Chanticleer Book Reviews

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Part Three of Three Official Postings of the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners
We are deeply honored and excited to continue to announce the 2020 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) with our third of three official postings.

Click here to visit the First Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.

Click here to visit the Second Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

The winners were recognized at a special CIBAs ceremony held on June 5th, 2021 in-person and by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians participating and interacting from around the globe and North America.

We cheered on the CIBA Premier Finalists with our bubbly of choice from wherever we were Zooming!

Raising our glasses to cheer the CIBA Winners!

We want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 24 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for the

Six Non-Fiction Divisions:

Journey, Hearten, Harvey Chute, Mind and Spirit, I & I, and Nellie Bly

along with the FIRST Winners for the

Short Story, and Book Series Awards,

and concluding with the

OVERALL 2020 GRAND PRIZE WINNER

for the

2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards

The JOURNEY Book Awards for

Narrative Non-Fiction, Memoirs, and Biographies

Grand Prize Winner is

THE PARROT’S PERCH: A MEMOIR OF TORTURE AND CORRUPTION IN BRAZIL by Karen Keilt

The Journey First Place Category Winners are:
- Susan E Casey – Rock On: Mining for Joy in the Deep River of Sibling Grief
- Laila Tarraf – Strong Like Water: Lessons Learned from Leading with Love
- Steve Mariotti – Goodbye Homeboy
- Steve Rochinski – A Man of His Time: Secrets from a Halfway World
- Susan E. Greisen – In Search of Pink Flamingos: A Woman’s Quest for Forgiveness & Unconditional Love
- Renee Hodges – Saving Bobby: Heroes and Heroin in One Small Community
- Barbara Clarke – The Red Kitchen
The INSTRUCTION and INSIGHT Book Awards

for How-To Guides, Travel Guides, Cook Books, Self-Help, and Enlightenment

Grand Prize Winner is

INDEPENDENT LIVING WITH AUTISM by Wendela Whitcomb Marsh

The I & & First Place Category Winners are:
- Peggy Sullivan –Blissfully Single, A Single’s Guide to Finding Happiness
- Judy Taylor – Save That Rug! A How-To Guide for Repairing Hooked Rugs
- Dennis J Kotchmar – The Joy Of Searching, Buying and Selling, Antiques and Home Décor from France and England
- Leslie Bains – Let’s Take A Hike: 7 Family-Friendly Trails of Nantucket
- Carole Bumpus – Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, Book Two
- Jill Sherer Murray – Big Wild Love: The Unstoppable Power of Letting Go
The NELLIE BLY Book Awards

for Investigative and Long Form Journalism Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

PRISON FROM THE INSIDE OUT by William ‘Mecca’ Elmore & Susan Simone

The Nellie Bly First Place Category Winners are:
- Ashley Conner and Cierra Camper – Memoirs of Michael: The Hurricane Project
- Kris Newby – BITTEN: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons
- Janice S. Ellis, Ph.D. – Cause and Civility: Imploring Reason and Respect From An Advocate Journalist, Book I (now, Advancing the Good Society: Real Advocacy Journalism™ in Action, Book I Ethics and Values)
- Patricia Martin Holt – EMPOWER A REFUGEE, Peace of Thread and the Backyard Humanity Movement
- Gigi Berardi – FoodWISE: A Whole Systems Guide to Sustainable and Delicious Food Choices
- Ted Neill – Two Years of Wonder
The HARVEY CHUTE Book Awards

for Business & Enterprise Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

EDGE: TURNING ADVERSITY INTO ADVANTAGE by Laura Huang

The Harvey Chute First Place Category Winners are:
- Gary M. Shiffman – The Economics of Violence: How Behavioral Science Can Transform our View of Crime, Insurgency, and Terrorism
- Susanne Tedrick – Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators
- Rachel Thompson – The BadRedhead Media 30-Day Book Marketing Challenge
- Marcus Kirsch – The Wicked Company
- Anthony Delauney – Owning the Dash
- Tikiri Herath – Your Rebel Dreams: Discover Your Purpose and Passions to Power Up Your Life
- Mike D. Kinney – Navigating Your Safety Culture Journey
The MIND & SPIRIT Book Awards

for Spirituality and Enlightenment Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

EXIT THE MAZE: ONE ADDICTION, ONE CAUSE, ONE CURE by Dr. Donna Marks

The Mind and Spirit First Place Category Winners are:
- Cindy Rasicot – Finding Venerable Mother: A Daughter’s Spiritual Quest to Thailand
- Nancy Pickard – Bigger Better Braver
- Jennie Lee – Spark Change: 108 Provocative Questions for Spiritual Evolution
- Anna Carner – Blossom – The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury
- Marianne Ingheim – Out of Love: Finding Your Way Back to Self-Compassion
- Jill Sherer Murray – Big Wild Love: The Unstoppable Power of Letting Go
The HEARTEN Book Awards

for Uplifting and Inspiring Non-Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

LOVE, LIFE, AND LUCILLE by Judy Gaman

The Hearten First Place Category Winners are:
- Annerose D. Watts – Blue Plate Journey
- Katherine Snow Smith – Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker, Missteps, and Lessons Learned
- Michael M. Van Ness – GENERAL IN COMMAND: The Life of Major General John B. Anderson from Iowa Farm to Command of the Largest Combat Corps in World War II
- Keturah Kendrick – No Thanks: Black, Female, And Living in the Martyr-Free Zone
- Evelyn Kohl LaTorre – Between Inca Walls – Peace Corps memoir
- Deborah Tobola – Hummingbird in Underworld: Teaching in a Men’s Prison
- Suzanne Kamata – Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair
- Cerridwen Fallingstar – Broth from the Cauldron; A Wisdom Journey through Everyday Magic
- Bill Pullen – It Started at The Savoy
Congratulations to the Inaugural

AWARD WINNERS for the

Short Story Awards and Short Story Collections

of the CIBAs

The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for the CIBA Short Story Collections

Grand Prize Winner is

A WEEK AT SURFSIDE BEACH by Pierce Koslosky Jr.

Congratulations to The SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS FINALISTS!
- Lindy Ryan – Dead of Winter
- Janet Oakley – Hilo Bay Mystery Collection
- Sean Thomas Dwyer – Voices I Hear
- Susan Lynn Solomon – T’was the Season
- Abbe Rolnick – Tattle Tales: Essays and Stories Along the Way
The SHORT STORY Book Awards

for Short Stories, Novelettes, and Novellas

Grand Prize Winner is

SAVONNE, NOT VONNY by Robin Lee Lovelace

Congratulations to The SHORT STORY & NOVELLAS FINALISTS!

SHORT STORIES and NOVELETTES

Historical Fiction (Chaucer/Goethe/Laramie/Hemingway)
- Kristie Clark – Dragon of the Sea
- Vali Benson – Blood and Silver
- Grendolyn Soleil – Snow Dust and Boneshine: The Chronicles of Granny Witch
- Marina Osipova – From Stalin with Love
Mystery & Suspense (M&M/Clue)
- J. J. Clarke – Dared to Fly
- Alan E. Fleischauer – Sherlock and the Tiger
- Joanne Jaytanie – Twice As Bad, Miss Demeanor, P. I. Series
Out of This World Fiction – Speculative Fiction
- Robin Lee Lovelace – Savonne, Not Vonny
- Alexandrea Weis – Sisters of the Moon
- Matilda Scotney- Joy In Four Parts
- Sarena Ulibarri – Inviting Disaster
- Grendolyn Soleil – Snow Dust and Boneshine: The Chronicles of Granny Witch
Contemporary/Literary/Satire (Somerset/Mark Twain)
- Susan Lynn Solomon – Reunion
- V. P. Evans – N
- V.P. Evans – W
- Michelle Rene Magee – Danielle’s Inferno
- Dennis M. Clausen – The Accountant’s Apprentice
Chatelaine
- Joanne Jaytanie – Christmas Chemistry, Forever Christmas in Glenville, Book 3
- Vicki Batman – Raving Beauty
- Gail Meath – Fire Blossom
- Joanne Jaytanie – P.I. I LOVE YOU, Miss Demeanor, P.I. Book I
Congratulations to the

Inaugural AWARD WINNERS for the

FICTION SERIES

of the 2020 CIBAs

The BOOK SERIES Book Awards

for Fiction Series

Grand Prize Winner is

THE DEVIL’S BOOKKEEPERS by Mark Newhouse

The Noose, The Noose Tightens, The Noose Closes

Congratulations to the First Place Category Winners

for the CIBAs New Division for Fiction Series Book Awards!

