Tag: First Nation stories

  • The Laramie Awards 2024 Long List for Americana Fiction

    The Laramie Awards 2024 Long List for Americana Fiction

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Western, First Nations and Americana Fiction. The Laramie Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

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

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

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

    These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Western and Americana Fiction!

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

    • Robert Brighton – Winter in the High Sierra a Love Story
    • Susanna Lane – Enduring Promise
    • Linda Paul – The Last Gypsy Queen
    • Jeanne Gehret – Secrets To the Wind
    • Alice Vonkannon Hodapp – Heart’s Blood
    • Natalie Musgrave Dossett – Sarita
    • Kregg P.J. Jorgenson – 1886 the Last Campaign
    • David Fitz-Gerald – First Drive
    • Barry Robbins – Voices of the Civil War
    • Heidi M. Thomas – Goth-girl to Cowgirl
    • David Fitz-Gerald – A Grave Every Mile A Pioneer Western Adventure
    • Patricia Roberts Wright – A Siren Called Truth
    • Imogen Martin – Under A Gilded Sky
    • Jonita Mullins – The Tearful Trail
    • Linda Broday – Courting Miss Emma
    • Donald Willerton – Death in the Tallgrass
    • CK Van Dam – Medicine Creek Claim: On the Dakota Frontier
    • Woody Woodburn – The Butterfly Tree
    • Evelyn Fletcher Symes – Five Horse Winter
    • Brook Allen – West of Santillane
    • Sean James – The Vengeful Kind
    • John Hansen – Crazy Woman Creek
    • Heather Miller – Yellow Bird’s Song
    • M. B. Zucker – The Middle Generation: A Novel of John Quincy Adams and the Monroe Doctrine
    • Craig Hipkins – Bandy
    • John G. Russell, III – Four Corners But Verily Only Two Choices
    • Josie Olsvig – Freedom’s Tears The History of the Civil War in Charleston, South Carolina and Port Royal Sound
    • C.M. Huddleston – Esther
      Karen Lynne Klink – At What Cost, Silence? Book 1 of The Texian Trilogy
      Nate Granzow – Black Cordite, White Snow
    • Charlie Steel – Tom Sharp: The Man and the Legend (A Novel)
    • Tim Piper – The Powell Expeditions
    • Paul Buchheit – 1871: Rivers on Fire
    • Lynn Downey – Dude or Die
    • Daniel Greene – Northern Shadows (Northern Wolf Series Book 5)

    PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

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

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

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

    Congratulations once more to the 2023 Laramie Grand Prize Winner

    The Last Man

    By Thomas Goodman

    Blue and Gold badge recognizing The Last Man by Thomas Goodman for winning the 2023 Laramie Grand Prize

     

    Click here to see the full list of 2023 Laramie Book Award Winners for Western Fiction.

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Laramie Book Awards for Western Fiction.

    Please click here for more information.

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

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

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

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

     

  • The Laramie First Place Roundup for Americana Fiction!

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Western and American Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Thomas Goodman’s book, The Last Man will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Laramie 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 Laramie 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 Laramie Winners!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara

    1847- Magghie is forced to flee her home after a cholera outbreak ravishes her village. She travels west with her teams of draft horses, and in the company of a Mormon family, but they soon disagree on the best way forward. When her fellow travelers turn on her, tragedy strikes during a flash flood. She must forge ahead on her own to find the place that has been haunting her dreams.

    T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring

    When Eastern aristocrat True Tucker left her lush way of life in Charlotte to travel to the untamed western town of Rimrock to spend the winter with her sisters, she never imagined where the trip would lead. Events beyond her control force her to find refuge in a small mountain cabin with a devilishly handsome man and his young daughter. She knows her life is about to change forever when her feelings for him make her forget she is promised to another man. After a few nights in his strong arms, True suddenly questions where she belongs.

    Sam Barkley had long ago given up on finding love after the death of his wife and he certainly didn’t expect to find the beautiful blond woman lost in the mountains. After she saves his daughter’s life at the risk of her own, he can no longer fight the growing love he has for her. Just one taste of her untamed passion leaves him craving more and he can’t let her go. Sam has until spring to convince True to stay in Rimrock with him, because he knows that’s exactly where she belongs.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper: A Matter of Time

    It’s 1981, and Rebecca’s life is going exactly according to plan: a veterinary degree, a husband and daughter, and her first veterinary clinical position. She is set for life. But then the unexpected happens …

    Disoriented and desperate after a freak riding accident, she stumbles into the nearby town, which strongly resembles the set of a beloved Western television show from her childhood … and it’s 1857!

