Tag: Historical Fiction

  • GOETHE post-1750s Historical Fiction 2017 Book Awards Slushpile Survivors

    GOETHE post-1750s Historical Fiction 2017 Book Awards Slushpile Survivors

    Post 1750s Historical Fiction Award

    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.

     

  • OLYMPUS NIGHTS ON THE SQUARE, Book 2 of the JULIANA SERIES by Vanda Writer – LGBT Coming of Age, Post WWII New York City

    OLYMPUS NIGHTS ON THE SQUARE, Book 2 of the JULIANA SERIES by Vanda Writer – LGBT Coming of Age, Post WWII New York City

    Alice Huffman is an interesting young woman. She likes to go by the name of Al, likes to wear tuxedoes when she’s allowed to and has a burning desire to run a nightclub in NYC where beautiful men and women can mix, mingle, sing, and dance in whatever way they please.  World War II has just ended. People should be ready to celebrate!

    But Al has other burning desires as well, some she’s not quite ready to talk about. After all, she tells herself, having these kinds of feelings for one gorgeous woman doesn’t really make her one of those sexual perverts other people are talking about, or does it?  Luckily, she has close friends, more like family, to help her deal with these questions during the tumultuous decade following the war. With them by her side, Al becomes the woman she was meant to be.

    The extended title, or subtitle, LGBT Life in the Early Post War Years 1945-1955 is really the best description of this work. The novel begins immediately after the war and is chock full of specific details that may not have made it into the history books. In just one example, if a man like Al’s friend Max, was discovered to be homosexual while serving in the army, he was given a “blue discharge,” a piece of paper that would limit his employment possibilities for life.

    We learn that freedoms for women, more public during the war, are severely curtailed as the men returning from overseas expect the home life they remember. In this tale, husbands exert control over their wives and women like Al are immediately suspected of “perversion” if they choose not to marry. It’s a tense time, growing more violent across the decade as McCarthyism and fear of communists in a Cold War with the Soviets becomes interwoven with the public campaign against all homosexuals, men and women alike. Every manner of insult is thrown at them. Al and Max understand they could lose everything they’ve worked for should either of them be discovered.

    It’s against this historic backdrop that Vanda develops her characters. In this second book of the Juliana series, the singer figures prominently, but in many ways, it’s Al cast as her young, secret, confused lover and eventual career director, who steals the floor show. The tension between Al and Juliana’s legal husband, Richard, is tragic and powerful and continues to grow throughout the work. Al herself is growing in every chapter, and changes from a terrified girl with an impossible dream, to a businesswoman who has earned the grudging respect of many powerful men.

    In this way, Olympus Nights can be seen as a Lesbian coming-of-age story with all the recognizable dangers present in the past that a more modern audience can still feel. Yet, even though the story really is centered on the women, the men in Al’s life also have important roles to play. We’re treated to historical glimpses of stars, such as Walter Winchell, Liberace, and Mayor O’Dwyer; and squirm with Max, Al’s mentor and ally, and Marty, a former soldier and aspiring actor, as they struggle to be their true selves. In every chapter, Vanda highlights the political climate of the times and brings forth a wealth of information describing the anti-Gay, anti-People of Color, anti-Communist, anti-Jew, and anti-Woman policies in New York City and America, during that decade.

    It isn’t hard to make the connections Vanda wants the reader to see, that these intolerant policies are making a resurgence years later, and that they have an ugly history of repression and violence effecting real people. Her creation of characters we care about, struggling to be themselves against every threat, every unjust law, attempts to remove the stigma of “other” and “pervert” and every other horrible name homosexual individuals have been forced to live under.

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  • CHAUCER BOOK AWARDS 2017 Short Listers for Historical Fiction pre-1750s

    CHAUCER BOOK AWARDS 2017 Short Listers for Historical Fiction pre-1750s

    The Chaucer Awards for Historical NovelsThe CHAUCER Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of  Historical Fiction pre-1750s. The Chaucer 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 Semi-Finalists List of the Authors and Titles of Works that have been SHORT-LISTED for the Chaucer 2017 Book Awards. These titles will now compete for the First In Category positions.

