Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Western Fiction

WOLF EYE’S SILENCE – Book 1 by Elisabeth Ward – an enlightening and satisfying tale of the Old West

This is a page-turning story of survival that takes place in the Old West. It is a story about one cultures struggle to maintain their identity while the other embarks on expanding their own. “Wolf Eye’s Silence” is the first in a five-book series by Elisabeth Ward. Set in the Wyoming Territory and covering the time period from 1864 to 1880 the story follows two brothers. Deeply entrenched in the interactions between the Cheyenne and the onrush of whites from the East are twelve-year old Samuel Ferguson and his thirteen-year old brother Johnny whom we follow over the course of twenty years.

In the opening pages of the book the brothers are separated from their parents and wagon train which has been attacked by Indians. Their father is killed in the wagon train attack and they watch helplessly as their mother is led away by rope, a captive of the attacking Cheyenne. As first instincts take hold they do what anyway young boy would do: they run and hide. Eventually they are rescued by a US Army scouting party and taken to Fort Teton.

The boys are taken in by the commanding officer, Major Armstrong and his wife, Bessie. The boys however handle the horrible event that they witnessed in opposite ways. Johnny readily adapts, pitches in to assist in day-to-day life, but Sammy becomes withdrawn, barely speaking or interacting with others. Major Armstrong imparts a respect for all inhabitants of the West including the Indians but sprinkles this with caution. Johnny in particular consumes this teaching and eventually joins the US Army.

Sammy however takes a different life path. Major Armstrong begins to realize that in essence Sammy is being kept prisoner in the fort as he has no interest in the military life. Sammy is sent to live outside the fort on a homestead with “Miz” Lizzie Heiter and her son Josh. Lizzie Heiter is a widower who can stand her ground and becomes a central and enjoyable character to this tale.

This engrossing story, like life contains, fleeting moments of joy sprinkled amongst the pain, anguish of losing family, and fear of what lies ahead with the Indian nations. Through it all Elisabeth Ward builds a compelling story that enlightens readers while keeping them engrossed in the daily struggles of an unpredictable and agonizing collision of cultures. Author Elisabeth Ward does an exceptional job bringing the very real struggles of survival to with of the story’s cast of fascinating characters vividly to life in this book.

Sure to satisfy, this well-crafted and fast-paced story is aimed at an older young adult market and those who enjoy a satisfying Old West tale that takes place after the gold-rush and during the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

September 14, 2016
TERMS OF SURRENDER by Lorrie Farrelly, a historical romance emerging from war

Readers will experience a strong onslaught of emotions as they come to grips with the horrific battles that were fought in Gettysburg, PA during the Civil War. Lorrie Farrelly’s historical romance Terms of Surrender carries the spirit of a post-war nation expertly throughout its pages; a superb read for fans of love stories set on the rugged background of the Western Frontier.

The plot follows the very real struggle of former Confederate Captain Michael Cantrell. As with many post-Civil War veterans, he’s unsure what to do with himself in a nation ripped apart by a war that left behind broken homes.

Michael ends up in Wind River Basin, Wyoming, where he suffers a severe gunshot wound while coming to the aid of a young woman, Annie Devlin, and her younger brother, Robbie. The siblings are running their small horse farm on their own while trying to keep their land from people with less than kind intentions. What plays out in the remaining pages of the book is a love story over the course of a year and a half. As he is nursed to health, Michael and Annie fall in love.

From the first page, Farrelly draws on the genuine emotions experienced during the era. The authentic dialogue spoken in choked whispers from the characters tug at your heartstrings and hooks you for the rest of the story.

Farrelly devises a narrative that illustrates the heartbreak of a man who pledges his life to a cause that was lost; he was a soul who had witnessed a lifetime of war and death. However, despite the tragedy, the story provides the hope that most veterans lose in trying to re-acclimate a peaceful life; the hope of finding your soulmate. Love becomes the anecdote to heal Michael’s battered heart. No matter how wild the West may be, love will lasso it again and again.

