Vital Mission, the fourth book in Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s Major Jake Fortina series, is a military thriller with exceptional heart. It goes beyond combat tactics to explore the traumatizing impact of war on those who wage it.
Vital Mission confronts the true cost of war, not in headlines, statistics, and maps, but in kitchens, schoolyards, and the private corners of people’s minds.
The story opens in February 2022 as Russia conducts a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Jake Fortina, a former US Army commander and military attaché living in Italy with his wife and small child, observes the invasion from a distance, Fortina is troubled by old instincts and a sense of helplessness.
In Mariupol, Ukrainian mother Olena tries to protect her sons from raining shells. When tragedy strikes, the boys are taken in by Russian soldiers participating in a disturbing child-relocation operation dressed up as a “rescue.” From there, readers follow the boys on a journey full of heartbreak and quiet bravery.
Margarita Romanova, a young Russian field medic with a difficult history, steps into this emotional scene when she’s assigned to care for the displaced children.
She develops an unexpected connection with Sergiy and Gleb. Through her eyes, readers face the moral conflict of a soldier choosing between duty and compassion. Meanwhile, Jake’s point of view provides a glimpse into the emotional toll of seeing a battle you can no longer fight, yet cannot ignore.
Vital Mission is brisk and cinematic with frequent shifts of perspective. Its tight pacing constantly engages readers with the narrative while still allowing room to bring in great emotional depth.
Steinke strikes a masterful mix between urgency and empathy, utilizing simple yet powerful words to draw each scene. Whether in a darkened gym where children whisper into their covers or along a frostbitten tree line where Ukrainian soldiers lie in wait, the language Steinke uses is visceral and immersive.
The story never feels bloated with complex politics or overly technical military jargon. This lets Steinke’s great strength in his character work shine. He quietly builds layers of emotion, especially around the two boys, without ever slipping into melodrama. There’s a haunting restraint to many of the scenes and a clarity that layers every moment with gravity through the author’s intense voice and emotional precision.
That deep level of emotional impact is felt most through the desperation the children experience in their captivity. Readers feel the weight of a child’s confusion, desperation, and growing awareness that the world around him might not make sense for a long time—if ever.
Vital Mission isn’t just a story about war alone. It is also a story about humanity.
Children are forced to grow up overnight, soldiers question their orders, and love shows up in the unlikeliest places. Readers who are drawn to stories with emotional insight, moral complexity, and real-world relevance will find Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s Vital Mission hard to put down—and harder still to forget.
The Global Thriller Awards celebrate stories where individual actions determine the fate of nations—or species. Our Hall of Fame showcases authors who’ve mastered the art of maximum-stakes storytelling, proving that the best thrillers don’t just entertain; they remind us that heroes can emerge when humanity needs them most.
From underwater civilizations fighting for survival to international conspiracies threatening global stability, these Grand Prize Winners understand that when the world hangs in the balance, readers demand heroes worthy of the challenge. Each of these celebrated works demonstrates what happens when exceptional writing meets planetary-scale peril.
We’re here to celebrate the past Grand Prize Winners that showed us just how high stakes the suspense can be!
A Blanket of Steel: The Rise of Oceania Book 6 By Timothy S Johnston
The review for this year’s Grand Prize Winner is forthcoming. In the meantime, here is our review for the previous book in the series and 2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner, The Shadow of War:
In Timothy S. Johnston’sThe Shadow of War, gripping personal, ecological, and political battles rage undersea for autonomy and power against the powerful surface nations. But even the ocean depths churn with betrayal, conflicting loyalties, and the ruthless ambitions of humanity.
This thriller opens on the dystopia of the year 2131, when rising sea levels have forced humanity to establish and inhabit underwater colonies. The fear of environmental collapse is heightened by the prospect of war as the colonies struggle to maintain their independence.
A simple scientific exploration of theChagostrench by two geologist brothers takes a horrific turn, snapping the science fiction tension with the impact of gore horror. A slight touch by one brother on the hull of their Seacar causes his hand to suddenly dissolve into a strange mass, melting flesh away from bone. This opening foreshadows the enigmas and anomalies to be unravelled in a vast undersea mystery.
Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke
Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller in Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy!
In this multinational geopolitical thriller by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke, a power-crazed Russian oligarch wants to usurp the current Russian dictator to take his place as the head of the government. He forms his own paramilitary force to steal priceless paintings from a Vatican church with plans to resell them for billions to fund his campaign. But why stop there? He also explodes illicit small-scale atomic weapons to further destabilize the Russian leader and cast himself as the country’s new czar.
Meanwhile, a crazed U.S. right wing military adjutant buys loads of AK-47s from the Italian mafia to arm U.S. paramilitary groups intent on enforcing their own far-right views in America.
Two professors uncover a conspiracy to sterilize liberal Americans with specially-manufactured electric cars, in Charlie Robinson’s thriller, Hybrid Hysteria.
Dr. Theresa Lauzon, endowed assistant professor at SUNY-Canton’s Department of Automotive Engineering, comes to Charlie “CC” Cavanaugh, university Chaplain and physics PhD, with two troubling revelations.
