Tag: #CIBAwards

  • The 2024 Chatelaine Hall of Fame for Romance Fiction

    Need some Love in your life?

    The Chatelaine Awards are here to bring you the best in Romance Fiction.

    **Send us your Story Today**

    It is a truth Universally acknowledged that a Reader in search of a book, must be in want of a good Romance.

    Romance Fiction Chatelaine Award

    Other Divisions may have categories for Romantic themes, but if you want purely Romance, look no further! Historical to Modern, Steamy (Not Spicy) to Clean, even throw in some adventure, We’ve got it all!

    Join us in celebrating These recent Grand Prize Winners of the Chatelaine Award!

    A Sea of Glass

    By Gail Avery Halverson

    In this rich, absorbing tale, Gail Avery Halverson continues the remarkable saga of Lady Catherine Abbott and Simon McKensie that began with the multiple award-winning novels, The Boundary Stone and The Skeptical Physick. Sweeping us from a quaint village in England to Colonial Boston and to the beautiful evils of 17th century Barbados, Gail Avery Halverson has once again written a truly compelling and unforgettable novel.

    After a heartbreaking tragedy, Catherine yearns for the safety and familiarity England, but when a free, black woman attempts to accomplish the unthinkable, Catherine is forced to decide where her future lies.

    When a daring investment in the lucrative 17th century Barbados sugar trade takes a horrifying turn, Simon must at last set his dedication for medicine and scientific discovery aside and face the true ugliness of slavery.

    Joining the multitude of courageous souls in the first waves of the Great Migration from England to America, Simon and Catherine McKensie lay witness to the forging of a new country, the first seeds of violent rebellion against the Crown, and the bitter tentacles of a slave trade just beginning to take root.

    Read it here!

    You can read the review for the first book in the series here!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man

    By Reenita Malhotra Hora

    Master storyteller Reenita Malhotra Hora’s YA romance Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man takes us on a charming journey through the life of one teen, Ila Isham.

    Hora introduces Ila and her best friend Deepali, two boy-crazy teens on a summer quest. Readers will fall in love with the smart, sassy, angst-filled, rebellious Ila. A typical teenage girl, Ila lives in Mumbai with her mom and Sakkubai, their house manager. Ila’s mother calls her obsessed, but that seems unfair. Is she obsessed just because her every waking minute is spent thinking of Ali Zafar, famous pop icon, singer, and heartthrob? Or is she obsessed with fellow classmate Dev?

    No, Ila couldn’t be taken with Dev because he’s one of three young men that her best friend Deepali is juggling in her summer experiment of exploring her “feminine mystique.” This turn of phrase becomes just one of many opportunities for Hora’s humor to shine as Ila remarks, “That’s a book by Gloria Steinem . . . no Betty Friedan.” Deepali’s response? “Yaar. Don’t be so literal.” The delightful balance between Ila’s book smarts versus Deepali’s street smarts carries us through Hora’s expertly crafted story.

    Read More Here

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    The Long Desert Road

    By Alex Sirotkin

    The Long Desert Road Cover

    Alex Sirotkin’s debut novel, The Long Desert Road, navigates the emotional arcs of life in contrast with the greater expanse of the cosmos. Here a young woman must face her addictions while the people around her try to move beyond her backlash.

    We meet Henry Spinoza, a 44-year-old quirky science writer. He ponders his life as half over, looks for the right woman, and wonders if there isn’t more to existence.

    For twenty years, Henry, a science writer, has been researching a non-fiction book on the universe that he intends to write. Henry’s feeling “bored, boring, and budget-conscious…the trifecta of gloom,” as he puts it. But in the middle of this ennui, his sister-in-law invites him to dinner, along with her divorced friend, Isabel Dalton, an attorney, and “the setup is afoot.”

    Read More Here

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    When The Wind Chimes

    By Mary Ting

    Cover of When the Wind Chimes by Mary Ting

    In When the Wind Chimes by international best-selling author Mary Ting, Kate Summers wants to make this Christmas extra-special for her older sister, Abby, and four-year-old nephew.

    A year ago, she’d given up Christmas with her family to spend the holiday with her boyfriend, Jayden, whom she had caught cheating on her the next day. Not only is she hoping to erase that memory, but she also has another even more important reason to make this Christmas special.  A few months after her disastrous break-up with Jayden, her brother-in-law, Steve, passed away from cancer, so Abby and Tyler will be spending their first Christmas alone.

    After taking a leave from her job as a graphic designer in LA, Kate flies to Poipu, Kauai, determined to make this an amazing holiday, but on her way to her sister’s house, she meets a mysterious man, who gives up his cab for her. Kate can’t get the handsome stranger out of her head, and when she sees him again in her sister’s art gallery–and destroys his expensive shirt with paint–she is both mortified and excited.

    Read More Here

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    The Skeptical Physick

    By Gail Avery Halverson

    In the second in a series by author Halverson, an aristocratic, intellectually curious young woman has fallen in love with a young physician, a commoner whose radical experimentations have jeopardized his reputation. The couple is just recovering from the professional and personal rigors of dealing with London’s plague victims when the city is overwhelmed by fire. Their services are needed now more than ever.

    Supported by mentor hospital administrator Father Hardwicke in his medical endeavors, Simon McKensie is finally on the verge of marrying the woman he adores, Catherine Abbott. Even the wealthy, protective Aunt Viola has come to terms with the fact that, though she might not approve the match on social grounds, she sees that Catherine will be happy with Simon.

    Read more here!


    Remember to add your next reads to your StoryGraph or Goodreads account! Now that you’re set on your next five reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Chatelaine Winners is to submit today! 

