The M&M Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mystery & Mayhem fiction genre. The M&M Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring “mystery and mayhem,” amateur sleuthing, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, not-so-cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery, perhaps with a touch of romance or humor, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them. (For suspense, thriller, detective, crime fiction see our Clue Awards, and for international intrigue see our Global Thriller Awards)
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 M&M Cozy and Not-So-Cozy entries to the 2021 M&M Book Awards SHORT LIST. These entries are now in competition for 2021 M&M Semi-Finalists. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the Finalists positions.FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.
These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALS of the 2021 M&M Book Awards novel competition for Cozy and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries!
Congratulations to the Mystery & Mayhem 2021 Short Listers!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
Andrew Hunkins –Evil Alive
Michael Scott Garvin –Ophelia’s Room
J.W. Zarek –The Devil Pulls the Strings
Codi Schneider– Cold Snap: A Viking Cat Mystery
Vicki Batman –Temporarily Out of Luck
Lori Roberts Herbst –Double Exposure
Mally Becker –The Turncoat’s Widow
Tina deBellegarde –Winter Witness
Alexander Mukte –The Recruiter
Traci Andrighetti –Marsala Maroon
B.L. Smith –Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business
B.L. Smith –The Irritating Misadventures of Bert Mintenko
Patricia Catacalos –Lurking in the Darkness (1832 Regency Book 4)
Arlene McFarlane –Murder, Curlers & Kilts
Eileen Charbonneau –Death at Little Mound
Elizabeth Crowens –Babs and Basil, and the Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles
Debbie De Louise –No Gravestone Unturned
Mary Gehlen Seifert –Titanic Trial
Charlotte Stuart –Who Me? Fog Bows, Fraud and Aphrodite
Jolie Tunnell –Loveda Brown Sings the Blues
Patrick M. Garry –Through the Waves a Steady Path
Lori Robbins –Murder In First Position
Tony Kelsey –Once A Man Indulges
Patricia C. Lee –First Gear : a Sadie Hawkins Mystery
Cam Lang –The Concrete Vineyard
Chuck Morgan –Crime Unknown, A Buck Taylor Novel
Susan McCormick –The Fog Ladies: Family Matters
Diane Weiner –An Ear for Murder
Darryl Wimberley –A Star in her Crown
Kelly Miller –Accusing Mr. Darcy
Phil Bayly –Loving Lucy
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
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FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.
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.
Time is running out! The 2021 Global Thriller Awards are due in October!
You’re working the puzzle, the patterns you see that no one else pays attention to. You’ve been at it for days, your eyes are burning, your throat dry, when a message notification beeps on your smartphone. You tap to open:
“We know who you are and your time is running out.”
The smartphone beeps again. This time, the message reads:
Turn in your High-Stakes Thriller, your Chillers, your multiple Killers for a chance at the prize! But one thing is certain, if you don’t enter, you won’t have a chance of winning!
The Global Thriller Awards Spotlight
The clock is ticking… you’re working on a deadline while your spouse is across town, picking up the kids. You’ve taken the day off and gone to the cabin. You have to write that last chapter… the one that will get your work noticed, like J.D. Barker or Stephen King kind of noticed.
The Chanticleer Global Thriller Awards recognizes High Stake Thrillers on an International Scale, including Lab Lit. While Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series might be the first thing that comes to mind, there is a wide variety of espionage and mystery that can fit into the Global Thriller genre. One thing is for sure, it will keep you up late, and, if you can sleep, it’ll be with one eye open.
The only certainty is that the competition for this CIBA Division Awards is steep. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites.
The Bucharest Dossier, a Novel by William Maz
Chanticleer Review is forth coming.
Doubt and Debt
By John Feist
Pipelines—large industrial pipelines through which pour oil, gas, and other natural elements—are not the usual stuff that writers tackle for intelligent, sophisticated international high-stakes spy novels. But then again, most writers aren’t John Feist, whose lawyering background in, yes, global pipelines and related industries such as steel, coal, and shipping companies make him the perfect choice to turn these typically pedestrian subjects into absorbing books. His work introduces us to complex issues involving international trade at the highest level, greed, murder, and above all, the intricacies and rewards of multinational, prominent, and sometimes multiracial families.
