Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Book Discovery

The Official List of the Chanticleer 2015 Grand Prize Winners of the Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions

We are excited and honored to have announced the 2015 grand prize award winners at the third annual Chanticleer Authors Conference’s Awards Banquet held on Saturday, April. 30th, 2016 at the Hotel Bellwether by beautiful Bellingham Bay, Wash.

We want to thank all of those who entered and participated in the fiercely competitive 2015 Chanticleer International Writing Competitions.

Our next Awards Banquet will be held on April 1st, 2017, for the 2016 winners. Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

CBR– Discovering Today’s Best Books with the CBR BLUE RIBBON Writing Competitions!

The Chanticleer Grand Prize Award 2015 for Overall Best Book:

Daughter of Destiny by Nicole Evelina was awarded the Chanticleer Overall Grand Prize for the Best Book in the 2015 Chanticleer International Writing Competitions. Congratulations to author Nicole Evelina.

The Chanticleer Genre Grand Prize 2015 Winners are as follows:

The Cygnus Grand Prize for SciFi and Fantasy Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Great Symmetry
by James Wells

View Cygnus Category 1st Place Winners

The Journey Grand Prize Ribbon for Narrative Non-fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Rhythm for Sale
by Grant Harper Reid

View Journey Category 1st Place Winners

The M&M Grand Prize Ribbon for Mystery & Mayhem Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

There’s Something About Marty
by Wendy Delaney

View Mystery & Mayhem Category 1st Place Winners

The Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Ribbon for YA Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Girl and the Clockwork Cat
by Nikki McCormack

View Dante Rossetti Category 1st Place Winners

The Chaucer Grand Prize Ribbon for Historical Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Valhalla Revealed
by Robert A Wright

View Chaucer Category 1st Place Winners

The Laramie Grand Prize Ribbon for Western, Pioneer, Civil War Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Doctor Kinney’s Housekeeper
by Sara Dahmen

View Laramie Category 1st Place Winners

The Chatelaine Grand Prize Ribbon for Women’s Fiction and Romantic Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Daughter of Destiny
by Nicole Evelina

View Chatelaine Category 1st Place Winners

The CLUE Grand Prize Ribbon for Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Blood Relations
by Lonna Enox

View CLUE Category 1st Place Winners

The Paranormal Grand Prize Ribbon for Paranormal/Supernatural Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Aurora Affair
by Carolyn Haley

View Paranormal Category 1st Place Winners

The Somerset Grand Prize Ribbon for Literary, Contemporary, & Mainstream Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Alexandrite
by Richard Lenz

View Somerset Category 1st Place Winners

Now this is something to CROW about!

Enter Your Book or Manuscript in a contest!

Please note that the above awards are for submissions that we received in 2015. The award winners were acknowledge at the 2016 annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 30th, 2016.

The winners of the 2016 Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions (works entered in 2016) will be recognized at the 2017 Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Banquet held April 1st, 2017. Reserve your spot now.

We invite you to read the Chanticleer editorial book reviews of these stellar works. The reviews will be published on our website and in the Chanticleer Reviews online magazine. If they are not currently posted, they will be posted as they are reviewed! Congratulations, again, to these award winning authors!

For more information about the Chanticleer International Writing Competitions, please visit our Writing Contests pages.

We are currently accepting 2016 and 2017 contest entries: CBR International Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.

We would like to thank our sponsors who make the Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions and the Chanticleer Authors Conference possible.

May 2, 2016
E-Book Sales as Core of Your Books’ Marketing Plan by James Wells
The eBook market is a huge opportunity, especially for indie authors.

If you’re not focusing on eBook sales as a core part of your marketing plan, you’re missing out.

When I published my first novel The Great Symmetry, I printed a few hundred copies and imagined that it would be a great success if I sold them out. I had no idea where I would find the vast majority of my readers.

Just a year later, about 95% of my sales are eBooks. Every day, readers are buying my book on Amazon and other sites from all over the world.

To get traction in the eBook market, I tried out new things, made plenty of mistakes, and then had a series of increasing successes. I’m grateful to the authors who helped along the way. Now I’m distilling the most important lessons to help other authors.

