Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: barbara-stark-nemon

November SPOTLIGHT on the 2022 Somerset Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction

November brings insight, reflection, and contemplation of the state of affairs in which we find ourselves. As the year winds down, so, too, we reflect and ponder what we have done, who we are, and who we would like to be.

It’s a perfect time to curl up with a good novel, you know, the type that grabs you and lives with you long after you put it down.

This is why we celebrate novels that are literary, satirical, and contemporary. This is why we celebrate the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards – Somerset Literary Novels Writing Competitions.

We chose William Somerset Maugham because we love his work and love what he has to say about it:

“I am a made writer. I do not write as I want to; I write as I can… I have had small power of imagination… no lyrical quality… little gift of metaphor I had an acute power of observation, and it seemed to me that I could see a great many things that other people missed.” W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham was a British author who wrote plays and short stories and novels. He was a dashing and daring man who did not wish to follow the other men in his family to practice law. Imagine, an individual in the Victorian Era… He was born on January 25, 1874, in Paris (at the British Embassy) and died on December 16th, 1965, in Nice, France.

During the First World War, our Somerset proved his valor by serving with the Red Cross in the ambulance corps (remember his earlier medical training) and was recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service right before the October Revolution in 1917.

Somerset dove into medicine and was fairly good at it until he wrote his first novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897) and all bets were off. The book flew off the shelves and people were reportedly wrestling in the streets for copies to gift their loved ones. (*Creative license at work – however, you don’t know that this did not happen…) He was known to say, “I took to it (writing) as a duck takes to water.”

At the age of sixty-six, he had to flee with only a suitcase from the encroaching Nazis as they advanced across Europe. He escaped to England and then on to South Carolina, in the U.S. where he continued to work on the screenplay for Razor’s Edge. He moved to Hollywood and then eventually back to France.

Did we mention that W. Somerset Maugham was repudiated to be the highest-paid author of the 1930s?

It’s obvious why we chose Somerset to represent our Literary & Contemporary Fiction Awards!

Submit your novel or manuscript to our Somerset Awards today!

Here is a listing of the Somerset Book Awards Hall of Fame Winners!

The 2018 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

Hard Cider – a novel by Barbara A. Stark-Nemon

Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.

Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.

The 2019 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

The Proprietor of Theatre Life by Donna LeClair

Still in progress, we’re excited to review Donna’s book when it comes out!

The 2020 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

Gregory Erich Phillips for A Season in Lights

Gregory Erich Phillips’ A Season in Lights is a well-crafted, engaging exploration of creatives, each following their heart and trying to reach their dream.

Against backdrops of the 1980s AIDS crisis and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic, the story entwines the lives of a 30-something dancer and an older musician as they strive to make their artistic mark in the cultural capital of New York City.

Here in a two-fold unveiling, the story comes to life from the first-person perspective of Cammie, a starry-eyed aspiring dancer from Lancaster, PA, and the third-person reveal of Tom, a more seasoned black pianist. He longs for a classical career but is too often labeled a jazz musician. Cammie first encounters Tom in a studio dance class where he’s taken a job as the musical accompanist. Befriended by the gay dance instructor, Tom heeds the worldly advice offered about surviving in the Big Apple. “All you’ve got to do is convince people that you belong. You’ve got to tell them who you are before they tell you.”

The 2021 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

Lies in Bone Natalie Symons

A review of Lies in Bone is forthcoming. However, we know you’ll love this intricate story told with beautifully tight control. A mystery lies at the heart of this book that has the feeling of a grown-up To Kill a Mockingbird meets Serial Production’s S-Town Podcast. Highly Recommended.

Will your novel be recognized as the best of the best in the Somerset Awards for 2022? Find out!

Submit your work to the Chanticleer International Book Awards – today!

The last day to submit your work is November 30, 2022. We invite you to join us, tell us your stories, and find out who will take home the prize at CAC23 on April 29th.

As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your literary novel deserves! Enter today!

The SOMERSET Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards – the CIBAs.

The winners will be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony on April 29, 2023, which will take place during the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference. All Finalists and First Place category winners will be recognized, the First Place Winners will be whisked up on stage to receive their custom ribbon and wait to see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of dinner, networking, and celebrations!

First Place Winners and Grand Prize winners will each receive an awards package. Whose works will be chosen?

The excitement builds for the 2022 SOMERSET Book Awards competitions.

