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LITTLE GUY by Heather Gardam, Book 2 in a delightful children’s series about farm life

Patti is the engaging young girl we met in Life on the Farm, but now she is a year older. She is a curious, horse-loving kid who is aware of everything that surrounds her. Patti’s wit, determination, and sunny personality, combined with new adventures, make Little Guy a captivating read along with its delightfully surprising ending.

Patti never expected to be so busy every day of her summer vacation. She’s up early every day to do her stable chores in exchange for riding lessons, but it’s worth it. Her girlfriend, Sylvia, is letting Patti ride her pony, Bets, for her riding lessons.

Also, Patti finally has a horse of her own–sort of. Little Guy belongs to the Andersons, but they think Patti is just the girl they need to care for Little Guy and his lame foot. Spending her summer working with Little Guy and taking riding lessons at the local stable is a dream come true for Patti–at first.

Gardam does a wonderful job keeping readers engaged with Patti’s emotions as she deals with the demanding stable chores and the teasing of the more experienced students, along with those who are snobbish toward her for having to do stable chores in exchange for riding lessons. The author earnestly portrays Patti’s life lesson that not everyone is accepting, but not to let other kids remarks stop her from going after her goals without sounding too PollyAnnish.

Patti’s spunkiness is endearing and her enthusiasm is contagious. The author charmingly portrays, through Patti’s encounters and hindrances, how a positive attitude can open doors and create opportunities especially when combined with hard work and diligence. These traits along with Patti’s bravery to overcome obstacles so that she may pursue her passion for horses and learning to ride them is inspiring. As each day brings new challenges and new understandings, Patti discovers a little bit more about herself and the important things in life.

Nevertheless, a cloud of worry hovers over Patti. Will Little Guy’s lame leg ever heal? She works hard to take care of Little Guy and pays close attention to her charge. But, she longs to ride him and show off what she’s learned all summer at the Fall Fair. However, Patti knows how much Little Guy and the Andersons are depending on her to do what is best for Little Guy.

One of the beautiful aspects of this book comes to fruition as Little Guy and Patti learn to trust each other. It’s the magical connection that a child and a horse can make with patience, perseverance, and openness to learning on both their parts that Gardam captures with brilliant subtlety. Each day brings a new challenge and by learning to work together, Patti discovers a little bit more about herself and the important things in life. Little Guy is a captivating story that demonstrates true friendship and learning to believe in one’s self against the odds.

August 21, 2015
GUIDED to WISDOM: The JOURNEY to EMOTIONAL HEALING by Susan D’Agostino

Susan D’Agostino has wisdom to share, garnered from a lengthy battle with cancer and the medical establishment. This is her intimate story.

“In 2002 I found a lump in my breast, maybe the size of a pea.” Like anyone faced with a possible dire diagnosis, D’Agostino was scared and confused. Her encounters with medical people left her feeling like a statistic, and when she got the dreaded prognosis after a painful biopsy, it was accompanied by the standard recommended next steps: months of chemo and radiation treatment. Fearing the treatment almost as much as the cancer, she sought alternative healing methods.

She consulted a variety of therapists—naturopaths, herbalists—and certain ones seemed like soul mates. In her search, she began to see signs: a strange affinity for the number 1111, a hawk landing and sitting in her yard. She began to trust her intuition; despite being prodded by the oncologist to get the standard treatment, she finally decided it wouldn’t be right for her. In the next few years, she became thoroughly immersed in her “mission”. She learned meditation, took yoga classes, eliminated aluminum products (like deodorants) from her life, began journal-ling, had colonics and kinesiology, and discovered automatic writing, leading her to her inner voice and a higher level of guidance.

One day she said “I knew I was finished” with the medical establishment’s treatments, and despite ominous letters sent by the oncologist predicting her demise if she stopped, tests showed that the cancer was gone. After resigning from her day job, she realized she could help others, and has remade her professional life as an Emotional Healer and Journey Practitioner.

D’Agostino’s saga is compellingly dramatic in the early pages, as the reader suffers with her and cheers her along on her personal mission. She has found her feet as a writer, staging her story skillfully, and frankly revealing the fears and rages that she believes were part of her inner cycle of “dis-ease” and healing. The last third of the book reinforces her positive messaging and could be used as a workshop tool for positive messaging and mediation. D’Agostino delivers a powerful and succinct message about hope and change in the subjective, human story that she shares. She reminds us that we are not alone.