CHATELAINE Book Series Awards for Romantic Fiction

Multi-cultural/Inter-racial Romance Series:
- The Prodigy Slave by Londyn Skye
  - The Prodigy Slave: Journey to Winter Garden
  - The Prodigy Slave: The Old World
  - The Prodigy Slave: The Ultimate Grand Finale
Regency/Georgian Romance Series:
- The Donet Trilogy by Regan Walker
  - To Tame the Wind
  - Echo in the Wind
  - A Fierce Wind
Historical Romance Series:
- The Lavender Meuse Trilogy by Gail Noble-Sanderson
  - The Lavender House in Meuse
  - The Passage Home to Meuse
  - The Lavender Bees of Meuse
HEMINGWAY Book Series Awards for Wartime Historical Fiction

The Devil’s Bookkeepers – Three Books by Mark Newhouse
- - The Noose
  - The Noose Tightens
  - The Noose Closes
CLUE Awards Series for Mystery & Suspense
- The Annie Oakley Mystery Series – Three Books by Kari Bovee
  - Girl with a Gun
  - Peccadillo at the Palace
  - Folly at the Fair
LARAMIE Series Awards Western, Americana, Civil War Fiction

Americana Fiction
- An American Journey Novel Series – Four Books by Richard Alan Schwartz
  - The Emigrant
  - The Pioneer
  - The Surgeon
  - The Soldier
GOETHE for Historical Fiction Series, post-1750s
- The Poland Trilogy – Eastern European Literature -Three Books by James Conroyd Martin
  - Push Not the River
  - Against a Crimson Sky
  - The Warsaw Conspiracy
DANTE ROSSETTI Book Series Awards for Young Adult Fiction
- The Adventures of Jonathan Moore Book Series – Three Books by Peter Greene
  - Warship Poseidon
  - Castle of Fire
  - Paladin’s War
M & M Book Series Awards for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries
- The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Mystery Series – Five Books by Michelle Cox
  - A Girl Like You
  - A Ring of Truth
  - A Promise Given
  - A Veil Removed
  - A Child Lost
OZMA Book Series Awards for Fantasy Fiction
- Terribly Serious Darkness Gaslamp Fantasy Book Series – Three Books by Sam Hooker
  - Peril in the Old Country
  - Soul Remains
  - Now Before the Dark
PARANORMAL Book Series Awards for Supernatural Fiction
- The Winters Sisters – a Paranormal Romantic Suspense Series – Four Books by Joanne Jaytanie
  - Chasing Victory
  - Payton’s Pursuit
  - Willow’s Discovery
  - Corralling Kenzie
SOMERSET Book Series Awards for Contemporary, Literary, & Mainstream Fiction
- The Anne McFarland Book Series – American Literature – Three Books by Jill G. Hall
  - The Black Velvet Coat
  - The Silver Shoes
  - The Green Lace Corset
CONGRATULATIONS to ALL!

And NOW for the

2020 CHANTICLEER INT’L BOOK AWARDS

BEST BOOK

and

OVERALL GRAND PRIZE WINNER

TROUBLE THE WATER

by Rebecca Dwight Bruff

Rebecca Dwight Bruff will also be awarded $1,000 USD in recognition of her 2020 BEST BOOK of the YEAR – Chanticleer International Book Awards – Sponsored by Chanticleer Reviews & Media.

A Chanticleer Review of Trouble the Water will be featured in the in the SPRING 2022 quarterly edition of the Chanticleer Reviews Magazine (print and epub) along with other promotional and marketing opportunities along with an interview with the author, Rebecca Dwight Bruff.

Thank you Rebecca Dwight Bruff for participating in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards. We look forward to receiving future work in our CIBAs.

We look forward to toasting Rebecca in person at our next gathering–hopefully in 2022. We are so happy that she joined us virtually for the CIBA announcements at our special ceremony on June 5th, 2021.

CONGRATULATIONS REBECCA DWIGHT BRUFF!

From all of us at Chanticleer International Book Awards and Chanticleer Reviews.

THANK YOU to VCAC21 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

And to FRIENDS of CHANTICLEER REVIEWS:

Cathy Ace, J.D. Barker, Robert Dugoni, Chris Humphreys, Bradley Metrock, Jessica Morrell, Scott Steindorff, and Paul Hanson of Village Books

We will post more photographs and information. Do check back and subscribe to the Chanticleer Reviews e-news letter.

The video recordings of VCAC21 will be available on VIMEO. More information to come.

We have exciting news for the Chanticleer Community on the horizon so do stay tuned!

You know you want a coveted Chanticleer Reviews Blue Ribbon!

Submit your works (manuscripts or novels published after or on January 1, 2019, are accepted) to the prestigious Chanticleer International Book Awards today! Entries are being accepted into the 2021 CIBAs in all 18 fiction divisions and seven non-fiction divisions.

Be sure to register early for the 10th Anniversary 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference that will start on April 7th, 2021 with the 2022 CIBA banquet and ceremony scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 10th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. If we cannot move forward with CAC22 due to the coronavirus, we will host another LIVE and HYBRID Chanticleer Authors Conference and 2021 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards ceremony.

Pivot and Oscillate are the Words for Today’s Challenging Times.

An email will go out to all 2020 CIBA award winners prior to October 30, 2021, with instructions, links, and more information about the awards packages. We appreciate your patience. As stated many times before “One does not need to be present at the CIBA ceremony and banquet to win. But it sure is a lot more fun!” –even if it is virtual!

As always, please contact us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions!

Be well. Stay Healthy. Take Care!

The Chanticleer Reviews Team
June 30, 2021
Part Two of The 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners
We are deeply honored and excited to continue to announce the 2020 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs) with our second of three official postings.

Click here to visit the First Posting out of Three Official Announcements for the 2020 CIBA Winners.

Click here to visit the Third Posting out of Three Official Announcements for the 2020 CIBA Winners.

The winners were recognized at a special CIBAs ceremony held on June 5th, 2021 in-person and by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The CIBA announcements were made LIVE with Chanticleerians participating and interacting from around the globe and North America.

We cheered on the CIBA Premier Finalists with our bubbly of choice from wherever we were Zooming!

Btw, Kiffer’s favorite Champagne!

We want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 24 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increasing exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2020—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division. The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for the Laramie, Chaucer, Goethe, Hemingway, Chatelaine, Mark Twain, and Somerset Awards.

Coveted Chanticleer Blue Ribbons!

We are honored to present the

2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards

Grand Prize Winners

The 2020 CIBA Winners!

The LARAMIE Book Awards for

American, Western, Pioneer, Civil War, and First Nation Novels

The Grand Prize Winner is

TROUBLE THE WATER, A NOVEL by Rebecca Dwight Bruff
- Eileen Charbonneau – Mercies of the Fallen
- James Kahn – Matamoros
- Daniel Greene – Northern Wolf
- David Fitz-Gerald – She Sees Ghosts? The Story of a Woman Who Rescues Lost Souls
- Gerry Robinson – The Cheyenne Story
- J.B. Richard – Jesse
- Mike Shellenbergar – Quail Creek Ranch
- Mike Shellenbergar –Refuge
- J. Palma – The Chaffee Sisters
- Fred Dickey – Days of Hope, Miles of Misery – Love and Loss on the Oregon Trail
The CHAUCER Book Awards for

Pre-1750s Historical Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

BIRD IN A SNARE by N.L. Holmes
- B.L. Smith – The Fall of the Axe
- Helena P. Schrader – The Emperor Strikes Back
- Denis Olasehinde Akinmolasire – The Mission to End Slavery
- Thoren Syndergaard – Ripley of Valor
- Brook Allen – Antonius: Son of Rome
- Janet Wertman – The Path to Somerset
- Regan Walker – Summer Warrior
The GOETHE Book Awards for

Post-1750’s Historical Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

THE ALOHA SPIRIT by Linda Ulleseit
- Wendy Long Stanley – The Power to Deny
- Ben Wyckoff Shore – Terribilita
- Donna Scott – The London Monster
- Michelle Cameron – Beyond the Ghetto Gates
- P. L. Jonas – Beneath a Radiant Moon
- Dorothea Hubble Bonneau – Once in a Blood Moon
- Jule Selbo – Breaking Barriers: A Novel Based on the Life of Laura Bassi
The HEMINGWAY Book Awards for

