Bookchain® is a brand-new platform bringing a refreshingly flexible way to publish and distribute ebooks, based on blockchain technology.
Through smart contracts, the platform enables the configuration of the security, trace ability, attribution, and distribution settings of an e-book.
Bookchain® was specifically designed to fit the different needs of all those involved in the digital publishing industry. They created it to be fully adaptable to the reality of publishers, indie publishers and self-publishing authors.
And now Bookchain publishes digital magazines on the blockchain!
Chanticleer Reviews magazine is the first magazine to be published on the blockchain!
What is so important about blockchain?
Blockchain is the foundation of a New Era of the Internet —
“Publishing is at the epicenter of digital disruption.”Paul Michelman, MIT & MIT Sloan.
Simon-Pierre Marion, CEO of Scenarex and its Bookchain division that is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, has reported to me that
The Chanticleer Reviews magazine is the very first magazine to be published on the blockchain and using blockchain technology.
An impromptu celebration for this historic news in publishing!
[Editorial Note: Even magazines published about the blockchain are not on the blockchain. They are available to download, but they are not available on different devices like our magazine is the one of Bookchain. – kb]
The Colibrio Reading System that is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, has made this possible with their new innovative Reading System SDK, built on the Modern Web Platform. It is a web first engine, developed using 2019 (and moving into 2020) technologies and practices and built to support new upcoming standards, as well as the current publishing formats. Bookchain uses the Colibrio Reading System.
“The Colibrio Reader focuses on preserving authors, publishers and designers original visual style. It is the only Digital Reading System which can configure detailed rules for pagination to avoid orphans, widows, split boxes and much more, regardless of document structure and semantics.”
We are going to have our past digital issues of the Chanticleer Reviews magazine published on Bookchain’s platform along with new issues.
Our advice? Set up your account today with Bookchain!
Don’t worry! Bookchain makes it easy.
What makes Bookchain’s e-pubs so different?
Their e-zines and e-pubs are downloadable on any device! You are not locked into a single device. You alternate devices. Read on your smart phone. Read on desktop. Read on your laptop when you are on the go. The freedom of reading your ebooks on different devices–because it is will be in YOUR LIBRARY that is stored in the super secure blockchain by Bookchain.
Your library — digitized and portable!
The first four things to know and understand about the Bookchain selling platform for digital publishing are:
You do NOT need cryptocurrency (aka Bitcoin, etc.) to sign up.
You will NOT be paid in cryptocurrency (unless you want to) if you sell your books on the Bookchain platform.
It is endorsed and underwritten by the Canada Media Fund, NRC, and the Canada Ministry of Economie.
It is secure!
As an author, the blockchain provides a way for you to securely publish your book andkeep control of your digital rights. It allows your published book to be treated more like a physical book, allowing your readers to own the digital book forever (as opposed to being allowed to checkout via Kindle).
Thank you, Simon-Pierre Marion and your team at Bookchain, for making this possible. We are excited to be a pioneer in this new age of digital publishing.
Chanticleer Reviews has always been steeped in technology—thanks to our technology wizard and COO, Argus Brown. Our “under-the-hood technology” has propelled Chanticleer Reviews “to the ranks of the premier, respected trade reviews in the industry” as quoted from award-winning author, Michael Hurley. Chanticleer Reviews has received the Technology Alliance Group award for our technology platform that helps to increase the digital footprint on the Internet of our reviews and of the Chanticleer International Book Awards winning titles and their authors.
And that is why we are honored to have Bookchain as an affiliate of Chanticleer Reviews & Media. It is a perfect pairing of content and technology!
Here are some handy links to articles that have been published on the Chanticleer website if you would like to read more about blockchain and the BookChain E-book and magazine distribution platform.
In Anna Castle’s British historical, cozy mystery novel, Moriarty Takes His Medicine, we find James Moriarty and his new bride, Angeline, struggling with their exciting, new relationship once the dust settles, so to speak.
James Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’s nemesis, is a man who cares deeply for his wife, so much so, that he is driven to distraction and embraces the help of his former foe as an ally to help rescue Angelina from grave danger.
Sound like a melodrama? It is. Melodrama at it’s best, with strong women characters from the 1880s in several roles, providing a 2020 twist to the male-dominated period. That being said, Castle is no slouch when it comes to providing accurate historical details. She’s done her research and offers it up in an engaging and entertaining novel. The health spas and health tonics of the time provides an impressive backdrop to the mystery she develops, as Sherlock Holmes comes to Moriarty for help on a curious case, the death of a beloved aunt whose nephew suspects foul play. Together Moriarty and Holmes uncover a plot of devious mischief by medical professionals at a high-end spa/hospital where several elderly women and wealthy wives have stayed, only to die unexpectedly at home. Castle begins with the death of one woman.
Moriarty, Holmes, and Watson find that many of the women’s deaths went unchallenged because they all died at home after their stay, pointing to their own negligence and not that of the hospital, a devious plan, to say the least. Dr. Watson plays a small but crucial role at the beginning of their investigation as he uncovers the meaning behind “the Clennam treatment,” referring to a character from Little Dorritt, a Charles Dickens novel. And so, as Holmes is want to say, the game’s afoot.
