Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Fantasy

COME the WIND by Alexander Edlund – Fantasy, War, Coming of Age Y/A

With Come the Wind—the second in his series, The Book of Banea—author Alexander Edlund creates a lush tapestry of fantasy, coming of age story that links the power of one woman to the skills and talents of all women.

Breea Banea, born to the Library of Limtir, became aware of her destiny as an Alach “weaver” or manipulator of etheric energies in A Woman Warrior Born, causing her to take up arms against the mysterious Oregule threatening her people. In Come the Wind we learn that the Oregule are in fact evil shapeshifters manipulated by an ancient enemy of Limtir. In her attempt to overcome the Oregule, Breea must free the regions they dominate. She will do so both as a warrior, and more reluctantly, as a queen, a role she adopts in order to recruit the Kultash and other peoples to her side in battle.

In her new role as “Chosen,” Breea, a natural leader, will meet war victims needing help, consider the possibly duplicitous priest, Duyazen, and convene with leaders of all the region’s armies whose support she needs, but who mistrust her new edict that women can fight alongside men. But most significantly perhaps, she is approached by a stranger who speaks her Limtir tongue and advises her of a great prophecy concerning “six Alach-born children who are destined each to destroy an Oregule. A child each of earth, wind, life, light, fire, and song.”

Unknown to Breea, even as this fateful prediction is uttered two of her own faithful followers, the lord Taumea and his companion Valenia are already on the trail of Alach sisters, Anila and Spe, who though young, display mighty powers not unlike those to which Breea herself is heir. Together they will take on the nefarious Oregule.

Edmund’s prose is potent, with no wasted words and many splendid ones. He celebrates Breea’s warrior nature along with her wisdom and the extraordinary abilities she has been given while showing her “human” failings and self-doubts for balance. She is always willing to take advice from her servant Dori and the refugee Simarn, who is proving herself to be as strong and fearless as her new queen. Though at times seeming burdened with holding together the fabric of his fantasy through every conceivable situation, Edlund is as faithful as he can be to the powers and limitations of every character and creature he has created. His book would benefit with a brief precis of the first volume in the series to bring the reader up to speed, even a glossary of terms would be useful. This is no slight – it is indicative of an exceptionally intricate world and readers will not want to miss a beat.

In this war and weapon-filled coming of age fantasy, one woman’s strengths and aspirations prove her worthiness as a leader. Exceptionally intricate world building and potent prose — readers will not want to miss a beat of this epic fantasy!

November 3, 2017
CORRALLING KENZIE: BOOK 4 of the WINTERS SISTERS by Joanne Jaytanie – Genetic Engineering, Fantasy, Romance, Psychics

Jaytanie veers off the sister track with her introduction to brand-new characters in her latest sizzling Winters Sisters Series read, Corralling Kenzie.

Kenzie Vaughn leaps out of her bed in the dead of night, responding to a cry from her horse. She discovers Boone shot and bleeding out. Kenzie contacts her neighbor, Victory Winters, who happens to be the closest vet in the area. While Victory is tending to Boone and Kenzie, Logan Mendoza, one of the DNA-enhanced Special Operations Command team (SOCOM) who investigates her ranch, is confident that the notorious Kaleidoscope Group (KG) used the mysterious shooting to get to Kenzie. Further probing indicates that Kenzie’s background may provide essential clues, particularly from her brother, Marcus who was sent to an institution when he was seven.

It is during an attempt on Kenzie’s life that she encounters Marcus. He, in turn, sets up a meeting with SOCOM to divulge the connective tie with KG. Indeed, KG is in the process of furthering their diabolical DNA experimentation, and Kenzie is a key player. More information unfolds with each day as Kenzie develops friendships with the Winters sisters. During Logan’s assignment to guard Kenzie, the two become close, and their friendship evolves into a steamy romance. Logan determines to keep her safe even while he’s away on a brief mission. But upon his return, Kenzie is not around. She’s been kidnapped!

For fans who are caught up in the lives of the Winters sisters, they are in for a big surprise with Jaytanie’s fourth installment. Up to this point, books one thru three have mainly concentrated on Victory, Payton, and Willow and KG’s sinister schemes directed toward the girls. But with the addition of the sisters’ neighbor Kenzie, Jaytanie opens the door to a whole new world of outsiders who have fallen prey to DNA tampering. Although pseudo-realism in design, this chilling realm into the dark side of medicine is reminiscent of the grisly experiments on children throughout history.

