Tag: CIBA Book Awards

  • The 2024 I&I Book Awards Spotlight for Instruction & Insight Non-Fiction

    How-To Market your How-To Book?

    I&I or Instruction & Insight Awards CIBA Badge

    The I&I Awards are the first step!

    Whether self-help, how-to, or just plain good advice, your great book won’t sell unless readers discover it!

    Submit Your Work Today!

    We are Delighted to Celebrate the 2023 Winners of the Instruction and Insight Award!

    • Wendela Whitcomb Marsh – Relating While Autistic: Fixed Signals for Neurodivergent Couples
    • Andy Chaleff – The Connection Playbook: A Practical Guide to Building Deep, Meaningful, Harmonious Relationships
    • Dr. Kelly Rabenstein – Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success
    • Jennifer M Sukalo – Claim Your SWAGGER: Stop Surviving and Start Thriving

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 I&I Awards is:

    Eating Together Being Together:
    Recipes, Activities, and Advice from a Chef Dad and Psychologist Mom

    by Julian C.E. Clauss-Ehlers and Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers

    blue and gold badge recognizing Eating Together Being Together by Julian C E Clauss-Ehlers and Caroline S Clauss-Ehlers for winning the 2023 Instruction and Insight Grand Prize

    These know-how smarty authors will be celebrated in their own posts soon enough! In the meantime, we’re here to cheer on some of our favorite books that have come in for review!

    THE DOCTOR’S VOICE
    By Dr. Pietro Emanuele Garbelli

    Dr. Pietro Emanuele Garbelli speaks out on serious professional issues faced by modern healthcare workers, in The Doctor’s Voice.

    Doctors deal with overwhelming stress, leading to burnout, illness, many of them leaving the profession, and even a higher-than-average rate of suicide. The Covid19 pandemic both heightened and helped illuminate some of the causes of this stress, prompting author Garbelli to write this book as a set of advice for his colleagues and as advocacy for broader changes in hospitals and other healthcare systems.

    Garbelli highlights a common disconnect in communication—administrators and higher-ups telling doctors what to do while those doctors don’t have much opportunity to bring up the problems they encounter day-to-day.

    Read more here!

    RECONFIGUREMENT™
    By E. Alan Fleischauer

    Reconfigurement Cover

    A guide to achieving financial freedom in retirement, E. Alan Fleischauer’s bestseller Reconfigurement™ reveals a roadmap guided by the Mantra, “Navigate, Customize, and Thrive.”

    Advances in medicine, nutrition, and longevity planning now offer unparalleled possibilities to live longer, higher-quality lives. However, looming over this rosy image is a genuine concern: the financial ramifications of a longer retirement term. More alarming is that a sizable portion of the American populace is not harnessing their 401(k) retirement plans.

    In light of this scenario, can traditional investment programs with fraying safety nets, such as pensions, remain viable? Reconfigurement combines the emotional fulfillment of making retirement dreams a reality with practical guidance that rejects the notion of a set retirement age of 65. This work’s personal tales and sound financial guidance entice readers away from the constraints of traditional retirement approaches.

    Read more here!

    ABOVE THE DIN (Diary of the HepC Wonder Drugs)
    By Labar Laskie

    Above the Din Book Cover

    Labar Laskie closely explores the experience of chronic HepC in her unique memoir, Above the Din.

    These days, Hepatitis C infection is curable with a simple treatment that lasts only a few months. In 1999, when author Labar Laskie receives her diagnosis, she sees no good option. The only possibility for a cure lies in a treatment with dismally low success rates and poses a significant danger. Not wanting to jeopardize her life, Labar embarks on a fifteen-year-long search for an alternative cure, hoping to find a wonder drug. Her waiting ends in 2014 when she begins her three-month-long treatment of two pills daily while keeping a journal of each day’s progress.

    She goes through a string of doctors, many urging her to do the toxic treatment.

    Read more here!

    THE SOUND Of The FUTURE: The Coming Age of Voice Technology
    By Tobias Dengel with Karl Weber

    The Sound of the Future Cover

    The Sound of the Future: The Coming Age of Voice Technology by Tobias Dengel with Karl Weber presents elaborate insight into the evolution of voice technology, showing it to be the next big innovation in the tech world.

    Dengel begins by stating that long-distance vocal communication was unattainable for a long time, and now can seamlessly liberate humans from familiar but ‘clumsy’ tools such as keyboards, knobs, pedals, buttons, and levers. It has been well articulated by various news quarters that voice recognition is gaining a reputation and growing usage with the rise of artificial intelligence and intelligent aids, such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. This technology has for the first time allowed consumers to interact with technology simply by conversing with it, facilitating hands-free propositions, reminders, and other simple duties.

    This technology is presently in a major shift, as numerous industries worldwide are incorporating it into their daily routines and procedures.

    Read more here!

    A PATH To EXCELLENCE
    By Tony Jeton Selimi

    On the belief that life isn’t just the random cards one is dealt, A Path to Excellence by Tony Jeton Selimi offers a blueprint—the octagon of excellence—to succeed personally, professionally, and spiritually.

    Transcending the pitfalls and spontaneous stumbling blocks along the path of life can open the door to self-actualization and progression. As someone who experienced bullying, sexual abuse, early disability, and homelessness, Selimi sets on to become a beacon of light to the hopeless and marginalized.

    Within each soul lies a bud of genius waiting to blossom. This book focuses on purpose, vision, and persistence to clear the way to that fullest potential. Affirming challenges as immutable truths of life, Selimi employs Buddhist teaching and personal anecdotes to encourage a head-on confrontation with one’s struggles and promotes a feeling of gratitude. As a blend of philosophical wisdom and practical experience, the initial chapters help readers acknowledge their current life situation, perceiving challenges as epochs of potential.

    Read more here!


    A big thank you to all these authors for sharing their lives and wisdom with us! Your books matter!

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    Got your own knowledge to share?

    Enter the I&I Awards today!

    This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!

    Your book deserves to be discovered

  • The 2024 Mind and Spirit Spotlight on Non-Fiction that makes life better

    Change Your Trajectory

    Mind and Spirit Non-Fiction Awards CIBA Badge

    Your Experience is worth Sharing

    Enter the Mind & Spirit Awards today!

