In this podcast episode, Melissa reviews a paranormal romance from indie author, Elle Jefferson.
Listen in...Episode 04 - Indie Review: At Death It Begins by Elle Jefferson
This episode is dedicated to the indie review of At Death It Begins by Elle Jefferson and an indie publishing Tip of the Week - Value your time.
First, Lisa and I chatted about our week. We launched the Indie Chicks website this week, and we're really excited about it! Don't forget to check out our products page! We also discussed the show, Riverdale on the CW. Lisa and I write YA, so we love watching YA shows too!
Next, Melissa reviewed At Death It Begins (ADIB) by Elle Jefferson. The genre is paranormal romance told from the dual perspective--first-person past tense for the heroine and third-person for the hero.
Here's the description of ADIB from Amazon:
Lendyn Hughes’ grandmother has kept a secret from her for thirty-one years, who Lendyn’s parents are. A devastating break-up following her grandmother’s death leaves Lendyn alone, confused, and determined to find answers. Armed with only a name Lendyn attempts to unfurl the branches of her family tree never guessing it would put her life in danger.
For over two hundred years Englishman Callum Scott lived a life surrounded by beauty. A life free of annoying human emotions. That is until the American showed up. Lendyn flipped his world upside down and put him in the worst sort of jeopardy. He’s starting to feel things and a blood-sucker can’t afford to feel.
And...here's my review:
Vampires? Romance? Yes, please.
This is a great paranormal romance. I loved it! Every time I put it down, I wanted to pick it back up. The two main characters, Lendyn, seemingly normal, and Callum, a vampire, are a great pairing, each having their own distinct voice. Lendyn is interesting, thoughtful, and I enjoyed being inside her head. Callum is...hot, hot, hot! He's mysterious, callous at first, and guarded. I was rooting for Lendyn and Callum the whole way through. The secondary characters felt real as well, especially the ex-boyfriend. Lisa and I also had a great discussion about how attractive vampires are. :) All in all, this is a solid read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good paranormal romance.
From a self-publishing perspective, I thought the book was professionally edited, had a great cover design with a beautiful model. The interior layout was good except there were some extra spaces at the beginning of each paragraph. This is typically a tab issue in Word before converting the file to the e-book format. The fonts and table of contents were all good.
Time for the Tip of the Week!
Lisa talked about how to value your time. Know when you should hire a contractor. Lisa talked about her issue in the past with interior layout. She mentioned that she would use a contractor for interior layout in the future. I mentioned that I use a professional to design my covers. We had a fun conversation about the fact that the professional I 'hire' happens to be my husband. If you're interested in why cover design is so important, here's a great article, 5 common book cover design myths most indie authors believe. Lisa also mentioned Upwork, a freelance finder, which we will be talking about a lot more in future podcasts.
On our next podcast, we will be talking about the editing process. I will also have a Tip of the Week. So, remember, we’re an indie author community, be kind and review your fellow indie authors’ books!
And…
Indie Chicks out.