    The Chaucer Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are:  Pre-Historical Fiction, Ancient Historical Fiction, World/International History (non-western culture historical fiction pre-1750s), Americas-Historical Fiction Pre-1750s, Dark Ages/Medieval, Renaissance, and Elizabethan/Tudor 1600’s.

    • Kenneth W. Meyer – Lion’s Shadow
    • Edward Rickford – The Serpent and the Eagle
    • K.M. Pohlkamp – Apricots and Wolfsbane
    • Richard T. Rook – Tiernan’s Wake
    • DJ Munro – Slave to Fortune
    • Catherine A Wilson and Catherine T Wilson – The Traitor’s Noose: The Lions and Lilies 
    • Crystal King – Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome
    • Gita Simic/G.T. Sim – Occam’s Razor
    • Lilian Gafni – Flower from Castile: A Safe Haven
    • Elizabeth Crowens – A Pocketful of Lodestones, Time Traveler Professor Series Book 2
    • Val Jon Jensen II – The People’s Crusade
    • Joseph Scott Amis – To Shine with Honor, Book One: Coming of Age
    • Marcia Fine – Hidden Ones: A Veil of Memories
    • Elisabeth Storrs – Call to Juno: A Tale of Ancient Rome
    • Susan E Kaberry – The Good Shepherd and the Last Perfect
    • Brett Savill – The Medici Apprentice 
    • Leigh Grant – Mask of Dreams
    • Susan E Kaberry – The Chatelaine of Montaillou
    • Ken Frazier – Alexander of the Ashanti
    • Prue Batten – Guillaume: Book Two of The Triptych Chronicle
    • Martha Kennedy – Martin of Gfenn
    • Christian Kachel – Spoils of Olympus II: World on Fire

    Good Luck to all of the 2017 Chaucer Short-Listers as they compete for the First Place Category positions.

    First In Category announcements will be made at the Awards Ceremony. The Chaucer 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.

  • A WOMAN of NOTE by Carol Cram – Historical Fiction, Literary, Vienna

    A WOMAN of NOTE by Carol Cram – Historical Fiction, Literary, Vienna

    Isabette Gruber is in a panic. If only her sister were still with her to steady her hands on the keyboard as she plays Beethoven’s Eighth Sonata, known as the “Pathetique,” in her first public concert at Vienna’s Hofburg Palace. Then she hears Johanna’s voice in her head, and her poise and confidence return. The nineteen-year-old Isabette raises her hands, shapes her fingers above the keyboard, and launches into the “Pathetique.” Her powerful performance thrills the audience, whose applause continues through a third bow, and does honor to its composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, whose funeral took place in Vienna that very day, March 29, 1827.

    Filling Isabette’s heart more than the applause, however, are the words of praise from her beautiful, new American friend, eighteen-year-old Amelia Mason, who received four bows for her extraordinary vocal performance. Afterward, Amelia asks the young virtuoso pianist to become her accompanist. Isabette is eager to hear more about this enticing proposition, but Mama arrives with her cloak. Herr Dietrich (her indecorous manager) is waiting with their carriage. “Hurry, Isabette!”

    In A Woman of Note, Carol Cram has crafted a second brilliant female artist, this time a pianist and composer in 19th-century Vienna. Isabette must fight to establish her position in the male-dominated European world of classical music, much as Cram’s Sofia had to do in 14th-century Italy’s world of painting, in The Towers of Tuscany (2014). Cram’s precise, colorful writing enables us to hear the young Isabette playing the “Pathetique” in Hofburg Palace, see her enjoying a stroll with Amelia in the Prater, feel her pain over the loss of father and sister, and appreciate her determined efforts to convince music publisher Herr Weissel to accept her compositions, under the pseudonym of Anson Kruetzer. (Weissel roars with laughter, but agrees!)

