fiancé, and numerous pairs of expensive shoes. She never dreamed she’d be literally penniless and working in a morgue to keep Grand and her mother off the streets, and though her mother doesn’t really respect Kat’s work with the dead, Kat learns the importance of her job in a way she never expected. She discovers that she is much more than a two-time Miss Missouri winner in the best makeup category, and certainly not the mob princess the media like to portray her as.
Kat’s a woman who refuses to abandon those she loves and one who willingly gives up her own dreams to keep together the family she has remaining. After the girl’s body disappears on her watch, she transitions that attitude into her need to find Jane Doe. While initially her amateur investigation stems from her suspension and punishment at work, her search evolves into a quest for justice for a string of prostitutes similarly murdered by a serial killer six months prior. Kat refuses to let these women remain victims of a faceless killer; their stories must be told regardless of the risk. She won’t let flirty reporters, sinfully handsome ex-army guys, or psycho stalkers get in her way, and she’ll do it while looking fabulous!
The game is afoot! It’s years before Sherlock Holmes’ ponderings from 221B Baker Street. Sherlock is a teenager when challenged to solve his first case, The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre.
The stakes are among the highest. Sherlock’s beloved mother is the accused killer when he and his infamous brother Mycroft are summoned home from their boarding schools. The family reunites to a single purpose. They must prove Violette Holmes’s innocence. They soon discover that proving her innocence will not be enough to restore her standing in the court of public opinion. They can only clear her name by also finding the actual killer. That investigation involves a dangerous pursuit that requires detailed observation, logic, and action. Young Sherlock Holmes will also need to watch his back.
The adventure begins with a brief glimpse into Sherlock’s school days.
It’s an illuminating peek into his growing personality. As the men of the family come together, nerves fray with their mother and wife jailed. Sherlock’s Uncle Ernest is also anxious to help free his sister. Ernest and Sherlock visit Violette in jail, and together the three of them create a plan they hope will bring her home. If successful, they may catch the killer, an endeavor that may be an even more significant threat to them all. The determined Holmes family will need all the help they can get along the way. The killer is watching their every move.
During his analysis of the case, Sherlock encounters a most intriguing teenage girl who has perfected the execution of the enviable skill of sleight of hand.
Her name is Constance, and she is the most talented pickpocket he’s ever met. A handy tool to have on your team if you can, but there’s more about this girl that attracts Sherlock. He wants to strike up a friendship. Is this the start of young love, a first crush? Of course, there are complications. If Sherlock can save his mother from conviction and the gallows, then someone very close to Constance risks becoming the main suspect in the murder of the unfortunate midwife.
Author Liese Sherwood-Fabre paints a lively, historical setting that draws the reader immediately into a curiosity about the social conventions and people of the story.
Crafted to perfection, the Sherwood-Fabre offers several suspects and a crime scene clever enough to engage the reader at every step of the investigation. The investigation takes unexpected twists and turns that will keep a reader guessing until the end. The most outstanding achievement is the author’s skill in creating her characters, including one of the most famous mystery characters of all time. She paints the most credible portrait of him in his youth. The characters’ motivations and family dynamics are revealed in due time, throughout the adventure, with some surprises. Situational and character humor delights as they race to solve the mystery. And so, the adventure begins.
In A Hand of Vengeance, the fourth volume in John Stafford’s Vengeance series, the Darkness stops at nothing to destroy Brady, the boy who can call the angels, and continue its never-ending war against The Holy Mother and Her forces of good on earth.
More of an action novel and less of a polemic than previous novels in the series (A Prayer of Vengeance – Book 1, A Sword of Vengeance – Book 2, and A Song of Vengeance – Book 3) the book begins in 1983 with the intended assassination of Pope John II by four girl assassins trained by Gudren Himmler, daughter of Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler, introduced in the previous book and an actual historical figure. Without intervention, the nefarious plan might just succeed.
The Darkness is just getting started, including the murder of Mother Theresa in India come to fruition. Fans of the series will find the fates of key figures of great interest include Brady’s grandfather, Giovanni, the Vatican’s Father Anthony, and Brady’s young daughter Grace, whose special powers become increasingly crucial to the saga. Equally riveting revelations include how the forces of Good influenced global decisions and influenced cultural icons, including the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” and J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
Evil moves on to assassinations.
Among the more chilling developments, a facility in India tortures innocent orphan girls. The workers extract the girls’ blood at the peak of their terror to produce a human blood-based “fountain of youth” elixir consumed by rich and powerful people worldwide. Dining on the flesh of young children is also a featured meal for Darkness followers.
