Interview & Review: Edward Mittelstedt, Narrator of Soul Bound by Jas T. Ward

Author: Jas T. Ward

Narrator: Edward Mittelstedt

Length: 8 hours 46 minutes

Series: Soul Bound, Book 1

Publisher: JTW Publishing

Released: Oct. 6, 2017

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Death May Be The End…
But Love Doesn’t Give A @&%#.

Murderer…
Jace Camden is haunted by his past. One that has many believing he got away with murder. He’s run from it, trying to start a new life in a new town. But his past hasn’t let him escape and it’s determined that his future will not be a long one.

Death will demand it’s due.
And his late wife will make sure that debt is paid.
Kitt Thomas’ life is in a rut but that changed when she looked into the sad, haunted eyes of Jace Camden. Something about his wounded soul called to her–like a flicker in a very dark cave she should have had the sense not to step into.

But his past will make sure she is no more part of Jace’s future than life is.

Because he’s soul bound.
And that’s a bind that can only be broken by death.
His.

It’s not about the Happily Ever After…
It’s about surviving the read.

Jas T. Ward has always used writing as a necessary escape. With a past that is marred with a difficult childhood and domestic violence as well as being homeless as an adult, Ward lost her creative voice when she lost her soul mate to suicide.

Finding that creative voice once again in writing in social media via blogs and creative writing groups, it was the fans that encouraged her to put her literary weavings to paper for them to enjoy.

Ward lives in Texas with her dog and cat- Author Dog Pumkin and Writer Kitty Orleans and is the proud parent of three independent children.

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Eddie was born and raised in California. At a young age, he loved to create cartoon-like caricature voices and perform them to anyone who would listen. His friends and family told him he should be in the voice-over industry when he grew up.

He currently works at Oceaneering International near Baltimore, creating software control systems for both remotely-operated and autonomous underwater vehicles.

His dream of being a voice actor was forgotten until recently he came across a friend who is a narrator for Audible. The possibility of being in the voice-over industry was rekindled, and after harassing his friend incessantly on the details of becoming an Audible narrator, you find Eddie’s story here today.

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Soul Bound: The Warrior is currently available on the Adopt-An-Audiobook page for interested reviewers!

I jumped into this book expecting a horror tale (as indicted on Audible) and that’s probably one of the reasons it took me quite some time to get into this story. It’s really a romance first and foremost with a little bit of paranormal stuff thrown in. Romance really isn’t my cup of tea.

For the most part, I was bored. There’s lots of time spent on Jace and Kitt flirting and then, Bam!, they get smacked with a case of insta-love. So for the rest of the book there’s lots of long passages about eye contact and deep feelings and what not when they haven’t really experienced much together. Snooze.

Laura, Jace’s dead wife, is ghosting about, haunting Jace. She intrigued me because for much of the book we didn’t know for sure what occurred between Jace and Laura leading up to her death. Then there’s Olivia, Laura’s sister, who can also see Laura’s ghost. Olivia is hell bent on seeing ‘justice’ brought to Jace.

Sky (Kitt’s good friend) and Zane (Jace’s good friend) provide some comedic relief. We also have Dr. Alex Martinez who comes off a bit disorganized at first and yet I kept wondering if that was her way to set Jace off balance and get around his walls. Once the story writes itself into a corner, in walks Franklin who offers some much needed knowledge about the paranormal.

As you can see, the story has some promise, especially if you enjoy a strong romantic theme. For me, there was too little paranormal stuff and too much soul bonding based on insta-love. Also, the story often built drama around some insubstantial things. For instance, Jace doesn’t like cold drinks and his best friends have never asked him why. Pause for a deep long moment as the tension builds…. and Jace says he has sensitive teeth. Totally plausible yet some of the characters treat the answer with suspicion. Now, us readers know from early on Jace’s true reason for disliking cold things but I don’t see why it should be such a big deal with this friends. All told, it’s 3.5/5 stars.

