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SPOTLIGHT on GLOBAL THRILLERS High-Stakes Thriller, Chillers, multiple Killers – CIBA Thriller Books, Book Awards, Best Thriller Books
It’s come down to this…

You’re good at deadlines… cutting the right wire under pressure is nothing. You can take down dozens of bad guys with just your wit and some duct tape.

You can certainly make this deadline!

Our new deadline for the 2020 (only) in the CIBA GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is October 31, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.

(*Beware, my friends, for the Global Thriller Awards deadline next year will be one month earlier ~ September 30, 2021! …tick, tick, tick!)

ENTER TODAY!

Avanti Centrae pulled the trigger just in time and brought home the CIBA 2019 GRAND PRIZE in GLOBAL THRILLERS Book Awards for SOLSTICE SHADOWS – A VanOps Thriller!

The First in Category Winners for The 2019 Global Thrillers are:
- Randall Krzak for Carnage in Singapore
- Courtney Leigh Pahlke for Life Force Preserve
- Jett Ward for Execute Order
- Nicole Mabry for Past This Point
- Avanti Centrae for VanOps: The Solstice Shadows
- Joanne Jaytanie for Salvaging Truth, Hunters & Seekers, Book 1
In 2018, Michael Pronko won the Global Thriller Awards with The Moving Blade.

The 2018 Global Thrillers First in Category Winners are:
- Magenta is Missing by Richard Garis
- Dangerous Alliance by Randall Krzak
- The War Beneath by Timothy S. Johnston
- The Sunken Forest by R. Barber Anderson
- Never Again by Harvey A. Schwartz
- Beyond Control by Lawrence Verigin
Sara Stamey took home the Grand Prize in 2017 for The Ariadne Connection

The First in Category Winners for 2017:
- The Han Agent by Amy Rogers
- What They Don’t Know by K.V. Scruggs
- Stormfront by James Tacy Cozad
- Seed of Control by Lawrence Verigin
- The Kafir Project by Lee Burvine
Here are some winners that came before:

From the 2016 CLUE Awards:
- Legal Thriller: Almost Mortal by Christopher Leibig
- International Espionage: Epstein’s Pancake by Bjarne Rostaing
- U.S. Political Thriller: Do Not Assume by Elaine Williams Crockett
- Eco/Natural Resources Thriller: Seed of Control by Lawrence Verigin
From the 2015 CLUE Awards:
- Blended Genre: Timothy S. Johnston – The Tanner Sequence: The Furnace, The Freezer, The Void
- Espionage/Spy: Michele Daniel – The Red Circle
We also had Cybertech Thrillers and Political Thrillers such as John Trudel’s Raven’s Resurrection and the Raven’s Series.

Here’s your assignment, if you choose to accept it…

Submit your Thrillers in the following categories by October 31, 2020, for a chance to bring home a First in Category WIN the 2020 CIBAs in Global Thrillers – or a Grand Prize – or maybe even the Overall Grand Prize!
- - Historic
    
    LabLit
    
    Science Fiction
    
    Dramatic
    
    Action/Adventure
    
    CyberTech
If you never enter, you’ll never know!

Follow this link and enter today!

Tick Tock…

(For light-hearted, cozy, or classic Mystery and Suspense entries see our Mystery & Mayhem Awards and for Thriller/Suspense/Hardboiled-Detective series, please see the CLUE Awards)

Don’t delay! Enter today!
October 21, 2020
The MADWOMAN of PREACHER’S COVE by Joy Ross Davis – Paranormal Ghost Thrillers, Occult Fiction, Witch/Wizard Thrillers

Award-winning author, Joy Ross Davis’ latest work, The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove, ventures beyond the paranormal into the surreal. Like Medusa on a bad hair day, the lives of characters are intertwined and twisted in a snaky snarl of conflicting human desires, terrifying inexplicable events, and the lingering afterlives of ancient, supernatural beings.

Davis gifts us with a 21st-century legend, replete with mythological themes and creatures, and snippets of folklore and superstition melded with documented vagaries of weather, obscure herpetology, and creates a mystical potion worthy of Circe. In other words, Davis gives us a thrilling read!

Rumors about suspicious deaths have put Preacher’s Cove, Alabama, a small, historic town notorious for powerful, killer storms, on the map. Hap Murray, Huntsville’s Channel 12 field reporter, with family ties to the Cove, arrives in town on assignment, armed with only limited knowledge of the town’s history of inexplicable deaths. The rumors speculate that the local pastor may be involved.