November 10, 2022
Somerset Maugham is featured on the Spotlight for 2021 SOMERSET Book Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction
The Somerset Awards: Understanding Literary Fiction

Ah yes, literary fiction, often thought of as the highest form of writing. If only people could define exactly what it means.

Here are a few of Somerset Maugham’s work that typify literary fiction:
- Of Human Bondage
- The Razor’s Edge
- The Moon and Sixpence
- And far too many to list here.
Let’s start with some writing tips from Somerset Maugham himself.
- There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
- Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.
- I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don’t.
- The fact that a great many people believe something is no guarantee of its truth.
- To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.
- Impropriety is the soul of wit.
- When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.
- We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.
- I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.
- If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.
- Submit here to Chanticleer’s Somerset Book Awards before the end of November!
We may have made one of those up…

What a start! We still need to figure out this Literary Fiction business though. Before we dive into that, if you want to read more about Somerset Maugham, consider looking out our previous spotlight here where we discuss him at length!

To read more about the time he wrote in, click here.

So What is Literary Fiction?

The easiest way to attempt to answer this question is to start with what Literary Fiction is being defined in opposition to. Literary Fiction is not Genre Fiction.

So what’s Genre Fiction?

Genre Fiction is written for people to enjoy it generally. It often follows a formula that uses conventional storytelling. The stories are meant to entertain, are plot driven, and they usually have a happy ending. As a result, there’s almost never a question of how to market genre fiction, making it easier to sell.

So, if we take the opposite of all those and apply them to literary fiction, what do we get?
- It doesn’t follow a formula
- Uses unconventional storytelling
- Examines what it means to be human
- It can be difficult to read
- Character focused (not plot)
- Endings vary or can even be uncertain
LIterary Fiction isn’t an exact science

That’s a tough sell! Of course, not all of these elements need to apply

Many literary fiction books are the kinds that stay with us for years after we read them. Chances are the longtime favorite that changed your life is a literary fiction book, or at least possesses some elements of it.

Here’s some contemporary Literary Fiction you may have heard of:
- Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
- The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
- Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
The NY Book Editors has this to say about Literary Fiction:

The term “literary fiction” is controversial and for good reason. As more “literary” writers venture into genre fiction, the lines of distinction have blurred. Sometimes, it’s not always clear. Perhaps, it is genre fiction that’s just pushing its own boundaries.

It’s clear that Literary Fiction is a complex genre, worthy of being written and read. We’re happy to say that we’ve done our fair share here at Chanticleer! Check it out below!

HARD CIDER
By Barbara Stark-Nemon
Grand Prize Winner in Somerset Awards

Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.

Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.

Continue Reading

MARTHA
By Maggie St. Claire
First Place Winner in Somerset Awards

In the unique and compelling voice of an aging woman teetering on the edge of financial ruin, Maggie St. Claire’s debut novel, Martha, takes the reader from affluent residential areas of Los Angeles to its urban streets of despair, shadowing a 71-year-old, retired bank teller as she comes to grips with the challenges and adversities that threaten her existence.

This is the story of Martha Moore, many years divorced, estranged from her only child, and living a lie, as she enters her golden years. The most important things in her life, outside her pride in her desirable Hancock Park bungalow, are her book club friends. She attends their meetings dressed in her finest, projecting what she hopes is the image of a well-educated, well-to-do, Los Angeles dowager. The three wealthy women who comprise the remainder of the group are her best, perhaps only friends, and sometimes that’s a stretch.

Continue Reading

MOURNING DOVE
By Claire Fullerton
First Place Winner in Somerset Awards

Camille Crossan appears to be living an idyllic life in Claire Fullerton’s poignant, evocative novel, Mourning Dove. Living in a superbly appointed mansion in “magnolia-lined and manicured” Memphis during the 1960s and 1970s, Camille’s family life shimmers with Southern charm. Her mother, Posey, usually outfitted in a Lily Pulitzer shift, Pappagallo shoes, and a signature shade of pink lipstick, is a beauty with the wryest sense of humor and steel determination.

As a young girl, Camille, known as Millie, sees how those in her mother’s social orbit are captivated by her aura, how men are easily seduced by her flirtatious charm. Society is a game played by those who know its rules, and Posey means to win. Every time. She, however, isn’t even the charismatic one in the family – that’s Finley, Millie’s older brother, who brims with intelligence, startling good looks, and messianic magnetism. A peek beneath the shiny surface of gracious Southern living, however, reveals enormous cracks in the foundation of the Crossan family. One of the first things the adult Millie tells us about her brother is that he is dead. She takes the reader back, though, to their childhood and coming of age, a tumultuous journey that both binds and separates the siblings.