Doubtless a vehicle to inspire others who find themselves or loved ones in a similar, life-threatening plight, Guided to Wisdom offers a heart-rending true story along with responsible and valuable advice to consider when deciding treatments and alternative methods of healing and self-healing. Overall, with her treatise Guided to Wisdom: The Journey of Emotional Healing, D’Agostino implores us to look inside ourselves for answers to life’s challenges and to trust our intuition.

August 20, 2015
ANONYMOUS by Christine Benedict, a psychological thriller

“No one suspected the things her mother had done,” but Debra Hamilton knows full well what skeletons lurk in her past, and she’s spent a lifetime putting distance between herself and the crimes of her schizophrenic mother.

With the potential of mental illness lodged like a genetic time bomb in every cell of her body, Debra lives in constant fear that she’ll follow in her mother’s footsteps. So when things go missing and Debra starts hearing noises in the 100 year-old fixer-upper that she and her husband Greg bought, she’s terrified that her mind, like her mother’s, is beginning to crack.

Debra’s pragmatic neighbor, Julie, delivers her own brand of common sense in dealing with the “events” that continue to occur in the old farmhouse. Julie’s skepticism turns to concern and then fear as she experiences, first-hand, the otherworldly presence plaguing Debra’s life. Then Julie’s fears mount when she starts receiving graphic, sexually-charged letters from an anonymous stalker. As the intent of the letters becomes darker and more menacing, Debra’s and Julie’s worlds collide in ways they’ve never imagined.

Part ghost story, part psychological thriller, Christine Benedict’s Anonymous illuminates the bond forged between two women, both survivors of a traumatic past, who become unlikely allies in the fight for their lives.

In Anonymous, author Christine Benedict has created a world rich in character. Through the use of flashbacks she invites the reader to learn more about the two main characters, Debra Hamilton and Julie Zourenger, allowing the reader to identify with each of the women. The author also breathes life into the subsidiary characters. Debra’s supportive and loving husband, Greg, is skillfully counter-balanced by Julie’s angry, verbally abusive husband, Kyle.

As to the genesis of the anonymous stalker, his history will leave readers wondering about things that go bump in the night. It’s chilling to know that all the letters in the novel are from the man who stalked the author twenty-plus years ago, and he still remains anonymous as of today.

With a new plot twist around every corner, the author delivers a complex story of obsession and jealousy that will keep the reader turning page after satisfying page. Since its release, Christine Benedict’s novel Anonymous has received stunning accolades and was shortlisted for a variety of literary awards. Fans of literary heavyweights A.M. Homes (“The End of Alice”) and Robert Clark (“Mr. White’s Confession”) will find that Christine Benedict’s Anonymous hits all the marks for an engrossing, edge-of-your-seat read.

Reviewer’s note: This book contains graphic violence and adult content.

August 17, 2015
The LADY and the MINSTREL by Joyce DiPastena, a medieval romance

In this delightful medieval romance, a spirited lady and a vagabond minstrel with a penchant for trouble engage in a battle of wills with a powerful earl in King John’s court.

Ranulf de Villon, baron of Ashbury Castle and a hard, cruel man, has engineered the betrothal of his daughter, Marguerite of Winbourne, to the ruthless, licentious Earl of Saxton, favored counselor to King John.

The proposed marriage is one of political expediency for all concerned: Ranulf gains prestige by arranging an alliance with the most powerful earl of the land, and Saxton will use income from the estate that comes to him with Marguerite’s dowry to curry favor with King John.

Though Marguerite loathes Saxton and has the right—as stated in her grandfather’s will—to refuse Saxton’s hand in marriage, Ranulf has made certain that no one can get news of Marguerite’s plight to the proper authorities before she is wed.

Ranulf’s wife Leah, Marguerite’s mother, is too afraid of her husband’s violent tendencies to side with her daughter against him. Marguerite’s cousin Richard, who cares deeply for her, is horrified by the prospect of the match and willing to cross Ranulf, but Ranulf’s men are watching his every move. Trapped and powerless, Marguerite turns to the only man who may be able to help her, Robert Marcel, a traveling minstrel.

DiPastena has once again crafted another epic tale of romance and intrigue in thirteenth century England during the reign of King John. France and England have been at war for years, and the king requires a stream of unlimited funds for his campaigns to take back the duchy of Normandy.