Hap meets the beautiful, provocative owner of Cove’s Inn, Libby Arbuckle, when he first arrives. She is a woman with many secrets—a woman with a history. When Libby, along with Chief of Police Riggs, join Hap in the search for the truth, their ensuing relationship proves integral to Hap’s investigation.

During his stay, Hap experiences supernatural events that sometimes make him question his sanity, and he already has issues. Like PTSD, he is plagued by periodic, severe headaches accompanied by fragmented, bizarre visual and auditory hallucinations along with phatomasia, he smells things that are not there, which renders him anxious, fearful, and confused. These are never far from his mind, along with the guilt he feels over losing the love of his life and their child through his own failure to act.

Little does Hap know that the affliction and emotional angst he experiences are pieces of the puzzle he’s challenged to solve. Or, that when Preacher’s Cove welcomes him, a chain of events are triggered that change the shape of residents’ lives forever, in ways that no one could ever predict.

Joy Ross Davis has crafted an eerie, twisted plot where reality is warped—slightly out of focus, keeping the reader off-balance and engaged. The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove satisfies dreamers’ needs for a taste of magic, the desire for good to triumph over evil, and the reassurance of a benevolent all-powerful being that is always available.

The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove won Grand Prize in the CIBAs for Paranormal Fiction.

October 20, 2020
The 2019 Overall Chanticleer International Book Awards Grand Prize Winner – 2019 CIBAs

We are honored and excited to announce the Best Book Overall Grand Prize Winner of the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards – the 2019 CIBAs

Chanticleer Reviews Grand Prize Ribbons!

Who took home the coveted Overall Grand Prize Best Book Blue Ribbon?

There are 17 Grand Prize Blue Ribbons, but only one will Overall Grand Prize Blue Ribbon for Best Book. The competition is fierce and competitive. We love each one, but only one can win.

Who will be able to display and promote the gorgeous Grand Prize Badge in all book promotions for the winning title?

17 authors made it to the exclusive CIBA Grand Prize Levels

Which title will receive the Chanticleer Reviews Package and be featured in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine winter quarter’s edition?

There were 17 CIBA Grand Prize Division Winners!

Who will be interviewed and featured in our well-trafficked website?

All of the CIBA Grand Prize Division Award Winners will be featured!

Who will receive the Overall Best Book Grand Prize Book Award Winner’s $1,000 USD?

There is only one $1,000 USD check at this time for the one CIBA OVERALL BEST BOOK.

CONGRATULATIONS to

James Conroyd Martin,

author of the 2019 CIBA Overall Best Book Fortune’s Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora

The journey of Fortune’s Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora by James Conroyd Martin in the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards.

James Conroyd Martin, author of the Overall Best Book of the Chanticleer International Book Awards selection: FORTUNE’S CHILD: a novel of Empress Theodora

Fortune’s Child: a Novel of Empress Theodora authored by James Conroyd Martin advanced from the entry level of all submissions into the 2019 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction to the division’s Long List. From there, it advanced to the Chaucer Book Award’s Shortlist. Then it advanced in the next rounds to the Semi-Finals. More than half of all the 2019 Chaucer entries have fallen off the list and did not advance to the Semi-Final rounds. For works to advance to the Premier FINALIST rounds in each division, they must have been entirely read, rated, and then ranked by the CIBA judges for an overall average score of at least 8 out 10. From that point, the competition becomes fierce. Each judge evaluates the works competing for the limited first place category positions for each division. And then the judging continues as the selections are made for the CIBA Grand Prize Winners.

Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

We want to thank each and every one of the 2019 CIBA judges.

Without your passion and labor of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist and we could not fulfill our mandate: Discovering Today’s Best Books!

THANK YOU JUDGES!

The Chanticleer International Book Awards Discovers Today’s Best Books!

We want to thank all who have entered and participated in the prestigious CIBAs.

We invite you to click on the links below that honor and recognize all 17 Divisions of the CIBAs First Place Award Winners and Division Grand Prize Winners.

PART ONE – The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Division Winners

PART TWO – The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Division Winners

PART THREE – The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Division Winners

Additionally, there are links on the Chanticleer Reviews website recognizing and announcing the works that advanced to the Premier Finalist Level of the 2019 CIBAs.

The winners were recognized at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Ceremonies that were held on during VCAC September 8 – 13, 2020 by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

You know you want a coveted Chanticleer Reviews Blue Ribbon!

Submit your works (manuscripts or novels published after or on January 1, 2018, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awards today! Entries are being accepted into the 2020 and now 2021 CIBAs in all 17 fiction divisions and five non-fiction divisions.