Continue Reading

JETTY CAT PALACE CAFÉ
By Judy Keeslar Santamaria

Judy Keeslar Santamaria’s skillfully crafted debut novel, Jetty Cat Palace Café, takes the reader from the sophisticated urban areas of Washington state to its remote cranberry coast, accompanying professor Morgen Marín on a life-altering quest.

Like a present-day recipient of a DNA test gone wrong, when 34-year old Morgen, celebrated pianist and music professor, leaves after visiting her elderly grandmother Eleanor, her mind is spinning. Eleanor, preparing for the inevitable, shared family history, documents, and longstanding questions, which blindsided her granddaughter.

Continue Reading

JOEL EMMANUEL
By J.P. Kenna
First Place Winner in Somerset and Clue Awards

Set in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, Joel Emmanuel by JP Kenna rewards its readers with the story of a boy coming of age and how he understands the changes around him. Kenna’s style echoes the English novels of the 19th century.

Young Joel Emmanuel Webber, named for a Wobbly executed long ago in 1915, lives with his mother, Nance Raindance, in a cabin on the Skagit River near Seattle before it was a technopolis. Their world is antiquated even for the 1970s and defined by farming, fishing, and basics like a woodburning cookstove, kerosene lamps, and candles. Joel calls his mother by her given name, doesn’t know his father, and lives an open life free of school and, even occasionally, clothing. He is sensitive and easily succumbs to tears.

Continue Reading

Have a story that breaks the mold? Submit by the end of November for the 2021 CIBAs!

See the 2020 Somerset Winners here!

When you’re ready, did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services? We do and have been doing so since 2011.

Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).

If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.

We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis. Contact us today!

Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.
- A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information available here.
- And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.
- If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Review here or to one of our Chanticleer International Awards here.
And remember! Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today! CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

Writer’s Toolbox

Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox article.

Writers Toolbox Helpful Links:

The Prolific Writer W. Somerset Maugham

Somerset as a Fin de Siècle Author

What is Literary Fiction?

The traditional publishing tool that indie authors can use to propel their writing careers to new levels? The Seven Must-Haves for Authors – Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Publishing Series by Kiffer Brown
November 14, 2021
Celebrating INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY with a LOOK at the GENRE of WOMEN’S FICTION
Appreciating International Women’s Day and looking at Women’s Fiction

The theme for 2021’s international Women’s Day is Choose to Challenge. We thought an excellent challenge to offer to our wonderful Chanticleerians would be to read more women’s fiction. To read more about International Women’s Day, click here. To jump into it though, we first want to define the genre.

While one might the that the Chatelaine Awards would be the location of Women’s Fiction, especially with the image of Jane Morris being used when her story could be written as an excellent example of women’s fiction. If you’re interested in entering the Chatelaine Awards you can click here, and if you want to read more about our most recent Spotlight for the Awards, click here.

Jane Morris’ life is often said to be the inspiration for Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw’s My Fair Lady. Morris trained herself into being a lady, learning French and Italian while reading anything she could get her hands on. She was a renowned embroiderer, even running an embroidery company that did quite well. She was also the muse of pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Rossetti (the model for our Rossetti Awards). By the end of her life, she even managed to purchase the home she lived in so that her daughters would have an inheritance to support them after her death.

Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle

While Morris could be a great subject for a book of women’s fiction, her story is often peppered with romantic narratives, even in fictional retellings like My Fair Lady. It’s true that her husband and Rossetti all rented an apartment together, which allowed for Morris and Rossetti to have an affair while her husband was in Iceland, presumably with her husband’s knowledge as the painter and the subject were considered an open secret, though it seems a painful one for William Morris.

Surrounded by so much romance and intrigue, we couldn’t help but have Jane Morris’ portrait by her lover be the representation of the Chatelaine Awards, which leads us to the use of William Somerset Maugham as the representative of the Somerset Awards.

The Somerset Awards focuses on:
- Contemporary Theme
- Adventure/Suspense
- Literary
- Women’s Fiction + Family Themes
- Satire/Allegorical
- Magic Realism
- Action/Adventure
- Connections
- Social/Psychological Themes
To read more or to enter the Somerset Awards, click here.