This author brings back to life an era that is long gone. Terms of Surrender is a brilliant historical romance with a healing love that is much needed in the aftermath of destructive Civil War.

July 21, 2016
The Official List of the Chanticleer 2015 Grand Prize Winners of the Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions

We are excited and honored to have announced the 2015 grand prize award winners at the third annual Chanticleer Authors Conference’s Awards Banquet held on Saturday, April. 30th, 2016 at the Hotel Bellwether by beautiful Bellingham Bay, Wash.

We want to thank all of those who entered and participated in the fiercely competitive 2015 Chanticleer International Writing Competitions.

Our next Awards Banquet will be held on April 1st, 2017, for the 2016 winners. Enter your book or manuscript in a contest today!

CBR– Discovering Today’s Best Books with the CBR BLUE RIBBON Writing Competitions!

The Chanticleer Grand Prize Award 2015 for Overall Best Book:

Daughter of Destiny by Nicole Evelina was awarded the Chanticleer Overall Grand Prize for the Best Book in the 2015 Chanticleer International Writing Competitions. Congratulations to author Nicole Evelina.

The Chanticleer Genre Grand Prize 2015 Winners are as follows:

The Cygnus Grand Prize for SciFi and Fantasy Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Great Symmetry
by James Wells

View Cygnus Category 1st Place Winners

The Journey Grand Prize Ribbon for Narrative Non-fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Rhythm for Sale
by Grant Harper Reid

View Journey Category 1st Place Winners

The M&M Grand Prize Ribbon for Mystery & Mayhem Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

There’s Something About Marty
by Wendy Delaney

View Mystery & Mayhem Category 1st Place Winners

The Dante Rossetti Grand Prize Ribbon for YA Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Girl and the Clockwork Cat
by Nikki McCormack

View Dante Rossetti Category 1st Place Winners

The Chaucer Grand Prize Ribbon for Historical Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Valhalla Revealed
by Robert A Wright

View Chaucer Category 1st Place Winners

The Laramie Grand Prize Ribbon for Western, Pioneer, Civil War Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Doctor Kinney’s Housekeeper
by Sara Dahmen

View Laramie Category 1st Place Winners

The Chatelaine Grand Prize Ribbon for Women’s Fiction and Romantic Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Daughter of Destiny
by Nicole Evelina

View Chatelaine Category 1st Place Winners

The CLUE Grand Prize Ribbon for Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

Blood Relations
by Lonna Enox

View CLUE Category 1st Place Winners

The Paranormal Grand Prize Ribbon for Paranormal/Supernatural Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Aurora Affair
by Carolyn Haley

View Paranormal Category 1st Place Winners

The Somerset Grand Prize Ribbon for Literary, Contemporary, & Mainstream Fiction 2015 was awarded to:

The Alexandrite
by Richard Lenz

View Somerset Category 1st Place Winners

Now this is something to CROW about!

Enter Your Book or Manuscript in a contest!

Please note that the above awards are for submissions that we received in 2015. The award winners were acknowledge at the 2016 annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 30th, 2016.

The winners of the 2016 Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions (works entered in 2016) will be recognized at the 2017 Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Banquet held April 1st, 2017. Reserve your spot now.

We invite you to read the Chanticleer editorial book reviews of these stellar works. The reviews will be published on our website and in the Chanticleer Reviews online magazine. If they are not currently posted, they will be posted as they are reviewed! Congratulations, again, to these award winning authors!

For more information about the Chanticleer International Writing Competitions, please visit our Writing Contests pages.

We are currently accepting 2016 and 2017 contest entries: CBR International Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.

We would like to thank our sponsors who make the Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions and the Chanticleer Authors Conference possible.

May 2, 2016
HOT WORK in FRY PAN GULCH (Honey Beaulieu – Man Hunter) Book One by Jacquie Rogers – Take a ride to the Old West

Feisty, independent Honey Beaulieu is nobody’s fool, and she darned sure isn’t any man’s plaything. So earning a living on her back at her mama’s Tasty Chicken Emporium is not part of her life plan. Problem is, she doesn’t know exactly what her plan should be.