The Kurdish Connection (Book 1 in the Bedlam Series)
By Randall Krzak
Semi-Finalist in Global Thrillers
International writer Randall Krzak addresses one of the world’s saddest ongoing tragedies in The Kurdish Connection, a thriller about the plight of the Kurdish people and a desperate plan to free them from their fate.
In a world awash with refugees, perhaps no greater tragedy exists than the ongoing fate of the Kurds of the Middle East, roughly 30 million sect members spread between Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Connected by language, religion, and history, this group has no country to call their own. The Kurds have been the subject of several attempts by international agreements to help them create a haven, the most recent in northern Iraq’s no-fly zone. Meanwhile, all four host countries have ruthlessly suppressed Kurdish hopes and dreams politically and especially militarily.
Execute Order
By Jett Ward
First Place Winner in Global Thrillers
On a military base outside Las Vegas, Lieutenant Brent Parker sits in a bunker in a darkened room looking to an outsider to be playing a sophisticated aerial combat video game. But this is no game. People live and die with Parker in control of a lethal drone nicknamed the Reaper flying over forbidden Syrian air space in 2011, striking American enemies on the ground with killer missiles from several miles in the air.
Enemies are one issue, but collateral damage—men, women, children, whole families who die in a missile attack as a side effect of bringing down a terrorist—weighs heavily on Parker’s conscience. It doesn’t help when his ultra-sensitive cameras see the face of a woman who his missile will obliterate as a side effect of bringing down a military-mandated target, a face that haunts him as he leaves the bunker for the clean, and safe, American desert air of Nevada.
The Kafir Project
By Lee Burvine
First Place Winner in Global Thriller Awards
From page one, things are not going as planned on The Kafir Project, and author Lee Burvine has many more surprises in store before this undertaking ends. The action leaps off the page from beginning to the grand finale in this thought-provoking thriller. The villains are well-organized and highly motivated to stop the Project dead, as well as anyone who gets in their way.
Gevin Rees is a television science communicator, a celebrity who explains complex scientific discoveries and theories to television audiences. He interviews guests on specific topics and is surprised the world’s most celebrated and reclusive physicist, Edward Fischer, wants to meet with him. It’s even more curious because Fischer’s death in an explosion had been broadly reported. However, he stands before Gevin Rees and begins to tell a story of intrigue about a secret project on a pier along San Francisco Bay. The story is interrupted with gunfire. This time there is no doubt that Fischer is dead. Now on the run, Gevin Rees is a new target.
Former CIA agent and all around badass, Lee Carruthers, returns for the thrilling third book in the series, Hong Kong Central by Marilynn Larew.
Lee is looking forward to some well-earned downtime, so when her ex-boss and mentor, Sidney Worthington calls with another job, Lee is not amused. During her previous mission, people tried to kill her—multiple times. All she really wants right now is some serious R&R. However, she is the gal who will never say “no” to a job. And besides, Worthington swears it’s an easy gig.
Bishop’s Law
By Rafael Amadeus Hines
First Place Winner in Global Thriller Awards
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. This is the code that John Bishop, one of America’s most decorated military heroes, teaches his men to follow whether they’re on a mission in the heat of the Middle East or in the jungle that is New York’s Lower East Side in Rafael Amadeus Hines’ novel, Bishop’s Law.
To say his life is complicated is putting it mildly. In this second volume of the John Bishop series, several high-level assassins are hell-bent on killing him for his actions as a soldier. At the same time, he’s deep in his crime family’s military-style battles against various opponents’ groups. All these forces are closing in on him simultaneously, even as the United States government had hired him and his family to protect the country from bad guys using whatever means necessary.
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 availablehere.
And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn morehere.
If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Reviewhereor to one of our Chanticleer International Awardshere.
Also remember! Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today! CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!
The Gertrude Warner Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Middle Grade Fiction. The Gertrude Warner Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Contemporary Middle Grade, SFF & Paranormal Middle Grade, Mystery Middle Grade, Historical Middle Grade, Adventure Middle Grade, and Graphic Novels. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. For Young Adult Fiction see our Dante Rossetti Awards here and for Children’s Literature see our Little Peeps Awards here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Gertrude Warner Middle Grade Fiction entries to the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Gertrude Warner Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the FINALIST positions. Finalists will be selected from the Short List. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.