    The Categories of the Mind & Spirit Awards are:

    • Enlightenment
    • Motivational/Self-Help
    • Spirituality
    • Mindfulness
    • Well-Being
    • Meditation
    • Energy
    • Other

    These books help others live their best life, whether through the author’s personal experience, or through a life of research and dedication to a particular topic – often drawing on both! Books that enter Mind & Spirit Awards embody this and change lives.

    We are delighted to celebrate the 2023 Winners of the Mind & Spirit Awards!

    • Kelly Bulkeley – The Spirituality of Dreaming: Unlocking the Wisdom of Our Sleeping Selves
    • Pierre Pradervand – The Gentle Art of Spiritual Discernment – A guide to discovering your personal path
    • Maureen Kane – A Guide Back to You
    • Kasey J. Claytor – The Money Map, A Spiritual Guide for Financial Success
    • Melo Calarco – Beating Burnout, Finding Balance

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 MIND & SPIRIT Awards is:

    Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success

    by Dr. Kelly Rabenstein

    Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success

    Blue and Gold badge recognizing Psychological Secrets for Emotional Success by Dr Kelly Rabenstein for winning the 2023 Mind and Spirit Grand Prize

    Articles celebrating both the First Place and Grand Prize Winners will continue to come, but, in the meantime, we would like to focus in on some of the great work that has come our way recently and improved our lives!

    RUNNING AWAY From The CIRCUS
    By Nove Meyers

    Running Away from the Circus Cover

    Debut author Nove Meyers breathes life into the big tent of human aspirations and desperations, from his birth into a raucous circus atmosphere to his diligent study for Catholic priesthood.

    Running Away from the Circus is a vibrant chronicle that opens with a vignette of his grandmother, clad in sequins and flying on a trapeze. She spun like a top to enthusiastic applause under the circus tent, until the fateful day when she included her young child in the act, dropping her thirty feet to the sawdust-covered floor below. But this did not prevent Nove Meyers from being born and having a story to tell.

    The boyhood described was as wild as the circus acts. He was encouraged to smoke cigarettes like his father and watched in astonishment as his mother burned up paper money, possibly to protect his uncle, a counterfeiter. Yet despite his unusual upbringing as one of the family’s third generation of circus owners, Meyers was taken regularly to Catholic church services. There, he discovered God, an entity as mysterious as the traveling circus and carnie crowds he was raised among.

    Continue reading…

    FINDING The LIGHT
    By Kasey J. Claytor

    Finding the Light Cover

    Some stories are impossible to look away from, and from its very first sentence, Finding the Light, Navigating Dementia with My Son by Kasey J. Claytor proves itself one of them. “…when my 49-year-old son, Justin, was first diagnosed with a form of early-onset dementia, I was stunned.” Without hesitation, the book draws readers into a saga of family, illness, and resilience.

    Although a memoir, Finding the Light is in many ways an instructional text, too. Readers don’t need similar medical situations to draw from Claytor’s lessons of improvement. The conversational, approachable writing style serves this purpose well.

    Although it’s in chronological order, this is an unconventional, modern text.

    Continue reading…

    THE BEST I CAN DO
    By Cheryl Landes

    The Best I Can Do Cover

    Cheryl Landes’s The Best I Can Do: A True Story of Navigating the Complexities of Mental Illness and Homelessness, follows the devastation of a happy marriage as mental illness slowly takes over the mind of her husband. Landes must then make the journey back to peace.

    Cheryl and her husband, Tom, had known each other since their college days. A classic love story, Landes does a beautiful job with the set up, and then delivers the tragedy of Tom’s spiral into paranoia as their plans for the future begin to fall apart.

    The Best I Can Do tells the story of what happens when Tom insists someone is trailing him, believing a car passes by his and Cheryl’s home every day even though no one else sees it. He claims someone installed listening devices in their house and refuses to speak unless his white-noise devices are on. As his paranoia increases he locks the refrigerator with a chain and a padlock to protect himself from the certainty someone—perhaps Cheryl—wants to poison him.

    Continue reading…

    WOMAN STRONG
    By Anna Casamento Arrigo

    Woman Strong Cover

    Anna Casamento Arrigo’s Woman Strong showcases themes of love, heartbreak, death, disease, and political strife.

    In the newly-released audio version, Casamento, with the help of her narrator Valentina Latyna, captures the essence of life and living. Latyna brings these poems to warm, sensuous life. Her accent, at once elegant and romantic, lifts the poems off the page and gives them voice.

    The pearls strung into Woman Strong’s beautiful strand of poetry will stun and amaze readers. Many of them speak to the strength of women, as can be expected from the title, but many others talk about the fragile nature of life, of love, and of time.

    Continue reading…


    We are so grateful to have these wonderful books from these authors.

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    We hope to see your work in the 2024 Mind & Spirit Book Awards!

    This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!

    Your book deserves to be discovered!

     

  • The 2024 Ozma Semi-Finalists for Fantasy Fiction!

    The 2024 Ozma Semi-Finalists for Fantasy Fiction!

    Ozma AwardsThe Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. Our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

    These titles have moved forward  from the 2024 OZMA Book Awards Short list to the SEMI-FINALISTS. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

    We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    A Wreath with the words "CAC 2025" on it to celebrate the Chanticleer Author's Conference!

    These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2024 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!

    • K.N. Salustro – A Whisper from the Edge of the World
    • Susannah Dawn – Search for the Armor of God
    • Helen Garraway – Sentinals Banished
    • James McKenna – An October’s Journey: Poe’s Final Gift
    • Roxana Arama – The Exiled Queen: A Roman Era Historical Fantasy
    • Jenn Lees – Of High Kings and Mages: Arlan’s Pledge Book Three
    • Curt Locklear – Treasure and Murder In Ireland
    • Shami Stovall – Time-Marked Warlock
    • Charles Allen – A Graveyard of Ships
    • Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle – An Unexpected Hero
    • Glen Dahlgren – The Realm of Gods
    • Kolton Fitz-Gerald – Leon Sharp: The Scourge of Night
    • Kolton Fitz-Gerald – Leon Sharp: The Tides of War
    • Alan B. Gibson – Summer Storm (Magic at Myers Beach, Book 2)
    • J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
    • Susan Wands – High Priestess an Empress, Book Two, Arcana Oracle Series
    • R. M. Krogman – Liberation
    • James Malone – The Song of Theodore-Return to Rainbow Gardens
    • Ross Hightower & Deb Heim – Desulti
    • Erin Lark Maples – A Circle of Stars
    • Evette Davis – The Others
    • M.D. House – Crossroads of Awakening Memory
    • Ryan Schuette – A Seat for the Rabble
    • Rae St. Clair Bridgman – Fish & Sphinx
    • Rae St. Clair Bridgman – The Serpent’s Spell
    • S.G. Blaise – Proud Pada
    • Logan D. Irons – Oaths of Blood
    • Prue Batten – The Red Thread
    • S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
    • W.B.J. Williams – Johnny Talon and the Goddess of Love and War
    • T.E. MacArthur – A Place of Fog and Murder
    • Shami Stovall – Academy Arcanist
    • J.A. Nielsen – The Claiming
    • David Scidmore – Aylun