With time, 20-something Brady leads the worldwide fight against the Darkness, with the Vatican and several nations backing his efforts. The latest mission ll takes them to London to interrogate Gudrun Margarete Elfriede Emma Anna Burwitz’s (a.k.a. Gudrun Himmler’s) right-hand man. Then the team travels to Paris, where they destroy a chateau where trafficked children died in front of audiences for their “elixir.” One more battle between the Light and Darkness emerges in Calcutta, India, but this one does not leave the forces of Good untouched. The consequences are monumental, the loss of lives for the Light inconsolable. This time, Brady and the Light will not save everyone, but a new family emerges with Brady’s powers to carry on the war against evil.
Stafford weaves historical events into his storytelling.
While alternate history plays a role in every Vengeance book, this latest book sees events from the assassination attempt on President Reagan to the near-fatal bombing of Margaret Thatcher as chess pieces in the war of the Darkness against the Light. While reading previous novels would offer a greater understanding of the events in this book, readers who come across this stand-alone novel and crave militant Catholic occult fiction will find it a good read all on its own.
Newly-turned vampire Abigail Tate desperately wants to protect her human boyfriend, Tyler, in Ashley Robertson’s second book in The Crimson Series, Crimson Flames.
Tyler has been accused of helping the Resistance, a rogue band of vampires who want to bring down the Council, but Abby believes in Tyler’s innocence and refuses to hand him over as the law requires. Since being turned, Abby has gained unbelievable pyrokinesis powers thanks to her mother, the powerful sorceress, and counselor to the High Council. With her burgeoning ability and the promise of much more to come, the Council agrees to give her time in exchange for her tentative help in fighting Lars, the Resistance leader and a vampire capable of harnessing the powers of darkness and death.
Abby’s loyalty to Tyler is tested when she meets Trace, a member of the High Council.
The handsome, ancient vampire can’t control his feelings for Abby, and the more she learns about Tyler’s treachery, the less convinced she becomes that he is truly innocent, making her more and more willing to give Trace a chance. As the war between the Council and the Resistance intensifies, Abby discovers truths she isn’t sure she wants to know. As her powers increase, she’s driven to connect with the spirit of her sorceress mother. But doing so leads her closer to a clash with her destiny. Will she be powerful enough to defeat the darkness?
The strength of this novel lies in the development of the main character, Abby.
Abby is part-vampire, part-sorceress, and all hero. While learning the extent of her pyrokinesis, the ability to call up an internal fire hot enough to bring down not only her vampire enemies but also entire buildings, she must also learn how to control it. As the novel progresses, so does her power. Elliot, arguably the strongest member of the High Council, has the ability to communicate with the dead, allowing them to inhabit his earthly body, and in Abby’s case, pass on much-needed information and help. When Elliot calls forth Madelaine, Abby’s deceased biological mother, he fulfills Abby’s strong desire to know the woman who passed on her unbelievable abilities. Having been raised by a human blood donor whom Abby believed to be her birth mother for most of her life, Abby’s reunion with her mother creates joy but uncertainty. This uncertainty creates the more human element of the character, showing that ultimate power doesn’t necessarily bring ultimate fulfillment.
Still, Abby is a consummate hero.
Even when it could mean her death, Abby refuses to leave anyone behind. She sees herself as a “monster” with the responsibility to care for the race to which she recently belonged. To Abby, mercy and second chances seem almost second nature. In fact, she refuses to allow anyone to harm Tyler, even though he betrayed her, until she gives him another opportunity to make things right and explain his strange behavior. She stands against the most powerful vampires in her world as long as righteousness and justice remain her goals.
A clear theme issue within the novel is trust.
Surrounded by betrayal, Abby must learn whom she can truly trust. The biggest betrayal happens, in part, before the novel’s action begins. In book one, her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend, Tyler, plays a part in the murder of Abby’s father. Though he claims not to have been aware of his treachery, everyone believes him to be duplicitous. It isn’t until later that Abby will learn the full truth, a much more complicated story than she would have ever guessed, and come to terms with all that that means in her life.
The issue of helping the High Council presents yet another trust situation. Though the Council offers the chance to “meet” the mother she didn’t know existed before her transformation, she must submit to their expectations and demands, putting herself fully within their hands and possibly committing acts she cannot reconcile with her own beliefs. When she does meet Madelaine, she once again doesn’t know how much to allow herself to trust. She repeatedly questions her mother’s motives, whether she wants to help her daughter or help the Council.
Most importantly, Abby must learn to trust herself and her new powers. It isn’t until she begins to trust in her own strength that she becomes strong enough to defeat the ultimate darkness. That confidence in oneself remains the hardest to earn and comes with the highest cost. Crimson Flame won 1st Place in the CIBAs 2013 Chatelaine Awards for Paranormal Romance books.
Antonius: Son of Rome by Brook Allen focuses on one of history’s most vexing and perplexing figures, Marc Antony. It is also inevitably a prism on modern American politics, with its characters behaving duplicitously, greedily, and ignobly while spinning up service to the greater good.