Jaytanie does a stellar job balancing the bad and ugly with the good, and “good” comes in various forms, the most obvious from the alpha-male SOCOM team and the Winters sisters. But on a deeper level, Jaytanie has created relatable characters; their near-realistic personas are riddled with strengths and weakness, even on a romantic playing field. Certainly, when Logan and Kenzie get their mojo on, it’s steamy. Leading up to those moments, Jaytanie sets an example of what a beautiful friendship should look like—slow but steady.

As with all of the books in this series, Corralling Kenzie functions perfectly well as a stand-alone read. There is richness when readers start from the very beginning of the series. Let’s just say that Jaytanie is a master of all things and will thrill and delight new readers as well as her loyal fans with this new installment.

The exciting aspect of this series is that book four does not complete the set. Closing on a major cliffhanger, Jaytanie has much more in store for her beloved audience. Stay tuned!

October 29, 2017
STEEL, BLOOD & FIRE by Allan Batchelder – Fantasy, Military, Fairy Tale

Tarmun Vykers, the central character in Allan Batchelder’s accomplished fantasy, has many epithets: “The Scourge of Empires,” “The Reaper,” “The Merciless One,” and sometimes just good old “Vykers the Vicious.” He’s very aware that he’s widely feared but not admired, and that’s just fine with him. He’s not the sentimental type.

On the other hand, he’s darn likable. Why? Well, he’s smart, witty, and often sarcastic, but he’s also able to laugh at himself and the many predicaments that befall him. And he’s not the worst guy around.

No, that would be Anders, better known as “The-End-Of-All-Things.” The-End is not likable. Far from it. When one’s goal in life is taking enormous satisfaction and delight in the destruction of everyone and everything, you don’t have friends, you just have people who do your bidding because they’re terrified of you.

Of course, a showdown between Vykers and The End is going to happen – and Batchelder has lots of fun getting us ready. In this world, the very weapons used have almost as much personality as characters who wield them. Along the way, we meet the cast, many of whom will prove invaluable to Vykers on his quest.

And what a cast! Batchelder provides a lengthy list at the novel’s conclusion but they’re all so memorable, the reader doesn’t have to consult it often. For starters, there’s Arune, a shapeshifter who has taken up residence in Vykers’ mind where she reads his thoughts and responds with zingers of her own. Some of the most memorable scenes in the book, in fact, take place with Vykers seemingly talking to himself, but really, it’s Arune matching his wit, sentence for sentence. There is so much more to explore and fall in love with, we won’t ruin it for you here.

If this all sounds like a lot of fun, it is. It’s easy to imagine Monty Python fans reveling over many of these scenes. This fantasy, however, has more to offer. The humor is adroitly balanced with darker chapters concerning primal fears and terrors.

Steel, Blood & Fire will appeal to a broad group of readers. Although primarily a fantasy, the classic themes of fairy tales, myths and folklore are woven into the narrative. Good versus evil, the gaining of self-knowledge while on a quest or a journey, transformation through enchantment – it’s all here but with a twist because Batchelder so deftly juggles ribald humor and unexpected poignancy. He also allows the reader to view these themes through several lenses. This is particularly true in the battle scenes, the author giving us the individual experiences of several of the male characters. While there are fewer female characters, they are quite strong, fully realized, and residing in the forest and the castle, the folkloric motifs of the poor and the royal in play.

The great news is the book is the first in the series Immortal Treachery. Batchelder concludes Steel, Blood & Fire on a tantalizing note and there’s clearly much more material to be mined. If it’s as fully realized as this book, the entire series is a must read.

Fairy tales, myths, and folklore collide in Batchelder’s first book in the Immortal Treachery series, Steel, Blood & Fire, rollicking fun and seriously addictive read.

September 20, 2017
HOW to SET the WORLD on FIRE by T.K. Riggins – Middle Grade/Young Adult, School of Magic, Fantasy

Are you looking for a magical read? Pick up the award-winning Young Adult book, How to Set the World on Fire by T.K. Riggins and sink into a worthy example of the “school of magic” sub-genre sparked by the Harry Potter series.

In this fast-paced, good-humored story, Kase Garrick, grandson of legendary warrior Roman Garrick, takes up residence in the Warriors castle at The Academy, reuniting with his older sister Cali, a member of the school’s Scholars branch. From his first day, Kase gains an enemy in Cali’s boyfriend Niveous. Sent to the Disciplinary Room thanks to Niveous’s trickery, Kase makes fast friends with the two girls also in detention: Talen, a sweet but awkward savant, and rebellious Lenia, whose control over fire tends dangerously toward pyromania.