    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

    Congratulations once more to the 2023 Ozma Grand Prize Winner and Overall Grand Prize Winner

    A Vengeful Realm

    By Tim Facciola

    Blue and Gold Badge Recognizing A Vengeful Realm: Scales of Balance Book 1 by Tim Facciola for Winning the 2023 Overall Grand Prize Award

    Click here to see the full list of 2023 OZMA Book Award Winners for Fantasy Fiction.

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 OZMA Book Awards for Fantasy Fiction.

    Please click here for more information.

    Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

    Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887)  has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

    Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!

  • The Many Worlds of Ursula Le Guin: Celebrating the Legacy of a Literary Visionary on Her Birthday

    The Master of Speculative Fiction

    Urusla Le Guin, Black, white, woman, leaning, fist, photographs

    Ursula K. Le Guin is a Literary Magician 

    As the conjurer of complex, imaginative worlds, Ursula Le Guin is recognized as a literary titan of science fiction and fantasy. Spinning  tales that examine the intricacies of familiar societal constructs within new and fantastic worlds is a magic that allowed Le Guin to explore new ways of imagining civilizations. It seems like a daunting task to take on, but Le Guin was born into a family primed for her questions. Last week was her birthday, and it’s never too late to support someone who was such a supporter of authors everywhere!

    Ursula Le Guin, black, white, bowl cut,

    An Early Student of Society and Writing

    Le Guin was born on October 21, 1929 in Berkeley, CA to anthropologist Alfred K. Le Guin and writer Theodora K. Le Guin. Brought up in a house filled with intellectual conversations and discussions about writing was the perfect combination she needed to fortify her vast imagination and endless curiosity and prompting her consideration of high-concept questions and new and innovative alternatives for the problems she witnessed in our own society. This placed Le Guin at the top of her class of speculative science fiction writers.

    Orsinian Tales, ursula Le Guin, short stories, castle, black, gold, collection, book cover

    A Thoughtful Writer

    Le Guin began her publishing journey in 1959 with a collection of eleven short stories, called Orsinian Tales. It was her first step into an imaginary world, writing about the fictional country of Orsinia and examining the right of the individual—sometimes alone, but often in conjunction with others—to his or her own thoughts and emotions, without society, or convention, or the State imposing restrictions. It was an auspicious start to her professional writing career, and established her as an author who was unafraid to explore the depths of philosophical and sociological themes.

    The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed, Earthsea

    Other notable works furthered that journey. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) explored gender and sexuality through the lens of an alien culture, winning both the Hugo and Nebula awards. The Dispossessed (1974) is a thought-provoking exploration of anarchism and capitalism, and the beloved fantasy series, A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), examined coming-of-age themes and the nature of power.

    Ursula Le Guina, Black, white, brick, leaning, fist

    Themes that Continue to Demand Exploration

    The themes of identity, culture, and human nature are still issues that we mere humans grapple to understand. Through Le Guin’s richly developed worlds and complex characters, we come to understand perspectives we may not have thought about previously. Her speculative fiction provides a platform to critique our own societal norms and explore alternative ways of living.

    Futuristic world, planet, ursula le guin, purple, green, orange, mountains

    Le Guin’s Legacy: A Monolith of Science Fiction and Societal Commentary

    Upon Ursula Le Guin passing on January 22, 2028, she had established herself as a significant influence in both science fiction and feminist literature and inspired countless writers and thinkers to consider new societies. Her work has garnered numerous accolades, including the National Book Award, the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, and she has left a profound literary legacy known for their depth and relevance in contemporary discussions on the important issues faced by civilizations.

    Ursula Le Guin, Books, sitting, woman, old, black, white

    Happy 95th birthday, Ursula Le Guin!

    Born October 21, 1929 Berkeley, Calif.  She entered the next dimension on January 22, 2018, Portland, Oregon.


    Interested in exploring new worlds through today’s science fiction authors? We encourage you to dig into stories written by Chanticleer’s authors .

    Unanimity Cover

    Unanimity

    Alexandra Almeida probes the philosophical and ethical depths of wealth, technology, pop culture, and religion in a world ravaged by global warming through her sci-fi adventure,Unanimity: Spiral Worlds #1.

    Readers will delight in the gradual reveal of both the technology within the story and the dramatic history between many of those involved with the creation and evolution of that technology.

    Tom, a screenwriter, works with Harry, the genius inventor of the world’s most popular AI (artificial intelligence) app, to create a simulation that will nudge people toward acting morally.

    Continue reading here…

     

    The Last Lumenian Cover

    The Last Lumenian
    By S.G. Blaise
    Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

    Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but inThe Last Lumenianby S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.

    Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.

    Continue reading here…

     

    Terms of Service Cover

    Terms of Service

    “Terms of Service” are those cryptic notes that accompany computer devices and applications, spelling out their rules. The novel,Terms of Service,by Craig W. Stanfill, turns those notices into the foundation of a dystopian horror story where Artificial Intelligence (AI) controls virtually every aspect of human behavior.

    Kim works for a giant AI corporation. It’s her task to train AI systems to interface with human beings, even as those systems make life difficult for the average person. AIs are not alive, not sentient, but they provide the precise terms of service under which every person in major metropolitan areas must live.

    Continue reading here…

     

    Elvia and the Gift of Passion

    Elvia and the Gift of Passion
    By Ruthy Ballard

    Ruthy Ballard’s latest middle-grade novel,Elvia and the Gift of Passion,takes us to another planet in a distant galaxy. But the journey begins grounded on Earth.

