Jade Varden Official Blog

"This book was perfect...The writing lovingly holds your hand and leads you through the story." "It was brilliant. I wish there was a better word to describe it, but there really isn't." Ariel Avalon has reviewed Judgment (Deck of Lies #4) at her blog. There are some spoilers, so feel free to read the whole review if you've already read the first three books in the series.  If you haven't, get the boxed set edition of the Deck of Lies, and get caught up on the entire series.

People use New Year's Eve as a time to look back and reflect on mistakes they've made, to think about what they want to change...to get drunk on life (and other substances). While you're making out your resolution list this year, include a few that will help you become a better writer. Maybe 2013 is the year of your bestseller.  Writing Resolutions What should you resolve to do as a writer? Make up your list, stick to it, and your writing will improve as a result:  Show what you mean. Don't tell me that Stacey walked downstairs to the front porch. Take me on the journey. Maybe the stairs creak when I walk down them, and the floor below is cold on my bare feet. Is it cold on the front porch, or warm and sunny? Always write descriptively in the upcoming year, and write better. Write real dialogue. Make your dialogue sound true to life. Read it out loud, and ask yourself if this is how people really talk. Read and re-read. Edit, edit, edit . Many readers ...

If you've never thought about what it's like to be a single mother during the Great Depression, you've never read Mildred Pierce . It's a dramatic novel, stuffed with plot, completely revolving around one woman who's just trying to raise her two girls. There are two film versions of the story, both featuring very well-known actresses. But if you watch them both, you're going to think you're watching two totally different stories. The Book Mildred Pierce , written by James M. Cain in 1941, is set in the 1930s in southern California, and it opens in the respectable suburb of Glendale. This is where Mildred lives with her husband Bert and their two daughters. The youngest is Moire, or Ray, the eldest Veda. Bert doesn't have a job. And to add insult to injury, he's cheating on Mildred. She knows it, and one afternoon summons up the gumption to kick him to the curb. It's in this fashion that Mildred finds herself practically pennil...

Self-published authors have to work hard to build up a fan base and to establish themselves as "real" authors in the eyes of their readers. That's why stepping outside your genre and writing something completely different can be pretty tricky and scary business. What if you go out on a limb...and lose all of your fans?  Outside the Box After putting all that time and effort into building up a fan base, stepping outside that comfort zone with a totally different book is a brave thing to do (some might say foolish). While some of your fans may stay true, others may be turned off because they aren't fans of that particular genre. That means you've got to start all over again, and start targeting fans in your new genre to find the readers that will be interested in this new book of yours. It's a lot of work, but it's not all that different from all the marketing you've already done. You should re-focus your efforts with every new book you rel...

Lots of people swear. Sometimes alcohol plays a part, other times it may be sports. Around my house, you're sure you hear it if any cable news station is on the television. Profanity creeps into daily life, like it or not, and that's why it also appears in books. How do you write it into yours, and should you warn your readers when you do?  Censorship and Warning Labels In the American culture, profanity is still profane. Certain words are regulated, and surrounded by rules. You can only hear certain swear words on certain cable channels, while others are offered up regularly across all networks. You'll find profanity filters on forums and online video games, and you're sure to see at least one offended face if you cry out one of these "off-limits" words in a church. When certain words are considered to be taboo, writers have to tread very lightly indeed.  When is it okay to use profanity in your books? That depends entirely upon the genre. It...

Deck of Lies: The Full Deck is available today! What will you find in the boxed set edition of the series? Watch the trailer to find out...

In celebration of the season, today I've got a special edition of Books on Film, featuring my very favorite holiday movie It's a Wonderful Life . It's a wonderful movie, but you probably don't know it's also a great short story. It's one of those rare tales that's got it all: angels, romance, Christmas, shattered dreams, scandal, money...even Jimmy Stewart.  The Book One of the most beloved and most-watched Christmas classics of all time is based on a little-known short story called The Greatest Gift . It was written in 1943 by Phillip Van Doren Stern, revolving around a main character named George Pratt. The story opens on Pratt standing on a bridge, ready to commit suicide. He's approached by a bizarre little man in worn clothing. George tells the man that really, he wishes he had never even been born. So the weird little man grants George Pratt his wish. The man gives George a bag he's carrying, and tells him to use it as part of a co...