Kase hones his skills in weaponry while he and Lenia flirt themselves into love, while everything is building in anticipation to the Quest Series, the annual Academy competition. The teams are usually made up of four students from a single school, but Cali, Kase, Lenia, and Talen bend the rules to form their own team. They find support from the Grand Master and Professor Bright, the elements instructor, both of whom see the unusual potential in these four students.

When the Quest Series begins, the plot coalesces into an exciting journey, not only into the four corners of the realm but also into the students’ psyches. Each of the five Events poses mental, physical, and emotional challenges for Cali’s team, The Liberati. Each student’s mental aptitude and fortitude are tested, as well, but not only by their ordeals—some teams join with Niveous’s crew to hamstring the favored four. Their malice, however, turns to alarm when it becomes apparent that The Liberati–Kase and Lenia in particular—have powers far beyond those developed by The Academy.

Being a school of magic sub-genre, of course, one would be right in expecting the same feel and some of the same elements setting the stage as one would find in Harry Potter. For example, in this book, you’ll find former students turned evil, a headmaster, various schools within the larger school, an exciting and dangerous competition, Kase’s singular magic, and spiders. Another similarity fans will rejoice in, like Harry Potter, the author has just disclosed that this is indeed Book One of a series!

More impressively, the story holds up very well on its own, and author Riggins manages to create a world that has one foot in fantasy and the other in up-to-the-minute reality. Sage mirrors, for instance, are only slightly more magical than smartphones and the kids take selfies to prove their accomplishments. Very smart.

What Riggins also gets very right is the way he integrates words of wisdom into the competition. In one instance, the Grand Master exhorts them to: “Know who you are, but don’t be discouraged by who you are not.” And in another: “Sometimes the hardest part about finding something beyond your reach, is finding yourself first.” But avid readers will find The Liberati’s call to arms the best advice of all: “To the library!”

A fast-paced, magical, and beautifully penned Middle Grade/Young Adult novel packed full of familiar plots and engaging characters, How to Set the World on Fire, will have you begging for more from debut author, T.K. Riggins.

July 20, 2017
CRACKED! A MAGIC iPHONE STORY by Janine A. Southard – Seattle, Cyber-Punk, Fantasy

Can a middle-aged, hip statistician find the perfect boyfriend in Washington’s Emerald City? Maybe with the help of her magic iPhone!

On this quirky journey through and around Seattle our heroine, Morena’s accompanied by two strange, but well-meaning sidekicks. Morena’s best friend/roommate, Suzyn, a twenty-something, aspiring photographer from New York, who likes to dance, get drunk, and get high; Magic Man, is an undercover, 6,000-year-old elf, who only wants to fit it with the humans around him. Also, a mysterious Green Man, who seems to be nearby wherever Morena goes, but whom she never notices, adds a note of mystery.

After a breezy false start in which the narrator chats the reader up, like a neighbor over mid-morning coffee and Danish, the real story begins.

One morning, Morena discovers a package on her kitchen table. Her ex-boyfriend, who “never sent her a single gift,” before their “horrid break-up,” has now sent her an iPhone—and it just so happens the phone is magic. It has only one app, designed for finding the right mate—and Morena, with her biological clock ticking, longs for love. She is searching for a soul mate—as long as it doesn’t take a lot of effort. She enjoys her current lifestyle, so, the right man would have to not only conveniently drop into her life, but also fit into her life. That iPhone may have been the perfect gift.

The reader journeys with Morena, her magic phone in hand, on Seattle’s buses and light rail, into various neighborhoods, coffee shops, pubs, and restaurants, as well as to neighboring communities. Cracked! . . . introduces a plethora of geeks, freaks, “funky hipsters,” story gamers, “hipsters playing at being gamers . . . ,” anonymous drug dealers, and more. Along the way, the reader may learn some street slang while being apprised of the go-to (for whatever you want) places in that urban area.

Particularly entertaining and interesting are the forays into the story gaming world, where the gaming part counted as a respectably nerdy pursuit, and the story part counted as creative . A fun feature of the story is that it is a microcosm of Seattle life: giving its readers a chance to interact with some odd characters, but still not have to be friends with them.”

