Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Historical Fiction

The CHAUCER Awards for Pre-1750s Historical Fiction – 2017 Official List of Winners
We are excited and honored to officially announce the Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category Winners for the 2017 CHAUCER Book Awards for Pre-1750 Historical Fiction Novels at the fifth annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Chanticleer Book Awards Ceremony. This year’s ceremony and banquet were held on Saturday, April 21st, 2018 at the Hotel Bellwether by beautiful Bellingham Bay, Wash.

We want to thank all of those who entered and participated in the 2017 Chaucer Book Awards, a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

When we receive the digital photographs from the Official CAC18 photographer, we will post them here and on the complete announcement that will list all the genres and the Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2017 Chanticleer International Book Awards. Please check back!

Click here for the link to the 2017 CHAUCER Shortlisters! An email will go out within three weeks to all Shortlisters with links to digital badges and how to order Shortlister stickers.

Congratulations to the 2017 CHAUCER SHORTLISTERS!

Janet Oakley, the author of the 2016 GOETHE Grand Prize Winner, The JØSSING AFFAIR, announced the First Place Award Winners and the Grand Prize Winner for the 2017 Chaucer Book Awards at the Chanticleer Awards Banquet and Ceremony.

Congratulations to the First Place Category Winners of the 2017 CHAUCER Book Awards.

An email will go out to all First Place Category Winners and Grand Prize Winners with more information, the timing of awarded reviews, links to digital badges, and more by May 21st, 2018 (four weeks after the awards ceremony). Please look for it.

2017 CHAUCER Book Awards First in Category Winners for pre-1750s Historical Fiction Novels are:
- The Serpent and the Eagle by Edward Rickford
- Slave to Fortune by DJ Munro
- The Traitor’s Noose by Catherine A Wilson and Catherine T Wilson
- Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Crystal King
- Call to Juno: A Tale of Ancient Rome by Elisabeth Storrs
- The Chatelaine of Montaillou by Susan E Kaberry
- Guillaume: Book Two of The Triptych Chronicle by Prue Batten
And now for the 2017 CHAUCER Grand Prize Book Award Winner for pre-1750 Historical Fiction Novels:

The Traitor’s Noose: Lions and Lilies Book 4

by Catherine A. Wilson and Catherine T. Wilson

This post will be updated with photos from the awards ceremony. Please do visit it again!

The deadline to submit to the 2018 Chaucer Book Awards is June 30, 2018.

Our next Chanticleer International Book Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, April 20th, 2019, for the 2018 winners. Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!
April 28, 2018
A SEEPING WOUND by Darryl Wimberley – Historical Fiction, Literary, Deep South
Here is a novel of utmost despair, but also the determination of the human spirit to do what is right and survive in the face of grave danger. Set in Northern Florida in the 1920s, A Seeping Wound by Darryl Wimberly centers on the nefarious activities of the Blue Turtle Turpentine Camp, one woman’s life in that camp, and a young veteran’s search for his missing sister.

Still suffering from wounds inflicted during the Great War, Prescott (Scott) Hampton arrives in Cross City, Florida determined to find his sister Sarah, and her husband Franklin Breaux. The Hampton family has not heard from Sarah in months and Cross City was the last town she posted a letter from. Scott quickly discovers a deeply embedded system of graft involving the Bucknell Timber & Turpentine Company, local law enforcement, and the county judge. Judge Hiram Sheppard runs his courtroom exactly as he sees fit—no defendant is allowed to testify on their own behalf, no written records are taken, and all debtors are sent to the Blue Turtle Turpentine Camp.

Scott suspects something along these lines may have happened to his sister and questions Judge Sheppard as to whether or not he can recall Sarah passing through his courtroom. The judge merely shrugs and advises Scott not to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong. After all, men have died for lesser things. Scott disregards this barely veiled threat and buys horses and gear to search for his sister himself in the Florida wilderness.

Sarah Breaux, Scott’s sister, and her husband Frank are indeed at the Blue Turtle Turpentine Camp. They answered a newspaper advertisement and were conned into believing they would be getting involved in honest work, not indentured servitude, and are now suffering horribly. Frank has been thrown into The Box—a four-foot square, four-foot tall prison cell open to the elements and Sarah has no idea when he may be released. The camp is run by some of the foulest, most sadistic men in existence. The captain of the camp, however, is the worst of all.