    Once home from the Hofburg, Isabette thinks back to her practice session that morning in the small, dusty parlor of the apartment where she lives with her mother. With a heavy heart, she remembers what a happy home this had been when her sister Johanna and she shared both a talent and a love for music and were skillfully taught to play and compose by their proud father. Now Papa is dead, Johanna is in an asylum, and Mama seems to think of Isabette more as a means to an income than as her younger daughter. The tall, lanky girl with a plain face and dull, straight hair never gives a thought to her social life or the possibility of marriage and children. Her every moment is devoted to practicing. Tonight, though, she thinks of a new life with Amelia in it. Soon, they are together every day practicing, but also developing their friendship as they go for long walks around Vienna.

    When piano teacher Josef Hauser, who fancies himself a superior composer, meets the two young women, the story’s complexity grows. Josef is enamored with Amelia’s beauty but enthralled with Isabette’s talent. (In fact, he agrees to become her teacher if she revises his compositions so they will be accepted for publication.) Isabette treasures every minute she spends with the vibrant, cheerful Amelia, but feels uncomfortable when Amelia strokes her arms and kisses her neck. Amelia is jealous of Josef’s attention to Isabette during her piano lessons. Isabette realizes she could love Josef but knows that he is passionate about Amelia and could never feel that way about her. Then Josef’s flutist/poet friend Daniel Leitner joins the threesome. Gentleman that he is, he maintains a discreet distance from the ladies at least for a time.

    Readers will love Carol Cram’s colorful writing and attention to the minute details of daily life at this time in European history. Even more enjoyable, however, will be finding out where her intertwining love stories lead as the characters mature. The book never loses its pace. and readers will be rapidly turning the pages until the very end.

    While the cameo appearances and mentions of such famous musicians as Johann Hummel, Carl Czerny, Franz Schubert, Fredric Chopin, Robert Schumann and his wife Clara, and Louise Farrenc are of course fictional, they add drama and reality to the story, which is based on Cram’s meticulous research. An Author’s Note provides background on actual women composers of the time and place.

    A young virtuoso pianist rises above the many musicians of her time, blazing a path of passion for music and love that is hers and hers alone in nineteenth-century Vienna.

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  • The LAST CRUSADER KINGDOM: DAWN of a DYNASTY in TWELFTH-CENTURY CYPRUS by Helena  P. Schrader

    The LAST CRUSADER KINGDOM: DAWN of a DYNASTY in TWELFTH-CENTURY CYPRUS by Helena P. Schrader

    In the Introduction and Acknowledgements section of her fascinating novel, The Last Crusader Kingdom: Dawn of a Dynasty in Twelfth-Century Cyprus, Helena P. Schrader notes that “. . . the historical basis for this novel is very thin,” and that the book serves as “a fictional depiction of events as I believe they could have happened.” Upon finishing the book, one concludes that only the rare reader would disagree with Schrader’s version of the historical events that comprise her narrative. Her comprehensive research and impressive scholarship are evident on every single page. This is a work of historical fiction, admittedly, but Schrader clearly was tireless in exhuming every possible detail to piece together as authentic a history of medieval Cyprus, 1193-1198, as possible.

    The establishment of a Latin Kingdom on the formerly Byzantine island of Cyprus in the late twelfth-century is as engrossing and intricate a chapter in history as possible, one that involved a plethora of cultures, religions, family dynasties, battles, treaties, and, inevitably, human greed and vanity. Schrader addresses both public and private lives and demonstrates how their intertwining shaped history. She considers all classes of society, from barons to beggars. It would be easy to get lost amongst the riveting and numerous details, but the author takes the reader by the hand and offers a guided tour to people, places, and events. The novel includes a Cast of Characters, Genealogical Charts for the Houses of Jerusalem, Lusignan, and Ibelin, as well as historical maps of Cyprus and the Outremer. Her Historical Notes underscore the depth of her research, and she also provides a glossary to orient the reader with historical and regional terms.