First, while testing an electric car donated by the Gauss Hybrid Electric Automobile Company (GHEA), she’d discovered troubling spikes in its battery’s electromagnetic field. She connects these spikes to a rash of infertility and miscarriages along the Pacific coast, where GHEA cars have boomed in popularity.
Second, Theresa is pregnant, and the father is GHEA’s technician-on-loan to SUNY-Canton, Jay Fish. And though Fish recently disappeared from campus, Theresa has much more complicated problems.
The Chameleon: A Jake Palmer Novel by Ron McManus takes on one of the most terrifying issues in the modern world: nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists.
Amidst the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, the world’s superpowers recognize that both nations possess large nuclear arsenals, which intelligent, well-armed fanatics threaten to steal for their own nefarious purposes. If these weapons went off, they could easily lead to World War III. To prevent this, the U.S. eagerly takes on the role of supervising the security of these weapons in both countries.
In this terrorism thriller, India and Pakistan clash over the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan’s leaders decide to secretly deploy a variety of nuclear weapons to the front, sending them along backroads in unmarked trucks. But in a carefully planned attack, terrorists kidnap one of these vehicles containing three nuclear weapons, before substituting a precise duplicate truck to take its place. The theft is not discovered until the decoy truck reaches its destination.
Bill Hefflin is a man apart—apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love
At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin—a disillusioned Romanian expat—arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset, code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems, including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.
With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces, including his own CIA and Boris—the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.
The Bourne Identity Meets John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Global Thriller Winners is to submit today!
Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!
Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your Thriller story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2025 Global Thrillers Awards by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.
The Series Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Genre Fiction (and now Non-Fiction). The Grand Prize Winner, Tim Facciola’s Series, A Vengeful Realm will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Series contest page year ’round!
The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!
While these Award Winning Series are all Multi-book sagas, we are going to showcase the most important part of a Series. The beginning. Having a good start makes it memorable. The first book is the foundation, laying the first stitches into what later becomes a whole tapestry, telling their story.
Join us in celebrating the 2024 first in the series of the First Place Series Winners!
When Stella and her younger brother, Tom, move to their new London home, they become mystified by the disappearances of Harry, their elderly neighbor’s small dog. Where does he go? And why does he keep reappearing wet-through?
Their quest to solve the riddle over the summer holidays leads to a boat buried under a grassy mound, and a tunnel that takes them to a secret lake.
Who is the boy rowing towards them who looks so terrified? And whose are those children’s voices carried on the wind from beyond the woods?
Stella and Tom soon discover that they have travelled back in time to their home and its gardens almost 100 years earlier. Here they make both friends and enemies, and uncover startling connections between the past and present.
Nothing can stop the gods of Order… except a roll of the dice.
The Longing gnaws at young Galen, an irresistible force dragging him toward an ancient vault where Chaos slumbers. He doesn’t crave power, just an escape from Order’s suffocating grip and the twisted nightmares that haunt his sleep. But visions flicker in his mind, painting a world devoured by the very chaos he’s compelled to unleash.
He’s not alone in this desperate pilgrimage. Another soul thrums with the same Longing, fueled by ambition and vengeance. The race to the vault is a collision course, a clash of desperation and darkness.
Now, Galen stands at the precipice: trust his wild imagination, a double-edged sword that’s always landed him in trouble, or unleash the torrent that threatens to drown the world… unless, somehow, he can bend the very fabric of chance with a throw of his ancient, wood-carved dice.
In 18th Century Salem, Massachusetts, the ambitious Derby and Crowninshield families vie for power amid a shifting social and political landscape.
After the heartbreaking loss of their first child, Mary Hodges Derby and her husband Captain Richard Derby are blessed with a healthy son named Richard who is soon followed by four brothers and three sisters. All but one of the Derby boys follow their father to sea to secure their fortunes from America’s lucrative but treacherous trade routes to the West Indies and beyond.
When Captain Derby’s oldest son comes of age, he decides to retire from the sea and establish a merchant house. Two of Richard’s brothers follow him as captains of their own ships, but Captain Derby keeps his son Hasket ashore to manage the family’s growing trade network.
George Crowninshield, the youngest of four brothers, sails for the Derby family enterprise and ultimately marries Hasket’s sister Mary. Meanwhile, George’s sister Eliza makes a match with Hasket Derby.
Though the two families are united by wedlock, rivalries, political turmoil, and questionable choices reveal the complex consequences of unchecked ambition, arrogance, and pride.
Set during a pivotal time in Salem’s history when Americans broke their colonial ties with Great Britain, this gripping work of historical fiction explores the depth of human relationships through nuanced characters and vivid historical details. Recipes from the era bring the sights and flavors of 18th century Salem to life, while a glossary illuminates the context of the times.
From Chanticleer:
Sandra Wagner-Wright’s historical novel,Ambition, Arrogance and Pride,chronicles the rise of some of Salem, Massachusetts’s founding families, through the revolutionary war and beyond as they make their fortunes in far-off ports.
Wagner-Wright tells this story through several points of view, but it is her strong female characters who carry this story, women like Mary Derby, whose courtship and marriage to George Crowninshield begins this saga.
We follow Mary as she brings new life into the world while her husband is out at sea as captain of a merchant vessel. Wagner-Wright has done her research, making real the perils of pregnancy and childbirth in the 1700s. In keeping with the time and the rate of infant mortality, we suffer with Mary each time she loses a precious child.
