About Cliff Chandler:
Author Cliff Chandler is truly a renaissance man. He was born in New York City during the thirties, and spent part of his life in Macon, Georgia. Cliff returned to New York as a teenager, attended school at night, and worked in
various occupations. Like most artists he has worked as a taxi driver, Hospital Aide, Paramedic, Professional Photographer – German School of Photography, Jazz Musician-- The New Muse, and an editorial writer for a local
newspaper. Chandler was trained and served as a Special Officer in the New York City Police Department, but spent most of his time as a private detective and as Assistant To The President of the John C. Mandel Security
Bureau.
His education includes: Fine Art Major, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, Masters Writing courses at New York University, and Editing classes at The New School. His photographs hang in private collections all over the world
and in museums here in America. He has written a book of poetry, Chants, Rants, and Raves, and ten novels, four of which are published, The Paragons, Vengeance Is Mine, and Devastated. Devastated was selected as
Mystery Novel Of The Year, 2004, by JADA PRESS. Motherless Child is his fourth novel.
Motherless Child:
Billy Raymond, a black child living in the 1930s, discovers that all ethnicities are vulnerable in the coming-of-age novel set largely in New York City.
Later that morning we walked back to the station where I had my first taste of intergration. I didn't know what to do first, there were signs, no restrictions to guide me. I ran all over the place, being careful not to lose site of Belle.
I ran over to the entrance of the building and stood in the doorway overwhelmed by the size of the place and the awesomeness of freedom. Belle had prepared me for intergration, but the truth of intergration startled me.
It was so simple. I stood there at the entrance with my mouith wide open, watching the spectacle of people, black, white,Asian, all kinds of people entering and parting through the same door... Just beyond the flurry of activity
I saw the dome of the Capitol Building in the background, the building Belle talked so much about. I had seen pictures of it many times. but in that magic moment I felt an indescribale pleasure rising in me, and a new sense
of being.
..Bellle a veteran of "intergration" took a seat in a car full of white people. The change for me was hypnotic. I waited for someone to ask us to move, but they ignored us....
Reviews: Motherless Child
Prizewinning author and poet, Cliff Chandler has taken the best of his previous works and added more depth, color, and fullness to his new novel Motherless Child. The hero grows up,
tossed between a sleepy Georgia town and the music and flash of Harlem in its prime. Chandler writes this novel with fresh style and innovative perspective. This book is a page-turner
providing kaleidoscopic scenes and revelations of two different “cultures” somehow entwined in the fascinating story of Billy, a talented young and impressionable black child.
Chandler’s work is well conceived, his characters fully developed, and his story moving – often teetering between tragedy and comedy. Billy, his family, the jazz that flows through the book,
even the sounds and colors surrounding the scenes are unforgettable, as Billy becomes a man in two worlds – so far apart, yet somehow the same. Motherless Child is a “must read.”
A. Louise Staman
A. Louise Staman is a recipient of two national awards for Loosening Corsets: The Heroic Life of Georgia’s Feisty Mrs. Felton, First Woman Senator of the United States, and other prizes,
ncluding a William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Award. She has authored five books and is editor of Tiger Iron Press. www.ALouiseStaman.com
An engrossing story with subtle teachings of life.
Irene Harner, a reader, author, columnist. 06/27/2008
Growing up in the north and the south in the years this book is set; I find Cliff Chandler has captured the heart of life during that time. The reader comes away
with the realization that people are basically the same regardless of color or creed. Good, bad and in between, people doing the best they can to survive and
enjoy life set in an engrossing story.
Reviewed by LuAnn Morgan for RebeccasReads (8/08)
Billy Raymond was born in the south, the second generation following the elimination of slavery in the U.S. At the young age of four, he already recognizes the signs of discrimination and segregation he
and his family must face on a daily basis. Those givens become clearer when he travels with his grandmother to New York when his mother announces she is getting married. Billy lives with his grandmother.
His single mother felt unable to care for a child, so she left him in capable hands as she traveled to make a life for herself outside of the Deep South. Of course, now that she will no longer be a single mother,
Billy’s grandmother decides his mother should be ready to take on that responsibility. However, his new stepfather has other ideas. He has no desire to raise his new wife’s son. With that, Billy returns to
Georgia and continues to live with his grandmother. Yet, he never forgets the different lifestyle of those blacks up north. They have so many advantages compared to those in the south. His goal is to someday
return to New York and be truly free.
“Motherless Child” is Billy’s story. We follow this character as he grows up and works toward fulfilling his dreams. It’s a story that goes beyond the typical “coming of age” novel. With an author who is
familiar with life in Georgia during the mid-20th century, we are introduced to concepts and beliefs few are privy to. The reader is taken on a journey not to be forgotten. We learn about prejudice first-hand and
develop an understanding for the trials minorities faced on a daily basis. Billy is not a character who is easy to like. He often comes off as brash and pompous. Indeed, it is a piece of his personality that
works as a self-defense mechanism to protect his feelings and emotions from the “real world.” It is that world he must both escape from and find as even his own mother turns her back on him. With that in
mind, the reader can come to appreciate Billy’s personality and the book itself. That’s what I found as I began to read this story. It soon engrossed my time and became difficult to put down.
Cliff Chandler himself has lived in both New York and Georgia. He has an extensive education in writing and that definitely shows as the reader experiences the vernacular of each part of the country.