    Injured and alone, she’s afraid to share where and when she’s from. How will she survive in a world where women are second-rate? Now trapped in another world, she embarks on a desperate quest to return to her husband, daughter, and career.

    Rebecca uses her 20th century veterinary skills, knowledge, and modern values to make a new life for herself—and to survive. Her travels across the United States lead to encounters with historical people and events, including the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. and Jr., Mark Twain, and Clara Barton.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)

    War takes guts and luck to survive…but will it be enough?Wolf’s been promoted. He’s helped bring down one of the South’s greatest generals. Yet his country still has more to ask of him and the costliest war in America’s history rages on. Sheridan’s cavalry raids west to destroy Confederate infrastructure and divert attention from Grant’s movement south of the killing fields of Cold Harbor. Yet Wade Hampton and his rebel forces have something else in store for the Union Cavalry Corps. Wolf quickly finds himself in the hot seat of the largest all-cavalry battle of the war near Trevilian Station. Isolated and surrounded can they survive the coming Southern storm? Or will they be overrun and annihilated, a mere footnote in history?

    Find it Locally and on Amazon

    K.S. Jones – Tastefully Texas

    No matter where one travels in Texas, at practically any time of the year in cities large and small, some things remain constant: livestock shows, rodeos, and football—and Chef Mia Ellis rejected them all. With a culinary arts degree as proof that a cosmopolitan lifestyle awaited her, Mia left everything behind in favor of New York City.

    But when an emergency brings her back home, Mia finds herself completely unprepared for the town and the people she’s outgrown. Even with cooking—the only thing that has ever separated her from her hometown roots—and her on-hold job in N.Y.C. anchoring her to salvation, Mia has to find a way to earn money while she’s in town. Unfortunately, a dishwashing gig at an out-of-the-way bar and grill is all that’s available.

    It isn’t until Mia reconnects with Jace, her old high school sweetheart and heir to Texas Century Ranch, that she realizes she may still have a taste for Texas after all.

    Find it Locally and on Amazon


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

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction Award
    Enter Today!

    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 Laramie Book Awards are open through the end of September until the date changes online!

    Blue button that says Enter a Writing Contest
    Submit to the Laramie Awards Today!
  • The Laramie 2024 Hall of Fame for Americana Fiction!

    The Frontier is calling

    Submit your Americana, Western or Civil War Novels to the CIBAs!

    western themed porch with a barrel, bottles, and a hat and banjo on a chair***Tell your story today***

    You have until September 30th to share your Story with us and enter the 2024 Laramie Division of the CIBAs!

    Laramie Awards for Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction Award

    Charles M. Russell painted the cowboy seen on Chanticleer’s very own Laramie contest badge. It is one of many such paintings he did that encompassed the Old American Wild West. An advocate for the Native Americans, Charles M. Russell also helped establish a reservation in Montana for the Chippewa people.

    Our Laramie Hall of Fame Celebrates the Grand Prize Winners of now and past years!

    The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
    By Thomas Goodman

    In The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery by Thomas Goodman, four men in a small, depression-era Texas town lay in wait to carry out their unique plan for a holiday heist.

    It’s December 23 and a man in a Santa Claus suit walks into a bank. But rather than his bag full of Christmas surprises, he’s brought a gun. With the element of surprise on their side, the robber and his two partners would collect the cash, while another partner waited in the getaway car. It all seemed so simple.

    At the time, Texas bankers—in order to deter crimes such as this—promised a $5,000 reward for any dead bandits, “and not one cent” for the capture of a live one. Should anything go wrong, the possibilities for disaster were clear as a Greek tragedy. but what could go wrong?

    Full review to come! Buy the book here!

    Guarded Hearts Cover

    Guarded Hearts
    By T.K. Conklin

    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”.

    LaRisa has kept her distance from people, afraid of her gift of healing touch that can turn dangerous, even deadly. But, when she comes to town to deliver her medicinal herbs, she makes her way to the livery with tasks for Strykes such as shoeing her horse or fixing a spring in her wagon. He is only too happy to oblige the auburn-haired beauty. The attraction between them is instantaneous, yet they both are hesitant to act on it, fearing they would hurt the other– he from his violent past, and she from her “witch” power.

