Justice (Deck of Lies, #1)

Get it everywhere online books are sold!

The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2)

Visit the Books page for free samples

Death (Deck of Lies, #3)

Get book downloads on the Free Stuff page

Judgment (Deck of Lies, #4)

Get the boxed set edition to get even more secrets!

Hope's Rebellion

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Death and Lies

"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!

Writing 101: End-of-Book Promotions

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 show readers that hey, there's another book that continues the story. You also want to give them an idea of what the next book is about, and get them interested in the new story. 

If you haven't written a series, you can still use this promotional idea. Include a snippet from a similar book in your collection. If I've just finished a contemporary romance you've written, why not point me toward an historical romance you've also published? Obviously I like romances. If the romance in question has a touch of mystery to it, point me toward another book of yours with a mystery element. Include an excerpt (usually the first chapter of the book) and an "About the Author" box so I'll also know where to find all your links and find more of your work. 

Promoting Your Books

Take that last opportunity to promote your work, and hang onto your audience for just a few moments longer. If you let them know that you've got more to offer, you'll be much more likely to get repeat customers and continued readers. 

You're probably going to publish your book before you have another new book available, and that's fine. Once your next book is available, just edit your ebook, add your end-of-book promotion, and re-publish it. All you have to do is upload a new file; very easy!

Hooked on Justice

"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.

Writing 101: Where to Find Book Reviewers

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/indie-reviewers/
The Indie Reviewers List

http://hampton-networks.com/
The Indie Book Blog Database

http://www.invesp.com/blog-rank/Books
BlogRank

http://yabookblogdirectory.blogspot.com/p/ya-book-blogger-list.html
The YA Book Blog directory

http://bookbloggersassociation.com/member-list/
Book Bloggers Association

http://dlmorrese.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/a-list-of-indie-book-reviewers-3/
A list of indie book reviewers

http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.net/reviewer-list.html
Book Reviewer Yellow Pages

http://karinafabian.com/index.php?name=Content&pid=28
Fabianspace

http://www.rimworlds.com/thecrotchetyoldfan/?p=4956
Ottinger's Book Review Blog List

http://robinmizell.wordpress.com/book-reviewers/
Book reviewers on the Web

http://futurebook.net/content/book-blogger-and-reviewer-listing-0
Book blogger and reviewer listing

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/links/othr_rev.htm
Other Book Reviewers

Writing 101: The Terror of the Beta Read



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 relationship so delicate and emotional, both sides need to be on their best behavior. A writer owes a beta reader her best work. It must be complete, polished, and formatted correctly. Never, never, never make your beta reader do your copy edits for you. Of course, your manuscript isn’t perfect—that’s why you’re getting a critique. But your beta knows the difference between a manuscript you’ve toiled over and sloppy work that you’ve rushed out because you couldn’t wait for feedback. Knowing you can do better, but not doing it, isn’t fair to your beta. I have returned manuscripts half-read for that reason, telling the writer that I will critique the next draft, but not this one.

A beta reader owes a writer complete honesty. But honesty comes in many flavors. A critique must be given in the gentlest of terms and only up to the edge of a writer’s vulnerability. The problem is, a beta reader never knows where that line is. I crossed that line once and it still haunts me to this day.

When I critique, I’m usually careful to point out what a writer does well along with suggestions for improvement. However, one time I was reading for an old friend. We’d been betas for each other for years and I thought we were both pros. She was in a hurry, so I rushed through the critique, pointing out the errors, skipping the flattery. After all, she knew what her strengths were, right? I didn’t need to keep spelling them out in each and every critique, did I?

Actually, I did. That writer was crushed by my negative critique, and our long history together only made it worse. She was used to me telling her all the good and bad things about her manuscripts. Pointing out only the bad must have meant it really, really stunk.

I lost a dear friend that day.

Since then, I err on the side of caution. I pour on the praise and sprinkle in the criticism. I don’t worry about being too gentle. Writers have special antennae for criticism of their work. They can zero in on the mildest comment and understand it full well.

Most of the time, my critiques are received with grace and bravery bordering on heroism. I feel closer to the friends I’ve beta read for. Like war heroes, we’ve gone through this terrifying experience together and emerged on the other side scarred, but whole. I learn from every critique I get, but I learn more—much more—from the ones I give.


About the Author
Margaret Yang is the co-author of The Caline Conspiracy and Fate's Mirror, written under the pen name M.H. Mead. Her newest novel, Taking the Highway, was just released December 1st. Margaret is a reader, writer, and parent whose true mission in life is to find the perfect slice of key lime pie.