The boxed set edition of the Deck of Lies will be released on Christmas Day! All four books in the series are included, along with extras that I've never revealed before. The Full Deck edition includes entries from Elizabeth's diary, Fallon's private blog posts, and Carsyn's journal entries. Check the blog during the Christmas holiday to see the trailer and find out how you can get the boxed set.    Deck of Lies: The Full Deck includes all family trees, plus some new ones, all the covers, and all the stuff you wanted to see and didn't (like Rain's letter to River). If you think your family has a lot of drama this holiday season, you should really check out the one in this series!

Lots of people believe the world is going to end, and lots of that can be blamed on good fiction. A good story can instill fear in an entire population. Once upon a time, back when the TV didn't exist, a nationwide panic was created over a radio program. The public literally believed that Earth had been invaded by an alien population. That is good writing. The end of the world can make for a great topic -- just ask the Mayans. We're still talking about them 2,000 years later . A good story is pretty powerful stuff.   The End of the World as They Know It Writing about a catastrophic, world-ending event can be a heady experience. You can make it thrilling, you can make it sad, you can make it frightening and horrifying. That's the power of the pen: you can do anything you want. But some writers take even that a little too far. Because you can't just end a world out of nowhere. You've got to lead up to it, a little. Before you can end your fictional w...

There are so many words in the English language, it's not even possible to count them all. This is how I know there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for you to make up any more of them. As a self-published author, this is something you just cannot do, and I'll explain why.  Neologisms, Portmanteaus and Other Stuff You Should Avoid Making up new words has become a trendy activity, oddly enough. This may be due to the fact that so many people have trouble correctly using the ones we've already got. You might have all sorts of reasons for using neologisms, new words or brand-new uses for words, in your books. You might think it's cute to create portmanteaus, words that have been shoved together to create new meanings. You might really feel the spirit of creativity. You might, in fact, be channeling the spirit of the great Lewis Carroll himself, the man who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and coined quite a few new words.  Edit them out of the ...

Writing a book is incredibly difficult. Writing a great book is practically impossible. When you sit down to write yours, ask and answer three questions. If you break writing down to its simplest form, you'll find it's really not so difficult after all. Master the basics, and all the rest is just polish.  Three Questions Every novel, no matter how thick or complicated, revolves around three specific questions. Ask them, and make sure you know the answers, when you're writing yours.  Who? Every novel needs at least one main character . Juggling more than one main is hard, but it can create a very rich and engaging story. Make your main character(s) interesting and identifiable, and your readers will enjoy finding out about them.  Where?   Every book has a setting . Research yours to make it real and rich on the page. Readers want details. What's the weather like? What are the buildings like? What do the rooms look like? Good descriptive writing ...

Some readers love them, some readers hate them. Entire books have been built around them, and fans will practically go to war to defend their particular choice. They're love triangles, and they're a bear to write. Before you do it, find out if it's even worth it to include this very dicey plot point in your story.  Three's a Crowd She likes him, but he likes someone else. It's a classic scenario, a literary tactic so old you can even find it in Shakespeare. Or maybe even in the Bible. And because it's so old, it's going to be really hard for any writer to use successfully. Readers have already seen it all before.  That's why you have to make you love triangles fresh and interesting if you're going to include them. Shakespeare didn't stop at a three-way knot of emotion; he added more parties to his triangles. While Helena was pining for Demetrius and he was pining for Hermia, she was madly in love with Lysander and all but oblivious t...

"Another solid novel by Jade Varden that meets up to the expectations left by its predecessor. Book Two did not disappoint." "It's very well crafted and executed, sustaining a very tense chase, almost to the point of becoming a thriller!" The Tower (Deck of Lies #2) has been reviewed at Verdict Book Reviews! It's a must-read for those who are trying to sort out all the suspects in the book, but only if you're up to speed on the events of Justice (Deck of Lies #1). Go check out the whole thing!

It is a truth universally accepted that a reader in possession of a good book must be in want of another good book, and as a self-published author this is the mantra you must adopt. After your book is written, and published, and promoted, there's only one thing left to do: write more. Want to sell more books? Then start writing more books.  You're Only As Good As... What's your favorite song right this minute? What was your favorite song, one year ago on this day? Do you even remember? Most people probably won't, for one simple reason: there's always something new. There's a new singer to hear, a new food to try, a new show to watch, a new book to read. No matter how remarkable or fantastic your book, eventually it will be eclipsed by another. Just ask J. K. Rowling, and 10 million Twilight fans, how quickly the tide of the MTV movie awards can turn against you.  Unless you write a book that becomes the basis of a religion, or come up with some...