    Schrader matches her exhaustive research with a thoroughly captivating narrative. Her prose shimmers with elegant confidence and wit. The story traces how this strategically positioned island, formerly fraught with the greatest animosity between the inept and despised Frankish ruler, Guy de Lusignan, and the Greek Orthodox natives is pacified even after the influx of Latin immigrants.  How all this came about is as exciting and adventurous tale as anyone could imagine. Schrader pays keen attention to how power is grasped, nourished, and maintained, and her tale demonstrates the essential and timeless balance of politics, religion, economy, and public relations. Although the novel takes place in medieval times, much of it could serve as a primer for twenty-first-century global politics and diplomacy.

    One might expect the medieval world to be dominated by men, yet the author fully addresses the lives of women. Obviously siring male heirs was of importance in the twelfth century, but Schrader does not limit episodes involving female characters to pregnancy and birth. She emphasizes their role as astute advisers to their husbands and other male relations. The women understood that marriages were opportunities for strategic alliances and personal power. Queens and wives of public figures were keenly aware of the critical public relations roles they played in binding their subjects to the ruling families.

    The reader also learns a wealth of information on shipbuilding, irrigation, aqueducts, woodcarving, piracy, on and on.  The Last Crusader Kingdom is not just the story of key families ascending to power; it’s also an enlightening overview on the state of technology, the arts, and crime at the close of the twelfth century. The reader trusts Schrader’s depiction of events as accurate in large part because her meticulous research makes every scene vivid and memorable.  Schrader matches her exhaustive historical research with a thoroughly captivating narrative.  Her prose shimmers with elegant confidence and wit.

    Helena P. Schrader is an author who doesn’t just bring history to life but one who reminds us that each passing moment is also history. To understand the events reported on the front pages of today’s newspapers, there’s no greater teacher than the past. The Last Crusader Kingdom is filled with lessons we’d be foolish to neglect.

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  • MIST-CHI-MAS by J.L. Oakley – Historical Fiction, Pacific Northwest, Literary

    MIST-CHI-MAS by J.L. Oakley – Historical Fiction, Pacific Northwest, Literary

    A masterful work of historical fiction that charts a deeply compelling romance set in the Pacific Northwest during the fascinating but under-reported second half of the nineteenth century. Award-winning author, Janet Oakley brings us another exceptional work from her heart, Mist-chi-mas: A Novel of Captivity.

    It is 1860 and Washington Territory is rich with a diversity of cultures. British and American military camps are posted on San Juan Island, both groups awaiting the decision of an international committee as to which country will be awarded the land. It will take more than a decade for the committee to determine what is to be the water boundary between Washington and British Columbia.

    Although a previous incident involving a shot pig almost instigated a war, at the start of the Mist-chi-mas, the two military encampments are respectful of the other’s turf and co-exist well.  There’s a bit of society in the area, ladies’ teas and picnics take place, and plenty of business dealings due to the ubiquitous presence of the Hudson Bay Company.

    In addition to the relative newcomers to the Pacific Northwest are the native peoples, a number of Indian tribes, the Haida, the Saanich, and the Songhees peoples, as well the “Kanakas,” the Hawaiians who have been here since the early nineteenth century. Attitudes toward the native peoples vary, with some being appreciative of their contributions to the shipping, trading and lime works industries, and others being condescending or outright violent towards them.

    The history of this area comes vividly to life through the romance of a widow, Jeannie Naughton, and Jonas Breed. Jeannie is the niece of the Scotsman, Archibald Campbell, a major representative of the Hudson Bay Company in the Pacific Northwest, and has arrived from England with her young son. Her reasons for beginning life anew in a foreign land are mysterious and mired in scandal.

    In contrast, everything is known about Jonas Breed, a man whose ethnic heritage and experiences reflect the geography and culture of the region. The orphan of an American trader in the South Pacific and a Welsh mother, he grew up speaking English and Hawaiian. As a youth, he was captured by the Haida and was made a “mist-chi-mas,” a slave.  After several years of servitude, he saves the life of his captor and his status changes.   He is grateful for all he has learned from the Haida, and when he asks for his freedom, it is granted. The Haida respect and trust him.