Captain Henry Riggs is an evil man. He is a ruthless, vengeful pedophile and he runs his turpentine camp like a cotton plantation in the old Deep South. Whippings are given out with ‘Black Auntie,’ men are forced to drink and gamble away what little wages they’ve made every Sunday, and the women of the camp are put on the ‘schedule.’ The schedule is a euphemistic term for the enforced prostitution almost every woman in the camp must endure. The captain, of course, takes his cut and leaves the women with hardly any money or medical care to see to their injuries or other needs.

The one person who is able to see to the needs of the sick and injured is Martha LongFoot, the camp’s medicine woman. Half Muscogee, half African, she is a striking woman. She is repeatedly referred to as ‘injun’ and ‘it’ and other harsher epithets. She’s easily taller than most men, with bronze skin and long black hair…on the half of her face and head where she hasn’t been burned. The other side of her profile is horribly mutilated and has never fully healed from when she poured boiling rosin on her own face as a young teenager to avoid being forced into prostitution by Captain Riggs.

Martha’s oath as the camp medicine woman to do no harm continually comes into conflict with the reality of the world she lives in. She is witness to the greatest atrocities inflicted on those who are forced to live and work in the Blue Turtle Turpentine Camp and she also must care for her jailors when they themselves are sick or injured. She takes her oath as a healer very seriously, despite multiple opportunities to just let the evil men who run the camp die of their wounds and illnesses.

The fates of the Breaux and Martha connect as Scott circles ever closer to the camp and his sister’s whereabouts. Martha, Sarah, and Scott must each walk a very precarious line if they want to survive and ultimately must depend on each other to get out alive.

A Seeping Wound is a thoroughly researched work of historical fiction told in alternating viewpoints. There are lush descriptions of the wilderness and the environment and these descriptions succeed in making the setting a character itself. This is a land and an era where black men and women are still viewed as nothing more than property and readers who are sensitive to racism, rape, and epithets may want to pick a different novel. A Seeping Wound represents all these darker issues with stark, unforgiving language.

As is to be expected with a story as harsh and unrelenting as this one, the ending is bittersweet. Salvation arrives, but whether or not it is too late is up to the reader. This novel is sure to be appreciated by historical fiction fans given the copious and dedicated research that has gone into writing it, the diverse viewpoints, and the unusual setting.

Reviewers Note: Not suitable for children or teenagers. This novel contains many emotional triggers and depicts graphic violence and rape.
April 27, 2018
MURDER BESIDE the SALISH SEA by Jennifer Mueller – Mystery, Thriller, World War II, Pacific Northwest

Brock Harker, World War II fighter pilot returns home to the Pacific Northwest on leave. He’s searching for a little peace once he finds his half Japanese wife who vanished while he was away. What he finds is Murder Beside The Salish Sea by author Jennifer Mueller, who artfully pulls Brock into an intriguing plot that hides the darkest of secrets.

Working as a pilot for the Flying Tigers in China, Brock earned the distinguished Order of the Cloud and Banner from the Chinese. After Pearl Harbor, he joins the Air Corps as a bomber pilot. Brock would say that flying was the one good thing his dad taught him, and he’d learned it so well he swore he could dogfight when he was ten years old. He should have been dead many times during these World War II years, but what has him frightened most is Amy’s disappearance. Half Japanese/American women have to watch themselves now. His heart broke when her letters stopped, and the letters he sent went unanswered. Now he’s determined to find her or find out what happened to her.

The search begins at his father’s home, the only family he has left. They parted years ago on the worst of terms, in large part because of his racist father’s hatred for Brock’s beloved Amy. Now, will his father greet Brock after all these years, or throw him away again? Brock reacquaints himself with his hometown of Bellingham, friends and other people he had known before, and meets military personnel on the nearby base. Several of these people become suspects in the ensuing murders. Brock is also accused by the police in his father’s murder. Brock applies wartime tactics and a little help from his friends to track and capture the murderer. Only then are devastating secrets revealed that may be unbearable for this war hero.