    The gold Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards Overall Grand Prize Sticker

    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! Here are some recent achievements from our authors:

    Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

  • 10 Days Left! The 2024 Chatelaine, Shorts and Gertrude Warner Awards close at the end of August!

    Three Divisions Close at the end of August

    The Chatelaine, Shorts, and Gertrude Warner Awards Badges

    Three excellent divisions close at the end of August!

    Don’t let your book miss out!

    Only 10 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!

    The Chatelaine Awards for Romantic Fiction, The Shorts Awards, and the Gertrude Warner Awards for Middle Grade Fiction are still open!

    Best Book Grand Prize for the Chanticleer Int'l Book AwardsCongratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Chatelaine Award for Romance!

    book award for Romance Novels The Chatelaine Awards
    Enter here!
    • T.K. Conklin – Guarded Hearts
    • Bonnie Rose Ward – Loving Beth
    • S.G. Blaise – Proud Pada
    • Morgan Sloan – Stableshoes
    • Rose Prendeville – Mistress Mackintosh and the Shaw Wretch

    And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Chatelaine Grand Prize Winner:

    A Sea of Glass by Gail Avery Halverson

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Shorts Awards!

    Enter here!

    Novellas, Collections and Essays:

    • Paper Lantern Writers – Unlocked
    • Elizabeth Rau – The Good Slope
    • Seán Thomas Dwyer – Tiptoeing Past the Dragon
    • Mary Ann Bernal – AnaRose and the Templar’s Quest
    • JuJu – The Costly Wish
    • Gary Baysinger – A Kind of Homecoming

    And Short Stories:

    • A.J. McCarthy – The Strike
    • Brian Feutz – Pity the Peasants
    • Logan D. Irons – Bridge of Kings
    • Marie SutroSon Down
    • Robert S Phillips – The Great River
    • S.M. Stevens – The Wallace House of Pain

    And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Shorts Awards Grand Prize Winners:

    Shelter in A Hostile World by Mack Little

    The Heart of Kublai Khans Menagerie Keeper
    A manuscript by Catherine Brown

    Blue and Gold Badge Recognizing The Heart of Kublai Khan's Menagerie Keeper by Catherine Brown for winning the 2023 Shorts- Short Prose Grand Prize

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Congratulations to the 2023 Winners of the Gertrude Warner Awards!

    The Boxcar Children from the famed series by Gertrude Warner
    Enter here!
    • Alex Paul – The Amarrat Invasion
    • Chris Norbury – Little Mountain, Big Trouble
    • Liese Sherwood-Fabre – Wilhelmina Quigley: Magic School Dropout
    • Kevin Dunn – Vicious is My Middle Name
    • Alisse Lee Goldenberg & Joseph Goldenberg – Lucky At Bat
    • Ben Gartner – One Giant Leap
    • Sue C Dugan – SOS

    And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Gertrude Warner Grand Prize Winner:

    Exostar: The Lost Space Treasure Series Book 1 by Rae Knightly

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs (Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards)

    We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.

    Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025) where Winners from all 25 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.

    In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.

    Let’s celebrate exceptional storytelling together!

    The Chatelaine, Shorts, and Gertrude Warner Awards Badges

    The Chatelaine Awards, The Shorts Awards, and The Gertrude Warner Awards

    Your book deserves to be discovered

     

  • The 2023 Chatelaine Awards First Place Roundup for Romance Fiction!

    Romance Fiction Chatelaine AwardThe Chatelaine Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Romantic Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Gail Avery Halverson’s book, A Sea of Glass will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Chatelaine contest page year ’round!

    The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

    The 2023 Chatelaine 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 Chatelaine Winners!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    T.K. Conklin – Guarded Hearts

    Guarded Hearts Cover

    When a simple touch can hurt or heal, do they dare take a chance on love?

    LaRisa spent her life as the town outcast. Whispered to be a witch, she grew and sold healing herbs to the very people that shunned her. Because of the special ability she was cursed with at birth, she fears touching others. She knew she was destined to be a spinster, until she meets a man that isn’t afraid of her.

    The beautiful auburn haired witch instantly enchanted Strykes, but he knew he shouldn’t fall in love with her. Haunted by his past and of what he could become, makes him leery of love. Though his hands ache to caress her, he is afraid he will hurt her. Or worse.

    When his outlaw past catches up to him and sends them running for their lives, the love between them grows. As well as their fears.

    From Chanticleer:

    Guarded Hearts by T K Conklin is a sensual romance in the Wild West, with all the passion and excitement natural to the setting.

    Sparks fly between a man with an outlaw past and a woman with a terrifying gift to heal or harm. Strykes is a man haunted both by a violent childhood and his time in an outlaw gang. But he has found a place in Rimrock, where he met LaRisa, an auburn-haired woman whom the townspeople have labeled a “witch” due to her healing herbs and rumors of her “powers”.

    Read More Here

    Find it Locally or on Amazon

    Bonnie Rose Ward – Loving Beth

    Loving Beth Cover

     

    Beth McCullough struggles to keep her West Virginia farm and care for two abandoned children, but the bank is threatening foreclosure, someone is threatening her life, and the man she’s falling for has closed his heart to love. But God works in mysterious ways.

    Times were hard after Beth McCullough’s father died in the Civil War, but she and her mother are getting by on their little farm outside Rosewood, West Virginia. The kindly banker holding the loan lets them pay what they can. Then Beth’s mother dies suddenly, and the banker’s arrogant son gives her only thirty days to pay her full debt. Beth is left alone and lonely and fears losing the only home she’s ever known. It would be nice to have someone in her life like Jacob, the handsome man who found her mother. Then to her horror, Beth discovers two small children who’ve been abandoned. It’s one more thing for her to worry about, but Beth has to keep faith in God’s ability to work miracles.