These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Gertrude Warner Book Awards novel competition for Middle Grade Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Didem Saracel – Story of Carbon
Didem Saracel – Story of Oxygen
Ryan O’Connor – Ting Ting, the Girl Who Saved China
Clayton Marshall Adams – The Mask
Mary K. Savarese – The Girl in the Toile Wallpaper
Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
McKemie Huston – Return of the Last Prism
M.L. Smith – Serious Business on Albatross Lane
B.L. Smith – Irritating Adventures on Albatross Lane
K.P. Boardman – The Falling Sisters
Murray Richter – Fishing for Luck
J. B. Spector – The Sunlit Curse, Book 1 of The Mer-Prince Adventures
J. B. Spector – The Amethyst Tower, Book 2 of The Mer-Prince Adventures
Sean March – Little Wade and Watchtower: Abigail and the Great Gang Trap
Ronnie Swire Siegel – Displaced: A Story About Climate Change and How Displaced Animals Ring the Alarm
James Love – Max Voltage: Multiverse Mayhem
Ben Gartner – Sol Invictus
Esta Lemon – The Loser Blog
KS Mitchell – The Mystery of the Golden Ball: Pen & Quin International Agents of Intrigue
D. H. Timpko – The Firma Twins and the Flute of Enchantment
Susan McCormick – The Antidote
Raea Gragg – Mup
Gloria Two-Feathers – Buck Keeper of the Meadow
Barbara Glazier-Robinson – Grace from Space: A Race to Save Earth(Dream Catcher Series, Book One)
Jay Spencer – The Phantom Airplane Mystery
Laura Gerhardt Schonberg – Joker
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle Grade Fiction. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.
FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.
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.
A triumphant treasure in the bustling world of children’s literature, Heather Pallotta’s Wishes and Kisses is a work of art that will let every child who experiences it know that they are greatly loved and how magical they make the lives of the people around them.
In the world of Wishes and Kisses, we are all made of sunshine and love, wishes and kisses, and how our uniqueness makes us perfectly us. Children will learn that some days will bring warmth and wiggles and others they may feel down and not quite themselves, but that all of these feelings are okay. The story reminds children (and adults) to fly high and follow their dreams to the stars.
Heather Pallotta has been an artist since 1999 and was inspired to create children’s books by her children. She aims to teach confidence, love, uniqueness, and endless possibilities through her highly imaginative books.
It is beyond doubt that Wishes and Kisses was written with an abundance of love for her children by watching their growing imaginations and exploration of themselves and the world around them.
The illustrations, also drawn by the author, are simply stunning, beautifully reflecting the thoughts and feelings of the story itself. Parents and children will love these beautiful drawings and the uplifting message that will surely inspire the next generation of readers and artists.
Pallotta has other stories within the world of Wishes and Kisses to come, the first being Ruler of Daffodils.
Wishes and Kisses won 1st Place in the CIBA 2017 Little Peeps Awards for Children’s Literature and may be downloaded for free here.
In Peggy Sullivan’s award-winning book, The Moon and Star: Lessons From a Cat, readers learn how a charming, tiny white cat finds solace in her connection with the Moon as she goes through life’s challenges and changes.
Star lives happily with a tall girl and two other cats. She runs, dances, and hunts for goldfish in a backyard pond. But this mindful cat soon realizes that life is full of unpredictable circumstances. Though she moves to a college town and has new and fun experiences, Star feels sad when she loses a feline friend, even more so when the tall girl goes off on her adventures.
Luckily Star is a cat with an attraction to the Moon. Its magical glow helps the little cat gain a sense of calm. The peacefulness Star feels stays with her, regardless of changes in her life or surroundings. Though Star and the tall girl move many more times, this sensitive cat realizes the light of the Moon offers a unique sense of serenity wherever her journey takes her.
In the first story, Midnight and Moonlight, Sullivan focuses on friendship and differences.
In this next adventure, the author shows us positive and relatable life lessons explored through the eyes of our furry friends and shares them in a gentle and entertaining format. While it can be challenging to write for a young audience and tell a well-crafted story with little words, humor, and grace, all while relating a universal message, Sullivan has the knack. Her background and experience as a mental health counselor and child advocate make for a rich and holistic reading experience.
As in all of Sullivan’s Children’s books, the images match magnificently with the story.
Here the text is easily followed, and accompanying drawings feature the colorful antics of an adorable, big blue-eyed Star. Several images of this gentle little cat pondering a quiet respite beneath the night’s starry, moonlit sky are sure to help deliver an essential message to youngsters. Ultimately the Moon serves as Star’s sanctuary and ideally reveals to readers that small moments of comfort and joy surround us if we just take the time to look.