    Breed’s closest companions and friends are members of the tribal peoples, and he will prove his love and loyalty to them repeatedly. He’s as at home on land as he is on water, reads Ralph Waldo Emerson, and is certainly the most self-reliant character in the book. He may remind some of Natty Bumpo, James Fenimore Cooper’s hero in The Last of the Mohicans.

    The Americans and the British generally regard Breed with great admiration, although there are those who envy him and seek his downfall. In turn, someone threatens Jeannie with his knowledge of her hidden past. Despite this, Jeannie and Jonas find love but also tremendous danger at every turn. Jeannie comes to understand the truth of Breed’s words, “We are all mistchimas.” Some are enslaved by external forces, some by inner forces. Their relationship will prove to be as complicated and compelling as the historical events of the novel.

    J.L. Oakley deserves tremendous recognition for the clearly exhaustive and meticulous research she did in writing Mist-chi-mas. With writing so clear and vivid, Oakley brings time and place to life leaving readers captivated by her craft. She invokes the mountains and the waters with such descriptive beauty and fully creates her characters against this panoramic landscape that challenges and shapes them.

     Can love blossom between the most unlikely pair in a multi-cultural, tension-ripe environment? Author J.L. Oakley breathes life into an often forgotten part of Pacific Northwest history in her beautifully penned novel, Mist-chi-mas: A Novel of Captivity–destined to be a regional classic.

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  • THE RABBI’S GIFT by Chuck Gould – Ancient Historical Fiction, Heartwarming Romance

    THE RABBI’S GIFT by Chuck Gould – Ancient Historical Fiction, Heartwarming Romance

    Faith and fact weave together in a beautifully rich tapestry of fiction and fantasy set in ancient times that presents plausible answers to long-standing mysteries in Chuck Gould’s The Rabbi’s Gift.

    When the wealthy merchant Eli encounters master builder Yakob and his impetuous son Yusuf in a dispute with the despotic ruler Herod, he intervenes, saving them by employing them to work on a project of his own. They will help construct a new mansion for Eli’s son, Aban, who is soon to be married.

    But what will become of Aban’s twin, Miriam? Miriam is the first-born and as custom demands, should marry first, but what man would want her? With her quick-wit, unconventional bent, and a strong rebellious streak, everyone knows she is unsuitable for the position of dutiful wife. Besides, every suitor her father presents to her, she stubbornly rejects.

    Yusuf and his father work diligently for Eli. Yusuf constructs stunning mosaic courtyard imbued with astrological and scientific significance. As the work continues, Miriam clandestinely assists Yusuf and before long, the two fall in love. Of course, such a match could never be. Miriam is wealthy, and Yusuf is only a humble tile setter. But, some prophecies and priestly visions are far more powerful than worldly considerations. What obstacles must be overcome to allow twists of faith, fate, and fortune to fall into place and open the door for the couple’s true and epic love?

    Author Chuck Gould has created a remarkable blend of Biblical characters, legends, and speculations in this star-crossed romance between Miriam and Yusuf. He depicts Miriam as a healer whose remedies are nothing short of miraculous, and Yusuf as an unschooled savant in mechanical, scientific, and philosophical knowledge. Gould also draws on a myriad of dramatic players – some of whom are firmly set in historical accounts, which serves to create a multiple viewpoint story, widening the scope of his novel without distracting the reader.

    Gould’s handling of this grand drama shows a true grasp of the writer’s craft. He deftly combines various elements from lore throughout his storytelling making The Rabbi’s Gift a powerfully rich tale. Using older spellings and secular text, along with Gould’s strategic planting of clues along the way, fortifies the story and draws the reader in.

    Babylonian astrology and Jewish mysticism combine with Roman history to create a timeless story of passion and fate in Chuck Gould’s The Rabbi’s Gift.

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  • A BIT of CANDY in HARD TIMES by Blaine Beveridge – Historical Fiction, Political, Prohibition, Pacific Northwest

    A BIT of CANDY in HARD TIMES by Blaine Beveridge – Historical Fiction, Political, Prohibition, Pacific Northwest

    It’s midnight in May and Prohibition is the law of the land. A boat packed with Canadian liquor is racing through the waters off Portland, Maine, and a heavily-armed US Coast Guard Cutter is in hot pursuit—hungry for another kill. The smugglers are about to get paid for their sins—one way or another.