    Elvia lives a dull-as-dishwater life with her boring parents, Sally and Earl Hill. She dreams of living in Tanzania (or on Mars) after a DNA test reveals she is 99.1% Zulu, with a dash of Irish to explain her red hair.

    When her mother wins a safari in a work raffle, Elvia’s dreams start to materialize. As the stubborn and dissatisfied daughter of two overprotective parents, Elvia does what any child in her situation would do; she ditches them. In the meantime, her parents try to fit in some relaxation and see the sights without their daughter.

    This trip becomes far stranger than Elvia could have imagined.

    Continue reading here…

    Strider Klusman, stone

    Stone: Rhone and Stone Series, Book One

    Award-winning author, Strider S. R. Klusman’s Stone: Rhone and Stone Series, Book One is set in the high desert outside of the dusty town of Skragmoore.

    With all the trappings of a western, he draws us into the Badlands and takes us on a merry and hair rising journey through lake strewn caves and the dusty little town of Skragmoore. This YA adventure will have readers riveted in place to find out what happens next.

    Rhone has survived alone in the wilderness since his mother’s death, but he has learned to thrive and spends more and more time out of doors under the open sky than at home in his old, dilapidated house. So, when he hears a voice, and no one else is there, he is confused to say the least. Where is the voice coming from and why won’t it shut up?

    Continue reading here…


    Ursula Le Guin, bushes, woman, old, banister

    Thank you for joining us in celebrating the science fiction visionary, Ursula Le Guin!

    Do you have a book that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.

    Is your book an Award Winner?

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    Submitting to Book Awards is a great way to get your book discovered! Anytime you advance in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, your name and book are promoted right here on our website, through our newsletter, and across social media. One of the best ways to engage in long tail marketing!

    Three Amazing Speculative Divisions are ready for your work!

     

    Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books, and to Ursula Le Guin, who inspired so many to pick up the pen!

    or(s):
  • The 2024 Shelley Awards Hall of Fame for Paranormal Fiction

    Looking for a Spooky Read this Halloween Season?

    The Shelley Awards are here to bring you Supernatural Tales!

    ***Send us your spooky tale today!***

    The Shelley Awards (Formerly Known as the Paranormal Awards) are open until October 31st!

    The Shelley Awards for Paranormal Fiction features an image of Mary Shelley at her writing desk

    Let’s celebrate the past winners and visit the Hall of Fame for the Shelley Awards!

    Becoming Crone
    By Lydia M. Hawke

    She wanted purpose. She got dark magic and war.

    Claire Emerson is adrift. After a lifetime as a wife, mother, and grandma, she never saw divorce or loneliness coming and is desperate for some sense of purpose. But when her sixtieth birthday brings a snarky gargoyle, an annoyingly sexy wolf shifter, and an unknown magical calling, she thinks she’s losing the only thing she has left: her sanity.

    Refusing to believe she’s the powerful defender of humankind her so-called protectors claim, Claire attempts a return to her safe life… only to have her powers ignite when she’s attacked by dark supernatural creatures. And without the training she was supposed to have received, she has no idea how she’ll defeat sinister mages plotting her demise.

    Can Claire overcome creaky joints and major hot flashes in time to save the world —and her own life?

    Buy it here

    Cold as Hell Cover

    Cold as Hell
    By Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle

    James Crowley isn’t your average, run-of-the-mill cowboy. Nor is Cold as Hell, by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, your typical gunslinging western.

    Although he’s got all the right characteristics – tough exterior, snarky personality, and commitment issues – Crowley is much more than he appears. Resurrected to immortality straight from death’s “sickly sweet aroma,” Crowley is duty-bound as a Hand of God to serve the White Throne in its shadow war against demonic presences called the nephilim unleashed by freezing hell.

    But it’s not all ‘good guys versus bad guys’. As Crowley learns, “good choices don’t always mean doing right or wrong things. Especially when it comes to serving a Master like [the White Throne].” Forced to be the middle man between God and the Devil, Crowley has to decide for himself how to care for the people around him and bring true justice to fruition. Forced to be the middleman between God and the Devil, Crowley has to make his own choices about how to care for the people around him and bring justice to fruition. 

    Jam-packed with simmering romance, evil yetis, reckless bar fights, and other outlaw shenanigans, Cold as Hell will warm readers’ hearts as it freezes them to their seats with anticipation.

    Read More Here

    The Devil Pulls the Strings Book Cover

    The Devil Pulls The Strings
    By J.W. Zarek

    The protagonist and all-around decent guy, Boone Daniels, is in a heap of hurt in JW Zarek’s new Young Adult novel, The Devil Pulls the Strings.

    One would think being plagued by an evil spirit wendigo since age six would be enough inconvenience to last a lifetime, but when Boone jousts with his best bud at a Ren Faire and accidentally deals a mortal blow, the hurt he experiences suddenly lands on a sliding scale of 1 to 1 million. And Boone Daniels becomes a millionaire, so to speak.

    Read More Here

     

    Soul Seeker
    By Kaylin McFarren

    The realms of demons and angels clash, as the possibility of romance, plunges the beings of Hell into chaos. Kaylin McFarren’s Soul Seeker follows the otherworldly set as they flee for their lives, uncover millennia-old secrets about one another, and face the possibility of love in a very dangerous world.

    But first, the demon, Crighton, wreaks havoc on his human target, a man named Poe, devastating the man and his family. You could say, Crighton’s at home collecting wicked souls for his boss, Lucifer. His villain persona is put into question when he meets the angel, Ariel. At first, Crighton believes the angelic Ariel would make an excellent prize for the prince of darkness, as the demon is well aware that his master adores ruining pretty things. However, when an undeniable attraction emerges between them, they wrestle with each other, pitting strength against strength. Beware any who would do anything to tear these two apart—that would spell certain death.

    Read More Here

     

    Abigail’s Window
    By Susan Lynn Solomon

    Katy Novacs is haunted, both by her past and the laughing specter that reminds her of it. When her friends bring her to Niagara-on-the-Lake in the hopes of lifting her spirits, she finds that their inn has a ghost of its own who has a tale that might save her.

    Katy comes to the Niagara Inn in a mire of sorrow, fear, and trauma. Though her friends try to help her move forward with her life, to fall in love and open herself up to other people again, Katy’s stay at the inn only seems to drain her further. Both she and her friends question her sanity as she becomes certain that she’s sharing a room with the spirit of a dead woman, but when Abigail eventually reveals herself, it is to tell Katy a story that she needs to hear—that of Abigail’s life.