While some may find Cracked! to be somewhat thin on plot, it’s heavy on atmosphere and setting, which is captivatingly authentic. Southard’s hip and cool characters are multi-dimensional and memorable. As a stylistic technique, the intrusive and opinionated omniscient narrator is sometimes informative and amusing, but at other times, can be distracting. However, always fun!

Overall, Cracked! A Magic iPhone Story provides an insider view of Seattle, its denizens, and some of their various activities and belief systems, that contribute to its unique culture. It’s a fun read in a much too serious world.

June 20, 2017
The FLYING BURGOWSKI by Gretchen Wing – YA, Social & Family Issues, Fantasy

In many ways, Gretchen K. Wing’s protagonist in The Flying Burgowski, Jocelyn Burgowski (Joss, for short) is a typical teenager. She admires and appreciates a favorite teacher, argues with her older brother, Michael (in an awkward rebellious stage), and hangs out with her friends, the popular Savannah and the sweet social misfit, Louis. She loves to relax with a good book, usually one in the Harry Potter series. The third is her favorite.

Then there are the atypical aspects of Joss’s life. She lives off the coast of Washington, on Dalby Island, beautiful with its tall fir trees and surrounding water, although not a mall or a MacDonald’s in sight. Her father runs the all-purpose store and shocks his children when he abruptly marries Lorraine, the seemingly stereotypical librarian. Joss’s mother abandoned the family nine years earlier for mainland life and has struggled with alcoholism and pill addiction.

And then there’s Joss’s very vivid dreams, dreams in which she takes flight and soars over the island. Unlike Harry Potter, she doesn’t need a broom. No, she flies as freely as a bird. On her fourteenth birthday, which occurs on the summer solstice, she discovers that the dreams were preparation for the real thing. She instinctively takes off from The Toad, a large rock on the island, and life will never be the same. How could it? Even if she and Michael (in trouble again for driving his father’s truck into a ditch and smoking pot) weren’t sent to the mainland to spend time with their mother, Joss’s life is forever on a new course, one that is mapped against the sky.

To Wing’s enormous credit, the novel never loses its convincing realism despite the main character’s spending a good portion of it in the sky, her arms outstretched, her body turning as she banks left and right, her lungs filling with the scent of lilies. The author weaves these scenes seamlessly, beautifully into the narrative. We root for Joss as she plans her flight sessions, catch our breath when she takes a rough landing, her skin scraped, and worry with her that she’ll be sighted by someone who happens to look up at the evening sky. The realism is complemented, however, by the exhilaration of these scenes. Joss is so thrilled by the experience of flight that the reader wants to take her hand and witness what she does as a human bird, to feel that rush of air swim against our skin.

Joss’s gift for flight, of course, is mired in old and interesting secrets that involve her mother and even her new step-mother. Her aerial talent is tested when she adjusts to a new school, unkind classmates, her mother’s substance abuse relapses, and the surprising but welcome maturation of her brother. Wing’s poignant and sensitive handling of Joss’s and Michael’s time on the mainland underscores the protective power of sibling relationships in the face of parental weakness or failure. The self-growth that they experience as a result stays with them when they return to Dalby Island and resume life as they knew it, but with far greater self-awareness.

The Flying Burgowski isn’t your typical young adult book and that’s a very good thing. Wing infuses realistic teen life, with all its problems, with a hefty dose of magic realism, and the result is an engaging and captivating fusion. After reading it, don’t be surprised if you find yourself looking up at the sky, ready to sight the lucky human endowed with the gift of flight.

June 15, 2017
The BOOK of SHADE by K.C. Finn – Paranormal/Fantasy/New Adult/Contemporary Gothic/Literature

A world of intrigue, magic, and danger awaits Lily Coltrane in K.C. Finn’s The Book of Shade.

On her very first day at university, Lily and her roommate enlist in the IMLS (Illustrious Minds Literary Society) at the student fair and, despite warnings from her history professor, take one step further and visit the Theatre Imaginique.

The show seems too real – the lightning, levitation, and the fact that Lemarick Novel, the theater’s top showman and proprietor, keeps locking eyes with her. She tries to put it out of her mind, but a month later, Lily and her roommate return to the show, and this is where author K.C. Finn puts her character in delicious jeopardy.