    From Chanticleer:

    In Loving Beth, a Christian historical romance by Bonnie Rose Ward, a young woman finds herself in dire straits when her widowed mother dies unexpectedly.

    Beth’s father had taken out loans to improve their property, but he was killed in the Civil War, leaving his wife and daughter to struggle to keep up with the payments. Now, Beth is alone without any means to keep her home—finding and taking in two young, abandoned children certainly doesn’t help. But even amidst her troubles, Beth’s thoughts keep going back to the mysterious and handsome stranger who found and brought home the body of her mother.

    Life is not easy in her tiny settlement in West Virginia, and young, pretty Beth finds that it is not about to get any easier. The new banker holds a grudge toward her for having rejected his advances, and the man’s snobbish wife is determined to make Beth’s life even more miserable. The loans that Beth and her mother worked to pay each month are suddenly due in full— but the banker’s unwanted and ugly advances are foiled with the appearance of the mysterious stranger.

    Read More Here

    Find it on Amazon

    S.G. Blaise – Proud Pada

    Lilla is on her next mission as a Sybil, when she must travel to the Pada world following the trail of a ruthless murderer.

    Navigating deadly politics turns increasingly difficult, when the Teryn emperor goes missing.

    Now the Teryn empire is heading towards civil war, and Lilla must uncover who is behind the conspiracy before it’s too late.

    Unfortunately her success depends on the Proud Pada.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Jo Morgan Sloan- Stableshoes

    This LGBT+ Retelling of Cinderella isn’t out yet, but has a release date of July 2025, and we are very excited to see this book come out!

    Prince Darian has met all the requirements necessary to claim his father’s throne; at least, he thinks he has, until his sinister cousin Bertram reveals a law that states Darian must marry by his twenty-fifth birthday, or lose the crown.

    With only four weeks to find a bride, Darian turns to his beautiful, irreverent, clever friend Ashley for help before a grand ball is to be thrown in his honor. But there is another who catches the prince’s eye: living in perpetual silence is Eric, the stronghold stableman, whose kindness disrupts Darian’s plans to hide his nature.

    Each day that passes is another day closer to Bertram’s takeover, and he’s counting on Darian to fail. While Eric has the prince’s heart, the stableman also carries a secret mark that could jeopardize Darian’s claim to the throne. To protect the nation he loves from a tyrant, Prince Darian must choose between true love and living a lie.

    For more Information, check out the authors website

    Rose Prendeville – Mistress Mackintosh and the Shaw Wretch

    In 1725, a secret convent has been established on the Aberdeenshire coast.Jory Mackintosh is more excited by healing herbs than husbands or holy prayers. She craves freedom—and a chance to sneak into medical school. Instead, on the eve of her escape, she becomes an unwilling pawn in her family’s schemes with a rival clan.

    Finlay Shaw, the disgraced younger brother of the laird, has spent ten long years atoning for his past failures, but nothing can wash away the stain of fratricide. When the clans order him to escort Jory to her new life as a nun, thus securing an alliance with the freshly formed Black Watch, it’s his last chance for redemption. Too bad for Finn, Jory has no intention of following orders.

    Trapped on the road together, often with only one bed between them, the two butt heads and match wits, forced to acknowledge the dark shadows that have haunted them both for years. Can they learn to trust each other, and themselves, to fly in the face of their families’ wishes, or will they choose the solitary futures they always believed they deserve in this unorthodox runaway bride story?

    Find it Locally or on Amazon


    Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2023 Chatelaine First Place Winners!

    Romance Fiction Chatelaine Award

    You can see our Spotlight on the Chatelaine Grand Prize Winners, including Gail Avery Halverson’s incredible book A Sea of Glass here.

    Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    Got a great Fiction Book? The 2024 Chatelaine Book Awards are open through the end of August!

    Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest
    Submit to the Chatelaine Awards Today!
  • The 2024 Chatelaine Spotlight for Romance Fiction!

    End the Summer with a little Romance

    The Chatelaine Award submissions close at the End of August!

    Just like the many objects hanging from a Chatelaine, Romance Fiction can have many different types and we’re excited to see what 2024 brings us! Here’s the Categories-

    • Contemporary Romance
    • Historical Romance
    • Adventure & Suspense
    • Romantic Steamy/Sensual (Not Erotic)
    • Inspirational/Restorative/Clean

    Romance Fiction doesn’t have just one type. Modern Day to History, Adventurous or not, Steamy or Clean, we love it all!

    Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in The Mummy
    You know what fits most of our Categories? The Mummy. Modern movie, Historical setting, Plenty of Action, yet the Romantic elements are on the clean side.

    While other Divisions also have Romantic inclined categories (Paranormal, M&M, Rossetti, Laramie and Hemingway all have categories for Romance) you can never go wrong with a plain and simple Love story. Or maybe you like a little drama in your books.

    Historical Romance seems to be a rather popular category now, in both the books we see and wider in the book market. This year’s Grand Prize for Chatelaine is a Historical Romance! Taking place in the 1600’s in England, Colonial America and the Caribbean, it fits firmly into the Historical genre.

    The SKEPTICAL PHYSICK (The Stockbridge Series, Book 2)
    By Gail Avery Halverson

    In the second in a series by author Halverson, an aristocratic, intellectually curious young woman has fallen in love with a young physician, a commoner whose radical experimentations have jeopardized his reputation. The couple is just recovering from the professional and personal rigors of dealing with London’s plague victims when the city is overwhelmed by fire. Their services are needed now more than ever.