Judging Jade

"I loved the way Varden made the trial interesting and engaging to read with elements of cleverly placed humor...You would be silly to miss out on reading this book!"


"Like always with Varden's work, the writing flows effortlessly to create an interesting, intriguing and well developed plot that is easy for the audience to understand...I would not only high recommend this book but the whole series as a must read!"

Judgment (Deck of Lies, #4) has been reviewed at Lost to Books. There are spoilers if you haven't read the first three books, but if you have feel free to enjoy the entire review!

First Review for Judgment

"I LOVED LOVED LOVED this entire series! BUT I love the ending best of all!!"


"It is everything I could have asked for (had I known what to ask for) in an ending!!" 

Theresa at Keepin' Up with the Joneses has reviewed Judgment. It's got spoilers! If you've read the Deck of Lies, go check it out.

Books on Film: A Christmas Story

Since its original release in 1983, A Christmas Story has become one of the best-loved and most popular holiday films of all time. Most people don't even know that it's actually based on a book of short stories, written by a guy who actually lived it.


 The Book

Jean Shepherd published In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash in 1966. It's a semi-autobiographical collection of humorous short stories, and many of them were used to inspire the full-length feature film A Christmas Story.

In the book, Shepherd writes about his hometown in Indiana, his friend Flick, and the longing he had to own a real Red Ryder BB gun. And in the book, Ralphie is all grown up. He has returned to his hometown, where he finds Flick at the bar he inherited from his father. They talk about the "good old days" together, and this is where we get most of the stories that unfold in the book. 


The book goes far behind a single holiday season, and in fact there's one story involving a teenage Ralphie (unimaginable, I know). Some of the best vignettes from the movie are present, however, and fans of the flick are sure to enjoy reading all about the infamous leg lamp, the hounds that live next door, the heroic battle between Dad and the furnace and Little Orphan Annie's secret decoder ring.

The tone is different. The author has a much more dry humor, he is brilliant at sarcasm. There isn't a lot of sarcasm in the movie; it's told to us through the eyes of a child. The short story collection is being told to us through the eyes of a man as he looks back on his life. But it's all the characters you love from the movie, explored more in-depth. A Christmas Story is only one piece; this book is the entire pie.

The Film

The flavor of the book's setting and characters is well-captured in A Christmas Story, which lifts several chapters from the page to put them on the screen. As the title would suggest, the story takes place entirely during the holiday season.

You pretty much have to be committed to not watching this film to have missed it. A Christmas Story is on television all during the holidays, you can find it plenty of places online, and sometimes you'll even find it playing on a 24-hour loop so you can't possibly miss one moment of the story. It's like that


The movie revolves around Ralphie, who was played by then-adorable Peter Billingsly (and whom you can catch in a cameo in a much more recent holiday film, Four Christmases). Though released in 1983, it's set in a much younger era, the '50s. Ralphie's mom is your typical harried housewife, Dad is your basic working stiff. It's Indiana, it's Christmastime, and all Ralphie wants in the entire world is a Red Ryder BB gun.

When he raises the topic with his mother, however, she scoffs. "You'll shoot your eye out," she warns, and pretty much writes the whole thing off. 

It's a crushing blow, the worst of the worst. Ralphie is forced to make his appeal elsewhere, and opportunity knocks when the teacher assigns an essay to the students. Everyone groans, until they learn they get to write about what they want for Christmas. It's perfect! Ralphie works hard to compose a fantastic essay, praising the merits o the BB gun of course, and turns it in proudly. 

It comes back with a low grade and a hand-written note: "You'll shoot your eye out!" 

Defeated again. Ralphie's got one last shot at realizing his Christmas dream: Santa Claus. Who else but the big man himself can help now? 

Like its young leading actor, this flick is just adorable. It's filled with little stories, like the defeat of schoolyard bully Scott Vargus, the incident involving Flick and the true art of giving dares to others, and who could forget the fudge episode? If you haven't seen it, your holiday celebration is not complete and will never be complete. You must watch this movie. It's like that.

What Got Adapted?

Jean Shepherd narrates the film, and had a hand at writing the screenplay, so it very closely resembles the author's writing style and voice.

Some of the stories are adapted in order to fit the Christmas theme; the hungry dogs is a standout example. Text from the book is lifted right from the page to the film, however, so the scenes are well-captured even when they're changed to fit the movie. See the movie, then read the book to get a dose of Ralphie's family life during every season, not just the holidays.