Be sure to register early for the 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference that will start on April 16th, 2021 with the 2020 CIBA banquet and ceremony scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 17th, 2021 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. If we cannot move forward with CAC21 due to the coronavirus, we will host another LIVE and HYBRID Chanticleer Authors Conference and 2020 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards ceremony.

Pivot and Oscillate are the Words for Today’s Challenging Times as We All Learn Together!

An email will go out to all 2019 CIBA award winners prior to October 31, 2020, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated many times before “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!” –even if it is virtual!

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

Be well. Stay Healthy. Take Care!

The Chanticleer Reviews Team

October 19, 2020
The SKEPTICAL PHYSICK (The Stockbridge Series, Book 2) by Gail Avery Halverson – Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense, Renaissance Literary Criticism

In the second in a series by author Halverson, an aristocratic, intellectually curious young woman has fallen in love with a young physician, a commoner whose radical experimentations have jeopardized his reputation. The couple is just recovering from the professional and personal rigors of dealing with London’s plague victims when the city is overwhelmed by fire. Their services are needed now more than ever.

Supported by mentor hospital administrator Father Hardwicke in his medical endeavors, Simon McKensie is finally on the verge of marrying the woman he adores, Catherine Abbott. Even the wealthy, protective Aunt Viola has come to terms with the fact that, though she might not approve the match on social grounds, she sees that Catherine will be happy with Simon.

If winning her aunt’s approval and administering aid to plague victims wasn’t enough, just days before their planned nuptials, a fire breaks out that threatens to delay them yet again. Worse, Catherine sustains a severe injury on her way to the hospital to help Simon treat burn victims. It seems that there may not be a wedding. But Simon acts quickly and effectively to save the life of his beloved, exchanging wedding vows with her even as she is barely recuperating from her accident.

The couple enjoys a short respite of marital bliss until their world comes crashing down again as Simon, experimenting with the new innovative field of blood transfusion, is accused of the murder of one of his patients. It will take all of Catherine’s energy and ingenuity to try to save him from the gallows, as enemies who have long despised his radical approaches rush forward to heap accusations on him.

Halverson follows the storyline begun in her earlier novel, The Boundary Stone. She has built and now sustains the romance between Catherine and Simon – emphasizing his scientific daring and her unusual willingness to step outside the expected role of women of her time and class – against a background of chaos, terror, and death. The author has drawn heavily on factual material about the horrendous fire that began in a little London bakery and destroyed thousands of houses and churches, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, leaving up to 70,000 homeless. Aggravating factors depicted included the Lord Mayor’s selfish unwillingness to act to contain the fire in its early hours, while in contrast, the rather flippant, fun-loving King Charles II steps in once the true extent of the damage becomes evident. Both these real people are characters in the narrative, along with Lady Wilbraham, a brilliant but unsung female architect, but will she be able to save McKensie from the gallows? Halverson brings many nameless figures in history to life to create a vibrant reality and a dynamic plot. Something all historical fiction fans crave.

With a loving and highly adventurous duo, readers will be looking for Part 3 of this impressive saga.

The Skeptical Physick won the CIBA 2019 Grand Prize in the CHATELAINE Book Awards for romantic fiction.

October 16, 2020
The CROCODILE MAKES NO SOUND (The Lord Hani Mysteries Book 2) by N. L. Holmes – Political Fiction, Crime Thrillers, Ancient Egyptian Political Thriller

Danger surfaces like a crocodile, sudden, unavoidable, and with deadly consequences in N.L. Holmes’ latest novel, The Crocodile Makes No Sound.

Politics now touch the lives of Lord Hani’s cherished family members, dear friends, and, ultimately, the society of this fragile Egyptian New Kingdom. But it’s Lord Hani’s diplomatic skills that hang in the balance and are put to the test.

Trusted allies are few and hard to recognize. The winds of change sometimes blow apart past loyalties, or so it may appear. Hani must rely on his wits and ingenuity, but will that be enough?

Hani’s beloved hometown of Waset has eerily emptied as much of the population has migrated to the highly acclaimed sparkling new capital. With his conflicting beliefs, Hani attempts to keep a low profile with his new government and urges his family to do the same for their own safety.

These are perilous times. But when his brother-in-law goes missing after being interrogated, the family fears he’s dead. In a move that Hani sees as suspicious, the king orders him to host a delegation at his home until the king can prepare to receive them. Are Hani and his family under increased scrutiny?

