Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Book Discovery

The SOMERSET Awards for Literary and Contemporary Novels 2015 – Official Finalist Listing
The Somerset Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genres of Literary and Contemporary Novels. The Somerset Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

More than $30,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2015 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 30, 2016!

The Somerset Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are:
- Literary
- Contemporary
- Adventure/Suspense
- Humor/Satire
- Women’s Fiction
- Magic Realism
The following titles will compete for the FIRST IN CATEGORY Positions and Awards Packages.

This is the OFFICIAL FINALIST POSTING of Authors and Titles that have made it to the Short-list of the Somerset 2015 Novel Writing Contest.
- Gail Cleare – Secrets We Keep
- ~CRK – Beyond the Further Sea
- Victoria Hughes – The Cloister Door
- Stanley Levers – Kuiperbelt Scrapyard
- Tom And Nancy Wise – Life On Base: Quantico Cave
- J.P. Kenna – Toward a Terrible Freedom
- Geoff Sokol – Will the Axe Hurt
- Patricia A. Williams – The Two Weddings of Zhao Ping
- Laurence Klinger – Billy
- Mary Avery Kabrich – Once Upon a Time a Sparrow
- Karen Fitzpatrick – After the Rain
- Kayce Stevens Hughlett – Blue: a novel
- Patrick M. Garry – Blind Spots
- Tom Glenn – The Trion Syndrome
- Rick Lenz – The Alexandrite
- Cat Lynn Boyle – Shadow Dance
- Kenneth Stokes – Return to Villa Serena
- R Schick – Little Light
- Gail Cleare – Secrets We Keep
- C.G. Fewston – A Time to Love in Tehran
- Jen Michalski – The Tide King
- James Gregory Kingston – The City Island Messenger
- Rian Everest – Tangerine Tigress
- Andreas Morgner – Kinyamaswa
- Beth Burgmeyer – The Gathering
- Judith Kirscht – Hawkins Lane
- Gary Grossman – Old Earth
- Caitlin Hicks – A Theory of Expanded Love
- N J Cooper – Beat The Rain
- Stephen Glines for Poplar Hill or Kitty Stevenson’s Two Wakes
- James Zerndt – Brailling For Wile
- Miriam Polli – In A Vertigo of Silence
- Steve Bruno – Blinded by the Light
- Jacinda DeRoy – Finding Hopewood Lane
The Somerset Finalists will compete for the Somerset Awards First In Category Positions, which consists of Four Judging Rounds. First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the Somerset GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition, which has a cash prize of $200 or $500 dollars in editorial services. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse.
- All First In Category Award Winners will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.
- First In Category winners will compete for the Somerset Awards Grand Prize Award for the $200 purse and the Somerset Grand Prize Ribbon and badges.
- TEN genre Grand Prize winning titles will compete for the $1,000 purse for CBR Best Book and Overall Grand Prize.
- A coveted Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title valued at $345 dollars U.S. CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order as to posting.
- A CBR Blue Ribbon to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
- Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
- Adhesive book stickers
- Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
- Promotion in print and on-line media
- Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
- Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter
- Default First in Category winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft in all of the Chanticleer Writing Competitions.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

Congratulations to the Finalists in this fiercely competitive contest!
Good Luck to all of the Somerset Finalists as they compete for the coveted First Place Category positions.

First In Category announcements will be made in our social media postings as the results come in.

The Somerset Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category winners will be announced and recognized at the April 30th, 2016 Chanticleer Writing Contests Annual Awards Gala, which takes place on the last evening of the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2016 CLUE Awards writing competitions for Western Fiction. Please click here for more information or to enter the contests.
March 13, 2016
The LARAMIE Awards for Western Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners
Laramie Awards 2015 First Place Category Winning Titles

The Laramie Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Western Fiction. The LARAMIE Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

