Jade Varden Official Blog

Lisa Shafer's Confessions of an Average Half-Vampire is a wholly wonderful story. You never quite know what you're going to get with an indie book, but I confess that I was drawn into the tale right away. Confessions is technically perfect and mistake-free, which makes it even easier to be completely mesmerized by the plot -- and I was. Eric, the titular half-vampire, is a perfectly non-heroic hero. He's got all the problems that come with being in middle school (like trying to figure out what a girl really means with those confusing text messages and finding ways to hide stuff from his too-clever mom), but he's also got a pesky little genetic problem: he's a half-vampire. In Lisa's world, vampires don't live in creepy castles and hunt for victims by night -- they wait for cloudy evenings and matter-of-factly drink blood to stay healthy. Eric goes to school, does his homework and plays piano -- mostly ragtime and other peppy pieces. Lisa S...

Every writer has their own little tricks, and I'm going to share one of mine. Every book has a main character, and sometimes more than one, but there's a whole host of supporting cast members who appear within the pages. Whether you're mentioning a character only once or more than a dozen different times in your book, you need to include them on the character sheet. It's not talked about as often as the outline, but it's probably just as important. What is the Character Sheet? I can't tell you how many times I've been in the middle of writing, only to have to stop and ask myself, "wait, what color were his eyes again?" I learned to create character sheets for all my books the hard way -- I found myself repeatedly combing through pages I'd written to find a last name, a physical description, some characteristic I assigned in the past and forgot in the present. A character sheet keeps all that mess straight, so you ha...

Editing is a hot topic of discussion among writers, and my personal religion. To put it mildly, I believe in the power of editing. No book is complete without it. But at the same time, editing your own work can be a very difficult, very painful procedure. Think of it as a necessary evil all writers must face. Editing for Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Editing serves a main function for any piece of writing: it makes it readable. In today's day of visible spellcheck and auto-correct, it's easy to simply write along without worry about spelling each and every word the right way. Who has time to worry about putting i before e and doubling the l when changing the tense? It's a lot to think about, especially when you're trying to create interesting characters and weave them together in a believable, enjoyable story. It's okay to just focus on your writing, and get that done...but after that, it's time for the really hard work. You shou...

I've been spending time on the Goodreads forums lately, and one topic really struck me as I was reading along: the book outline. It's a hot topic on the forums, and every writer seems to have their own style of using (or not using) an outline to keep their plots straight and their books organized. So today's Writing 101 lesson will be the outline -- how to use it, when not to use it and what to do when your writing doesn't match it at all. Outline Basis Everyone arranges their outlines differently, and it's not always the method of organization that matters (but I do know that pets and Post-Its aren't a good mix). Some writers organize outlines by chapters, some by events. I write mine by days and dates; maybe you've noticed I'm always very clear about which day of the week it is in the DOL series. Again, it doesn't matter how the outline is organized, only that it is organized. An outline isn't a huge chunk of text, it's ...

I discovered The Book of Quotations for People Who Hate Quotations at Amazon's Kindle store , where it was free to download. But after reading it, I would happily pay money for the joy of owning it. I definitely qualify as a quotation-hater, and this book did not disappoint. I was all ready to be angered by it -- sometimes, irony is wasted on me -- but by the end of page one I was laughing with hysteria. Usually I'm a tell-me-a-story type of gal. I'm not into those books that are nothing but anecdotes -- even a short story collection won't usually turn me on. But I got into a mood where I just wanted some light reading and light humor, and this book fit the bill perfectly. It pairs famous and shopworn quotes from all the usual suspects -- Maya Angelou, Confucius, Henry David Thoreau, old wives of note -- with snarky comebacks that point to the failing in each well-accepted expression and piece of trite advice. The book is divided into topic sections...

I'm hard at work on The Tower and elbow-deep in murder plots. Release date for Book 2 coming soon!

Rain prefers to dress in bold colors and tends toward slim silhouettes -- it's why she loves Calvin Klein dresses, like the two in the collage. She usually chooses shoes with a solid-looking heel like these red Steve Maddens. And when it comes to carrying stuff, she's got a lot; it's why she favors big purses, like this Barbara Milano.

I was so happy to participate in Musikdiv India Online Magazine 's Authors Festival! Check out the magazine's official site to read the full text of my interview. I hope I answered all your questions, but if you've got any more feel free to interrogate me in the comments section. Be sure to check the end of the interview to find out what's coming up next in the Deck of Lies series!