This thrilling, historical mystery that’s steeped in sweet romance tugs at a sense of adventure. The story travels across plot twists like an army jeep driving the diverse, Pacific Northwest landscape, from the Cascade Mountains to sandy beaches, and along the Straits to the Ocean. Hang on because just when the reader thinks the plot ahead is recognizable, there’s another curve and the view completely changes.

With Murder Beside The Salish Sea, Jennifer Mueller brings to life an important time in history, while weaving in poignant, personal drama. As Brock’s beloved wife Amy once said to him, “We endure what we cannot change.”

April 26, 2018
The BOATHOUSE CAFE: Book One of FIRST LIGHT by Linda Cardillo – Intercultural Romance, Literary, Historical Fiction

Mae Keaney is looking for a way back to her childhood, back to safety, and finds it in a property on Chappaquiddick Island. A wind-tattered cottage and an old boathouse she envisions as a café will be her haven, as long as she can keep her regrets and sorrows hidden.

With determination, she brings her talents as cook and waitress to bear, attracting locals and tourists alike with her hearty sandwiches, delicious cakes, and teas. She has her privacy and her shelter, and that is all she craves – until she meets Tobias, a quiet, kind, dark-skinned fisherman who begins the difficult process of enflaming her cold heart. Tobias is the son of the chief of the island’s Wampanoag tribespeople and scurrilous rumors begin to fly about Mae and her lover.

Set during the Second World War years and beyond, The Boathouse Café reminds us of a time when an unwanted pregnancy could ruin a woman for life and prejudice against Native Americans was status quo. These factors affect the star-crossed, inter-cultural relationship between Mae and Tobias, twisting it into a complex carpet of unanswered–and unanswerable–questions. Only strong, sincere, honest love can hold them together to face the storms that will beset them before their union can be secured.

This is a story that breaks through the barriers of race and challenges tradition and social mores for love.

Award-winning writer Cardillo planned out this stunning family saga with extreme care. Though the motivations and histories of her well-constructed characters may be mysterious at first, the author will thoughtfully tie up every thread as the story progresses. Her setting, a tiny dot of land hanging out in the Atlantic Ocean, subject to torments of both harsh weather and human weakness, gives the tale great power, somehow presenting more potential for drama than similar yarns spun on safe, dry land. When a fire rages on Mae’s property or a vindictive enemy vandalizes her cozy home, there will be people on “Chappy” who value the land and the traditions of the island and will step in to help and widen the circle of Mae’s support. The island, in Cardillo’s skilled hands, becomes not just an enthralling environment but a shared ethos.

Ultimately, this beautifully written, passionate, page-turning adventure of a blended family history and a romance of grand proportions will have readers yearning to continue the series with The Uneven Road and Island Legacy.

March 20, 2018
The BOUNDARY STONE by Gail Avery Halverson – Historical Romance, Black Plague

Catherine Abbott has everything a young lady of quality could wish for in England, 1660’s. She lives on her father’s comfortable estate in the village of Wells, Buckinghamshire and she’s soon to be wed to Miles Houghton, a childhood friend recently returned from several years in France. For Miles, the wedding is just the ticket to free him from his rather large gambling debt. His heart isn’t in it, though, as he still yearns for the Parisian nightlife.

However, Catherine has had an interest in science, books, and “the mysteries of this world” that inspires her to make complex drawings of butterflies and track the constellations in the night skies. Can she be happy as an idle wife? When she meets Simon, a young doctor who has been assigned to care for her aging, gout-ridden father, she begins to dream of a different future, impossible, she understands, but she still can dream, right?

Then the Black Plague strikes England. Taking orders from Simon whom he has grown to respect, Lord Abbott orders the village of Wells to be quarantined and ships Catherine’s brother Charles off to the colonies. Miles, unwilling to be hemmed in, flees without a word to Catherine, ignoring their planned nuptials. She, who once helped a servant girl in the throes of childbirth, finds a way to assist Simon in treating plague victims. He recognizes Catherine’s remarkable medical talents and begins to envision a way he and she might someday make a medical partnership. Or will their relationship go beyond the professional?