Under this cloud, Hani is summoned to the Beloved Royal Wife at the new capital, who entrusts him with her dark secret and pleads for his help. She is being blackmailed, and the clock is ticking before her fears will be realized. Hani is cautious, knowing he must not take any action that could stir the king’s ire. Yet he can see not only the danger to this young princess but also the broader implications to the new society if these revelations surface. He is compelled to investigate. When his suspect turns up murdered, Hani plunges deeper into a dark and menacing scheme.

Fun and memorable characters highlight the artful books by this author. While Hani probes the politics, he’s also surrounded by fascinating adventures driven by others. His daughter studies with a curious doctor in the capital. The trials and tribulations of her internship are, at times, concerning. Hani’s son follows in his father’s footsteps as a scribe, but discontent with his work suggests he may pursue a new life goal, but is that a wise decision? Beloved and trusted assistant Maya, and Hani’s daughter are newlyweds adjusting to married life and their dreams together. And longtime friend Ptah-mes and his wife struggle to choose sides in this politically charged time. They each work to decide what it is they truly believe.

N.L. Holmes blends extensive knowledge of this period in ancient Egypt and vivid imagination into a page-turning mystery spicy enough to capture any mystery and historical fiction lovers’ attention. Here we have an author who understands human nature and how that drives motives and actions to create an extraordinary story.

The captivating plot is punctuated with Hani’s delightful and insightful aphorisms. The Crocodile Makes No Sound, and there’s nowhere to hide.

October 15, 2020
NEVER AGAIN by Harvey A. Schwartz – Alternative History, Terrorism Thriller, Historical Thriller
Given recent world events (from COVID-19 to the murder of Floyd George and the subsequent civilian marches, even the boomeranging price of oil), Schwartz’s tale of Holocaust II is far, far too believable to be a work of fiction.

Imagine Tel Aviv being virtually obliterated by an atomic bomb; imagine one woman—a former NYC TV journalist—as the last one standing with three atomic bombs of her own – complete with the codes and crew to use them in the Negev Desert; imagine deciding to send one of those WMDs to obliterate Damascus. Imagine saving one of those bombs to fight another day: even if that fight happens to be in the USA.

Welcome to Israeli minster Debra Reuben’s evaporating world. Soon joining her on this incredible journey is Israeli Navy officer Chaim Levi who happens upon a luxury yacht in Spain – only to have it become the means of transport across the Atlantic to Massachusetts once he makes acquaintance with Reuben—the remaining bomb safely stowed on board.

Once stateside, it’s a matter of what to do with the radiation-oozing device. Fortunately, there are many in the Jewish community ready to help, from civil rights lawyer Ben Schapiro (also a sailplane—upscale glider—enthusiast), militant activist Abram Goldhersh and his pacifist wife, Sarah. Together, they set their minds against the president of the United States (Lawrence Quaid) and his somewhat estranged, more sympathetic spouse, Catherine. With more people arriving to join the cause, gather to join a huge protest march slated in front of the Washington Monument. But Quaid and his hawks soon decide to send over 400,000 Jews (mostly Americans—all declared “enemy combatants”) to 21st-century concentration camps.

Schwartz’s inventive fiction feels as if it’s been ripped from today’s headlines. When this review was first penned, the Toronto Star’s front page shouted this: “Trump Threatens to Use Military Force.” We all know what happened next. Never Again might be too close for comfort for some, but others may find the story cathartic. The writing, itself, is strong and well-balanced with more than a few end-of-chapter cliffhangers. Schwartz’s novel is well worth a read—especially now as his fictional vision slips closer and closer to fact.

Never Again won 1st in Category in the CIBA 2018 Global Thriller Book Awards.
October 13, 2020
Part Three – The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Overall Grand Prize Winner, Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners – CIBAs
We are deeply honored and excited to announce the 2019 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs). Part Three of Three – 2019 CIBA Winner Announcements

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons! You know that you want one!

The winners were recognized at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Ceremonies that were held on during VCAC September 8 – 13, 2020 by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

We want to thank each and everyone of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 17 CIBA Divisions. Without your passion and labor of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist and we could not fulfill our mandate: Discovering Today’s Best Books!

THANK YOU JUDGES!

Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

We are honored to present the

2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards

Grand Prize Winners

The 2019 CIBA Winners!