Angelina’s past as a performer, a vocation she sorely misses, provides her with a means to help when she realizes her sister is being sent to the notorious spa for “the Clennam” treatment, code for “kill her.” Angelina takes on the most dangerous role of her life when she finds herself under the “Clennam” treatment.
Castle introduces the tonic as one in a series of archaic and debunked methods of treatment. She also explores aspects of electric shock therapy, and “the rest cure,” a popular method of treating a nervous and perhaps unruly woman to a treatment that did nothing to cure the root cause of their ailments. Alas, at that time, the men knew best even when they were wrong.
Castle turns this male-dominated society on its head. Women display their strength and ability to problem solve as they help to resolve this crime, and they do it with the full support of their men. A very satisfying twist on the social norms of the time, which brings us to a satisfactory conclusion.
In the end, we have something akin to a Shakespeare “comedy,” all the “good” characters live, all the lovers end up happily together, and all the villains fail and are doomed to suffer.
As the second novel in a series, this book could stand-alone. This romp through the beloved world of Sherlock Holmes will surprise you at every turn and please Sherlockians as well as lovers of British cozy mystery fans.
Moriarty Takes His Medicine won First Place in the 2018 CIBAs for Mystery and Mayhem.
Author Frank Ball delivers an engaging, poignant account, contrasting idyllic times growing up and the remote, icy climes of his later years in his memoir, Ball of Yarns – From 87 Years of Worthy Experience.
Born in 1931, Ball was raised in rural California. Often left on his own, the result was a series of escapades with the first object of his affections – vehicles of any kind. An early solo experiment with his father’s sedan gave him the heady feeling of “wheels unguided by human hands.” A next adventure involved rebuilding, with his brother, a neglected Chevy Roadster that Ball proudly drove to school in the sixth grade. Yet another, more terrifying event occurred when he and a friend decided it would be fun to take a farm tractor up into the mountains on a snowy day; the descent was “reminiscent of a scene from the Keystone Cops.”
In high school, he and his pals visited an inactive bomb-testing site and exploded “dud” ordnance for kicks, and he later drove a racecar and worked as a pitman for that sport. Ball served in the military during World War II, stateside, getting technical education leading to a career in electronics, in which he excelled. After retirement, he and his wife Josie pursued more exploits together, living for long stints in Antarctica, she as a cook and he as an all-round mechanical whiz. It provided an atmosphere of camaraderie where the person nearest to a disaster had to deal with it immediately or risk the whole camp’s population freezing to death.
Ball tells his life saga in engagingly short, chronological episodes, most only a page or two. He has provided a few photographs to underpin his often-amusing narrative. His writing style shows a particularly strong ability to put the reader into the frame. This is especially the case with his story of going into the salvage business with a friend. Using shallow-water diving gear, they discovered a submerged vessel near the San Diego Bay. Pirating bits of it, mostly brass propellers, they were observed, and a story made the local newspapers since the vessel was, in fact, an abandoned US Navy submarine. Equally enthralling are the many aspects revealed about his working in frigid conditions, repairing everything from aircraft fuel pumps to urinals and figuring out for his own amusement how long it takes a cup of hot coffee to freeze when setting out in the subzero cold. And even in his eighties, he is still repairing and driving vintage cars.
Ball’s well-organized reminiscences will charm anyone with a love of vehicles, machines, youthful high jinx, and general mischief. His compelling American story speaks to timeless values of passion, family, ingenuity, determination, and legacy.
**Ball of Yarns by Frank Ball releases on January 14, 2020. To get your copy, please click on Kobo or Amazon.
The I & I Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in non-fiction for instruction, guidance, self-help, how-to, and insight. The I & I Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring HOW-TO, Guidance, Travel Guides, Cookbooks, Instruction, Insight, Self-Help, and more. This books have been put to the test and the best will advance to be declared winners of the prestigious I & I Book Awards.
The following Instructional and Insightful non- fiction works have moved forward from the Slush Pile to the Long List of the 2019 I & I Book Awards:
Marcus Kirsch – The Wicked Company
Ryan M. Chukuske – Bigfoot 200: Because, You Know, Why the #@&% Not?
Anthony Delauney – Owning the Dash
David A. Bossert – Kem Weber: Mid-Century Furniture Designs for The Disney Studios
Jean-Philippe Soule – DANCING WITH DEATH: An Epic and Inspiring Travel Adventure
Rob Davis – What Goes Around Comes Around – A Guide To How Life REALLY Works
Phoebe Walker – My Freedom Central
Corinne Miller Schaff – Art For All Ages: Reignite Your Artistic Self
Cindy Klement, MS, CNS, MCHES – Your Body’s Environmental Chemical Burden
Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D. – Shaping Public Opinion: How Real Advocacy Journalism Should Be Practiced
Jennifer R. Karchmer – A Proofreading Companion: Tips, Tools & Strategies for the Professional Proofreader
Susan Faw – The Clever Artist: An Actionable Guide To Launching Your Artistic Career
Brad Lancaster – Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 1, 3rd Edition: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life and Landscape
Donald M. Rattner – My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation, 48 Science-based Techniques
Donna Cameron – A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You
Carole Bumpus – Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Book One, Savoring the Olde Ways Series
Isaac Samuel Miller – Just Get Up And Manifest Your Inner Genius
Nancy J. Cohen – A Bad Hair Day Cookbook
Margaret A Hellyer – A Home on the South Fork
Ellen Notbohm – Ten Thing Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew
Thomas Wise – Why Can’t We Trust God?
