Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: glen-craney

The LARAMIE 2021 CIBA WINNERS for Americana Fiction
The Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre. The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

The 2021 LARAMIE Book Awards First Place Category Winners and the LARAMIE Grand Prize Winner were announced by Jacquie Rogers on Saturday, June 25, 2022 at the Hotel Bellwether and broadcast via ZOOM webinar.

This is the OFFICIAL 2021 LIST of the LARAMIE BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the LARAMIE Grand Prize Winner.

Join us in celebrating the following authors and their works!
- Chris Bennett – Road to the Breaking
- E.E. Burke – Tom Sawyer Returns
- George T. Arnold – Wyandotte Bound
- Pamela Nowak – Never Let Go
- David Fitz-Gerald – The Curse of Conchobar: A Prequel to the Adirondack Spirit Series
- Glen Craney – The Cotillion Brigade: A Novel of the Civil War and the Most Famous Female Militia in American History
- T.K. Conklin – Outlaw’s Redemption
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 LARAMIE Awards is:

Tom Sawyer Returns

E.E. Burke

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

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The 2022 LARAMIE Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 10 year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2022 LARAMIE Book Awards are open until the end of July. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in August. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. We thank you for participating in the 2021 Chanticleer International Book Awards!
June 30, 2022
June SPOTLIGHT on CHAUCER AWARDS – Early Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Romantic Fiction, Crusades, Medieval
Do you have an early historical fiction manuscript or recently released novel? Submit your work to the CIBA 2019 CHAUCER Awards by
June 30, 2020, and see how your work stacks up against others.

We know you want to – because we never tire of promoting our authors’ achievements!

As in Chaucer’s words in the Nun’s Priest Tale of the Canterbury Tales,

“For crowing there was not his equal in all the land.”

Click here to find out more.

We titled the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) division for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction the Chaucer Awards, after the English poet and author of the Canterbury Tales, because #CHAUCER.

But seriously, did you know that The Canterbury Tales is considered one of the greatest works in the English language? In fact, it was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed. So, yeah, #Chaucer

A woodcut from William Caxton’s second edition 0f the Canterbury Tales printed in 1483
Some interesting tidbits about Geoffrey Chaucer
- born c. 1342/43 probably in London. He died on October 25, 1400
  
  his father was an important London vintner
  
  His family’s finances were derived from wine and leather
  
  Chaucer spoke Middle English and was fluent in French, Latin, and Italian
  
  He guided diplomatic missions across the continent of Europe for ten years where he discovered the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio whose The Decameron had a profound influence on Chaucer’s later works
  
  He married well as his wife received an annuity from the queen consort of Edward III
  
  His remains are interred in the Westminster Abbey
As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your historical fiction deserves! Enter today!

Welcome to the CHAUCER BOOK AWARDS HALL OF FAME

Click on the links below to read the Chanticleer Review of the award-winning work!

The 2018 Chaucer Book Awards Grand Prize Winner:

The SERPENT and The EAGLE by Edward Rickford

2018 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction First in Category Winners:
- Rebels against Tyranny: Civil War in the Crusader States by Helena P. Schrader
- Mistress of Legend Book 3 by Nicole Evelina
- Michael – Book Three of The Triptych Chronicle by Prue Batten
- Pelsaert’s Nightmare by Gregory Hansen
- Under the Approaching Dark by Anna Belfrage
- Stone Circle by Kate Murdoch
- David & Avshalom — Life and Death in the Forest of Angels by Bernard Mann
The 2017 Chaucer Book Awards Grand Prize:

The Traitor’s Noose: Lions and Lilies Book 4 by Catherine A. Wilson and Catherine T. Wilson

2017 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction First in Category Winners:
- The Serpent and the Eagle by Edward Rickford
- Slave to Fortune by DJ Munro
- Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King
- Call to Juno: A Tale of Ancient Rome by Elisabeth Storrs
- The Chatelaine of Montaillou by Susan E Kaberry
- Guillaume: Book Two of The Triptych Chronicle by Prue Batten
The 2016 Chaucer Book Awards Grand Prize Winner:

(Chaucer Book Awards was the Historical Fiction division until we divided it for the 2016 CIBAs into two divisions because of the number of entries:

Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s Historical Fiction and Chaucer Book Awards for pre-1750s Historical Fiction).

The Towers of Tuscany by Carol M. Cram

2016 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction First in Category Winners:
- Envoy of Jerusalem: Balian d’Ibelin and the Third Crusade by Helena P. Schrader
- The Gilded Crown by Catherine T and Catherine A Wilson
- Hope of Ages Past by Bruce Gardner
- 1381: The Forgotten Revolt by Gina M. Bright
- The Serpent’s Crown: A Novel of Medieval Cyprus by Hana Samek Norton
The 2015 Chaucer Book Awards Grand Prize Winner:

(Chaucer Book Awards was the Historical Fiction division until we divided it into two divisions for the 2016 CIBAs because of the number of entries:

Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s Historical Fiction and Chaucer Book Awards for pre-1750s Historical Fiction).

Valhalla Revealed by Robert A Wright

2015 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction First in Category Winners:
- Antebellum U.S. History: Jay W. Curry – Nixon and Dovey
- Women’s U.S. History: Nicole Evelina – Madame Presidentess
- Legacy/Legend: Edmond G. Addeo – Uzumati – A Tale of the Yosemite
- Ancient History: Christian Kachel – Spoils of Olympus: By the Sword
- Middle-Ages: Helena Schrader – Defender of Jerusalem
- Middle-Ages: Glen Craney –The Spider and the Stone: A Novel of Scotland’s Black Douglas
- Elizabethan/Tudor – Anna Castle – Death by Disputation
- Women’s History: Paula Butterfield – La Luministe
- Turn of the Century: James Conroyd Martin – The Warsaw Conspiracy
- Young Adult: K.S. Jones – Shadow of the Hawk
- World Wars History: Nicki Chen – Tiger Tail Soup, A Novel of China at War
  - World/International History – Robert A. Wright – Valhalla Revealed
The 2014 Chaucer Book Awards Grand Prize:

(Chaucer Book Awards was the Historical Fiction division until we divided it into two divisions because of the number of entries:

Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s Historical Fiction and Chaucer Book Awards for pre-1750s Historical Fiction).

