#IndieApril Has Been a Boon For the Van Helsing Paradox

The #IndieApril hashtag came into being on Twitter this year, and has proven to be a boon for indie authors like myself! Not only could we advertise our books more often, it also reached a greater number potential readers. So what does that mean for an author who gives their work away? Well for other than roughly one-hundred purchases in the month, four times the norm, and translated to a jump in reviews!

Overall, I managed to wrangle up five new reviews under Amazon.com this month. These were also unsolicited, well written, and positive!

For the curious, the reviews are below:

This novel features what I crave the most out of a story: a main character whom I love to follow!

Mighty Tid - 5 Stars - Clara Grey: An intelligent action heroine I love to read! - April 13, 2019 - "Whoever said that getting there was half the fun, had never travelled with a nun hell-bent on getting there." This line is only one of many which illustrate the fun writing style Evelyn Chartres uses in telling the story of The Van Helsing Paradox. This novel features what I crave the most out of a story: a main character whom I love to follow! Clara Grey, the protagonist of the tale is innovative, snarky, both respects and defies authority, and knows how to pay attention to the world around her and use that knowledge to her advantage. The Van Helsing Paradox features more than just a scrappy fun main character: it delves in vampires, religion, and nefarious villains with unwholesome plans that need to be stopped. And it all centers on Clara from child to adulthood, an intelligent action heroine who at the same time is relatable as a person. I was immediately hooked by the end of the very first paragraph, when Clara as a child wakes with a need to go use the outhouse, and has to do her best in hand me down clothing too big for her. It's these kinds of details that help bring the story to life. I would have liked to see some details expanded which were only quickly mentioned in the story. For example, Clara's mischief in school is barely touched upon, and I'd like to learn more about the mysterious people who created her base of operations called The Tower. But Ms. Chartres's storytelling weaves the ongoing tale in a way that makes these questions simply a case of "leaving the audience wanting more" in the best possible way. Beyond the story itself, the book also showcases a wonderful immersion into the timeframe of the story. The narrative goes deep enough that Ms. Chartres has even provided a glossary in the back to help understand some of the dated terms. Barneymugging has become my new favorite word! I enjoyed and highly recommend the Van Helsing Paradox, and I look forward to exploring more of the fantastic stories Evelyn Chartres has available.

Clara Grey: An intelligent action heroine I love to read!- 4 Stars – Mighty Tid

I had no trouble dropping into this word and enjoying the ride.

Reader Who Hikes - 4 Stars - A Fun Read - April 15, 2019 - This book made me laugh out loud a few times and was a good match for my downtime. I had no trouble dropping into this word and enjoying the ride.

A Fun Read – 4 Stars – Reader Who Hikes

Clara, the main character, will be a favorite if you like the intellectual type of heroin that’s always ahead of the game.

Samantha Kroese - 4 stars - Entertaining tale if you enjoy stories about monster hunters! - April 24, 2019 - This is a pretty solid story. Clara, the main character, will be a favorite if you like the intellectual type of heroin that's always ahead of the game. Definitely worth a chance if you enjoy the monster hunter thing.

Entertaining tale if you enjoy stories about monster hunters! – 4 stars – Samantha Kroese

Clara isn’t ordinary and it’s clear at a young age, she can kick undead arse.

Nick Braker - 5 stars - Ghouls and undead monsters abound! - April 26, 2019 - Clara isn't ordinary and it's clear at a young age, she can kick undead arse. I enjoyed the story and the gory details of her maturation to adulthood. The priests and nuns play a very cool part in the story and it gets revealed slowly that most of them aren't as bad as Clara thought. Sister Maria, for example. Evelyn, you knocked it out of the park! More please. Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase Clara isn't ordinary and it's clear at a young age, she can kick undead arse. I enjoyed the story and the gory details of her maturation to adulthood. The priests and nuns play a very cool part in the story and it gets revealed slowly that most of them aren't as bad as Clara thought. Sister Maria, for example. Evelyn, you knocked it out of the park! More please.

Ghouls and undead monsters abound! – 5 Stars – Nick Braker

In any case, it’s an interesting read with several intriguing scenes and thoughts as well as what is revealed to be The Van Helsing Paradox itself

Sahreth 'Baphy' Bowden - 4 Stars - Interesting Theory of Static Individuals... - April 28, 2019 - The story is very intelligently written in the sense of vocabulary, sentence structure, and grammar and while the overall plot is good, I would approach reading the book from a philosophical state of mind rather than that of a general story-telling. Clara is a static character who never truly changes throughout the course of her existence. I believe this was purposeful in order to properly deliver what seemed to be the driving message of the story, however the lack of emotion portrayed in the story left it feeling somewhat dry. The beginning and ending are both excellent, but I feel the story's impact would have been greater if the middle had been shortened. In any case, it's an interesting read with several intriguing scenes and thoughts as well as what is revealed to be "The Van Helsing Paradox" itself.

Interesting Theory of Static Individuals… – 4 Stars – Sahreth ‘Baphy’ Bowden

I am sure this trend will not continue beyond April 2019. Still, this was an interesting experiment to see unfold and remain curious to see if this phenomenon will be repeated next year.