    Emmett Dougal has a penchant for working on boats the Coast Guard loves to shoot at. As he hits bottom and realizes he’s out of options, he returns to his home turf near Seattle weighed down by an identity crisis—Emmett’s a wanted man. Even his brother, a county sheriff, swears out a warrant against him. It’s hard to survive when you’re always looking over your shoulder, or your only skill sets involve fishing and smuggling. To make matters worse, he doesn’t even have a boat.

    Blaine Beveridge’s initial foray into the world of fiction is a winner with his smooth, confident, and engaging writing style. A Bit of Candy in Hard Times is set in a time where alcohol was illegal, but people wanted it more than ever and were willing to pay handsomely for it.

    Beveridge’s clever yet restrained use of syntax and vocabulary is smart, entertaining, and brings the settings, characters, and story alive, grabbing the reader immediately and never lets go. He displays real talent for crafting vivid, yet measured descriptions of the Puget Sound area, boats, fishing styles and equipment, residences of the poor to the affluent, and other items that resurrect the Prohibition era. Of note is his solid and consistent artistry crafting bright, vibrant scenes ranging from a ride at Coney Island, to a seedy bar where a man can buy bootleg beer, attending an opulent holiday celebration, or the grittiness of a dark, waterside warehouse filled with illegal liquor and suspicious clientele.

    The well-crafted characters are compellingly believable. As Beveridge trowels on the conflict his characters act, react, or rebel accordingly, adding delicious texture and tension to the story. Trust between parties can sometimes be measured in what remains in the bottle. The usual concrete line between right and wrong is about as real as the yellow brick road. Characters stagger between moral and immoral guided only by the immediate situation, mood, relationships, or the amount of money or liquor involved.

    Beveridge is an award-winning screenwriter, an alumnus of The Writer’s Program at UCLA, former Program Administrator for Film and Television at UCLA Extension, served as an executive board officer of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and a US Army Vietnam Veteran.

    A Bit of Candy in Hard Times starts with a bulls-eye and enthralls to the last page. It’s tough to put down, so arrange your schedule accordingly. You’ll be waiting for Beveridge’s next book.

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  • DEATH of a DIVA: from BERLIN to BROADWAY by Brigitte Goldstein – Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

    DEATH of a DIVA: from BERLIN to BROADWAY by Brigitte Goldstein – Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

    An innocent man is charged with the murder of a stage diva in 1941. Misia Safran’s mission is to save him while unraveling the layers of a woman’s life she idolized, in Brigitte Goldstein’s exceptionally well-researched novel, Death of a Diva: From Berlin to Broadway.

    Misia Safran stops in a horrified state of shock in front of a newsstand, headlines reading: Stella Berger brutally murdered in her dressing room! Stella was Misia’s mentor, and as heartbroken as she is, the police are charging an innocent man in her murder and she must do everything in her power to save him.

    The police investigation begins when two New York City Police Officers take Misia into custody for questioning. The two detectives’ interrogation turns verbally abusive and threatening body language before she is finally released, remaining under suspicion as an accomplice. Her motivation to take every risk, investigate every clue, and follow every trail to the end anchors her determination to exonerate an innocent man, restore her good name, and punish the real villain who killed Stella Berger.

    The murder of Misia’s beloved Stage Star is the axle that turns the wheel of the story. Misia’s long journey begins, wading through uncertain relationships with friends (or are they foes?) and uncovering dark conspiracies. She examines each possible culprit for motive and studies their behavior throughout her search for the true killer. Energized during the eras of WWI and WWII, the murder mystery is rich in character studies, historical accounts, and plot twists.

    Misia Safran, a German Jewish immigrant, escaped the pending cruelties of Hitler, and experiences double doses of prejudice from a few in America. The Diva, Stella Berger, was also a German (but kept her Jewish heritage a secret) who had emigrated to America because of her open and vocal hatred of Hitler and the Nazis during her monologues after every stage performance.