Lisa Boucher – Raising The Bottom: Making Mindful Choices in a Drinking Culture
Tikiri Herath – Your Rebel Dreams: Discover Your Purpose and Passions to Power Up Your Life
Tracee Dunblazier – Master Your Inner World- Embrace Your Power with Joy
Brad Borkan and David Hirzel – When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme Decision Making Lessons from the Antarctic
Anthony Delauney – Owning the Dash
Ryan M. Chukuske – Bigfoot 200: Because, You Know, Why the #@&% Not?
David A. Bossert – Kem Weber: Mid-Century Furniture Designs for The Disney Studios Design
Tracee Dunblazier – Heal Your Soul History- Activate the True Power of Your Shadow
Kate Kaufmann – Do You Have Kids? Life When the Answer is No
Jean-Philippe Soul – DANCING WITH DEATH: An Epic and Inspiring Travel Adventure
Paula Forget – Guided to the Higher Realms: a Personal Journey of Ascension through Meditation
The judges are going to have some tough choices to make with these powerhouse entries!
Good luck to all as these works compete to advance to the Semi-Finals.
The coveted First Place Category Winners of the 2019 I & I 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 I & I 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.
There is a frequently paraphrased quotation that goes, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” But there is also a well-known aphorism that “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” This is a story where those truisms come together like a train wreck, at the very least a commentary on one of the darkest underbellies of American subculture.
No Winter Lasts Forever by Jonathan Epps takes place in the present, with mass shootings in the news every other week, an opioid epidemic that’s out of control, and an entire generation of young people who will, by all current economic measures, not do as well as their parents, let alone better, as previous generations have before them.
This story also takes place inside the head of Jackson Warner, a 52-year-old man in tiny Franklin, Missouri, who learns of a shooting at the school where he taught for many years. If matters can be worse, and they are, Jackson discovers his 21-year-old nephew is on the exact same path as the shooters.
Jackson won’t allow him to sit idly by. He needs to do something to fix what feels like his little corner of the national malaise. Even if all he can really do is attempt to get his nephew on a different course. He wants justice.
The story here is, in many ways, Jackson’s descent into a kind of madness. He begins to haunt the underground internet chat rooms where misguided young men trash talk each other and discuss gunning the world down. He loses track of his real life, his girlfriend, his family, and especially himself.
It’s not an easy read. Jackson’s online flirtation with those who want to end it all and take as many as possible down with them is visceral. As his walk through very dark places consumes his life, he takes on a few too many of the attitudes of the young men he says he’s “investigating.” His anger at everything he sees wrong in society is palatable and soon spins out of control.
Readers may feel that his descent into that underworld goes on a bit too long, or at least reading about it does. The online chat room language is repetitive, incoherent, unrelieved in its violence, and probably requires all the trigger warnings available for a SWAT team to mobilize. It feels authentic, and it’s terrifying. However much like a train wreck, Epps’s writing is so compelling that readers will be unable to turn their eyes away; in fact, they won’t be able to put the book down.
And just when he seems to draw back from the madness all around, it comes for Jackson and those he holds dear. He has ignored Friedrich Nietzsche’s warning. He has gazed into the abyss too long, never realizing that the abyss has gazed back at him.
It may be true that “no winter lasts forever,” but when the metaphorical spring finally comes, will it be enough to bring Jackson Warner into the light? You’ll have to read it to find out!
This story is an affecting read, but not a comfortable one. The reader is inside Jackson’s head every step of the way and wants to urge him to retreat before it is too late. That he does not, causes the reader to close the book with a shiver of dread. And that’s exactly the thing that makes Jonathan Epps one of our favorite new thriller authors.
Creating Your Marketing and Promotion Calendar for 2020 and Beyond… Part One
I’ve been in marketing a number of years (dare I say decades?). Marketing and Promotion have always been moving targets, but now with the internet they are targets that move at light speed.
If you want to sell books and you want to have your author career advance, you will need to have a promotion and marketing plan that can pivot and is flexible.
Plan for your Success!
And if you have an M & P plan already, you will need to constantly update it, add to it, and evaluate what works and what doesn’t.
First of all, the M & P Calendar is complex and integrated at many levels, which can make it overwhelming. But that is where Chanticleer can assist.
Do keep in mind, that many of the moving parts are small and incremental steps that are not hard to do, but they will add up and add up substantially.
Promotion of a book (or any product) is a continuous exercise of good marketing and promotional habits. Many are not difficult or time consuming but most be done on a regular basis. Marketing and Promotion are NOT one trick ponies.
Let us start at the beginning. Laying the Groundwork for your M&P calendar.
Strategy – First start with the Big Picture.
