Jade Varden Official Blog

"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!

"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.

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...

Some words are commonly misspelled by writers. Personally, I can't seem to wrap my head around "lieutenant." Some word pairs are mixed up. I can never keep "affect" and "effect" straight, myself. But some words are just used the wrong way...all the time. Ironic , and all its versions, is one of those words. Defining Irony There's a movie that I love, a romantic comedy with Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke, named Reality Bites . I love the film because it's true, it does, and Ben Stiller brings a ton of comedic value to the flick. There's a scene in the movie where Ryder's character is put on the spot, and asked to define irony. She makes a few attempts and then cries out that she can't define it, but "I know it when I see it!"  But she probably doesn't. Many people can't define irony, and many writers can't use the word the right way, either. It's a very hard concept to define, but not impossibl...

If you aren't using hashtags, you're not marketing as strongly as you could be. If you think they're too juvenile or just there to waste space, think again. You're a self-published author. When it comes to marketing, nothing is beneath you.  Why You Need Hashtags Twitter hashtags function as internal links. You can use the search bar near the top of the page to search for any hashtag phrase, any time, and see who has written tweets using that phrase. This is a great way to find people who like the same movies, books and music as you. It's also a great way to connect with your reading audience. There's really just one simple reason why you need to use hashtags: everyone else is using them. Once you start, it'll be easier for readers to find you.  The Hashtags You Need But there's an etiquette that comes with using hashtags. You can't write a tweet promoting your book, for instance, and then tack a random hashtag to the end of the mess...

Who is a deceptively simple word. It sits there with its three letters, taunting and teasing you. But give in to its siren song of sweetness, and you're going to make all sorts of grammatical errors. There are so many different versions of the word who , you practically need a degree just to keep them sorted. One of the easiest errors to make in writing is mixing up who's and whose . I'm probably going to do it in this post, it's so easy. But together, maybe we can get it straightened out.  Whose Word is it, Anyway? Whose is the possessive form of who . This is confusing, because usually who's would show possession. If I grab ahold of Joseph and grip around his bicep, I'm holding Joseph's arm. The apostrophe and the s show the possession.  That's not how it works with who . The word is irregular, so it becomes whose instead. It's also confusing because either word can properly start a sentence. Let's look at some examples: ...

You have never met a perfect person. Even that fashionable girl with all the right accessories, or that Adonis who buys a latte every morning and somehow still has washboard abs, is flawed. All human beings are flawed. That's why the characters you create on the page have to be flawed, too. Nobody's Perfect Some flaws are pretty common, and relatively small. Your character might bite their nails, or forget to put their keys somewhere safe. Maybe they lose their phone a lot, I don't know. If you're writing a well-crafted character , you're writing one that has flaws. But many authors take this one step further. Many authors use an important plot device to move their stories forward. Many writers create characters with a fatal flaw.  Fatally Flawed There's a school of belief that says we all have at least one terrible flaw, something that keeps us from being happy or achieving our goals or just moving forward in life. A fatal flaw is ...

"The unfolding of characters motives, histories and discoveries of lies were just fun! I wanted to know what happened  next."  "The writing was fast paced and descriptive without being overbearing." Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at The Readers Heartstring . Read the whole thing before you get your copy of the book!

In late November and all through December, holiday-themed movies flood the theaters. People want feelgood stories, intense dramas, laughter and action. They want to be entertained , and they're doing it indoors because it's winter and it's cold. Filmmakers need holiday-themed stories to create all those movies. One of the most unusual picks, and one of the better book-to-film adaptations you'll find, was created by Dr. Seuss. The Book Arguably the most well-known children's book author of all time, Dr. Seuss has created unforgettable stories like Green Eggs and Ham , The Cat in the Hat and 1957's How the Grinch Stole Christmas , a holiday-themed treat starring my very favorite color, green.  It's because the Grinch is green. He's the hero, or anti-hero, of the story, and he's a good one. He lives on a mountain above Whoville, where Christmas is celebrated with gusto. The Grinch hates the Whos. They sing, they dance, they exchange p...

If your main character doesn't have conflict and obstacles to overcome, then your story probably isn't complete. In life, things get hard. The going gets tough. Enemies appear. I want to see that in your book...and then, I want to see the main character defeat them. This is why your main character is also known as the hero .  Nobody Said Life Was Fair Here's the thing: you want readers to identify with your main character. Nobody's life is just perfectly smooth sailing. We all get crushes on people who don't like us back, spill something on ourselves at the worst possible time, get caught in the rain or in an embarrassing situation. Some people face extreme challenges, and often these make for the best stories.  If your character faces no obstacles and lives a life free of conflict, I'm not going to find it believable. Even worse, I'm probably not going to like this character. Conflict and obstacles are an essential part of every plot. You d...