Of course, here we want to focus on the women’s fiction portion of that, though there is overlap. Somerset’s first novel that won him critical acclaim was Liza of Lambeth, (1897) which propelled him to become one of the highest paid authors of the turn of the century. He was inspired to write this novel while he was working as an obstetric clerk and medical student at a hospital in a working-class district of London. Somerset is known for his “shrewd understanding of human nature. Britannica

In the novel, Liza, like many women in novels of this era, has her life dictated by the men who surround her, unable to break free of the desires and expectations that surround her, ultimately leading to her death. This examination of consent and the harmfulness of denying women agency can be seen reflected in the urgency of the suffrage movement.

With his story of Liza, Somerset focuses on the hardships women face, especially concerning domestic violence and abuse. He highlights the lack of consequences men face for treating women like animals, and the ways in which people ignore clear signs of abuse as something that isn’t their problem or maybe even deserved. The novel Somerset writes is a critique of the time in which he lives, but is it women’s fiction?

Almost there…

Probably not by today’s standard.

Women’s fiction is difficult to define. Generally, we think Amy Sue Nathan did a good job in this article here, but our take is a little more personal. First, we do think that for a book to be considered in the genre of women’s fiction, it obviously has to focus on women. The next point is that the plot progresses alongside the narrator’s self, whether that be self-discovery, self-preservation, or even perhaps self-destruction (though storylines with a negative outcome can be difficult to fit into this genre).

Since Somerset’s telling of Liza’s story focuses on the ways in which she is denied agency rather than the ways in which she can focus on the self

The struggle with whether or not a book is women’s fiction resolves around the fact that the protagonist must be the one who, as Nathan says, “saves herself.”

The driving force of women’s fiction is the motivation of the main character to get herself from point A to point B to point C, learning and changing and growing and making mistakes along the way. What makes a women’s fiction main character tick is the methods by which she learns and changes and grows and makes mistakes. – Amy Sue Nathan

Even a little growth

Since the focus of women’s fiction is often growth, unhappy endings don’t always necessarily fit. Of course, endings that aren’t unhappy won’t automatically be happy, and women’s fiction often ends up with a complex ending that leaves the reader thoughtful and reflective on their own growth as they read along with the main character.

Of course a book that is considered women’s fiction can have many other themes, and could even fit into other Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) beyond the Somerset Awards. You can see the different genres in the books below:

HARD CIDER by Barbara Stark-Nemon
Women’s Literature, Literary, Women’s Fiction
Grand Prize Winner in Somerset Awards (2018)

Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.

Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.

Continue reading here

FROM LIBERTY to MAGNOLIA: In SEARCH of the AMERICAN DREAM by Janice Ellis, Ph.D.
Black History, Discrimination & Racism, Memoir, Non-Fiction
Grand Prize Winner in Journey Awards (2019)

As a black woman on a cotton farm in Mississippi in the 1960s, Janice Ellis could have resigned herself to a life full of status quo: never speaking up for herself, never speaking out against injustice or racism. Instead, she never let unsettling times define her or hold her back, even as a witness to some of the ugliest racial violence this country has seen. In her candid and thought-provoking memoir, From Liberty to Magnolia: In Search of the American Dream, Ellis vividly depicts her life in the South during the height of the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements.

Through fluid and skillful writing, Ellis recounts the battles she encountered due to her skin color or due to her gender: an abusive husband, discouragement to further her education, sexual and racial discrimination in the workplace, a lack of support from friends and family when she runs for election. Despite these mounting obstacles, she goes on to earn her Ph.D., lands leadership roles and furthers her career, and even runs for mayor in a major US city. Her faith in God and her unwavering belief that the American Dream should be accessible and attainable to everyone are what lead her.

Continue reading here

WE DID WHAT WE COULD by Nancy H. Wynen
Historical Fiction, WWII Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction

Nancy Wynen’s We Did What We Could is a well-conceived, smart, character-driven novel set across a grand European landscape. Here a formidable trio of young women groomed for mere social status demonstrates their strength, endurance, and courage as they move beyond the walls of academia to experience careers. The three must also deal with relationships, family expectations, and life issues amidst the often devastating and upending climate of war.

Lady Archer is a widow from the Great War. As Assistant Head Mistress at St. Martin’s School, she feels girls should receive solid educations and prepare for real professions. With her high level of social ties, Archer looks for “future perfect leaders” within each new graduating class, possessing ideal traits of intelligence and creativity. In May of 1936, Archer sets her sights on three such proteges whose memorable antics foretell their potential for more significant life accomplishments.