What I do is keep a notebook and a calendar. I tend to be old school and like paper and pencil for my reminders and calendar. I then add the information to my Google calendar so that it will remind me on my smart phone.
Andy prefers to go all digital with no paper. He uses integrated digital calendars and custom project management software—thank goodness because that is how we track and manage the CIBAs.
Here are 10 Points to consider and implement.
We will then fill in with more detailed information in Part Two of this blog-post.
One. Identify 10 best-selling author in your genre that you would like to ask for an author blurb?
It doesn’t matter if you are launching a new work or promoting your back list.
Write their names down in your M&P notebook. We will come back to this in the next blog post. Promise.
Two. Identify any seasons or holidays that are associated with your titles.
I always think of Love of Finished Years by Gregory Erich Phillips at Christmas time because of his touching WWI Christmas Eve scene that takes place in the heat of battle. It is book that I can read and reread.
Gregory Erich Phillips Love of Finished Years won Chanticleer International Book Award for Best Book while it was still a manuscript.
Or Ann Charles’ Deadwood Series that feature Violet Parker, real estate agent and single mom gets me in the mood for Halloween.
Would your books make awesome vacation reads? Or cozy sit by the fire reads? Or perfect for traveling?
Are your books page turning thrillers that will have readers consuming it at one sitting? Or something for a reader to look forward to reading a chapter or two a night? Know your readers.
A personal favorite cozy mystery series of mine that I like to read is Michelle Cox’s Henrietta and Inspector Howardmystery series because I enjoy tthe time frame that series takes place in, and I like the protagonists. Reading the series is a wonderful escape for me.
What holidays or seasons can you target to promote your works? Write them down in that notebook.
Three. Target Book Clubs – Online and Groups that meet in person
Book clubs tend to chart out their reads months in advance if not a year in advance. Start getting “Top of Mind” share and getting on the “think about list.”
Make sure that your website, author description, Facebook page, Twitter, blog posts, and any other media alerts readers that you are available for Skyping, showing up in person, supplying stimulating questions for the group, and that you just adore BOOK CLUBS. If there are libraries that have your books in their book club kits, list them on the Book Club section of your website.
Keep a running list of Book Clubs that you want to reach out to and keep in contact with them. Put reminders in your calendar to continually reach out to book clubs of all types. They can propel an author and have far reaching affects on readership gains.
The Roost at Chanticleer will have a running list of book clubs and how to contact them. This will be up and running before the end of January.
Four. Author Events
Again, dates fill up at book stores, retail outlets, book fairs, book conventions, libraries, and specialty events. Chanticleerians have passed on to me that they have had great success at wine bars, grocery stores, flower shops, seasonal events such at the Lavender events in the PNW, comic cons, brewpubs, entertainment events if your work has a connection with them, re-enactments, hobbyists, the list can go on and on.
The award-winning Janet Shawgo has presented sessions on this at the Chanticleer Authors Conference. All in attendance were inspired by her creativity and willingness to share.
Janet Shawgo’s author event at a winery.
And I have it good advice that one shouldn’t discount small events. It is better to be a big fish at a small event rather sitting idly by while a line a mile long forms for a celebrity author. I’ve seen this happen more times than I can count.
Guerrilla marketing is the friend of aspiring authors. It can even the playing field with its unconventional interactions and surprises. Remember, readers are acquired one by one—which makes guerrilla marketing especially effective.
Be creative. Be open. But get those gigs lined up and on the calendar. Pronto! And start on next year’s events.
Make your list with the venue, date, date of contact, date of recontact, results. Continuously add venues and events as you discover them.
Add the confirmed dates to your Promotion Calendar. There will be more work to be done.
Jesikah Sundin, award-winning author of The Biodome Chronicles excels at guerrilla marketing, branding, and author events that build loyal readership. And her books deliver and keep her readers coming back for more!
Jesikah Sundin
Five.Discover experts who will resonate with your books. (We call this SLANT in the marketing industry).
Who is an expert in the field that your work is associated with?
Ann Charles is a full-time author of mysteries. Her popular protagonist is Violet Parker, a real estate agent in Deadwood? Guess who her biggest fans are? Real Estate agents! And she has targeted them and they have become evangelical fans for her series. The real estate network is huge. And so is her fan-base.
For instance, Pamela Beason writes mysteries that tend to take place in wilderness areas. She is a career author (making a living at writing) and a retired private investigator. Pam targets hikers, backpackers, wilderness protectors. One of her mystery series is focused around Neema, a communicating gorilla who can communicate using sign language. Pam targets these folks in social media. Her YA series has a rescued elephant. You get the picture? Did I mention that I am a Neema fangirl?
Pamela Beason’s wildly successful Sam Westin wilderness series.
What are your books’ angles? What is the slant? (what is the voice? what is your underlying message?)
This exercise is one that you should repeat each year with your back list.
If you can get an endorsement from experts that have a common interest in your books, you will be able to broaden your target market. It doesn’t matter if the expert is a real estate agent, or a barista, or is leader in a knitting circle… This is how word of mouth is created. Create these bonds. It will make your next book launch much more easy.