    Read More Here

     

    The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove
    By Joy Ross Davis

    Award-winning author, Joy Ross Davis’ latest work, The Madwoman of Preacher’s Cove, ventures beyond the paranormal into the surreal. Like Medusa on a bad hair day, the lives of characters are intertwined and twisted in a snaky snarl of conflicting human desires, terrifying inexplicable events, and the lingering afterlives of ancient, supernatural beings.

    Davis gifts us with a 21st-century legend, replete with mythological themes and creatures, and snippets of folklore and superstition melded with documented vagaries of weather, obscure herpetology, and creates a mystical potion worthy of Circe. In other words, Davis gives us a thrilling read!

    Rumors about suspicious deaths have put Preacher’s Cove, Alabama, a small, historic town notorious for powerful, killer storms, on the map. Hap Murray, Huntsville’s Channel 12 field reporter, with family ties to the Cove, arrives in town on assignment, armed with only limited knowledge of the town’s history of inexplicable deaths. The rumors speculate that the local pastor may be involved.

    Read More Here


    Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Shelley Winners is to submit today!

    Note: The Awards don’t officially close until the deadline changes on the website! Don’t miss out!

    Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

    Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

  • The 2024 JOURNEY Awards Semi-Finalists for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction

    The 2024 JOURNEY Awards Semi-Finalists for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction

    Journey Narrative Non-Fiction CIBA BadgeThe Journey Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction and Memoir. The Journey Book Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring true stories about adventures, life events, unique experiences, travel, personal journeys, global enlightenment, and more. We will put books about true and inspiring stories to the test and choose the best among them. See our full list of Non-Fiction Divisions here

    These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2024 Journey Non-Fiction SHORT LIST. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC25).

    The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

    We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Four Points by Sheraton sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    A Wreath with the words "CAC 2025" on it to celebrate the Chanticleer Author's Conference!

     

    These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2024 Journey Book Awards novel competition for Overcoming Adversity in Non-Fiction!

    Join us in celebrating the Semi-Finalist authors and their works in the 2024 CIBAs.

    • Michael Salsbury – Running From Tragedy
    • Lynne Spriggs O’Connor – Elk Love: A Montana Memoir
    • Jane Kim Yu – Journey of Awakening and Higher Consciousness
    • Tamra McAnally Bolton – His 100th Year
    • Kirsten Throneberry – Guided: Lost Love, Hidden Realms, and the Open Road
    • Irena Smith – The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays
    • Jennifer Gasner – My Unexpected Life: Finding Balance Beyond My Diagnosis
    • Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me
    • Jill Vanneman – The Betterment Campaign
    • Linda M. Lockwood – Sky Ranch: Reared in the High Country
    • Etsuko Diamond Miyagi – Diamond – The Memoir of a Lost Daughter of Japan
    • Karen Elizabeth Lee – The Village That Betrayed its Children
    • Liz Alterman – Sad Sacked
    • Anne Gately – Sunburnt – A memoir of sun, surf and skin cancer
    • Natalie Kohlhaas – Hello Anxiety My Old Friend: Harness Your Invisible Superpower
    • Rachael Siddoway and Sonja Wasden – An Impossible Life: A True Story of Hope and Mental Illness
    • Léonie Rosenstiel – Protecting Mama: Surviving the Legal Guardianship Swamp
    • Ernestine Whitman – Countermelodies: A Memoir in Sonata Form
    • Jacqueline Acho – Cancer Culture: Fixing the Landscape by Infusing Empathy
    • Kathi N. Miner – The Committed Professor – My Fall from the Lectern to the Ward
    • Bridey Thelen-Heidel – Bright Eyes
    • Ginelle Testa – Make a Home Out of You
    • E. Adrienne Wilson – I’d Rather Be Dead Than Deaf: A Young Woman’s Journey with Liver Cancer
    • Lindsey Henke – When Skies Are Gray
    • Heidi Beierle – Heidi Across America – One Woman’s Journey on a Bicycle through the Heartland
    • Claudia Marseille – But You Look So Normal: Lost and Found in a Hearing World
    • Mary Jumbelic, M.D. – Here, Where Death Delights
    • Lisa Rhyne – Coming Out of the Metaphysical Closet
    • Tracy Mayo – Childless Mother: A Search for Son and Self
    • Marsha Jacobson – The Wrong Calamity
    • David Vass – Liar, Alleged

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

    Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 JOURNEY Awards is:

    Barbed: A Memoir

    By Julie Morrison

    Journey Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction Grand Prize Badge for Barbed by Julie Morrison

    See the full list of 2023 First Place Journey Winners here!

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Journey Book Awards for Overcoming Adversity in Narrative Non-Fiction.

    Please click here for more information.

    Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

    Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887)  has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

    Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!

  • The 2024 Global Thriller Hall of Fame for High Stakes Suspense!

    The World is in Danger

    But your Global Thriller Novel can save it!

    Global Thriller

    ***Submit Your Novel Today!***

    You have until October 31st to enter the 2024 CIBAs before this message will self-destruct!

    We’re here to celebrate the past Grand Prize Winners that showed us just how high stakes the suspense can be!

    Roman Conspiracy cover

    Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
    By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke

    Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller in Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy!

    In this multinational geopolitical thriller by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke, a power-crazed Russian oligarch wants to usurp the current Russian dictator to take his place as the head of the government. He forms his own paramilitary force to steal priceless paintings from a Vatican church with plans to resell them for billions to fund his campaign. But why stop there? He also explodes illicit small-scale atomic weapons to further destabilize the Russian leader and cast himself as the country’s new czar.

    Meanwhile, a crazed U.S. right wing military adjutant buys loads of AK-47s from the Italian mafia to arm U.S. paramilitary groups intent on enforcing their own far-right views in America.

    Read More Here

    Hybrid Hysteria Cover

    Hybrid Hysteria
    By Charlie Robinson

    Two professors uncover a conspiracy to sterilize liberal Americans with specially-manufactured electric cars, in Charlie Robinson’s thriller, Hybrid Hysteria.

    Dr. Theresa Lauzon, endowed assistant professor at SUNY-Canton’s Department of Automotive Engineering, comes to Charlie “CC” Cavanaugh, university Chaplain and physics PhD, with two troubling revelations.