The Narration: Edward Mittelstedt did a really good job narrating this book. Each character was distinct and his female voices were feminine. Now, the story does describe Jace as a more rugged Gerald Butler so I was expecting a deeper voice for Jace. That could just be me. Mittelstedt went the extra mile and did neat things like have multiple voices when more than one person answered a question at the same time. That was great! 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Edward Mittelstedt. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Dab of Darkness Interview with Narrator Eddie Mittelstedt

If you could have a signed copy of any novel what would it be and why?
Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. I grew up with his books and they taught me how to read. I used Hop on Pop specifically to teach my daughters how to read as well. I remember sitting on the couch with them every evening individually. We all looked forward to it.

If you had to choose someone to rescue you from the jaws of certain death would it be a superhero, supernatural creature, or a space alien?
Space aliens? No thanks. Too much chance for a subsequent anal probe. Supernatural creature? Rolling the dice and referring to my previous luck, I would most likely be rescued by a vampire or werewolf. So again, no thanks. So I guess that leaves superhero!

If you could, what book or movie or TV series would you like to experience for the first time all over again and why?
In 1977 I was twelve when Star Wars was released. The way that movie captured my imagination was insane. I only got to see it once in those days, so the secondary market was where I got to relive the movie through action figures and collectible cards. I remember going through those cards every day, looking at the captured scenes and reliving the movie so intensely. I remember playing with the action figures and trying to recreate the scenes from memory. I’ve never repeated that type of euphoria with regards to a movie, and doubt I ever will, but would sure love to.

What has been your worst or most difficult job? How does it compare to narrating?
In the dock area of old downtown Annapolis, Maryland they used to have these tricycles with a carriage on the back that two people could sit comfortably. A “guide” pedals the bike around and picks up tourists, giving tours of the city and dock area. I used to be one of those guides. One time I had a group of 3 guys from Bermuda get in the back and ask me to take them to a house they were renting located about a mile away. This meant I had to pedal these guys up the steep hill of Main St. It was literally one agonizing push of the pedal at a time, each taking a five or more seconds.. The guys loved it – the people walking on either side of Main St. shouted encouragement. Sweat poured off me. In the end I got a $20 tip and was invited in for a beer to cool off.

Why was it such a bad job? I was all tip-based. You had to sell yourself to pick up riders. I didn’t make much money, but I’ll never forget it.

Narrating by comparison is amazing. You sit on your ass and get to tell stories. How cool is that? Well except for my ass getting softer…

Who are some of your favorite book villains?
My favorite character types are the anti-heroes. I recently read Shady Cross by James Hankins. The main character of the story is a slimy burglar who left his wife and little girl years ago. He comes across three-hundred grand and is about to split town with it thinking his problems are over when he realizes the money was going to be used to ransom a little girl. The physical and mental trials that he goes through to decide to save this kid instead of being selfish is a beautiful thing to witness.

If you could sit down and have dinner with 5 dead authors, who would you invite to the table? What would they order?
Edgar Allen Poe of course since I live near Baltimore. I see him ordering Ortolans and eating it with a large black napkin over his head.
H.P. Lovecraft – a huge bowl of octopus sushi
Ernest Hemingway – a piece of toast and his famous cocktail, Death in the Afternoon.
F. Scott Fitzgerald – Escargot and lobster tail, and of course a martini
Virginia Woolf – a huge porterhouse steak and a massive baked potato

What is the first book you remember reading on your own?
Robinson Crusoe. I remember being fascinated by the way Daniel Defoe described what Crusoe had to do to survive, down to scrounging for each nail and thread, and how he improvised ways to transport those supplies off the shipwreck and onto the island. How he built structures in the trees to protect against predators. It was quite an amazing adventure for a young brain to read about!

Finally, what upcoming events and works would you like to share with the readers?
My next narration will be of The Book of Saivon: The Ruby Child by the talented Jessica Eppley. It’s the first of a four-book series and will be released around Christmas time. It’s a fantasy tale with a strong female lead. It allowed me to stretch my legs with character voices, including a small wood faun named Nessa. For her voice, imagine Smeagol on helium.