20th Century Wartime Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

THE QUISLING FACTOR by J.L. Oakley
- Helena P. Schrader – Where Eagles Never Flew: A Battle of Britain Novel
- Conor Bender – Jubilee
- Leslie K. Barry – Newark Minutemen
- Kathryn Gauci –The Poseidon Network
- Brigitte Goldstein – Babylon Laid Waste
- Catherine A. Hamilton – Victoria’s War
- Jon Duncan – Heart of the Few
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Lavender Bees of Meuse
The CHATELAINE Book Awards for

Romantic Fiction and Women’s Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

WHEN THE WIND CHIMES by Mary Ting
- Linda Stewart Henley –Estelle: A Novel
- Lindy Miller –The Magic Ingredient
- Alexandrea Weis – The Christmas Spirit
- Linda Lee Graham – A Thimbleful of Honor
- Gayle Woodson – After Kilimanjaro
- Eileen Charbonneau –Mercies of the Fallen
- Carol Van Den Hende – Goodbye, Orchid
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Lavender Bees of Meuse
- Barb Warner Deane – The Whistle Stop Canteen
- T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
The MARK TWAIN Book Awards

for Humor and Satire

Grand Prize Winner is

ARNOLD FALLS by Charlie Suisman
- Lenore Rowntree – Cluck
- Wayne Edmiston – UNfatally Dead: to thaw or not to thaw?
- Haris Orkin – You Only Live Once
- Elizabeth Crowens – Dear Bernie, I’m Glad You’re Dead
- Alex J. Tremari – Dragoncast
- Matt Tompkins – Odsburg
- J.P. Kenna – Toward A Terrible Freedom
The SOMERSET Book Awards

for Literary, Contemporary, and Mainstream Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

A SEASON IN LIGHTS by Gregory Erich Phillips
- Sara Stamey –Pause
- Candi Sary –Magdalena
- Kathleen Reid –Sunrise in Florence
- T P Graf – As the Daisies Bloom
- Julie Weary – Knowing Marjorie Thane
- Barbara Linn Probst – Queen of the Owls
- Jennifer Gold – Keep Me Afloat
- Lainey Cameron – The Exit Strategy
- Susan Wingate – How the Deer Moon Hungers
Congratulations to ALL!

We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

Be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE us Facebook and on Twitter @ChantiReviews

Please standby for our next post ( that will honor:
- Journey Book Award Winners
- Hearten Book Award Winners
- Harvey Chute Book Award Winners
- Mind and Spirit Book Award Winners
- Nellie Bly Book Award Winners
- Instructional and Insight Book Award Winners
- Short Story Book Award Winners
- Book Series Book Award Winners
And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2020 CIBAs!

Stay Tuned for Part 3 that will announce the Overall Grand Prize Winner!

We are now accepting entries into the 2021 and 2022 Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://www.chantireviews.com/contests/

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com We will try our best to respond within 3 business days.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2020 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team
June 29, 2021
The 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (#CIBAs) Overall Grand Prize and Division Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners | Part One
We are deeply honored and excited to announce the 2020 Winners of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs). The Finalists were recognized at the Virtual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Ceremonies, and the First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners were announced June 5th, 2021 by ZOOM webinars based at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether, Bellingham, Wash.

The 2021 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2020 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Banquet and Ceremony was originally scheduled for April 21 – 25, 2021. Each year, Chanticleerians from around the globe come together to celebrate and cheer each other on at the annual CIBA banquet and awards evening at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether that is situated on beautiful Bellingham Bay, Washington State.

However, in order to celebrate being able to meet in person in even a limited capacity (due to the fact that we all able to be vacinated in time), we postponed the First Place Winner and Grand Prize Ceremonies to June 5th, 2021 at the Hotel Bellwether with local Chanticleerians attending cheering each other on along with cheering on the virtual attendees. Champagne was poured and shared as the 2020 CIBA Grand Prize Division Award Winners were announced. After the event the small gathering of Chanticleerians were able to dine together immediately after in the Admiral Room of the Hotel Bellwether.

CIBA Grand Prize Winners in Before Covid Times

We’ve now hosted two virtual events and are pivoting to yet another new normal where events will now be expected to be in person and virtual! We were glad to still host VCAC21 on schedule with inimitable presenters like Cathy Ace, J.D. Barker, Bradley Metrock, Dr. Janice Ellis, Jessica Morrell, Paul Hanson, and more! Many of our presenters have already contacted us about the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference currently scheduled for April 7-10, 2022, and we are optimistic that we will be able to host that one in person as vaccinations continue to sweep the US.

At the June 5th, 2021 Ceremonies, we are excited to recognize the 18 Fiction and 6 Non-Fiction CIBA Divisions for the First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners!

First of all, we want to thank all of the CIBA judges who read each and every entry and then comment, rate, and rank within each of the 23 CIBA Divisions. Without your labors of love for books, the Chanticleer International Book Awards would not exist. THANK YOU!

We want to thank all of the authors and publishers who participated in the 2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards (the CIBAs). Each year, we find the quality of the entries and the competitiveness of the division competitions increases exponentially. We added a new level to the judging rounds in 2019—the premier Level of FINALIST per each CIBA Division.

The CIBA judges wanted to add the Finalist Level of Achievement as a way to recognize and validate the entries that had outstanding merit but were not selected for the very few First Place Award positions within each genre division. You can order promotional stickers and such here.

A Recap of the CIBA Selection Process
- The 2020 CIBAs have 18 Fiction Divisions and 6 Non-fiction Divisions.
- First Place Category award winners were selected for each one of the 24 divisions from an overall field of titles that progressed to the Premier FINALIST Division Level from the Division Semi-Finalists positions from the Shortlists, the Long List, and the infamous beginning slush pile rounds.
- One Grand Prize award winner was selected from the First Place Category Award Winners for the 23 CIBA divisions.
- One Overall Grand Prize award winner was selected from the 24 divisions of Grand Prize Award Winners
All 2020 CIBA FINALISTS were recognized with their respective division at the CIBA awards ceremony that was held each evening of VCAC21.

This post will recognize the First Place and Grand Prize Winners for Cygnus, Ozma, Paranormal, Global Thrillers, M&M, Clue, Little Peeps, Gertrude Warner, and Dante Rossetti Book Awards.

THANK YOU to VCAC21 SPONSORS and FRIENDS

CIBA Grand Prize Ribbons!

We are honored to present the

2020 Chanticleer International Book Awards

Grand Prize Winners

The 2020 CIBA Winners!

The CYGNUS Book Awards

for Science Fiction Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

THE LUNA MISSILE CRISIS by Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle
- Mark T. Sneed – Bully Nation
- JL Morin – Loveoid
- Timothy S. Johnston – The Savage Deeps
- PA Vasey – Trinity’s Fall
- Russ Colson – The Arasmith Certainty Principle
- Zach Fortier – Volk: Book one of The Overseer series
The OZMA Book Awards

for Fantasy Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

DIVINITY’S TWILIGHT: REBIRTH BY Christopher Russell
- T. Cook – Shin
- Michelle Rene – The Canyon Cathedral: The Witches of Tanglewood, Book Two ( YA)
- Gordon Preston – Zendragon
- H.J. Ramsay – Ever Alice
- Alison Levy – Gatekeeper: Book One in the Daemon Collecting Series
- Jeny Heckman –The Warrior’s Progeny
- Glenn Searfoss – Cycles of Norse Mythology: Tales of the AEsir Gods
- KC Cowan & Sara Cole – Everfire
The Paranormal Book Awards

for Supernatural Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

SOUL SEEKER by Kaylin McFarren
- T. K. Thorne – House of Rose
- R.B. Woodstone – Chains of Time
- Ryan Young – The Shepherd’s Burden
- Lydia Staggs – Azrael
- Franklin Posner – Boston Betty
- Meg Evans – Enthrallment
- Neil Chase – Iron Dogs
- E. Alan Fleischauer – Just Die
The GLOBAL THRILLER Book Awards

for High Stakes Thrillers, Lab Lit, and Suspense Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