Women such as Marguerite are viewed as property, as chattels used to produce heirs and to provide assets through their dowries. Members of the peerage survive and hold onto their ancestral lands only by paying court to an ambitious and merciless king.

The Lady and the Minstrel is the story of two star-crossed lovers, Marguerite and Robert, and their struggle to survive in the face of the ruthless ambitions and political conspiracies that are the order of the day.

DiPastena has crafted a rich story world that immerses the reader in the culture, the politics, and the language of thirteenth century England. Meticulously researched and deftly told, this historical novel will captivate readers of this genre.

August 17, 2015
The SOMERSET AWARDS for Literary and Contemporary Fiction 2014 Official Finalist Listing
The Somerset Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The Somerset Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the SOMERSET Awards Official Finalists List for 2014, otherwise known as the “Short List.” The Official Finalists Listing is comprised of entries that have passed the first three rounds of judging from the entire field of entrants. To pass the first three rounds of judging, more than sixty pages of the works below have been read and have deemed worthy by the CBR judges of continuing in competition for the SOMERSET Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY positions and their prize packages.

Congratulations to the SOMERSET AWARDS 2014 FINALISTS:
- Steve Lundin for The Manipulator: A Private Life in Public Relations
- Emily Ruth Verona for Steady is the Fall
- Ken Swarner for Family of the Year
- Nancy Adair for Soon Coming
- Nathan Smith Hips for The Misfit’s Companion
- Patrick M. Garry for Finding Flipper Frank
- Jim Musgrave for Freak Story: 1967 – 1969
- Thomas H. McNeely for Ghost Horse
- Michael A. Smith for Lightening’s Child
- Kate McKenna for True Stories of Local Heroes
- Ian Bull for The Picture Kills
- Jim Henniger for Recording a Kill
- Laurie Fitzpatrick for Niello
- Michael Olin-Hitt for The Homegoing
- Rian Everest for The Tangerine Trio
- Michael Hurley for The Vineyard
- Jodie Bain for Inside the Walls of Matacalli City Zoo
- Janet K. Shawgo for Find Me Again
- Thomas Whaley for Leaving Montana
- Faith McCune for Duffy’s World
- Angela Brackeen for Lark, in Her Element
- Rebecca L. Matthews for The Light Within
- Judy Kelly for That Ever Dies So Young
- Tanya Fyfe for Lost and Found in Missing Lake
- Drew O’Brien for The Sin of Mother Mary
- Jessica H. Stone for The Last Outrageous Woman on Earth
- Tom Glenn for No-Accounts
- Maren Higbee for Lana Fray and the Grand Plan
- Jacab Larison for The Ones We Leave Behind
- E.F. Winters for MEMELOOSE: The Island of the Dead
- Enid Harlow for Good to Her
- Kenneth Stokes for His Father’s Eyes, His Father’s Words, & His Father’s Ways
- Ginger Cucolo for The Knoll
- Judith Kirscht for Home Fires
- Roni Teson for Twist
- Nicki Royall Peet for The Shaman’s Daughter
- Diane Finfrock Farrar for The Door of the Heart
- Jim Gillian for The SADM Project
Good luck to all the Somerset Awards Finalists who made the Short List as they compete for the First In Category Positions!

More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The SOMERSET First Place Category award winners will compete for the SOMERSET Grand Prize Award for Best Literary and Contemporary Novel 2014. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on September 29th at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winners will receive an award package including a complimentary book review, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2015 SOMERSET Awards. The deadline is November 30, 2015. Click here for more information or to enter.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2015 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Ten genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this September at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?

Last year’s Chanticleer Grand Prize winner was Michael Hurley for The Prodigal.

Last year’s SOMERSET GRAND PRIZE Award winner was Jeremy Bullian for Individually Wrapped.
August 14, 2015
LADIES in LOW PLACES by Mary Ann Henry, a collection of short stories

Mary Ann Henry’s debut short story collection, Ladies in Low Places, paints a vivid portrait of multiple generations of Southern Women examining where they fit in with today’s rapidly changing world. Deeply imbued with a sense of place, most of the stories in this captivating collection are set in or around Charleston, South Carolina, a city where the past bleeds dramatically into the present.

Henry succeeds at creating 18 unforgettable characters from very different walks of life in the South, while she subtly weaves universal themes throughout the collection that will resonate with readers. The setting’s Lowcountry nuances are enchanting and serve to tie all of the stories together seamlessly.