    Read More Here

    Tom Sawyer Returns
    By E.E. Burke

    Tom Sawyer Returns is the second book in The New Adventures series by author E.E. Burke.

    Readers join a now grown up and far more independent Becky Thatcher as she maneuvers her complicated life in Civil War era Mississippi. Tom has long since left, and Becky is engaged to Union Captain Alfred Temple, who offers her all the safety and security she needs in such uncertain times. But does she love him? Actually love him?

    Becky soon discovers that her heart may have other plans.

    Read More Here

    Cover of Trouble The Water by Rebecca Dwight Bruff

    Trouble The Water
    By Rebecca Dwight Bruff
    Overall Grand Prize Winner

    Robert Smalls’ life should have been one for the history books.

    Smalls was born a slave in Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1839. When the first shots of the Civil War were fired upon Fort Sumter, Smalls was an experienced helmsman aboard a small cargo ship plying the coastal waters of South Carolina and the neighboring states. Once the war broke out, he found himself working to support a cause that kept him, his wife, and their children locked in chattel slavery.

    But in a daring escapade that fell somewhere between a raid and a rescue, Smalls planned, with the help of his fellow crew members (also slaves) aboard the CSS Planter, to abscond with the ship, its cargo of munitions taken from Fort Sumter, and bring their families. The plan was to sail the ship as though its white officers were still on board, pretending to be carrying out their orders—at least until the ship was out of the reach of Fort Sumter’s guns.

    Read More Here

    Seven Aprils
    By Eileen Charbonneau

    Disguised gender identities, warfare, and thwarted romance all play a role in this many-layered novel, Seven Aprils, by award-winning fiction author Eileen Charbonneau.

    When Tess Barton, a hardscrabble farm girl, saves the life of a man attacked by a panther, she and he little realize how fated this encounter will prove. Ryder Cole, the man she saved, moves on, pursuing a medical career just as the United States seems destined for war. Intrepid Tess will move on, too, when she learns that her widower father sells her in matrimony to an old, brutish shopkeeper. A wise crone cuts Tess’s hair and garbs her in men’s attire. Reborn as Tom Boyde, who will soon, strangely, meet up with Ryder and become one of his “men,” conscripted into Lincoln’s armies. Tess/Tom shows promise as a medical assistant with some undeniable cooking skills, and together with two other conscripts, they make the team in the Union’s army hospital units.

    Read More Here

    Blood Moon A Captives Tale
    By Ruth Hull Chatlien

    Ruth Hull Chatlien’s historical novel Blood Moon: A Captive’s Tale shines a light on two worlds trying to coexist in the 1860s Minnesota, that of Westward Expansion and white settlers, and that of the complex network of Sioux tribes dealing with starvation and disease. We follow her protagonist, Mrs. Sarah Wakefield, as she is thrust unwillingly into the midst of the Indian Wars.

    Based loosely on the life of real captive, Sarah Wakefield, Chatlien explores both sides of this conflict, through the eyes of our terrified hero, who does what she must to save her life and the lives of her two small children. The first-person narrative in present tense places us in the thick of Wakefield’s narrow escapes, and the presence of the constant threats to her and her children.

    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 Laramie 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!

    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

  • 8 days left to submit three Historical Book Awards in the CIBAs!

    Eight Divisions close in September!

    Eight excellent divisions close at the end of September!

    Don’t let your book miss out!

    Only 8 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 Chaucer Awards for Early Historical Fiction, The Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction, and the Laramie Awards for Western and Americana Fiction are still open!

    Best Book Grand Prize for the Chanticleer Int'l Book AwardsCongratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction!

    The Chaucer Awards for Historical Novels

    • Gina Buonaguro – The Virgins of Venice
    • Griffin Brady – The Hussar’s Duty
    • Robert S Phillips – Elodia’s Knife
    • Rozsa Gaston – Margaret of Austria
    • Rebecca Kightlinger – The Lady of the Cliffs: The Bury Down Chronicles, Book Two
    • C.V. Lee – Token of Betrayal 

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

    The Merchant from Sepharad by James Hutson-Wiley

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Goethe Awards!

