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  • The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir – a division of the 2019 CIBAs-

    The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the JOURNEY Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir – a division of the 2019 CIBAs-

    The Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey 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.

    Editor’s Note: Some works have been moved to the new non-fiction division titled the Nellie Bly Book Awards. This new division is in response to the request from the Chanticleer International Book Awards judges to acknowledge the many outstanding works that were entered into the Instruction & Insight Book Awards and the Journey Book Awards for Narrative Non-fiction. The Nellie Bly Book Awards recognize outstanding journalistic works and investigative pieces.  After reviewing the comments from the judges along with their suggestions, we decided to recognize these works and create a more fitting division in the CIBAs — the Nellie Bly Book Awards

    The following works have advanced to the 2019 Journey Book Awards for Narrative Non-Fiction & Memoirs Semi-Finals!

    • Anna Carner – Blossom ~ The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
    • Rebecca Faye Smith Galli – Rethinking Possible: A Memoir of Resilience
    • Donna Hill – Yes, The World Is Round
    • Linda Gartz – Redlined: A Memoir of Race, Change, and Fractured Community in 1960s Chicago
    • J. Bronson Haley – The Depth of Grace: Finding Hope at Rock Bottom
    • Julie MacNeil – The 50-Year Secret
    • Whitney Ellenby – Autism Uncensored: Pulling Back the Curtain
    • Dena Moes – The Buddha Sat Right Here: A Family Odyssey Through India and Nepal
    • Nancy Canyon – STRUCK: A Memoir
    • Carol E. Anderson – You Can’t Buy Love Like That: Growing Up Gay in the Sixties
    • Steffanie Strathdee and Thomas Patterson – The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug
    • Juliet Cutler – Among the Maasai
    • Andy Chaleff – The Last Letter
    • Rod Baker – I Need my Yacht by Friday – True Tales from the Boat Repair Yard
    • Lance Brewer – Back Story Alaska
    • Lisa Dailey – Square Up
    • Julie L. Seely – Skinny House -A Memoir of Family
    • Eva Doherty Gremmert – Our Time To Dance
    • John Hoyte – Persistence of Light
    • Nikki West – The Odyssey of the Chameleon

    Good luck to all as your works compete for the First Place Category positions.

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 JOURNEY Book Awards LONG LIST and have advanced to the 2019 JOURNEY Shortlist. Some works were moved to the new Nellie Bly Book Awards division at the request of the judges. These Short Listers have advanced to the Semi-Finalists positions. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the limited First Place Category Winners in the final rounds of judging. All Semi-Finalists will be recognized at CAC20.  The First Place Category Winners, along with the division Grand Prize winners, will be announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

    The 2019 CIBA winners will be announced at the Chanticleer International Book Awards Ceremony held on Saturday, April 18th, 2020, for the 2019 CIBA winners.

    Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

    Chanticleer Authors Conference April 17th-19th 2020
    Chanticleer Authors Conference 2020

     

    We are now accepting entries into the 2020 Journey Book Awards, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

    As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com. 

     

  • The MUSE of FIRE by Carol M. Cram – Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Theater Life

    The MUSE of FIRE by Carol M. Cram – Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Theater Life

    Grace Johnson dreams of a life bigger than the one expected of a woman in the early nineteenth century. At twenty-two, she should be hoping for marriage and a home of her own. Instead, after a childhood spent privately acting for her mother, Grace secretly longs for a life in the spotlight, a place on a London stage, embracing the roles of Shakespeare’s greatest heroines. Alas, she fears her dream will never come true. Not only is Grace overly tall, clumsy, and what some would call plain, her father, a harsh man, blames her for her mother’s death. When his temper and drunkenness cause him to beat Grace, she finds herself alone on the dark streets of London’s theatre district, where a young man named Ned Plantagenet rescues her.

    Ned, a stage manager at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, gives Grace a place to stay, and as their friendship grows, he takes her to a play, a rare event for the woman who has only seen one other play years ago. When she fills in for an absent chorus girl one night, she knows this is where she belongs and defies her father by begging her estranged aunt for a place to stay. However, the more time spent with her newfound theatre family, the more Grace realizes her mother and aunt had a strange connection to the cast and crew. Questions emerge. In this world where women’s dreams have little agency, Grace must decide just how far she is willing to go to build a new life for herself.