    Brigitte Goldstein presents a sharp analysis of events from the big picture to the minute – often, stream of consciousness – detail, revealing her historical expertise and keen research skills. Readers who appreciate the intricacies of the English language and sophisticated prose will enjoy Goldstein’s work. A dictionary might enhance the enjoyment for some readers as the author does utilize German and French in her dialogue.

    The author’s unique style manages intricate character studies via mini-memoirs for each key player. The reader gains an understanding of their involvement, motivation and actions surrounding the winding twists of the tale, and their relationships to each other.

    The proof reading is near perfect and the story proceeds at a good pace and grips the reader—Death of a Diva is a mystery novel hard to put down. The resolution closes the case and though it may take time, we believe the damaged hearts might heal. Brigitte Goldstein is an author to watch.

  • A CHERRY BLOSSOM in WINTER by Ron Singerton – Historical Fiction, Literary, War/Military, Romance

    A CHERRY BLOSSOM in WINTER by Ron Singerton – Historical Fiction, Literary, War/Military, Romance

    The story behind any war is a difficult one to tell. A Cherry Blossom in Winter by Ron Singerton takes us into not just one, but two, cultures at the turn of the last century in an attempt to show us both sides of a decisive naval conflict that would shape both countries and people for years to come.

    Alexei Brusilov is a young man destined for a talented future. He is bright and courageous, lightning-quick with a saber, and longs to join the Russian Naval Academy at the turn of the 20th century.  Like his father before him and many nobles of the Russian court of Tsar Nicholas II, Alexei sees his path as a military one, full of honor and discipline. Trouble always begins at home, however, as Alexei’s best friend becomes involved with Marxist revolutionaries ready to overthrow the Tsarist regime. Luckily, elements beyond his youthful control are in motion and before he can be caught for treason, Alexei will find himself in another world, another culture, and called upon to use all of his wits for the sake of love.

    Ron Singerton’s book, A Cherry Blossom in Winter, is a blending of historical and romantic fiction as we follow the young Russian Alexei to Japan and his first true test of manhood. He is there to accompany his father, Count Brusilov, a man of violent temper who disdains all things Japanese. But politics are politics, and all hints are pointing to a coming war between their two countries. It could be strategically important for young naval officers to understand Japanese in the near future, but Alexei’s goals are of a more personal nature. Readers will struggle with him as he attempts to make friends and learn the language, absorbed by the beauty and culture he sees. High Society, Religion, and Honor will all have different definitions by the time Alexei unexpectedly returns home.

    Yet the Moscow court and the Tsar have not been idle. A violent peasant revolution seems closer to reality all the time, as Alexei enters the Academy on the cusp of a family crisis. Everything seems to be on the verge of great, though not necessarily peaceful, change as the young man, now a brave naval cadet, attempts to finish school.

    In this way, Singerton’s book does a great job in presenting this pre-war time as one of both personal and national conflict.  History buffs need only go to the official record to discover the facts, the dates, and the battle locations of the Russo-Japanese war, but A Cherry Blossom in Winter works hard to make it a visceral experience. By pulling in the geopolitics of the beginning of the last century, along with developments such as the introduction of Marxist ideology, the near-collapse of Russian court nobility, anti-Jewish pogroms, the mistreatment of Russian peasants, and widespread anti-Asian sentiment, the overall effect is a slow-build to the climatic and brutal naval battle. Singerton’s use of the actual historic names for places, battle ships, and generals on both sides of the conflict also help the reader to feel right in the middle of that dangerous time. And yet the wartime reality is carefully balanced with not just one, but several love stories. Passion, whether for love or war, is keenly portrayed.

    Complex in its historical scope and list of characters, A Cherry Blossom in Winter is more successful in understanding men at war than the background love stories. This book won’t be for every romance reader as the plot points issue from exceptionally visceral entanglements – however, history buffs and those who love wartime epics will devour the read. Reminiscent of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, readers will journey through an emotional landscape as dangerous as the raging battles themselves.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker