Jade Varden Official Blog

Hope's Rebellion is now available!  Smashwords Amazon Their friendship will test the fabric of tradition, duty and destiny... There are only two seasons in Godenor: summer and winter. Weather brings the only surprises to a society where everything is planned, and everyone's status is determined at birth...by the color of their hair. Rinna has the right hair, Drexi the wrong, and Prelly is almost too ordinary -- in every way but one. Small mistakes bring them together, creating ripples in a pond that knows nothing but serenity. If they reach their goals, they can't help but shatter the world they know. Love of any kind, even the bond of friendship, isn't allowed in their world...but then, the heart can't always follow orders.

The end of the year is an excuse to celebrate, to let go a little, to start all over again tomorrow. New Year's Eve is the biggest party of the year for many people, but it's not the only party. And if your characters are going to be mixing with dangerous activities (like heavy drinking) in your stories, you have to make sure you're writing responsibly. ...Don't you? What's Your Poison? As a YA writer, I've often pondered the responsibilities of authors. Shouldn't a YA writer avoid writing about characters who have unprotected sex, for example? Shouldn't a children's book author shy away from themes like murder and torture? A character who goes about breaking rules and acting wild and yet faces no consequences could be seductive, in a way.  I'll use Breakfast at Tiffany's as an example. I saw the movie when I was still fairly young, and to me it was all about Audrey Hepburn's glamor and the majesty of New York City (an...

The topic of plagiarism came up the other day while I was writing a Books on Film post, and I got to thinking about it again while I was watching an old movie the other night. As an author, you are an observer of life. But where is the line between writing what you've observed...and stealing someone else's story?    Legalities I've mentioned before that I'm a bit of a Wikipedia buff (or maniac). I get caught up asking myself random questions (like whatever happened to the little girl from Uncle Buck ? ) and I learn things. Most things I learn aren't of any use, and sometimes all I get out of is more questions. That's the case with the anecdote I'm about to present, and the problem of ethics it's created for me. I was thinking about plagiarism anyway because I'd just written about Doc Hollywood , a 1990s movie that many critics have accused of being the inspiration for Disney's Cars . The plots are startlingly similar, but I...

So you want to self-publish for the New Year. After you write the manuscript and edit the story, after you pick the cover and start the promotions, before you publish you've got to format. And since there are so many different ebook formats, you're going to be doing that for a while . The format wars are on, indie authors...and ereaders are going to make DVD vs. Blu-Ray look like child's play. How Do I Read Thee? Let Me Count the Ways... Simply going through the list of available ebook formats is completely exhausting. Among your main formats, you've got two that stand out: ePub and Mobi. These are the formats used by the Nook and the Kindle, respectively. Some evidence suggests that ePub is the most widely-used format across all types of ereaders, but all the numbers show that Amazon sells more ebooks than anyone. And as an indie author, you want to appeal to the widest possible audience. So you format your books for both file types. But if you really wan...

I've seen Doc Hollywood about 15 times, because I've seen every Michael J. Fox movie at least that many times, but this is one of his best. And if you're a fan of Disney movies, then you're probably already familiar with the plot. They've been widely accused of totally ripping it off.  The Book Doc Hollywood became a movie in 1991, but before that it was a book called What? Dead Again? about Dr. Benjamin Stone (Fox). He's going from Miami to LA to complete his residency. But before he can make it across the country, Dr. Stone breaks down in a rural area of Alabama.  That's when things get interesting. The town really needs a doctor, and Stone is compelled to help. What unfolds is a funny and touching story that pokes fun at small town life while still paying homage to it. Shulman is well-qualified to write the story because he is an actual doctor. What? Dead Again? was his second novel, and he's still writing today. But this is his o...