    Supported by mentor hospital administrator Father Hardwicke in his medical endeavors, Simon McKensie is finally on the verge of marrying the woman he adores, Catherine Abbott. Even the wealthy, protective Aunt Viola has come to terms with the fact that, though she might not approve the match on social grounds, she sees that Catherine will be happy with Simon.

    Read more here!

    Did you know? Gail Halverson’s book A Sea of Glass won the 2023 Chatelaine Grand Prize! The review is to come!

    EDGED In PURPLE
    By John W. Feist

    Edged in Purple by John W. Feist welcomes readers to a place outside of time and space, a liminal space where characters of myth wait to return to their fated stories.

    The Fold is a beautiful land, a near-utopia shepherded– literally– by Thetis and Peleus of Greek mythology. They raise the heroine of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Perdita, after her father had accused her mother of betraying him with another, the whole sad story a product of his own paranoia.

    Perdita’s story is proceeding as it was written. She has already met Florizel, the man who should be the hero of her romance– when her story is intersected by another. Just as The Winter’s Tale features royal courts, doomed relationships, mistaken identities, and family murder, so too does an ancient Greek drama: the Oresteia of Aeschylus, the story of Agamemnon after the Trojan War.

    Read more here!

    SUMMER STORM: Magic at Myers Beach Book 2
    By Alan B. Gibson

    Summer Storm Cover

    In Summer Storm, the second book of Alan B. Gibson’s Magic at Myers Beach series, local business owner Greta the Witch has a chance at fame, fortune, and fairytale love—if she can keep it all from being stolen first.

    Picking up cleanly after Summer Thunder (Book 1 in the series), this story opens with Greta worrying about her social life. Her best friend Lily has left on an extended honeymoon with her husband Theos the King. Fortunately, her acquaintance, Julie, moves back to town, and while they soon develop a close friendship, things get awkward when she learns that Julia received a massive financial gift from Lily and Theos, and she was left with nothing.

    Greta can at least focus on her business, the Witch’s Cauldron, and being the star of a reality show that’s planning to film her daily life. And when Greta meets a mysterious and charming man—Zsombor, or “Dos” to his friends—she finds herself rocketed to a level of stardom she couldn’t have imagined. She attends an opening gala for the renovated Fairy Kingdom tea house, and after a mixture of disastrous and fabulous public appearances she becomes Myers Beach’s rising influencer star.

    Read more here!

    LOVING BETH
    By Bonnie Rose Ward

    Loving Beth Cover

    In Loving Beth, a Christian historical romance by Bonnie Rose Ward, a young woman finds herself in dire straits when her widowed mother dies unexpectedly.

    Beth’s father had taken out loans to improve their property, but he was killed in the Civil War, leaving his wife and daughter to struggle to keep up with the payments. Now, Beth is alone without any means to keep her home—finding and taking in two young, abandoned children certainly doesn’t help. But even amidst her troubles, Beth’s thoughts keep going back to the mysterious and handsome stranger who found and brought home the body of her mother.

    Life is not easy in her tiny settlement in West Virginia, and young, pretty Beth finds that it is not about to get any easier. The new banker holds a grudge toward her for having rejected his advances, and the man’s snobbish wife is determined to make Beth’s life even more miserable. The loans that Beth and her mother worked to pay each month are suddenly due in full— but the banker’s unwanted and ugly advances are foiled with the appearance of the mysterious stranger.

    Read more here!


    Thank you for celebrating this great romance reads with us!

    The Chatelaine Awards are open until the end of July!

    Romance Fiction Chatelaine Award

    Submit to the Chatelaine Awards today!

     

     

  • The CHAUCER 2023 Spotlight – Bringing History to Life through Fiction

    History is alive and well

    because of authors like you!

    A picture of Geoffery Chaucer as a white man with a gray goatee with the words "Chaucer Awards" across the bottom celebrating Early Historical Fiction

    The Chaucer Book Awards recognizes the best of the best in Historical Fiction featuring the Pre-1750s Historical Fiction, including pre-history, ancient history, Classical, world history (non-western culture), Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Tudor, and 1600s.

    Named for Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote The Canterbury Tales, The Chaucer Awards is the first Historical Fiction division created at Chanticleer, pre-dating the Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction and the Hemingway Awards for 20th c. Wartime Fiction. After receiving an overwhelming amount of entries into the 2016 Chaucer Book Awards, the judges requested that the CIBAs divide the historical fiction division.

    The Goethe and Hemingway Badges for Late Historical Fiction and 20th c. Wartime Fiction Respectively

    The Canterbury Tales is considered one of the greatest works in the English language, and is in large part responsible for the strong Germanic influence (the top competing work of literature, Pearl, was much more heavily influence by French, but it wasn’t as popular and we don’t even have records of the author’s name). It was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed.

    A woodcut from William Caxton’s second edition 0f the Canterbury Tales printed in 1483

    Our favorite Rooster, Chanticleer himself comes from the Prior’s Tale, written by Chaucer!

    “For crowing there was not his equal in all the land. His voice was merrier than the merry organ that plays in church, and his crowing from his resting place was more trustworthy than a clock. His comb was redder than fine coral and turreted like a castle wall, his bill was black and shone like a jet, and his legs and toes were like azure. His nails were whiter than the lily and his feathers were like burnished gold.” – Chaucer

    Some interesting tidbits about Geoffrey Chaucer

    • Born c. 1342/43 probably in London. He died on October 25, 1400
    • His father was an important London vintner
    • His family’s finances were derived from wine and leather
    • Chaucer spoke Middle English and was fluent in French, Latin, and Italian
    • He guided diplomatic missions across the continent of Europe for ten years where he discovered the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio whose The Decameron had a profound influence on Chaucer’s later works
    • He married well as his wife received an annuity from the queen consort of Edward III
    • His remains are interred in the Westminster Abbey

     As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your historical fiction deserves!  Enter today!