The Love of Finished Years by Gregory Erich Phillips

2014 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction First in Category Winners
- Women’s Fiction: J. L. Oakley for Timber Rose
- Legend: Kevin Allen and Emma Rose Millar for Five Guns Blazing
- Legacy: Michael D. McGranahan for Silver Kings and Sons of Bitches
- Pre-History: Mary S. Black for Peyote Fire
- Ancient History: Rebecca Locklann for The Thinara King
- Roman/Grecian Classical: Elisabeth Storrs for The Golden Dice: A Tale of Ancient Rome
- Middle-Ages: Helena P. Schrader for St. Louis’ Knight
- Late Middle Ages: Lilian Gafni for The Alhambra Decree: Flower from Castile
- Elizabethan/Tudor: Syril Levin Kline for Shakespeare’s Changeling: A Fault Against the Dead
- The 1600’s: Donna Scott for Shame the Devil (manuscript – published 2020)
- The 1700s & 1800s: Karleene Morrow for Destinies
- Turn of the 19th Century: Ruth Hull Chatlien for The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte
- Twentieth Century: David Brendan Hopes for The One with the Beautiful Necklaces (manuscript)
- Young Adult: Sharon Short for My One Square Inch of Alaska
- U. S. History: J. P. Kenna for Beyond the Divide
- World History: Michelle Rene for I Once Knew Vincent
The 2013 Chaucer Book Awards Grand Prize Winner:

Propositum by Sean Curley

2013 Chaucer Book Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction First in Category Winners:
- Adventure/Young Adult: I, Walter by Mike Hartner
- N.A. Western: Crossing Purgatory by Gary Schanbacher
- World War II (European): Deal with the Devil by J. Gunner Grey
- Adventure/Romance/YA: “Lady Blade” by C.J. Thrush
- Nordic History: The Jøssing Affair by J.L.Oakley
- Regency: Traitor’s Gate by David Chacko & Alexander Kulcsar
- Women’s Fiction/WWII: Wait for Me by Janet K. Shawgo
- Medieval/Dark Ages: Divine Vengeance by David Koons
- Women’s Fiction/World History: Daughters of India by Kavita Jade
What are you waiting for? Before long the CHAUCER Book Award deadline will be history.

Submit your manuscript or recently released Historical Fiction (pre-1750s) to the Chanticleer International Book Awards!

Want to be a winner next year? The deadline to submit your book for the Chaucer awards is June 30, 2020. Enter here!

Grand Prize and First Place Winners for 2019 will be announced on September 5, 2020.

Any entries received on or after June 30, 2020, will be entered into the 2021 Chaucer Book Awards. The Grand Prize and First Place for 2020 CIBA winners will be held on April 17, 2021.

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

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

The 2020 winners will be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony on September 5, 2020, which will take place during the 2020 Chanticleer Authors Conference. All Semi-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!

Don’t delay! Enter today!
June 24, 2020
The Spider and the Stone: A Novel of Scotland’s Black Douglas by Glen Craney – Historical Fiction/Scottish War of Independence

Steeped in the early struggles for Scottish independence, Glen Craney’s The Spider and the Stone combines fact, folklore, and imagination to recreate the life of one of the country’s most storied heroes, James Douglas.

As a young teenager, James was confronted with the barbaric cruelty of the English occupiers. King Edward, known as Longshanks, would stop at nothing to quell Scottish rebellion—humiliating, torturing, and slaughtering innocent civilians along with Scottish combatants striving for the freedom and the right to rule themselves.

Just as he begins to grapple with the reality of his country’s plight, he meets and falls in love with a girl named Isabelle Macduff and determines to win her, despite the fact that she is promised in marriage to a rival of the Douglas clan.

The book opens in the middle of scenes depicting the exploits 0f William Wallace – Braveheart, followed by a heartbreaking loss to Longshanks at Falkirk, ending with the gruesome murder of Wallace.

Cue the return of James, who is back from France where he learned the art of war from the Knights Templar and is ready to fight. He and Robert the Bruce step into the breach and continue the assault on the English invaders.This is the stuff legends are made of, and Glen Craney does an excellent job bringing the tale to life. Written in lush prose with battle’s gore informed by the historical record and a scattering of erotic scenes with the decorum appropriate to the times, Craney’s offering keeps the reader solidly immersed in the late 1300s-early 1400s. He deftly crafts the coldness of the castles and the warmth of campfires sprinkled with colloquialisms redolent of the time and place.

Craney admits having taken some liberties with the known facts, which are few, about the Scottish Wars of Independence and the major players; he has matched Isabelle with James, for example, though others have postulated an affair between her and The Bruce.

The book’s title references two important elements of Scottish lore: the Stone of Scone, a necessity for the crowning of monarchs and sometimes said to be the Biblical Jacob’s Pillow; and the “spider” whose industry and apparent refusal to stop spinning her web no matter what obstacles she encountered so impressed and inspired Bruce (and in this version, James also) while in captivity.

Craney’s attention to detail in both high concepts and simple conversations, make history come alive.

“Cinematically enthralling and historically compelling, Glen Craney’s The Spider and the Stone is a must read for lovers of James Douglas, the fight for Scottish Independence, Braveheart, or Robert the Bruce.” – Chanticleer Reviews

February 25, 2017