Award-winning writer Halverson has given us a character so completely believable, and so empathetic that readers will fall in love with her from the opening scene, when, as a little girl, Catherine sneaks out one night to observe the movements of the stars. We are hooked and are convinced that this heroine is a prodigy who will only find what she seeks in life by breaking the bounds of convention. Drawing on events of the time, such as England’s trade with India, the colonization of America, the controversial issue of autopsies as a means of studying illness, and of course the horrors of the plague itself, Halverson reveals extensive research into the century she writes about. And employing rich idiomatic phrasing and restrained but appropriate accents as needed, she shows her gift for the sound as well as the sense of well-constructed prose. In a short Afterword, the author relates the story of a little English village on which she patterned her fictional Wells, where quarantine did serve to save lives at the time of the Black Plague.

Set against the backdrop of England’s Black Plague, one woman bravely challenges the rules of stature and class to find her true love and true calling. Historical romance readers will enjoy curling up with Halverson’s first book in The Stockbridge Series and look forward reading the next one.

March 8, 2018
The SERPENT’S CROWN: A NOVEL of MEDIEVAL CYPRUS by Hana Samek Norton – Medieval Cyprus, Historical Fiction, Literature

Hana Samek Norton begins her epic and engrossing novel of historical fiction, The Serpent’s Crown; A Novel of Medieval Cyprus, with this quotation: “It sometimes happens that exploits, however, known and splendidly achieved, come, by length of time, to be less known to fame, or even forgotten among posterity.” (Itinerarum Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi) How fortunate for readers, then, that the author brings to life a captivating chapter of history that occurred in Cyprus and Jerusalem in the early thirteenth century.

While many may be familiar with the main players of the royal Lusignan and Ibelin families, dynastic houses that feuded and intermarried during medieval times, Samek Norton proves that the characters waiting in the wings often play covert but essential parts in history. Had they not been there, events may have played out very differently. Much is owed to these minor characters who were discounted or overlooked, characters who utilized that obscurity to accomplish what their more famous peers didn’t or couldn’t because their lives were too public.

The Serpent’s Crown is a ringing endorsement of the idea that the personal is political. This is not a novel of battles and treaties, although they are referenced often with explanatory details. Instead, this novel is a stunning examination of how history is forged through the relations between husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings and every configuration of blended families. Spouses were lost to illnesses, pirates, poisons, accidents, and every other possible cause of death. Kings and queens had to have consorts, however, so marriages kept occurring with elaborate step-relations resulting.

Families were fertile ground for stirrings of love and loyalty, but also betrayals and extortions. The Lusignans and the Ibelins conspired to gain political power, but these families were often openly hostile towards each other. Juliana often contemplates family matters and specifically “what makes a marriage.” She is married to Guerin de Lasalle, a nephew of King Aimary de Lusinan, King of Jerusalem and Cyprus. Lasalle has a far less grand title, Lord of Parthenay. He had been betrothed to another as a child, a fact that unsettles Juliana and causes her to worry that her marriage is not valid, that in the eyes of the church, she is an adulterer. While she wants for nothing, she is often exasperated by her husband’s absolute loyalty to his uncle, his readiness to do whatever is necessary to assure the stability of the King’s realms. Juliana, a former nun used to a quiet life of piety and religious devotion, springs to action when her father-in-law kidnaps her infant daughter, Eleanor, and takes her to France. Nothing will deter her from recovering the child, but her quest is a long one, comprising several years and many events.

Samek Norton’s prose is vibrant and evocative. Her detailed descriptions of the ornate, often layered gowns worn by queens and their ladies make one long for a Project Runway of medieval fashions. The sumptuous descriptions of food and the fleshing out of time, of locales, of palaces, of Mediterranean sunlight, provide an exquisite backdrop for the action of the novel.

The book is thick with details, testimony to the author’s in-depth research, and keeping the many royal relations straight can be a challenge at times. The Cast of Characters listed at the outset of the novel is a great help. Even servants of households are noted because, again, this is a book that shines a light in dusty corners in piecing together events that affected outcomes noted in history books. In this regard, there are no insignificant characters. Samek Norton proves that the broad events of history rest on the shoulders of ordinary men and women. She gives them their long overdue recognition.