    First, while testing an electric car donated by the Gauss Hybrid Electric Automobile Company (GHEA), she’d discovered troubling spikes in its battery’s electromagnetic field. She connects these spikes to a rash of infertility and miscarriages along the Pacific coast, where GHEA cars have boomed in popularity.

    Second, Theresa is pregnant, and the father is GHEA’s technician-on-loan to SUNY-Canton, Jay Fish. And though Fish recently disappeared from campus, Theresa has much more complicated problems.

    Read More Here

     

    The Chameleon Cover

    The Chameleon
    By Ron McManus

    The Chameleon: A Jake Palmer Novel by Ron McManus takes on one of the most terrifying issues in the modern world: nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists.

    Amidst the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, the world’s superpowers recognize that both nations possess large nuclear arsenals, which intelligent, well-armed fanatics threaten to steal for their own nefarious purposes. If these weapons went off, they could easily lead to World War III. To prevent this, the U.S. eagerly takes on the role of supervising the security of these weapons in both countries.

    In this terrorism thriller, India and Pakistan clash over the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan’s leaders decide to secretly deploy a variety of nuclear weapons to the front, sending them along backroads in unmarked trucks. But in a carefully planned attack, terrorists kidnap one of these vehicles containing three nuclear weapons, before substituting a precise duplicate truck to take its place. The theft is not discovered until the decoy truck reaches its destination.

    Read More Here

    Cover of William Maz's The Bucharest Dossier, Chanticleer Grand Prize Global Thrillers Winner 2020

    The Bucharest Dossier
    By William Maz

    Bill Hefflin is a man apart—apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love

    At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin—a disillusioned Romanian expat—arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset, code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems, including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.

    With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces, including his own CIA and Boris—the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.

    The Bourne Identity Meets John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

    Buy it here!

    Solstice Shadows
    By Avanti Centrae

    Something really nasty is afoot in the world as the Russians attempt to build a super quantum computer so powerful that it will be able to hack into America’s computer capabilities, bypassing even our most advanced protection and control or shut down every computer in the U.S.

    As we find out about halfway through Solstice Shadows: A VanOps Thriller, the second book in Avanti Centrae’s VanOps thriller series, they’ve run a test of their capabilities by using a prototype to shut down Manila in the Philippines, a city of nearly 14 million people. The test shuts off its electrical power, lights, traffic signals and causes its citizens to tear the city apart. A fine test case for its potential impact on the USA.

    All they need to complete their evil system is some rare superconductivity material that appears to have come from a meteorite that allegedly landed on Earth at roughly the same time as Moses led his people out of Egypt. The clue to its location is an ancient star map dating back to those times now in the possession of Maddy Marshall, the heroine of the VanOps’ first book. Also in her possession are slivers of the actual meteorite that she can activate with her mind, giving her the ability to meld with the ancient material and hurl deadly fireballs at an enemy.

    Read More Here

    The Moving Blade
    By Michael Pronko

    The Moving Blade by Michael Pronko won GRAND PRIZE in the CIBA 2018 Global Thriller Awards for Lab Lit and High Stakes Thrillers!

    What exactly was Bernard Mattson up to when he committed seppuku* at his Tokyo home – or, was it murder? This is just one of many questions Michael Pronko incites in readers in his latest novel, The Moving Blade.

    Another set of questions: What was so important about Mattson’s collection of rare Japanese shunga—centuries-old erotic art—that someone ransacked the house for it while his family attended his funeral? Or was it all about the significant role that the elderly Mattson had in formulating, then turning against, the SOFA** agreements, and the book he intended to publish about the unfairness of the agreements to Japan today?

    Read More Here


    Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Global Thriller Winners is to submit today!

    Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

    Submit to the CIBAs Today!

    Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your Thriller story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2023 Chatelaine Awards by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.

    The Global Thriller Awards is your chance to shine!

    The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!
    The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!

    And remember! Registration for the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference is open now! Space is limited and seats are already filling up. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

  • Building Frankenstein’s Monster: Creating Characters That Move Your Readers

    “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
    Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

    Writers of every genre all face the challenge of creating meaningful, memorable characters that are fully fleshed out and believable. It’s a feat of magic that, if done right, creates the kind of characters that readers connect with and may even glance something they recognize within themselves.

    Frankenstein, lab, monster, igor, movie, black and white

    Get out your scalpels my writing friends, because today we’re going to dissect how to create a great character!

    When a writer sets out to create a memorable character they assume the role of a mad scientist, taking pieces of a person’s physical, intellectual, and emotional self and mixing them together to create their version of the type of person they need for their plot. It’s a delicate procedure of hitting the right mark, without going over the top or leaving them flat and uninteresting. If done right, a writer can create an unbreakable link between their characters and the reader, regardless of whether it’s a human, animal, or even a monster!

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a great example of this. The plot’s profound exploration of human nature, ethics, and the consequences of scientific ambition makes for fertile ground for showing the complexities of her realistic and fantastical characters. The sympathy Shelley is able to elicit from the reader for her “Monster” makes the novel resonate with readers across all boundaries and offers rich lessons for writers looking to craft their own unforgettable personas.

    Vitruvian Man, leonardo da vinci, black, white, circle, square

    Here’s a deep dive into how Shelley developed her characters and what we can learn from her approach.

    1. Complex Protagonists

    One of the most striking features of Frankenstein is its dual protagonists: Victor Frankenstein and his creation, often referred to as “the Monster.” Both characters are distinctly different, multi-dimensional, and able to elicit empathy despite their flaws.

    Lesson: Embrace Complexity

    When creating characters, avoid the temptation to make them purely good or evil. Victor is ambitious and passionate, but his hubris leads to tragedy. The Monster, on the other hand, starts as a blank slate, driven by a desire for companionship and understanding but ultimately succumbs to despair and violence. By portraying your characters with a mix of virtues and vices, you invite readers to explore the complexities that are ingrained inside each character.

    2. Strong Drive

    Shelley provides compelling motivations for her characters, which drive the narrative forward. Victor’s desire to have dominion over life and death through his creation stems from a blend of intellectual curiosity and personal loss. The Monster’s longing to find his humanity in the love and acceptance he expects to receive from others illustrates the fundamental human need for connection.

