Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: ReaderCommunity

On the 8th Day of Christmas, Chanticleer Brings to me… | 12 Days of Christmas 2023
Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas – One Day at a Time

On the 8th Day of Christmas…

The Eighth day of Christmas is the celebration of Mary as the Mother of Jesus, which can be traced back to as early as 431 AD.

“But Jiminy Crickets, it is the 2nd of January! Is it not too late for the 12 Days of Christmas?” you say.

Not to fear, Chanticleerians! The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 26th! And it continues to the 6th of January – Three Kings Day. The four weeks leading up to Christmas is known as the Advent.

So if you haven’t finished wrapping presents, sending out those cards, and baking cookies—don’t worry—you still have time! You have FIVE Days!

Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team!

             On the Eighth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

             Eight Maids A-Milking

             Seven Swans A-Swimming

             Six Geese A-Laying

            Five Golden Rings

            Four Calling Birds

            Three French Hens (Chanticleer’s favorite #justsaying)

            Two Turtle Doves

            And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

This lyric represents the common worker. We are so grateful to all those who make the wheels of the world turn who can be so easy to forget! An extra special Happy New Year to all workers!

Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, Chanticleer brings to me…

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Eight SEO Boosts (at least!) with each Chanticleer Book Review Package

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. When you purchase an Editorial Review from Chanticleer, we do our best to keep up with all the latest trends and under-the-hood data technologies that ensure your book is picked up by search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others.
1. Key Phrase Optimization: We choose a word or phrase that is most likely to lead to your book, usually your title.
2. Title Optimization for the length of our review title as it appears in search engines.
3. Heading Optimization: We use our blurbs to stand out in describing your book while also showing search engines what’s most important to pick up.
4. Sentence Optimization: We make sure all reviews use the appropriate number of words to best improve their Flesch reading score.
5. Optimization that utilizes your keywords.
6. Tagging and Categorizing for web crawlers.
7. Links! Links to the Author’s website, links to the Publisher’s website, links to the book’s Amazon Sales Page, links to other Chanticleer Reviews in the series (if applicable), and Links to our Local Village Books’ sale page for your book if it’s available through Ingram. We are currently working on linking to Barnes & Noble. The more links the better in the Internet of Things!
8. AISEO PRO SEO Booster app with Meta Descriptions, Cornerstone Content, Focused Key Phrases
In addition, all Chanticleer Reviews are promoted in our e-newsletter, website, Social Media platforms, and the Chanticleer magazine.

Chanticleer’s AISEO Boosts continuously work for your books long-tail marketing strategy and to make your works more discoverable.

Editorial Reviews are powerful tools that are only limited by imagination! Don’t let your book go undiscovered!

For more detailed information about how a Chanticleer Review with its exclusive AISEO PRO booster app, click here>> You can learn more about SEO here.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

We would like to invite you to join our curated online community The Roost!

We are so proud the community we have on The Roost! It is great perch to hang out on for writers and publishers to hang out in and connect.

We host weekly write-ins, discussions of writing craft books, and advice on the author’s journey. With authors in all stages of the writing process joining us, there is always something to learn on this independent PRIVATE social media site.

Writing may seem like a solitary activity, but stories are told in community. Whether you find that on The Roost or elsewhere, we’re happy that you are a part of our community here at Chanticleer.

Limited Time Only! Join The Roost during the 12 Days at a discounted holiday price.

Sign up now for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.

Valid until January 6th.

Follow this link to find out more information.

And just for fun:

We now have:
- Eight Partridges and Eight Pear Trees
- Fourteen Turtle Doves
- Eighteen French Hens
- Twenty-four Calling Birds
- Twenty Golden Rings
- Eighteen Geese-a-Laying
- Fourteen Swans-a-Swimming
- Eight Maids a-Milking
Our favorite part about having the 12 Days of Christmas is that we can have the time we need to celebrate with our loved ones. We have time for wrapping presents, meeting with friends for hot cocoa, and continuing to prepare the Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2023 CIBA Banquet and Ceremony.

Wishing you Happy New Year from Chanticleer! from Kiffer, Sharon, David, Dena, Vilina, Scott, Anya, and Argus!

Stay tuned for the 9th Day of Christmas!
January 2, 2024
On the 4th Day of Christmas Chanticleer gave to me four ISBNs! | The 12 Days of Christmas 2023
Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas – One Day at a Time

The 4th Day of Christmas

The Four Calling Birds are meant to represent the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Also, the Fourth Day of Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and it is considered a day for children. The feast honors the male children who were killed by King Herod in his quest to find the potential usurper (Baby Jesus) to his throne. Today, the youngest member of the family is in charge for what to do, where to go, what to eat for the entire day. The day is also known as Childermas.