March 6, 2018
The Writer’s Life: Author Interview with DIANA FORBES – Chatelaine 1st Place Winner, Historical Romance, The Guilded Age

Diana Forbes writes romantic historical fiction. Her debut novel, Mistress Suffragette is easy to pick up and hard to put down. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview this author and I think you’ll enjoy what she had to say…

Chanticleer: Tell us a little about yourself: How did you start writing?

Forbes: I started writing when I was 6 years old. First I wrote poetry. Then I wrote diary entries, heavily influenced by Harriet the Spy. After that, I wrote articles for my school paper. Then I wrote restaurant reviews for the school paper. In college, I wrote features for the college paper.

Chanticleer: So, basically as soon as you could form cohesive sentences, you were off to the races! Nice job, Diana. But when did you realize that you were an author?

Forbes: I met with a career coach in 2003 and I told him, “I want to be a writer.” He said, “Why don’t we just say you are a writer since writing is in the doing?”

Chanticleer: Smart – writing is an active verb… Let’s chat about genre. What genre best describes your work?

Forbes: Mistress Suffragette, my debut novel, is best described as a romance. It’s historical, so sometimes it’s described as cross-genre: historical-romance. It also has a lot of humor in it.

Chanti: Cross-genre sweet spot – best of both worlds. What inspired you to write historical/romance?

Forbes: I take two writing classes a week in Manhattan where I live, and one of my writing teachers used to tell me, “Don’t worry about the genre. A debut novel is what it is. Just write it.” But, I basically wrote the story I wanted to read. It’s a romance against a very interesting historical backdrop – the late 19^th century or Gilded Age.

Chanti: I love the fact that you continue to work on your craft by taking writing classes. That’s such an important thing to do! Do you find yourself following the rules or do you like to make up your own rules?

Forbes: I like to break rules selectively. In other words, I love to know what the rules are, then break them if there is a very good reason.

Chanti: Good. Know the rules, so you know when, why, and how to break them. What do you do when you’re not writing? Tells us a little about your hobbies.

Forbes: I am an art buff. I like to go to museums and galleries and look around. Recently I have also started going to plays and musicals in Manhattan. I like to poke around antique stores and fairs, too. I have a great respect for history, so if I can learn a little history while I am having fun, that’s even better.

Chanti: You’re in the perfect place to do all that! Tell us a little about how you structure your writing day.

Forbes: I am very structured. I am fortunate to have an office that is separate from where I live. I roll into the office at 9 a.m., trying to get in one full hour of reading before the day officially starts, so from 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. Then I write from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., trying to stay off social media and email completely. At 3:30 or so, I return all my emails and hop on social media. After that, I work till between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on marketing Mistress Suffragette.

Chanti: That’s a fantastically structured day! What has been the most helpful marketing tool you’ve used so far?

Forbes: I really like awards shows. They offer the chance to have the work receive a little recognition as well as a great marketing push. Award shows can also help introduce the work to new readers.

Chanti: What areas of your writing are you most confident in? What advice would you give someone who is struggling in that area?

Forbes: Readers often tell me that my strengths are my research, the setting, and the voice. I love stories that whisk me away, and that’s what I aimed for with Mistress Suffragette. I also want to tell untold stories. Some of the things I learned while researching M. Suffragette, I had never ever heard before – even in Political Science classes at my university. Anything I discovered that was really new and really interesting about the time period I made sure to include in the novel.

Chanti: That’s pretty cool. So, we know that you take two writing classes a week, what other things do you do to grow your author chops?

Forbes: My writing classes in Manhattan require that I turn in 20 pages at a time to early readers (my classmates) who give me feedback. One of the classes concentrates more on the craft of writing. I also read books about writing. In addition, I look for award show contests that provide feedback, so that I can learn and grow and my writing can improve before I show my work to an agent or editor.

Chanti: This is how we discovered each other! We’re thrilled you entered your novel into the Chatelaine Awards. What are you working on now? What can we look forward to seeing next from you?

Forbes: I am working on the sequel to Mistress Suffragette. I see the story as a trilogy. I am not sure when the sequel publication date will be. I write many drafts of my novels before I show them to my agent and editor, so I am somewhere in the revision process.