THE BUCHAREST DOSSIER by William Maz

Pub Date: March 15, 2022
- Randall Krzak –Colombian Betrayal
- Matt Andrus – UFO
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – The Agency – Tablet of Destinies
- Avanti Centrae – Kiss of the Cobra – An M2 Action Thriller
- Rafael Amadeus Hines –Bishop’s Law
- Erik Foge – One Way Roads
The CLUE Book Awards

for Thrillers, Suspense, Legal, Detective, and Procedural Crime Novels

Grand Prize Winner is

A VENOMOUS LOVE by Chris Karlsen
- Toni Bird Jones –The Measure of Ella
- Kari Bovee – Folly at the Fair
- Ken Farmer – Three Creeks
- Shanessa Gluhm – Enemies of Doves
- Martin Roy Hill –The Fourth Rising
- J.J. Clarke – Dared to Run
- Corey Lynn Fayman – Ballast Point Breakdown
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Denied, A Buck Taylor Novel
- Theo Czuk – The Black Bottom
The M & M Book Awards for Mystery & Mayhem

for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries

Grand Prize Winner is

THE DISCOVERY by Patrick M. Garry
- Lori Roberts Herbst – Suitable for Framing
- Michelle Cox – A Child Lost
- Ana T. Drew – The Murderous Macaron
- Lina Hansen –In My Attic – A Magical Misfits Mystery
- Perry Miller – Lethal Injection
- Tina Sloan – Chasing Cleopatra
LITTLE PEEPS Book Awards for

Early Readers and Picture Books

Grand Prize Winner is

GREAT AS A BUTTON by Masoud Malekyari and Illustrated by Sebastião Peixoto
- Ellie Smith – Tex the Explorer Journey Through the Alphabet
- D.K. Brantley – Every Mummy Has a Mommy
- Dr. Justine Green – Completely Me
- Courtney Shannon Strand – Ella’s Umbrella
- Lindy Ryan – Trick or Treat, Alistair Gray
- Johnny Ray Moore –ANTHILL FOR SALE
- Raven Howell – So You Want a Puppy?
- PJ McIlvaine – Little Lena and The Big Table
GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards

for Middle-Grade Books

Grand Prize is

KASSY O’ROARKE, CUB REPORTER by Kelly Oliver
- Robert C. Feol – A Journey to Mouseling Hollow
- Catherine Grangaard –A Fairy’s Tails
- Poem Schway – The Infinity Pendant
- Ruthy Ballard – Frankie and the Gift of Fantasy
- Ben Gartner – The Eye of Ra
- Jay Spenser – The Barn Owl Mystery
- Carmela Dutra – Little Katie Goes to the Moon
The DANTE ROSSETTI Book Awards

for Young Adult Fiction

Grand Prize Winner is

THE BEST WEEK THAT NEVER HAPPENED by Dallas Woodburn
- Michelle Rene – The Canyon Cathedral: The Witches of Tanglewood,Book Two
- Sara Hosey –Iphigenia Murphy
- Felicia Farber – Ice Queen
- Susanne Dunlap – The Paris Affair
- Chynna Laird – Just Shut Up and Drive
- L.L. Eadie – Yearning for the Unattainable
- Jodi Lea Stewart – Blackberry Road
- Strider S. R. Klusman – Within Reach
- Ivy Cayden – Everything All At Once (Book 1, Chorduroys and Too Many Boys™)
Congratulations to ALL!

We will email each winner with more information about their prize packages and more information.

Be sure to FOLLOW and LIKE us Facebook and on Twitter @ChantiReviews

Please standby for our next posts that will honor:

Click here to visit the Second Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.

Click here to visit the Third Posting out of Three Official Announcements of the 2020 CIBA Winners.
- Laramie Book Award Winners
- Chaucer Book Award Winners
- Goethe Book Award Winners
- Hemingway Book Award Winners
- Chatelaine Book Award Winners
- Mark Twain Book Award Winners
- Somerset Book Award Winners
- Journey Book Award Winners
- Hearten Book Award Winners
- Harvey Chute Book Award Winners
- Mind and Spirit Book Award Winners
- Nellie Bly Book Award Winners
- Instructional and Insight Book Award Winners
- Short Story Book Award Winners
- Book Series Book Award Winners
And the OVERALL GRAND PRIZE for the 2020 CIBAs!

We are now accepting entries into the 2021Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Click here for more information and submission deadlines: https://www.chantireviews.com/contests/

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email us at Chanticleer@ChantiReviews.com We will try to respond within 3 business days.

Thank you for joining us in celebrating the 2020 CIBA Winners! – The Chanticleer Team
June 26, 2021
KILLING DRAGONS: Order of the Dolphin, Book One by Kristie Clark – Environmental Thrillers, Navy SEAL Dolphins Sci-fi, Human-Animal Communications Thrillers

A search for the truth behind Lusca, the legendary sea dragon, leads to areas far more menacing than a mere myth in Kristie Clark’s Killing Dragons: Order of the Dolphin.

Eva Paz is a doctorate-level marine biologist at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS), performing research on whistle-signature spectrograms. Even though Eva believes she’s close to a breakthrough in dolphin-human communication, her statistics may not be enough to keep the grant she needs to continue her work and support her employment at RIMS. Her connection with a petite Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Taffy, an animal trained by the Navy, and Taffy’s mate, Finn, go back thirteen years during a horrific time in Eva’s life.

During that time, Eva met Thomas Sternberg, a Navy SEAL diver who changed his career path to a pediatric oncologist. He’s also Eva’s ex-boyfriend.

Luis’s mysterious death (boyfriend to Eva’s mother) raises concerns about the welfare of her family since she becomes the sole supporter; holding onto that grant is now a necessity. Even more disturbing is the sizeable conical tooth found near his corpse—a sign to the locals that Luis fell victim to none other than Lusca, the mythological sea dragon.

Julian Gulliver, a notorious investor, approaches Eva, hoping that she’ll take up his offer to support her research while requesting her assistance to identify a predator that’s been attacking Atlantis, his open-ocean fish farms. Unbeknownst to Eva, Julian hires Thomas as his expert diver for his newly-opened dive shop in the expensive Parrot Tree resort, a legal cover for his illegitimate business transactions.

Meanwhile, Taffy’s pectoral fin washes ashore with another conical tooth.

Heartbreaking as that is, Eva discovers something else. Taffy is pregnant. As Eva’s problems build with additional mysterious deaths and Finn earmarked as the target monster, the last person she expects to have back is Thomas. Danger only heightens when he joins her cause, trying to solve the mystery behind the Lusca myth.

Rising author Kristie Clark spins a gripping debut that is more fact than fiction. Clark sets her story in Roatan, the largest and most developed of the Bay Islands in the Western Caribbean. Her book opens with a glimpse into the life of Eva Paz—a devoted marine biologist whose research focuses on advanced human-and-animal communication with Navy dolphins trained to locate sea mines—before all things sinister break lose.

Luis’s horrendous death fosters locals’ belief in the legendary Lusca.

To Eva, Luis’s demise only sends a reminder of her horrifying past when her brother died. From that point, scenes continually flip from backstories to the present and alternate between protagonists (Eva, Thomas, and even Taffy, the dolphin!) and antagonists (Julian and Ignacio).

The events in Killing Dragons cover little over seven nail-biting weeks.

To keep her narrative flowing, Clark employs a variety of literary elements. One is her journal entry style that opens each chapter, which mentally prepares readers for location changes.

High on the literary-element chart, though, several unresolved situations among the characters roll from one unsettling scene to the next; add to that, terror continues building as the mysterious monster takes more lives amid the ominous presence of Julian and his minions. If that wasn’t enough, Clark throws one more item into the mix: the slow-burning-sexual tension between Eva and Thomas’s strained relationship.

Clark skillfully weaves in a flurry of fascinating facts covering everything from environmental issues with the fish farming industry and the reality of tainted fish to the severe effects on humans and the latest treatment in oncology/cancer research. Clark includes incredible advances in marine life research, as well.

Brilliantly executed, Killing Dragons undoubtedly whets the literary appetite of those who like their sci-fi thrillers with a bit of sexy in the mix. Clark has no trouble holding her own in the vast field of thriller authors – and readers will be happy to learn the next book in the Order of the Dolphin series may splash on the scene very soon!

June 1, 2021
Memorial Day 2021– Remembering our History and Honoring Those Who Died in Service by Kiffer Brown & David Beaumier
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the USA to honor and remember those who died in service to our nation. The date of the holiday changes but it always falls on the last Monday of May.