Remember Jesikah from Point #Four. Her books crossover from fantasy, YA, cyber-punk, eco-punk, gaming, science fiction, steampunk, and … just imagine all the blurbs, recommendations, and READERS and their reviews that Jesikah’s marketing attracts.
Six. Identify 10 Authors to Network within Social Media and in Real Life.
These should be authors whose readers will also enjoy your works and authors that your readers will enjoy their books.
If you have ten, then add ten more. You can never have enough.
This is called increasing your CIRCLE of INFLUENCE. The relationship should be reciprocal. We will circle back around to this.
A good test is to determine if your works and the selected authors works would be shelved together at the book store or at the local library.
Write this list down in your M & P book/ledger. Each year, continue to expand it.
J.D. Barker, a masterful storyteller, recommends that your genre should crossover… just imagine having your books shelved in more than one location at booksellers. Get the picture?
Shameless self-promotion here … you should check out his interview in the last issue of the Chanticleer Reviews magazine.
Order your copy today… 🙂
Seven. Focus Your Author Brand.
Each and every visual element associated with you as an author should have focus and should move your author brand forward on your website, in your social media, in your type fonts, in the background imagery. A reader should be able to tell in less than three seconds what overall genre you are writing in. Are your books dark and mysterious? Fantastical? Sexy? Historical? Dystopian? Everything from the icon that marks your website in the browser to the background that coordinates with all of your internet and real marketing collateral (covers, book swag, business cards, etc.). Make sure that your author photos resonate with your works. That doesn’t mean you have to be brooding in person if your books are dark and mysterious, but you should have a persona, a brand that distinguishes you from the other millions of authors and writers. A visual brand.
Ann Charles is a maestro at author branding. Visit her website and Facebook pages for inspiration (and to buy her U.S.A Today bestselling books).
Ann Charles
Eight. Become an Expert in Some Area of Publishing and Share Your Knowledge
Writers by far make up the largest number of readers. We just can’t help ourselves. An excellent way to get on writers’ reading list is to present at writer’s conferences. It is widely known that after a writer gives a presentation, his/her/they see an increase in sales. Most would say a direct correlation.
Many best-selling authors have gotten their start and created an ever increasing fan-base by sharing their knowledge and expertise with other authors and aspiring writers. Diane Gabaldon shared (and continues to) her knowledge for years by presenting at writers’ conferences. She is known for being extremely generous with her knowledge and expertise as is Robert Dugoni. The list goes on and on with international best-selling authors who share and mentor authors—authors such as J.D. Barker, C.C. Humphreys, Ann Charles, Ursula Le Guin, George R.R. Martin, Pamela Beason, are among the authors who believe in mentoring aspiring authors and giving back to the writing community.
Robert Dugoni is one of our most popular speakers at CAC. Pam Beason is conducting the panel discussion.
Discover your publishing expertise. Is it coming up with inciting incidents? Or world building? Or a knack for dialogue? Or social media posts that garner attention? Or being creative in where to do book promotions? Or how to get that first draft out of your head and into black on white? Or discovering new platforms to sell works on? Or working ? Or posture while writing? Or?
The main thing is to share your knowledge and expertise.
So start asking to present or participate in panels at author events, in schools, at libraries, in your local writing groups, or the conferences that you are planning on attending.
Write down your opportunities. Find out the deadlines for proposals. Keep a list and add to it.
Nine. Podcasting and Video Blogging — Be the Interviewer or be the Interview-ee but be in the Podcast Airwaves
With the advent of voice-driven assistants, podcasts are becoming more and more a part of daily life. Just like audio books. ( the fastest growing segment of publishing).
Chanticleer has podcasts and video blogs. It is the new and latest that is certain to replace “blog hopping.” Make sure that you get your foot in the door! Even this blog post is converted to a podcast.
As with any transition, you will need to do both: blogging and podcasting. Learn how to build your content pyramid at the Chanticleer Authors Conference 2020.
Podcasting is going to be a feature at CAC20 this year with Hindenburg Systems (programs and apps to create podcasts and audio books) presenting sessions and podcast work shops.
Paul Cutsinger, head of Amazon’s Alexa Code Labs will present and keynote.
He will discuss
Why Voice Enabled Technology is Here to Stay
The Publishing Industry and Voice Technology
StoryTelling and Voice Technology
Audiobooks and Voice
Engaging Readers with Voice-driven Devices
With more than 100 million Alexa devices in use, this a market segment that should not be overlooked in any author or publisher’s marketing plan.
Time to start lining up your calendar with podcast and video blog events.
Ten. Enter Your Works into Book Award Competitions and Contests
Book awards are a time honored tradition that help to distinguish best books and manuscripts from the millions of books that are written each year (and published).
They give authors talking points, interviewers talking points, allow for point of sale marketing, social media marketing and so much more.
Make sure to enter your works and see how they stack up against the others in your genre.
Deadlines are closer than they appear! And there is nothing like a blue ribbon to help sell more books at a book fair or author event. #justsaying
CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!
That calendar should be starting to fill in.
Click here for a Handy Worksheet that you can print out to help you to create your Market and Promotion Calendar.
This Second Installment will take time to complete and you may need to work on it intermittently (but consistently) to get everything logged.