Continue reading here

The SHAPE of the ATMOSPHERE by Jessica Dainty
Literary, Psychology, Women’s Fiction

Jessica Dainty’s, The Shape of the Atmosphere is remarkable for its startling realism, its gritty young heroine, and its hopeful conclusion.

When Gertie’s father and sister are killed in an accident on Gertie’s sixteenth birthday in 1957, she is left with one cherished memory: viewing the heavens with her father on the night of the world-changing Sputnik flight.

After the funerals, Gertie wounds herself as a way of coping with her inner anguish, after which her alcohol-addicted mother commits her to an insane asylum. Such institutions were considered modern and scientifically advanced for their time, but as author Jessica Dainty frankly depicts, Gertie’s new home is a combination prison and torture chamber. The naïve but intelligent girl soon becomes acquainted with such therapies as immersion in icy cold water and electroshock (both designed to calm the inmates), as she gradually gets to know her fellow patients, the women on Ward 2.

Continue reading here

DISOWNED – The RED-HEELED REBELS Series Novel One by Tikiri
Women’s Adventure, Thriller/Suspense, International Crime

Spanning three continents and taking on crucial issues of child marriage and human trafficking, Disowned features a brave teen heroine struggling against international criminality with nothing but her wits and grit.

Asha, born in Tanzania, is still a child when her parents are tragically killed while on a family safari in Kenya. Within a short period of time she is transported to Goa, India, to live with relatives she has never met. Her grandmother is an angry, culture-bound crone, her aunt and cousin living, as Asha now must, under the old woman’s seemingly heartless sway.

Continue reading here

PECCADILLO at the PALACE: An Annie Oakley Mystery by Kari Bovée
Historical Thrillers, Women’s Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction
Grand Prize Winner in Goethe Awards (2019)

Kari Boveé’s Peccadillo at the Palace, the second book in the Annie Oakley Mystery series, is a historical, mystery thriller extraordinaire. Fans of both genres will thrill at Boveé’s complex plot that keeps us guessing from its action-packed beginning to the satisfying reveal at the end.

The book opens with the Honorable Colonel Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show to England on a voyage to perform for Queen Victoria. They are not on the high seas long, when Annie’s beloved horse, Buck, jumps overboard. Her husband and the Queen’s loyal servant, Mr. Bhakta, jump in to save the horse, or was Mr. Bhakta already dead before he reached the water? Thus, begins the mystery of who killed Mr. Bhakta, leaving all to wonder, is the Queen safe?

Continue reading here

We appreciate you spending time with us in celebration of International Women’s Day!

Looking to join the Chanticleer family?

Register for VCAC 21 here! Registration will include access to video recordings of the conference. April 21- 25, 2021. Multichannel Marketing for Authors and Intermediate and Advanced Writing Craft

See all our Chanticleer International Book Awards here.

Sign up for an Editorial Book Review here.

And now open, The Roost!

Chanticleer’s own online community offering a private place to discuss craft and marketing with authors, in addition to receiving steep discounts on many Chanticleer services. Read more here.
March 8, 2021
VALENTINE’S DAY SWEET READS with ALL THE LOVES from CHANTICLEER

Books count as safe social distancing

As we step toward Valentine’s in quarantine, we might be a little further from our loved ones than normal, but hopefully that doesn’t mean we’re further away from love. Just like we can stay in touch with each other in different ways, we can take a moment to appreciate the different types of love we still have access to.

Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else. Like all young men, you greatly exaggerate the difference between one young woman and another…. And the only way to make sure of that is to keep changing the man; for the same man can never keep it up. – George Bernard Shaw

Now we like Shaw for his obscure connection to our Chatelaine Awards, which you can read about here (the long and short of it is that Shaw based Eliza Doolittle’s character from My Fair Lady off of Jane Morris, the woman, Jane Morris, in the Chatelaine portrait by Dante Rossetti).

Anyway, Shaw’s opinion on the ability of men to offer variety aside, did you know the Greeks have seven different names for love? Let’s dive in!

The Greeks Seven Names for LOVE with Recommended Book Titles from Chanticleerian Authors whose works we love.

1) Eros:

Eros is what we normally think of when we first hear the word love, the romantic and the passionate. Here are some great titles we recommend for the Eros readers out there.

Heart of a Few by Jon Duncan: It isn’t distance that makes the heart grow fonder in this novel, but the thrill of trying to save the world from fascism in WWII. Here the aristocratic Livy Ashford falls for pilot Jamie Wallace. Like the couple’s passion for each other, the reader’s own delight will draw them through this book in a flash!