At the upcoming Chanticleer Authors Conference, I’ll be presenting a series of three sessions about eBook publishing. The content won’t focus on mechanics like eBook file formats – that’s boring and you can figure out that stuff easily. Rather, we’ll dig into the most important decisions facing an author in the eBook market. The sessions are:
- eBook Publishing 101: Designing your points of sale (such as your Amazon page) to convert browsers into buyers.
- eBook Publishing 102: Getting readers to your points of sale. We’ll emphasize the most cost-effective tool around – the discount promotion.
- eBook Publishing 103: Advanced topics such as series planning, reader magnets, and more.
An overarching theme of all of these sessions is that your eBooks are a central part of your offering.

For some types of book (especially genre fiction by indie authors), it’s the most important channel for you. This means you should plan ahead for your eBook. For instance, some cover designs look wonderful in print, but are failures online – we’ll discuss how to avoid that pitfall. There may even be reasons to modify the text of your novel to sell well as an eBook.

It’s ironic because I don’t even like reading eBooks myself. I only just gave in and bought a Kindle last week. But my preference doesn’t matter to the market – your priority as an author should be to make your book available, and well positioned, in the channels where the readers are found. These days, that means eBooks.

Note from Kiffer Brown

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James R Wells, Science Fiction Author

I would like to thank James R. Wells, the author of The Great Symmetry for sharing his knowledge and experience with the Chanticleer Community.

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April 25, 2016
One Mental Trick That Will Help You Sell More Books by Tim Vandehey and Naren Aryal

Did you know that the average self-published book sells about 200 copies?

You’re an author and dialed into the world of books, so you probably did know that. But you didn’t know that most of those authors sabotage their own sales, did you? The thing is, that sabotage has nothing to do with the quality of the final product. It’s all about the attitude they adopt once that Kindle hits the Amazon digital shelves, or that box of freshly printed paperbacks arrives at their door still smelling of toner. With the best of intentions and hope in their hearts, they set out to find readers for their work, but they cut their own throats with some variation on this simple nine-word phrase:

“People are going to be excited about my book.”

We hate to break it to you, but no, they’re not.

Sure, your friends, family members and the folks in your writer’s group will be all up in your business to get a copy and post enthusiastic reviews on Amazon. But unless you’ve built up a loyal readership from a previous book, nobody else is likely to care. That’s not your fault. There are a LOT of books competing for eyeballs. Being an author is a thousand times more competitive than most writers realize. Many don’t even think of themselves as being in a competitive field in the first place! But the harsh truth is, if you can’t compete for readers’ interest and attention, you won’t sell books.

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The average book store has 7,000 titles

We’ve seen it hundreds of times: new authors so certain that their books are going to set the world on fire that they don’t even do basic marketing or branding, like launching a nice looking website. Armed with that misplaced optimism, they set their books free on Amazon like baby birds leaving the nest…and the books fall to the ground and die in the hot sun. Sales Rank: 2,000,000. Oops.

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Amazon Book Warehouse

Don’t be that author. If you want to give yourself a better chance of selling more books, change how you think about the task of selling books and reaching readers.

Ditch that blind optimism and gird yourself for battle.

Be proud of your work, but don’t delude yourself into believing that anyone outside your current circle (including your Facebook friends) cares about buying it. Instead, remember this phrase:

“No one cares about my book, but I’m going to make them care.”

Book-selling is the art and science of figuring out who your ideal readers are, learning what they care about, and then reaching out to them again and again in ways that pique their interest about you and your work. That takes time and persistence, but most of all, it takes understanding that you don’t have a right to readers.

You have to earn readers. You need a platform, a great brand, an execution plan, a lot of patience, and doggedness. If you have those qualities and really connect with your readers to earn their loyalty, you’ll build an audience for your work for the next 20 years.

Note from Kiffer Brown
Tim Vandehey and Naren Aryal are the co-authors of How to Sell a Crapload of Books: 10 Secrets of Building a Killer Author Platform, and the founders of BeastSellers.com, which helps authors build powerful marketing platforms and winning brands.