Then the real work will begin.
The next post will discuss implementing these first 8 Goals and creating discrete tasks to implement on a regular basis:
Annually, Seasonally/Quarterly, Monthly, Twice a Month, Weekly, Almost daily.
And social media postings, and blog postings, and articles, and…
We elaborate on the first ten items and incorporate them into the calendar and create a schedule.
Thank you for joining us in this Writer’s Tool Box series: The 12 MUST-Do’s for Authors Number Two of Twelve blog-post articles.We hope these were handy reminders or something new to consider.
If there is something we should add to this blog-post or you have an experience that you would like to share or a question that you would like to ask about this blog post, please contact us at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com
We’d love to hear from you!
Thank you for joining us and please stay tuned for the next article!
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?
The following literary, contemporary, and satire fiction works have moved forward from the infamous Slush Pile to the Long List of the 2019 Somerset Book Awards:
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
Michael Aloysius O’Reilly – The Billionaire’s Daughter
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
Lou Dischler – Travel to Fierce Climes in Burning Buses
Domenick Venezia – Liberator Legacy
Larry Brill – Deja vu All Over Again
Domenick Venezia – Suriname Legacy
Domenick Venezia – Angel’s Salvation
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
Janet Olearski – A Traveller’s Guide To Namisa
Lisa Reddick – The Same River
Nick Mancuso – Fever
David Pearson – Upon a Peak in Darien
Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg – The Nine
Joanne Wilshin – The Findlings
Claire Fullerton – Little Tea
Jane Alessandrini Ward – Brilliant Rising
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
Alison Ragsdale – The Art of Remembering
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
Good luck to all as these works compete to advance to the Shortlist!
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). We incorporate the Long List when the judges request an additional round of judging to accommodate the number and/or quality of entries received. These entries are now in competition for the 2019 SOMERSET SHORTLIST. The Shortlisters will compete for the 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/
The GLOBAL THRILLERS Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of High Stakes Suspense Thrillers. The Global Thriller Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring suspense, thrilling stories that put the balance of world power or that will end the world as we know it—High Stakes Suspense. We include with Global Thrillers the Lab Lit genre. Lab Lit is when Fiction Meets Real Science and Research or stories that are based on real science and research up to a certain “what if” point and then fiction takes over.
These works have advanced from the infamous CIBA slush pile to the Long List for the 2019 Global Thrillers:
David Tenenbaum – The Lost Tide
Jacob Witten – Immune
David Tenenbaum and Dara Greentree – Vision
Joanne Jaytanie – Salvaging Truth, Hunters & Seekers, Book 1
A. Gene Robinson, Jr. – A Crude Attack
William M. Hayes – Save Him
Timothy S. Johnston – The Savage Deeps
Avanti Centrae – VanOps: The Moses Map
Alan W. Thompson – Creation Abomination
Jeremiah Seyrak – The Faceless Advisor
Sterling Emmal – Candidates, Cartel, and Chaos
Randall Krzak – Carnage in Singapore
Nicole Mabry – Past This Point
Steffanie Strathdee and Thomas Patterson – The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug — moved to non-fiction divisions as per KB
Steven Sheiner – Shot Down
Courtney Leigh Pahlke – Life Force Preserve
Jett Ward – Execute Order
Thomas Galvin – The Auction
Good luck to all as your works compete in the next rounds.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from SLUSH pile to the 2019 Long List (aka the Slush Pile Survivors). We incorporate the Long List when the judges request an additional round of judging to accommodate the number and/or quality of entries received. These works will compete for the 2019 Global Thriller Book Awards Semi-Finalist positions
The coveted First Place Category Winners of the 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER 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 GLOBAL THRILLER 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.
Most of us are familiar with the old carol, Twelve Days of Christmas. It goes on and on, sung by school students at holiday concerts and revelers at holiday parties. It is, after all, a catchy tune and folks have changed the wording for their own special interests.
“But Jiminy Crickets, it is the 26th of December! Is it not too late for the 12 Days of Christmas?” you say.
However, dear Chanticleerian, did you know that the 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 26th? It does! And it continues to the 6th of January – Three Kings Day on January 6th. The four weeks leading up to Christmas is known as the Advent. #justsaying
So if you haven’t finished wrapping presents, sending out those cards, and baking cookies—don’t worry—you’ve got an extra 12 days!
Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team!
Now back to the
12 Must-Dos for Authors and Publishers for 2020!
At Chanticleer, as many of you know (especially if you have attended a Chanticleer Authors Conference), we do things a little differently. Adapting the theme of “12 Days,” we are bringing you an author checklist, things for your author development and business. That’s why we’re here!
Please enjoy Chanticleer’s 12 Must-Dos for a Happy and Productive 2020~
Well…maybe not “enjoy”… There is a lot of work to be done to complete this list that will help you have a successful and productive 2020 year for your author career.
We suggest tackling one Must-Do a month in any order that you chose except for the first three. Also, we will have a handy checklist to print out at the end of the series for your author lair to help keep you on track.