Men such as Captain Richard Derby and George Crowninshield travel the sea in search of foreign ports, while women like Mary, Lydia, and Eliza hold their families together in this intricate and expertly crafted story.
Fifteen-year-old Adriana Nicu lives in the sheltered world of Bucharest, Romania, in the year 1987. Under the rule of Communist president Nicolae Ceaușescu, citizens of Bucharest live with the eyes and ears of the government ever present. Adriana’s future, which will involve becoming an engineer, is locked in against her will.
During a visit to her aunt’s apartment, Adriana walks through a wardrobe into a hidden room filled with stacks of forbidden novels. Stories bring light into the darkest of circumstances as her family begins to unravel and her life strangely parallels those of her novels’ heroines. Adriana’s childhood loyalties and her belief that God doesn’t exist are called into question as her circumstances force her to rethink things she once believed were certain.
Also a Chanticleer 2024 Mystery & Mayhem First Place Winner!
Murder takes center stage!
1885. Arabella Pryce is struggling with heartbreak. In keeping with her late husband’s final wishes, she must leave behind her dazzling celebrity and breathe new life into their namesake hotel in Colorado.
But when a beloved town beauty is found dead, all eyes—and suspicion—turn to her.
With blood-stained evidence, handsome sheriffs, and libelous journalists turning her investigation into a dangerous drama, this determined thespian fears she’s missed her cue for survival.
Amid whispered betrayals and shadowed secrets, a mischievous ghost guides her through a maze of perilous clues, drawing her ever closer to a truth more shocking than the lies surrounding her.
Can she unmask the true killer and clear her name before her reputation is ruined forever?
DiscoverThe Pryce of Conceit, the riveting first installment in The Pryce of Murder historical cozy mystery series, and witness a performance where murder is the main act!
British-trained Norwegian intelligence agent, Tore Haugland, is a jøssing—a patriot—sent to a fishing village on Norway’s west coast to set up a line to receive weapons and agents from England via the “Shetland Bus.” Posing as a deaf fisherman, his mission is complicated when he falls in love with Anna Fromme, a German widow. Accused of betraying her husband, she has a young daughter and secrets of her own. Although the Allies have liberated France, the most zealous Nazis hang on in Norway, sending out agents to disembowel resistance groups. If Haugland fails, it could cost him his life and the lives of the fishermen who have joined him. When Haugland is betrayed and left for dead, he will have to find the one who betrayed him and destroyed his network. He will also have to prove that the one he loves was not the informer. In wartime love and trust are not always compatible.
From Chanticleer:
At a time when true identities are carefully protected and information can get you killed, heroes emerge to fight the evils of Nazi-occupied Norway in J.L. Oakley’s highly suspenseful and beautifully penned historical fiction novel,The Jøssing Affair.
In a quiet Norwegian fishing village during the Nazi occupation, risk lurks everywhere. Most residents are patriotic members of the resistance, “jøssings,” but there are “quislings,” too. Those who collaborate with the Germans and tout the Nazi propaganda of Nordic brotherhood between the nations. Mistaking the two is a matter of life and death.
At the heart of the narrative is Jens Hansen who is an exceedingly mild-mannered handyman and a deaf-mute. Jens helps his friend Kjell on this fishing boat but mostly keeps to himself, communicating with paper and pencil when asked a question.
But Jens has a secret. His real identity is that of Tore Haugland, a man who will risk his life repeatedly as a British-trained member of the resistance. He and Kjell coordinate the transport of weapons and agents via the “Shetland bus,” a fleet of small fishing boats and a few American submarine chasers, that make excursions from the coast of Norway to the Scottish Shetland Islands.
At the behest of rogue Iranian government officials, two terrorists break into the grave of an American veterans cemetery in the Suresnes suburb of Paris. What they take from that grave could lead to the deaths of millions of Israeli and US citizens, as well as Jews around the world. US Army Major Jake Fortina, a military attaché stationed at the US Embassy in Paris, is called upon by the FBI and French and Italian law enforcement and intelligence officials to help defeat Iran’s nefarious plan. Beginning in Paris, this international drama leads readers from Afghanistan to England, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, and the United States in the scramble to save the world from a terror unknown since the deadly Spanish flu outbreak of 1918.
From Chanticleer:
Why would Iranian terrorists break into a Paris cemetery and steal the bones of an American Jewish WWI veteran? The answer lies in the deadly parallel history of WWI and the Spanish flu, but it’s a mystery that Jake Fortina will have to uncover in Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s thriller, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat.
During WWI, the Spanish Flu killed millions of people—some estimates as high as 100 million—but a Jewish nurse tossed off the flu like a cold and continued to serve her country. Iran’s leaders believe the DNA in her bones will let them develop a virus that could kill Americans and Israelis by the millions while simultaneously developing immunity for Iran’s own population.
This threat drives the story as it reaches deep into multiple countries and their governments, who collectively try to figure out the importance of the bones theft and, ultimately, what to do about it.