    Post 1750s Historical Fiction Award

    • Lisa Voelker – The Spoon
    • Robert W Smith – A Long Way from Clare
    • Mitzi Zilka – Water Fire Steam
    • Susanne Dunlap – The Adored One
    • Linda Ulleseit – The River Remembers
    • Nicole Evelina – Catherine’s Mercy
    • William Maz – Bucharest Legacy: The Rise of the Oligarchs

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

    If Someday Comes by David Calloway

    If Someday Comes Cover

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    Congratulations to the 2023 Winners of the Laramie Awards!

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction Award

    • Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara
    • T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
    • Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time
    • Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)
    • K.S. Jones – Tastefully Texas

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

    The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery by Thomas Goodman

    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!

    Don’t Delay! Enter Today!

    The Chaucer Awards, The Laramie Awards, and The Goethe Awards

    Your book deserves to be discovered

  • The 2024 Laramie Awards Spotlight for Americana Fiction

    Don’t Spare the Horses!

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Awards are only open through the end of September!

    Tales of frontier life steeped in historic places and dates have long captivated readers of all ages. From Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series to The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, these stories give readers a glimpse into what was or what may have been. This Americana genre focuses mostly on Western/Pioneer/Civil War stories but can easily contain sub-genres including mystery, romance, and adventure as long as they are dressed with the American West or South as a backdrop. This division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) is meant to celebrate stories that evoke the rough-and-tumble nature of the Wild West, the heartbreaking croon of a lonesome cowboy by his fire, and the overly perfumed air of a small town saloon.

    The Categories for the Laramie Award are:

    • Western Romance
    • Adventure/Caper
    • Classic
    • Civil War/Prairie/Pioneer
    • Contemporary Western
    • Americana
    • First Nations

    If you’re looking to shine a lantern on your work, submit to the Laramie Awards today! If you’re just a fan of some good ol’ fashioned themes coloring your experience, take a look at some of the previous Laramie Award winners.

    We are delighted to celebrate the 2023 Winners of the Laramie Awards!

    • Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara
    • T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
    • Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time
    • Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)
    • K.S. Jones – Tastefully Texas

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

    The Last Man

    A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery

    by Thomas Goodman

    Blue and Gold badge recognizing The Last Man by Thomas Goodman for winning the 2023 Laramie Grand Prize

    More articles will come out celebrating those Laramie Awards Winners this month! For now, we’d like you to join us in celebrating these amazing books in the genre we’ve recently received!

    A Gold Ribbon dividing this section from the next

    BED of CONSPIRACY
    By Juliette Douglas
    Laramie First Place Winner

    Bed of Conspiracy Cover

    Growing up alone on the streets of Saint Louis in the mid-1870s, nineteen-year-old Samantha Davis has had to fight for everything.

    When she rescues Colonel Brady from armed attackers, she isn’t trying to be a hero or land a dangerous new job, but the moment Brady sees her deadly aim and unparalleled courage, he knows he’s found his new undercover agent. Brady has been tasked with infiltrating the KGC, the Knights of the Golden Circle, a group of Southern sympathizers hellbent on bringing down the government in a Confederate uprising.

    Brady believes Sam will be the perfect partner for Ross Cooper, a veteran agent who spends his off-time as a trail boss in Kansas. However, Ross is less than thrilled with Brady’s choice of the untrained, bad-tempered girl. Despite his misgivings, Ross agrees to team-up with Sam, and the two go undercover as Jim and Virginia Van Meter, a newlywed couple from South Carolina visiting Washington. After being introduced to Adam Mundy, the leader of this cell of the KGC, Ross (aka Jim) agrees to use his shipping business to help the Confederate cause.

    Read more here!

    TOM SAWYER RETURNS
    By E.E. Burke
    Laramie Grand Prize Winner

    Tom Sawyer Returns is the second book in The New Adventures series by author E.E. Burke.

    Readers join a now grown up and far more independent Becky Thatcher as she maneuvers her complicated life in Civil War era Mississippi. Tom has long since left, and Becky is engaged to Union Captain Alfred Temple, who offers her all the safety and security she needs in such uncertain times. But does she love him? Actually love him?

    Becky soon discovers that her heart may have other plans.

    Read more here!