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

Congratulations to the 2015 Laramie Awards First In Category Award Winning Western Fiction Novels:
- Women’s Historical: Sara Dahman – Doctor Kinney’s HouseKeeper
- Adventure/Drama: Martha Conway – Thieving Forest
- Classic: McKendree Long – Higher Ground
- Prairie: Alethea Williams – Walls for the Wind
- Debut: Lynda J. Cox – The Devil’s Own Desperado
- Romance: Kristy McCaffrey – The Blackbird
- Mystery: Linell Jeppsen – Second Chance
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The LARAMIE First Place Category award winners will compete for the LARAMIE Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Western 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 Laramie Awards. The deadline is June 30, 2016. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the LARAMIE Awards 2015 FINALISTS 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 8, 2016
The CHAUCER Awards for Historical Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners
CHAUCER Awards 2015 First Place Category Winning Titles

The Chaucer Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Historical Fiction. The CHAUCER Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

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

Please note that beginning in 2016, we have divided the Chaucer Awards into two separate competitions: Chaucer Awards for Pre-1750s historical fiction and the Goethe Awards for Post-1750s).

Congratulations to the 2015 Chaucer Awards First In Category Award Winning Historical Fiction Novels:
Antebellum U.S. History: Jay W. Curry – Nixon & 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
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The CHAUCER First Place Category award winners will compete for the CHAUCER Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Historical 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 Chaucer Awards. The deadline is June 30, 2016. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the CHAUCER Awards 2015 FINALISTS 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 7, 2016
Dante Rossetti Awards 2015 First Place Category Winning Titles
The Dante Rossetti Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Young Adult & New Adult Fiction. The Dante Rossetti Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

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

Please note that we have split off the Tweens & Children’s Chapter Books into the Gertrude Warner Awards for the 2016 awards. Make sure to enter your books in that category for next year!
- Alix Nichols – What If It’s Love
- Kathe Maguire – The Harriet Club
- Christopher Allen Poe – Dark Sight
- Danielle Burnette – The Spanish Club
- James Zerndt – The Cloud Seeders
- Pamela Beason – Race with Danger
- Nikki McCormack – The Girl and the Clockwork Cat
Manuscripts
- Luke Evans – Hex
- Gail Selvig – O.W.L.S. and Other Creatures of the Night
- Lis Anna-Langston for Tupelo Honey
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The Dante Rossetti First Place Category award winners will compete for the Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Young Adult 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 winners 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 Dante Rossetti Awards. The deadline is February 28, 2017. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the Dante Rossetti Awards 2015 FINALISTS 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 6, 2016
First Place Category Winners for the 2015 JOURNEY Awards
The JOURNEY Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Narrative Non-fiction. The Journey Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the 2015 JOURNEY Awards Official First Place Category Winners. Good Luck to them as they compete for the 2015 Journey Grand Prize Award.
- Enlightenment: Grant Harper Reid – Rhythm for Sale
- Travelogue: Bonnie Rose Ward – Winds of Skilak: A Tale of True Grit, True Love, and Survival in the Alaskan Wilderness
- Self-help/How-to: Dr. Harish K. Malhotra, M.D. – Metaphors of Healing
- Volunteer Experience: George DeVault – Fire Call: A Volunteer Firefighter’s Memoir
- True Action/Adventure: Wendy Hinman – Tightwads on the Loose – A Seven Year Pacific Odyssey
- Memoir/Journey: H. Alan Day – The Horse Lover: A Cowboy’s Quest to Save the Wild Mustangs
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The Journey First Place Category award winners will compete for the Journey Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Best Narrative Non-fiction work. 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 winners will receive an award package including a complimentary book review, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2017 JOURNEY Awards. The deadline is February 28, 2017. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the JOURNEY AWARDS 2015 FINALISTS 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 3, 2016
The CLUE Awards for Thriller/Suspense Novels 2015 – Official Finalist Listing
The CLUE Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genres of Thriller and Suspense Novels. The CLUE Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

More than $30,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2015 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 30, 2016!

The CLUE Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are:
- Suspense/Thriller
- Detective/Crime
- Private Eye/Noir
- Legal/Medical/Police Procedural
- Spy/Espionage
- 2015 — Amateur Sleuth/Cozy
The following titles will compete for the FIRST IN CATEGORY Positions and Awards Packages.