    Perhaps the most striking trait of Grace Johnson is her willingness to accept the stigma associated with acting in the early 1800s. Though better than in centuries past, the theatre atmosphere was considered morally corrupt for women, even married ones. This world of impassioned men playing daring roles sure to seduce even the most hard-hearted of women often led to unwanted pregnancies and homeless girls, and Grace isn’t immune to the charms of one such rogue. Grace is well aware of what society might say about her, but that won’t stop her now. She makes her way on her own terms, doing what she must to continue acting even following her father’s disownment and her somewhat forced marriage. When her first acting performance flops, she licks her wounds then forges ahead.

    This optimistic-survivor attitude isn’t particular to Grace alone, though. Both Mr. John Kemble and Ned exhibit the same trait. Mr. Kemble, renowned actor and owner of the Theatre Royal, knows he must find a way forward when fire destroys his precious theatre. Kemble begs and borrows to finance a new building, one that’s larger than any other theatre in England and later stands firm against the raging crowds rioting in every theatre. Ned understands that ‘he can’t change what [he] can’t change’ and refuses to mourn his lowly birth in the Foundling Hospital. This broad-shouldered, gentle giant rose from an orphanage to become the right-hand man of Kemble, a staple in the wings of this successful company. He is like everyone’s big brother, protective and watchful, a “white knight,” showing his bravery during the OP Riots and his pure heart caring for Grace in her hour of need.

    This sprawling historical fiction takes the reader spinning through time with a cast of real-life stars of the London theatre in the early nineteenth century. The fictional characters interweave through the true story of two significant fires in the theatre district and the “Old Price” Riots, which disrupted theatre-goers and actors for months. Readers will see what life was like for the actors of the day as well as the average patron.

    The Muse of Fire won 1st Place in the CIBA 2018 GOETHE Awards for Late Historical Fiction.

  • The SOMERSET Book Awards for Literary, Contemporary, and Satire Fiction – the SHORTLIST for the 2019 CIBAs

    The SOMERSET Book Awards for Literary, Contemporary, and Satire Fiction – the SHORTLIST for the 2019 CIBAs

    The SOMERSET Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Literary, Contemporary, and Satire Fiction. The Somerset Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, satire, humor, magic realism or women and family themes. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. The best will advance. Which titles will be declared as winners of the prestigious Somerset Book Awards?

    Congratulations to the following titles who have advanced to the 2019 SOMERSET Book Awards SHORTLIST!

    • Susan Dobson – The Sea Glass Road 
    • Stephen F. Frost – The Alaskan Alibi
    • Joanne Jaytanie – Salvaging Truth, Hunters & Seekers, Book 1
    • Beth Burgmeyer – The Broken Road
    • Judith Kirscht – End of the Race
    • Leonide Martin – The Prophetic Mayan Queen: K’inuuw Mat of Palenque
    • John Herman – The Counting of Coup
    • R. Barber Anderson – The Sunken Forest, Where the Forest Came out of the Earth
    • Domenick Venezia – Liberator Legacy
    • Larry Brill – Deja vu All Over Again
    • Domenick Venezia – Suriname Legacy
    • Alexandrea Weis with Lucas Astor – Damned (A Magnus Blackwell Novel Book 1)
    • Donna LeClair – The Proprietor of the Theatre of Life 
    • Bob Holt – Firebird
    • Gail Avery Halverson – The Skeptical Physick
    • Lis Anna-Langston – Crucifix Built for Two
    • Alison Ragsdale – The Art of Remembering
    • Dd Jaseron – Wheelboys
    • Janet K Shawgo – Legacy of Lies
    • Santiago Xaman – After Olympus
    • Sara Stamey – Pause
    • Patricia Averbach – Resurrecting Rain
    • Hannah Edington Tekle – Conflict
    • C. E. Porch – From the Halls of Cuba
    • Leanne Treese – The Language of Divorce
    • Maggie St. Claire – Martha
    • Ted Neill – Reaper Moon: Race War in the Post Apocalypse
    • Alexandrea Weis & Lucas Astor – Death by the River
    • Lisa Reddick – The Same River
    • Nick Mancuso – Fever
    • David Pearson – Upon a Peak in Darien
    • Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg – The Nine
    • Claire Fullerton – Little Tea
    • Theo Czuk – The Black Bottom: The Measure Of Man
    • Hy Brett – The Hitman of Avenue U
    • Mitchell Allen – Count It All Joy
    • Elizabeth Crowens – Dear Bernie, I’m Glad You’re Dead
    • Linda Bledsoe – Through the Needle’s Eye
    • Carl Roberts – The Trial of Connor Padget
    • Patrick Finegan – Cooperative Lives
    • Mike Murphey – Section Roads
    • Jamie Zerndt – Jerkwater
    • Prue Batten – Passage
    • Nagihan Os – Hilda and Nadin: Dry Leaves in the Wind
    • Tikiri Herath – Abducted – A Red-Heeled Rebels novel
    • Kay Bell – Ella’s Secret Family Recipes
    • Patricia Suprenant – Journey to the Isle of Devils
    • St John Karp – Quake City
    • Michael Bowe – The Weight of a Moment
    • Lynn Brentnall – Hope
    • David B. Seaburn – Gavin Goode
    • Gary Driver – God Answers Science
    • Michael T. Tusa Jr – Chasing Charles Bukowski
    • James M Roberts – The Crossroads of Logan Michaels
    • Jarvis Cutter – Speak Loudly and Carry a Flamethrower
    • Adam Cliff – Exposure 