The United States has three official days to honor those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces.
1. Memorial Day, a federal holiday, is observed the last Monday in May, honors those who have lost their lives in action in service to our nation.
2. Veterans Day, a federal holiday, that is observed every year on November 11th to honor all those who have served in the Armed Forces.
3. Armed Forces Day is a celebration day that honors all active and former personnel across the six branches of the United States military. It is celebrated on the third Saturday of every May. This year’s (2021) was on May 15.
[Note from Kiffer Brown: As a military brat, I want to pass on the importance of understanding the difference of these three very important days are to military personnel and to their families and loved ones. Thank you]

National Moment of Remembrance

On Memorial Day, remember that there is a National Moment of Remembrance. To honor the moment, pause for one minute at 3 p.m. at your local time, and remember those who have died in service to this nation.

Second Lieutenant Billy Wayne Flynn was killed in action, Vietnam, January 23, 1967. He was 24 years old. (He gave to me my first book of poetry before he left for Vietnam. I still have it. Kiffer Brown)

History of Memorial Day

All of us at Chanticleer have family who have served, and that makes holidays like Memorial Day important to us. We ask you to take time out of your day to remember the veterans in your life and those who have died in active service on this day of reflection.

Robert Gerard Beaumier Sr. who served in WWII

My father would often tell the story of how his grandfather, Robert, was in France during World War II. At one point a dog came and wouldn’t stop barking at his unit, no matter how much they told it to go away. Finally, Robert said “Va t’en!” and immediately the dog ran off. Everyone was suitably impressed that the dog spoke French!

Memorial Day Started in the Wake of the Civil War

Memorial Day began to be celebrated when the United States was split in two during the Civil War, as the Confederate States seceded from the United States in order to continue to preserve the institution of enslaving people.

The Civil War ended on May 5, 1868, and three years later Major General John Logan formalized that Decoration Day (the original name of Memorial Day) should be on May 30 (now May 31) , chosen probably because that’s when most flowers would bloom across most of the country.

John Logan went on to become a senator for Illinois

The Civil War remains the bloodiest conflict in terms of US life, with 620,000-750,000 dying throughout its four years. You can see the VA’s (Veteran Affairs) full list of statistics here, and it shows just how long the US has been at war for 245 years we have been a country. After the first World War, Memorial Day officially became more in recognition of all veterans who died serving the US. You can read more about the history of Memorial Day here.

For a long time, people have recognized and honored those who died in war. There’s a record of Pericles (429 B.C.), a statesman in Athens stating:

Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men. ~ Pericles of Athens

Quotes from some of our favorite notable authors:

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.“–Mark Twain

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” —Joseph Campbell

Remembering those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice….

Without further ado, the following are recent reviews of books with a military theme that we highly recommend!

The Stories of Veterans and about Those Who Died in Action Matter

We review and award several books each year that have to do with military service. Oftentimes, with Fiction, those books appear in our Somerset, Chatelaine, Laramie and Global Thriller Awards, and in Non-Fiction they appear in our Journey Awards. We also plan to launch a new Non-Fiction division this year that specifically honors and recognizes work with military themes.

NO TOUGHER DUTY, NO GREATER HONOR
By GySgt L. Christian Bussler
First Place Winner in Journey Awards

From a family with a long history of military service dating back to the civil war, GySgt L. Christian Bussler brings to life his experience as a Mortuary Affairs marine and sheds light on a duty that few ever talk about. He is called to duty for his first of three tours in Iraq in February of 2003 after spending many years training as a reservist.

This fear becomes reality when he narrowly escapes an IED blast with his life. Afterward, Bussler wrestles with the guilt of going back home injured, leaving his team behind to fight without him. The final and longest section of No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor mirrors the length of the final and longest tour from 2005-2006. This tour especially proves to be the most challenging for not just Bussler, but his whole team, and it leaves them all forever changed.

Continue Reading…

AWAY at WAR: A CIVIL WAR STORY of the FAMILY LEFT BEHIND
By Nick K. Adams
First Place Winner in Laramie Awards

In 1861, like so many other American men, David Brainard Griffen took leave of his family and enlisted in the army, volunteering as a soldier for the Union. Also like so many other American men, he hoped he’d be home in a few months, that this Civil War would soon be over, and he’d be reunited with his wife, Minerva, his daughters, Alice, seven-years-old, Ida May, five-years-old, and his infant son, Edgar Lincoln. To minimize the pain of separation from his family, he wrote them letters from the field of battle, more than 100 accounts of what he was doing and witnessing as a 2^nd Minnesota Volunteer. While the book is one of historic fiction, the letters are genuine, and the characters are based on actual people. The author of this fine account, Nick K. Adams, is the great-great-grandson of Corporal David Brainard Griffen.

Continue Reading…

A CROWDED HEART
By Andrea McKenzie Raine

Willis Hancocks survives fighting in Western Europe during World War II but faces continuing battles of the mind at war’s end in Andrea McKenzie Raine’s poignant study of the plight of the former soldier in her historical novel, A Crowded Heart.

Willis decides to remain in London rather than return to his native Canada where his parents and sister live near Vancouver. Eager to put the war behind him, he marries Ellie, an intelligent young woman who has studied art at Cambridge University. Her affluent parents approve of Willis, and her father offers to finance his new son-in-law’s study of law at Cambridge. The newlyweds’ future could not look rosier.

Continue Reading…

The SEARCH (ACROSS the GREAT DIVIDE, Book II)
By Michael L. Ross

The Search (Across the Great Divide: Book II)by Michael L. Ross brings to life the history and events of the Westward Expansion in a post-Civil War US. In this sequel to The Clouds of War (Book I), we once again follow Will Crump, now a young Confederate Veteran, a POW survivor, and a sufferer from what must be PTSD. With the war over, nightmares and tension with the family disrupt his life and plans to marry his pre-war sweetheart. He wants to get away from civilization, build a little cabin in the mountains, and live in peace.

Will strikes out on his horse Dusty and soon picks up a stray dog he names Lightening. Both animals play essential roles in Will’s survival throughout his journey, and readers will worry for and root for them as much as for Will as they face the wild west head-on.

Continue Reading…

The ACK-ACK GIRL (Love and War #1)
By Chris Karlsen

Chris Karlsen’s new work, The Ack-Ack Girl, is the first in her World War II series, Love and War, and serves up plenty of story on both sides of that equation in its portrayal of Ava Armstrong, the “Ack-Ack” girl of the title. And what a story it is!

Bombs are dropping on London in the heat and fire of the infamous Blitz. Shells are falling, as are the buildings that surround them, while fires spring up in the wake of the bombs that never seem to end. But when they finally stop, Ava and her friends are determined to get their loved ones somewhere safe and to find a way to serve up some revenge on the Germans.

Continue Reading…

CHASING DEMONS
By John Hansen

First Place Winner in Laramie Awards

In the first several pages of Chasing Demons, a novel of the Old West not long after the American Civil War, the following happens to U.S. Army Private Gus O’Grady: he kills two Apache Indians, saves the lives of a troop of U.S. soldiers, kills two more Indians, kills a bad guy, winds up being mistaken for a man who may have robbed a bank of $20,000 in gold, and gets arrested for possibly being the man who raped a lass in an Arizona town populated by Mormons, and meets a woman he thinks is far too good for him. Oh yes, and he deserts the Army after 13 years.

That’s just for openers.

Continue Reading…

Have a great story about veterans and war history?

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

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

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

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

Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.

A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information available here.

And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.

If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Review here or to one of our Chanticleer International Awards here.

Also remember! We’re hosting our 2020 CIBA Ceremonies for First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners June 5th at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Attending the June 5, 2021 VIRTUAL Ceremonies for the 2020 CIBAs is Free. However, registration is required. We will have the link posted on our website after the Finalists are announced.

Thank you to veterans everywhere!
May 28, 2021
SAXON HEROINES: A Northumbrian Novel (Women of Determination and Courage) by Sandra Wagner-Wright – British and Irish Biographical Literature, Historical Biographical Fiction, Women in Irish History

Sandra Wagner-Wright’s Saxon Heroines: A Northumbrian Novel is a rich history of four women many centuries ago.

During a time of constant shifts in power across Northumbria and what would later become England, Christianity begins taking over as the religion of choice in the region. Kings from the area renounce Woden and embrace the new faith, which gives them the divine right to rule.