The Skeptical Physick by Gail Avery Halverson: Fire, plague? Nothing can keep these Simon McKensie and Catherine Abbott apart! Gail Avery Halverson dives deep into the romance and the historical details that inspired the background setting for this whole novel. Winner of the Grand Prize in the Chatelaine Awards

2) Philia:

Philia is more of the love for our intimates and friends, those who we choose to keep close to us. Titles for the friendly readers out there.

Victorian Town by Nancy Throne: A Time Traveling young woman finds friendship and joy in the past. Abby Parker never quite felt she belonged at home, but a magic ring that transports her back in time gives her a chance to make real connections and stand out in a time where outspoken women are often pushed to the side. First Place Category Winner in the Dante Rossetti Awards

Mischief and Mayhem by L.E. Rico: Jameson O’Halloran might be surrounded by steamy looking men, but don’t be fooled. This story focuses most on the ties of family and the family we choose as we move through this veil of tears to live our best life. First Place Category Winner in the Chatelaine Awards

3) Ludus

Ludus is a close cousin of Eros, the playful, flirtatious love that is a little harder to make work over a Zoom room. For all you sassy flirts, we recommend the following

Love’s Misadventures by Cheri Champagne: The title says it all as you jump into Miss Anna Bradley’s hurried search for a husband, being in danger of forever living as a spinster at the ripe old age of 25. Written in the tradition of Jane Austen for the modern reader, this novel features debonair gentlemen who can keep their distance and pack a picnic, while delightful friendships make up a wonderful background cast of characters. First Place Category Winner in the Chatelaine Awards

Secrets Revealed by Kate Vale: Sometimes what’s meant to be fun and easy turns into something more, as happens when Owen Haskins and Faith Russell’s initial tense relationship breaks through to romantic as the casual adversaries turn into casual lovers and then maybe more. First Place Category Winner in the Chatelaine Awards

4) Storge

Storge is the unconditional love that we hope comes from family, chosen or otherwise. These titles are great reads for those who love family connection.

Promise of Tomorrow by T.K. Conklin: When Shyfawn Tucker’s adventure with her friend Mabel leads to disaster, the two need to figure out how to survive on their own. Meanwhile, Shyfawn’s sister Jo isn’t the type to sit around while her family is kidnapped. A story rich in romance, but that explores the ties that bind family together and what it means to find the best in everyone while still being true to yourself.

Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes you Knew by Ellen Notbohm: A beautiful book for parents who are struggling to better understand their children. Probably the highlight of the list is 10. “Love me unconditionally.” Don’t base approval on an “if” along with an emphasis on people with autism being whole and not promoting a harmful narrative of fixing people. A thoughtful look at the ways we can unconditionally accept people regardless of difference. Winner of the Grand Prize in the Nonfiction Instructional & Insight Awards

5) Philautia

Philautia is probably the most forgotten love we need to try and remember, which is self-love.

Hard Cider by Barbara Stark-Nemon: After building up a family and life that she can be proud of, Abbie Rose isn’t one to call it quits. She embarks on a totally new career path to keep living life to the fullest and be the truest version of herself that she can be. Winner of the Grand Prize in the Somerset Awards

The Knock by Carolyn Watkins: Sometimes understanding your family’s love means loving yourself when they can’t be there. Carolyn Watkin’s beautiful look at childhood with a deployed parent will tug on your heartstrings. First Place Category Winner in the Little Peeps Awards

6) Pragma

Pragma is another good overlapping love that’s usually connect to other loves. This one encompasses committed, companionate love.

Seize the Flame by Lynda J. Cox: A story of forgiveness and finding a way to love again. Will Drake Adams and Jessie Depre be able to overcome the traumas of their past and their current betrayals to find love together again?

My Sister’s Super Skills by Lauren Mosbeck: Sometimes commitment and love mean helping our family through tough times. Mosbek does an excellent job laying out fun tools to help kids deal with anxiety and depression, especially with the current state of the world. First Place Category Winner in the Little Peeps Awards

7) Agápe

Agápe: The last and biggest love that is empathetic and universal love.