In the mid-21st century, time travel becomes a reality through a top-secret government-corporate initiative. Enter Marshall Grissom: socially awkward, perpetually overlooked, and unexpectedly thrust into the heart of this groundbreaking project. Joined by the alluring and mischievous Sheila Schuler and the dangerous industrial spy Marta Hamilton, Marshall embarks on a journey that challenges everything they thought they knew about time and causality. As evidence mounts that the past may be irreversible, corporate investors demand proof the past can be manipulated—or threaten to pull the plug.
The unlikely trio is sent back to Marshall’s high school days with a seemingly simple mission: save the life of his unrequited love. But in a world where powerful corporations will stop at nothing to protect their interests, the travelers find themselves in a deadly game of cat and mouse. With time running out and lives on the line, Marshall and his companions must navigate the treacherous waters of temporal manipulation, corporate greed, and their own conflicting motivations. Can they change the past without destroying their future?
Also a Chanticleer 2023 Chatelaine First Place Winner!
In 1725, a secret convent has been established on the Aberdeenshire coast.
Jory Mackintosh is more excited by healing herbs than husbands or holy prayers. She craves freedom—and a chance to sneak into medical school. Instead, on the eve of her escape, she becomes an unwilling pawn in her family’s schemes with a rival clan.
Finlay Shaw, the disgraced younger brother of the laird, has spent ten long years atoning for his past failures, but nothing can wash away the stain of fratricide. When the clans order him to escort Jory to her new life as a nun, thus securing an alliance with the freshly formed Black Watch, it’s his last chance for redemption. Too bad for Finn, Jory has no intention of following orders.
Trapped on the road together, often with only one bed between them, the two butt heads and match wits, forced to acknowledge the dark shadows that have haunted them both for years. Can they learn to trust each other, and themselves, to fly in the face of their families’ wishes, or will they choose the solitary futures they always believed they deserve in this unorthodox runaway bride story?
The Global Thriller Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of High Stakes Thrillers. The Grand Prize Winner, Timothy S. Johnston’s book, A Blanket of Steel, will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Global Thriller contest page year ’round!
The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the continued love and promotion for your book!
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. It’ll drive you crazy. Literally.
Emma has sacrificed everything for her research in psychology at the University of Baltimore, dedicating her twenties to studying the persuasive effects of social media on the masses.
And, just when it’s about to pay off, her relentless graduate professor mysteriously disappears. They never got along, and the detective on the case blames her.
Now, desperate to clear her name, Emma sets out on a dangerous adventure only to discover a web of shocking lies and twisted motivations. Dark forces set in motion during the ‘90s converge, intertwining the dot com era, social media, and toxic manipulation.
A sinister, narcissistic madman has stolen her research, and with it, he can persuade the world to do as he wishes.
Scientific and moral questions swirl in Charlie Robinson’s latest thriller, Heavy Hysteria: A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Involving the Minerals of this Sacred Earth.
Readers are thrust into a suspenseful journey with worldwide implications alongside Dr. Charlie Cavanaugh, a 68-year-old priest and scientist.
Arriving home after a spiritual retreat, he is surprised by an FBI agent sitting with Cavanaugh’s gun on his lap. The agent has subverted a freshly enhanced security system to retrieve Cavanaugh’s encrypted, unpublishedHybrid Hysteriareport from a concealed USB stick.
The FBI needs Cavanaugh’s assistance with a delicate national security issue.
Having survived the implanting of another man’s memories, ballet dancer David Knight is struggling to adjust. He has been hunted, attacked, and almost killed because a TV minister wanted the acquired memories destroyed; injuring his best friend. Now a year later, the memories are gone, but his life will never be the same.
While trying to find his new normal in Canada’s premier dance company and living a pauper’s life, he’s fired because of anger issues. But when friend and aging spymaster Asher Fitzsimmons offers him a three-day contract for some light surveillance of one of the world’s largest security software companies, he jumps at it. However, David is soon embroiled in a corporate conspiracy that drags him to Japan to save the life of a billionaire’s daughter and uncover the greatest sleight of hand in history.
IN THIS COMPELLING third installment of the Jake Fortina global thriller series—set predominantly in Italy—US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jake Fortina and his Italian Carabinieri bride, Sara Simonetti-Fortina, must each face deadly threats from different enemies. Meanwhile, Jake’s decision to seek a change in his life’s mission turns out to be far more momentous than expected. Jake’s new mission will require him and Sara to face criminal and dark international enemies head-on, and to seek the assistance of his closest allies while employing his vintage resourcefulness and agility. Will the assistance provided by a highly trusted US Army sergeant and a Ukrainian Air Force colonel be sufficient for Jake Fortina to accomplish his mission? Find out in this fast-paced and heart-pounding thriller!
From Chanticleer:
This Series also won a First Place in the 2024 Series Award, book 1, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat, will be showcased in the first-place post for Series. You can also check out our review for book 2, Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy, Our 2023 Global Thriller Grand Prize Winner here:
Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller inJake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy!
In this multinational geopolitical thriller by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke, a power-crazed Russian oligarch wants to usurp the current Russian dictator to take his place as the head of the government. He forms his own paramilitary force to steal priceless paintings from a Vatican church with plans to resell them for billions to fund his campaign. But why stop there? He also explodes illicit small-scale atomic weapons to further destabilize the Russian leader and cast himself as the country’s new czar.
Meanwhile, a crazed U.S. right wing military adjutant buys loads of AK-47s from the Italian mafia to arm U.S. paramilitary groups intent on enforcing their own far-right views in America.
RUPTURED: The story of a family torn apart, unsuspected betrayal, terrorism, secession, and potential civil war as the nation is sundered.
Following the loss of a hotly contested election, Jefferson Calhoun Lee, a former U.S. senator with a questionable past establishes the Nationalist Christian Republic of America, a conglomeration of states with ties to the old Confederacy.
Janice, wife of FBI Director Steven Whitinghill, accompanies her debonaire lover James Goodwin, a close friend of Lee, to the NCRA’s capitol in Montgomery, Alabama where Lee is sworn in as the all-powerful leader of the new nation. Amid mounting chaos U.S. President Edith Barnes is encouraged to declare war as powerful members of the NCRA engage in draconian measures that spin out of control. Janice, having severed her relationship with husband and daughter, learns of Goodwin’s checkered past and attempts to survive as her world turns upside down.
In a near future where DNA tests are used at ID checkpoints, brilliant Alexandra Tashen is hiding in the open. After a blissful childhood on a Texas ranch, she learned of the secret in her genes—a harmless inherited marker and ancestry that would get her deported to a brutal regime and likely death. Her adoptive father’s experimental gene therapy masks her marker, but not completely. Every security check is a one-in-ten chance of getting caught.
When her father vanishes, Alex risks everything in a headlong and often comic search across nations. A volatile love triangle develops with two brothers—one a disgraced intelligence officer, the other a damaged, charismatic diplomat—each guarding secrets of their own. As betrayals mount and the secrets unravel, Alex must confront the confounding choices between love, family loyalty, and moral obligation.
Edge of the Known World blends the tension of a global thriller with the heart of a love story.
Valentina Sorelli is a part-time graduate student and full-time marketing director of a community park in New Orleans. Jack Stillman is a corporate executive who hijacks his company’s research for personal gain, and he doesn’t care about the consequences. Their separate paths intersect when Valentina meets Jack’s son Sam, who becomes the link between the worlds of scientific discovery and corporate espionage.
As the story unfolds, Valentina and her classmates unite to try to stop Jack. They get a little help from a corporate whistleblower as well as the FBI. Valentina’s friendship with one of her classmates evolves into something more as they fight for their lives. A Place Unmade takes the reader on a provocative journey into the dangers lurking in our decreasing lack of biodiversity and patentable genetics.
An international criminal gang, known as Diablo Corps, plans a series of devastating attacks to take over the G7 countries unless their demands are met. Secure in their hidden headquarters in Antarctica, they possess the means to disrupt the leading world economies. The CEO wants what other power-hungry people want—more power.
Will the G7 bend to the will of these rogues or will evil triumph? Diablo Corps believes their previous infiltration of the international banking system and world stock exchanges will allow them to risk all on a single gamble.
The Scandinavian Protection Agency joins forces with Bedlam to thwart the efforts of the group and restore faith. Will Antarctica become a smoking ruin or will the world suffer an economic meltdown?
From Chanticleer:
Frozen Conquestby Randall Krzak is a thrilling and intense conflict between the cold of Antarctica and the blazing ambition of those seeking global control, fusing the issues of power, greed, and survival into a high-stakes adventure.
The icy edge of Antarctica serves as the center of a sinister organization, Diablo Corps. The ruthless leader, Walter Brown, threatens global mayhem if his aspirations for power are not met. With technological efficiency and the ability to disrupt critical infrastructure, Diablo Corps is poised to leverage its capabilities against the G7. Soon, an anonymous climate-related warning is sent out, with events such as the hacking of the London metal exchange proving to authorities the true weight of that threat.
Such dire actions demand an immediate answer. A classified team of specialists is called upon to gather at Ramstein Air Base. With naturally skilled leader Craig, sharp and observant Evelyn, and the humor and humility of Rufus and August, the promising recruits form the Bedlam Quick Reaction Force (QRF) and venture out into the peril of a frozen land.
The CIBA FICTION SERIES Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in any of our 16 Fiction Divisions where the author has written a series. The Fiction Series Book Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) is seeking for the best book series in all of its fifteen fiction divisions: Mysteries, Suspense Thrillers, Espionage/High Stakes, Young Adult, Middle-Grade Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Supernatural and Paranormal, Romance, Historical Fiction.
1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners were announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony by David Fitz-Gerald on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 at the Bellingham Yacht Club in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
This is the OFFICIAL 2024 LIST of the SERIES BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the M&M Grand Prize Winner.
Join us in congratulating the following award-winning authors and their works in the CIBAs
Middle Grade Fiction
Karen Inglis – Secret Lake Mystery Adventures
YA Fantasy
Glen Dahlgren – The Chronicles of Chaos
Late Historical Fiction
Sandra Wagner-Wright – Salem Stories
Historical Young Adult
Taryn R. Hutchison – A Cold War Trilogy
Cozy Mysteries
Kari Bovee – The Pryce of Murder
20th Century Wartime Fiction
J.L. Oakley – The Jossing series
High Stakes Suspense
Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Jake Fortina Series
HUMOR & SATIRE
Mike Murphey – Tales of Physics, Lust and Greed
Romantic Fiction
Rose Prendeville – Brides of Chattan
The Grand Prize Winner for the 2024 SERIES Awards is:
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!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.
