A Day in Jade's Life

Recently, I wrote a guest post for the Gym Instructor, authored by a friend of the blog. Go check it out to read about an important day in my life, and everything that happened because of it.

Jade in the Spotlight

I'm being featured on Spotlight Monday at Goodreads. Visit to find out some of my writing secrets, and how I like to relax when I'm not writing!

Being Indecisive

Being indecisive is one of my biggest flaws. I can be tenacious once I set my mind on something...but getting to that space can be a tough journey.

What Am I Writing?

For example, my newest book project. Like many writers, I get lots of ideas. They aren't necessarily any good, but I write them all down anyway. So when I finished the Deck of Lies, of course I pulled up my idea notes.

One of them struck me right away, a story that's really different for me because I settled on the idea of a male protagonist. I don't know, maybe I was feeling brave.

So for over a week I worked on two pages of this new novel, as yet unnamed. I thought about it and pictured it and made up all my cast lists and notes and all the crap I collect when I'm working on a book.

Then last night, I got to being indecisive again. I pulled up some old notes that I put together over a year ago, while I was still writing Justice. And I started working on a totally different novel. This one focuses on three protagonists who get sort of thrown together.

I'm determined to make this one stick...but like I said, being indecisive is something I do very well. So what is my next book about?

It's either a dramatic tale about class structure, friendship and societal oppression...or, it's a story about material value and money, and how it controls us.

Heady stuff, I know. It probably sounds like I'm about to go way out there with my next book, no matter which decision I make, but you can be sure you'll still find some mystery, romance and twists no matter what I end up writing next -- even if I scrap both projects and go back to my list of ideas. 

Going Non-Fiction

In the meantime, I'm also working on a freelance article for a colleague's blog. She saw the post I wrote last week when I re-capped all the things I did in 2012. I wrote in the post that I lost 50 pounds over the year, and she was interested. So I'm writing an in-depth piece about my experience with that. The working title is "The Day I Realized I'm Fat." I took some pictures and wrote a really long first draft, and I'm really excited about the piece. I'll add links to the blog once it's published, for anyone who wants to read about what I learned and how I plan to stay thin. 

It was harder to write than I expected, because I found myself being indecisive again. I didn't know how to approach it or where to start, so I finally made up my mind to just tell the story from beginning to end. This explains the title, because I start the article with the exact day I realized I was fat and had to lose weight. 

 Indie Author Month

I'm also happy to announce that I'll be participating in Indie Author Month at Aside From Writing, one of my favorite blogs, again this year. I'm doing a double feature that will highlight one of my books (maybe one of the two I'm being indecisive about) and an interview with me. Friend of the blog and author Melanie Cusick-Jones will be conducting the interview. I'm very excited about it, because I had a lot of fun doing the event last year. Some of my Writing 101 posts are featured at Aside From Writing, so add it to your readers! I'll post a bunch of links once Indie Author Month kicks off, so be on the lookout for that.

Until then, I'll be waffling between ideas and storylines...just being indecisive.

Indie Author of November

Verdict Book Reviews has picked me as their indie author of the month of November! Visit the blog to see the post, and find out exactly why I got picked.

Sit Down with Jade

I'm being featured this week on Ramblings of a Book Junkie. Don't worry -- you don't have to be a book addict to enjoy the interview (but it can't hurt).

What don't you already know about me? Why do I write mysteries? Am I anything like my main character, Rain? And what is my favorite TV show, after all? Get all the answers -- and a lot more -- when you read the interview! 

Meet Jade

How do I overcome writer's block? What do I love about being an author? Find out in my newest interview! 

I answered some in-depth questions about writing and reading at Confessions of a Book Addict. Visit the blog to read the entire interview, and find out which direction I'm taking with my next project.

Jade, Behind the Words

Why did I become a writer? What's my greatest weakness? And if I could live anywhere, where would I go? Get these answers -- and a whole lot more -- in my newest author interview!

Jade on Advertising

 I discuss book marketing in my newest interview at Verdict Book Reviews. Go check it out, and feel free to use the comments section to share your own thoughts on book marketing!

Jade, Showcased

Why did I start writing? Who are my favorite authors? Find out -- and get lots of other stuff about me -- in my interview at the Indie Writer Showcase.

Jade's Cards on the Table

Visit Little Book Star to read my most recent interview, and find out which character's been giving me the most trouble during the writing of the Deck of Lies series. The interviewer asked some great questions about Justice, the first book in the series, and writing in general. Go check it out! 

New Review, Interview and Giveaway

"It's a great read, filled with life-like, credible characters, and to be honest, I found it impossible to put down."

After you read the newest review for Justice at Today in Shenaya, keep going to get a look at an in-depth interview where I discuss the other books in the Deck of Lies series and my writing process in general. While you're there, sign up for the giveaway to get your own copy of Justice, and see if you agree with the review!

Finding the Time to Write, and Do Everything Else, Too

I blog a lot, and work on my books a lot, and a I tweet a lot. Sometimes people ask me, how do you manage to do so much? Well, I'm finally ready to shatter the illusion and give you some answers.