This is the OFFICIAL FINALIST POSTING of Authors and Titles that have made it to the Short-list of the CLUE 2015 Novel Writing Contest.
- CG Fewston for A Time to Love in Tehran
- K. J. Klemme for Tourist Trapped
- Patrick M. Garry for Blind Spots
- Shirley Worley for Easy Money
- Sue Barnard for The Unkindest Cut of All
- Michael A Smith for The Money Game
- Timothy S. Johnston for The Void; The Freezer; & The Furnace
- J.G. Schwartz for Inventing Madness
- Timothy Smith for The Red House on the Hill
- Antonio Commisso for Silent Partner
- Dave Edlund for Relentless Savage
- Joe Young for Indian Country
- Hannah Warren for The Cottage on the Border
- Gary Grossman for Old Earth
- Joe Corso for Lafitte’s Treasure
- Laurie Stevens for The Mask of Midnight
- Virgil Alexander for The Baleful Owl
- Matt Stewart for The Man from KNEW News
- DL Koontz for Edging through Darkness
- Mark Pople for Rogers Park
- Ivan Light for Deadly Secret of the Lusitania
- Megan Davidson for The Thundering
- Carol Hedges for Death & Dominion
- Lucy Carol for Hot Scheming Mess
- John T. Young for The Princess of Poland
- Keith Tittle for A Matter of Justice
- Scott D. Smith for Guilty Deeds
- K. J. Klemme for Tourist Trapped
- Mimi Barbour for Special Agent Maximilian
- Michele Daniel for The Red Circle
- Zach Fortier for Landed on Black; Hero to Zero; Street Creds
- Lonna Enox for Blood Relations
- Rian Everest for The Tangerine Tigress & The Tangerine Trio
- M. L. Rowland for Murder on the Horizon
- Ken Oder for The Closing & Old Wounds to the Heart
- Marilyn Ida Horowitz for The Book of Zen
- Christine Benedict for Anonymous
- Debra Erfert for Relative Evil
- Joan Hall Hovey for The Deepest Dark
- S.J. Dunn for Angry Enough to Kill
- Hubert Crouch for The Word
- Kent Politsch for Blood Anger
- Stephen Kaminski for Murder, She Floats
- Tom Dalgliesh for All Corpses on Deck
- D. J. Adamson for Outre
- J.A. Faura for Apex Predator
- N.G. West for Nine Days to Evil
- Vanessa Leigh Hoffman for Treasure
- Chief John J. Mandeville for Pine Village Co-op Murders and Sherlockito
- J.J. Chow for Seniors Sleuth
- Vinnie Hansen for Black Beans & Venom
- Marian Exall for A Dangerous Descent
The CLUE Finalists will compete for the CLUE Awards First In Category Positions, which consists of Four Judging Rounds. First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the CLUE GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition, which has a cash prize of $250 or $500 dollars in editorial services. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse.
- All First In Category Award Winners will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.
- First In Category winners will compete for the CLUE Awards Grand Prize Award for the $250 purse and the CLUE Grand Prize Ribbon and badges.
- TEN genre Grand Prize winning titles will compete for the $1,000 purse for CBR Best Book and Overall Grand Prize.
- A coveted Chanticleer Book Review valued at $345 dollars U.S. CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order as to posting.
- A CBR Blue Ribbon to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
- Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
- Adhesive book stickers
- Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
- Promotion in print and on-line media
- Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
- Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter
- Default First in Category winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft in all of the Chanticleer Writing Competitions.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

Congratulations to the Finalists in this fiercely competitive contest!
Good Luck to all of the CLUE Finalists as they compete for the coveted First Place Category positions.

First In Category announcements will be made in our social media postings as the results come in.

The CLUE Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category winners will be announced and recognized at the April 30th, 2016 Chanticleer Writing Contests Annual Awards Gala, which takes place on the last evening of the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2016 CLUE Awards writing competitions for Western Fiction. Please click here for more information or to enter the contests.
March 3, 2016
CYGNUS Awards for Science Fiction & Speculative Fiction FIRST PLACE Category Winners 2015
Chanticleer Book Reviews is honored to announce the First Place Category Winners for the Cygnus Awards 2015, the science fiction, speculative fiction, and steampunk fiction genre division of the Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Award Writing Competitions.

The Cygnus Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer Book Reviews Blue Ribbon Awards Writing Competitions.