    These entries are now in competition for the 2019 SOMERSET Semi-Finalists Positions. Good Luck to all!

    Information about the #CIBAs Long Lists and Short Lists and Announcement Rounds.

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 Long List (aka the Slush Pile Survivors) and have now advanced to the SHORTLIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2019 SOMERSET Semi-Finalists positions.

    The coveted First Place Category Winners of the 2019 SOMERSET Book Awards will be selected from the Semi-Finalists in the final rounds of judging. The First Place Category Winners will be announced at the Chanticleer Awards Banquet and Ceremony, which is hosted by the Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    The First Place Category winners will automatically be entered into the SOMERSET GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition. The 16 CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse. First Place Category and Grand Prize Awards will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Awards Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020, Bellingham, Washington. Hosted by the Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    We are now accepting entries into the 2020 CIBAs. https://www.chantireviews.com/contests/

    Don’t delay. Enter today!

  • The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the PARANORMAL Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

    The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the PARANORMAL Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

    Paranormal Fiction Awards

    The PARANORMAL Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Paranormal and Supernatural Fiction. The Paranormal Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The #CIBAs).

     

     

    Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs) is looking for the best books featuring magic, the supernatural, weird otherworldly stories, superhumans (ex. Jessica Jones, Wonder Woman), magical beings & supernatural entities (ex. Harry Potter), vampires & werewolves (ex. Twilight), angels & demons, fairies & mythological beings, magical systems and elements. They will be put to the test and the best will be declared winners of the prestigious CIBAs.

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile, to the LONG LIST, to the Shortlist and now have progressed to the 2019 PARANORMAL Book Awards Semi-Finalists positions.

    Presenting the 2019 Paranormal Book Awards for Paranormal and Supernatural Fiction Semi-Finalists:

    • Kaylin McFarren – High Flying
    • Porter Huddleston – El on Earth
    • Mack Little – Progenie
    • Karen Glista – Chasing the Red Queen
    • Joy Ross Davis – The Witch of Blacklion
    • D. J. Adamson – At The Edge of No Return 
    • D. D. Wolf – Orchids Ablaze
    • Michael Ray Laemmle – Atomic City Terror: Curse of the Murderous Dummy
    • Diane Moat – Hand of Magic
    • Joy Ross Davis – The Singer Sisters
    • Linda Watkins – The Tao of the Viper, A Kate Pomeroy Mystery 
    • Jack Cullen – Runes of Steel
    • Palmer Pickering – Moon Deeds
    • Susan Lynn Solomon – Abigail’s Window
    • Robert Herold – The Eidola Project
    • Janet K. Shawgo – Legacy of Lies
    • E. V. Svetova – Over The Hills Of Green
    • London Clarke – Whickering Place
    • Joey Rodriguez – Below
    • Jerry Gundersheimer – El Coronel: Book Two of The Medium Series
    • Ryan J. Lyons – Drums and Dragons
    • Avanti Centrae – VanOps: The Solstice Countdown
    • Lori Roberts – Where the Sweetgrass Grows
    • T. L. Augury – Witches Brew

    These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS positions of the 2019 PARANORMAL Book Awards for Paranormal and Supernatural Fiction.

