“Congratulations on reaching the prestigious FINALIST Stage of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards (CIBAs)! This is one of the highest honors offered by Chanticleer, and it’s worth celebrating!”

This is what I saw when I opened an email yesterday afternoon, telling me “Sniper’s Day” is a Finalist for CIBAs Best Suspense / Thriller Novel of 2023.

Needless to say, it took my breath away.

CIBA has 25 different categories covering multiple genres of fiction and non-fiction. Mine is the Clue Category; there are 32 titles on the Finalists List. According to the announcement “Sniper’s Day” is now in the running for First Place Category Winner, which then would put it in the running for the CIBA Grand Prize.

All Finalists, Category Winners and the Grand Prize Winner are honored at a dinner at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, April 18-21, in Bellingham, Washington. Of course, Nan and I are going to be there to celebrate the occasion.

Yes, I would love to walk away with a Category First Place Award, even the Grand Prize… Who wouldn’t?

But you know what? I consider even making it to the Finalists Stage a real tribute to me as a writer. The judges, who have read lots of words, seem to think my Ro Delahanty Novels are pretty good stuff. Thank you!

So, don’t be surprised if you see me walking around with a Finalists Sticker plastered on my forehead for a while, just to show off a little.