Jade Varden Official Blog

Have you ever turned to a friend to say, "let us go to the mall this afternoon" rather than let's ? Of course you haven't. Contractions are a natural and normal part of dialogue , and if you're a writer you really need them in your book.  Contractions Contractions are confusing. Apostrophes always complicate matters, because they appear all over the place. An apostrophe might be near the beginning, near the end, at the very end...sure, it's easy to get all mixed up. Start throwing contractions around, and matters only get more complicated. In contractions, apostrophes have a single function: they represent the missing letters. When cannot becomes can't , the apostrophe symbolizes the n and the o .  And once you know that, you should be able to write contractions perfectly every time. You'll need to, because you need contractions . Without them, your book will sound stilted and strange. It won't flow well, and I can prove it. ...

"The perfect YA read." "The story goes to a whole different place than what I expected." Kritters Ramblings has reviewed Justice (Deck of Lies, #1). Read the full review at the blog to find out why the reviewer called it perfect!

It's not easy to write something great. It's not even easy to write something that no one will want to read. There's a misconception that writers simply lounge around with tape recorders and laptops all day, busily typing away without cease. That's not what it's like. It's emotionally exhausting to write, and you can sweat for four hours and complete a single page of text. There's one great enemy that can make it impossible for you to write to your best capability. Do you know what it is...and how to defeat it? Music Playlist at MixPod.com Fear If you're a writer, your greatest enemy is fear . Lots of writers have been battered, maybe even a little damaged, by criticism and rejection . It's easy to second-guess your writing, to stop writing and read what you've just done...and hate it. You might start thinking about how readers will react, how literary agents will react, how publishers might react. What will the reviewers say? Wi...

Writers are supposed to be in their own heads a little bit. You have to completely immerse yourself in the world you're inventing in order to write it properly, don't you? But you've got to step outside of that world every once in a while, and into someone else's. What are you reading right now....and are you reading for you, or to improve your writing?  Reading and Writing Lots of writers also enjoy reading. Many authors have been inspired by other authors. I have a few particular favorites, myself. But you shouldn't necessarily be reading those authors that you love -- at least, not all of the time. Some of the time, you've got to read in order to improve your writing. You've also got to read to make sure you're writing within your own genre, and that you're marketing toward the right audience . Think of it as reconnaissance. If you're writing YA books, shouldn't you be reading other YA books to see what's happening in the ...

How good is Bram Stoker's novel Dracula ? So good, kids are still dressing up like his main character more than 100 years later. The novel was originally written in 1897, but it's come to life many times since then. The Book We're celebrating scary books this October, but Dracula is about a lot more than cheap thrills. The book touches upon the role of women in Victorian society, sex, even immigration (still a hot-button issue in some countries). Bram Stoker wasn't the very first author to write about vampires, but he's famous for bringing the vampire into the modern world.  It's one of the most-adapted novels ever written. It's been around long enough to be adapted for the stage and the screen many, many times over. Dracula centers around a title character who is quite thoroughly undead, though many protagonists help to tell the story through diaries, letters, newspaper clippings and ship logs. Dracula is the title character and ...

"Jade Varden really has a way with bringing her story to life, I could easily picture everything that was happening and I was never bored."  "You really can't go wrong, especially if you're looking for a quick, light YA read filled with intrigue and mystery." Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at Panda Reads and approved for even non-bear readers.  Visit the blog to read the whole thing, and find out which well-known author the reviewer compared me to!

It is the job of all authors to bring their characters to life. Most well-loved characters have a distinct look, noticeable characteristics, great flaws and strengths. Some authors even take things one step further, and create a distinct style for their leading ladies. To honor some of the great fiction fashion icons that I've read over the years, I'm introducing a new feature with one of my most favorite characters: Cathy Dollanganger. Fashionable Femme Fatale  Cathy Dollanganger is the main protagonist of the Dollanganger series, which spanned five books. The series was introduced in a debut novel from V.C. Andrews, Flowers in the Attic . It became an instant hit, though the movie didn't fare quite so well, and launched a career that has, phenomenonally, continued with new novels even beyond the author's death.   It all began with Cathy. Through the series, she goes from age 9 to age 59 (or thereabouts), and that's a whole lot of clothes. For some s...