Chanti: I certainly hope we get to see the sequels of Mistress Suffragette. Thank you for stopping in!

If you love romance (and who doesn’t?) and the Gilded Age, you know what to do! Check out Diana’s website and follow the links to purchase her book, Mistress Suffragette.

Like her Facebook page and follow her. Trust me, there is more to come from Forbes, and you’ll not want to miss out.

February 15, 2018
GOETHE BOOK AWARDS 2017 SHORTLIST for Historical Fiction post-1750s
The GOETHE Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Historical Fiction post-1750s. The GOETHE Book Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

More than $30,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2017 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 21st, 2018!

This is the Official announcement of the Authors and Titles of Works that have been SHORT-LISTED for the GOETHE 2017 Book Awards. These titles will now compete for the First In Category positions.

The GOETHE Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are Regency, 1700s/1800s, Turn of the 19th Century, 20th Century, World Wars and Other Wars, World/International History (non-western culture historical fiction pre-1750s), USA History, and 1830s – 1900s, Victorian Era.
- Caren Umbarger – The Passion of Marta
- Blaine Beveridge – A Bit of Candy in Hard Times
- Peter Curtis – The Dragontail Buttonhole
- Michelle Rene – Hour Glass
- Paul A. Barra – Murder in there Charleston Cathedral
- Ron Singerton – A Cherry Blossom in Winter
- J.R. Collins – The Boy Who Danced With Rabbits
- Joe Vitovec – Full Circle: A Refugee’s Tale
- Robert G. Makin – Dirt McGirtt
- Elizabeth Crowens – A Pocketful of Lodestones, Book Two in the Time Traveler Professor series
- Sean P. Mahoney – Fenian’s Trace
- Michelle Cox – A Ring of Truth
- Peter Greene – Paladin’s War
- Michael Aloysius O’Reilly – Desertion
- Jack Mayer – Before the Court of Heaven
- Jessica Dainty – The Shape of the Atmosphere
- Lucinda Brant – Deadly Peril: A Georgian Historical Mystery
- Helen Walsh Folsom – Kells, The Risin’ of the Rebellion
- Suzette Hollingsworth – Sherlock Holmes and the Chocolate Menace
- L.L. Holt – Invictus
- Kalen Vaughan Johnson – Robbing the Pillars
- Nick K. Adams – Away at War: A Civil War Story of the Family Left Behind
Good Luck to all of the 2017 GOETHE Short-Listers as they compete for the First Place Category positions.

First In Category announcements will be made at the Awards Ceremony. The GOETHE Grand Prize Winner and First Place Category Winners will be announced at the April 21st, 2018 Chanticleer Writing Contests Annual Awards Gala, at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2018 Chaucer Awards and the Goethe Awards writing competitions for Historical Fiction. Please click here for more information.

To view the GOETHE Slushpile Survivors of the first judging rounds, please click here.
January 20, 2018
MISTRESS SUFFRAGETTE by Diana Forbes – Victorian Historical Fiction, Suffragette Movement, Political

Against a backdrop of the Gilded Age, Mistress Suffragette follows a young woman as she fights with society and herself to find genuine freedom.

New York debutante Penelope Stanton is on the verge of marrying Sam, a business acquaintance of her father, but when her father’s business endeavors begin to fail, Sam drops her. Her family will soon be in dire straits if they can’t marry Penelope off or find her a good job. At a dance, she meets Edwin Post, an older, married man, who forces himself on her—and she must admit, his kisses drive her wild.

Torn by so many conflicting options, Penelope impulsively runs off to Boston with her old school chum Lucinda, to look for work and break free from obstructive social custom. In Boston, they meet Verdana, a brawny bloomer-wearer who draws Penelope into the movement for women’s rights. Soon Penelope finds that Verdana has forged an unconventional relationship with none other than her ex, Sam.

Then Penelope’s mother joins them, and a strange ménage is formed. Verdana and Penelope get work as speakers for women’s suffrage, demonstrating the freedom of Verdana’s “rational” trousers contrasted with Penelope’s “irrational” corsets and flounces. On a bicycle ride, they run, literally, into a radical Jewish artist, John Sloan, who moves in with them while recovering from his bruises. Penelope is attracted to John, while fearing he may be a fraud.