Part of a series that tells of lesser-known women in history, Saxon Heroines concerns itself with the stories of four women in seventh century Northumbria. The novel splits into three parts, each part focusing on a different woman (women) of early Saxon history. First is Ethelberga of Kent, who becomes the new Queen of Northumbria in 624 and must convert the king to Christianity. The story shifts to Ethelberga’s daughter, Enfleda, in the second part; Enfleda’s daughter, Elfleda, in the third. Throughout the book, we witness Hildeburg’s role in King Edwin’s court to her holy life as the Abbess of Streoneshalh. Each of these women lived and died long ago, but they arguably changed the world.

Wagner-Wright transports her readers to a much more challenging way of life.

With few detailed historical records of seventh-century Northumbria, Wagner-Wright does the impossible task of fleshing out the little-known stories contained in the historical record. She takes what the ancient historians have recorded about these four women and tells their stories as accurately as possible. The women were, as Wagner-Wright writes, “present but not visible,” thus, the only things recorded about them were their titles, who they married, and who their children were. With these few facts, Ethelberga, Enfleda, Elfleda, and Hildeburg have unique voices – ones that have been silent for far too many years.

In her author’s note, Wagner-Wright adds historical context to the story’s events and reveals what happens in the years following the last chapter. Readers will do themselves a favor by reading through the front and back matter before digging into the meat. Just as important as the story itself, these portions will aid in the overall understanding of the text. A tale like Saxon Heroines based in history needs added material for readers to reference.

For lovers of historical and Christian fiction (and non-fiction), Saxon Heroines: A Northumbrian Novel could be the perfect book. Set in a time in which Christianity was taking hold across the region, the women of Saxon Heroines each play a pivotal role in the making of history.

May 13, 2021
National Nurses Day — Florence Nightingale and a Thank You to Nurses Everywhere
May 6th – 12th kicks off National Nurses Week which recognizes and honors Nurses around the world. And after the last year we’ve had and the healthcare struggles we continue to deal with at home and worldwide, we want to show them our appreciation and gratitude!

The theme for International Nurses Week 2021 is A Voice to Lead: a Vision for Future Healthcare

While Nurses Day was proposed twice to different administrations, it wasn’t until 1974 that Nixon recognized it, and in 1982 President Reagan officially proclaimed National Nurses Day in the US to celebrate those in one of our most trusted and important of professions.

This Thursday isn’t just the day in the US to recognize nurses, but it launches Nurses Appreciation Week, which culminates on May 12th, International Nurses Day! Why the twelfth? Because it’s the birthday of famous nurse, Florence Nightingale.

Who Is Florence Nightingale?

Also known as “The Lady of the Lamp,” Florence Nightingale is a statistician who revolutionized the field of nursing.

During the Crimean War, many people died in horrible hospital conditions. The care facilities lacked sanitation, and straw was often left on the floor to soak up excess blood. Nightingale brought in a regimen of cleanliness, cleaning the hospital for the wounded from top to bottom, and enforcing several hygiene practices, such as handwashing. In practicing these measures, the death rate of the injured reduced from 42% to 2%, an incredible achievement.

Improvements made to the field hospital at Üsküdar by British nurse Florence Nightingale revolutionized the treatment of wounded soldiers and paved the way for later developments in battlefield medicine. Britannica

We can see the effect of measures meant to maximize health today, as in the last year with the emphasis on mask wearing and handwashing that led to a steep drop in flu cases. This last year was the lowest hospitalization rate for people with the flu ever recorded (recording began in 2005), and only 1 pediatric flu death has been reported this year compared to the 196 in the 2019-2020 flu season. You can read more of what the CDC has to say about flu cases in the past year here.

Remember, when washing your hands you can count out 20 seconds by singing “Happy Birthday” twice, but we prefer to recite the intro from Star Trek, The Next Generation.

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!

Back to Nightingale, after the Crimean War, she continued to advocate for sanitary conditions in hospitals and for living situations generally, lowering the death rate in peacetime by an impressive amount. In 1860, she also founded the first secular nursing school in the world, which is still a part of King’s College London.

On top of all of this, Nightingale was a prolific writer, which we always love to see at Chanticleer. We’re proud to have done our part with two virtual conferences to encourage social distancing and safety to care for both ourselves, and also be responsible for the larger community that we are a part of. As we say for our Non-Fiction Awards, “Truth matters now more than ever.”

Learn More about Florence Nightingale:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We have book recommendations, of course, to support the nurses in your life, but before we move to that, we’d like to quote from “Santa Filomena” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, which refers to how Nightingale received her nickname through her tireless efforts to care for troops during the Crimean War:

Lo! in that house of misery
A lady with a lamp I see
Pass through the glimmering gloom,
And flit from room to room.

We would like to introduce you to some of our favorite novels written by or about nurses.

Passage Home to Meuse
by Gail Noble-Sanderson

It’s 1923 and character Marie Durant Chagall is now 27 years old as she tells about her life-altering events in The Passage Home to Meuse, thanks to author Gayle Noble-Sanderson. This is the second historical novel in the Meuse Trilogy. The world around Marie is still reeling from the devastation of World War I. She and the other characters in the book are learning how to continue living, and perhaps more importantly, wishing to find joy once again in life.

Marie is at home in France, seeking peace within, as well as for those around her. She looks for ways to help others who are in need, and her nursing skills come in handy to help this farming community. Nearby she’s found a sense of belonging with the Sisters at the Chapel, and her friendships continue with Henri and others.

Continue Reading Here…

Look For Me series
by Janet Shawgo

The first novel in a series of novels about war-time nurses written by travel nurse, Janet K. Shawgo.

A lantern, a medicine pouch, and a bell to stop the gunfire: That was all nurses took into the Civil War battlefields as they sought out injured men, boys, and women disguised as men. Among them is Sarah Bowen, a young healer from Georgia, whose use of herbal medicine brings her scorn from most field doctors even as it saves countless lives.

Look For Me begins with young, affluent New York-er Samuel White, who has just embarked on his career as a war correspondent. Through an early incident between their fathers, he is also Sarah’s longtime pen pal.

Meanwhile, Mack, a teenage girl traveling as a boy, delivers a letter from the youngest Bowen son to the family farm, lingering long enough to be tutored by Sarah and to fall in love with brother James before leaving to pursue her goal of becoming a Confederate spy. Soon after her departure, a band of traveling nurses comes looking for the local healer, and it doesn’t take much persuading for Sarah to realize her destiny. This is when all of the primary story-lines begin to intersect.

Continue Reading Here…

The Particular Appeal of Gillian Pugsley
by Susan Örnbratt

Irish-born Gillian McAllister knew she was meant for bigger things than a quiet life among her large extended family. Leaving home at seventeen against her protective father’s wishes, Gillian is looking for adventure – and that’s exactly what she finds. She was a nanny for a maharaja, a caretaker for WWII internees, and a nurse on the Isle of Man before finally becoming a wife, mother, and grandmother in London, Canada, where she spent the majority of her eighty-nine years.

However, with only weeks to live after being stricken by cancer, she knows her time with her beloved granddaughter and namesake is truly precious. Before she goes, she wants to pass on the poems that capture her long, adventurous life to the junior Gilly in hopes the girl will use the poems to write about her adventure – her hidden love story.

Continue Reading Here…

Our Duty
by Gerri Hilger

Our Dutyopens with a group of nursing students sunbathing on the roof of their apartment. Pauline Garrity, aka Polly, has a little bit of fun and decides to sunbathe sans robes. While this stirs some of the girls up a bit, others know Polly is only being Polly. When a fighter plane does a fly-by on a training mission, Polly has a little more fun.

Here’s a story of World War II with a slightly different bend. Rather than focus on the horrors of what was happening in the trenches, Gerri Hilger centers her novel around Polly and her close-knit group of friends who are attending nursing school together. Our Duty is a novel for fans of lighthearted historical fiction with a sprinkling of cozy romance and a thread of Christianity.

Continue Reading Here…

None of Us the Same

by Jeffrey K. Walker

Five young friends from then-English Newfoundland and Ireland together join a regiment to serve in the war, as does a young nurse from Dublin. At first, a reader might be lulled into thinking this is a light-hearted Irish dialect-filled romp a la Finian’s Rainbow, but the novel takes us deep into the lives of its characters as they serve in the bloody trenches, convalesce, and try to live normal lives despite the physical and emotional damages they suffered.

