Becoming an Amazon Kindle writer apparently runs in families. Lisa is listed as my editor on one book, James wrote his Numbers Cool Book, and now Aunt Samantha is getting into the action with a mystery set in Montana. It's called The Reluctant Sleuth: A Bittersweet Sara Calder Mystery by Samantha Evers.
Prologue - Aunt Samantha is really aunt Eva, but Eva Maxwell was already an author. The character is based on herself (to some extent), so it's really Eva writing as Samantha as Sara. Since most of the people reading the book won't know the author, these details won't matter, but it makes the experience more fun for me. I also have to consider whether I should have chosen a different nom de plume for myself. Since there weren't any other Brian Jaegers on Amazon at the time, it seemed unnecessary, but I could have been Colt Remington or Marcus Twain.
Chapter 1 - I like what I've seen of the book so far. The narrator's voice in engaging. I'm big into voice, and if I can't relate to a story for lack of it, then I'm not going to read very far. Samantha uses details that a lot of writers would miss, but it's not weighed down with middle school girl-style overdescription. This makes it seem natural and appropriate to the character/narrator being established early on. Granted, I have not ventured into the love scenes or mystery scenes yet, so I can't tell you how the character will handle such stresses.
Chapter 2 - Will I keep reading beyond the Amazon free preview? I believe so, since my other options right now include a 750-page book about John Adams and another mystery not written by my aunt that I got for Christmas. I want this book to give me inspiration to finish my own novel, but I'd also like to see how an author in-tune to everyday characterization can use that within an exciting plot that (I hope) does not involve zombies, vampires, wizards, or superheroes.
Conclusion - Samantha should get a good author page on Amazon and be sure to claim her pages on Goodreads and other author profile pages, not that they have helped me immensely, but it makes the author seem more legit. I don't know a lot about the marketing aspect of book publishing, but I know that someone, somewhere must have recommended one of my books so that I now sell a couple a week, so I'd say find those folks, even if it happens to be a nephew. Of course, being a web designer, I'd recommend Sara Calder get her own website, or at least Samantha should get one. Even if it's a free WordPress or Weebly site. Right now, SamanthaEvers.com has her own website with videos about twerking, as well as a Goodreads profile reviewing some 200 books, but I don't think that's my aunt (from Adelaide, Australia). Don't let others think you are her. Even with a lot of competition for name recognition, if you type "Brian Jaeger author" into Google, it's mostly me, and that was not an accident. Nor was the death of poor Daniel in the novel, I assume, but you'll have to read to find out.