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 CHAUCER Awards is:

    Mack Little, author of

    Daughter of Hades

    Her a novella Shelter in a Hostile World in the same series is available now!

    See the full list of 2022 Chaucer Winners here!

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

    The Chaucer Awards, as a Division of the CIBAs, promotes authors at every step of the way. Each time a book advances we promote it

    • Posting it on our high traffic website
    • Highlighting it across our social media
    • Sending it directly to our audience in a newsletter blast

    Beginning at the Short List we start offering digital badges and promotional stickers to all entrants. We love promoting our authors and can’t wait to see who moves up in the lists for this prestigious award!

    Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest
    Submit to the Chaucer Awards Today!

    See the full list of CIBAs here

  • Chatelaine 2023 Hall of Fame Celebrating Romantic Fiction

    Need more Romance in your life? Read These!

    The Chatelaine Awards are here to bring you the best in books about Love in all its forms.

    Photo of dried roses, and books.

    ***Submit your Novel today***

    You have until August 31st to share your Love Story and enter the 2023 CIBAs!

    book award for Romance Novels The Chatelaine Awards

    Everyone deserves more love, and we’ve got lots of it for you to read! Steamy (Not Spicy), Historical and more! Other categories also include romantic themes, but if you’re looking for Romance- look no further!

    Lets take a look at the Grand Prize Winners for the Chatelaine Award

    Operation Mom
    By Reenita Hora

    Master storyteller Reenita Malhotra Hora’s YA romance Operation Mom: My Plan to Get My Mom a Life and a Man takes us on a charming journey through the life of one teen, Ila Isham.

    Hora introduces Ila and her best friend Deepali, two boy-crazy teens on a summer quest. Readers will fall in love with the smart, sassy, angst-filled, rebellious Ila. A typical teenage girl, Ila lives in Mumbai with her mom and Sakkubai, their house manager. Ila’s mother calls her obsessed, but that seems unfair. Is she obsessed just because her every waking minute is spent thinking of Ali Zafar, famous pop icon, singer, and heartthrob? Or is she obsessed with fellow classmate Dev?

    No, Ila couldn’t be taken with Dev because he’s one of three young men that her best friend Deepali is juggling in her summer experiment of exploring her “feminine mystique.” This turn of phrase becomes just one of many opportunities for Hora’s humor to shine as Ila remarks, “That’s a book by Gloria Steinem . . . no Betty Friedan.” Deepali’s response? “Yaar. Don’t be so literal.” The delightful balance between Ila’s book smarts versus Deepali’s street smarts carries us through Hora’s expertly crafted story.

    Read More Here

     

    The Long Desert Road Cover

    The Long Desert Road
    By Alex Sirotkin

    Alex Sirotkin’s debut novel, The Long Desert Road, navigates the emotional arcs of life in contrast with the greater expanse of the cosmos. Here a young woman must face her addictions while the people around her try to move beyond her backlash.

    We meet Henry Spinoza, a 44-year-old quirky science writer. He ponders his life as half over, looks for the right woman, and wonders if there isn’t more to existence.

    For twenty years, Henry, a science writer, has been researching a non-fiction book on the universe that he intends to write. Henry’s feeling “bored, boring, and budget-conscious…the trifecta of gloom,” as he puts it. But in the middle of this ennui, his sister-in-law invites him to dinner, along with her divorced friend, Isabel Dalton, an attorney, and “the setup is afoot.”

    Read More Here

    When the Wind Chimes Cover

     

    When The Wind Chimes
    By Mary Ting

    In When the Wind Chimes by international best-selling author Mary Ting, Kate Summers wants to make this Christmas extra-special for her older sister, Abby, and four-year-old nephew.

    A year ago, she’d given up Christmas with her family to spend the holiday with her boyfriend, Jayden, whom she had caught cheating on her the next day. Not only is she hoping to erase that memory, but she also has another even more important reason to make this Christmas special.  A few months after her disastrous break-up with Jayden, her brother-in-law, Steve, passed away from cancer, so Abby and Tyler will be spending their first Christmas alone.

    After taking a leave from her job as a graphic designer in LA, Kate flies to Poipu, Kauai, determined to make this an amazing holiday, but on her way to her sister’s house, she meets a mysterious man, who gives up his cab for her. Kate can’t get the handsome stranger out of her head, and when she sees him again in her sister’s art gallery–and destroys his expensive shirt with paint–she is both mortified and excited.

    Read More Here

     

    The Skeptical Physick
    By Gail Avery Halverson

    In the second in a series by author Halverson, an aristocratic, intellectually curious young woman has fallen in love with a young physician, a commoner whose radical experimentations have jeopardized his reputation. The couple is just recovering from the professional and personal rigors of dealing with London’s plague victims when the city is overwhelmed by fire. Their services are needed now more than ever.

    Supported by mentor hospital administrator Father Hardwicke in his medical endeavors, Simon McKensie is finally on the verge of marrying the woman he adores, Catherine Abbott. Even the wealthy, protective Aunt Viola has come to terms with the fact that, though she might not approve the match on social grounds, she sees that Catherine will be happy with Simon.