Meanwhile, Edwin is still pursuing her, driving her half mad with lust and indecision, and the whole gang is being stalked by a menacing neighbor who hates suffragettes, forcing Penelope to prove her secret skill with a pistol. All the chaos turns out to be good for Penelope, who is increasingly able to separate her negative feelings from her positive convictions, learning to say no—and someday, perhaps, yes.

Diana Forbes is a New Yorker who writes historical fiction with gusto. She has clearly researched the era, adding details about the styles, current events, medicines and other small but enjoyable touches. But her central focus is on leading her heroine through the bends and switchbacks of a well-devised plot. While all her characters are intriguing, Penelope will be especially recognizable and appealing to modern females as she grapples with the strictures of a time when women were the virtual chattel of the males in their lives. Penelope experiences love, lust, and everything in between, balanced by a strong sense of reason unusual in one so young.

December 18, 2017
GOETHE post-1750s Historical Fiction 2017 Book Awards Slushpile Survivors
The following titles and their authors have made it past the initial “Slush-Pile Rounds” and will compete in the next rounds to see which titles will be Short Listed for the 2017 Goethe Book Awards.

Congratulations to following 2017 Goethe post 1750s Historic Fiction Slushpile Survivors!
- Blaine Beveridge – A Bit of Candy in Hard Times
- Peter Curtis – The Dragontail Buttonhole
- Michael T. Sheahan – Curse of MacSweeney Doe
- PJ Devlin – Wissahickon Souls
- Ellen Butler – The Brass Compass
- John Hansen – Pursuit of Glory
- Elizabeth Crowens – A Pocketful of Lodestones, Book Two in the Time Traveler Professor series
- Gail Noble-Sanderson – The Passage Home to Meuse
- Kristin Beck – The Rising Road
- Sean Blair – The World We Forge
- Michelle Rene – Hour Glass
- Paul A. Barra – Murder in there Charleston Cathedral
- Ron Singerton – A Cherry Blossom in Winter
- J.R. Collins – The Boy Who Danced with Rabbits
- Mark Fins – Imagine That
- Joe Vitovec – Full Circle: A Refugee’s Tale
- Robert G. Makin – Dirt McGirtt
- Elizabeth Crowens – Silent Meridian, Book One in the Time Traveler Professor series
- Eleanor Tatum – Silver Cotton
- Nick K. Adams – Away at War: A Civil War Story of the Family Left Behind
- Sean P. Mahoney – Fenian’s Trace
- Michelle Cox – A Ring of Truth
- Barb Warner Deane – On The Homefront
- Johnnie Bernhard – A Good Girl
- Peter Greene – Paladin’s War
- Michael Aloysius O’Reilly – Desertion
- Jack Mayer – Before the Court of Heaven
- Jessica Dainty – The Shape of the Atmosphere
- Lucinda Brant – Deadly Peril: A Georgian Historical Mystery
- Caren Umbarger – The Passion of Marta
- Helen Walsh Folsom – Kells: The Risin’ of the Rebellion
- Bruce Graham – Visitor from the Reich
- Suzette Hollingsworth – Sherlock Holmes and the Chocolate Menace
- L.L. Holt – Invictus
- L.L. Holt – The Black Spaniard
- Kalen Vaughan Johnson – Robbing the Pillars
These titles are currently competing to be SHORTLISTED.

Good Luck to All!

We are accepting entries into the 2018 Goethe Book Awards for post 1750s Historical Fiction.

To compete in the 2018 Dante Rossetti Book Awards or for more information, please click here.

Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media, L.L.C. retains the right to not declare “default winners.” Winning works are decided upon merit only. Please visit our Contest Details page for more information about our writing contest guidelines.

CBR’s rigorous writing competition standards are why literary agencies seek out our winning manuscripts and self-published novels. Our high standards are also why our reviews are trusted among booksellers and book distributors.

Please do not hesitate to contact Info@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions about CBR writing competitions. Your input and suggestions are important to us.

Thank you for your interest in Chanticleer Book Reviews International Writing Competitions and Book Awards.
November 27, 2017