Some say Four Calling Birds (song birds). Some say Four Colly Birds (black birds). And then, there is this person’s interpretation of Four Calling Birds on Reddit:

Is this a conference call?

“But Jiminy Crickets, it’s after December 25th! Is it not too late for the 12 Days of Christmas?” you say.

Not to fear, Chanticleerians! The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 26th! And it continues to the 6th of January – Three Kings Day. The four weeks leading up to Christmas are known as Advent.

So if you haven’t finished wrapping presents, sending out those cards, and baking cookies—don’t worry. Just get it done. Eight Days left until Three Kings Day!

Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team!

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Four Calling Birds

Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Chanticleer brings to me…

Four ISBNs! (not ASINs)

An ISBN is the identification number that is unique to your book.

ISBN is the International Standard Book Number

Authors in the US need to pay for their ISBNs from Bowker, but in Canada they are provided to authors directly.

Why Self-Published Authors Need to Own Their Own ISBNs
1. Owning your own ISBNs gives you complete control over what is entered into your book’s metadata.
  1. Metadata is the descriptions and categories that help libraries, bookstores, wholesalers, distributors, global supply chains, and, most importantly, readers worldwide discover your book.
2. ISBNs are non-transferable from the owner. ISBNs establish your book’s identity and authorship.
3. ISBNs never expire and there are no renewal fees. However, you cannot reuse an ISBN once it has been assigned.
4. ISBNs come with unique barcodes.
5. In the U.S., Bowker is the only official source of ISBNs.
6. Bibliographic immortality
As you may surmise, there are many details to learn about ISBNs about when and why they are necessary along with the few cases where they are not.

Here are a few handy links:
- International ISBN Agency
- Bowker ISBN US
Your Book’s Many Forms

One thing to keep in mind is that each version of your book’s publication should its own ISBN. This means that each of the following needs a separate ISBN to be easily distributed:
- Hardcover Edition
- Paperback Edition
- eBook Edition
- Audiobook Edition
You can see on Bowker, where ISBNs are sold, that there are huge savings to be had by buying ISBNs in bulk. Of course, this ISBN information is most applicable to the United States. Other countries have different rules and costs associated with an ISBN, so if you live outside of the US, you should do your research on ISBN rules and expectations. The discounts can be pretty sudden!
- 1 ISBN is $125
- 10 ISBNs are $295
- 100 ISBNs are $575
- 1,000 ISBNs are $1,500
ISBNs are non-transferable, and if they’re bought in someone else’s name, they can’t be transferred to another name. That’s why it’s always good to be cautious when buying an ISBN from a third party from anything under the standard price.

There is one type that doesn’t require an ISBN is your book on Block Chain / Bit Coin because each block chain book has its own unique code. If you decide to have your book available on Block Chain, our advice is to check out BookChain, out of Montreal, Canada.

There are three basic ways to sell your book, print, ebook, and audiobook. For print, we’ve already discussed several ways you can go through that formatting, which also applies to ebooks.

We’d also like to pause and take a moment to mention Bookchain. Bookchain is one of our close affiliates who uses a unique blockchain (the NFT technology associated with Bitcoin) to track books and book sales. You can learn more and sign up for Bookchain here.

For Audiobooks, you’ll also want to consider professional help. This isn’t just for voice actors, but also for audio software. Many people may be familiar with Audacity, a free audio recording software that was designed with music and mixing in mind. It takes a little bit to learn how to use it, but once you have a few basics dialed in, it becomes much easier to use. In a pinch, like Microsoft Word, Audacity can work to create an audiobook recording for your story, but it’s not what the program was specifically designed for.

What we recommend is Hindenburg

Hindenburg is audio recording software designed to create excellent, professionally mastered audio for your stories. There’s plenty of support to learn how to use it, and longtime Chanticleerians like CC Humphries are experts with it, creating Audi-worthy creations regularly. And Hindenburg will format your audio book for the myriad of audio book platforms that are out there. Hindenburg is known for their incredible customer service and support team.

Stay tuned for the 5th Day of Christmas!

And just for fun:

We now have:
- Four Partridges and Four Pear Trees
- Six Turtle Doves
- Nine French Hens
- Four Calling Birds
Our favorite part about having the 12 Days of Christmas is that we can have the time we need to celebrate with our loved ones. We have time for wrapping presents, meeting with friends for hot cocoa, and continuing to prepare the Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2023 CIBA Banquet and Ceremony.

Wishing you Happy Holidays from Chanticleer from Kiffer, Sharon, David, Dena, Vilina, Scott, Anya, and Argus!
December 29, 2023
On the 3rd Day of Christmas Chanticleer gave to me 3 Pillars of Community! The 12 Days of Christmas 2023
Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas – One Day at a Time

The Third Day of Christmas

The Third Day of Christmas celebrates the Feast of St. John who drank a glass of poisoned wine and didn’t get sick! Also, many EU countries celebrate the Feast of St. John during the longest days of Summer (June 24th) with dancing around a fire. The best way to celebrate? Drink a lot of wine! Of course, if you have a different preferred beverage, that’s totally alright. We’ve been enjoying TÖST, a non-alcoholic wine recently.