Please note that Fantasy, Myth & Legend, & Magical Systems entries were moved to the newly offered OZMA Awards for Fantasy Fiction. This contest will be awarded for the first time in 2016.

These First Place Category Winners will be recognized on stage at the Chanticleer Authors Conference on April 30, 2016 Awards Banquet. Good luck to them as they compete for the CYGNUS 2015 Grand Prize.

First Place Category Winners for the Cygnus Awards are:
- John Yarrow for The Time Forward Project
- James Wells for The Great Symmetry
- C. A. Knutsen for Janus Unfolding: Emergence
- Janine A. Southard for Cracked! A Magic iPhone Story
- Jessica Schaub for Gateways
- L.S. Kilroy for The Vitruvian Heir
- Tommy Partl for Mechanized
- Timothy S. Johnston for The Furnace
*This list is now complete 3/16/16

CONGRATULATIONS!

The 1st Place Category Winners compete for the CYGNUS AWARDS 2015 GRAND PRIZE position. The 2015 CYGNUS category winners will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala on April 30, 2016. See the Grand Prize Winners from 2014.

The submission deadline for the 2016 CYGNUS Awards is now closed. We are accepting entries into the 2017 Cygnus Awards Novel Competition.

To compete in the 2017 CYGNUS Awards or for more information, please click here.

THE DEADLINE TO ENTER THE 2016 CYGNUS Novel Writing Competitions was January 31st, 2016.

ENTER NOW

Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media, L.L.C. retains the right to not declare “default winners.” Winning works are decided upon merit only. Please visit our Contest Details page for more information about our writing contest guidelines.

CBR’s rigorous writing competition standards are why literary agencies seek out our winning manuscripts and self-published novels. Our high standards are also why our reviews are trusted among booksellers and book distributors.

Please do not hesitate to contact Info@ChantiReviews.com about any questions, concerns, or suggestions about CBR writing competitions. Your input and suggestions are important to us.

Thank you for your interest in Chanticleer Book Reviews International Writing Competitions.
February 26, 2016
The PARANORMAL Awards for Supernatural Fiction 2015 – Finalist Listing
The Paranormal Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Supernatural Fiction. The Paranormal Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

More than $30,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2015 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 30, 2016!

The Paranormal Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are:
- Paranormal Romance
- Urban/Edgy
- Magical Beings & Creatures and Magical Systems
- Supernatural Powers
- Adventure/Mystery/Thriller
- Paranormal
OFFICIAL LISTING of the 2015 Paranormal Writing Competition’s Finalists

The following titles will compete for the FIRST IN CATEGORY Positions and Awards Packages.
- Andy Kutler – The Other Side of Life
- Kayla Hampton – The Assassin
- Ben A Sharpton – 2nd Sight
- Sabina Khan – Realm of the Goddess
- Karen Musser Nortman – The Time Travel Trailer
- Elizabeth Crowens – Silent Meridian: The Transparency of Time
- R.J. Lewis – Fire In The Mind
- Diana Green – Dragon Wife
- M.L. Crum – Irony of Time
- Mart Sander – The Goddess Of The Devil
- Shaila Patel – Soulmated
- Alex E. Carey – Earth’s Embrace
- Alex E. Carey – Water’s Reflection
- Joanne Jaytanie – Willow’s Discovery, Book 3
- Kim Hornsby – The Dream Jumper’s Pursuit
- Penny Page – Coven Corners
- Carolyn Haley – The Aurora Affair
- Gail Siler, PhD – Decoding the Butterfly Promise
- Dana Faletti – Whisper: Book One
- Harry Steven Ackley – Our Lady of West 74th Street
- Aphrodite Anagnost & Robert P. Arthur – Passover
- K.C. Finn – The Book Of Shade
- K.J. McPike – XODUS
- Paula Cappa – Greylock
- Kathi Bjorkman – Third Eye Witness-Bearer of Truth
- April Holthaus – Legend of the Fae
- Robert Wright – Witch Way Home
- Diana Green – Bronze Fox
- Marti Melville – Onyx Rising Deja Vu
- Marti Melville – Silver Moon Deja Vu
- Tessa McFionn – Spirit Fall
- Richard Southall – Haunted Plantations of the South
- D.L. Koontz – Edging through the Darkness
- Kacey Vanderkarr – Stepping Stones
- Linda Watkins – Return to Mategias Island
- J. Steven Young – Blue Screen of Death
- Michael Schmicker – The Witch of Napoli
- R.E. Steedman – The Phantasmagorical Theatre of Crespin Varlot
AN ANNOUNCEMENT from Kiffer Brown, pres. of CBR.