Historians often cite Antony as a controversial figure whose accomplishments and flaws have been noted by his enemies. Yet, he is as compelling as Richard III or Richard Nixon, with gaps in the accounts of his life that create grounds for curiosity and speculation as to how he became the pivotal figure in western history that he is. Allen weaves a wonderfully realistic and organic story of how a boy grows up desperate and bitter in a disgraced patrician family yet desperately transmutes mistake and tragedy into military achievement.
Marcus Antonius was the eldest of three male children of his namesake father, Marcus Antonius, and Julia Antonia. Of noble birth in Republican Rome, the novel begins as eleven-year-old Marcus learns of his father’s fatal illness, a man who had failed in his duty to govern overseas provinces. His actions as provincial governor – extorting gold from those he should protect, then failing to commit suicide as a Roman general should when such disgrace is discovered – angered the Senate and left his widow and orphans to bear his dishonor.
Young Antonius vows to restore honor to the family name.
He commits to instruction in military practices and interacts with a cast of relatives and characters who aid him and provide additional problems with their political intrigues. His distant cousin, Gaius Julius Caesar, gifts him with a slave who becomes trainer and friend. But young Antonius also acquiesces to baser pursuits, becoming involved, with two other young Roman men of noble birth, in a brothel and gaming club where he indulges copiously. He begins to accrue gambling debts, which lead him to desperation as his moneylender demands repayment that the family’s modest wealth cannot meet. Roman proprieties and political savagery come together as his mother remarries. A plot to rebel against the Republican order includes his new stepfather, whom Antonius has come to esteem, and one of his brothel compatriots. The plot’s failure leads to his stepfather’s death and additional contempt for his family. Even his own joy sows horror; he frees and marries a family slave, only for her to be murdered by his usurious moneylender. Despondent and concerned for the others in his family, he is convinced by his cousin, Caesar, to study abroad in Greece, where his fortunes change.
Allen makes historical Rome real.
She brings to life areas readers might be familiar with, but she also takes us into the homes and less-pleasant places in mid-first-century BC Rome. From murder dungeons to strolls along the Palatine, receiving guests at a family Domus, and the daily interactions of Roman nobles and plebians and slaves, the perspective of young Antonius provides insight to a time two millennia distant and yet of human behavior not much different. As familiar names like Cicero and Caesar and Ptolemy plot and scheme and inveigle for personal glory with the lives of people they disregard in the balance, it’s difficult not to transfer young Antonius’s learning experience into our own era where the covetousness remains pervasive. The backstabbing is only slightly less literal.
Indeed, the novel’s strength lies not in the admirable accuracy of its descriptions and accounts but in Allen’s ability to place the reader directly in the head of her hero. Perhaps it’s difficult to think of a man who drinks, fornicates, and wagers excessively as a hero – but Marcus Antonius relies on honor in most instances, including when it may be to his detriment. As readers share his journey from the Domus Antonii to Alexandria, many will come to understand his philosophy and may be swayed.
Steeped in history, but more than fiction, Antonius: Son of Rome ultimately invites readers to visit another place and time.
Allen presents a flawed but sympathetic character to an enigmatic two-dimensional historical figure that will appeal equally to those already inclined to Roman history and those who might be just as inclined to the modern singer. Antonius: Son of Rome took home 1st Place in the CIBA 2020 Chaucer Awards for Early Historical Fiction.
T.L. Bequette’s debut novel, Good Lookin’: A Joe Turner Mystery, delivers a wallop from the first page to the last.
The murder mystery sucks readers in from the first page when an inmate attacks two guards and then Joe Turner – defense lawyer and protagonist. Bequette builds a high-stakes world in a gang-riddled neighborhood in Oakland for this fast-paced story. The odds and evidence stack against his client, Darnell Moore. Turner works through each witness and processes each piece of evidence, building suspense and sympathy for Darnell.
The problem centers on the power of the gang’s influence on his witnesses. Darnell claims innocence but won’t talk, afraid of backlash from the Iceboyz, a fearsome gang. Is he an initiate with a first kill gone wrong, or is he the fall guy for another gang member? He’s not talking.
With each interview, Turner sees Darnell go from a happy-go-lucky teen to a grim-faced inmate looking at twenty years behind bars.
Enter Chuck, a flip-flop-wearing old hippie P.I., and Turner’s sidekick. Chuck speaks in “a Southern drawl of movie lines and country idioms,” which adds a layer of humor to the tough court scenes. Chuck’s connections make him the valuable resource Turner needs to help him find the tiniest glimmer of hope in a case that threatens to bury Darnell alive. Bequette’s ability to develop unique and exciting characters will satisfy murder/mystery fans one and all.
Prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Nathan Didery, aka Jittery Didery, rises as another brilliant character with traits that will delight and infuriate readers. Bequette’s expertise and experience as a criminal defense attorney shine through on every page and elevates the credibility of this book. Bequette puts Turner through his paces, and the resulting authenticity is felt in every scene.
Turner’s office mate Andy Kopp, a personal injury attorney, sets him up with a woman named Edna between hearings and court proceedings.
She supposedly has a great personality. Reluctant but curious, Turner soon learns that Edna, aka Eddy, is a smokin’ hot babe, his match intellectually and in other ways. She becomes a permanent fixture until she applies for a job and gets it. The problem? The job’s in Rome, and as an archeologist, how can she refuse?
Even in the title, Bequette shows an understanding of the gang scene above the average person. The gang-slang “Good Lookin’” means to have someone’s back or to look out for them, but the double entendre is not lost on the reader when we meet Eddy.
Bequette juggles Turner’s love life and court appearances with expert craftsmanship and introduces each trial item and each relationship progression with a deft and sparing hand. We care about Joe and Eddy, and we care about Darnell, but is Darnell as innocent as he claims to be? And will Turner go to Rome with Eddy? Bequette keeps us guessing on both counts until the final pages of this extraordinary novel and very satisfying read.
Carnage in Singapore, the third volume in Randall Krzak’s Bedlam counterterrorism thriller series, takes the team to the Far East for action against Muslim terrorists with a ripped-from-the-headlines plot to destroy Western influence by any means.
The terrorists’ idea unfolds as simple, even ingenious. Terrify residents and non-Muslims in major cities such as Jakarta and Singapore with a series of spectacular bombings designed to kill as many people as possible. Follow up with kidnapping ambassadors from Great Britain, Australia, and the United States – with such ruthlessness that Western-leaning nations will cease repression of Muslims, curtail training police and soldiers who hunt Muslim terrorists, and end support for anti-terrorism activities around the world.
The plot grows into actionable items among different Indonesian terrorist groups working together – if somewhat uneasily – with a common goal.
Their scheme calls for launching near-simultaneous multiple attacks against unsuspecting citizens, destroying the illusion of safety in daily life. By making the attacks in this way, they cripple the police and other civic services. The first strike uses rockets launched from a small obscure offshore island. The rockets explode in a crowded grandstand watching a Formula One Grand Prix auto race in Singapore. Other sites bombed or strafed include an amusement park, a traffic-laden bridge, and a Chinese cathedral.
All schemes execute without a hitch. All hit their targets with devastating accuracy. Hundreds are either lost or become hostages. Next comes the kidnapping of the ambassadors.
Some Indonesian groups come under suspicion. The ruthless Detachment 88 interrogates the suspects, but their brutality yields dead suspects instead of interrogated suspects.
Into the melee comes Bedlam Charlie, an international team of anti-terrorist experts trained in all phases of investigation and apprehension. Their mission? Simple – to stop the bombings and free various prisoners in the attacks. They must deal with a mélange of bad investigations and spies within the police ranks who thwart their moves and even place team members in mortal danger.
The political motives behind the governments involved in deploying Bedlam Charlie don’t lack complexity. Will the Indonesian police accept their help? Will the governments behind Bedlam Charlie allow the team to get involved and risk the political outfall if they fail?
The terrorists come well-armed and tactically highly skilled, able to break through even the most sophisticated protection schemes to kidnap their high-profile targets.
Naming real sites as the intended targets of the terrorist attacks helps to separate this book from several others of this genre.
If a novel about terrorism in New York City named the Marriott Hotel on Times Square, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, and Yankee Stadium as successful targets, the gut-level effect here would be similar. The fictional terrorists’ logic matches actual attacks on cities and nations around the world including our own.
The novel also explores the aspirations and the politics within the terrorists’ ranks. Various factions and individuals find themselves looking for their own moment of glory as they both complete their missions and compete for attention.
Thriller fans will devour Krzak’s modern us-against-them take on storytelling. Of course, what makes Carnage in Singapore such a strong novel is its plausibility. It’s terrifying and terrific at the same time – and definitely holds its own among modern thriller authors of today. Randall Krzak took home 1st Place for Carnage in Singapore in the 2019 CIBAs Global Thrillers Book Awards.
As a wealthy member of the landed gentry, Fitzwilliam Darcy has obligations in Colette Saucier’s mashup, Pulse and Prejudice: The Confessions of Mr. Darcy, Vampire. 
Antonius: Son of Rome by Brook Allen focuses on one of history’s most vexing and perplexing figures, Marc Antony. It is also inevitably a prism on modern American politics, with its characters behaving duplicitously, greedily, and ignobly while spinning up service to the greater good.