The CHATELAINE Book Awards for

Romantic Fiction and Women’s Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

The SKEPTICAL PHYSCICK

by Gail Avery Halverson
- - T.K. Conklin – Threads of Passion
    
    Jule Selbo – Find Me in Florence
    
    Michelle Cox – A Veil Removed
    
    Heather Novak – Headlights, Dipsticks, & My Ex’s Brother
    
    Kari Bovee – Grace in the Wings
    
    Joanne Jaytanie – Salvaging Truth, Hunters & Seekers
    
    L.E. Rico – Mischief and Mayhem
The SOMERSET Book Awards for Literary, Contemporary, and Mainstream Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

A MANUSCRIPT

The PROPRIETOR of the THEATRE of LIFE

by Donna LeClair
- - Carl Roberts for The Trial of Connor Padget
    
    Judith Kirscht for End of the Race
    
    Patrick Finegan for Cooperative Lives
    
    Santiago Xaman for After Olympus
    
    Claire Fullerton for Little Tea
    
    Maggie St. Claire for Martha
    
    Jamie Zerndt for Jerkwater
    
    R. Barber Anderson for The Sunken Forest, Where the Forest Came out of the Earth
    
    HONORABLE MENTIONS:
    
    Beth Burgmeyer – The Broken Road, ms
    
    Bob Holt – Firebird, ms
The JOURNEY Book Awards for

Narrative Non-Fiction, Memoirs, and Biographies

Grand Prize Winner is

PERSISTENCE of LIGHT by John Hoyte
- - Anna Carner – Blossom ~ The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
    
    Linda Gartz – Redlined: A Memoir of Race, Change, and Fractured Community in 1960s Chicago
    
    Steffanie Strathdee and Thomas Patterson – The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug
    
    Nikki West – The Odyssey of the Chameleon
    
    Eva Doherty Gremmert – Our Time To Dance
The INSTRUCTION and INSIGHT Book Awards for How-To Guides, Travel Guides, Cook Books, Self-Help, and Enlightenment

Grand Prize Winner is

TEN THINGS EVERY CHILD with AUTISM

WISHES YOU KNEW

by Ellen Notbohm
- - Margaret A Hellyer – A Home on the South Fork
  - Donna Cameron – A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You
  - Brad Borkan and David Hirzel – When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic
  - Donald M. Rattner – My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation, 48 Science-based Techniques
  - Carole Bumpus – Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Book One, Savoring the Olde Ways Series
  - Lisa Boucher – Raising The Bottom: Making Mindful Choices in a Drinking Culture
  - Ryan M. Chukuske – Bigfoot 200: Because, You Know, Why the #@&% Not?
The NELLIE BLY Book Awards for Investigative and Long Form Journalism Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION:

How Real Advocacy Journalism

Should Be Practiced

by Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D.
- T.S. Lewis – The Why of War: An Unorthodox Soldier’s Memoirs
- Maya Castro – The Bubble: Everything I Learned as a Target of the Political, and Often Corrupt, World of Youth Sports
- John Hoyte – Persistence of Light
- Judy Bebelaar and Ron Cabral – And Then They Were Gone: Teenagers of Peoples Temple from High School to Jonestown
- Patrick Hogan – Silent Spring – Deadly Autumn of the Vietnam War
- Gordon Cross, Robert Fowler, Ted Neill – Finding St. Lo: A Memoir of War & Family
CONGRATULATIONS to ALL!

And NOW for the

2019 CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS

BEST BOOK

and

OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER

FORTUNE’S CHILD:

A Novel of Empress Theodora

by

James Conroyd Martin

James Conroyd Martin will also be awarded $1,000 USD in recognition of his 2019 BEST BOOK of the YEAR – Chanticleer International Book Awards – Sponsored by Chanticleer Reviews & Media.

A Chanticleer Review of Fortune’s Child will be featured in the in the SPRING 2021 quarterly edition of the Chanticleer Reviews Magazine (print and epub) along with other promotional and marketing opportunities.

Thank you James Conroyd Martin for participating in the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards. We look forward to receiving the sequel to Fortune’s Child in the 2021 Chaucer Book Awards, a division of the CIBAs.

We look forward to toasting James in person at our next gathering–hopefully in 2021. We are so happy that he joined us virtually for the CIBA announcements at VCAC20.

CONGRATULATIONS JAMES CONROYD MARTIN!

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

THANK YOU to VCAC20 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

And to FRIENDS of CHANTICLEER REVIEWS:

J.D. Barker, Robert Dugoni, and Scott Steindorff.

Link to Part One of the 2019 CIBA Announcements:

The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners (CIBAs) – Part One

Link to Part Two of the 2019 CIBA Announcements:

Part Two – The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Overall Grand Prize Winner and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners

We will post more photographs and information. Do check back and subscribe to the Chanticleer Reviews e-news letter.

The video recordings of VCAC 20 are available on VIMEO. More information to come.

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

You know you want a coveted Chanticleer Reviews Blue Ribbon!