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Naren Aryal

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Tim Vandehey

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April 23, 2016
How to Become a Jedi Knight at Book Marketing by Susan Colleen Browne

“You can’t become a Jedi at whatever it is you’re doing unless you know it.” Jeni Britton Bauer.

Take book marketing. A lot of students in the writing classes that I teach are really intimidated at the thought of marketing and promoting their book. But it’s not rocket science.

To get started, you can go to writers’ networking meetings, see what other authors are doing—maybe launch a blog or update your existing one, or join Goodreads and run a contest. You can attend events like the Chanticleer conference, and learn more about social media or refresh your marketing skill set—perhaps get up to speed with book clubs or the latest in online retailers’ promotions, or meet experts in book marketing you may want to collaborate with.

Once you’ve assessed your options, you can focus on the strategies that especially resonate with you. If you’re the adventuresome type, you can also try the proverbial “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” approach. Whatever you choose, you can make the most of your marketing funds if those tools not only fit your budget and available time, but are those you’re most likely to follow up on.

Whether you’ve published your book or you’re an aspiring author, keep your eyes open for inspiration in unexpected places. I recently came across a piece in More magazine about updating your elevator pitch. To take your pitch or tagline from generic to sparkling, don’t begin with your name. Instead, tell a personal mini-story, then use vivid language to briefly describe what sets you apart. (From Robin Hatcher of SpeakEtc., a company that focuses on communication and presentation skills.)

Ms. Bauer (see the Jedi quote, above) is an ice cream impresario, who not only makes ice cream but lives it. She isn’t talking about executing something perfectly, but mastering a skill until it comes organically to you. And having a great time doing it! Which brings us back to writing…

Many authors say the best marketing you can do is to write your next book. So…above all, reserve the mental bandwidth you need for storytelling, keep refining your editing talents, nurture your creativity and have fun! Hopefully, you’ll find a balance between writing, promotion, and cultivating an interesting and creative life.

May the Force be with you!

A note from Kiffer Brown:

I would like to thank Susan Colleen Browne for her guest blog-post. Susan will present several sessions at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held on April 29, 30, & May 1, 2016 in Bellingham, Wash. She writes Irish stories about love, friendship, and family. You can find her books available for purchase at the Books By the Bay Fair that will be held in conjunction with the conference.

We invite you to visit Susan’s delightful website for more information and for links on how to order her books.

April 23, 2016
Three Questions with the Founder of the World’s Largest Book Club – Kathy Murphy
Pulpwood Queens Book Club’s Founder, Kathy Murphy, tells all!

Meet Kathy Murphy, the “Pulpwood Queen” who opened the only Hair Salon/Bookstore, Beauty and the Book in the country in Jefferson, Texas and in 2000, founded and now operates the 600+ chapter book club, The Pulpwood Queens, nationally and in 15 foreign countries. Have a question for the Queen? Bring it to the Chanticleer conference session!
1. What was your motivation to launch the Pulpwood Queens?
Shortly after opening my Hair Salon/Book Store, (Beauty and the Book), the local book club invited me to join them for a meeting. I thought they invited me to join and be a MEMBER, not!

Evidently, only eight members were allowed to join and as the hostess told me, “Unless someone dies or moves away, that is all that will fit around our table.”

I was secretly thinking, Who made up that RULE?! Anyway, I went home, sat down, and made a list on what I would do if I started my own book club. This book club would be inclusive, not exclusive. We would call ourselves The Pulpwood Queens, “where TIARAS are mandatory and reading OUR good books was the only Rule!”

By wearing the crown, we would tell the world that we were “beauty within” queens as we were real readers. So for nearly 16 years we have been meeting monthly, first with my charter chapter, The Pulpwood Queens of East Texas.

Since then we have made the news with appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, we kicked off their “READ THIS” Book Club and other radio and print media with now over 600 chapters nationwide and in 15 foreign countries.

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Timber Guy Sexy Reading Contest at the Pulpwood Queens’ Girlfriend weekend!
1. What will readers get out of being a member of a chapter and where/how can they hook up with an existing Pulpwood Queens or Timber Guys chapter?
Everything pertaining to membership is on our website, www.beautyandthebook.com but the difference our book club has over others is we bring the authors into the picture. Most of our authors will teleconference, SKYPE or even visit chapters and for sure be featured at our annual Pulpwood Queen Girlfriend Weekend. I know of no other book club where you have this kind of access to the authors.