We were going to post one every two-to-three days on the Chanticleer blog. But after experiencing how time it takes to go into the depth for each Must-Do, we are changing that to one Must-Do every few weeks—especially until after the Chanticleer Authors Conference and the awards night for the Chanticleer International Book Awards (April 18, 2020). There just isn’t enough time to get everything done and write these in-depth articles. But please look for these blog posts in your email inbox. These will be in addition to the CIBA announcements, review posts, and announcements. We have several exciting announcements coming your way!
[This is update was made on 1/11/2020. -kb After the following new posts have been added to the 12 Must-Dos for Authors and Publishers
What type of transportation do you use? Auto, bike, on foot, or by pony? Whatever means you use to get around, you will need to maintain that mode regularly. You will need to put gas in the tank, oil the breaks, purchase new shoes, feed the pony. You will have to do something to ensure your transportation requirements are in the best shape possible. After all, who wants to be stuck on the side of the road with faulty equipment – or a sick pony?
Jiminy Crickets!
The principle is the same when we think about taking care of your computer. The very tool that stores your intellectual property, that aids in the creation and shaping of that property, and enables you to make a living doing what you love most, deserves your time and attention.
Have you ever been in the middle of a story and suddenly your computer dies? Not the simple death that can be remedied by plugging it back into the outlet. But the ultimate death of the Blue-Screen sort?
This means you’ve probably lost everything since your last “save” — you have been saving your work frequently?
But worst than the Blue Screen of Death is the GREEN SCREEN ofDEATH
Short of a MIRACLE and some awesome WIZARDING, your computer has gone bye-bye. The forever bye-bye… There is no hope… Despair and gnashing of teeth bye-bye.
Do we have your attention now? Yeah, not pretty.
Okay, here is a kitty photo to help you chill before we move on.
Maintenance that you can do at home or in your writing lair can help prevent these horrific events.
Regular systems checkups can alert you to future problems, like, dude, you have way too many cookies… Or, dude, if you type three more sentences, your computer will ex-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
You get the idea. Consider this a “get in shape” program for your ‘vital to your author career’ computer.
Be proactive!
Computer Maintenance Checklist
We advised doing these “Must-Do’s” for your computer in order.
#1 First Clean Your Keyboard
Have you noticed what’s stuck in there between the keys? Five types of plague, parts of your sandwich from last week, and the sloshed coffee. It’s disgusting! (Well, at least our keyboards can be). Keys sticking, the space bar refusing to space, the letters repeating across the screeeeeeennnnn…
This one is easy — Vacuum your keyboard or even better get one of those compressed air canisters designed to clean keyboards will do the trick!
Put it on your to-do list to clean your keyboard at least once a month.
And while you are at it, clean that screen. #justsaying
#2 Password Management and Protection
If you have a password protection management app and you USE IT, then you may proceed to GO and collect $200 dollars in Monopoly money.
If not, you should go to “Jail” and stay there until you do and you are using a password management program. This will be instrumental so that you can proceed to #3 on the list.
Below are some password managers that you can checkout or search in your browser or do your own research for “password managers.” Some are free or even at $50 a year for families, they are a bargain for the security provided. There is no excuse.
With today’s rampant internet piracy, having a vital password manager is a must for authors and publishers to protect their works, their royalties, banking info, and their distribution platforms just to mention a few. And your old school passwords will not cut it in today’s piracy ridden seas of the internet ocean. You need passwords that are impossible to remember and even harder for hackers to break.
List of Some Highly Rated Password Managers and Generators
Keypass
Lastpass.com
1Password
Bitwarden
Myki
Dashlane
For more information, here are two links to articles about password managers from reliable sources:
If you ever do encounter the Blue or Green Screen of Death, you will be able to access your programs and apps, book distribution channels, WORD documents, etc. when you set up your new system or do a system wide reboot.
And, yes, Sharon and I have both learned these lessons the hard way.
#3 Clear your Browser’s CACHE periodically
This called “Browser Hygiene.” Really.
Browsers tend to hold onto information and like a clogged drain, after a while, it will slow down the speed and performance of your computer. Where your browser holds onto this information is in its “cache.”
A computer’s cache (pronounced ‘cash’) is also where websites that you visit implement their “cookies” —that bread crumb trail that rambles through the internet linking your computer to the websites that you visit. Each and every website uses cookies —even yours is guilty of it. It is the nature of the internet…
And have you ever had this happen to you?
“I don’t see the change, you said you updated on your web page.”
That is because your computer is storing and showing you the previous cache of the website it stored in its cache. You are not seeing the latest and greatest of the website that you are re-visiting, but a “shadow” of it.
To see the latest version of a website or web-post, you will probably have to clear your computer’s cache which will delete cookies.
Each computer and browser has a different system, so we advise you to search on your browser (i.e. google it) on how to do clear the cache for your particular system.
Also, you can decide how much of the cache that you want to clear. All of it? Only the cookies? Save the passwords? Clear the passwords? (the reason to do #2 Password Management first). It is probably a good idea to clean the password cache at least once a year. But remember that you will need to do a fresh login for each website that you visit. See #2 Password Management.
We clear our caches here at Chanticleer at least every three months or as needed to access new data from websites that we visit.