    Semi-Finalists will be recognized at the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2019 CIBA banquet and ceremony. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 16 CIBA divisions Semi-Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

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

     

    The 16 divisions of the 2019 CIBAs’Grand Prize Winners and the Five First Place Category Position award winners along with recognizing the Semi-Finalists will be announced at the April 18th, 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards Annual Awards Gala, which takes place at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

    Grand Prize Ribbons!

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2020 Paranormal Book Awards.

    Don’t delay! Enter Today!

    As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

  • CYGNUS SPOTLIGHT for SCI-FI – Book Awards, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Time Travel, Genetic Mods, Tech, Apocalyptic, Space Aliens

    CYGNUS SPOTLIGHT for SCI-FI – Book Awards, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Time Travel, Genetic Mods, Tech, Apocalyptic, Space Aliens

    Cygnus Award for Science Fiction

    The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring space, time travel, life on other planets, parallel universes, alternate reality, and all the science, technology, major social or environmental changes of the future that author imaginations can dream up for the CYGNUS Book Awards division. Hard Science Fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction, Cyberpunk, Time Travel, Genetic Modification, Aliens, Super Humans, Interplanetary Travel, and Settlers on the Galactic Frontier, Dystopian, our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

    Get your Sci-fi on

     enter the CYGNUS AWARDS today!

    Who will receive a beautiful CIBA  CYGNUS Blue Ribbon? 

    Which CYGNUS AWARD winner will receive the next big publishing contract or land a top agent…? 

    Bennett Coles CYGNUS Grand Prize for VIRTUES of WAR 

    Harper Collins Voyager has picked up CYGNUS Grand Prize Winner Bennett R. Coles for his latest work Winds of Marque.

    Titan U.K. picked up his CYGNUS award-winning Virtues of War and then contracted for two more books in his series: Ghosts of War and March of War.

    Virtues of War

     

    Will it be you? 

    THE DEADLINE TO ENTER THE 2020 CYGNUS Novel Writing Competitions is April 30, 2020.

    ENTER TODAY!

    The CYGNUS BOOK AWARDS 

    Hall of Fame

    2018 Grand Prize Winner: 

    The Korpes File by J.I Rogers took home the 2018 CYGNUS Book Awards for Science Fiction Grand Prize Blue Ribbon.

     

     

     

    2018 First in Category Winners:

    • The Fortune Follies by Catori Sarmiento
    • It Takes Death to Reach a Star by Stu Jones & Gareth Worthington
    • Solar Reboot by Matthew D. Hunt
    • Apex Five by Sarah Katz
    • The One Apart: A Novel by Justine Avery
    • The Selah Branch by Ted Neill   

    2017 Grand Prize Cygnus Winner: 

    The Future’s Dark Past by John Yarrow

     

     

     

    2017 Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction First in Category Winners

     

     

    2016 Grand Prize Cygnus Winner:

     

    OVER by Sean Curley

     

    2016 Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction First in Category Winners

    2015 Grand Prize Cygnus Winner:

    The Great Symmetry by James Wells

    2015 Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction First in Category Winners

    2014 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner:

    Enemy of Existence by Yuan Jur

    Citadel 7, Earth’s Secret: Enemy of Existence by Yuan Jur

    2014 Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction First in Category Winners:

    2013 Grand Prize Cygnus Winner:

    Bennett R. Coles, Virtues of War

    2013 First Place Category Winners for the Cygnus Awards are:

    • The Lotus Effect by Bridget Ladd
    • Celia’s Heaven by Nancy Canyon
    • Artemis Rising by Cheri Lasota
    • The Maiden Voyage of the Mary Ann by Linda Reed
    • Ragnarok: Demon Seed by Ea Bishop

         

         

        Don’t delay. Enter today! 

        Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media, L.L.C.  retains the right to not declare “default winners.” Winning works are decided upon merit only. Please visit our Contest Details page for more information about our writing contest guidelines.

        CBR’s rigorous writing competition standards are why literary agencies seek out our winning manuscripts and self-published novels. Our high standards are also why our reviews are trusted among booksellers and book distributors.

        Please do not hesitate to contact Info@ChantiReviews.com about any questions, concerns, or suggestions about the Chanticleer International Book Awards. Your input and suggestions are important to us.