Writing in the first person takes a lot of skill. When it's done well, it can really bring the main character and the story to life. Readers will truly feel and think like that character, truly live inside your fictional world. But when it's done badly, your writing will feel distracting, confusing...and sometimes, even silly.  It's My World, You're Just Reading in It  Writing in the first person takes a very delicate hand. You don't want to over-load the book with "I." It gets boring when every sentence or paragraph starts out that way, and the last thing you want to create in your writing is repetition. You have to make sure you describe the character to the audience somehow, and that's tricky. You have to remember to see everything through the character's eyes; they probably can't read minds or hear thoughts, so they have to rely on observation alone to figure out what's going on.  But you also have to remember something e...

Ever told someone about a song you like, and they didn't recognize it, so you had to sing a few lines? Ever mention a great line you heard on that TV show you love? Ever told a friend what another friend said about them, word for word? Yeah, there are lots of reasons why you might need to use quotes within quotes when you're writing. Don't ignore the simple punctuation rules that dictate exactly how you're allowed to do it.  Double Punctuation, and Other Disasters Lots of things have to be enclosed in quotation marks when you're writing. Proper titles of magazine articles, exact quotes, clever nicknames, popular sayings -- you might use quotes around all that stuff. But if you're already using quotes because you're mentioning these things in dialogue, then you've got to use a form of double punctuation: quotes within quotes. It's really easy to get them wrong. It doesn't help that there's a lot of confusion surrounding proper q...

Some of the greatest fiction characters ever written have wonderful monologues where they reveal some inner truth or meaningful plot point. Fancier folks might call the long-winded, solo speech known as the monologue a soliloquy instead, but it amounts to the same thing. One of the most famous monologues ever written begins with the phrase "to be, or not to be." Lots of authors want to write a great one, and use them to create dramatic scenes. But writing the monologue is an art form, and it's not something you should be doing at all lightly. Talking with Myself  The monologue is just a one-sided speech. A single character takes center stage, so to speak, to reveal something important. A monologue can be an actual speech that's being delivered to one or more characters, but some writers have their characters speak aloud to themselves. In the same vein, monologues can be internal speech -- the character "talking" to themselves inside their own thou...

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! 

Add a letter to a word, and you could change everything. Even if both words are extremely similar, they aren't interchangeable. Before you use one or the other, know the difference between person and persona . Person Person simply means human being. It can be any man, woman or child. When there's more than one person , it becomes the plural people . It's a noun. Synonyms include body, character, individual and personage -- not persona , which is sometimes mixed up with person . They aren't the same. Persona A persona means essentially the same thing as image , but it can also mean a role that's being played (like by an actor). If you're greatly upset by something but pretending to be fine, you're presenting the persona of an untroubled person . Like person , this word is also a noun. A persona is a public image that one wears. The Difference It's easy to use persona and person incorrectly; they're both nouns used to des...

What's your idea of perfection? The Stepford Wives explores this topic, and the original novel did so in chilling fashion. Two notable remakes later, some of the original message might be lost, but it's still a pretty scary story. The Book Ire Levin wrote The Stepford Wives in 1972, and it became a hit. It's a pretty quick read, and it's written in a wonderful off-the-page style where much of the horror takes place in the reader's imagination.  The story begins with photographer Joanna Eberhart, who's a modern woman with a career. She's moving with her family (husband and kids) to Stepford, Connecticut. She has trouble fitting in right away. The women in Stepford have immaculate homes, but that's because they spend tons of time waxing and dusting and wiping and scrubbing. Yet they do so with a smile, as if keeping a clean house is their greatest joy in the world. To make matters worse, the women in Stepford are knockouts. They're fi...

Authors who self-publish have to do everything themselves, from plotting to editing to formatting to marketing. It takes up a lot of time to wear all of those hats, and by nature self-publishing is very interactive. You're participating on forums, you're communicating on Twitter. You're practically a one-author show.  And you're not getting any writing done, because all that other mess is too consuming. Figure out how to manage it, and still get to work on your next book, by avoiding email addiction.  Are You an Email Addict? The self-published author's email is their greatest tool. It's here that bloggers respond to review request, here that your Goodreads messages appear, here that Smashwords sends notification that you've got a new buyer or a new review. If someone mentions you on Twitter, your email will tell you all about it -- heck, it'll even show you the message.  It is, in a word, addicting. More than that, it's distracting....

