A Chanticleer Happy Birthday
To the Mother of Science Fiction and all things Paranormal
Mary Shelley!
The Update
We long have wanted a person to name the Paranormal Awards after, but it’s difficult to make the decision. However, two years ago, we floated the idea of Mary Shelley, and since then we’ve been waiting for the stars to align. And now they are!
What to know
If you have received a Paranormal Award in the past, that is still good! You can reach out to us for new graphics that say “Shelley Awards” instead for Finalists, First Place, and Grand Prize Winners. You are also welcome to keep using the “Paranormal Awards” branded promotions you have won! Those are still good, and we will continue including information about the change in name for years to come to help alleviate confusion.
On to Mary Shelley!
Mary Shelley, one of literature’s most revolutionary figures, was born on August 30, 1797. It was a time of extreme weather in her birth city of London. Today’s meteorologists have determined the city was experiencing a “very thundery” year, with strong rain and hail storms that caused flooding throughout England.
Dark clouds casting shadows over dark streets. Is it any surprise Shelley would grow up to write nightmare-inducing, Gothic novels like her groundbreaking story Frankenstein?
As we honor her birth, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on Shelley’s extraordinary literary contributions and the enduring legacy that continues to inspire writers.
A Literary Trailblazer
Mary Shelley’s entry into the literary world was as unconventional as her most famous creation. The daughter of renowned intellectuals William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley’s upbringing was steeped in new, radical ideas during a time of science and paranormal romanticism. She married author Percy Shelley in 1816 and traveled to Lake Geneva that summer for a honeymoon at the home of another writer, Lord Byron. It was there that a writing challenge among friends led to the creation of Shelly’s most famous work, Frankenstein.
The Birth of a New Genre
Published in 1818, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was revolutionary for its time. Inspired by her own miscarriage and the death of her mother eleven days after Shelley’s birth, Frankenstein is not just a tale of a scientist who creates life but a profound exploration of ambition, responsibility, and the moral implications of scientific advancement.
Shelley went onto write “The Last Man” and “Valperga,” exploring the themes of dystopia, history, and social critique, as well as numerous short stories, essays, and travelogues. Her style, characterized by rich, evocative prose and a deep psychological insight, earned her a respected place among the Romantic literary elite during a time when women authors were not typically recognized.
Celebrating Her Life and Works
As we commemorate Mary Shelley’s birthday, we acknowledge not only her literary achievements but also her courage and vision. Her life was marked by personal trials and societal challenges, many brought about by the scientific advancements that fueled her imagination. Yet she channeled these experiences into profound contributions to literature.
In celebrating Mary Shelley’s birthday, we honor a trailblazer who, though born into a dark and foreboding world, was inspired to write stories that changed the landscape of fiction and brought about the new horror genre, leaving an enduring imprint on our collective imagination.
Happy birthday, Mary Shelley!
Interested in stories that keep you awake at night? Here are a few horror, paranormal, and supernatural stories from Chanticleer authors.
Merging Paths
By Vince Bailey
Series Awards Grand Prize WInner
Having escaped unjust imprisonment at the Fort Grant facility for juveniles, Curtis Jefferson is on the run, inMerging Paths, the third installment of Vince Bailey’s gripping, paranormal, Curtis Jefferson Series.
With only a small jug of water and the clothes on his back, Curtis has to cross the Sonoran Desert and find a way back to his mother and grandmother in Jacobs Well. But his trip is plagued by more than thirst, hunger, and fear of animals. A racist sheriff’s deputy, Myron Aycock, is hellbent on finding Curtis not only for the acclaim such an arrest will give him but also for vengeance against the beating he received at the hands of the aspiring boxer.
The Street Between the Pines
By J.J. Alo
Paranormal [Shelley] Awards Finalist
Something strange and terrible stirs in Frank Cavanaugh’s basement, in J.J. Alo’s psychological-thriller,The Street Between the Pines.
The giant hole at the bottom of Frank’s house wasn’t there before. Something so very ugly and dangerous is down there. Something with bright, glowing eyes. Adrenalin pumps through Frank’s aging body as he scrambles for the exit. Behind him, a low gurgling growl.
The Insane God
By Jay Hartlove
Cygnus Awards Finalist
Sarah, a transgender schizophrenic teenager, has spent the past seven years in a psychiatric ward. When all her symptoms of schizophrenia disappear after receiving a special necklace from a nurse, she must learn to live in a world that moved on without her, in The Insane God by Jay Hartlove.
She receives strange visions of two opposing gods in battle with each other, which Sarah and her brother Nate work together to understand. The reality of these visions threatens to endanger the lives of everyone on Earth unless they change the course of an eternal battle.
Annihilation: Book 2, Gehenna Series
By Kaylin McFarren
Paranormal [Shelley] Awards First Place Winner
Samara Daemonium tries to break free from her father’s control as the realms of Heaven and Hell prepare for war, in Kaylin McFarren’s erotic supernatural novel,Annihilation.
Lucinda, the daughter of Satan, rules Hell with an iron fist. She sits on the throne thanks in part to the angel/demon hybrid Crighton and his angel soulmate Ariel. However, power changed Lucinda. She no longer stands as a brighter future in Hell, but rather as a demagogue driving her demons to rise up in battle against the hosts of Heaven. Crighton struggles between his loyalty to Lucinda, and his responsibility for his family—especially his pregnant soulmate. He doesn’t yet know the depths of Lucinda’s deception.
Tomorrow’s End (Book One)
By G.R. Morris
A cosmic force of evil is rising, come to consume whole worlds and plunge them into darkness. Earth is next, and the only chance for humanity to survive is a pair of young, destined heroes who have no idea what dangers lurk in their future.
Kevin Knight is a sixteen-year-old savior, the warrior foretold in an alien prophecy who will combat the Dragon. He’s also afraid of the dark and suffers the routine abuse of his stepdad. Though his mother Sara insists her son will have a bright future, Kevin refuses to believe it until the day his life is shattered. Kevin comes face to face with aliens, monsters, and a staggering truth about humanity. He must follow Robert’s teachings, an alien Changeling who reveals just as much as he keeps hidden. Oh, Kevin must also face down the very forces of Hell.
Thank you for joining us in celebrating a literary icon, Mary Shelley!
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The 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).
The Short Story Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Short Stories, Collections and Novellas. The Grand Prize Winners, Mack Little’s book, Shelter in A Hostile World and Catherine Brown’s story 