I was inspired by a hashtag that I just happened to notice when I went to write this post, but it's a thought I've had before. It's easy advice to say "don't ever give up!" "follow your dreams!" and all that other inspirational nonsense, but it can be hell to live it. It's also unrealistic. Should you ever give up? Well yeah, maybe.  A World Full of Books This past year, 2012, which is nearly over (but not quite), more than 2 million new books have already been published. Just this year. In the United States alone, approximately 400,000 books have been published this year ( 10 Awful Truths About Publishing ). That's wonderful, a great testament to the popularity of reading and literature. We are preserving a record. We are creating entertainment.

Judgment (Deck of Lies, #4) is now available for Amazon kindle ! The book will be available for Nook and other devices later this week, so keep checking back for links.  Cashing Out Do I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? How can I, when the truth will destroy us all? Now that I’ve started telling lies, I can’t stop. Not until all this is over, and I’m free of the family that never felt like mine. Maybe it’s wrong. Maybe I’m a bad person. But it’s definitely the only way I’m ever going to escape them. I have to take the opportunity, no matter how terrible it is…don’t I?

When I was very young, and dreaming of becoming a writer, I had a vision in my head of what it would be like. I would sit in a very quiet and serene room, all by myself, just creating brilliant words all day long. Now I know that sort of thing isn't possible -- and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want it if it was. If you're self-publishing, you're doing a whole lot of work all on your own...but you probably aren't actually alone. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that the people around you are always contributing, too. Hey, There Are Other People Here Plenty of self-published authors don't live alone. They may have pets, or kids, spouses or roommates. All of these animals and people are capable of affecting the way you write your book. The people closest to writers are usually a big influence; certain characteristics from your mate may seep into the characters you put on the page. But they influence and affect you in other ways, too, and their con...

"More twists and revelations will come right at your face." "This book is spooky and creepy (in a good way) which makes it a  really great mystery read!" Little Book Star has reviewed Death (Deck of Lies, #3). Read the entire review before you get your copy of Judgment (Deck of Lies, #4) this week!

Write "the end" as many times as you like -- it doesn't necessarily mean that you're all done with your book. Many writers, in fact, spend more time editing and re-writing than they ever spend on creating that first draft. It's really easy to get caught up in perfecting a book, to go back to it again and again...and that makes it really hard to release your book so others can actually read it. How do you know when you're done, and when a book is really ready to be released? The answer is actually pretty simple.    When Enough is Enough Some scenes just won't go away, even after you put them on the page. Some scenes demand to be re-written, perfected, over and over again. And it's easy to get caught up in that. Every writer wants to produce a perfect book. But at some point, you've got to stop typing, stop reading, and finally say done .  You're the only one who knows when you finally get to that point, and it changes with every s...

"What could oh so easily have been just another fish out of water story full of trite and tired cliché is instead a well thought out and cleverly written page turner." "Jade Varden is an excellent storyteller with a deft hand at flowing prose. The story is compelling and interesting." Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at Twisted Sense . Read the full review, and then get the book free as part of the Stuffed Full of Lies weekend.

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.

Judgment, the fourth and final book in the Deck of Lies series, will be in online bookstores Tuesday, November 27 . That's only three days away!  It gives you just enough time to catch up on all the lies before the series ends. For the rest of this weekend, the first three books in the series will be FREE when you buy them at Smashwords. Get them in any electronic format, and get stuffed full of lies.  To get Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) , use the code PA47C To get The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2) , use the code PW83B To get Death (Deck of Lies, #3) , use the code PM25K

The day of Judgment is coming. Take a peek at the trailer to find out what the fourth and final book in the Deck of Lies series has in store for you... Check the blog every day this weekend for announcements about Judgment (Deck of Lies, #4), and get the book as soon as it's released!  

The holiday season is a special time of year, and plenty of writers have used that to their advantage. Stories about Santa Claus, believing and the holiday spirit are always going to be popular. But few are destined to gain the sort of love and popularity enjoyed by Miracle on 34th Street , one of my all-time favorites. You've probably seen the movie, but what do you know about the book? The Book Valentine Davies wrote Miracle on 34th Street in 1947, as a companion novelette for the film released the same year. It was actually published by 20th Century Fox, who also made the film, but it's managed to stand on its own and has sold millions of copies. The book introduces readers to Doris Walker, a rather cold career woman who works for Macy's. She's managing personnel for the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and must fire the Santa Claus she's hired at the last minute when he turns up drunk. She hires bystander Kris to take his place, an elderly...