From humble beginnings in rural Ohio, fifteen-year-old Annie Oakley becomes a household name when she competes in a sharpshooting competition against the renowned marksman Frank Butler. Her life changes wildly from that day on in Kari Bovée’s mystery novel, Girl With a Gun: An Annie Oakley Mystery.
Colonel Cody, also known as Buffalo Bill, asks Annie Oakley to join the Wild West Show after the event. While reluctant to leave her family – who need her support – she can help them a lot more with an impressive salary. Annie becomes the new star of the traveling show.
Along with her beloved horse Buck, Annie settles into the Wild West Show lifestyle. She immediately befriends her tent-mate Kimi and her infant daughter Winona. When Kimi turns up dead soon after, Annie suspects that something more sinister than a tragic accident killed her. She begins investigating the matter herself when no one else will. As she looks into the murder, her horse Buck and others around the camp fall ill, and it seems like someone is trying to hurt Annie and her standing in the Wild West Show. Can she figure out who wants her gone and what happened to Kimi before the murderer can strike again?
Girl with a Gun brings readers right into its historical setting, with memorable figures like Buffalo Bill, Frank Butler, and of course the protagonist Annie Oakley. The real-life facts and chronology of Annie’s life change and move around for the sake of the story, as Kari Bovée adds to the historical fiction genre with a fun mystery series that reimagines the life of the talented sharpshooter.
Annie first appears as a loveable and relatable character, and her depth becomes clear as the story continues.
Fictional news headlines reflect the story’s events in exciting tones. These headlines add flavor to the drama and underlining mystery the characters face, and reflect the public’s opinion of the conflicts within the traveling Wild West Show.
Annie’s character defines the story around her. She cares deeply for her family and friends, and strives to protect them. Readers will get wrapped up in the trials and tribulations she faces at every turn, including a whirlwind romance.
The Goethe Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in post-1750s Historical Fiction. The Goethe Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
The Goethe Book Awards competition is named for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was born at the dawn of the new era of enlightenment on August 28, 1749.
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring Late Period Historical Fiction. Regency, Victorian, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, World and other wars before the 20th century, history of non-western cultures, set after the 1750s, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them. For 20th century Wartime Fiction, see our new Hemingway Awards here.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Goethe Late Historical Fiction entries to the 2021 Goethe Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Goethe Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.
These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Goethe Book Awards novel competition for Post-1750s Historical Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Sandra Vasoli – The Masterpiece Pursuit
J.G. Schwartz – The Curious Spell of Madam Genova
Andrew Schafer, M.D. – Unclean Hands
Leah Angstman – Falcon in the Dive
Margaret Rodenberg – Finding Napoleon: A Novel
Anna Bullock – The Companion
Margaret Porter – The Limits of Limelight
Pamela Nowak – Never Let Go
Michael J. Coffino – Truth Is in the House
Georgia Nicolle – Maiden Scars
Paula Butterfield – The Goddesses of Tenth Street
Adele Holmes, M.D. – Winter’s Reckoning
Tammy Pasterick – Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash
Ron Singerton – The Refused
Alice McVeigh – Susan: A Jane Austen Prequel
Jodi Lea Stewart – Triumph, a Novel of the Human Spirit
S. Lee Fisher – Becoming Olive W. – The Women of Campbell County: Family Saga: Book 1
Victoria Laurienzo – Toolie
Drema Drudge – Victorine
Sophia Alexander – Silk: Caroline’s Story
Lorelei Brush – Chasing the American Dream
Lee Hutch – Molly’s Song
Julie Weary – Skeleton World
Orna Ross – After the Rising & Before the Fall
Alfred Nicols – Lost Love’s Return
Glen Craney – The Cotillion Brigade: A Novel of the Civil War and the Most Famous Female Militia in American History
Bryan Ney – Absaroka War Chief
Emmett J Hall – Runaway
Jenni L. Walsh – A Betting Woman: A Novel of Madame Moustache
Dana Mack – All Things That Deserve to Perish
Pamela Hamilton – Lady Be Good
Adriana Girolami – The Zamindar’s Bride
Lori McMullen – Among the Beautiful Beasts
Mike Jordan – The Freedom Song
Florence Reiss Kraut – How to Make a Life: a novel
Kathleen Williams Renk – Vindicated: A Novel of Mary Shelley
Michelle Rene – Maud’s Circus
J. E. Dyer – Barons
Judith Berlowitz – Home So Far Away
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
We are now accepting submissions into the 2022 Goethe Book Awards for Post-1750s Historical Fiction. The 2022 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2023.
FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.
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.
The Chatelaine Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Romantic Fiction. The Chatelaine Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best new books featuring romantic themes and adventures of the heart, historical love affairs, perhaps a little steamy romance, and stories that appeal especially to fans of affairs of the heart to compete in the Chatelaine Book Awards (the CIBAs). We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.
These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2021 Chatelaine Romantic Fiction entries to the 2021 Chatelaine Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2021 Chatelaine Shortlist. The Short Listers will compete for the Finalist positions. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).
The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 24 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.
We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference–whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person.
These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2021 Chatelaine Book Awards novel competition for Romantic Fiction!
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2021 CIBAs.
Jayne Castel – Highlander Deceived
Anna Gomez and Kristoffer Polaha – Moments Like This
Valerie Taylor – What’s Not Said — A Novel
Lindy Miller – Aloha With Love
Alex Sirotkin – The Long Desert Road
Evie Alexander – Highland Games
Jared Morrison – Of Dreams and Angels
M. C. Bunn – Where Your Treasure Is
A.D. Brazeau – Love Between the Lines
Chera Thompson & NF Johnson – A Time to Wander
A. L. Cleven – Running Into Mountains
Meredith Pechta – Political Theatre
Brooke Skipstone – Crystal’s House of Queers
Bobbi Groover – Inside the Grey
Pierre G. Porter – 49 So Fine
Liz Whitehurst – Messenger
Elizabeth St. Michel – Surrender the Storm
Susan Faw – Bone Dragon
Kelle Z. Riley – Read My Lips
Kana Wu – No Secrets Allowed
John W. Feist – The Color of Rain
Chris Karlsen – The Ack Ack Girl
Edie Cay – The Boxer and the Blacksmith
Emily A. Myers – The Truth About Unspeakable Things
Frannie James – The Sylvan Hotel, A Seattle Story
Deborah Swenson – Till My Last Breath, Book One in the Desert Hills Trilogy
Adriana Girolami – The Zamindar’s Bride
Phillip Vega – Searching for Sarah
Emma Lombard – Discerning Grace
F. E. Greene – In the Sweet Midwinter
HK Jacobs – Wilde Type
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.
FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.
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.
Peggy Sullivan’s Midnight and Moonlight: A Children’s Picture Book is a delightful and inspiring book about a friendship that develops between two very different four-footed felines.
Midnight and Moonlight are two well-named cats on opposite sides of the spectrum. Like night and day, Midnight is small, sleek, and black, while Moonlight is big, white, and fluffy. They first meet at a pet store, then they are taken to the same home where they quickly become friends, even though their differences are many.
Moonlight appears the quieter and more passive one; Midnight is a more active and curious type with a sweet tooth and penchant for doughnuts. When the furry pair and their human owners move to a new house, the cats settle in quite nicely, still maintaining their individuality. Midnight does make friends on the outside with an orange Tabby, but Moonlight remains his best friend.
Sullivan’s clear and concise text and whimsical illustrations work in perfect harmony to attract early readers.
While the solid and direct narrative of Midnight and Moonlight flows easily, the charming visual accents like a shared yellow food dish, a bright blue moving van, and a lime green tuna can, add a colorful and complementary touch.
With the story’s relatable message about friendships beyond differences and personal likes and dislikes, the book lends itself well for an ideal read between a parent and child, or perhaps a teacher and young students in a classroom setting. Here a fun and entertaining animal tale offers an opportunity for further discussion about unlikely friendships that can form in all walks of life, whether in the human or animal realm.
The book’s final words prove a true testament to the story’s heartfelt sentiment about friendships.
Ultimately, Sullivan’s well-crafted picture book delivers a positive, thought-provoking, and enlightening message for all ages. A message perfect for today. Midnight and Moonlight: A Children’s Picture Book by Peggy Sullivan won the CIBA Little Peeps Grand Prize for Children’s Literature – and comes highly recommended!
One of the most frequent questions we hear at Chanticleer is “What division should I submit my story to?” All our divisions are divided by genre and sub-genres. Some can be pretty tricky to parse. For example, is your mystery novel a Not-So-Cozy Mystery, a Thriller, or a Global Thriller?