Diedre, the tough but emotionally scarred nurse, Jack, who left “bits” of him on the battlefield, Will, with his invisible yet no-less devastating wounds—these are a few of the complex yet wholly identifiable characters who become alive through this novel’s pages. These are no simplistic people. Their humanness, their frailties confronted by the awfulness of the war, gives the book its special heart.

Continue reading here

Thank you to nurses everywhere!

Have a great story about nursing?

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

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

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

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

Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.

A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information available here.

And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.

If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Review here or to one of our Chanticleer International Awards here.

Also remember! We’re hosting our 2020 CIBA Ceremonies for First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners June 5th at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Attending the June 5, 2021 VIRTUAL Ceremonies for the 2020 CIBAs is Free. However, registration is required. We will have the link posted on our website after the Finalists are announced.

Thank you to nurses everywhere!
May 7, 2021
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo — Chicanx Books and the Rich History of Mexican American Literature
Cinco de Mayo is coming up soon, dear readers, and we are happy to celebrate with our neighbors to the south, but how much do you really know about Cinco de Mayo?

Mexican Independence Day?

While many in the US believe May 5 to be Mexico’s Independence Day, it’s actually September 16th—starting in 1810, over 50 years before 1862 when Cinco de Mayo was commemorated.

Why the confusion?

Many Mexican immigrants in the United States brought Cinco de Mayo with them as a way to celebrate their culture, and it hit the mainstream when US companies decided to capitalize specifically on boozy drinks associated with Mexico like margaritas. As is often the case in US history, emphasizing a culture just to drink didn’t always land well with actual Mexican Americans (see our article on St Patrick’s Day covering a similar issue here). The holiday is a much bigger deal here than in Mexico. Dia de la Independence or Anniversario de la Independence, September 16, Dia de la Independence or Anniversario de la Independence, September 16, commemorates Mexico’s independence from Spain and is the most important patriotic statutory holiday.

So What is Cinco de Mayo?

Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla against the French troops serving under Napoleon III. The victory there has long stood as a symbol of Mexican resistance to domination, and is still widely celebrated in that city and region, though not so much throughout the rest of The United States of Mexico.

Puebla de Zaaragoza

If you happen to be in Puebla de Zaaragoza during Cinco de Mayo, you can visit the original battlefield, museums, hear speeches, and even see re-enactments of the historic conflict!

Informative Links:
Mexican American or Chicanx Literature

The word Chicano is often used to refer to someone who is Mexican American, though it can also be heavily connotated as a political identity. Chicano is a catchall word with the masculine ending “o” while Chicana refers specifically to women who identify as Mexican American. The terms Chicanx or Chicane are often used as gender neutral terms, though the ending “x” does not naturally occur in Spanish and is considered an anglicization of the language. Any writer worth their salt knows they have to explain why they choose to use which version of Chicano/a/x/e rather than typing out the endless slash marks, and as an academic in the US who speaks Spanish, but whose native language is English, I am most comfortable with Chicanx.

Chicanx literature often stands out with strong themes near and dear to the author’s heart, as well as pushing the edge of literary excellence through a rich tradition of reading and writing that goes back further than the English language tradition.

Here are some examples:
- Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzuldúa is a marvelous book of theory, non-fiction, and poetry, blended together in a way that stands up for the power of community and connection, while examining the open wound on the border.
- Their Dogs Came With Them by Helena Maria Viramontes is a brilliant story of being young in East Los Angeles when the highway system is destroying barrios. The book takes a hard look at identity through a brilliant postmodern lens.
- Forgetting the Alamo, or Blood Memory by Emma Pérez follows the dramatic journey and transformation of a Mexican American through the Old West.
- So Far From God by Ana Castillo tells the story about a family of women and their many struggles in a small border town. Heaven and Hell lurk in the background as one mother and her daughters work to carve out a place where they fit in the world.
15 Books by Mexican, Mexican-American, and Chicanx Authors to Add to Your Reading List

Related Books From Chanticleer

These are books that are related to Spanish language or Mexico from Chanticleer:

A Quest for Tears
by Seán Dwyer

A Quest for Tears by Seán Dwyer is a captivating memoir written four years after the author suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as the result of a rear-end car collision.

While such casualties often foster long-term, unpredictable damage and seem a medical mystery, here Dwyer’s goal is to share his unique roadmap of struggles and experiences, while also advocating for fellow TBI survivors.

At age fifty-four, Dwyer was a college educator, fluent in Spanish, and a creative writer who had authored two novels and a work of nonfiction. A prolific songwriter, he was also blessed with an excellent memory, supportive of the talent of colleagues, and was always able to display his emotions easily. But in the aftermath of his January 29, 2015 accident, life changed.

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Make No Bones About It
By Ann Charles

Ann Charles has another true winner on her hands as she reunites the intrepid band of archeologists led by Angélica García for the second installment of her crackerjack series A Dig Site Mystery. From the very first sentence, Make No Bones About It is an entertaining thrill ride of the first order.

Top-notch archaeologist, Angélica García, admits that after her divorce she “suffered from trust issues—as having no faith in her own ability to judge character.” She leaves her university teaching job for a change of pace and heads to Mexico where she is hired by the National Institute of Anthropology and History to clean up and prepare derelict dig sites (ruins) for the current tourism boon— archaeo-tourism.

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The Lost Years of Billy Bates
By Ronald E. Yates

For those not familiar with the series, Yates presents his books as works of “faction,” a story “based in part on fact” but also “augmented by narrative fiction.” The protagonist, William Fitzroy Raglan Battles, born in Kansas in 1860, lives a full 100 years and takes part in some of the most significant events of his time. He encounters key figures of the day (Bat Masterson Wyatt Earp, President Wilson, Francisco “Pancho” Villa, among others), gives us their backstories, and quietly appraises them.

Yates, a journalist with a keen eye for nuance and subtlety, has created a protagonist with superb critical thinking skills. William, a journalist, and occasional soldier examines people and transactions from every angle. Just as at ease in a Kansas saloon as he is at the captain’s table on a grand ocean liner on the Pacific, Billy Battles is also ruthlessly honest about his shortcomings and feels tremendous guilt when he acts impulsively or inadvertently causes harm to others. Yates has crafted a fully human character who is easy to admire, perhaps because he is admirably cognizant of his own flaws.

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Do You Have an Amazing Chicanx Book or are you a Chicanx Author?

Submit it today for an Award or an Editorial Review!

Also remember! We’re hosting our 2020 CIBA Ceremonies for First Place Category and Grand Prize Winners June 5th at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Attending the June 5, 2021 VIRTUAL Ceremonies for the 2020 CIBAs is Free. However, registration is required. We will have the link posted on our website after the Finalists are announced.
May 4, 2021
Happy Earth Day — Environmental Writing, Eco-Fiction, and Reading Recommendations | A Chanticleer Toolbox Article

We’re Delighted to be having the Chanticleer Authors Conference during Earth Day!

If you want to get down to Earth this Earth Day, we highly recommend signing up for the Chanticleer Authors Conference (VCAC21)

Register Today!

Thinking of submitting to the Chanticleer International Book Awards for Earth Day? While we don’t have a specific category for environmental work, you can find all sorts of eco-focused work in our Global Thriller Awards, Journey Awards, Little Peeps Awards, and our Cygnus Awards.

The origins of Earth Day…

Can be traced back to Rachel Caron’s book Silent Spring which caused people to sit up and begin taking seriously the concerns that had been brought up for centuries about how the land was treated by imperialist powers. Carson’s book is cited as inspiration for the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Nixon administration. After the book’s publication, she was hounded by those who promoted pesticides like DDT who said Carson’s would return us to an era where insects and vermin ruled the world.

Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring

Earth Day’s foundation was a bipartisan venture in the United States, supported by both major political parties at the time of founding. By 1990, it became an international holiday around the world for all people to celebrate! It is now the largest non-secular holiday celebrated worldwide.

What is considered environmental writing?

Environmental writing or eco-fiction is most often described as a sub genre. Some people will claim that it just doesn’t exist, probably because of how nebulous it can be, but there definitely is a market for any book that examines the environment at large. From Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Terry Tempest Williams, to Annie Dillard and Ralph Waldo Emerson, the variety of people and forms for writing about the environment is endless.

So What is Eco-Fiction?

Eco-Fiction, at a minimum, needs to highlight the environment in some way. With that definition, something like Moby Dick could even count as eco-fiction because it features a whale and lots of time at sea, including the impact of whaling at large. What almost all eco-fiction does though is look at the world through a syncretic lens.