Blossom – The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury by Anna Carner: The story of how Carner and her husband took a deer into their family and then try to raise awareness to keep her safe. Balanced with reflection of Carner’s own youth, a beautiful reminder that we are all connected with the tone of a nature thriller. First Place Category Winner in the Journey Awards

The Last Outrageous Woman by Jessica Stone: Sometimes a past lover’s dream can take you places you never dreamed possible. That’s what happens eighty-six-year-old Mattie decides to embark on a worldwide adventure with her best friend Edna and Edna’s niece. It’s a whirlwind of fun where each woman seeks fulfillment in their own way while jumping into an international stage and connecting with the wider world at large.

Do you have another type of LOVE to add to the list? We do!

BIBLIOPHILIA – The LOVE of BOOKS

Are you a Bibliophile? We are!

Here are some of Kiffer’s favorite earworms (aka lyrics) concerning love.

Because all you need is love. Love is all you need. The Beatles

Love will bring us together. Captain and Tennille

Love lifts us up where we belong. Joe Cocker and Buffy Sainte-Marie

What the world needs now is love, sweet love. Hal David

Happy Valentines Day! From all of us Chanticleer Reviews!

Love comes in many forms and so do our contests! Submit here! Want to tell us about some of the favorite loves you’ve read? Talk to us on Twitter, Facebook, or join us here on The Roost.

February 14, 2021
SOMERSET Book Awards Hall of Fame – CIBAs, Literary Book Awards
The 2019 Grand Prize Winner of Somerset Awards is

Donna LeClair for The PROPRIETOR of the THEATRE of LIFE

A MANUSCRIPT

This is no ordinary book and the word “extraordinary” can’t begin to do it justice. It’s a gift for anyone fortunate enough to read it and libraries around the globe should add it to their collections. It should be available to everyone. Emma is a highly sympathetic character, an everywoman, in need of answers. The reader learns as much as she does about individual and universal struggles on earth, the lessons to be gleaned from suffering, and the value of sharing our stories. ~ Carrie M., Chanticleer Editorial Team

The 2019 Somerset First in Category Winners are:
- Carl Roberts for The Trial of Connor Padget
- Judith Kirscht for End of the Race
- Patrick Finegan for Cooperative Lives
- Santiago Xaman for After Olympus
- Claire Fullerton for Little Tea
- Maggie St. Claire for Martha
- Jamie Zerndt for Jerkwater
- R. Barber Anderson for The Sunken Forest, Where the Forest Came out of the Earth
Here is a listing of the Somerset Book Awards Hall of Fame Grand Prize winners!

Hard Cider by a novel by Barbara A. Stark-Nemon

Stay at home mom turns entrepreneur, but without her husband’s support, and continunually needing to manage her three adult sons, Abbie Rose Stone’s dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider faces a world of adversity in Barbara A. Stark-Nemon’s Hard Cider.

The Rabbi’s Gift by Chuck Gould

Babylonian astrology and Jewish mysticism combine with Roman history to create a timeless story of passion and fate in Chuck Gould’s The Rabbi’s Gift. Babylonian astrology and Jewish mysticism combine with Roman history to create a timeless story of passion and fate in Chuck Gould’s The Rabbi’s Gift.

The Ugly by Alexander Boldizar

Words thrown as hard as boulders are easy to catch – if you’ve had practice. Just ask our hero, Muzhduk the Ugli the Fourth…In the great tradition of existentialism, Boldizar brings us a book that is hard to classify. It has aspects of the existential with a fair amount of satirical wordplay and a bit of theater of the absurd thrown in.

The Alexandrite by Rick Lenz

Marilyn Monroe, time travel, second chances – all steeped in mid-Century Hollywood history, culture, and magic.

The Manipulator by Steve Lundin

With a fast-paced storyline and a rich cast of characters, this award-winning winning novel offers a uniquely hilarious, but scary, perspective on the how the businesses of public relations and marketing can take technology to its precipice to take advantage of a media addicted public.

Individually Wrapped by Jeremy Bullian

Individually Wrapped tells us the bizarre tale of Sam Gregory’s descent over the condensed course of a couple of days. Set in a 21st-century futuristic city, technology has permeated every aspect of the city dwellers’ lives… Self-delusion is an interesting state of mind because everyone can see it except yourself, as it propels you ever deeper into oblivion, where not even technology can save you.

We would be amiss by not featuring and recognizing Judith Kirscht, our very own Pacific Northwest Somerset inspired author. Judith specializes in family sagas and societal issues.