We have moved the Chanticleer Reviews Writing Competition Awards evening up from September 24, 2016 to April 30, 2016. Our last awards evening was Sept. 29, 2015 when we presented the 2014 awards.This move makes the 2015 awards more relevant and recent for the winning authors. However, the date change has given us only six months to judge all the entries instead of the usual twelve months.

The reason why we scheduled CAC in September was because it was the only time available on the writer conferences’ schedule. When there was an opening in April, we grabbed it!

However, after this April 30, 2016 awards ceremony for the 2015 winners, we will be back to having an entire year for the judging rounds for the 2016 contest submissions whose winners will be announced in April 2017 instead of September 2017.

Moving the awards ceremony also means that we had to move the conference and the accompanying book fair also up from September to April, which means we only have six months between CAC15 and CAC16.

My apologies for the contest announcement delays and we thank you for your patience and understanding as we are making big changes here at Chanticleer Reviews. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com if you have any questions or concerns.
The Paranormal Finalists will compete for the Paranormal Awards First In Category Positions, which consists of Four Judging Rounds. First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the Paranormal GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition, which has a cash prize of $250 or $500 dollars in editorial services. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse.
- All First In Category Award Winners will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.
- First In Category winners will compete for the Paranormal Awards Grand Prize Award for the $200 purse and the Paranormal Grand Prize Ribbon and badges.
- TEN genre Grand Prize winning titles will compete for the $1,000 purse for CBR Best Book and Overall Grand Prize.
- A coveted Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title valued at $345 dollars U.S. CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order as to posting.
- A CBR Blue Ribbon to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
- Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
- Adhesive book stickers
- Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
- Promotion in print and on-line media
- Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
- Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter
- Default First in Category winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft in all of the Chanticleer Writing Competitions.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

Congratulations to the Finalists!
Good Luck to all of the Paranormal Finalists as they compete for the coveted First Place Category positions.

First In Category announcements will be made in our social media postings as the results come in.

The PARANORMAL Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category winners will be announced and recognized at the April 30th, 2016 Chanticleer Writing Contests Annual Awards Gala, which takes place on the last evening of the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2016 Paranormal Awards writing competitions for Western Fiction. Please click here for more information or to enter the contests.
February 19, 2016
Largest Book Club in the World Selects Chanticleer Award Winner for 2016 Book Reading List
BREAKING NEWS! This just in!

Kiffer Brown here reporting from the 16th Anniversary Weekend Author Extravaganza in Nacogdoches, Texas, home of the Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club — the largest book club in the world’s annual weekend gathering!

The Pulpwood Queens Book Club was founded by Kathy (Patrick) Murphy sixteen years. Dreamworks Entertainment has announced plans to make a movie based on Murhpy’s life, and her book The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life along with the development of her international book club that has grown to 600-plus devoted chapters.

The Pulpwood Queens’ Book Club has be written about in the Oxford American Magazine, The Magazine of Good Southern Writing, and along with Oprah Winfrey’s OXYGEN NETWORK feature, to The Oprah Winfrey Show, to kicking off Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gipson’s READ THIS Book Club on Good Morning America, and has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and The Wall Street Journal to name a few.

I met Kathy Murphy (formerly Patrick) at a conference last April and we had instant rapport, so we stayed in touch. Of course, I just had to attend the “Once Upon a Time in 2016,” Girlfriend Weekend that is being held right now (Jan. 14 – 17, 2016) in Nacogdoches, Texas.

The authors of the 2016 selections are in attendance for panel discussions, author signings, and meeting their readers. The GREAT BIG BALL of HAIR costume themed ball “Once Upon a Time” will be held this evening and the Timber Guy of the Year and the Ball Queen will be announced at this time.