Each story is a refreshing portrait of a woman bucking convention or finally deciding to forego the traditional path. Among them, “The Basket Maker” and “Blood Orange” are standouts. “The Basket Maker” depicts the life of Charleston’s most powerful wedding planner as she is discovering that perhaps she is not as satisfied with her life as she might have believed. With just a dash of magical realism, the story is deeply emotional.

In some of the stories, Henry writes with a powerful, authentic voice about characters not often seen in contemporary fiction: older women. One of these is “Blood Orange;” a lighter tale about a woman’s sixtieth birthday party and the travails one could face when dating at that age. Some of the stories focus on younger women, with a particularly hilarious story about a beauty pageant with three unlikely contestants titled “Hell Hole Swamp Queen.”

The collection has deep undercurrents running just below the surface that allow profound glimpses into the tension between the grounding pull of traditional ties and the forces of modernity that many women must come to terms with as their own stories unfold.

Even still, each one of the stories is a delightfully entertaining and poignant read that will linger and leave you wanting more.

Ladies in Low Places is a passionately crafted collection that makes for an insightful, but humorous and uplifting, read. A wonderful sense of place, authentic voice, and vividly drawn characters make this work stand out from others about contemporary Southern women.

Henry’s next project is a novel length expansion of the collection’s final story. Titled “The Wayward Daughter,” the longer format should give her leave to explore some of the tantalizing ideas and quirky characters presented in this collection.

August 14, 2015
The PARANORMAL AWARDS for Supernatural Fiction 2014 Official Finalist Listing
The Paranormal Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Supernatural Fiction and Legends & Lore. The PARANORMAL Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the PARANORMAL Awards Official Finalists List for 2014, otherwise known as the “Short List.” The Official Finalists Listing is comprised of entries that have passed the first three rounds of judging from the entire field of entrants. To pass the first three rounds of judging, more than sixty pages of the works below have been read and have deemed worthy by the CBR judges of continuing in competition for the PARANORMAL FIRST IN CATEGORY positions and their prize packages.

Congratulations to the PARANORMAL AWARDS 2014 FINALISTS:
- Kim Hornsby for The Dream Jumper’s Secret
- Norman L. Johnson, M.D. for Disappeared
- Glen Alan Burke for Jesse
- Stephen Cost for The Fall
- John D. Trudel for Raven’s Run
- Ashling Gowell for Cryptic Thoughts
- Lisa Voisin for The Angel Killer
- Melinda Viergever Inman for Refuge
- Sara Stamey for Islands
- Nicolas del Pozo for Time Spent Apart
- Linda Watkins for Mateguas Island
- Brian M. Oldman for Arena of God
- L.A. Wild for Chance the Darkness
- R.E. Steedman for Falling
- Joanne Jaytanie for Chasing Victory & Payton’s Pursuit
- Catherina Constantine for Wickedly They Come
- Ann Charles for An Ex to Grind
- Nikki Broadwell for Just Another Desert Sunset
- Monte French for Mischief, Mayhem, and the Blue Men of Minch
- Janet K. Shawgo for Find Me Again
- E.E. Holmes for Spirit Prophecy: Book 2
- Kaylin McFarren for Buried Threads
- AVH Conover for Clare
- Jennifer Kohout for Storm
- Erica Stevens for Captured
- Rebecca Nolen for The Dry
- Karen Monahan Fernandes for Strega
- Linda L. Creel for Eyes of Aeden
- Debra K. Roberson and D. L. Koontz for Crossing into the Mystic
- Laura Fitzpatrick for Niello
- Bruce Rettig for Midnight Stone
- Paula Heath for Quest: The British Vampire Series (Orphans of a Loveless God)
- E.Z. Graves for Love Zombies of San Diego
- Judith Ashley, Diana McCollum, & Sarah Raplee for Love & Magick: Mystical Stories of Romance
- Jeff A. Clements for Aphilion
Good luck to all the PARANORMAL Awards Finalists who made the Short List as they compete for the First In Category Positions!

More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The PARANORMAL First Place Category award winners will compete for the PARANORMAL Grand Prize Award for Best Supernatural and Paranormal Fiction Novel 2014. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on September 29th at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winners will receive an award package including a complimentary book review, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2015 PARANORMAL Awards. The deadline is October 31, 2015. Click here for more information or to enter.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2015 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Ten genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this September at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?

Last year’s Chanticleer Grand Prize winner was Michael Hurley for The Prodigal.

