Chanticleer Book Reviews

Blog

  • redirect – Cozy Mystery Novels Writing Contests 2013 – Mystery and Mayhem (M&M) Awards

    redirect – Cozy Mystery Novels Writing Contests 2013 – Mystery and Mayhem (M&M) Awards


    Mystery & Mayhem Awards (M&Ms) Cozy Mystery Novels Writing Contest 2013

    Currently accepting entries. Deadline: April 30th, 2013

    Two Divisions: Published (Legacy, Indie, Self-Pub, Small Press, E-pub) and Manuscripts

    Get Started

    The M&Ms First Place Award Winning Authors  will receive:

    • Award winning books will be placed on the Chanticleer Book Shelves (which sell and promote the winning titles). Our CBR Book Shelves are located in participating Independent Book Stores across the U.S.
    • A coveted Chanticleer Book Review
    • A CBR Blue Ribbon embossed with the Contest Name, Author Name, and Book Title to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
    • Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
    • Adhesive book stickers
    • Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
    • Promotion in print and on-line media
    • Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
    • Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter

    And the 1st Place Award winners will automatically be entered into the GRAND PRIZE AWARD for title of  The Best of the CBR Award Winning Books of 2013!

    The Mystery and Mayhem Awards (M&Ms) Categories are:

    • Mystery (ex. Agatha Christie, Alexander McCall style)
    • Romance
    • Animals (ex. Cat Who…)
    • Cooking, Knitting, Gardening & Hobbies
    • New categories/Blended Genres
    • Medical/Lab Lit
    • Travel (ex. Peter Mayle)
    • Humourous

    Each work submitted will be judged on the following criteria:

    • Is the story compelling?
    • Professionalism of editing and formatting
    • Characterization
    • Continuity of storyline
    • Satisfying ending (not necessarily “happy”)
    • Intriguing opening
    • Uniqueness of story
    • Writing Craft
    • Red herrings
    • Plot thread
    • Sidekick

    Mystery & Mayhem (M&Ms) Awards Published  Cozy Novels Division Eligibility Requirements

    • Novels may be Self-published, Indie Published or Traditionally Published.
    • E-pubbed Novels with ISBN designation will be accepted in the published division.
    • All novels must have ISBN designation.
    • Entries must be in the English language.
    • Please note if BSE (British Standard English) is used instead of ASE.
    • No erotica. No graphic violence, please. We are looking for true cozy novels.
    • Young Adult Novels are accepted. We invite you to read about CBR’s Dante Rossetti Awards for YA.
    • Copyrighted works before Dec. 31, 2009 will not be accepted.
    • Fees, Submission Forms and Novel must be received before April 30, 2013 midnight.
    • Please read our Terms and Conditions page aka The Fine Print.
    • You will receive “How to Submit  Your Novel” instructions after entry fee is received.
    • Novels must be 30,000 plus words.
    • You may enter in more than one category. However, each entry must be accompanied by the entry fee.
    • You may enter more than one novel into a given contest.
    • If none of the entries place in the final round, then it is possible that the judges will not award a 1st Place winner.
    • Default winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft.

    Mystery & Mayhem (M&Ms) Awards Manuscripts and Unpublished Cozy Novels Division Eligibility Requirements

    • Novels may not be published or under publishing contract at time of entry.
    • Novels may not have ISBN designation at time of submission.
    • Digital Files must be submitted in PDF form.
      • Single space
      • Please use a font with a serif such as Times New Roman
      • Font size 11 or 12, please.
      • One inch margins all the way around.
      • Title must appear on each page.
      • Pages must be numbered sequentially in the header and the footer.
      • Please use page breaks between chapters.
      • Word count of 30,000 plus.
    • No erotica or graphic violence, please. Please adhere to the true cozy novel description.
    • Young Adult works will be  accepted. We invite you to read about CBR’s Dante Rossetti Awards for YA.
    • Fees, Submission Forms and Novel must be received before April  30, 2013 midnight.
    • Please read our Terms and Conditions page aka The Fine Print.
    • Default winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft.

    Mystery & Mayhem (M&Ms) Awards Writing Competition Prizes – Published Division

    First Place Winners in each category will win a Chanticleer Book Review Package (valued at $ 245.00) and Mystery and  Mayhem Awards CBR First Place Blue Ribbons (digital and stickers). All first place winners will be automatically entered into the CBR Grand Prize Writing Competition for CBR’s Best Books of  2013.  All 1st Place winners will receive promotion and publicity.