But, most importantly, the 2016 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Selections will be officially announced at the gathering of authors and readers!

Kathy L. Murphy, the founder of the book club, selects all the books with great care and deliberation from stacks and stacks of books (fiction and non-fiction) that she, herself, has read. She lists selections for each month in five categories:
1. Main Selection of the Month
2. Backlist Book: This Is a book she feels did not receive the attention it so deserves and should not be missed.
3. Bonus Books selection is for voracious readers (like Kathy)
4. Pinecones: Young Adult & Teen Selections
5. Splinters: Children’s Selections
Selections have been made for January through September 2016, so far! Selections for October, November, and December 2016 have not yet been made.

And now we are honored and excited to announce: DRUM ROLL, please!

The Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys just selected Chanticleer Reviews Grand Prize award winner J. L. Oakley’s latest book Timber Rose for their 2016 Book Club Selections for the month of February!

J. L. Oakley was awarded the Chanticleer Grand Prize for Tree Soldier for Best Book 2012. The manuscript for Timber Rose was awarded a CHAUCER Historical Fiction Novel Competition 2014 First Place Award for Women’s Fiction. The Chanticleer Review of Timber Rose is coming soon!

We are excited for Janet Oakley and her Timber Rose novel that is set in 1907 in the great timber forests of the Pacific Northwest and features timber roses, women who hike and climb mountains in skirts breaking rules and barriers.

Congratulations to J. L. Oakley for her historical fiction novel, Timber Rose, being selected for the reading list of the largest book club in the world! Now this is something to CROW about!

PULPWOOD QUEEN herself to attend and present at the Chanticleer Authors Conference 2016!

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photo by Stephanie Chance

We are honored and excited that Kathy L. Murphy will be a keynote speaker at the Chanticleer Authors Conference 2016 that will take place on April 29, 30, and May 1, 2016. She will be present at the Chanticleer Awards Ceremony on Saturday evening and will be “Queen of the Books By the Bay Book Fair” on Sunday, May 1st, 2016.

You can read more information about CAC16 here! Don’t delay, seating is limited.

This is Kiffer Brown, founder of Chanticleer Reviews, signing off from The Girlfriend Weekend in Nacogdoches, Texas. [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
January 16, 2016
The CHAUCER Awards for Historical Fiction 2015 Official Finalists Listing
The CHAUCER Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Historical Fiction. The Chaucer Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

More than $30,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2015 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 30, 2016!

We received an unprecedented amount of entries for the 2015 Chaucer Awards. Due to demand, we will divide the Chaucer Awards into two separate contests for 2016: The CHAUCER Awards for historical fiction prior to 1750 and the GOETHE Awards for Historical Fiction after 1750 until the 1970s.

This is the Official Finalists List of the Authors and Titles of Works that have made it to the Short-list of the Chaucer 2015 Novel Writing Contest.

The Chaucer Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are: Pre-Historical Fiction, Ancient Historical Fiction, World/International History (non-western culture historical fiction), Dark Ages, Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan/Tudor 1600’s, Historical Young Adult.