Particularly endearing is his descriptions of Billy and his grandmother on the train to and from New York. It was a different experience in the 1930s, prior to desegregation and the civil rights movement. Chandler
has done his homework and presented the reader with a believable novel about an unbelievable time in the history of our country.
The Paragons
Published; July 11, 2000 * Brittney Press Publishing
ISBN 1-893196-03-8
342 pages
Books available @ CDuke23@aol.com
Chandler says, "Today's politicians struggle with each other's character daily in pursuit of high office. Novelist Cliff Chandler takes a different view, as he sees it, a real-world view. The Paragons his new novel
is a tantalizing trip through the real world, a world, in which he pulls no punches. As Cliff says, " This isn't about morality. This is about surviving by any means necessary. This struggle is not new to America;
the problem arises because a different class of people are subscribing to the " American Dream." During the thirties the mother load was whiskey today it is narcotics. A large segment of our society is involved
in this chase. The Paragons identifies them."
Reviews:
If you are looking for a crime story, look no further. Cliff Chandler's debut Novel "The Paragons" is escapist entertainment of the highest order. Mr. Chandler navigates you through a complex game played
by those with money and power, a best seller for sure.
Roy Glenn author of "Is It A Crime"
With the release of "The Paragons," first time author Cliff Chandler has emerged full force in the literary world. The Paragons is a suspenseful, thrilling page-turner. He kept me on the edge of my seat with
a creation of characters that stood up on each page. Mr. Chandler definitely has a gift for projecting realization.
Atlanta's Elite Book Club
Cliff Chandler's "The Paragons" was chalked full of mystery and excitement, with a flare for the big screen. Main Character, Vic
Morgan is no nonsense Police Detective who draws you in and takes you hostage until the very end.
Author Raven Styles
The Paragons will knock your sock off.
Cliff Chandler writes as well as Raymond Chandler. Sex, drugs, violence, corruption in the highest places and fantastic detective work. Detective Vic Morgan is suave, tough and brutal. He gets the job done.
Don't miss this book. It's a winner
R.Cummings, Auth
The Paragons
Cliff Chandler
ISBN:1-893196-03-
Elizabeth Crainsworth was found murdered in a Bronx apartment, no one could believe she had any connection to the drug scene. Her mother spent a year as a recluse, and her father finally tapped the
Mayor for help in solving the murder. He gives the Mayor a package that cost the private investigator Crainsworth had hired to solve the case his life. The Mayor tapped Ben Chapman, Police Commissioner,
to provide the best he has, who happens to be Lieutenant Vic Morgan. Morgan has been "desked" since an unfortunate incident that made for some bad press. Morgan picks Jess Norman as his partner,
and the ride begins. Chandler patiently builds layer of intrigue, interspersing plenty of action and ruthlessness along the way. His pictorial descriptions of the Bronx and Manhattan are breathtaking, as is
his depiction of the utter corruption that the drug world produces. Chandler produces a page-turner that exposes the dark side of our society; drugs and prostitution, as the easy money/quick death trip that
it is.
THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW, March 2001
THE PARAGONS by Cliff Chandler
Macon, Georgia author Cliff Chandler has written a tale of murder and revenge in his first novel The Paragons. It is filled with scenes that are reminiscent of Hammett and Spillane, but yet have a modern touch
that brings in Diehl and Connelly. It is a blend of these famous authors but still a book that is uniquely his own. The book is raw and gutsy, violent and explosive. It has its ups and its downs as it moves from
incident to incident; from rage to rage, from clue to clue until finally the murderer is discovered and justice is handed out in the proper ratio. If you are a fan of crime fiction, this is a good book for you.
Cliff Chandler has had this book inside of him for some time and the sequel is already waiting in the wings. In it the main characters of this story will return.
Brittney Press Publishing publishes THE PARAGONS. It contains 323 pages and sells for $14.95
How far up is the bottom of crime? November 10, 2002
Cliff Chandler's first book, The Paragons is an excellent example of what a crime story should be. It contains plenty of mystery and enough twists and turns in the plot to keep the book interesting.
The story opens immediately following the mysterious death of Elizabeth Crainsworth. Since there were no immediate suspects for murder, Elizabeth's wealthy father Ellis Crainsworth hires an
investigator to look into the crime in an effort to find some answers and gain some closure. As a result of the investigation, Ellis obtains some critical evidence. Eventually this evidence is shared
with the police and an elite police squad headed up by maverick cop Vic Morgan is formed to further investigate the crime. Thus the roller coaster ride of a mystery begins, featuring sex, drugs,
small time hustlers and the seemingly untouchable elite. Chandler deftly explores issues of class, while keeping the reader engrossed in a hard hitting yet true to life plot about the impact of drugs
in American society and the true roots of the drug problem in America. He cleverly demonstrates that criminals come in all shapes, sizes and social backgrounds and that sometimes the most
dangerous criminals are the ones that never make the news because of their high powered connections. This is a multi-layered story, not the kind of mystery where you can skip to the end and
iscover all the answers. As Detective Vic Morgan and his team discover the answers to some questions, new questions emerge until the book reaches its final explosive ending. With interesting
characters and a high paced plot, The Paragons is a crime story that should not be missed.
Reviewed by Stacey Seay