    If winning her aunt’s approval and administering aid to plague victims wasn’t enough, just days before their planned nuptials, a fire breaks out that threatens to delay them yet again. Worse, Catherine sustains a severe injury on her way to the hospital to help Simon treat burn victims. It seems that there may not be a wedding. But Simon acts quickly and effectively to save the life of his beloved, exchanging wedding vows with her even as she is barely recuperating from her accident.

    Read More Here

    The House At Ladywell
    By Nicola Slade

    A surprise bequest, a cryptic benediction, and a box of long-lost letters thrust Freya Gibson in the middle of a life-changing mystery. As the personal assistant to successful novelist Patrick Underwood, Freya never takes a vacation. She believes herself content to be surrounded by the hustle and bustle of London, keeping Patrick on track and reigning in her newly discovered and completely uncertain feelings for her boss.

    When Freya inherits a house from a heretofore unknown relative, she isn’t sure what to do. What’s more, the house comes with a clause preventing the immediate selling off of the relic. Freya has no choice but to visit the estate, still reasonably sure she will rid herself of the property; until, of course, she sets foot in the ancient home in Ramalley.

    With Patrick gone on a business trip to the US, Freya decides to spend a week getting to know her new home and the village nearby. She quickly decides she wants to keep the enigmatic house with the enormous stone mantle, former church windows, and hand-carved hares. Still, as she falls in love with the house, she uncovers evidence that Violet, her cousin, and the former owner, knew a great deal more about Freya than Freya knows about herself. With each step closer to the truth, the house seems to draw her closer in a protective grip, perhaps giving her a chance at a new future.

    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 Chatelaine 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 Romance 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 Chatelaine Awards is your chance to shine!

     

    The 2022 Grand Prize Winners from CAC23!

    And remember! Our 12th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC24) will be April 18-21, 2024, where our 2023 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

     

  • An Update and Spotlight on the 2023 Chatelaine Book Awards

    Unveiling the Allure of the Chatelaine Book Awards!

    Romance Fiction Chatelaine AwardIndulge in the world of romantic tales, where hearts entwine and stories of love blossom. The Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards cordially invites you to embark on a journey through the pages of captivating romances – from the echoes of historical love affairs to the sparks of steamy passions – we are on a quest to find the best among them.

    The image for the Chatelaine Awards is pulled from Dante Rossetti’s iconic painting, featuring Jane Morris, a muse whose allure is still felt today.

    Are you an author with a romance novel or manuscript ready to sweep readers off their feet? Do you yearn to see how your creation fares among others of its kind? The Chatelaine Book Awards beckon, ready to embrace your literary gem.

    Romantic storytellers, both budding and seasoned, take heed! We have moved the deadline for the Chatelaine Awards for Romance Literature to August, 31, 2023.

    That’s right, submissions for the 2023 Chatelaine Book Awards are due August 31, 2023. So, whether your heart beats for contemporary romance, historical intrigue, pulse-pounding adventures, or soul-stirring inspiration – the Chatelaine Awards are your stage.

    Wine on the beach, a perfect companion to a Chatelaine Romance Read

    The Chatelaine Awards Categories are:

    • Contemporary Romance
    • Romantic Adventure & Suspense
    • Historical Romance
    • Inspirational/Restorative/Clean
    • Romantic Steamy/Sensual

    Don’t let this opportunity slip through your fingers. Embark on a journey of literary romance and share your masterpiece with the world.

    Ready to submit? Secure your place among the passionate voices of romance here!

    Two people holding hands, one labeled "Your Book" and the other labeled "The Chatelaine Awards" with the badge for the awards in the hand.

    One of our favorite things about the Romance genre is the versatility it brings to the page! Historical, Suspense, YA – anything can be a sub-genre with romance and vice versa!

    As we celebrate the Chatelaine Awards – a universe encompassing Romance, Chick-Lit, Women’s Fiction, Inspirational, Suspenseful, and the irresistibly Steamy and Sensual – let us not forget the enigmatic Jane Morris. Morris personifies the spirit of the Chatelaine division. An embodiment of intelligence and allure, she leaves an indelible mark on our perception of romance. To learn more about this intriguing muse, delve into her captivating story here.

    Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest

    Join us in embracing the magic of romance and literary excellence. Submit your work to the Chatelaine Awards by August 31, 2023, and be part of a tradition that celebrates love, passion, and the power of storytelling.

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2022 CHATELAINE Book Awards is:

    Operation Mom:

    My plan to get my Mom a life and a man

    by Reenita Malhotra Hora 

    The Chatelaine 2022 Grand Prize for Operation Mom by Reenita Malhotra Hora

  • Discover how we got from Chaucer to Hemingway in the Chanticleer International Book Awards – Links and Interesting Facts

    History is alive and well

    because of authors like you!

    The Palace of Versailles, built in 1631. The Chaucer Awards accepts work from anytime before the 1750s

    The Chaucer Book Awards division is one of Chanticleer’s original book awards divisions.

    A picture of Geoffery Chaucer as a white man with a gray goatee with the words "Chaucer Awards" across the bottom

     

    Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is considered one of the greatest works in the English language. It was among the first non-secular books written in Middle English to be printed.

    A woodcut from William Caxton’s second edition 0f the Canterbury Tales printed in 1483

    SPOTLIGHT on CHAUCER Book Awards — Pre-1750s Historical Fiction

    Click on the link above for some interesting tidbits and facts about Geoffrey Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales (from which our dear Chanticleer hales from).

    The First Great Historical Division – The Goethe Book Awards

    After receiving an overwhelming amount of entries into the 2016 Chaucer Book Awards, the judges requested that the CIBAs divide the historical fiction into two divisions: one for pre-1750s historical fiction and a separate one for post-1750s historical fiction, the Goethe Book Awards. 