        Click here for more information about the Chanticleer Book Reviews International Book Awards.

      • The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

        The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

        Gertrude Warner Children's Chapter Books

        The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of middle-grade readers, fiction and non-fiction, that compel children to read and explore. The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs).

        Named in honor of the author of the quintessential children’s series – The Boxcar Children by  Gertrude Warner.

        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 eight to twelve. Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical, Adventure we will put them to the test and choose the best Middle-Grade Books among them.

        These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 Gertrude Warner Book Awards LONG LIST to the Shortlist and now have progressed to the 2019 Semi-Finalists positions.

         Presenting the 2019 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Fiction Semi-Finalists:

        • Carolyn Watkins – The Knock…a collection of childhood memories
        • Joyce Major – The Orangutan Rescue Gang
        • Nancy McDonald – Boy from Berlin
        • B.L. Smith – Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business
        • Mobi Warren – The Bee Maker
        • Amber L. Wyss – Phoenix Rising
        • Wendy Leighton-Porter – The Shadow of the Tudor Rose
        • Sue Bough – Norman Snodgrass Saves the Green Planet 
        • Kit Bakke – Dancing on the Edge
        • M.J. Evans – PINTO!
        • M.J. Evans – The Stone of Wisdom – Book 4 of the Centaur Chronicles
        • Jeff Orlowski – Avery Green And The Nightmare Busters
        • Beth Stickley – Tarnation’s Gate
        • Catherine Mallette – Don’t Ask Me
        • Wendy Leighton-Porter – The Shadow of the Volcano
        • C.R. Stewart – Britfield and the Lost Crown
        • Kay M. Bates’ – ‘B’ is for Baylee
        • Susan Brown – Sammy and the Devil Dog
        • Laura M. Kemp – Skye’s Journey
        • Wendy Leighton-Porter – The Shadow of the Pyramid
        • Rey Clark – Legends of the Vale
        • Maria Ashworth – SUSHI KITTY
        • Gregory Saur – Diving Catch
        • Liana Gardner – 7th Grade Revolution
        • Trayner Bane – Windhollow and the Axe Breaker (Windhollows, Book 3)
        • Leanne M. Pankuch – Dragon’s Truth
        • Alex Paul – The Valley of Death, Book 5, Arken Freeth and the Adventure of the Neanderthals

        These titles are in the running for the First Place positions of the 2019 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers.

        Semi-Finalists will be recognized at the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2019 CIBA banquet and ceremony. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 16 CIBA divisions Semi-Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

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

        The 16 divisions of the 2019 CIBAs’ Grand Prize Winners and the Five First Place Category Position award winners along with recognizing the Semi-Finalists will be announced at the April 18th, 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards Annual Awards Gala, which takes place at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

        We are now accepting submissions into the 2020 Gertrude Warner Awards Book Awards. The deadline for submissions is May 30th, 2020. The winners will be announced in April 2021.

        Please click here for more information.

        Don’t Delay! Enter Today!

        As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

      • NO TOUGHER DUTY, NO GREATER HONOR by GySgt L. Christian Bussler – Iraq War Biographies, Memoir, War Biographies

        NO TOUGHER DUTY, NO GREATER HONOR by GySgt L. Christian Bussler – Iraq War Biographies, Memoir, War Biographies

        From a family with a long history of military service dating back to the civil war, GySgt L. Christian Bussler brings to life his experience as a Mortuary Affairs marine and sheds light on a duty that few ever talk about. He is called to duty for his first of three tours in Iraq in February of 2003 after spending many years training as a reservist.

        This fear becomes reality when he narrowly escapes an IED blast with his life. Afterward, Bussler wrestles with the guilt of going back home injured, leaving his team behind to fight without him. The final and longest section of No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor mirrors the length of the final and longest tour from 2005-2006. This tour especially proves to be the most challenging for not just Bussler, but his whole team, and it leaves them all forever changed.

        Despite its heavy topic, No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor is rich with Bussler’s humble and humorous personality and is full of informative detail. People read memoirs to learn about the lives of others and gain new perspectives, and as the pages quickly turn, the wide range of emotions felt by Bussler and those around him are beautifully described. The addition of personal photos adds to the authenticity and genuineness of Bussler’s story as a Mortuary Affairs officer.