    Category Finalists will be announced in our social media and on our website.  They will be awarded Madness & Mayhem Finalist book promotion digital and adhesive stickers.

    Mystery & Mayhem (M&Ms)  Awards Writing Competition Prizes – Unpublished & Manuscripts Division

    First Place Winners in each category will win a Chanticleer Manuscript Overview Package (valued at $ 325.00) . Or they may elect to submit their work when it published for a Chanticleer Book Review.  All first place winners will be automatically entered into the CBR Grand Prize Writing Competition for CBR’s Best Manuscripts of  2013.

    Get StartedIf you have any questions or concerns, please email: info@ChantiReviews.com

  • Quote of the Week – Issac Asimov

    Quote of the Week – Issac Asimov

    The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.  — Issac Asimov

  • Look for ChantiReviews at the NW Book Fest

    Look for ChantiReviews at the NW Book Fest

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

    Look for us under the BIG WHITE TENT.

    Chanticleer Book Reviews and Media will have a booth at the NW BookFest in Kirkland, Wash.

    This event is FREE and Open to the Public. Readings, panel discussions, writing workshops will be ongoing on both days.

    Music and Food booths will add to the festival ambiance.

    Wine and Words will be held at three Kirkland restaurants and shops on Sat. from 7 until 9 p.m.

    Over 100 hundred authors will be there including such NW favorites as Elizabeth George, Jim Lynch, J.A. Jance, David Guterson, and more….

    Look for us under the Big White Tent at the Peter Kirk Community Center Saturday and Sunday, September 22 & 23 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

    We will have booth specials and treats!

    Also CBR’s Blue Ribbon Grand Prize Winners Pamela Beason and Janet Oakley will be there with their books along with other favorite authors of Chanticleer Book Reviews.   We will update the authors list on this page.

    Hope to see you there!

     [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • Tree Soldier by J.L.Oakley – Historical Fiction, FDR Era Work Camp, Pacific Northwest

    Tree Soldier by J.L.Oakley – Historical Fiction, FDR Era Work Camp, Pacific Northwest

    In this action-packed, emotionally charged historical novel titled Tree Soldier, J.L. Oakley takes us back to the era of the Great Depression. With millions of Americans unemployed, President Franklin D. Roosevelt devised a New Deal work relief program called the Civilian Conservation Corps.

    Some three million unmarried young men went to work in CCC camps across America—building roads and bridges, establishing flood control, and replanting depleted forests. Of the men’s $30 monthly paychecks, $25 was sent to help their desperately poor families.

    Oakley skillfully weaves this history into a suspense-building story of love, forgiveness, and redemption. The story commences with the arrival in 1935 of a new squad of “Tree Soldiers” at Camp Kulshan, a CCC forestry camp in the rugged North Cascades, near the little village of Frazier, Washington.

    While most of the new recruits are sort of rough teenagers from urban New Jersey and New York, our protagonist is a college student who left school and his farm home in eastern Pennsylvania to join up.  The strong and handsome John Parker Hardesty has more than a paycheck on his mind, however. The pensive young man, who sometimes seeks solitude in the forest, is trying to escape his nightmare memories of two tragic events in his life. His fellow recruits nonetheless respect the polite, clean-cut, Park who can also hold his own in the physically competitive proving ground environment of camp life. Many of the new recruits seek out his company, especially a wiry, 18-year-old Italian kid named Mario Spinelli, who takes the upper bunk above Park. Before long Park becomes the squad’s “straw boss.”

    Camp Kulshan is no fun summer camp. The physical training is tough, camp chores are boring, and not all the Tree Soldiers are easy to get along with. The boys of “Joisey Squad” (from the Jersey accents of several) are dubbed “foreigners” and suffer some rough hazing. However, camp life is not all work and no play. The people of Frazier appreciate the camp’s contribution to the community and in friendship arrange baseball games and picnics. The Tree Soldiers reciprocate with a dance in the mess hall. Boys meet girls, sparking romance, but also jealousy. Park is drawn to the dance floor by a pretty, auburn-haired young woman, Kate Alford. He breaks in on an arrogant, self-serving camp officer, David Callister, who has his eyes possessively on Kate. As Park takes Kate in his arms, Callister stalks off the floor.