Read my guest post, How Do You Find the Time, to learn all my scheduling and time-saving secrets. It's not possible to do it all...but you can make it look like you are.

Deck of Lies Reviews, and a New Author Interview

"If you have an idea what this book is about you will be rushing to download a copy too...Every chapter bought fresh excitement, and even more questions to light, and I just had to keep reading."

-on Justice (Deck of Lies, #1)

"The question still remains though; who had the means and will to murder one of her classmates? And what were they trying to hide?...I really enjoyed this book. I picked this one up straight after finishing the first one, cause I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next!"

-on The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2)

The Deck of Lies has found a home on Sarah Elizabeth's bookshelf this week. She's kindly reviewed the entire first half of the series. Read both her reviews, and don't stop there! If you keep going, you'll find a new interview with me where I reveal what I think about the characters in the Deck of Lies and what you can expect to find in the fourth and final book of the series. Check out the giveaway at the bottom of the post to find out how you can add the Deck of Lies to your bookshelf!

Death Released!

It's July 1, and that can only mean one thing -- Death has been released!

Get the book at Amazon and Smashwords, and get all the new lies.

My Secret Writing Method

How long do you stare at your screen before you start typing away at your latest story? How much time do you spend wrestling with your scenes to get them just so? I always know what I'm going to write next, thanks to a little trick I call pre-writing. It's one of my secrets, and I've shared the entire method in my latest guest post. 

Visit Annalisa Crawford's blog to read all about it, and make sure you take a look at the rest of her site while you're there -- she's one of my favorite bloggers!

My Writing Secrets

I visited the Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile blog recently, and shared some of my secrets in a new guest post. 

Go read my Confessions to find out how, and where, I hide many little clues in my books that just might help you solve some of the mysteries. There are tons of clues in my upcoming book, Death (Deck of Lies, #3).

Jade's Best Reads

If you're a regular visitor to the blog, you may notice that my Amazon widget keeps changing (it's on the right side, under my list of followers). The widget shows a smattering of the books I've reviewed here on the blog, but Amazon limits the number of books I'm allowed to include. Because I can't possibly put them all on the list, I've come up with my own system of choosing which books are featured, and for how long.

When I add a new review to the blog, unless I don't want to recommend the book it'll be put on the widget right away. But I will start taking books away from the list as I add more to it. Which books will be removed? It's not necessarily based on time. Books I really like will stay on the list, so the longer a book stays on the widget the more I like it! I don't do a rating system on this blog, but if you keep an eye on my widget you'll know which indie books are my favorite and which...aren't so much my favorites.

Why I'm Behind on My Reviews

So, I haven't posted a book review in a while, I know. Lately I've only been adding new books to the list instead of subtracting them, which is not good (because I happen to be massively behind as of the writing of this post). I've been sitting on The Super Spies and the Cat Lady Killer for weeks and weeks now, which in no way is a reflection of the talents of author Lisa Orchard. What I've read of her book is quite good, in fact, and really I wish I was reading it...because at this point, it's preferable to how I've been spending the little reading time I do get.

I don't know why, exactly, but I decided that I was going to create print editions of the Deck of Lies books. Because I have tunnel vision when I'm set on a goal, and because I'm such an exacting perfectionist, this naturally meant that I had to re-read all of Justice (Book 1) and The Tower (Book 2)...twice. This was quite necessary before I could approve the proofs, which I have done -- and I'll talk more about the print editions of these books in a future post.

It's not quite as obsessive-compulsive as it sounds, I swear! As I've mentioned, I've also recently finished Death, Book 3 in the Deck of Lies series. Of course, this means I've got to edit it -- which just means I have to read it while playing Punctuation Police and Grammar Guard (do the nicknames make it more fun?...no, not really). Since I was going to have to read Death anyway, it was a perfect time to re-read Justice and The Tower first. By reading all three books in a row before I sit down to write Judgment, I can make sure I have all my loose ends neatly tied up and every single question answered before the series closes. 

So instead of working on the long list of to-be-reviewed books I have waiting for me, I've been re-reading my own stuff...and that's why I'm behind on my reviews. I usually avoid trying to read more than one book at a time, particularly when one of them needs to be reviewed, so I don't muddy my own thoughts. I'm already thinking about books I'm writing all the time, and I don't need any more confusion in my head if I'm going to give someone a thoughtful review of their work. But eventually I will be finished editing Death (honestly I will, I'm working on the final edit now) and I'll carry on with all the books on my review list.

All About Jade

I have a new interview up today where I talk about why I write, what I've been doing lately and what I wish I could change about the Deck of Lies series. Find out what I'm reading right now, which book I love reading over and over and how I came up with the Deck of Lies.

Stop to See Me on Your Blog Tour

Dawn Smith Books, a blog dedicated to writers and writing, has kindly named me as their official blog tour stop for the week! Visit the site to get all the details on the first two books in the Deck of Lies Series, Justice and The Tower. You'll find the blurbs, the reviews, the trailers and more.