The indie author community is getting bigger all the time, and it's important that you get some sort of edge or advantage in order to stand out (and keep selling books). So it becomes necessary to work with other indies and book bloggers who are part of the community. But be wary of exchanging favors. When you trade gifts, you may not get something of equal value in return.  Swapping Stuff You know how it works: you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. What's in it for me? What do I get out of this deal? Nothing comes for free. There are a thousand cliches all about how you have to give in order to get, and that's kind of how it works when it comes to exchanges within the indie author community.

For hundreds of years, clever salesmen made a great living by selling water in bottles and telling people to rub dirt on their wounds. Scoff if you will, but this is the absolute truth. You see, it usually isn't about what you're selling. It's about the presentation...and that goes for self-published books, too. Snake Oil and Novels We've all heard the jokes and seen the satires of the old-fashioned hawkers and hucksters who used to sell people magical potions and miracle medical remedies, when really the bottles are filled with things like cow dung and cat urine. You've probably heard of the expression "snake oil" and "snake oil salesman." Well, that used to be a real thing. People will buy snake oil if the presentation is right, so they should certainly be willing to buy your books. It's all about how you present those books to the rest of the world. Once you get past the obvious factors, it comes down to salesmanship. How ...

I'm not one of these people who puts a whole lot of stock in faith, even during the holiday season, but I do know this: you've got to have it to be a writer. So today I've got to ask you: do you believe?  Gotta Have Faith In the past, I've said that you have to be a little bit foolish in order to be an author -- and that's still true. But beyond foolishness, you need faith. Once you learn more about the business, and foolishness fades, all you have to rely upon is your faith. Some days, belief is all you will have. That, and a bunch of rejection letters and negative reviews.  And once all that negativity piles up, it's going to be darned difficult to continue believing in yourself, your writing and your stories. You're going to have days when you're totally convinced you are actually a hack and a failure, that it's all been nothing but a waste of time. Believing in yourself is going to be hard, nigh impossible. 

Visit the Free Stuff tab to get a sample of my newest book, Hope's Rebellion !

There are those who say that writing is a talent. I say that it's a job. And to be an author, you don't have to be gifted or talented or even lucky. But you do have to be a hard worker, even if you've got all the other stuff already. Talent Might Be a Myth I'm not sure I believe in talent (perhaps because I haven't got any). Some of the most divine natural actors may never step off the community theater stage, and amazing singers are wilting away behind cash registers all over the country. It's fine to have talent, to be gifted, but at the end of the day it's a gift that gives you very little.  The highly gifted fail every single day at all sorts of things. The talented fall down and make missteps and struggle, and some of them flounder and never succeed at their dreams. But those who do achieve success usually have the same thing in common: they work hard.

Self-publishing a book? There's an app for that...now. Mac owners can make use of Vellum. If the functionality is as good as the name, writers are sure to be delighted with it. There's just one question: what the heck does a self-publishing app do ?  iPublishing   Because if an app can do all that tedious promotion and editing, count me in. But that's not exactly what Vellum does. Two former Pixar designers came together to create the app, which is designed to make it easier for writers to format and distribute their work. 

 

Electric train are a modern symbol of Christmas, so what could be more seasonal than a story about a train that takes kids to the North Pole on Christmas Eve? I'm talking about The Polar Express , of course, and if you've got a TV in December you've probably seen it. But have you read the book?  The Book Chris Van Allsberg wrote and illustrated The Polar Express , which was published in 1985. It's won several awards and it's a highly popular holiday book among kids and parents. If you've seen the movie, you already have a idea of what the illustrations look like.  The story in the book introduces us to a young boy who does not believe in Santa Claus. This begins to change when the Polar Express arrives on his front lawn, all set to take him to the North Pole. The Film The Polar Express finally became a film in 2004. The project had big names attached to it early (Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis), so it was pretty much a guaranteed hit. Li...