A Christmas Carol , written by Charles Dickens, is arguably the most popular Christmas story of all time. It's certainly one of the most-adapted, with more feature-length and TV-film versions than you can fit in a single blog post. The story is so famous, you can say just one word and everyone will know what you're referencing. But if you've only ever seen it on film, you don't know the whole story. The Book In a very real way, Charles Dickens is the father of the modern Christmas. When he wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, Christmas itself was in a transitional phase. Newfangled trends, like Christmas trees, were mucking up this traditional season of church-going, quiet reflection and somber celebration.  And so Dickens wrote about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter old miser who loves money more than people. It's a very short story told in only 5 chapters, or staves, and it starts on Christmas Eve. It is 7 years to the day of Jacob Marley...

Words are the stock and trade of every writer, but some authors get too caught up in their own words. When you're writing out a scene involving any sort of character action at all -- even when it's talking -- you also have to work out the logistics. If you can't put yourself inside of every scene and picture exactly what's happening, you've got a real problem.  Get Back Inside the Box The environment the characters live in is just as important as the characters themselves. Your characters are only extraordinary or special when compared to everything else around them. How they move is just as relevant as how they think. That's why you've got to think about your books three-dimensionally, not just the way they read on the page. Just about every room in the world is shaped like a box. Some boxes are bigger than others, some substantially so. Some are elongated so they're more rectangular in shape. Some are enclosed with walls made of plaster, ...

"This was a great third instalment in this series. I thought that we had maybe uncovered all the lies in the last two books, but there are just more and more!"   "I enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to find out how it all ends in book 4" Death (Deck of Lies, #3) has been added to Sarah Elizabeth's bookshelf. Visit the blog to read the whole review -- the big spoiler is hidden!

If you've read any of my books, you know I'm a big fan of end-of-book promotions. You should absolutely be including them in your self-published works. Find out why they work, and how to add them to your books.  Beyond The End The end of any book should leave readers with some of good feelings -- satisfaction, excitement, happiness. If you've done your job, they ought to be in a receptive mood. And they should also want a little bit more . The end of a good book is always a small disappointment, too, because you wish there was more.  So add more. Now that the book's over, you've got one more shot to connect with your readers and turn them into you fans. You've got one more shot to get them to buy another one of your books. You do that most successfully with an end-of-book promotion, also known as a teaser.  That's right: I want you to give them a taste of the next book. If you're writing a series, this is really a necessity. You want to...

"It's very engaging, and from the moment I started reading Justice, I was hooked." "The author's writing is superb. I think the story unfolded quite nicely, and that the revelations were well-thought. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from this author." Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at Jelly Loves Books! Go read it before you go buy your copy of the book.

As a self-published author, getting reviews has to be one of your main goals. You should spend time on it at least once a week, sending out letters and refining your review requests. Once you figure out how to get reviews , it's not going to help unless you know where to go.  Finding Book Bloggers Save yourself time by looking not for individual book blogs but lists of book review blogs. There are so many book blogs out there, you could never find them all through individual searches. Vary your search query to get more results. Look for book blogs that review indie books, ebooks, and books in your genre. Jade's List In the meantime, use my list of book review lists. Some of these are YA-specific, and you'll run into many blogs that are old, broken or no longer about books. But, you will find some viable blogs inside the lists, and nobody ever said it wasn't going to be hard work. These are in no specific order whatsoever: http://www.theindieview.com/indi...

by Margaret Yang Asking someone to beta read a novel is terrifying. We ask—beg—people to take the work of our hearts and attack it with a machete. If done well, the pages come back with so much red ink on them it looks like someone mopped up after a goat sacrifice. And yet, we do it. We seek out new betas and bribe the ones we already have with coffee and chocolate. We know it’s going to hurt, but we need the lessons our beta readers will teach us. We beg for critiques because we know the only way to make a manuscript strong is to first let someone tear it apart. As scary as receiving a critique is, it’s even scarier to give one. A beta reader never knows how a writer will take her suggestions. Will she find it helpful, or have I wasted my time? Will she understand my points, or have I made things worse? And most importantly, will she kill the messenger? I once lost a friendship over a critique. Every time I beta read, I’m afraid I will lose another one. In a relat...