The following titles will compete for the FIRST IN CATEGORY Positions and Awards Packages
- Marc Graham for Song of Songs: A Novel of the Queen of Sheba
- Daniel K Gilbert for The Eternal Dream
- Martha Conway for Thieving Forest
- O.W. Shumaker for Anna’s Bear -5 Days of Moral Conflict and Fierce Pursuit – In Nazi Germany, 1939
- Nicki Chen for Tiger Tail Soup, A Novel of China at War
- Jim Fuxa for Zizka, The One-eyed
- Russell Hill & Jeffrey Smith for Mesabi Pioneers
- Robert Wright for Valhalla Revealed
- David E. Huntley – Death Watch Beetle
- Paul B McNulty for Spellbound by Sibella
- Steve Doherty for Operation King Cobra
- S. Thomas Bailey for Blood Lines-The Gauntlet Runner Book 4
- Larry K. & Lorna Collins for The Memory Keeper
- Michael Scheffel for St. Louis Affair: The Adventures of Herbert Falken
- Andy Kutler for The Other Side of Life
- Richard Carl Roth for Endangered Eagle
- T. M. Carter for The Lion of the Cross: Tales of a Templar Knight
- CG Fewston for A Time to Love in Tehran
- Joyce DiPastena for The Lady and the Minstrel
- Catherine A Wilson and Catherine T Wilson for The Order of the Lily
- Troy B. Kechely for Stranger’s Dance
- Glen Craney for The Yanks Are Starving: A Novel of the Bonus Army
- Glen Craney for The Spider and the Stone: A Novel of Scotland’s Black Douglas
- Leif Gregersen for Those Who Dare To Dream
- Kelly-Lynne Reimer for Broken Glass
- Amanda Frost for Provenance
- Deborah Fleming for Without Leave
- Marina Osipova for The Cruel Romance
- Brigitte Goldstein for Death of a Diva-From Berlin to Broadway
- Leon J. Radomile for The Spear of Lepanto
- Patrick Gabridge for Steering to Freedom
- Jocelyn Cullity for The Red Year
- James Conroyd Martin for The Warsaw Conspiracy
- Nancy Foshee for O’er the Ramparts
- Susan Örnbratt for The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley
- E.A. Haltom for Gwendolyn’s Sword
- K.S. Jones for Shadow Of The Hawk
- Anjali Mitter Duva for Faint Promise of Rain
- Joan Fallon for The Shining City
- Joan Fallon for The Only Blue Door
- Meredith Pechta for The Prejudice that Divides Us
- Eleanor Tatum for Gray Lace
- John Hallman for Punic Wars
- Edmond G. Addeo for A Tale of the Yosemite
- Bruce Macbain for Odin’s Child
- Gregory Warwick Hansen for Pelsaert’s Nightmare
- Jerrie Brock for Pawn to King’s Right
- Nicole Evelina for Madame Presidentess
- JD Slade for Last Children of the Valley
- Jess Curry for Nixon And Dovey
- Jayme Mansfield for Chasing the Butterfly
- Ethel Morgan Smith for Out of Bone
- Mary Kay Thill for The Uncrowned King: A Story of Lorenzo Medici
- E.A. Haltom for Gwendolyn’s Sword
- Sara Dahmen for Doctor Kinney’s Housekeeper
- Joan Fallon for The Shining City
- Anna Castle for Death by Disputation
- James B. McPike for The Lost Prophet
- Paula Butterfield for La Luministe
- Diana Wilder for The City of Refuge
- Glen Alan Burke for Jesse
- Rose Seiler Scott for Threaten to Undo Us
- McKendree Long for Higher Ground
- Helena P. Schrader for Defender of Jerusalem & Knight of Jerusalem
- Christian Kachel for Spoils of Olympus: By the Sword
This is the complete listing of the 2015 Chaucer Finalists.
The Chaucer Finalists will compete for the Chaucer Awards First In Category Positions, which consists of Four Judging Rounds. First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the Chaucer GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition, which has a cash prize of $250 or $500 dollars in editorial services. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse.
- All First In Category Award Winners will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.
- First In Category winners will compete for the Chaucer Awards Grand Prize Award for the $250 purse and the Chaucer Grand Prize Ribbon and badges.
- TEN genre Grand Prize winning titles will compete for the $1,000 purse for CBR Best Book and Overall Grand Prize.
- A coveted Chanticleer Book Review valued at $345 dollars U.S. CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order as to posting.
- A CBR Blue Ribbon to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
- Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
- Adhesive book stickers
- Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
- Promotion in print and on-line media
- Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
- Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter
- Default First in Category winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft in all of the Chanticleer Writing Competitions.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

Congratulations to the Finalists in this fiercely competitive contest!
Good Luck to all of the Chaucer Finalists as they compete for the coveted First Place Category positions.

First In Category announcements will be made in our social media postings as the results come in.

The Chaucer Grand Prize Winner will be announced at the April 30th, 2016 Chanticleer Writing Contests Annual Awards Gala, which takes place on the last evening of the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2016 Chaucer Awards and the Goethe Awards writing competitions for Historical Fiction. Please click here for more information or to enter the contests.
December 26, 2015