Last year’s PARANORMAL GRAND PRIZE Award winner was Lisa Voisin for The Watcher.
August 13, 2015
The CLUE AWARDS for Suspense/ Thriller Novels 2014 Official Finalist Listing
The CLUE Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Suspense/Thriller Novels. The CLUE Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the CLUE Awards Official Finalists List for 2014 Entries, otherwise known as the “Short List.” The Official Finalists Listing is comprised of entries that have passed the first three rounds of judging from the entire field of entrants. To pass the first three rounds of judging, more than sixty pages of the works below have been read and have deemed worthy by the CBR judges of continuing in competition for the CLUE FIRST IN CATEGORY positions and their prize packages.

Congratulations to the CLUE AWARDS 2014 FINALISTS:
- Rachel B. Ledge for The Red Ribbon
- Jay Rund for Fatal Feast
- Lawrence Verigin for Dark Seed
- Pamela Beason for Shaken and The Only Clue
- Michelle Daniel for The Red Circle
- Rebecca Nolen for Deadly Thyme
- Ricardo M. Fleshman for The Dying Dance
- R. H. Yocum for Darkest Hour: A Tony Allison Thriller
- Mimi Barbour for Special Agent Francesca
- Nancy Adair for Soon Coming
- Martha Everhart Braniff for Broken Moon
- Charles Kowalski for Mind Virus
- Bob LiVolsi for Public Offerings Book 1: Birthright
- Deborah Stevens for The Serpent’s Disciple
- James Gilliam for The SADM Project
- Lynn Kennedy for Deadly Provenance
- Brandon Jett for Thanatos: Cheating the Ferryman
- Jeff A. Clements for Aphilion
- Gayle Nix Jackson for Orville Nix: The Missing JFK Assassination Film
- Wendy Dewar Hughes for The Glass Dolphin
- Richard Mann for Film Shot
- Ian Bull for The Pictures Kill
- S.L. Schultz for Little Shadow
- Keith Dixon for The Bleak
- Jode Susan Millman for The Midnight Call
- Janet K. Shawgo for Find Me Again
- Alan Brenham for Cornered
- JoAnn Bassett for I’m Kona Love You Forever
- Karen Musser Nortman for The Lady of the Lake
- Sara Stamey for Islands
- Fred Shackelford for The Ticket
- Marilyn Larew for Spider Catchers
- Jessi Hersey for Changing the Bloodline
- M.K. Graff for The Scarlet Wench
- J. Gunnar Grey for Trophies
- Kaylin McFarren for Buried Threads
- Michael Hicks Thompson for The Parchman Redeemer
- James Edwards for The Deadening
- D. J. Adamson for Admit to Mayhem
- Leona DeRosa Bodie & G E Gardiner for Glimpse of Sunlight
- Roni Teson for Twist
- Corey Lynn Fayman for Border Field Blues
Good luck to all the CLUE Awards Finalists who made the Short List as they compete for the First In Category Positions!

More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The CLUE First in Category award winners will compete for the CLUE Grand Prize Award for Best Suspense/Thriller Book 2014. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on September 29th at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winners will receive an award package including a complimentary book review, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2015 CLUE Awards. The deadline is September 30, 2015. Click here for more information or to enter.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2015 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Ten genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this September at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?

Last year’s Chanticleer Grand Prize winner was Michael Hurley for The Prodigal.

Last year’s CLUE GRAND PRIZE Award winner was Clyde Curley for Raggedy Man.
August 12, 2015
The CHATELAINE 2014 AWARDS for Women’s Fiction and Romantic Fiction Finalists
The Chatelaine Awards recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Women’s Fiction and Romantic Fiction Novels. The Chatelaine Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the Chatelaine Awards Official Finalists List for 2014 Entries, otherwise known as the “Short List.” The Official Finalists Listing is comprised of entries that have passed the first three rounds of judging from the entire field of entrants. To pass the first three rounds of judging, more than sixty pages of the works below have been read and have deemed worthy by the CBR judges of continuing in competition for the Chatelaine FIRST IN CATEGORY positions and their prize packages.