    We gave this new division the name: The Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s historical fiction for the 2016 Chanticleer International Book Awards. You can read about the interesting events that happened during Goethe’s lifetime with the link below:

    “His lifetime, spanning some of the most monumental disruptions in modern history, is referred to as a single whole, the Goethezeit, or Age of Goethe.” The New Yorker magazine, Adam Kirch Feb. 1, 2016

    Got GOETHE? by Kiffer Brown

     

    Post 1750s Historical Fiction Award

    Our next post will share how we came to offer the Hemingway Book Awards for Wartime Fiction – a split from the Goethe Book Awards for post-1750s historical fiction.

    Don’t let History leave you behind!

    Join the narrative and send us your work by July 31 to enter the 2023 CIBAs

    A picture of Geoffery Chaucer as a white man with a gray goatee with the words "Chaucer Awards" across the bottom
    Submit by 7/31!

    History shows us how we got to where we are today. At Chanticleer, we look to better understand the past and discover your book featuring pre-history, ancient history, Classical, world history (non-western culture), Dark Ages and Medieval Europe, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Tudor, 1600s, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

    Let’s celebrate with a look down the Hall of Fame for Grand Prize Winners of the Chaucer Awards

    DAUGHTER OF HADES
    By Mack Little

    From the blurb: Dinny and her brother make their escape from slavery on the pirate ship the Hades. It is the last place in the world Dinny imagined she’d meet the love of her life. Lei, a Chinese exile, recognizes Dinny as the woman of his destiny. But their new life is shattered when her former owner seeks his revenge. With the help of their friends, family, and colleagues, Dinny and Lei will face the challenges of finding love and happiness in the Caribbean world of the 17th century.

    A review for this book is forthcoming! You can learn more about Mack Little here!


    Too Soon the Night Cover

    TOO SOON THE NIGHT
    By James Conroyd Martin

    Too Soon the Night by James Conroyd Martin shows the thrilling heights to which Empress Theodora rose and the crushing depths to which she fell, in the latter half of her life. This story picks up from Fortune’s Child, the first volume of this epic duology.

    This half of Theodora’s incredible journey opens at its close – as she succumbs to the cancer that drove her to dictate the record of her life. She left the task of recording her meteoric rise from actress to empress in the hands of the scribe and historian Stephen, even though she imprisoned him for several years out of fear that he would reveal her greatest secrets.

    But as much as Stephen should hate her for her cruelty, he has his own axe to grind against the man who would slander Theodora after her death with a scurrilous character assassination disguised as biography. So he takes up his pen and continues his recording of – if not Theodora’s unvarnished truth – at least something closer than whatever her enemies would conjure to blacken her name.

    Read more here!


    BIRD IN A SNARE
    By N.L. Holmes

    Politics is a deadly game in the days of Kings and their competing 14th-century B.C. Egyptian factions. Official diplomat, Lord Hani, is on a royal assignment when he discovers even the king’s motives are suspect. Hani begins to fear for the welfare of his family and himself, as he gets a sinking feeling that the hunter has become the hunted. He’s the live bait, the Bird In A Snare.

    Can Lord Hani find out who is responsible for the mysterious assassinations and the shifting armies’ alliances before becoming the one they target next?

    The sands under the royal family’s feet are precarious. The investigation must be thorough but also quick. There is no time to waste in this seething era where a wave of change could bring dire consequences. Lord Hani knows he must stop the murderer to save himself and his family, but can he also act to protect the larger target, the fate of the Egyptian New Kingdom?

    Read more here!

    Cover of Bird in a Snare by N.L. Holmes


    FORTUNE’S CHILD: A Novel of Empress Theodora
    By James Conroyd Martin
    Overall Grand Prize Winner

    James Conroyd Martin brings to life one woman we should all know better in his multi-award-winning, epic novel, Fortune’s Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora.

    Like Cleopatra, Empress Theodora was a legend in her own time. And also, like Queen Cleopatra before her, Empress Theodora’s life and accomplishments were distorted and maligned by the male historians of her own time. Even after death, men who couldn’t bear or couldn’t believe that a woman, particularly a woman of the lower classes as Theodora was, could possibly have accomplished the things she did or wield the power she had.

    Fortune’s Child, the first book of a projected duology, Theodora, near death, determines to leave behind an accurate chronicle of her life and work. She’s desperate to get a step ahead of the official biography already being written by a man who hates her, everything she came from, and everything she stands for.

    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 Chaucer Winners is to submit today!

    The Chanticleer Int'l Book Awards Overall Grand Prize sticker for the CIBAs

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

    You know you want it…

    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

     

     

  • ELFABET: An A to Z of Woodland Folk by Sylva Fae – Children’s Literature, Children’s School Issues, Early Readers Books

    ELFABET: An A to Z of Woodland Folk by Sylva Fae – Children’s Literature, Children’s School Issues, Early Readers Books

     

    Little Peeps 1st Place Best in Category Blue and Gold Badge ImageSylva Fae helps early readers learn their alphabet with another delightful children’s book, Elfabet: An A to Z of Woodland Folk. 

    Little Eric, king of Ladybirds, also known as ladybugs, needs a way to learn his letters to spell many dazzling words. Little Eric uses the world of the forest folk around him as inspiration for his elfabet. Get ready to meet a whole trove of fantastical creatures from dragons to pixies, to fairies and goblins, and many more for every letter of the elfabet!