Fortunately for Honey, her no-nonsense mama sees the proverbial writing on the bordello wall and does her own brand of arm-twisting to get Honey a job at the town marshal’s office.

Lazy Marshal Fripp is none too thrilled to have a woman invading his domain and if it weren’t for his day-long excursions to the Tasty Chicken he and Honey would be banging heads constantly. With Fripp out of the office, Honey straps on her “Peacemakers” and gets a leg up on the career ladder, climbing from clerk-and-cleaner to Deputy Marshal. But Honey learns the hard way that Fripp is not about to stand on the sidelines while she hops on the fast-track to success.

Plus, “lawdoggin’” doesn’t come close to paying the bills, let alone paying for all of the stray livestock that comes her way. So when a wanted man rides out of town on the back of Marshal Fripp’s horse, Honey is faced with the most important career decision of her life.

Should she stick it out as the deputy marshal of Fry Pan Gulch or should she trade in her badge and a steady paycheck for a chance to leave the marshal in the dust and make some real money bounty hunting?

In this hilarious first installment of the Honey Beaulieu – Man Hunter series author Jacquie Rogers introduces a lively and engaging main character whose heart of gold shines brightly through her tough-as-nails façade. Saddled with a strong conscience and her own set of rules, Honey sets the good old boy franchise on its ear, proving that they’re no match for a resourceful and enterprising, sharp-shooting woman.

In addition to her fresh, new Honey Beaulieu – Man Hunter series, award-winning author Jacquie Rogers is well known for her popular Hearts of Owyhee western historical romance series and for her highly entertaining story-telling.

Set in the Old West’s rough-and-tumble Wyoming Territory, Hot Work in Fry Pan Gulch is a tightly-written, action-packed romp that delivers page after page of laugh-out-loud fun—and maybe even a bit of romance along the way.

April 19, 2016
The LARAMIE Awards for Western Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners
Laramie Awards 2015 First Place Category Winning Titles

The Laramie Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Western Fiction. The LARAMIE Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the 2015 Laramie Awards Official First Place Category Winners. Good Luck to them as they compete for the 2015 Laramie Grand Prize Award.

Congratulations to the 2015 Laramie Awards First In Category Award Winning Western Fiction Novels:
- Women’s Historical: Sara Dahman – Doctor Kinney’s HouseKeeper
- Adventure/Drama: Martha Conway – Thieving Forest
- Classic: McKendree Long – Higher Ground
- Prairie: Alethea Williams – Walls for the Wind
- Debut: Lynda J. Cox – The Devil’s Own Desperado
- Romance: Kristy McCaffrey – The Blackbird
- Mystery: Linell Jeppsen – Second Chance
More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The LARAMIE First Place Category award winners will compete for the LARAMIE Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Western Fiction Novel. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on April 30, 2016 at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

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

We are now accepting entries into the 2017 Laramie Awards. The deadline is June 30, 2016. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the LARAMIE Awards 2015 FINALISTS official listing.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2015 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Ten genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this coming April at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?
March 8, 2016
HIGHER GROUND by McKendree Long, third novel in Western series

In 1870, we meet up with Boss Melton and Dobey Walls during a trip to Kansas where, intent on vengeance, they are on the trail of a man named Penn. Penn and Red are the two remaining survivors of a gang of six white men who raped Dobey’s wife and killed her mother, Boss’s wife. The hunt takes Dobey and Boss to Hays, Kansas, where they are in the right place at the right time to save Wild Bill Hickok’s life. The men then head for Abilene on the train, still intent on killing Penn. Big William, left behind to tend the wagon and horses, creates two fake graves for Dobey and Boss at Boot Hill, hoping to head off the Pinkerton agents, who are still on their trail for the theft of the Yankee payroll just after the war.