Submit your works (manuscripts or novels published after or on January 1, 2018, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awards today! Entries are being accepted into the 2020 CIBAs in all 17 fiction divisions and five non-fiction divisions.

Be sure to register early for the 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference that will start on April 16th, 2021 with the 2020 CIBA banquet and ceremony scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 17th, 2021 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. If we cannot move forward with CAC21 due to the coronavirus, we will host another LIVE and HYBRID Chanticleer Authors Conference and 2020 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards ceremony.

Pivot and Oscillate are the Words for Today’s Challenging Times.

An email will go out to all 2019 CIBA award winners prior to October 30, 2020, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated many times before “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!” –even if it is virtual!

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

Be well. Stay Healthy. Take Care!

The Chanticleer Reviews Team
October 12, 2020
ASCENSION – KELAHYA UNBOUND by V. & D. Povall – Space Opera, Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy

Kronos Deucarrion is dead. The Director of the League of One, Supreme Commander of the Alliance of Stars, Supreme Pontiff of the Galactic Sanctuary (and a few other titles) lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat sliced from ear to ear. His ward and mistress, General Kelahya Devona, herself, one of the most powerful people in the galaxy, runs from the Alliance. In her mind, she sees Kronos lying dead at her feet, his eyes fixed on her. Her mind screams at her, “Murderer!”

So begins Ascension – Kelahya Unbound, a space opera in the grand style of the 30s and 40s where one skilled enough can rule the galaxy, fleets of space ships roam the universe, whole planets can be destroyed in an instant on a whim, and palace intrigue runs deep. This novel gives the familiar trope a fresh look by embedding a murder mystery at its heart and using it to delve deeply into its central character’s mind. Kelahya must ask herself whether she did, in fact, commit the murder of the most powerful man in the universe or whether her mind is playing tricks on her.

In the era of this novel, minds are critical to the life of the empire. Evolution has developed to the point where a few people can read the minds of various species on many planets. Kronos, the supreme commander, has this ability, and so does Kelahya, the daughter of a key Kronos ally who was murdered when she was a child. Her mother and father’s death, places Kelahya in the hands of Kronos, who sees in her the potential to join him at the top of the planetary pyramid.

From the time she is a child until she becomes a full-grown woman, she is trained to be a Minder, the highest class of the mind’s abilities, master of military maneuvers and leadership techniques, and to be the consort of Kronos. Even as he seats her next to him at the empire’s most important occasions, he keeps her somewhat at arm’s distance until she is an adult. The sexual tension between the two takes its time to develop.

But all is not what it seems. There are deep secrets held by virtually every major character that is slowly and most carefully unlocked. The credibility of everyone and every deeply held belief is called into question. Past and present collide in the life of Kelahya as she finds herself on the run from a murder she may or may not have committed and finds herself captured by the empire’s most insidious enemies.

The level of detail in the novel is remarkable, very much in the spirit of Isaac Asimov’s famed Foundation trilogy, even to the invention of an extraordinary chronicle that precedes every chapter and acts as a Greek chorus to introduce the empire’s history, culture, and mores. In other words, a space opera that sci-fi fans will devour. Readers will undoubtedly fall for Kelahya, and her struggle to find out the truth of what happened to her: some of which may change her life. It’s science fiction with heart, and one we highly recommend!

October 11, 2020
Part Two – The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Overall Grand Prize Winner and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners
We are deeply honored and excited to continue to announce the 2019 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

The winners were recognized at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Ceremonies that were held on during VCAC September 8 – 13, 2020 by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

We cheered on the CIBA Premier Finalists with our bubbly of choice from wherever we were Zooming!

The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians participating and interacting from around the globe and North America. A virtual happy hour was held following each evening’s announcements.

We want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 17 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

Grand Prize Ribbons!

We are honored to present the

2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards

Grand Prize Winners

The 2019 CIBA Winners!

