Hi! I don’t quite know where to start.

And for those who know me know that it is rare when I’m at a loss for words. Hey! No comments from the peanut gallery.

I have a lot of good news to share with you!

As the 2020 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Blue Ribbon Winners are aware of, the shipping of the coveted blue ribbons was delayed due to our supplier’s shortage of labor and materials because of the Covid effects on businesses. The owner contacted us to tell us that they are running behind. As with many small companies, they have found themselves short-handed and the staff they have are working longer days and weekends and are working around the clock to fill their custom ribbon orders.

We, like the Blue Ribbon Winners, were anxiously awaiting the beautiful handmade custom Chanticleer Blue Ribbons to be ready for pickup  from our local pacific northwest supplier. It is a woman-owned company and they have created our beautiful ribbons since we began awarding them more than a decade ago. It is  a great local company in a very niche market!

FINALLY, we got the call! The handmade ribbons (all 206 of them from the Shorts winners to the Overall Grand Prize winner for Best Book) were ready to pickup last Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 5th. We got into Sharon’s mini-van and made the drive to Blaine, Wash. to pick them up. The ribbons were counted, sorted, and inspected back at our office in Bellingham by David and Hayley. By the end of the business week, the packing process had begun. Each and every CIBA ribbon is mailed, tracked, and insured by U.S. Post Priority Mail. It is quite the process.

So, YAY! Because we are busy with judging rounds for the 2021 CIBAs that will be awarded at CAC 22! And now finally get to award the 2020 CIBAs. It  is about time! Right? Right! All we can do is just keep moving forward.

I  want to thank each and everyone on the 2020 CIBA winners for their patience and understanding in these continuing challenging times. It is appreciated and valued more than you know by Team Chanticleer as we head into the 20th month of of the Covid pandemic. Here at Chanticleer, we learned new technologies while working remotely, learned how to use new computer applications, and are trying to work in a very deadline oriented industry. Heck, we are even receiving entries now into the 2022 CIBAs that will be awarded in 2023. It is great to be busier than ever especially in these crazy unprecedented times.

Moving on. But, I am not complaining Universe, but it is my experience is that things tend to clump.

The same day that we got the anxiously awaited call to pick up the ribbons, I, of course, also received the email from our local printer that the sixth issue of the Chanticleer Reviews magazine copies were ready to pickup. The magazine was delayed because of the printer’s mechanism for stitching the pages together was broken. The owner said he had no idea when they would receive the parts needed to fix it. However, he could have it printed if we switched to a “perfect bound” magazine. I said, “Sure!” But, of course, (yes, using that term again!), it wasn’t that simple. The gutters, margins, spine design, and spacing had to be reworked in InDesign. So, we pivoted and reworked the layout. Our printer printed the pages but had to have another printer do the binding. Seven weeks later than scheduled, we have the magazine in hand.

The silver lining is that we really do like the perfect bound look even if it costs more. We love the new look! However, it does mean that we need to add twenty more pages to future issues. Below is a screen shot of the cover featuring the awesome author Ann Charles! I’ll do another post on the magazine and how you can get your copy—print or e-zine.

Next, there is the new perch for the Roost, a community for Chanticleer Authors to connect with each other. This one is much more interactive and way easier to use than the previous perch (ahem, application). We so appreciate each and every Chanticleer that supported us during the trial run and helped to get the new Roost up and running (two weeks ago). Did I mention clumping? 

The new Roost can be accessed on your mobile phone, on tablets, laptops, and desk computers. AND all the videos from the VCAC 20 and VCAC 21 recordings of the live sessions are available at the new perch. We started the BETA Roost the summer of 2019. Trying out different things. Seeing how things work. Kicking the tires, so to speak. Argus Brown (the rooster who makes all the tech stuff happen at Chanticleer) was researching systems, writing code, and doing all of the other mysterious digital stuff that he does so that we could have an online community. Many Chanticleerians had requested the need for one. They want to keep the conversations going after gathering at conferences and book events.

The plan was to debut the Roost at CAC 20, but then Covid struck and the world changed. We were all trying to adjust, trying to pivot, trying to figure what we needed to do. Sharon and I are were hoping that by July 2020, we could host the Chanticleer Authors Conference in real life (IRL). Then, we thought perhaps Labor Day weekend in September. Alas, this was not to be with the rising Covid numbers.

In late July, we decided that we would need to have the conference virtually and award the 2019 CIBA winners. September 8th, 2020 was determined to be the starting date since we knew no one would want to spend Labor Day weekend zooming. The learning of Zooming, Audio, recording, coordinating with presenters across multiple time zones commenced. VCAC 20 was deemed a great success with Robert Dugoni, Scott Steindorff, J.D. Barker, Paul Cutsinger, head of ALEXA (yes, that Alexa), and other stellar presenters and the wonderful interactive Chanticleerians participating and connecting. It was even written up in The WRITER magazine as one of the best virtual conferences to have attended in 2020.

Back to the Roost. So, we moved the debut of the Roost to CAC 21. Certainly, we could have CAC 21 in April IRL (In Real Life). Alas, alas, it wasn’t to be. So, we pivoted again. Cathy Ace, international bestselling crime writer,  was our featured presenter for VCAC 21. And she was outstanding! We have all the recordings of VCAC21 available to view on The Roost.

Back to the Roost! Our Roost Team kept trying to find a new and easier platform that will facilitate connection and interaction between members so that we all can learn from each other. And we did! It took a while and a lot of testing, but we all agreed on the new platform that is now hosting The Roost! We have Topics, Events, Interests, Groups, and Workshops on Writing Craft, Marketing Tips, Author Events, and Happy Hours and Coffee Klatches. There are even  Write-Ins! Because every writer needs a place to perch!

We will post another article on The Roost soon! We’ve got Chanticleer Blue Ribbons to package and mail!

By the way, October 31st CIBA Submission Deadlines are for the OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction, the Paranormal Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction, and the Global Thriller Book Awards for High Stakes Thrillers.

More news to come. There is a lot more to share! Save the Dates for CAC 22 – our 10th conference! April 7 – 10, 2022.

Keep on Creating! Kiffer 

As promised – the origins of the term Peanut Gallery – from Wikipedia –

A peanut gallery was, in the days of vaudeville, a nickname for the cheapest and ostensibly rowdiest seats in the theater, the occupants of which were often known to heckle the performers.^[1] The least expensive snack served at the theatre would often be peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage to convey their disapproval. Phrases such as “no comments from the peanut gallery” or “quiet in the peanut gallery” are extensions of the name.