    Lesson: Define Clear Motivations

    When crafting your characters, think deeply about what drives them. Their goals should be relatable, allowing readers to understand their choices, even when those choices lead to tragic outcomes. Clear motivations can create a strong emotional bond between the reader and the character, which makes each individual journey more impactful.

    people, heart, books, colors

    3. Relationships that Shape Identity

    The relationships between characters in Frankenstein are critical in shaping their identities and trajectories. Victor’s relationships with his family, friends, and the Monster highlight themes of isolation, responsibility, and the consequences of neglect. The Monster, a blank slate at his incarnation, responds to Victor’s mishandling of his care with a combination of confusion and sadness until he eventually becomes a dark force who turns to self-imposed isolation to save himself.

    Lesson: Develop Interconnected Relationships

    As you build your characters, consider how their relationships influence their development. Interactions with others can reveal vulnerabilities and strengths, adding depth to your characters. Show how relationships can uplift or destroy, creating a dynamic that enriches the narrative.

    4. Thematic Depth

    Shelley’s characters are not just vehicles for the plot; they embody the novel’s themes of ambition, isolation, and the quest for understanding. The struggles of both Victor and the Monster reflect broader questions about humanity’s place in the world.

    Lesson: Infuse Characters with Thematic Significance

    Think about how your characters can serve as representations of the themes you want to explore. Their experiences should resonate with the central ideas of your story, prompting readers to reflect on larger questions. When characters embody your themes, their journeys become more profound and thought-provoking.

    red, black, two people, man, woman

    5. Evolution Through Conflict

    Both Victor and the Monster undergo significant transformations throughout the novel. Their encounters with conflict force them to confront their values, desires, and the repercussions of their actions.

    Lesson: Allow Characters to Grow and Change

    Conflict is essential for character development. Whether it’s internal struggles or external challenges, ensure your characters face obstacles that force them to grow. By the end of their journey, they should reflect on their experiences and provide a satisfying arc that resonates with the reader.

    Mad science, scientist, lab, skulls, light

    Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein offers a masterclass in character creation. By embracing complexity, defining clear motivations, developing meaningful relationships, infusing thematic depth, and allowing for character evolution through conflict, you can craft characters that leave a lasting impression on your readers.

    As you write, remember that characters are not just components of your story; they are the heart and soul that breathe life into your narrative. Take a page from Shelley’s playbook, and let your characters inspire, challenge, and engage your audience in a dialogue that transcends time and space.


    Thank you for joining us in celebrating a literary icon, Mary Shelley!

    Do you have a book that deserves to be discovered? You can always submit your book for an Editorial Review with Chanticleer!Chanticleer Editorial Review Packages are optimized to maximize your digital footprint. Reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to authors to help sell and market their books. Find out what all the buzz is about here.

    Is your book an Award Winner?

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    Submitting to Book Awards is a great way to get your book discovered! Anytime you advance in the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards, your name and book are promoted right here on our website, through our newsletter, and across social media. One of the best ways to engage in long tail marketing!

    The Shelley Awards for Paranormal Fiction features an image of Mary Shelley at her writing desk

    The Shelley Awards for Paranormal & Supernatural Fiction are open through Oct 31st!

    Don’t miss out on your chance to introduce your characters to new readers!


    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 David at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or DBeaumier@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://test.chantireviews.com/manuscript-reviews/

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

    Writer’s Toolbox

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

    Writers Toolbox  a few more Helpful Links: 

    The INCITING INCIDENT: STORY, SETBACKS and SURPRISES for the PROTAGONIST – A Writer’s Toolbox Series from Jessica Morrell’s Editor’s Desk

    ESSENCE of CHARACTERS – Part One – From the Jessica Morrell’s Editor’s Desk – Writer’s Toolbox Series

  • The 2024 Clue Long List for Suspense/Thriller Fiction

    The 2024 Clue Long List for Suspense/Thriller Fiction

    The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Suspense and Thriller Mysteries. The Clue Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime-solving, we will put them to the test to discover the best! (For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards, and for High Stakes Suspense Novels please check out our Global Thriller Awards).

    These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 CLUE entries to the 2024 Clue Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Clue Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC25.

    We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    A Wreath with the words "CAC 2025" on it to celebrate the Chanticleer Author's Conference!

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Suspense and Thriller!

    Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!

    • Christopher Mele – Goodwill’s Secrets
    • Pamela Beason – If Only
    • Jeff Nania – Musky Run
    • John DeDakis – Enemies Domestic
    • George St. Georges – AI: Opening
    • Charlotte Stuart & Don Stuart – Midnight for Justice
    • Hannah D Sharpe – Between Lies and Revenge
    • Susan Rogers and John Roosen – Tree Pose
    • Meredith Forde – The Protectee
    • M.K. Tod – That Was Then
    • Cathi Stoler – Out of Time: A Nick Donahue Adventure
    • Tony Ollivier – The Tokyo Diversion
    • D.W. Layton – Otello’s Oil: A Saga of Blood and Oil
    • Lisa Towles – Codex
    • T.O. Paine – The Delusion
    • M.M. Cochran – The Button Collector
    • Peter Berk – First Line of Defense
    • Allison McKenzie – The Unexpected Hostage
    • Sandra J. Jackson – Letting Go of September
    • Charlotte Stuart – Raven’s Legacy
    • Lisa Malice – Lest She Forget
    • Corey Lynn Fayman – The Esmeralda Goodbye
    • Marie Still – My Darlings
    • Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Change of Mission: A Jake Fortina Series Novel
    • Jeannee Sacken – The Rule of Thirds
    • Steven Walker – Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown
    • Patrick Greenwood – Shores of Okinawa
    • Chad Boudreaux – Homecoming Queen: A Small Town Political Thriller
    • Betsy Hartmann – Last Place Called Home
    • J T Owens – The Fisherman Returns
    • Ron Singerton – Ruptured
    • Michael Grigsby – Forecasting Error
    • Jeffrey Jay Levin – Deep Cover, The Unknowing Agent
    • Dr. Sandra Tanner – Spirited Unraveling
    • Saralyn Richard – Murder Outside the Box
    • Sean Hagerty – Jones Point
    • Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me
    • Nannette Potter – Pierce the Darkness
    • TJ Stecker – The Moth
    • Mike Van Horn – The Fireteam
    • Amy Morris-Young – Doolittle 2
    • Dana J. Summers – Hell’s Heart
    • AG Flitcher – Black Rose Cocoon
    • Dave Lager – Revelations
    • Carl Vonderau – Saving Myles
    • Robert Allen Stowe – The Fires of Rubicon
    • Chris Chan – She Ruined Our Lives
    • Ray Collins – The General’s Briefcase
    • Ray Collins – Motive for Murder
    • Lo Monaco – Fallen In A Dark Uneven Way
    • Lisa Towles – Terror Bay
    • Sharon Michalove – Dead in the Alley
    • Colleen Coyne – Bewept
    • Shanessa Gluhm – A River of Crows
    • Miriam Verbeek – The Forest
    • Michael Pronko – Shitamachi Scam
    • Wendy Bayne – Dark Entity
    • Steve Lazarus – Call Me Sonny
    • Sharon Lynn – IoT Gaslight