The Feast of Saint John c. 1875 by Jules Breton
The Three French Hens gifted on this day represent Faith, Hope, and Love.

“But Jiminy Crickets, it’s after December 25th! Is it not too late for the 12 Days of Christmas?” you say.

Not to fear, Chanticleerians! The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 26th! And it continues to the 6th of January – Three Kings Day. The 24 days leading up to Christmas are known as Advent.

Some say that December 25th is the first day of Christmas, but we are going with the medieval date of the 26th because revelry could not take place on the 25th as it was a holy day. And the Twelve Days of Christmas are all about revelry!

So if you haven’t finished wrapping presents, sending out those cards, and baking cookies—don’t worry. Just get it done—you’ve got nine days!

Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team!

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Three French Hens

Two Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Chanticleer brings to me…

Three Pillars of the Writing Community

On October 18, 2023, our wonderful local bookstore, Village Books, offered their first ever Literary Citizenship Award to Rena Priest, Laurel Leigh, and Joan Airoldi, pictured above from left to right. Here’s a little about them:

Joan Airoldi (1946 – 2022)

Joan served as Executive Director of the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) from 2002-2013.

In 2004, she took on the FBI by refusing to provide information to an agent regarding a Deming Library patron’s use of a book on Osama bin Laden. A grand jury subpoena was issued to get the records, but when it became clear Airoldi and the WCLS board were prepared to challenge the subpoena in court, it was withdrawn. She will be remembered as a Library Champion on a multitude of counts: establishing the Whatcom READS program in collaboration with partners at Whatcom Community College, advocating for new libraries in Ferndale, North Fork, South Whatcom, Island and Point Roberts and encouraging all of us to “Be Curious” and to “Listen, Learn & Lead.” Joan’s courage in defending patrons’ rights to privacy earned her national recognition with a PEN/Newman Award. She generously donated the prize money to start the Whatcom County Library Foundation.

“Be Curious” “Listen, Learn & Lead”

“Libraries are a haven where people should be able to seek whatever information they want to pursue without any threat of government intervention.” ~ Joan Airoldi

Laurel Leigh Erdoiza (1963-2023)

Professionally, Laurel was known as a writer, teacher, and editor whose 20 years of freelancing extends internationally. She was a script doctor, structural editor, and managed many publishing projects for Chronicle Books.

She taught creative writing and memoir classes through the Chuckanut Writers Program, helped found the Chuckanut Writers Conference in 2004, and received the Bellingham Mayors Arts Award, and was published widely including the Pushcart-nominated essay “Nursey” (published in Clover, A Literary Rag in 2015). Those who knew Laurel personally have experienced firsthand both her talent and generosity of spirit. She walked hand-in-hand with collaboration and mentorship, helping countless writers hone their skills, find their voice, and bring their works out into the world. This included her hosting Village Books’ Open Mic for more than a decade, establishing and fostering the spirit of welcoming support that continues to this day. “It’s a good day to write.” ~ Laurel Leigh Erdoiza

“It’s a good day to write.” ~ Laurel Leigh Erdoiza

Rena Priest – Washington State Poet Laureate

Rena is an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She served as the 6th Washington State Poet Laureate (2021-2023) and was named the 2022 Maxine Cushing Gray Distinguished Writing Fellow.

Priest is also the recipient of an Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, Indigenous Nations Poets, Nia Tero, and the Vadon Foundation, and has taught at the Chuckanut Writers Conference. The thread that runs through all of Rena’s accomplishments and accolades is how she builds and connects community. “I think that there’s a way that poetry connects people. It’s very special– it’s like a soul connection, but it’s not invasive in any way,” she says. “The way that it works is subtle. It’s gentle, but it’s deep and profound.” For the book, I Sing the Salmon Home, Rena gathered poems from over 150 Washington poets ranging from first graders to tribal elders, all inspired by the Northwest’s beloved, iconic salmon. A diverse chorus of voices, they join together in poems that praise salmon’s heroic journey, beauty, courage, and generosity and witness the threats salmon face from pollution, dams and warming oceans.

We are ever grateful to the irreplaceable contributions these women have made to our community.

In particular, Laurel and Rena were writing mentors to Chanticleer’s David Beaumier, and both have helped keep him on a writing path.

Thank you is never enough, but we will keep saying it to all the writers who lift us up in our community!

Stay tuned for the 4th Day of Christmas!