I also make all the authors participate in ALL EVENTS at our Girlfriend Weekend. So it’s no secret that Pat Conroy has served Sweet Tea at our Author Dinner, where I make all the authors wait the tables in crazy costumes. You eat, drink, and the authors even stay in the same hotels and bed and breakfasts.

It’s full immersion into the Wonderful World of the Pulpwood Queens with the Grand Finale being our Great Big Ball of Hair Ball. The theme this year is ONCE UPON A TIME. All the authors dress up, too, and it’s the ultimate Kodak moment, so bring your cameras BIG TIME!

Ed. Note: To become a member, visit: www.beautyandthebook.com/membership
1. What is Kathy Murphy looking for in a good book? What speaks to you as a reader?
Since my book club is now international, here is what I am looking for:
1. An unknown author, one that is perhaps a first time/first book or one that hasn’t been discovered in a really big way. Yes, I want to pick a big name once in while but only if they can come and be a Keynote at my annual convention which we call Girlfriend Weekend. Example, Pat Conroy, Fannie Flagg, John Berendt, Jamie Ford, etc.
2. This is a given but it must be well written, free of flaws and my book club members do not like to read books with gratuitous violence or language, but I do make exceptions. I selected Girl with the Dragon Tattoo because it was just such a great, well written story.
3. Most important of all, the book must tell a story that has NOT been heard before or from a perspective that gives the reader a different view of a subject. Examples: The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King, The Dive From Claussen’s Pier by Ann Packer, Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman. Do not send me another queen book set in the south, particularly one that is also a hairdresser. I hold that card, DONE.
4. I want a book that changes people’s lives for the better. Examples: My Orange Duffel Bag, Same Kind of Different As Me, a book that is discuss-able and that includes book club discussion questions written by the author. My book club hates generated book discussion questions, too literary and not very personal. Authors tend to write questions that they answered.
5. I really don’t care who publishes a book, a good book is a good read no matter who publishes it.
6. Last, I want a real book to read, I’m on the computer so much, I want to cuddle with a book in bed!
Thank you Shari Stauch, CEO of Where Writers Win, for this informative interview with Kathy L. Murphy, the Pulpwood Queen!

Shari will present several sessions sharing her book marketing expertise at CAC16 along with Friday evening’s keynote presentation.

Tell Us About the Live Book Clubs YOU Know!

The WWW team and the Chanticleer Reviews team are reaching out regularly to bloggers, Twitter-ers, indie bookstores, readers at book festivals and more, once every few months we circle back to the coolest source –YOU– to ferret out the latest book clubs in cities around the world. Because, the club you know about might also be of value to one of our other emerging authors – and their club may be of value to you!

Contact: BookClubs@ChantiReviews.com and/or contact Where Writers Win.
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Editor's Note about Kathy L. Murphy:
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DreamWorks signed on to produce a movie about Kathy, though as she says, ”I did not do this alone and am not an overnight sensation,” Murphy said. “This came about through years of struggle and hard work and the incredible friendship and help of my Pulpwood Queens Book Club members and our authors and the love of my daughters, my sister and family. We — note that I say WE — have struck a film deal.”

The latest update regarding the film as of April 2016 is that the screenplay has been written and approved. Dreamworks has sent the script “out to talent,” so stay tuned to see who will play Kathy L. Murphy.

We can hardly wait to see it!

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April 16, 2016
Why Book Clubs Matter by Shari Stauch, CEO of Where Writers Win
CEO of Where Writers Win, Shari Stauch, and Pulpwood Queens Book Club founder Kathy Murphy, will conduct a special session at the Chanticleer Conference, “Why Book Clubs Matter” – Here’s some great info to get you ready!

LIVE Book Clubs: Are You Reaching These Critical Influencers?

IBook clubs can be a defining moment in any author’s career. Fact is, the success of any book is accelerated if book clubs get hold of it and begin spreading the news. That’s why we call them “influencers” and that’s why book club listings are a key component of WWW’s Winner Circle.

We encourage every author to develop a list of at least 10-12 thoughtful questions that relate to their book(s). Here’s how to get going with your own set of book club questions, what to do with them once you have them, and how you can share book clubs you know about, too! My next article will share some special insights from Pulpwood Queen Kathy Murphy,

1. How to Write Your Book Club Questions

If you’re unsure where to begin, here are a couple sites to get you started. PLEASE note, these are generic questions and we strongly suggest you use these as your “starter dough” to establish thoughtful reader discussion questions that pertain directly to your own work:
1. From LitLovers.com – Questions for Fiction: http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/questions-for-fiction
2. From LitLovers.com – Questions for Non-Fiction: http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-club/questions-for-nonfiction
3. From AboutEducation.com – A list of general book club questions for discussion: http://classiclit.about.com/od/bookclubs/a/aa_bcquestions.htm
4. From Book-Club-Queen.com – More general discussion questions for fiction at: http://www.book-club-queen.com/book-club-questions.html
5. From Book-Club-Queen.com – General non-fiction discussion questions: http://www.book-club-queen.com/book-club-discussion-questions.html
6. For reading guides/book club questions from hundreds of other books, visit: http://www.booklistreader.com/2008/05/07/book-groups/stalking-the-online-reading-guide/
Here are a few of our authors with some fun book club questions that began with the starter dough above. Use them to inspire you:
- Mary Arno’s Thanksgiving: http://maryarno.com/book-club-questions/
- Kat Varn’s Ameera Unveiled: http://katvarn.com/book-club-questions/
- Bruce T. Jones’ Lost Reflection Series: http://www.brucetjones.com/book-club-qs/
- Jane Flagello’s Bamboozled: http://www.janeflagello.com/book-clubs/
- Barbara McLennan’s The Wealth of Virginia: http://wealthofjamestown.com/discussion-questions-the-wealth-of-virginia/
2. Where to Post Your Book Club Questions

Your book club questions, book discussion guide, or whatever else you want to call it, should be listed in the back of your book. Whether or not that’s possible, there are other places to share as well:

On your author website. Have a separate page/tab for your book club questions. We typically suggest that you paste them into the site, but also have a pdf of the questions, (perhaps nicely laid out with a graphic of your book’s cover), that readers can easily download and print for their next meeting.

Share this page widely on your social media outlets. You might also put up a question a day or one a week over the course of time to create more following and even encourage online discussion of your book.

Include your questions when pitching reviewers or book clubs. Make sure you let reviewers, clubs and conferences you may be pitching know that you have discussion questions. You needn’t list them out in each pitch, but do provide a link to where they can view and/or download your guide. One paid option we’ve seen ($200 and we don’t have feedback yet as to its worth to authors) is ReadingGroupGuides.com – you can visit this link for more info: http://www.readinggroupguides.com/how-to-add-a-guide.

With your help, our vetted list of LIVE book clubs in the Winner Circle, now already over 300 live clubs and thousands of readers strong, will offer emerging authors the best chance to expose your work to thousands of new readers. And book clubs will have the opportunity to read new work in the genres of their choice, and maybe even influence who the next best-seller will be… That may be you!

A note from the Chanticleer Reviews Team:

Thank you, Shari Stauch, CEO of Where Writers Win, for sharing this useful information with the Chanticleer Community. We are looking forward to hearing more from you about reaching out to book clubs at CAC16!

We would also like to mention that we have a special blog post just for connecting authors and readers on the homepage of the Chanticleer Reviews website. Be sure to check it out for the latest in specials and offerings just for readers!

Book Clubs and Readers Community News from Chanticleer
April 15, 2016
One Author’s Creative Approach to Book Signings
To compete in the current book market, where millions of books are published each year, you have to find interesting new ways to get your books in front of potential readers.

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Same old same old

Today, Janet Shawgo, award winning author of the Look for Me series, shares her experience with setting up book signings at wine bars—and how the right creative approach can help spread the word about your books.

Also, as an added advantage, your books will have more focused attention from potential readers. It is a great one-two promotional punch!

Setting Up Book Signings in Unique Places Other than Bookstores

Bookstore managers don’t always return calls or emails, dates may not be available, or dates may be reserved six months in advance.

But who says that you can only hold book signings in a bookstores?

If you can get the okay to set up a table with books, you can have a book signing wherever that may be. (Like a wine bar.) I know of one very successful western fiction author who has his best signings (read as sells more books) in grocery stores!

Another author whose romance novels have a natural healer as a protagonist holds some of her most successful signings in food co-ops and natural supplement stores. Yet another author holds her signings at outdoor equipment stores for her eco-mystery series.

The possibilities are endless.

The Point is to Engage Readers – Janet says:

“These days, you need to find something unique to get your books to new readers. But getting yourself in front of readers can be frightening. I get it! Making your book signing into an event where you can have more interaction than just signing books helps ease the awkwardness.”

“Think of what fits with the theme or genre of your book. If you have a cozy mystery about food, find a local restaurant. If you write romance, a little wining and dining might go a long way.”

Janet Shawgo shares info about her Wine Bar Book Signings

“In April, another Dallas-area author, Michelle Renee, and I are hosting a book signing at a wine bar in the Bishop Arts district. We contacted the owner to ask if we could set up a table and sell our books on a slow weeknight. In return, we will purchase a few bottles of wine (white, red, and rose). We’ll hand out tickets to people, which entitles them to a glass on us.”

“I’ve had huge success with signings at wine bars. At another signing, I sold a good number of books, people enjoyed the glass of wine, and the wine bar had one of its best nights and welcomed me back to hold another signing.”

How to Make the Most of Your Book Signing – More Info from Janet Shawgo, award winning author of the WAIT FOR ME series

“To make sure people get to your book signing, be sure to spread the word! We’re on social media, sharing information about our wine bar book signing, but we’re also telling people at work, as well as family and friends. Don’t be afraid to ask the place that is hosting you to post on social media about the event, too. Targeted Facebook ads to locals might also help spread the word.”

“At the signing itself, we have a signup sheet for our newsletters to capture emails, and we also choose two or three people from it for door prizes at the end of the evening.”

“Be sure that your table is appealing and inviting. Readers love free items, so we have pens, bookmarks, candy, magnets, and key chains. Items that have information about our books on them keep us in readers’ minds.”

Thank you, Janet Shawgo, for the sharing your great idea with other Chanticleer authors!

Kiffer Brown asks: Where do your books’ targeted readers hang out?
- kitchen stores?
- gardening centers?
- yarn shops?
- trivia nights at pubs?
- comic book stores?
- boat supply stores?
- pet stores?
- coffee shops?
- outdoor recreation suppliers?
The possibilities are endless!

Expand your readership—make your list of author/book signing opportunities today!

Click on the links to read Chanticleer’s reviews of Janet Shawgo’s award winning books: Look For Me, Wait For Me, and Find Me Again

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April 9, 2016
The PARANORMAL Awards for Supernatural Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners
The Paranormal Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Paranormal and Supernatural Fiction. The Paranormal Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

We are honored to announce the 2015 Paranormal Awards Official First Place Category Winners. Good Luck to them as they compete for the 2015 Paranormal Grand Prize Award.

Congratulations to the 2015 Paranormal Awards First In Category Award Winning Supernatural Fiction Novels:
- Young Adult: Shaila Patel – Soulmated
- Supernatural Powers -Romance: Carolyn Haley – The Aurora Affair
- Supernatural Powers: Paula Cappa – Greylock
- Romance: Diana Green – Bronze Fox
- Werewolves, Vampires, etc.: Kayla Hampton – The Assassin
- Legends & Lore: Gail Siler, PhD – Decoding the Butterfly Promise
- Fairy Tale, Fable, Myth: Sabina Khan – Realm of the Goddess
- Time Travel> Magic : Karen Musser Nortman – The Time Travel Trailer
- Time Travel> Gripping: Andy Kutler – The Other Side of Life
- D.L. Koontz – Edging through the Darkness
- Urban/Edgy: K. J. McPike – XODUS
- Historical: Michael Schmicker – The Witch of Napoli
- Gothic: K.C. Finn – The Book of Shade
- Contemporary Gothic: Linda Watkins – Return to Mateguas Island
- Ghosts: Aphrodite Anagnost & Robert P. Arthur – Passover
Honorable Mention
- Penny Page – Coven Corners
- Alex E. Carey – Earth’s Embrace
- Harry Steven Ackley – Our Lady of West 74th Street
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The PARANORMAL First Place Category award winners will compete for the PARANORMAL Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Supernatural Fiction Novel. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on April 30, 2016 at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winning titles will receive an award package including a complimentary Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2016 Paranormal Awards. The deadline is October 31, 2016. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the PARANORMAL Awards 2015 FIRST PLACE official listing.