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

    This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

    Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

    We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

    Congratulations once more to the 2023 Clue Grand Prize Winner

    The Other Murder

    By Kevin G. Chapman

    The Other Murder Cover

     

    blue and gold badge recognizing The Other Murder by Kevin G Chapman for winning the 2023 Clue grand prize

     

    Click here to see the full list of 2023 Clue Book Award Winners for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Clue Book Awards for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

    Please click here for more information.

    Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

    April 3 – 6, 2025! Save the Date for Registration!

    Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887)  has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.

    Join us for our annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!

     

  • The 2023 First Place Global Thriller Roundup for High Stakes Suspense!

    Global ThrillerThe Global Thriller Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of High Stakes Thrillers. The Grand Prize Winner, Ralph R. ‘Rick’ Steinke’s book, Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy, will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Global Thriller contest page year ’round!

    The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the continued love and promotion for your book!

    The 2023 Global Thriller Winners were announced at the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

    Join us in celebrating the 2023 First Place Global Thriller Winners!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    D.L. Wilburn Jr. – The God Protocol: Dragon

     

    In the simmering summer of 2023, as the United States and China silently battle for supremacy in Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence, the world teeters on the brink of a technological singularity. Amidst this high-stakes arena, George Isaacson, a seemingly inconsequential social media conspiracy theorist, stumbles upon a trail of secrets. He spins a tale weaving together NASA’s clandestine findings, whispers of First Contact with extraterrestrial beings, and a shadowy global cover-up. Skepticism meets his claims, yet as the veil of deception lifts, George’s narrative reveals startling truths, thrusting him into the spotlight as an unlikely hero.

    ‘The God Protocol’ is not just a novel; it’s a technothriller odyssey that interlaces the enigmatic lore of the Anunnaki with the cutting-edge realms of AI Sentience and Nanotechnology. It’s a story of international conspiracy and cover-ups, set in a near future where advanced technology blurs the lines between myth and reality. Prepare for a journey that escalates into an awe-inspiring finale, challenging the very fabric of existence and leaving readers gasping for air.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Glenn Dyer – Trust No One

     

    Algiers. Winter 1943. Conor Thorn is devastated. He’s been fired from the OSS. His wife, Emily, has been fired from MI6. They allowed their morals to bend certain truths concerning the outcome of their last mission. Forever dedicated to defeating Axis powers, these skilled operatives jump at the chance to secretly help General Eisenhower deal with a political time bomb threatening Allied harmony and to redeem their honorable standing. To recover a rumored archive holding the truth about an assassination plot, they must travel deep into perilous Axis territory.

    In the crosshairs of those determined to keep the information out of Allied hands, Conor and Emily fall victim to a violent assault. Though the resulting injuries leave him severely concussed and confused, Conor refuses to stand down while his beloved ventures deeper into danger.

    Can Conor and Emily piece together a political puzzle in time to keep Allied unity from fracturing?

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Mark James – Friendship Games

    An American aircraft carrier blows up and sinks in the Persian Gulf. Was it an accident? A terrorist attack? Does it matter?

    Maybe not.

    Not after decades of hostility and brinkmanship between the United States and Iran. And certainly not after a known Iranian-funded and supported terrorist organization launches an attack on an American naval facility in the middle of rescue operations.
    Iran is convinced that the United States is about to embark on a full-scale war and seek nothing short of regime change. They aren’t wrong. Iran strikes first. And they have some tricks up their sleeve. But nothing ever goes to plan.

    This book is a warning.

    The next war may be like no other in American history.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Randall Krzak – Ultimate Escalation

     

    Punjabi militants seek to distance themselves from Indian and Pakistani dominance and interference. With the dissolution of British India in 1947, families were ripped apart as the Punjabi region was split between the two countries. Limited attacks within each country caused further persecution and heartache. The militants have no idea how to achieve their desires–until the appearance of Vladimir Aleksandrovich Nikolaev, a disgraced Spetsnaz colonel. He offers the militants a means to spark a conflict between the two nuclear powers. Russian subs sold on the black market and manned by Iranian and Russian sailors will surface off the coasts of the two countries and destroy Karachi and Mumbai. Propaganda machines will levy accusations against each country, leading to escalation of hostilities, pushing the countries to the brink of nuclear war. The Bedlam organization fields their three teams to counter the violence and seek to restore calm before it’s too late. Will they be successful, or will South Asia become a smoking ruin?

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    Susan Rogers and John Roosen – Cobra Pose

    Australia is a surfers’ paradise … but this nefarious surfing on the ‘net’ … will destroy the global financial system. It’s not just a rippling ‘scam’ job. Has Australia been infiltrated at levels they’ve never known?

    Elaina Williams uses a Cobra Pose in her Yoga studio to boost her energy – she will need it! Elaina’s father, Edward, is in trouble. He’s disappeared.

    As a solicitor and now yoga instructor, Elaina drags Ric, a man she’s fallen for, into the bursting web of techno-thrilling intrigue.

    Ric Peters has just returned from a disastrous trip to Indonesia. Ric bills himself as a photojournalist. Elaina suspects he shoots more than just photographs. Ric has insight into the journey he and Elaina must take. He knows Elaina isn’t ready for what’s going to happen. There are too many moving parts for him to control.

    Time is running out before The Cobra and The Wolf strike with their heist. They are extending their fangs towards Australia’s ‘golden coastline’ to bite into and destabilise financial institutions worldwide.

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