Lily learns she’s a shade – a being with the ability to generate and control the natural elements (earth, air, fire, and water). This revelation sets her off down a rabbit hole of mystique and magic. Novel is also a shade, one who is fairly accomplished in his abilities, and he decides to train Lily in her newfound abilities. What follows is an adventure woven with trials, romance, danger, and a whole world of the unknown.

K.C. Finn does an excellent job of weaving the paranormal and magic in with the modern-day world. She introduces concepts that we’re all familiar with, such as voodoo, vampires, werewolves, but does it in a way that doesn’t feel overly stereotypical.

Finn takes her time with world building in The Book of Shade, and the reader’s patience is rewarded. Finn develops her characters very well, even foreshadowing here and there. The characters and the story itself are slightly more important to the author than the setting.

Once the author reveals the world of shade, any reader will find it virtually impossible to put the book down. The book does contain some grammatical errors which could and should be corrected, but the writing, on the whole, is good, which is appreciated. From featuring “playbills” for Theatre Imaginique inserted at the beginning of each chapter to the care Finn takes in creating this imaginative world, this title remains a good read.

Magic and intrigue throw Lily Coltrane’s world all kinds of upside-down when she discovers she isn’t who she thought she was in K.C. Finn’s The Book of Shade.

April 21, 2017
FRUIT of MISFORTUNE (Creatura #2) by Nely Cab – Science Fiction & Fantasy/Myth & Legends/Paranormal & Urban/Folklore

Fans of YA and supernatural fiction will not be disappointed with Fruit of Misfortune, Nely Cab’s second book in her Creatura series. It’s an adventurous romp through the paranormal with our heroine, Isis, a young woman whose destiny is intertwined with that of all humankind’s.

Isis is in a seemingly lovely place at the start of Fruit of Misfortune, flying with her adored and adoring boyfriend, David, to Greece to spend time with his family. Of course, all is not as it seems to be and therein lies the fun and the adventure. Eighteen-year-old Isis is only days away from transforming into a monstrous beast, the Creatura, and needs the help of David’s family, all of them Greek deities, to halt the mutation. They rise to the challenge by seeking out a doctor with cutting edge therapies and locating Isis’s long-lost father who knew how “special” his daughter was when she was born. While encountering demons and monsters, Isis will wonder repeatedly if she shouldn’t make life easier, and safer, for everyone by just calling it a day and ending her life.

While there’s plenty of intrigue and suspense, what makes this book positively hum with energy is Cab’s genius for characterization. Sure, Isis is on a quest to save herself and, by extension, the world, but she’s also a young woman, eighteen-years-old, who loves her boyfriend but can’t help being attracted to his friend, Eros (and with a name like that, who could blame her?). She has moments of insecurity about her looks, rails at her father for having been a dead-beat dad, makes friends with the splendidly blunt and spunky Galilea, and, oh, yeah, really misses her mom.

The dialogue is often humorous, full of quick-witted banter. There are references to The Exorcist, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four and Wednesday Adams. It’s easy to imagine ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ telling her friends, “I just read the coolest book about this chick named Isis.” While Isis will be very relate-able for young adult readers, she faces enough maturity issues in Book 2 to engage adult readers as well.

What also sets this book apart from the typical paranormal adventure is the impressive detail. Cab describes scenes in Greece with the expertise of a cultural anthropologist. Her writing is experiential; she makes the reader see, taste, and feel. When Isis undergoes the most bizarre of pregnancy tests, Cab manages to instill the scene with appropriately convincing details of the biological impact of the metamorphoses taking place in Isis’ body. Likewise, the author astutely chronicles a medical doctor’s reaction to patients with the most baffling symptoms. Such careful writing makes the pieces of her fiction fit together like an exquisite puzzle.

The book concludes at just the right moment. Some dire problems have been resolved while others are just beginning. That’s fine because we don’t want to say goodbye to Isis or her boyfriend and his divine family. We’ve come to love the whole gang and long to spend more time with them. You can do just that by starting the third book in the entertaining Creatura series.

Being eighteen-years-old can suck. Take heart readers, it’s not as if you’re eighteen and destined to turn into a monstrous beast! Nely Cab’s Fruit of Misfortune, Creatura #2 delivers everything you love about book one – and more. A must read for YA fans!”

April 20, 2017
The ANGEL KILLER: Book Two of the Watcher Saga by Lisa Voisin – Young Adult/Urban Fantasy/Horror

High school is a little more complicated for Mia and her unusual boyfriend, Michael Fountaine. Miraculously recovered from a coma only a few months earlier, Michael has many secrets that only Mia truly understands. But love and understanding aren’t always enough to stay sane when the world outside is changing before their eyes.