The LARAMIE Book Awards for American, Western, Pioneer, Civil War, and First Nation Novels

The Grand Prize Winner is

SEVEN APRILS by Eileen Charbonneau
- - E. Alan Fleischauer – Rescued
    
    Lynwood Kelly – The Gamble: Lost Treasures
    
    David Fitz-Gerald– Wanders Far-An Unlikely Hero’s Journey
    
    Juliette Douglas – Bed of Conspiracy
    
    John Hansen – Hard Times
    
    J. R. Collins – Spirit of the Rabbit Place
The CHAUCER Book Awards for

Pre-1750s Historical Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

FORTUNE’S CHILD: A Novel of Empress Theodora

by James Conroyd Martin
- - Gail Avery Halverson for The Skeptical Physick
    
    Linda Cardillo for Love That Moves the Sun: Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo Buonarotti
    
    June Hall McCash for Eleanor’s Daughter: A Novel of Marie de Champagne
    
    James Hutson-Wiley for The Sugar Merchant
    
    Catherine Mathis for Death in Coimbra
    
    Patricia J. Boomsma for The Way of Glory
    
    A.L. Cleven for 26.2
The GOETHE Book Awards for

Post-1750’s Historical Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

PECCADILLO at the PALACE by Kari Bovee
- - Vanda Writer for Paris, Adrift
    
    PJ Devlin for Wissahickon Souls
    
    Mary Adler for Shadowed by Death: An Oliver Wright WWII Mystery
    
    Mike Jordan for The Runner
    
    J.G. Schwartz for The Pearl Harbor Conspiracy
LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards for

Early Readers and Picture Books

Grand Prize Winner is

GALDO’S GIFT: The Boovie

by Trevor Young & Eleanor Long
- - Sylva Fae and Katie Weaver for Elfabet
    
    Lauren Mosback for My Sister’s Super Skills
    
    Norma Lewis for Totem Pole
    
    Kizzie Jones for A Tall Tale About Dachshunds in Costumes: How MORE Dogs Came to Be
    
    Justine Avery forWhat Wonders Do You See… When You Dream?
    
    Kasey J. Claytor for Pinky and The Magical Secret He Kept Inside
    
    Robert Wright Jr for Mummy in the Museum
GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for

Middle-Grade Books

Grand Prize is

The VALLEY of DEATH, Book 5 by Alex Paul
- - Amber L. Wyss – Phoenix Rising
    
    M.J. Evans – PINTO!
    
    Beth Stickley – Tarnation’s Gate
    
    Rey Clark – Legends of the Vale
    
    Laura M. Kemp – Burnt Feathers
    
    Alex Paul – The Valley of Death, Book 5, Arken Freeth and the Adventure of the Neanderthals
    
    C.R. Stewart – Britfield and the Lost Crown
    
    Trayner Bane – Windhollow and the Axe Breaker (Windhollows, Book 3)
    
    Carolyn Watkins – The Knock…a collection of childhood memories
The DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards

for Young Adult Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

BUT NOT FOREVER by Jan Von Schleh
- - Michelle Rene – Manufactured Witches
    
    Nancy Thorne – Victorian Town
    
    Susan Brown – Twelve
    
    Sandra L Rostirolla – Cecilia
    
    David Patneaude – Fast Backward
    
    John Middleton – Dillion & The Curse of Arminius
Congratulations to ALL!

We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

Be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE us Facebook and on Twitter @ChantiReviews

Please standby for our next posts that will honor:
- Chatelaine Book Award Winners
- Somerset Book Award Winners
- Journey Book Award Winners
- Nellie Bly Book Award Winners
- Instructional and Insight Book Award Winners
And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2019 CIBAs!

Here is the link to the first installment for announcing the 2019 CIBAS.

Stay tuned for PART 3 of the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Award Winners

We are now accepting entries into the 2020 and 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://www.chantireviews.com/contests/

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com We will try to respond within 3 business days.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2019 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team
October 11, 2020
The 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners (CIBAs) – Part One
We are deeply honored and excited to announce the 2019 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs). The winners were recognized at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Ceremonies that were held on during VCAC September 8 – 13, 2020 by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

2018 Chanticleer International Book Awards Grand Prize Winners

The 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2019 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony was originally scheduled for April 17 – 19, 2020. Each year, Chanticleerians from around the globe come together to celebrate and cheer each other on at the annual CIBA banquet and awards evening at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether that is situated on beautiful Bellingham Bay, Washington State.

However, because of the global coronavirus pandemic the conference was officially postponed on March 11, 2020. We had hoped to have our beloved and celebrated CIBA banquet and ceremony during the 2020 summer months perhaps even over Labor Day weekend. However, it became apparent in July, with the USA having spikes in the coronavirus, that it would not be prudent to host a live in-person conference in 2020.

So, we pivoted. We held our first ever virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference in September known as VCAC20! The conference proper was six days, September 9 – 13, 2020 with 2019 CIBA 14 Fiction and 3 Non-Fiction Divisions Official Announcements were made each evening. Additionally to the six days of VCAC sessions, we also held four more days of workshops and master writing classes the week immediately following.