I don't even remember how Angel Dance ended up on my review list; I was reading the previous book for so long that it's rendered my entire list unrecognizable. However it ended up on my Kindle, I'm so happy it did. Angel Dance was a fantastic book, a quick read, and everything I wanted it to be from the very first page.  This novel introduces us to Danny Logan, a likable soldier-turned-private investigator who's heading up his own fledgling firm. His newest job may also be the most important: find an heiress who has gone missing. Gina Fiore's brother Rob is a friend of Danny's, and Danny has a history with the now-missing Gina. The two dated for three glorious weeks...it all ended when Danny went into military service. Mostly, Gina likes to be in control. It's because of this that Danny has trouble picturing her as a victim, and things start to look off-course right away. I was completely caught up in the missing person investigation, which unfol...

October is National Book Month, which makes it my favorite. While most people are planning Halloween parties and going to haunted houses, I'm thinking about books. Of course, it's a little unfair since I'm always thinking about books. But it does make me qualified to recommend the best ways to celebrate a month full of books.  Celebrating Books It's time to start celebrating books, and I can help you do it. Looking for the best ways to spend your October? Bury your nose in a book, and then try some additional Book Month activities.  Review-A-Week . Take the review-a-week challenge, which I'm inventing now, and review four books for National Book Month. I know at least three books you should read to help you get started... Set a reading challenge . Challenge yourself this month. Decide that you're going to read at least 1 book; set a bigger goal if you're feeling bold. Join a book group . You'll never have a better excuse for joining a book ...

Some of my best ideas come to me at the worst possible moments. I'm in the shower, I'm laying in bed, I'm stuck in traffic...and I'm getting great ideas. Entire scenes are unfolding, dialogue is racing through my mind. By the time I get the opportunity to sit down and start typing, I can no longer remember all those great ideas...and I just end up writing something else. Knowing what to do with your ideas may seem like simple, even silly advice, but if you don't find out you could end up cursing yourself later.  Inspiration Knows No Boundaries Creativity is a finicky muse. She appears without warning, and when she does she demands to be heard. You could be engaged in watching a TV show or movie, and suddenly your mind is no longer your own. It's inside your story, working out complex scenarios and imagining characters. You could be doing anything at all when creativity strikes, and that's why you've got to be prepared for it at all times .  ...

Entering contests can be time-consuming, but winning them will give you a great feeling. There are a ton of contests out there for poets, short story writers and self-published authors. If you do manage to win one of them, you can get a lot of marketing mileage out of it. And when you win, you can call yourself an "award-winning author." How fun is that? Indie Book Awards Indie authors can get plenty of love on the award circuit; I don't even have the room or time to post all the links to all the available contests. Start your search with some of the bigger contests, and keep up the hunt from there. Put all the links together in a single folder, and program the deadlines into your calendar so you don't miss them. The Independent Publisher Book Awards , Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards , the Indie Book Awards and the Indie Excellence Awards are all fairly prominent. You can find more contests at the Independent Book Publishers Association . ...

October is swiftly approaching, and with it Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays, and it's all about being scared. That's why I'm going to (attempt to) feature only scary books on film all month long. The first installment begins with, of course, Stephen King. After a fashion, anyway. King wrote Thinner as Richard Bachman, the worst-kept secret pen name in the entire history of the written word. But the jig is definitely up, and the novel moved easily to film. Was it any better in the second medium? The Book When King first started in the writing biz, many publishers believed that authors shouldn't release more than one book a year; they thought it might over-saturate the market. According to literary legend, King invented his pseudonym Richard Bachman for this reason -- and because he wanted to see if readers were buying his words, or his name. Supposedly. As I've mentioned, the secret wasn't kept very well, and fans aren't dum...

What does it take to be an award-winning, best-selling, much-loved author? In looking at the stories of those who have walked the path of success (without falling on their faces), certain qualities shine through: grit, stubbornness, hard work...and luck.  It helps to write something new and interesting and great...but a stroke of luck can completely change your fate. Just ask one award-winner who came within inches of never being published at all.  A Wrinkle in a Perfect Plan Madeleine L'Engle was born in 1918 and spent most of her childhood in New York City, where many writers have been inspired. She wasn't much of a student, and received poor grades. Madeleine preferred writing in her journal, creating poems and making up stories. It was a habit she took with her to the French Alps, where her family moved when she was 12. She studied English in depth at Smith College, where she continued working on her own writing. Upon graduation, Madeleine moved to Gre...