More info
Remember all that fuss about Data Privacy back in May 2018? Cache and Cookies are what that was and is all about. Here is a handy link to Chanticleer’s blog post about it. Are you ready for the GDPR?
#4 VIRUS Protection
If you haven’t installed a highly recommended anti-virus and anti-malware program developed specifically for your computer then Just Do It!
And if you have, make sure that you have updated it to the latest and greatest version. And make sure that it is still the best version for your computer system and browser.
Any highly rated anti-virus and anti-malware program will update itself on a daily basis for latest hacking techniques, Trojan horses, phishing methods, ransomware, adware, spyware, and worms (I shudder to think about this one), and other malicious activity. This is different than updating the program itself. Is your antivirus program a couple of years old? If so, time to do some research.
The threats of computer viruses and other forms of malware are always present. Not only is there a never-ending stream of cyber-criminals who are looking to cause damage, steal identities or commit other cyber crimes, but also with most computers attached to the Internet 24-7 via broadband connections, the ease in which cyber-criminals can perpetrate their crimes has gotten easier.
However, there are two proactive steps that computer users can do that can help make sure they prevent the latest attacks that these cyber-criminals can dream of. By keeping operating system and antivirus software up to date, people can make sure their computers are as secure as possible. Norton 360
Now for some potentially bad news. If malware has made it into your computer, you will need to have it professionally removed or contact the family and friends computer geek to save your computer and your sanity. If you are computer handy, then you have probably already taken steps to rid your computer of it.
The scary thing about malware is that once it has infiltrated your computer, it may be hard to detect even by anti-virus protection. That is how sneaky and under handed malware can be.
Some symptoms that your computer may be infected with malware:
Your computer is slowing down
Your computer crashes more often or “locks up”
Your friends and contacts receive strange messages from you
Suddenly you do not have any storage space available
Your homepage changed itself without you changing it.
PUPs show up. These are Potentially Unwanted Programs that have infiltrated your system when you give your consent to install additional tools on your computer. We think “barnacles” would be a better name.
Make sure that your computer (and smart phone) has the latest anti-virus and anti-malware programs protecting it.
Now for some definite good news! Highly rated by independent and professional reviewers of Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware programs are available from free to $59 a year. A small price for piece of mind.
Moriaty – Sherlock — BBC TV series
Don’t think that it can’t happen to your computer. Computer viruses and malware are prevalent and widespread. Once they find a home, they tend to go systemic in a very sly and under-the-radar kind of way. Your screen will not flash or start posting pictures of Moriarty when your computer has been invaded. Today’s hacks tend to be silent but deadly.
That’s what we want to see!
We hope these were handy reminders. We all get busy and can easily procrastinate about taking care of these mundane but vital tasks. Sharon and I certainly do!
If there is something we should add to this blog-post or you have an experience that you would like to share or a question that you would like to ask about this blog post, please contact us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com
We’d love to hear from you!
Thank you for joining us and please stay tuned for the next article!
WHAT’S NEXT in the 12 Must-Do Series?
Our next Must-Do article will address creating Your Marketing and Promotion Calendar. This will come in handy for those with works-in-progress, books ready to launch, and those who need to revamp (and increase sales) of those books in the back list.
Christmastime in the English countryside, what could be cozier? Nicola Slade casts a charming spell on the reader with her novella, Christmas at Ladywell, A Time for Secrets. The main character Freya Wellman, jolly with the holiday spirit, has much to do to ready her ancient home, Ladywell, for yuletide guests. She happily juggles tasks to ready an adjoining cottage for a visit from a famous American actor and his girlfriend. Freya also cares for her small daughter, Violet, and visits with friends and an interesting assortment of townspeople. Most eagerly, she awaits the arrival of her smart and funny husband, a successful scriptwriter who’s been in America working on a film with the actor.
It’s a busy, festive time, and the reader is more than happy to witness all this gaiety at Ladywell. Of course, that name invites inquiry, one answered by stories that are nestled like Russian dolls in this exquisite book. Freya’s ancestral home is brimming with secrets and enchantment conjured over centuries. While Freya isn’t visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, the reader is treated to three fabulous historical tales that chart the experiences of previous inhabitants of this wondrous place of potent, healing waters, invisible flowers, and a legendary, loyal hare.
Whether it’s 1390, 1543, 1825, or the present day, there’s a mystical sisterhood at Ladywell that bridges time, a linking of strong women who tend home and hearth and pass on the secrets of the land. The past re-emerges into the blissful bustle of Freya’s current life as she learns of a family connection with King Richard III. Is this connection tied to a future event? Will the secrets of the past travel to the future?
With the loveliest prose and sharp humor, Slade offers the best Christmas gift for her readers with this gem of a book. Those who read her prior work, The House at Ladywell, will undoubtedly want to read Christmas at Ladywell, but this novella also works marvelously as a separate book. So, put the kettle on, get comfy by the fireplace, let the cat snuggle on your lap, and settle in for a cheerful read that befits the season!
Paul Cutsinger, head of Amazon’s Alexa Code Labs will present and keynote.
The GLOBAL THRILLERS Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of High Stakes Suspense Thrillers. The Global Thriller Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