        A defining quality of No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor is Bussler’s unrelenting humbleness and is best expressed when he reflects about going home injured and leaving behind his fellow marines to continue fighting without him. He also presents an important question about whether to try and maintain a distance from the reality of the Mortuary Affairs or to embrace the fallen angels’ stories and their connections to those left behind.

        In the closing part of the book, comes the defining moment of Bussler’s career where the deep emotions of grief are at the forefront. From this comes the ever honest and humble reflection,

        “Maybe in a weird way, this book is my attempt to keep their memories and their sacrifices alive, because I saw with my own eyes how much they paid for a freedom that so many take for granted, and I truly, from the bottom of my heart, hope that I demonstrated exactly that throughout this work.”

        Though now retired from the Marines, GySgt L. Christian Bussler is still active in the veteran community and acts as a mentor for other veterans. A truly magnificent and heartfelt memoir, No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor is a must-read for every American.

        No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor won first place in the CIBA 2018 JOURNEY Awards for narrative non-fiction.

         

         

      • The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the CLUE Book Awards for Suspense & Thriller Fiction – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

        The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the CLUE Book Awards for Suspense & Thriller Fiction – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

        Thriller Suspense Fiction Award

        The CLUE Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Suspense and Thriller Fiction. The Clue Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The #CIBAs).

        Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime-solving, we will put them to the test to discover the best! (For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards).

        These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 LONG LIST to the CLUE Shortlist and have now advanced to the CLUE Semi-Finalists positions. Semi-Finalists will be recognized at the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2019 CIBA banquet and ceremony. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 16 CIBA divisions Semi-Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

        Congratulations to all of the 2019 CLUE Book Awards for Suspense & Thriller Fiction Semi-Finalists

        • J.J. Clarke – Dared to Return
        • RIP Converse – Maelstrom Part One
        • L. J. Martin – The Blue Pearl
        • Nancy Adair – RABYA
        • J.P. Kenna – Joel Emmanuel
        • J.P. Kenna – Toward a Terrible Freedom
        • Lonna Enox – Untold Agony  
        • Stephen F. Frost – The Alaskan Alibi
        • Russell Heath – Rinn’s Crossing
        • John W Feist – Blind Trust
        • Liese Sherwood-Fabre – The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife
        • Richard Conrath – Blood Moon Rising
        • Marian Exall – A Splintered Step
        • Joanne Jaytanie – Salvaging Truth, Hunters & Seekers, Book 1
        • Edgar Swamp – Amber Hollow
        • Janet K. Shawgo – Legacy of Lies
        • Maureen Joyce Connolly – Little Lovely Things
        • Melodie Hernandez – Forgotten Rage
        • Chris Norbury – Straight River
        • Barb Warner Deane – And Then There Was You
        • V. & D. Povall – Jackal in the Mirror
        • Matt Witten – The Necklace
        • M. J. Simms-Maddox – Mystery in Harare
        • Michelle Cox – A Veil Removed
        • Kevin G. Chapman – Righteous Assassin: A Mike Stoneman Thriller
        • Kaylin McFarren – High Flying
        • Wally Duff – bada-BOOM!
        • Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor – Death by the River
        • Steve Dimeo – The Magic Cape Caper
        • Joni M Fisher – West of Famous
        • D. J. Adamson – Let Her Go
        • Kirk Millson – Serpents of Old

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

        Register today for the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2019 CIBA ceremony and banquet that will be held in Bellingham, Wash. at the luxury waterfront Hotel Bellwether, April 17 – 19, 2020. Seating is limited. Reservations are required.

        We are now accepting entries into the 2020 CLUE Book Awards for Suspense/Thriller Novels.

      • The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the Goethe Book Awards for post 1750s Historical Fiction – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

        The Semi-Finalists Announcement for the Goethe Book Awards for post 1750s Historical Fiction – a division of the 2019 CIBAs

        Post 1750s Historical Fiction AwardThe Goethe Book Awards recognize emerging new talent in post-1750s Historical Fiction. The Goethe Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

         

        The Goethe Book Awards competition is named for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was born at the dawn of the new era of enlightenment on August 28, 1749.

        Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Late Period Historical Fiction. Regency, Victorian,18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, World and other wars, history of non-western cultures, set after the 1750s, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

        These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the LONG LIST to the Goethe Shortlist and have now advanced to the Goethe Semi-Finalists positions. Semi-Finalists will be recognized at the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2019 CIBA banquet and ceremony. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 16 CIBA divisions Semi-Finalists. We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash.

        Goethe Book Awards Semi-Finalist Badge

        Congratulations to the 2019 Goethe Awards for post 1750s Historical Fiction Semi-Finalists

        • James Anderson O’Neal – Riley and the Great War
        • Vanda Writer – Paris, Adrift
        • Kari Bovee – Peccadillo at the Palace
        • Kari Bovee – Girl with a Gun
        • Kari Bovee – Grace in the Wings
        • PJ Devlin – Wissahickon Souls
        • John Hansen – Hard Times
        • Patricia Suprenant – Journey to the Isle of Devils 
        • Lee Hutch – So Others May Live
        • Mike Jordan – The Runner 
        • Lisa Braver Moss – SHRUG: A Novel 
        • Sandra Wagner-Wright – Two Coins: A Biographical Novel
        • J.G. Schwartz – The Pearl Harbor Conspiracy
        • Marina Osipova – How Dare The Birds Sing 
        • Marilyn Pemberton – The Jewel Garden
        • Mary Adler – Shadowed by Death: An Oliver Wright WWII Mystery

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

         

        The 16 divisions of the 2019 CIBAs’ Grand Prize Winners and the Five First Place Category Position award winners along with recognizing the Semi-Finalists will be announced at the April 18th, 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards Annual Awards Gala, which takes place at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

         

        We are now accepting submissions into the 2020 Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s Historical Fiction. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2020. The 2020 winners will be announced in April 2021.

      • SCARE AWAY the DARK: A STONE SUSPENSE by Karen Dodd – Int’l Mystery & Crime, Psychological Thriller, Literature

        SCARE AWAY the DARK: A STONE SUSPENSE by Karen Dodd – Int’l Mystery & Crime, Psychological Thriller, Literature

        Scare Away the Dark raises the bar for exciting suspense stories as Jordan Stone, a young millennial who has made it as the top newspaper investigative journalist in Vancouver B.C., traverses dark physical and psychological landscapes on what becomes a life or death mission. On this journey, she encounters characters for whom human life is cheap, evil deeds are part of doing business, and revenge is an art form.

        Lured by the promise of information about the whereabouts of her parents who seem to have disappeared from a witness protection program, Jordan passes up Friday evening happy hour at a pub with her coworkers in favor of a clandestine meeting with a long-time confidential informant. She has no inkling, as she drives for more than an hour through pelting rain to the agreed-upon rendezvous site, that her life is about to change forever.

        Jordan meets, rather than her trusted tipster, a stranger with a different agenda. He’s a perverted monster who abducts Jordan, holds her captive in a remote underground bunker, and abuses her in unthinkable ways for what seems like forever.

        Fifteen days later, the traumatized Jordan is discovered and rescued by the RCMP. One of her rescuers, Inspector J.J. Quinn, aggravates Jordan by persistently following up on her kidnapping. When she can’t remember details, he pushes her to face her demons—urges her to undergo hypnotism and therapy to unlock her memories.

        After a subsequent attempt on her life, and reluctantly beginning victim therapy, Jordan takes a leave of absence from the newspaper to rethink her future. Assisted by her long-time friend and research assistant, Rachel Sommers, and former inspector Quinn, newly minted as a private investigator, she seeks to learn why she became a target in the first place. As she continues to pursue what she was working on before her abduction, an investigative piece about an Italian crime family and its far-reaching tentacles, little does she suspect that these two pursuits connect in the most inconceivable ways.

        Scare Away the Dark at times leans heavily on backstory information from Dodd’s previous book, Deadly Switch, which tends to slow the pace and is sometimes confusing. However, Dodd offsets this by coupling the stuff of contemporary headlines—man-made plagues of criminal activities and the power of true love—with meticulously reimagined settings, multi-dimensional characters, and complex sub-plots, to create an engaging romantic thriller.

        With an ending that comes out of left field, Scare Away the Dark leaves the reader with a gasp and ready for what happens next. Caution: Read with the lights on and the doors locked!

        Scare Away the Dark won first place in the CIBA 2018 CLUE Awards for Suspense and Thriller novels.

      Chanticleer Book Reviews