First a breakdown on our Awards program genres, and then let’s talk about why it’s important for authors to understand their own genre.
The Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs)
We currently have 24 different divisions! Six of those are Non-Fiction, and the other 18 are some flavor of Fiction. You can see all of our Awards Divisions here. We’ll start with a focus more on the general sections on our website which are as follows:
Speculative Fiction
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Young Adult or Children’s Literature
Historical Fiction
Literary and Contemporary
Romantic Fiction
And, of course, Non-Fiction
Remember we have the Shorts and Series Awards, too, but both of those focus within these genres above. There’s a huge swath of other genres, hence each of the above categories being broken into at least three different genres, but that’s a good place to start.
The Complete Aubrey – Maturin Novels Set – 21 complete novels – Kiffer likes how the covers create a scene. And, yes, she has read the complete series.
Patrick O’Brien’s Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin series crosses many genres: Historical fiction, action/adventure fiction, romance (yes, romance), military fiction, etc.
The series starts in 1800 with the Napoleonic Wars and carries through to the Battle of Waterloo in late 1815.
Some say Aubrey and Maturin are the inspiration for “inseparable fictional duos” such as Kirk and Spock of the original Star Trek TV series (79 episodes) by Gene Roddenberry, Holmes and Watson sixty stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of the award-winning Navajo Nation mystery series by Tony Hillerman, and Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear of theLongmire novel series.
Understanding Genre:
When writing in general, it helps to think of your work in terms of different points of view. Often English teachers will refer to this as the Rhetorical Situation of your writing, which comes in the following parts:
Audience: Who will be reading it? This is more than people who buy your book, but also your writing group, beta readers, professional editors you pay, agents, publishing editors, bookstore employees, and then the specific people to who your book will appeal.
Medium: Quite literally what is it written on and how it is delivered. Paper, ebook, audiobook, graphic novels, hybrid.
Message: What it says
Genre: The conventions and context regarding how this information is typically presented
Purpose: The intention of the writing
Naturally, we’re going to focus on Genre here.
Take a moment and consider this question: What is Genre? It may even be worth pausing to write down your thoughts before continuing.
It’s a little more complicated than “Apples and Oranges”
In “Dukes, Deaths, and Dragons: Editing Genre Fiction” from What Editors Do, Tor Executive Editor Diana Gill Diana Gill asks the same question, and she provides her own answer:
“What is genre? Merriam-Webster defines it as ‘a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.’ Genres of fiction include mystery, science fiction, romance, fantasy, westerns, erotica, and horror. Genre fiction can be commercial, it can be literary—and it can be both.”
A quick internet search shows that there are typical standards for most genres when it comes to word count, which can help when plotting or editing your work. Let’s look at that genre list from before, but add in word counts:
You can read up on some more of the general rules of genre in this older, but still worthwhile blog from Ruth Harris here.
Standard word counts for different genres are important to keep in mind as knowing how long your novel is affects your storytelling!
Speculative Fiction 90,000-120,000
Mystery 70,000-90,000
Young Adult 50,000-80,000 (much shorter for Early Readers and Middle Grade)
History 100,000
Literary 100,000
Romance, 50,000 + (shorter is usually better for romance)
Non-Fiction is a little too varied to put a fine point on it. George Saunders tells his reader in A Swim in a Pond in the Rain that he received “the Cornfeld Principle” from movie producer Stuart Cornfeld, which states:
“[E]very structural unit needs to do two things: (1) be entertaining in its own right and (2) advance the story in a non-trivial way.”
George Saunders
If your story is excessively long, it may be worth it to look at entire chapters and ask yourself that question. At best, you may find out you have two books, or as we have seen here at Chanticleer, three books instead of one, but no matter what happens your story will probably be stronger for it.
A reminder from Kiffer: Remember each chapter should have its own story arc and should end in such a way that the reader can’t wait to indulge in the next chapter as the story develops its overall arc.
Each story within a series should contain a portion of the overall arc of the series.
This works for whatever genre or genre’s you are working in—even those with fractured time-lines.
What is the point of genre, or, put another way, who uses genre?
This goes back to the question of Audience when we consider a book. Remember who we said might be reading this with an eye toward genre:
Your Writing Circle
Beta Readers
Professional Editors
Agents
Publishing Editors
Bookstore employees
Distributors (the gauntlet of a successful sales strategy)
ISBN – & Cataloging
Library of Congress
Copyright
Your Readers!