These two never know when a day might include demons from the darkest pit, minions of despair, or hellhounds looking for a fresh kill. A battle of supernatural dimension is coming ever closer to the heart of their hometown of Seattle, and Mia will soon have her burgeoning power put to the ultimate test. If only she could believe in it more and trust in the strength of angels! Current and past struggles are interwoven for both of them when a powerful nemesis returns wielding a sword like no other. It’s unique, it has a name, and it’s lethal.

In book two of author Lisa Voisin’s The Watcher Saga, Mia and Michael reunite when Raguel returns with vengeance on his mind. With special abilities of her own, Mia is able to see Michael for what he really is and to aid in his battles while keeping his identity secret even from her best friends, and it isn’t easy! If only she could concentrate on more normal things, like Fiona and Dean, and enjoy the school’s wrestling matches. But her destiny is more complicated than that, and she knows it. She also knows that her love for Michael is worth anything to her, just as it has always been across the many lifetimes she is just now beginning to remember.

In The Angel Killer, certain details are prominent. Actual Seattle locations make strategic appearances, like the Smith Tower and the Underground, and the weather as described will be familiar to any Western Washingtonian. Voisin’s proper names, as well, are made to fit the character and mood. Each Angel, for example, has a name that ends with a similar sound, whether it’s Arielle, Turiel, Damiel, or Michael. These are beautiful beings with beautiful names.

Another character in Voisin’s book, Mia’s good friend Fatima, is described as a person with visions and her name is equally evocative, reminiscent of the little children of Fatima, a popular Catholic story. But it is with Fatima and her twin brother, Farouk, that Voisin veers from her narrative of Angels and Demons to one of more Middle Eastern content when Fatima is unwittingly possessed by a Djinn, and only the Angel Michael can help. The author’s attempt to meld these two very different descriptions of embodied evil may be unsuccessful for some readers expecting a more strictly Christian storyline, and yet, as early as page one it is Fatima’s gift of a Hamsa necklace that buzzes a warning for Mia when unseen Demons are near.

Overall, The Angel Killer: Book Two in the Watcher Saga is full of colorful Seattle locations and symbolic characters in this addition to Voisin’s continuing saga of Good vs. Evil. If you’ve already met Mia and Michael, or are just making their acquaintance for the first time, you’ll want to know how this battle ends.

April 14, 2017
Ozma Awards for Fantasy Fiction FIRST PLACE Category Winners 2016
Chanticleer Book Reviews is honored to announce the First Place Category Winners for the OZMA Awards 2016, the fantasy fiction. The OZMA Awards is genre division of the Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Award Writing Competitions.

The Ozma Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, and Speculative Fiction.

These OZMA Awards for fantasy fiction works 2016 First Place Category Winners were recognized on stage at the Chanticleer Authors Conference on April 1, 2017 Awards Banquet.

CONGRATULATIONS to the 2016 Ozma First Place Award Winners!

First Place Category Winners for the Ozma Awards are:
- Magic, Heroes & Villains: Almost Mortal by Christopher Leibig
- Fantasy: Song Magick by Elisabeth Hamill
- Epic Fantasy: Mythborn 2 by V. Lakshman
- Coming of Age: Published: Amaskan’s Blood by Raven Oak
- Historical Fantasy: Camelot’s Queen by Nicole Evelina
- Myths & Legends: The Emperor of Babylon by Murray Lee Eiland, Jr.
- Coming of Age: Manuscript: Darksea by Gary J. Hurtubise
CONGRATULATIONS to Vijay Lakshman, author of the OZMA GRAND PRIZE winner — Mythborn 2!

The 2016 OZMA Short Listers competed for these First Place Category Positions. The OZMA First Place Category Award Winners’ novels have competed for the OZMA Grand Prize Award for the 2016 Western Fiction Novel. These winners were announced and recognized at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash., on April 1st, 2017.

The First In Category award winning titles will receive an award package including a complimentary Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

Congratulations to those whose works made the OZMA Awards 2016 FINALISTS and SHORT-LISTERS lists.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2017 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Fifteen different genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

We are now accepting entries into the 2017 OZMA Awards. The deadline is October 31st, 2017 Click here for more information or to enter.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2017 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Fifteen different genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.
April 6, 2017