Those who have read McKendree Long’s first two novels will recognize these characters and events, and will once again have the opportunity to visit with such old friends as the Watsons in Santa Fe, Dobey’s mother, and Count Baranov. From the daily adventures of the men, to an edge-of-your-seat, blow-by-blow account of the Battle of Little Big Horn, (aka Custer’s Last Stand), the author combines his wonderful talent for storytelling with in-depth historical research, placing the reader right beside these men in their final days.

Long’s ability to represent the vernacular of the time and his clear-eyed vision of the historical events leading up to Little Big Horn, will enthrall as well as educate.

Walls and Melton embody the best of human values, exemplified through the valor of their actions, their honesty, and their determination to fight for what they believe to be just and right. These men leap off the page, remaining memorable long after the reader finishes the book.

But above all, this is the story of men who meet and become friends, and whose characters are shaped by a series of dramatic historical events that defined our country.

This novel goes beyond the typically simplistic view of the Civil War, delving into the divided loyalties of the homesteaders in the American West who found their families and friends fighting on opposite sides of the war. Long accurately portrays the dangers and shifting alliances of the Old West during the war, exposing the reader to a very different view of the war’s effects on the western states.

No Good Like It Is, Dog Soldier Moon, and Higher Ground create an award-winning trilogy of stories about the Civil War-era Western frontier that will leave readers feeling as if they spent many a pleasant hour with a cast of admirable and memorable characters who tell of their adventures and journeys.

February 15, 2016
FRECKLED VENOM COPPERHEAD by Juilette Douglas — Best Debut Western

Straddling a big, gray horse, a young boy rides into White River, a small isolated town with few people. A town he fled years before. He is alone and sick. Multiple questions percolate, but the first one is, “How can he carry on?” Readers who seek historical western adventures, will find Freckled Venom by Juliette Douglas a satisfying read to be enjoyed by all ages of readers, youngsters or seasoned.

Juliette Douglas writes with a unique Western voice, full of quirky phrases that establish character, humor, emotional content, and moves the story briskly along. The story is set in 1878, and the narrative revolves around the opposing goals of the town marshal and the obsessed bounty hunter. Its supporting characters are enjoyable, although some lean toward stereotypes, but this old-time Western presents an engaging hero and heroine.

Tension and conflicts are layered and contain some violence. The Marshal Rawley and the venomous woman Lacy suffer as they’re jammed together against vile weather: rain, wind, cold and snow, while hunting three brutal socio-pathic brothers. While the villains provide gripping conflict and suspense, an underlying theme through the story is Lacy’s irreparable childhood damage.

Rawley tries to break through her emotional barricade, but is returned with Lacy’s biting reactions. However, such interactions define these characters as they grow; both of them learning while searching for a way to deal with their dilemma. Two plots climax at the end of the dual hunts: the hunt for the murdering scum brothers and the hunt for a resolution to Lacy’s pain.

As the narrative deepens, internal and external dialogue represents character reflections, and drives home. In almost every conversation with Lacy, Rawley uses a nickname, partly with affection, but also to taunt her, and the nickname becomes tiresome to Lacy and maybe to the reader also. However, the payoff for reading past these bumps is thoroughly enjoying a story that makes the Old West come alive.

Douglas writes the physical senses organically; readers see, hear, touch, and smell everything in the setting, know the season, feel the weather, and can taste the dust. Freckled Venom, Douglas’ debut novel, brings the Old West to life with vivid settings, believable adventures, and suspenseful plotting. She weaves together danger, Lacy and Rawley’s growth, their longing for intimacy, and induces reader empathy for Lacy and Rawley right to the end. Readers wanting to know more can look forward to Douglas’s sequel, Freckled Venom: Copperhead Strikes.

February 3, 2016
The Laramie Awards for Western Fiction 2015 – Official Finalists Listing
The LARAMIE Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genres of Western Fiction. The Laramie 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 2015 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 30, 2016!