    Fae’s Elfabet charms readers and fills us with love on every page. Just like in Rainbow Monsterswhere readers got to learn about colors by getting to know a rainbow of monsters, Fae makes learning the alphabet fun and engaging. Everyone knows that “A” is for apple and “D” is for dog, but now readers will get to explore a whole new and fantastical world. A world where “A” still stands for apple but is collected by elves, and “D” is for fire-breathing dragons!

    Both Sylva Fae and illustrator Katie Weaver dedicate this book to their children, who inspire their work.

    In her illustrations, Weaver uses an array of bright colors and draws various subjects to encourage creativity in children. On each page, the drawings are within each corresponding letter, and readers will wonder and daydream about what magic lies beyond the edges of each letter. By the time children reach the end of Elfabet, they will be inspired to write and draw their own stories of the woodland folk.

    Make the road to reading get off to a fun and creative start with Little Eric, the king of Ladybirds in Sylva Fae’s Elfabet: An A to Z of Woodland Folk. This title won 1st Place in the CIBAs 2019 LITTLE PEEPS Awards for Children’s Literature. 

     

    Little Peeps 1st Place Gold Foil Sticker

    Chanticleer Book Reviews 5 Star Best Book silver foil sticker

     

     

     

  • The CORPSE WORE STILETTOS by MJ O’Neill – Cozy Mystery, Women Sleuths, Amateur Sleuths

    The CORPSE WORE STILETTOS by MJ O’Neill – Cozy Mystery, Women Sleuths, Amateur Sleuths

     

    M&M Blue and Gold 1st Place Badge Image

    The Corpse Wore Stilettos by MJ O’Neill brings down the house in a most delightful way.

    Four months ago, Kat Water’s life fell apart. Her father, a prominent insurance broker, was arrested on racketeering charges, accused of laundering money for the mob. A successful museum curator in Boston, Kat immediately dropped everything to return to St. Louis, leaving her fiance and career behind. With all of their possessions seized and their bank accounts frozen, Kat’s mother, Lauren, and her grandmother, Theodora, are left poverty-stricken. Kat, with her family name now dragged through the mud by the media, can only find a job in the county morgue. With her minor in biology and her detail-oriented personality, she finds her work most rewarding.

    When tasked with processing the body of a believed prostitute, it’s all business as usual.

    But the deceased girl doesn’t bear the typical signs of her profession. Then a gun-toting bad guy steals the body before Kat begins her task. Oops. Now, once again, Kat’s family steps in as fodder for the rumor mill, and everyone believes the body must be connected to her father, his crimes, and the mob. Kat determines to find the body, solve the mystery of the girl’s identity, and clear her family name. She grudgingly teams up with the distractingly attractive ex-military special forces turned security firm owner, Burns McPhee. As they chase the mystery and the body all over St. Louis, the two realize the girl’s death is part of a much larger, much more dangerous plot.

    This novel’s character line-up shines!

    With one misfit eccentric after another, they all seem to work seamlessly to create a memorably fun read. From shoe-obsessed drag queens to heroic strippers, this novel definitely delivers on character development. Grand, Kat’s grandmother Theodora, sparkles. The borderline “geriatric Nancy Drew” is a hoot! Often the feisty troublemaker, Grand cannot help but instigate or fan the flames in any bad situation. If she isn’t “shopping” in their police-patrolled, off-limits former home, she’s running around in kitschy visors (one for all occasions) and making revenge scrapbooks on ways she’ll get even with her long-time nemesis.

    Another example of character craftsmanship is DC, Kat’s best friend and co-worker. He is, perhaps, the most interesting of all the supporting characters. With his fashion savvy and his cat therapist, DC has a flair for the dramatic.  As Kat’s figurative and literal sidekick, he is in the middle of all the action. When he turns superhero complete with costume Kat engineers a complicated rescue scheme to get him away from what he believes are Russian mobsters. Kat’s other co-workers won’t disappoint either with super-timid Henry, gothic Meg, Marshall the perv, and Sam the tattooed, motorcycle-riding, aspiring chef.

    Armed with outstanding fashion sense, a minor in biology from Harvard, and uncanny random facts that she spouts whenever nervous, Kat Waters is an absolutely unique and memorable character herself.

    Her entire life, Kat’s been pampered and made to feel special. Her life was exactly on the expected trajectory: great job, correct fiancé, and numerous pairs of expensive shoes. She never dreamed she’d be literally penniless and working in a morgue to keep Grand and her mother off the streets, and though her mother doesn’t really respect Kat’s work with the dead, Kat learns the importance of her job in a way she never expected. She discovers that she is much more than a two-time Miss Missouri winner in the best makeup category, and certainly not the mob princess the media like to portray her as.

    Kat’s a woman who refuses to abandon those she loves and one who willingly gives up her own dreams to keep together the family she has remaining. After the girl’s body disappears on her watch, she transitions that attitude into her need to find Jane Doe. While initially her amateur investigation stems from her suspension and punishment at work, her search evolves into a quest for justice for a string of prostitutes similarly murdered by a serial killer six months prior. Kat refuses to let these women remain victims of a faceless killer; their stories must be told regardless of the risk. She won’t let flirty reporters, sinfully handsome ex-army guys, or psycho stalkers get in her way, and she’ll do it while looking fabulous!

    From the county morgue to a dominatrix kink house posing as a barbershop turned therapist’s office, this novel is one crazy adventure after another! Mystery lovers will not be disappointed. The Corpse Wore Stilettos won 1st Place in the CIBA 2019 M&M Awards for Cozy and Not So Cozy Mystery novels.

    M&M 1st Place Gold Foil Book Sticker Image

    Chanticleer Book Reviews 5 Star Best Book silver foil sticker