Congratulations to the CHATELAINE AWARDS 2014 FINALISTS:
- Isabella Hargreaves for The Persuasion of Miss Jane Brody
- Kathy Bryson for Feeling Lucky
- Sarah Katz for Hidden Miracles
- Catherine A. Wilson and Catherine T. Wilson for The Order of the Lily
- Danica Winters for Montana Mustangs
- Jennifer Snow for The Trouble with Mistletoe
- Dr. Evan Mahoney for Nongae of Love and Courage
- Kaylin McFarren for Buried Threads
- Deborah Hining for A Sinner in Paradise
- Kerryn Reid for Learning to Waltz
- Peggy Patrick for Surrendered II
- K.C. Simos for Ambrosia Chronicles: The Discovery
- Donna Barker for Mother Teresa’s Advice for Jilted Lovers
- Diane Green for Dragon Wife
- Nadine Christine for Quintal’s Return; Home Again, Home Again; and Remembering Love
- Ashlinn Craven for Maybe Baby
- A. Clarke Scott for A Dissimulation of Doves
- Noelle Clark for Rosamanti
- Jamie A. Waters for The Two Towers
- Martha Rather for Kismet or Kamasutra
- Nancy Marie Bell for Christmas Storm
- Janet K. Shawgo for Find Me Again
- Betty Codd for Eleanor Grace
- Julie LeMense for Once Upon a Wager
- Kristine Cayne for Deadly Betrayal
- K.C. Berg for Fallen Angel
- E.E. Burke for Her Bodyguard
- Debra Pickett for Reporting Lives
- Gita Simic and G.T. Symms for As for Costanza
- Eleanor Tatum for Swamp Home
- Cauleen Noël for The Changes Within Us
- Lisa Souza for Beauty and the Bridesmaid
- Patricia Sands for The Promise of Provence
- Callie James for Innocent
- Kim Sanders for The Ex Lottery
- Jianna Higgins for Just Going and Just Wondering
- Sharon Struth for Share the Moon
- Kate Vale for Destiny’s Second Chance
- Colette Saucier for Viuda
Good luck to all the Chatelaine Awards Finalists who made the Short List as they compete for the First In Category Positions!

More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The Chatelaine First in Category award winners will compete for the Chatelaine Grand Prize Award for Women’s/Romance Book 2014. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on September 29th at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winners will receive an award package including a complimentary book review, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2015 Chatelaine Awards. The deadline is August 31, 2015. Click here for more information or to enter.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2015 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Ten genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this September at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?

Last year’s Chanticleer Grand Prize winner was Michael Hurley for The Prodigal.

Last year’s Chatelaine winner was Kate Vale for Choices.
August 10, 2015
FEARFUL MASTER by Arthur Lawrence, a political thriller

In this timely and relevant suspense novel, Canadian Intelligence analyst, Jason Currie, is chosen by his government to liaise with the Untied States SECOR agency, a greatly expanded and highly efficient version of Homeland Security. Jason’s mission is to demonstrate to the Americans that Canada is a committed ally in the war and the fight against terrorism.

But before Jason can report to the SECOR L.A. office to begin his assignment, he experiences firsthand the arbitrary nature of how America now detains ordinary citizens for even the slightest suspicion. While attempting to enter the country, he’s stopped and escorted to a holding cell, supposedly because his name is on a list. The name on the list is Kouri, his original Lebanese family name before immigrating to Canada, changed by his father years ago to Currie.

As Jason is transported to a camp in the desert and inducted into the expanded wartime detention system, he is well aware that he could easily disappear without ever having the chance to clear up the misunderstanding over his identity. Only rescue by the American General to whom he was supposed to report in Los Angeles could save him from that fate.

This novel depicts an increasingly extremist United States, battered by the effects of global warming and war. The country has become paranoid and fearful, severely restricting the rights of its citizens and detaining them in large numbers without due process.

In Jason’s case, even though he’s a Christian, he’s been detained because of his recent trip to the Middle East to visit relatives. In the case of another prisoner Jason meets, even though the man has lived in America for 40 years, he’s detained for being an unemployed Muslim stonemason who has come to California to learn about the fate of his son, an imam, jailed for speaking out against American policies. And Jason’s longtime close friends, he finds out later in the story, have reacted by growing more hard-line, or by speaking out and as a result, being forced to flee the country.

Arthur Lawrence masterfully crystallized a “what if” scenario of the potential ramifications that hard-line government security policies can have on ordinary citizens if a culture of fear is allowed to take hold. This intriguing and, frighteningly so, realistic novel portrays a future that none of us would wish to experience, in which our government could become, indeed, a “fearful master.”

August 7, 2015

Chanticleer Book Reviews