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

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this coming April at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?
March 18, 2016
The CLUE Awards for Suspense/Thriller Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners
The CLUE Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Suspense/Thriller Fiction. The CLUE Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the 2015 CLUE Awards Official First Place Category Winners. Good Luck to them as they compete for the 2015 CLUE Grand Prize Award.

Please note that Global Thrillers and Lab Lit fiction entries were moved to the newly offered Global Thrillers Awards 2016.

Congratulations to the 2015 CLUE Awards First In Category Award Winning Suspense/Thriller Fiction Novels:
- Blended Genre: Timothy S. Johnston – The Tanner Sequence
- Suspense/Thriller: K. J. Klemme – Tourist Trapped
- Mystery/Crime: Patrick M. Garry – Blind Spots
- Manuscript Mystery/Crime: Scott D. Smith – Guilty Deeds
- Espionage/Spy: Michele Daniel – The Red Circle
- Contemporary Suspense: Christine Benedict – Anonymous
- Mystery: Lonna Enox – Blood Relations
- Historical/Vintage Thriller: Michael Scheffel – St. Louis Affair: The Adventures of Herbert Falken
- Legal/Medical/Police Procedural: Laurie Stevens for The Mask of Midnight
- Courtroom Drama: Hubert Crouch for The Word
- True Crime: Zach Fortier for CurbChek Reload
- International Mystery & Crime: Marian Exall – A Dangerous Descent
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The CLUE First Place Category award winners will compete for the CLUE Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Suspense/Thriller Fiction Novel. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on April 30, 2016 at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winning titles will receive an award package including a complimentary Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2017 CLUE Awards. The deadline is September 30, 2016. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the CLUE Awards 2015 FIRST PLACE official listing.

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

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this coming April at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?
March 15, 2016
The CHATELAINE Awards for Romantic Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners
The CHATELAINE Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Romantic Fiction and Women’s Fiction. The CHATELAINE Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the 2015 CHATELAINE Awards Official First Place Category Winners. Good Luck to them as they compete for the 2015 CHATELAINE Grand Prize Award.

Congratulations to the 2015 CHATELAINE Awards First In Category Award Winning Romantic Fiction Novels:
- Legacy/Legend: Nicole Evelina – Daughter of Destiny
- Historical Romance: Susan Örnbrattt – The Particular Appeal of Gilliane Pugsley
- Regency: Julie LeMens – Once Upon a Scandal
- Women’s Fiction-Short Story Collection: Mary Ann Henry – Ladies in Low Places
- Women’s Fiction: Miriam Polli – In a Vertigo of Silence
- Adventure/Suspense: Kaylin McFarren – Banished Threads
- Mystery/Suspense: Joanne Guidoccio – A Season for Killing Blondes
- Inspirational/Restorative: Andrea Weir – A Foolish Consistency
- Young Adult/New Adult: Natasha Boyd – Deep Blue Eternity
Honorable Mentions:
- Danica Winters – Smoke and Ashes
- Belangela G. Tarazona – Hiatus
- J.L Oakley – Mist-shi-mus: A Novel of Captivity
- John Herman – The Counting of the Coup
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The CHATELAINE First Place Category award winners will compete for the CHATELAINE Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Romantic Fiction Novel. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on April 30, 2016 at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winning titles will receive an award package including a complimentary Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2016 CHATELAINE Awards. The deadline is November 30, 2016. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the CHATELAINE Awards 2015 FIRST PLACE official listing.

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

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this coming April at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?
March 14, 2016