The Laramie Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are:
- Western Romance
- Adventure/Caper
- Classic
- Civil War/Prairie/Pioneer
- Contemporary Western
- Western Young Adult
The following titles will compete for the FIRST IN CATEGORY Positions and Awards Packages.

The OFFICIAL LIST of Finalists Authors and Titles of Works that have made it to the Short-list of the Laramie 2015 Novel Writing Contest.
- Sara Dahmen – Doctor Kinney’s Housekeeper
- Martha Conway – Thieving Forest
- Ken Farmer & Buck Stienke for Across the Red
- Andy Kutler for The Other Side of Life
- Linell Jeppsen for Second Chance
- Allen Russell for Crow Feather
- Quinn Kayser-Cochran for Silver State
- Robert Morgan Fisher for The Long Trample
- David M. Jessup for Mariano’s Choice
- S. Thomas Bailey for Blood Lines-The Gauntlet Runner
- Cheri Kay Clifton for Destiny’s Journey
- Kevin Horgan for The March of the Orphans And the Battle of Stones River
- Lori Crane for Okatibbee Creek
- D W Tarman for A Soldier’s Covenant
- Christi Corbett for Tainted Dreams
- Laura McMennamin for Winter Shadows
- Driskell Horton for Pleasant Hill
- JvL Bell for Colorado Gold
- C.J. Fosdick for The Accidental Wife
- Alethea Williams for Walls for the Wind
- Kristy McCaffrey for The Blackbird
- Lynda J Cox for The Devil’s Own Desperado
- Caroline Clemmons for Winter Bride
- Jenna Hestekin for Zeke’s Fate
- Miantae Metcalf McConnell for Mary Fields, First African American Woman U.S. Star Route Mail Carrier
- Louise Lenahan Wallace for Children of the Day
- Ransom Wilcox/Karl Beckstrand for To Swallow the Earth
- McKendree Long for Higher Ground
- Rebecca S. Nieminen for The White Hart
- Christi Corbett for Tainted Dreams
- Kevin Horgan for The March of the 18th, A Story of Crippled Heroes in the Civil War
- Buck Stienke for Devil’s Canyon
LIST TO CONTINUE — Thank you for your patience. We are working through the 2015 LARAMIE entries.
The Laramie Finalists will compete for the Laramie Awards First In Category Positions, which consists of Four Judging Rounds. First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the Laramie GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition, which has a cash prize of $250 or $500 dollars in editorial services. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse.
- All First In Category Award Winners will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.
- First In Category winners will compete for the Laramie Awards Grand Prize Award for the $250 purse and the Laramie Grand Prize Ribbon and badges.
- TEN genre Grand Prize winning titles will compete for the $1,000 purse for CBR Best Book and Overall Grand Prize.
- A coveted Chanticleer Book Review valued at $345 dollars U.S. CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order as to posting.
- A CBR Blue Ribbon to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
- Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
- Adhesive book stickers
- Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
- Promotion in print and on-line media
- Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
- Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter
- Default First in Category winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft in all of the Chanticleer Writing Competitions.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

Congratulations to the Finalists in this fiercely competitive contest!
Good Luck to all of the Laramie Finalists as they compete for the coveted First Place Category positions.

First In Category announcements will be made in our social media postings as the results come in.

The Laramie Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category winners will be announced and recognized at the April 30th, 2016 Chanticleer Writing Contests Annual Awards Gala, which takes place on the last evening of the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2016 Laramie Awards writing competitions for Western Fiction. Please click here for more information or to enter the contests.
January 7, 2016
THE LAST DESPERADO by Rebecca Rockwell –a tale of the last days of the Wild West

His fame spreads with every train hold-up, bank robbery, horse theft, and whatever else he must do to survive. “The Last Desperado” by Rebecca Rockwell lassos the readers and keeps them on the ride into the last days of the Wild West in Kansas and Oklahoma Territories––a superb tale told in Bill Doolin’s perspective of how he became a notorious outlaw creating the legend of the “Wild Bunch” gang.