Judith Kirscht – Somerset Hall of Fame Author

Judith was born and educated in Chicago during the Great Depression and then WWII. She taught school during the upheavals of the Vietnam protests and the Civil Rights movement. Later in life, she found herself in California, divorced and with two daughters. Judith taught creative writing at universities of very different cultures: University of Michigan and U of California, Santa Monica. Her novels continuously are awarded CIBA First Place Category ribbons for the Somerset Book Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.

The Camera’s Eye by Judith Kirscht

In a world where too many rocks are thrown at those who represent anything other than the norm in middle-class white America, two friends decide to take matters into their own hands and stand up to the hatred with which they are targeted in order to save their home and ultimately their lives.

Hawkins Lane by Judith Kirscht

Hawkins Lane is excellent and, ultimately, a redemptive story about the heart-wrenching tragedies a family can survive, and about the healing powers of nature and friendship. The characters and the story will linger long after the last page is read and you will be captivated from the first page.

The Inheritors by Judith Kirscht

“The Inheritors” by Judith Kirscht is a novel of one woman grappling to find her cultural and personal identity. Tolerance of others and the need for communication is required from each of us is an overriding theme in this latest work of Kirscht that explores the complexities of human nature and family bonds.

Home Fires by Judith Kirscht

“Home Fires” is an intelligently written, fast-paced family drama that unfolds into a suspenseful page-turner. Although this novel masterfully renders the emotional hardships and tragedies that are sometimes part of dysfunctional relationships, it is not a depressing read.

Nowhere Else to Go by Judith Kirscht

“Nowhere Else to Go” is a tightly woven and insistently engaging novel about racial prejudice and the blackboard jungle of the 1960s.

HOW DO YOU HAVE YOUR BOOKS RECOGNIZED? Submit them to the Chanticleer International Book Awards – Click here for more information about The CIBAs!

The last day to submit your work is November 30, 2020. We invite you to join us, to tell us your stories, and to find out who will take home the prize at CAC21 in April.

As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your literary novel deserves! Enter today!

The winners will be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony on April 19, 2021, that will take place during the 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference. All Semi-Finalists and Finalists will be recognized. The first place winners will be recognized and receive their custom ribbon, and then we will see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of networking and celebration!

CIBA Ribbons!

First Place category winners and Grand Prize winners will each receive an awards package. Whose works will be chosen? The excitement builds for the 2020 SOMERSET Book Awards competitions and now for the Mark Twain Book Awards.

Our Chanticleer Review Writing Contests feature more than $30,000.00 worth of cash and prizes each year!

~$1000 Overall Grand Prize Winner
~$30,000views, prizes, and promotional opportunities awarded to Category Winners

ENTER NOW!

Don’t delay! Enter today!
November 18, 2020
HARD CIDER by Barbara Stark-Nemon – Women’s Literature, Literary, Women’s Fiction

Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.

Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.

After finishing a successful career in education and raising her three sons, Abbie Rose now sees an opportunity to create a new segment of her life’s work in a blossoming business venture. She’s set to take on this new venture by herself, determined to succeed, with or without her husband’s support. Yet, while she lays out her meticulous plans for her cider business, life keeps happening around her, attempting to derail Abbie Rose at every turn.

Hard Cider is a well-researched second novel for Stark-Nemon, providing intricate details on everything from orchard planning and cider creation to knitted handicrafts. Stark-Nemon leaves no stone unturned and is meticulous with her descriptions of the lands and seasons of Michigan. So much so, that readers may leave this story ready to travel to this Midwest region and will find familiarity in the real-life scenes based on her elaborate imagery.

The story builds slowly, relying upon richly descriptive settings to create the Stone family and the world in which they live. The tidbits of information presented about infertility, a shocking house-fire, parenting a troubled child, and marital woes are intriguing, and some may find, too brief, leaving the reader wanting more. Which isn’t altogether a bad thing. In fact, the strength of this work is that the reader is left wanting more, imagining what might happen next for this cast of characters we’re not quite ready to leave behind.

A central theme of this down-to-earth story is the word new. New business ventures, new life changes, new family mixed with old, and new lives for the Stone family. Abbie Rose handles each of these life-altering adaptions with courage and a reflecting thoughtfulness. She teaches those around her what it means to manage life with a grace we can all hope to emulate.

All in all, Hard Cider is a thoughtful literary novel of one woman and her ambitions to rise above what life has handed her to create an experience of beauty, one that is formed not void of hardship, but despite it. Recommended.

Hard Cider won Grand Prize in the CIBA 2018 Somerset Awards for Literary Fiction.

July 12, 2019