    As the story’s pace increases, so does the emotion it evokes. Suspense builds as reputations are undermined, treachery and deceit threaten lives on the verge of redemption, while storms brew and forest fires erupt. Oakley’s characters come to life as their respective roles are defined with the drama of trials and tests of wills, and determination builds. Love blossoms, but not without thorns. Friendships are solidified, and trust and support are developed in the face of duplicity and enmity. In the final pages of this compelling book, Oakley introduces one more human trait, one she saw fit to include in its title—forgiveness.

    J.L. Oakley’s Tree Soldier will draw you in and keep you turning the pages.  Tree Soldier won Chanticleer Book Reviews Blue Ribbon Award of Grand Prize in our Published Novels Contest 2012 earning it a coveted CBR star.

  • Quote of the Week – Albert Einstein

    Quote of the Week – Albert Einstein

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

    Albert Einstein
    Albert Einstein

    “Imagination is more important than knowledge” 

    –Albert Einstein

    [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • Writing Tips from Donald Maass’ PNWA Presentation

    Writing Tips from Donald Maass’ PNWA Presentation

    Nine more Take-away Gems from Donald Maass’  PNWA presentation

    1. Think writing tools, not rules.
    2. Emotions are what connect us to the characters of a novel. What engages your heart will engage your reader. 
    3. Create interiority. Create an emotional landscape that the characters travel through–your story’s interiority.
    4. Reveal yourself through your fiction by writing from a personal place, a place of passion, a place of experience, a place that matters. Give these emotions and motivations to your characters.
    5. Genre categories have become a palette from which writers may draw from to create unique hybrids. Great fiction will not be bound by conventions.
    6. Surprise your readers. Don’t just write about the emotions that they expect. Think about the strongest emotions that you have experienced and then think about the underlying ones, the subtle ones. Write about those emotions instead of what the reader would expect from the scene/plot. Again, surprize your readers.
    7. Write your stories like they matter, and they will matter. Powerful fiction comes from a very personal place.
    8. Readers read to make sense of the world.Your reader wants some kind of insight into the antagonist. Who looks up to your antagonist? What does he have to gain? To lose? Why must he reach his goals? How much will he lose to meet his goal? What will he gain? Help your reader view life through the villain’s motivations and perspective. Make your antagonist multi-dimensional.
    9. Beautiful Writing + Commercial Writing (page turners) = High Impact Writing.

    For more writing tips and suggestions by Donald Maass, we suggest you read his guide, Writing the Breakout Novel. http://www.maassagency.com/books.html

  • NINE GEMS from Donald Maass PNWA 2012 presentation

    Donald Maass

    Donald Maass is president of Donald Maass Literary Agency of New York City. His agency specializes in fiction of all genres.

    Nine Take-away’s from Donald Maass’ PNWA 2012 presentation: (more…)

  • THREE PREDICTIONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY of PUBLISHING

    THREE PREDICTIONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY of PUBLISHING

    Three Predictions for the 21st Century of Publishing as presented by Donald Maass at the PNWA 2012 Conference.

    #1 Selling books will be harder, but holding on to readers will be easier—once they discover your book. Take-away: Start the process of how your book will be discovered–the sooner, the better.

    #2 Genre Conventions as we know them are dying. We now have genre blending, genre bending, genre trendsetting, genre morphing. Take-away: Do not let conventions dictate your story.

    # 3 In the 21st century, there will be novelists who will change the world. Never before has a writer had the opportunity to reach so many readers so quickly. Take-away: This is our century to leave a legacy with our writing. Writing is about talking to human beings one human being at a time.

    Thank you, Donald Maass!

  • GRAND PRIZE & 1st Place BLUE RIBBON PUBLISHED NOVELS 2012

    At last, here are the GRAND PRIZE and FIRST PLACE WINNERS of the CBRM PUBLISHED NOVELS CONTEST-2012

    Drum roll, please!

    (more…)

  • CBRM Blue Ribbon Awards for Published Novels

    We are pleased to announce the Finalists of the Chanticleer Book Reviews Literary Contest for Published Novels 2012.

    The Finalists were announced at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference in Seattle  (more…)

Chanticleer Book Reviews