    MATAMOROS
    By James Kahn
    Laramie First Place Winner

    Matamoros Cover Image

    With the American Civil War as a grisly backdrop, James Kahn shines a light onto the real old West in his latest novel, Matamoros: Civil War Adventure, Romance and Espionage in an Old West Border Town.

    The tiny Mexican town of Matamoros becomes a haven for traders, traitors, ex-slaves, and card sharks. Bring the war into the mix with Northern and Southern agents, both self-appointed and official, and the result is perfect for plenty to go wrong.

    Clayton Wilkes owns the Brave River Gambling Emporium and can smile and shoot almost in the same breath.

    Read more here!

    ROLLING HOME
    By David Fitz-Gerald
    Series Grand Prize Winner

    Rolling Home Cover

    David Fitz-Gerald concludes the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail series with a grand finale for an eclectic cast of characters, as the long wagon train is finally Rolling Home to their new lives in the wild west of Oregon.

    With the end of the trail just out of reach, however, their hopes dwindle and their hunger rages. The rigor of the western environment continues to test their determination and threaten vows of heartfelt romance. These weary people ache and mourn losses, while seeking new ways to survive and pull each other forward in the face of impending winter.

    This wagon train of travelers will also face venomous villains who have been lurking in the shadows, outlaws waiting for their best opportunity to pounce.

    Read more here!

    Note: David Fitz-Gerald’s entire series of Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail is excellent. You can read all our reviews for it here.

    GUARDED HEARTS
    By T.K. Conklin
    Laramie Grand Prize Winner

    Guarded Hearts Cover

    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”.

    LaRisa has kept her distance from people, afraid of her gift of healing touch that can turn dangerous, even deadly. But, when she comes to town to deliver her medicinal herbs, she makes her way to the livery with tasks for Strykes such as shoeing her horse or fixing a spring in her wagon. He is only too happy to oblige the auburn-haired beauty. The attraction between them is instantaneous, yet they both are hesitant to act on it, fearing they would hurt the other– he from his violent past, and she from her “witch” power.

    Read more here!


    Give another three cheers for the amazing Westerns and Americana Fiction here!

    The tiers of achievement for the CIBAs

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

    Your book deserves to be discovered.

    Submit to the Laramie Awards today!

  • The Laramie 2023 Book Awards Winners for Americana Fiction

    The Laramie 2023 Book Awards Winners for Americana Fiction

    Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre. The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

    Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

     1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners were announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony by Michelle Cox on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference

    This is the OFFICIAL 2023 LIST of the LARAMIE BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the LARAMIE Grand Prize Winner.

    Laramie Western Fiction 1st Place Best in Category CIBA Blue and Gold Badge

     

    Congratulations to the FIRST PLACE CATEGORY WINNERS of the Laramie Book Awards for Americana, Western, and First Nation Fiction, a division of the 2023 CIBAs.

    Join us in celebrating the following authors and their works!

    • Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara

    • T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring

    • Thomas Goodman – The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery

    • Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time

    • Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)

    • K.S. Jones – Tastefully Texas

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

      The Last Man

      by Thomas Goodman

       

      Laramie 2023 Grand Prize for The Last Man by Thomas Goodman

      You can see all of our amazing 2023 Laramie Finalists! Congratulations to all and thank you for submitting!

      Well done climbing the CIBA Levels of Achievement!

      PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

      Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

      This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

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

      Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Facebook and Twitter handle is @ChantiReviews

      Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

      A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in June. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.

      NOTE: We will post at least two 2023 CIBA Divisions’ OFFICIAL Winners per business day starting April 24, 2024. We do a final sweep and reconciliation prior to making the Official CIBA Posts for the 2023 First Place and Grand Prize Winners. We thank  you in advance for your patience and understanding. There are many moving parts involved with the Chanticleer International Book Awards Program.

      Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.

      Team Chanticleer! 

    • The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Finalists for Americana Fiction

      The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Finalists for Americana Fiction

      Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre.  The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

      Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

      These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Laramie Americana Semi-Finalists to the 2023 Laramie Book Awards FINALISTS. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

      We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference

      These titles are the FINALISTS of the 2023 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!