"Write drunk, edit sober."  – Ernest Hemingway I giggled when I first saw that quote from Hemingway. I stopped smiling when I remembered that alcoholism eventually destroyed him...and lots of other great authors. When it comes to authors and substance abuse, this profession seems to have more than its fair share of drunks. And no matter how amazing these addicted authors are or were, no one should attempt to follow their soggy footsteps.  Losing the Battle Start looking for authors who spent too much time looking at the bottom of a bottle, and you're going to find them. Hemingway battled alcoholism (and lost) for much of his life. He eventually took his own life despite his success and fame. Edgar Allen Poe, often regarded as the master of modern horror, had a serious alcohol problem. He died mysteriously, and the substance abuse definitely didn't help to prevent his untimely demise.   Hunter S. Thompson was famously an addict. You can see some...

"Varden sure does know how to tell a story and keep you intrigued." "If you like a book that will surprise you and keep you in suspense, pick up Justice by Jade Varden." Moonlight Reader has reviewed Justice (Deck of Lies, #1). Read the full review to see the final rating!

Amazon has blazed a trail for today's indie authors. Their KDP program made it possible for millions of books to be published and sold. Amazon's newest invention for indies is the Matchbook program, and it could help the mega-site sell even more books. Should you be using it to sell more of yours?  Amazon's Matchbook If you haven't heard about Amazon's new program , it's no big deal. It's still pretty new. But you'll probably start hearing more about it soon. The Matchbook programs sells itself. Customers who buy a print copy of a book receive a free or highly discounted Kindle copy of the same. It's a great deal for the consumers, who may want their book in both print and electronic form to easily read between locations.

You can write and write and write, and until you take certain steps you still haven't created a book. Until a manuscript becomes a book, it's just a bunch of words. And in the main, there are only two different routes you can take in order to turn a manuscript into a book.  The Beaten Path: Traditional Publishing There's a common misconception among authors that traditional publishing is less work than self-publishing. It's not true. When you traditionally publish, unless you're already well-established as an author, you have to complete lots and lots of steps.

Since mankind first figured out a form of writing, there have been stories and books. And for as long as there have been stories and books, there have been banned books.  Burning Down the Books You might think Mark Twain when you hear about book bans and book burning (his stuff has been known to be controversial), but history shows us that the Romans were banning certain source material back before Jesus Christ walked the Earth. That means human beings have been trying to control the reading material of other human beings for at least 2,500 years. Book burnings have been going on for just about as long, sometimes on a massive scale. Many ancient works that were controversial in their day have been irrevocably lost. And many people believe that today, thanks to things like the First Amendment, book banning no longer happens. Those people are wrong.  It's a tradition that's still being carried out all around the world, even in the United States. Cesar Cha...

Forbes is the authority on money, and according to their findings indie authors aren't getting rich with the self-publishing boom. In fact, some of them aren't making any money at all. If you're in the indie game for the bucks, you've got some re-evaluating to do. Money Matters After examining data from Digital Book World and Writer's Digest , Forbes found that self-published authors are pretty cash poor. Their median income is under $5,000 per year. Almost 20 percent of self-published authors get no money from their writing. Authors who use the traditional publishing route aren't faring that much better. Their median income ranges from $5000 to $9999. The hybrid authors are the ones making the most money, as a matter of fact. Their median income range is $15,000 to $19,999...which, for the number-crunchers out there, is still very close to the national poverty line . But not every author out there is eating salad. According to the report, a...

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I've read the book many, many times. But I balked at featuring this story as a Book on Film...because every adaptation I've seen has been worse than the one before.  The Book Barbara Robinson wrote a completely iconic holiday tale when she penned The Best Christmas Pageant Ever . It has all the right themes, a compelling cast of characters and so much humor it's impossible not to laugh the whole way through.  The story is told through the eyes of someone who isn't exactly a featured player, which is one of the things I find most compelling. You see, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is actually about the Herdman kids, but we're hearing about this from someone else who is only observing them. That makes me feel more like I'm there, watching it all unfold. It's just the first thing I love about this book.  The Herdman kids, by the way, are the worst kids in the wo...