The story begins when Bill ensures his widowed mother will get by before he leaves home and becomes a cowboy. A good son and a guy who cares. The intervention of railroads mercilessly cuts away swaths of land and usurps the need for cattle drives not leaving much opportunity for a young man in the West. Doolin’s boredom and anger mounts and he slides over time into the leadership of “The Wild Bunch” gang, drawing cowboy buddies and others he meets along the trail, into the gang with him. Foreshadowing, treachery, and betrayal keeps the tension mounting.

Rockwell immerses readers in the life, loves, and deep friendships of Doolin, while they walk in his shoes, feel the rainstorms soaking through his clothes, understand his fears, and share in his love for his wife and child. She lets readers feel rides in the heat, the rainstorms and the crouch, hunkered down in the cramped dirt dugouts hiding from the “Lawdogs.” Instead of labelling him an “evil dude” we admire him, maybe wishing we could know a man like him, and we understand, and many forgive, when he is cornered and commits violence. Our hope grows along with Doolin’s when he finally yearns to change.

The dialogue remains true to the time and place in history, their speech revealing who they are and their lifestyles. The words, like a time machine, take us back to the years surrounding 1892. The reader gets to know the characters by how and what they speak, and can feel the settings through the conversations.

An excerpt and the set up: Bill Doolin gazes, eyes full of love, upon his wife Edith, and at his baby son in his arms. He feels the weight and the warmth and smells his son for the first time.

He thinks, “I didn’t think I had enough room in me for all those feelings.”

Rockwell brings this man and those he loves, along with a new perspective of the gang’s bad boys, vividly to life. Her readers will get to know them and care about them–a mark of a truly great novel. “The Last Desperado” is highly recommended for those who love westerns and top drawer historical fiction.

“The Last Desperado” by Rebecca Rockwell is First Place Laramie Award Winner for Western Fiction.

January 7, 2016
CHEATING THE HOG: A Sawmill. A Tragedy. A Few Gutsy Women by Rae Ellen Lee

When her bell-ringing employment for the Christmas season ends, Echo Spangler tackles a higher paying job demanding heavy physical labor—one at the local saw mill that is known for paying above minimum wage, but is perilous to one’s limbs.

Male bosses and a few male co-workers conspire to force her to quit, adding to the daily “business as usual” danger. But she needs this job to pay her bills, and she’s determined not to let the jerks get the best of her. Rae Ellen Lee’s novel Cheating the Hog is full of snappy writing that conveys the groaning of Echo’s muscles, while also showing her bravado and joy of simple pleasures against her taunting male co-workers.

Echo presents a gutsy hard crust to her bosses and the men lording over her in the sawmill, but reveals her big heart to three female co-workers, her mother, and old friends. Danger ramps up beyond the job when she tries to help the women escape domestic violence.

Readers will be engrossed in Lee’s lively narrative style; learning along the way about the workings of the sawmill machinery the fatal chaos it may bring if things go wrong. Lee also brings us to life outside the mill. Echo’s homelife includes her gun-toting mother, but Echo still carries the hopeful sparks of romance in her heart; even if she has to deal with prissy women and thick-skulled men.

This engaging story shows the life of gutsy women on the sharp edge of poverty–with no extra education and none of the advantages of a relatively carefree upbringing. The author immerses the reader into Echo’s daily life and demonstrate how such women experience the hardships relentlessly tumbling their way, enduring a male-dominated work culture, and living through its dangers. The book’s overarching theme encompasses underprivileged women who work hard, laugh hard, love hard, fight hard, and never give up. They forgive when they can, all the while struggling to show courage against odds most readers hope they will never face.

People busy with their own lives don’t often give much thought to the hard and dirty jobs millions of men and women do every day. The author shows how (and why) many working folks muster the ability to face danger, fear, and death daily on the job. When readers turn the last page, they’ll be glad that they read the entertaining and enlightening Cheating the Hog engagingly written by the talented Rae Ellen Lee.

December 27, 2015