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

      • Leah Angstman – The Only Way to Cheat a Hangman
      • Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara
      • George T. Arnold – The Heart Beneath the Badge
      • Kimberly Burns – The Redemption of Mattie Silks
      • Leslie K Simmons – Red Clay, Running Waters
      • Myra Hargrave McIlvain – The Knotted Ring
      • K.S. Jones – Tastefully Texas
      • Venetia Hobson Lewis – Changing Woman
      • T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
      • Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
      • Joan Koster – That Dickinson Girl: A Novel of the Civil War
      • Thomas Goodman – The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
      • J. Stanion – My Place Among Them
      • Sophia Alexander – Homespun
      • Michael L. Ross – Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding
      • Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch
      • David Calloway – If Someday Comes
      • Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time
      • T. M. Brown – The Last Laird of Sapelo
      • Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)

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

      Laramie Book Awards

       

      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.

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

      Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

      Or click hereto go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

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

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

      Guarded Hearts 

      by T.K. Conklin

      The 2022 Laramie Grand Prize Badge for Guarded Hearts by T.K. Conklin

      Click here to see the 2022 Laramie Book Award Winners for Americana Fiction.

      Please click here for more information.

      For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:

      Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

      The Chanticleer Authors Conference

      Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

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

      Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!

       

    • The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Semi-Finalists for Americana Fiction

      The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Semi-Finalists for Americana Fiction

      Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre.  The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

      Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

      These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Laramie Americana Short List to the 2023 Laramie Book Awards SEMI-FINALISTS. FINALISTS will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

      We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton in beautiful Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference

      These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2023 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!

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

      • Leah Angstman – The Only Way to Cheat a Hangman
      • Heidi M. Thomas – Rescue Ranch Rising
      • Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara
      • George T. Arnold – The Heart Beneath the Badge
      • Kimberly Burns – The Redemption of Mattie Silks
      • Leslie K Simmons – Red Clay, Running Waters
      • E. Alan Fleischauer – Chip Heller Man of Valor
      • Martha Engber – The Falcon, the Wolf, and the Hummingbird
      • James Holland – Vigilante Love Song: Alice Roosevelt and The White House Gunfighters
      • Myra Hargrave McIlvain – The Knotted Ring
      • K.S. Jones – Tastefully Texas
      • Venetia Hobson Lewis – Changing Woman
      • T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
      • Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
      • Joan Koster – That Dickinson Girl: A Novel of the Civil War
      • Thomas Goodman – The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
      • J. Stanion – My Place Among Them
      • Shanna Hatfield – Love on Target
      • Michael L. Ross – Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding
      • Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch
      • David Calloway – If Someday Comes
      • K. S. Jones – Change of Fortune
      • Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time
      • T. M. Brown – The Last Laird of Sapelo
      • Sophia Alexander – Homespun
      • Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)

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

       

      PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

      This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

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

      Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

      Or click hereto go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

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

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

      Guarded Hearts 

      by T.K. Conklin

      The 2022 Laramie Grand Prize Badge for Guarded Hearts by T.K. Conklin

      Click here to see the 2022 Laramie Book Award Winners for Americana Fiction.

      Please click here for more information.

      For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:

      Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

      The Chanticleer Authors Conference

      Featuring authors like D.D. Black, Kim Hornsby, book doctor Christine Fairchild, and Mark Berridge, our twelfth annual conference is shaping up to be excellent! You won’t want to miss out on the best tips around the business of being an author!

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

      Join us for our 12th annual conference and discover why!

    • The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Short List for Americana Fiction

      The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Short List for Americana Fiction

      Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre.  The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

      Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

      These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from the 2023 Laramie Americana Long List to the 2023 Laramie Book Awards SHORT LIST. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

      We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference. 

      These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2023 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!

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

      • Leah Angstman – The Only Way to Cheat a Hangman
      • Heidi M. Thomas – Rescue Ranch Rising
      • Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara
      • Barbara Toomer – Season of Our Reckoning
      • Deborah Hufford – Blood to Rubies
      • George T. Arnold – The Heart Beneath the Badge
      • Kimberly Burns – The Redemption of Mattie Silks
      • Leslie K Simmons – Red Clay, Running Waters
      • E. Alan Fleischauer – Chip Heller Man of Valor
      • Donna E. Lane – This Hallowed Ground
      • Martha Engber – The Falcon, the Wolf, and the Hummingbird
      • James Holland – Vigilante Love Song: Alice Roosevelt and The White House Gunfighters
      • Myra Hargrave McIlvain – The Knotted Ring
      • K.S. Jones – Tastefully Texas
      • Venetia Hobson Lewis – Changing Woman
      • T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
      • Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
      • Joan Koster – That Dickinson Girl: A Novel of the Civil War
      • Thomas Goodman – The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
      • J. Stanion – My Place Among Them
      • Shanna Hatfield – Love on Target
      • JR Holland – Alice Roosevelt and the White House Gunfighters
      • John Hansen – Grays Lake
      • Michael L. Ross – Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding
      • Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch
      • David Calloway – If Someday Comes
      • K. S. Jones – Change of Fortune
      • Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time
      • T. M. Brown – The Last Laird of Sapelo
      • Sophia Alexander – Homespun
      • Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)