While understanding the genre can help you with narrative conventions and writing decisions, writing in a genre also establishes an unspoken contract between you and the reader. If you break the contract, your readers might be a little frustrated with you. That said, common forms of genre blending can be found in Young Adult Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, and Romance Fiction.
You might be asking why on earth you would need to even bother with a genre when all you want to do is reach your readers directly. Well, there’s a simple answer…
Marketing! Marketing! Marketing!
What will you do to help your book be discovered?
Knowing your genre not only helps you understand the conventions (like length) for what you are writing, but it also helps readers find your book. Think about when you go into a bookstore. Is there a section you automatically beeline for? Do you look to see if they’ve separated out Horror from SciFi and Fantasy instead of putting it all in Speculative Fiction? Are you a frequent peruser of the Local Author shelves? Having clear sections and genres (even more abstract ones like Local Authors) helps to orient your reader to best find your book!
Author Platform = Discoverability
In spite of how having a clear genre can help book sales, we often hear is that someone’s book defies genre, or it can only be described as the most literary fiction around, or it just doesn’t fit one of the 24 Awards divisions we offer. Well, those authors aren’t alone in that feeling.
An interesting example of this is Kazuo Ishiguro’s book The Buried Giant. Ishiguro seemed to be reluctant to call the book fantasy, and indeed you’ll find it in the general fiction section of most book stores. (The same is true for his book Klara and the Sun, which is narrated by a robot, but somehow not science fiction.) Ursula K. LeGuin, a fervent champion of genre fiction, had this to say:
“Familiar folktale and legendary ‘surface elements’ in Mr Ishiguro’s novel are too obvious to blink away, but since he is a very famous novelist, I am sure reviewers who share his prejudice will never suggest that he has polluted his authorial gravitas with the childish whims of fantasy.” (Read the full Guardian article detailing this here)
The Brilliant Ursula K. Le Guin
So What Does Genre Do?
Genre is a form of categorization that helps people sell your books. Ishiguro, as the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature can sell work on his name alone. And using a genre isn’t so bad! Think about times that you’ve queried for your manuscripts or even when you see people pitching their work on Twitter’s #pitmad event. You see books advertised saying:
The next Harry Potter!
Jack Reacher fans have found their new series!
Friends of Tolkien fantasy will be happy here!
Perfect for Star Trek and Star Wars fans alike!
While these claims may be less original than agents and publishers would like, they get the idea of genre across, and if you’re familiar with those titles you know exactly the kinds of books being described without even reading a summary.
Then there is the advice of J.D. Barker, Master of Suspense
CROSSING GENRES and WHY YOU SHOULD DO IT!
J.D. Barker asked his attendees at his presentation at a Chanticleer Authors Conference session, “What do you write? Thrillers? Mysteries? Paranormal?”
Hands were flying up. Then he asked, “Horror?” Sharon Anderson’s hand flew up. He looked at her for a couple of seconds and said, “I guess you’ll be happy with not making much money, then.”
Say What?
He went on to explain how authors limit their audiences when they use certain words. Horror, it turns out, is one of those words. Many people read thrillers, quite a few read mystery novels, and who doesn’t like a good paranormal? But when you say “horror,” people tend to shy away. Sure, you’ll get your fans. But, as Barker adroitly pointed out, you may not get those readers who love the other genres – and would most likely love what you have to offer, too.
This is important because your horror novel may contain elements of a thriller – why wouldn’t it? Likewise, your novel probably has a storyline that needs solving. The point J.D. was making is this – don’t scare away your readers by telling them your novel is only one thing. Think carefully about your marketing and promote your work in such a way as to garner the largest appeal. (Read the full interview with J.D. in our magazine.)
JD Barker presents at CACs and VCACs.
Having a flexible genre that fits into a more popular one (consider paranormal and horror or paranormal and romance) has the potential to greatly expand your readership.
If you’re having trouble identifying your genre and need another pair of eyes on your work, you can always sign up for one of our Manuscript Overviews here.
Keep an eye out!
Did you enjoy this article? We’re planning on doing a series breaking down the ins and outs of different genres in a series of Genre Deep Dives to help you know if your work is a police procedural or a cozy mystery – or whatever else you might be writing!
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Tools of the Editing Trade
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