First of all, we want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 17 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

A Recap of the CIBA Selection Process
- The 2019 CIBAs have 14 Fiction Divisions and 3 Non-fiction Divisions.
- First Place Category award winners were selected for each one of the 17 divisions from an overall field of titles that progressed to the Premier FINALIST Division Level from the Division Semi-Finalists positions from the Shortlists, the Long List, and the infamous beginning slush pile rounds.
- One Grand Prize award winner was selected from the First Place Category Award Winners for each of the 17 CIBA divisions.
- One Overall Grand Prize award winner was selected from the 17 divisions of Grand Prize Award Winners
All 2019 CIBA FINALISTS were recognized with their respective division at the CIBA awards ceremony that was held each evening of VCAC20.

THANK YOU to VCAC20 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

Robert Dugoni-one of our most popular speakers & Amazon #1 Selling Author

Scott Steindorff – A-List Film Producer – who shares his expertise & knowledge of the film industry and its future.

JD Barker – Master of Suspense shares his experiences from Indie author to 7 figure contracts

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

We are honored to present the

2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards

Grand Prize Winners

The 2019 CIBA Winners!

The CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

INSYNNIUM by Tim Cole
- - J. I. Rogers – The Korpes Agenda
    
    Jacques St-Malo – Cognition
    
    Shami Stovall – Star Marque Rising
    
    Rey Clark – Titan Code Series: Dawn of Genesis
    
    Paul Werner – Mustang Bettie
    
    Robert M. Kerns – It Ain’t Over…
The OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

Manufactured Witches by Michelle Rene
- - Elana A. Mugdan – Dragon Blood
    
    Noah Lemelson – The Sightless City
    
    KC Cowan & Sara Cole – The Hunt for Winter
    
    Susannah Dawn – Search for the Armor of God
    
    Dan Zangari & Robert Zangari – A Prince’s Errand
    
    Tim Westover – The Winter Sisters: A Novel
The Paranormal Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

ABIGAIL’S WINDOW by Susan Lynn Solomon
- - Ryan J. Lyons – Drums and Dragons
    
    Linda Watkins – The Tao of the Viper
    
    Kaylin McFarren – High Flying
    
    Palmer Pickering – Moon Deeds
    
    Jack Cullen – Runes of Steel
    
    Joy Ross Davis – The Witch of Blacklion
    
    D. J. Adamson – At The Edge of No Return
The GLOBAL THRILLER Book Awards for High Stakes Thrillers,

Lab Lit, and Suspense Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

SOLSTICE SHADOWS: A VanOps Thriller

by Avanti Centrae
- - Randall Krzak for Carnage in Singapore
    
    Courtney Leigh Pahlke for Life Force Preserve
    
    Jett Ward for Execute Order
    
    Nicole Mabry for Past This Point
    
    Joanne Jaytanie for Salvaging Truth: Hunters & Seekers
The CLUE Book Awards for Thrillers, Suspense, Legal, Detective, and Procedural Crime Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

SALVAGING TRUTH by Joanne Jaytanie
- - John W Feist for Blind Trust
    
    Nancy Adair for RABYA
    
    Janet K. Shawgo for Legacy of Lies
    
    V. & D. Povall for Jackal in the Mirror
    
    Marian Exall for A Splintered Step
    
    J.P. Kenna for Joel Emmanuel
The M & M Book Awards for Mystery & Mayhem for

Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries

Grand Prize Winner is

Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery by Vee Kumari
- - Susan Lynn Solomon for Writing is Murder
    
    Kari Bovee for Girl with a Gun
    
    Susan Z. Ritz for A Dream to Die For
    
    MJ O’Neill for The Corpse Wore Stilettos
    
    Henry G. Brinton for City of Peace
    
    M. J. Simms-Maddox for Mystery in Harare
    
    Liese Sherwood-Fabre for The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife
    
    Michelle Cox for A Veil Removed
Congratulations to ALL!

We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

Be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE us Facebook and on Twitter @ChantiReviews

Please standby for our next posts that will honor:
- Laramie Book Award Winners
- Chaucer Book Award Winners
- Goethe Book Award Winners
- Little Peeps Book Award Winners
- Gertrude Warner Book Award Winners
- Dante Rossetti Book Award Winners
- Chatelaine Book Award Winners
- Somerset Book Award Winners
- Journey Book Award Winners
- Nellie Bly Book Award Winners
- Instructional and Insight Book Award Winners
And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2019 CIBAs!

PART TWO of the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Award Winners

We are now accepting entries into the 2020 and 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://www.chantireviews.com/contests/

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com We will try to respond within 3 business days.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2019 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team
October 10, 2020

Chanticleer Book Reviews