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

      PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

      This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

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

      Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

      Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

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

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

      Guarded Hearts 

      by T.K. Conklin

      The 2022 Laramie Grand Prize Badge for Guarded Hearts by T.K. Conklin

      Click here to see the 2022 Laramie Book Award Winners for Americana Fiction.

      Please click here for more information.

      For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:

      Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

      CAC24 –April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

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

      Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!

    • The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Long List for Americana Fiction

      The 2023 Laramie Book Awards Long List for Americana Fiction

      Western Pioneeer Civil War Fiction AwardThe Laramie Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the Americana and Westerns fiction genre.  The Laramie Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

      Chanticleer Book Reviews is looking for the best books featuring Americana themes, First Nation stories, early North American History, cowboys & cowgirls in the Wild West, pioneering, and Civil War, and we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

      These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2023 Laramie Americana entries to the 2023 Laramie Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for the 2023 Laramie Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. FINALISTS will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

      We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference. 

      These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2023 Laramie Book Awards novel competition for Americana Fiction!

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

      • Leah Angstman – The Only Way to Cheat a Hangman
      • Heidi M. Thomas – Rescue Ranch Rising
      • Barbara Salvatore – The Trail to Niobrara
      • Barbara Toomer – Season of Our Reckoning
      • Deborah Hufford – Blood to Rubies
      • George T. Arnold – The Heart Beneath the Badge
      • Kimberly Burns – The Redemption of Mattie Silks
      • Leslie K Simmons – Red Clay, Running Waters
      • E. Alan Fleischauer – Chip Heller Man of Valor
      • Loretta Miles Tollefson – There Will Be Consequences
      • Donna E. Lane – This Hallowed Ground
      • Susan Rounds – The Winds of Autumn: A Marquette Legacy Epic Romance
      • Martha Engber – The Falcon, the Wolf, and the Hummingbird
      • James Holland – Vigilante Love Song: Alice Roosevelt and The White House Gunfighters
      • Leslie K Simmons – Red Clay, Running Waters
      • Myra Hargrave McIlvain – The Knotted Ring
      • K.S. JONES – Tastefully Texas
      • Venetia Hobson Lewis – Changing Woman
      • T.K. Conklin – Promise of Spring
      • Steven Mayfield – The Penny Mansions
      • Joan Koster – That Dickinson Girl: A Novel of the Civil War
      • Thomas Goodman – The Last Man: A Novel of the 1927 Santa Claus Bank Robbery
      • J. Stanion – My Place Among Them
      • Shanna Hatfield – Love on Target
      • JR Holland – Alice Roosevelt and the White House Gunfighters
      • John Hansen – Grays Lake
      • John W. Jarrett – The Dark Prairie
      • Michael L. Ross – Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding
      • Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch
      • David Calloway – If Someday Comes
      • K. S. JONES – Change of Fortune
      • Elizabeth Woolsey – The Travels of Dr. Rebecca Harper A Matter of Time
      • Lloyd Mullins – A Rare and Dangerous Beast
      • T. M. Brown – The Last Laird of Sapelo
      • Sophia Alexander – Homespun
      • Daniel Greene – Northern Dawn (Northern Wolf Series Book 4)

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

      PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS! 

      This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

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

      Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

      Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

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

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

      Guarded Hearts 

      by T.K. Conklin

      The 2022 Laramie Grand Prize Badge for Guarded Hearts by T.K. Conklin

      Click here to see the 2022 Laramie Book Award Winners for Americana Fiction.

      The 2024 Laramie Awards are now open! Click here for more information!

      For our other Historical Fiction Awards, please see the following:

      Winners will be announced at the 2023 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

      CAC24 –April 18-21, 2024! Register Today!

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

      Join us for our 11th annual conference and discover why!