What we mean by syncretic is that it crosses borders. For a long time, the unrecognized leaders of environmental writing have been Indigenous thinkers and writers. This, by necessity, ties up the question of environmentalism with economic policy, racism, and colonialism in fascinating and important ways that draw in readers.

While Non-Fiction Environmental work often looks at the questions of where we are and what can we do, Eco-Fiction will ask what is happening and what will the world look like when we continue on this path? Work like that of Octavia Butler and NK Jemisin (renowned scifi writers) show us, using cross-cultural syncretism, the worst paths our current choices could lead us down.

Whether we decide to accept Eco-Fiction as real or not, no one can say that environmental fiction and non-fiction can’t be marketed.

Join us in looking at some of the wonderful books that draw inspiration from our Earth and environmental themes.

The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People
by Amy Stross
5-Star Book Review
1st Place Winner in the Instructional & Insightful Awards

Author, educator, and urban farmer Amy Stross offers a comprehensive look at how to repurpose a small yard in the city for basic sustenance and so much more.

Award-winning writer Stross has composed a thoroughly practical guide to everything a reader would need to know to do what she did: transform a yard into a farm. Acknowledging that the ground surrounding a town dwelling is hardly what one thinks of when one thinks farmland, Stross draws from her personal experience to show precisely how the transformation can take shape. Her colorfully illustrated manual gives the basics for managing an ample garden space, or micro-farm, almost down to the minute (in fact, seven minutes twice a day).

Continue Reading Here…

DARK SEED (book 1)
by Lawrence Verigin

Genetic engineering, murder, corporate-conglomerate profiteering, Interpol, and a plot to control humanity make Dark Seed, by Lawrence Verigin, a suspenseful thriller novel.

When jaded journalist Nick Barnes learns that Dr. Carl Elles has contacted him to say that Barnes’ recent article about the positive contributions of Naintosa Corporation is all wrong, Barnes feels compelled to educate the scientist about information laundering—the strategic planting of false information in the media so the planting organization can quote the media later for their own benefit. “It makes total sense,” Dr. Elles replies. “Naintosa employs that strategy on a regular basis.” Nick was about to explain to the scientist why he needed to check Dr. Elles’ information, when the scientist soon proves to Nick that the journalist is the lazy dupe who just published Naintosa’s propaganda in a complimentary article.

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WANDERS FAR
by David Fitz-Gerald
5-Star Book Review
First Place Winner in the Laramie Awards

In the early 1100s, in a region now known to us as the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York, a small band of tribal people is living in longhouses, growing crops, fishing, hunting, and enjoying certain rituals such as face and body painting, occasional migration for food survival, and even seasonal “vacations,” all while willingly obeying a simple form of governance with elements of basic democracy. In this tribe, we meet Wanders Far, a child who earns his nickname after showing a propensity to disappear and explore since he could walk. His mother, Bear Fat, is the recognized chieftainess of their group, mother of a large brood, one of whom is stolen as the book opens. Wanders Far would be considered an unusual child in any society, gifted with a highly accurate memory and the ability to visualize future events. He can also run like the wind, and with his love for travel, he is often the first to see and warn his people of danger, such as a cadre of warriors from a hostile tribe heading towards his home settlement.

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BLOSSOM — The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury (Audiobook Review)
by Anna Carner
5-Star Book Review

Author Anna Carner lived in a horse-friendly farming area of New Jersey in 1999, when she encountered a newborn fawn, barely breathing, near her home. The animal seemed to be communicating its need to her, and, with some experience of animal and human care, Carner set out to revive the fawn. She took the baby deer into her house and nursed her back to health. When she and her husband, Pino, saw the fawn curled up asleep with the family dog, the couple knew they had a new pet. Her name, Blossom, seemed suited to her sweetness and soft, gentle beauty.

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The ONLY ONE LEFT (The Neema Mysteries, Book 3)
by Pamela Beason
First Place Winner in the Clue Awards

While spending some time with his sweetheart, animal behavior scientist Grace McKenna and her adopted family of gorillas, Detective Matthew Finn finally endures a kiss from Neema while keeping an eye on the huge silverback Gumu. He accepts a ‘toy’ from their baby, Kanoni. But upon further inspection, Matt and Grace believe the object might be part of a human finger bone. Where did it come from? How did it get in the gorillas’ remodeled barn? The homicide detective knows he’ll need to investigate, but just then, his cell phone chirps.

Desk Sergeant Greer of the Evansburg, Washington, Police Department tells Matt to get back on duty and head directly to the Gorge Amphitheatre, where the Sasquatch Festival has just ended. A car belonging to a 17-year-old girl, last seen by her parents in Bellingham, Washington, three days earlier, has been found abandoned next to a tent in the Amphitheatre campground.

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BUCK: Keeper of the Meadow
by Gloria Two-Feathers

In this engaging children’s tale by author Gloria Two-Feathers, a young colt named Buck will learn how to obey, how to defend, and how to strike out on his own.

The scene is set in the Great Plains, where a river named Minisose divides a sea of tall green prairie grass. Many animals call that grassland their home, and the most magnificent is the herd of wild horses led by a dark stallion named Plenty Coups and his chosen mate, the lovely cream-colored mare, Cloud. By tradition and instinct, Plenty Coups protects the herd from attackers, while Cloud leads them to safety.

Continue Reading Here…

Chanticleer Editorial Services – when you are ready

Did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services? We do and have been doing so since 2011.

Tools of the Editing Trade

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

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

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

Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.

A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service. Here are some handy links about this tried and true service: https://www.chantireviews.com/manuscript-reviews/

And we do editorial consultations. for $75. https://www.chantireviews.com/services/Editorial-Services-p85337185

Writer’s Toolbox

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

Writers Toolbox Helpful Links:

The full list and calendar of all our CIBAs

The traditional publishing tool that indie authors can use to propel their writing careers to new levels? https://www.chantireviews.com/2016/05/15/the-seven-must-haves-for-authors-unlocking-the-secrets-of-successful-publishing-series-by-kiffer-brown/

April 20, 2021
The ACK-ACK GIRL (Love and War #1) by Chris Karlsen – 20th C. Historical Romance, WWII Fiction, Wartime Romance

Chris Karlsen’s new work, The Ack-Ack Girl, is the first in her World War II series, Love and War, and serves up plenty of story on both sides of that equation in its portrayal of Ava Armstrong, the “Ack-Ack” girl of the title. And what a story it is!

Bombs are dropping on London in the heat and fire of the infamous Blitz. Shells are falling, as are the buildings that surround them, while fires spring up in the wake of the bombs that never seem to end. But when they finally stop, Ava and her friends are determined to get their loved ones somewhere safe and to find a way to serve up some revenge on the Germans.

The action follows Ava as she enlists in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army. She hopes to do more than just “her bit,” but to do it in one of the new ways that become available to women as the men are called to war.

Through Ava’s eyes, we experience her training as one of the “Ack-Ack Girls,” the women who crewed the anti-aircraft batteries placed on the English coasts. In her duties as a spotter, a predictor (calculator), and a gunner, Ava garners respect, pride in her accomplishments and those of her crew – both male and female. One day, love blooms between Ava and an RAF pilot. The new relationship thrills and frightens her at the same time, loving a man who has a dogfight with death every other day.

There are and will be, plenty of World War II stories.

In recent years there has been a plethora of such books featuring the contributions of women to the world-wide war effort, contributions that have frequently gone unsung until now. What makes The Ack-Ack Girl stand out above the crowd is the freshness of its voice and the world as it is seen through the perspective of its titular character.

Ava Armstrong is neither a pampered princess nor a bird in a gilded cage when the story opens. She’s respectably middle-class and has no pretensions. Ava’s doing her best to balance her love and respect for her widowed mother with her strong desire for independence and the need to make something of herself for herself.

The description of the selection and training process for the Ack-Ack crew is both fascinating and delightful because Ava is such a realist. It’s a treat to read about someone who discovers a job, learns they are good at it and is proud of their accomplishments. Nevertheless, Ava struggles over whether to marry or stay in her position where the need could not be greater. Her struggle feels authentic and, therefore, will likely resonate with 21st-century readers.

Chris Karlsen is a master at weaving pulse-pounding action scenes of battle into the heartwarming story of one woman who follows her heart and takes us with her. The Ack-Ack Girl is superb storytelling and one World War II-era novel we highly recommend.

March 17, 2021