And just for fun:

We now have:
- Three Partridges and Three Pear Trees
- Four Turtle Doves
- Three French Hens
Our favorite part about having the 12 Days of Christmas is that we can have the time we need to celebrate with our loved ones. We have time for wrapping presents, meeting with friends for hot cocoa, and setting ourselves up for success with the Chanticleer Authors Conference.

Wishing you Happy Holidays from Chanticleer from Kiffer, Sharon, David, Dena, Vilina, Scott, Anya, and Argus!
December 28, 2023
The Twelve Days of Christmas! On the Twelfth Day, Chanticleer Brings to me…
Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas – One Day at a Time

Did you know that the Twelfth Day of Christmas is also known as Women’s Christmas in Ireland? Nollaig na mBan in the Gaelic).

On this day in Ireland, men were to take over the household duties or take down the tree and other Christmas decorations, while mothers, sisters, daughters and friends would meet up and share a drink over the last of the Christmas cake.

“But Jiminy Crickets, it’s after December 25th! Is it not too late for the 12 Days of Christmas?” you say.

Not to fear, Chanticleerians! The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 26th! And it continues to the 6th of January – Three Kings Day. The four weeks leading up to Christmas are known as Advent.

Some say that December 25th is the first day of Christmas, but we are going with the medieval date of the 26th because revelry could not take place on the 25th as it was a holy day. And the Twelve Days of Christmas are all about revelry!

So if you haven’t finished wrapping presents, sending out those cards, and baking cookies—don’t worry. Just get it done.

(Note from Kiffer: I still have presents to wrap and cookies to bake, so I will extend the Christmas holidays like the Swedes do until St. Knut’s Day on January 13th. This is the day when the children can eat all the gingerbread decorations on the Christmas tree. Then, they take the tree down and outside and dance around it. We burn our Christmas tree on Summer Solstice.)

Happy Holidays to You from the Chanticleer Team!

On the Twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me

Twelve Drummers Drumming

Eleven Pipers Piping

Ten Lords A-Leaping

Nine Ladies Dancing

Eight Maids A-Milking

Seven Swans A-Swimming

Six Geese A-Laying

Five Golden Rings

Four Calling Birds

Three French hens (Chanticleer’s favorite #justsaying)

Two turtle doves

And a partridge in a pear tree

Twelve Drummers Drumming by Caroline Búzio

Interesting Notes about the Twelve Days of Christmas
- King Richard II of England (1367-1400) organized a tournament that drew knights from across Europe to compete in during the twelve days of Christmas. Each evening after the jousting and sword matches, there would be dancing and feasting. The peasants could watch the matches because they didn’t have to work the fields during the Twelve Days of Christmas.
- It was also custom that the lord provides a feast for all who are working his lands. Of course, the workers were expected to bring gifts of farm produce to the lord’s manor.
- In colonial America, many parties took place during this time where finding romance (or a potential spouse) could happen. Also, many weddings took place during the Twelve Days.
Interesting Notes about the Twelfth Day
- It is considered not the best for good luck in the new year, taking your tree down before January 7th, Epiphany.
- Twelfth Day of Christmas is also the beginning of Mardi Gras. The Mardi Gras season is celebrated between Epiphany and Fat Tuesday (the Tuesday before Lent begins).
- Shakespeare wrote the Twelfth Night (first performance Feb. 2, 1602), a comedy mistaken identities that tegins on the twelfth night’s celebration – “If music be the food of love, play on.” Twelfth Night, Act 1 Scene 1
Religious Significance of the Twelfth Day – Epiphany
- The Three Wise Men visit the baby Jesus by following a guiding star aka as Three Kings Day: Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar according to the Gospel of Matthew. Adoration of the Magi
- In many cultures, it is on Three Kings Day that presents are exchanged and opened and feasts are held.
- The Twelfth Day of Christmas is also when Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding at Cana (the first miracle of Christ).
- Jesus was baptized by John on the Twelfth Day of Christmas
Dom Prosper Gueranger in his Liturgical Year states that it was the Church’s tradition for many centuries that these three events occurred on the same day, January 6.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Chanticleer brings to me…

Twelve Months of Community

That’s a wrap for us on the Twelve Days of Christmas, but we’re still committed to bringing you excellence in as many forms as we can. Whether that’s our regular blog, with writing tips, our marketing tools like Editorial Book Reviews and the CIBAs, or our competitively priced Editorial Services that keep satisfied writers coming back, we’re here to help you on your Author’s Journey. Whatever it is you need, you can reach out to us at info@ChantiReviews.com and we’ll be there to help!

Our goal is to discover today’s best book, and your book deserves to be discovered! Thanks for sticking with us on this 12 Days of Christmas, and we look forward to keeping up regular writing tips and content in the New Year.

Warmly,

Kiffer, Sharon, David, Scott, Argus, Rochelle, and the whole Chanticleer Team!
January 6, 2023