A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting inMay. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.
NOTE: We will post at least two 2024 CIBA Divisions’ OFFICIAL Winners per business day starting April 14, 2025. We do a final sweep and reconciliation prior to making the Official CIBA Posts for the 2023 First Place and Grand Prize Winners. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. There are many moving parts involved with the Chanticleer International Book Awards Program.
Thank you for participating in the 2024 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.
The Global Thriller Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in High Stakes Thriller Fiction.
The Global Thriller Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring suspense, thrilling stories that put the balance of world power or that will end the world as we know it. We include with Global Thrillers the Lab Lit genre. Lab Lit is when Fiction Meets Real Science and Research or stories that are based on real science and research up to a certain “what if” point.
For other Mystery Divisions see our Clue Awards for Suspense/Thriller Novels and our M&M Awards for Cozy-and-not-so-Cozy Novels.
1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners were announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony by Isaac Fozard on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 at the Bellingham Yacht Club in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
This is the OFFICIAL 2024 LIST of
the GLOBAL THRILLER BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners
and
the GLOBAL THRILLER Grand Prize Winner.
Congratulations to the FIRST PLACE CATEGORY WINNERS of the GLOBAL THRILLER BOOK AWARDS for High Stakes Fiction and Lab Lit, a division of the 2024 CIBAs.
T.O. Paine – The Delusion
Charlie Robinson – Heavy Hysteria: A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Involving the Minerals of this Sacred Earth
Tony Ollivier – The Tokyo Diversion
Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Change of Mission: A Jake Fortina Series Novel
Ron Singerton – Ruptured
Sheri T. Joseph – Edge of the Known World
Carla Seyler – A Place Unmade
Randall Krzak – Frozen Conquest
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2024 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is:
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Chanti: Your books go deep into international intrigue. How did you come to write such high stakes thrillers?
Steinke: I started writing when I was passed over for a senior US government service position that I coveted and thought I’d be a good fit for. Shortly thereafter, I began to write, and it was like pushing through an open door for me. I felt spiritually led in that direction and realized that I very much enjoyed writing!
Chanti: The thriller genre seems to fit right into your professional history, but they include so much more. Tell us about your military background and how you are able craft such authentic environments in your novels.
Steinke: Political and political-military, high stakes global thrillers best describe my genre and work to date. I also love to write suspense stories in general. My almost 42 years of combined service in the US Army and US Department of Defense, as well as 28 years of overseas service, led me to write in the global thriller and suspense genres. While writing is obviously about fiction, I try to keep my work as authentic as possible. As my stories also have US-European settings to them, I also like to write about local culture. Thus far, that has meant a lot of French and Italian culture.
Chanti: How do you come up with the trouble your character, Jake Fortina, faces in your novels?
Steinke: For now, I like the “ripped from the headlines approach,” focused on real world scenarios, particularly when they involve major US national and international security issues or interests. But I’ve also written about national security issues that I’ve come across in my professional experiences. I also try to feature certain professional groups that I’ve served with or interacted with during my public service, including the military, law enforcement, diplomatic, and intelligence communities, as well as US military noncommissioned officers (sergeants) and military families.
Chanti: With your background in the military, are you able to apply the same high discipline to your writing time?
Steinke: A full “writing day” is often a luxury, but I do my best to remain consistent, given the many family and travel opportunities throughout any given year. When traveling, I try to fit my writing into “downtime” as much as possible. I tend to always travel with my laptop, so most days – but not all days – allow for at least one and some days even two hours of writing. If I’m home, I try to get an early start, often rising around 5 a.m. and sometimes as early as 4 a.m., with the goal of getting in 3-4 hours or so of focused writing or editing. If I do much more than that in a day, I feel like I’m less effective.
Chanti: What do you do to grow your author chops? Do you have any authors you turn to learn from?
Steinke: For starters, I keep learning. I believe learning should be a proactive daily and lifelong process. I still occasionally let the passive voice creep into my writing, but thankfully I have an excellent editor who is attuned to it. My best writing investments were in three Master Classes, taught by James Patterson, Dan Brown, and Ken Follett. I would say my writing style tends more to James Patterson’s style than the latter two. I strive to keep my chapters relatively short (3-5 pages, on average) and crisp.
Chanti: What craft books have helped you the most?
Steinke: Without a doubt, Stephen King’s On Writing was the most consequential and revelational “craft book” for me. As Mr. King says, “Don’t write b—s—t.” That concisely sums up his style and wisdom!
Chanti: How do you relax when you aren’t writing? Tell us a little about your hobbies.
Steinke: I love spending time with my family, traveling the world with my wife Susan, going fly fishing, and participating in other outdoor activities like hiking and increasingly, pickleball. I’m trying to get in a bit more snow skiing but I’m not sure how much longer my body will stand up to the wear and tear of the ski slopes!
Chanti: What can we look forward to seeing next from you? Will Jake Fortina be taking on more terrorist groups?
Steinke: Change of Mission, the third book in the Jake Fortina series, was released last summer. Just like the first two books, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat and Jake Fortina and The Roman Conspiracy, this story is about an ordinary US Army officer who finds himself facing extraordinary national security threats. Thus far, thankfully, Change of Mission has been well received. In it, we follow Lieutenant Colonel Jake Fortina as he decides whether to continue with his same career path or make a change in his life’s mission. Meanwhile, he and his Italian bride, a Carabinieri officer, must confront a confluence of threats from Iranian extremists, as well as the Italian and Russian mafias.
I’m currently more than halfway through writing my fourth book, Vital Mission, A Jake Fortina Series Love Story. Jake Fortina will be called upon by a dear Ukrainian friend to help with the rescue of two Ukrainian children who were abducted from their bombed-out Ukrainian city and taken to Russia. This latest book in the Jake Fortina series is projected for publication in the July-September 2025 timeframe.
Chanti: What is the most important thing a reader can do for an author?
Steinke: Leave a review—and hopefully it will be a good one — on a major book selling or endorsing platform, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, or Audible. In today’s social media world, authors live and die by readers’ reviews.
Chanti: What excites you most about writing?
Steinke: The conceptual challenge and the entire creative journey! It’s like putting a puzzle together, but you must first create the pieces from pretty much a blank slate… or a good outline! I also enjoy entertaining, educating, and even occasionally enlightening readers. I would like them to experience the organizations and professionals out there who keep the United States and our Allies safe, with much of their work done behind the scenes, while we sleep comfortably.
Ralph Richard “Rick” Steinke is the award-winning author of the Jake Fortina global thriller series, including Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy, awarded the Grand Prize for 2023 in the Global Thriller – High Stakes category at the Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs) in April 2024. The Jake Fortina series, beginning with Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat, was also selected as a Book Series Finalist at the CIBAs.
Steinke has spent a lifetime in US national security roles, including twenty-eight years in the US Army and fourteen in the Department of Defense. His official duties have taken him from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to over thirty countries on the Eurasian landmass, including Afghanistan and Ukraine.
He holds master’s degrees in West European studies and diplomacy from Indiana and Norwich Universities, respectively, as well as post-graduation certificates in national and international security affairs from Harvard and Stanford Universities. His passions include faith, family, fly fishing, and travel.
The Global Thriller Awards is our Division for all the Spy stories, International Conspiracies, and Science based novels. While some of the categories in this Division may have overlap with some others, Global Thriller stands strong in it’s quest to portray potentially World-Destroying Events.
The Categories in Global Thriller for High Stake Suspense are are:
Historic: Theater of War, Spycraft, and more!
Lablit: Real Science meets “What-If?” scenarios that feel all too plausible!
Science Fiction: Sometimes the threat comes from outside our known reality like Alien or Predator
Dramatic: Classic Die Hard style consequences
Action/Adventure: ‘Nuf said
Cybertech: Also known as Cyberpunk. Typically a Dystopian like story, commonly with 1980’s aesthetics and Futuristic technology.
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is:
Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke
For our Spotlight Articles we love to highlight some of the best High Stakes Suspense Thrillers that have come our way! Pull out your pen and paper, because your list of books to read is about to get longer!
MAJOR JAKE FORTINA And The TIER ONE THREAT
By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke
Why would Iranian terrorists break into a Paris cemetery and steal the bones of an American Jewish WWI veteran? The answer lies in the deadly parallel history of WWI and the Spanish flu, but it’s a mystery that Jake Fortina will have to uncover in Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s thriller, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat.
During WWI, the Spanish Flu killed millions of people—some estimates as high as 100 million—but a Jewish nurse tossed off the flu like a cold and continued to serve her country. Iran’s leaders believe the DNA in her bones will let them develop a virus that could kill Americans and Israelis by the millions while simultaneously developing immunity for Iran’s own population.
This threat drives the story as it reaches deep into multiple countries and their governments, who collectively try to figure out the importance of the bones theft and, ultimately, what to do about it.
REVENGE: A Bruce and Smith Thriller Book 2 By Randall Krzak
Randall Krzak raises the bar of the thriller genre with Revenge, the action-packed second book in the Bruce and Smith series.
Javier retires from the Army and his despised desk job at the Pentagon. He lived for the action of working in the field, so as a civilian, he tries to build an international investigative agency called The Brusch Agency. Thanks to his connections from the military, he can do exactly the work he wants, with the people he chooses.
Krzak sets up this book meticulously, building conflicts in the first several chapters. Javier needs to apply for his concealed-carry permit and private investigator’s license while finding office space for his agency, but his plans are staggered as his condo is broken into and trashed. Despite his investigation and that of law enforcement, the culprit remains a mystery.
In The Brisling Code, a fast-paced first installment of her historical thriller series, Oakley weaves a brilliant portrayal of the perils met by the Norwegian Resistance during WWII.
Layered perspectives—from resistance workers, traitors, and even an SS Officer—create a rich world through which readers can understand the sacrifices that were made to free our world from the tyranny of Nazi Germany.
Immersed in volatile Nazi-occupied Bergen, Norway, fearless young intelligence agent Tore Haugland and his team of organizers work tirelessly to protect the essential work of the Norwegian resistance.
APOCALYPSE In OUR TIME: The Accountant’s Apprentice Book 3 By Dennis M. Clausen
In The Accountant’s Apprentice III: Apocalypse In Our Time by Dennis M. Clausen, the director of a homeless shelter sees subtle changes in the community around him, changes that are both worrisome and bizarre—portending a change to the world beyond human understanding.
The story of Justin Moore, director of a homeless shelter in San Diego, continues. In the previous books in the series, he has met individuals who seem to be not quite of this world. A.C., a mysterious man in a wheelchair who played an important role earlier in the trilogy, is gone as of the third book, but his wheelchair is now being used by another man— seemingly catatonic and with no name. This man is known only as “Levi” by the staff at the bus depot where he was found, but Justin finds there is something more to him beneath the surface. Levi seems to have certain things in common with A.C., but with unique abilities. Justin is warned by a woman that the man he knows as Levi may be dangerous, but is he? And who is she, anyway?
So many questions are raised, and Justin has few if any answers. In the previous book, he saw a demonic army gathering on the horizon. Was that real? A.C. had given Justin a limited ability to see the future, and a horrifying promise of things to come:
This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!
Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller in Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy!
In this multinational geopolitical thriller by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke, a power-crazed Russian oligarch wants to usurp the current Russian dictator to take his place as the head of the government. He forms his own paramilitary force to steal priceless paintings from a Vatican church with plans to resell them for billions to fund his campaign. But why stop there? He also explodes illicit small-scale atomic weapons to further destabilize the Russian leader and cast himself as the country’s new czar.
Meanwhile, a crazed U.S. right wing military adjutant buys loads of AK-47s from the Italian mafia to arm U.S. paramilitary groups intent on enforcing their own far-right views in America.
Jake Fortina, an Army foreign area officer with special training to handle international and political-military duties at embassies and in international duties, is on vacation in Italy with his new bride when he runs into an old military chum who pretends he doesn’t recognize Jake and speaks with a Russian accent. That sets off alarm bells for Jake who manages to photograph the man along with his car’s license plate. That information is turned over to his superiors which opens the door to the rogue oligarch’s nefarious plans. He overhears the right-wing U.S. officer launch a drunken tirade against the American “left wing” government while in the company of an Italian military officer with suspicious ties to the Mafia. That leads to investigations of the weapons transfers to the U.S. paramilitary movement and a reported assassination attempt on a U.S. politician.
Steinke breaks the mold by pairing a thriller with nuclear stakes to a careful and scholarly level of detail.
From the price of AK-47s on the black market, the history of a fine wine, to a detailed examination of an officer’s dedication to this country, this novel delivers a healthy dose of information, history, and the fabric of being a member of this elite corps of public servants. More of a clear cut story without the murkiness of a John LeCarre. Fortina is part of a world fashioned and lived in the military. Highly educated, loyal to country, with a military life forged in the hills of Afghanistan and at the tables of the world’s finest restaurants in his role as attaché in Rome. Steinke presents a different kind of thriller hero. There is little ambiguity regarding who the good guys are, nor of the clarity of decision-making and the chain of command to which Jake and others ascribe to.
For readers intrigued by how the real world handles existential threats, including but not limited to roiling Kremlin politics, rogue nuclear weapons in evil hands, and the U.S. paramilitary threat, Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy is an important and intriguing novel.
Why would Iranian terrorists break into a Paris cemetery and steal the bones of an American Jewish WWI veteran? The answer lies in the deadly parallel history of WWI and the Spanish flu, but it’s a mystery that Jake Fortina will have to uncover in Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke’s thriller, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat.
During WWI, the Spanish Flu killed millions of people—some estimates as high as 100 million—but a Jewish nurse tossed off the flu like a cold and continued to serve her country. Iran’s leaders believe the DNA in her bones will let them develop a virus that could kill Americans and Israelis by the millions while simultaneously developing immunity for Iran’s own population.
This threat drives the story as it reaches deep into multiple countries and their governments, who collectively try to figure out the importance of the bones theft and, ultimately, what to do about it.
Jake Fortina is an Army foreign area officer, a special position designed to handle international and political-military duties. He’s called to work with an FBI agent in France to track down the terrorists, but must be careful so they can derail the plot and arrest the perpetrators.
The chase starts in Paris and winds its way eventually to the Italian coast. Jake’s skills are more diplomatic than James Bond as he navigates the complex relationships between multiple governments.
Even the carrying of a weapon by an American agent into some countries is forbidden unless specifically approved by a government agency. Jake and his fellow officers must swim in these political waters in order to track down the terrorists.
This novel favors patriotism, professionalism, and process over slam-bang cinematic action. Virtually every aspect of Jake’s actions, his relationships with colleagues, the cooperation of governments—from heads of states to ordinary agency and military officials— is spelled out in detail. Author Steinke paints Jake’s intricate world with undeniable authenticity.
Readers will enjoy a well-written thriller and come away with a better understanding of how the real world works (or should work) when confronted by an existential threat. It is at once a novel and an education in international diplomacy and coordination, balancing all aspects well.
Hello friends, we have another fabulous interview for you today. Rick Steinke took home the 2023 Chanticleer 
Ralph Richard “Rick” Steinke is the award-winning author of the Jake Fortina global thriller series, including Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy, awarded the Grand Prize for 2023 in the Global Thriller – High Stakes category at the Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs) in April 2024. The Jake Fortina series, beginning with Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat, was also selected as a Book Series Finalist at the CIBAs.
