Jade Varden Official Blog

"Read it very quickly and quite liked the characters. They were all well written and well developed." The good folks at the Peacock Flock read Justice recently, and kindly wrote a review. Visit the blog to find out what birds of a feather think of the beginning of the Deck of Lies.

Apostrophes are an essential element in punctuation, but so many authors get their placement confused -- or worse, leave them out entirely. A tiny little apostrophe can change the meaning of a sentence entirely, and when a wrong one appears it might just lead readers astray. Always be careful with your apostrophes, and learn how to use them well to make sure your words are getting the point across. Using Apostrophes, Let Me Count the Ways Apostrophes serve many extremely important functions in language; certain words could never even exist without them. To understand how to use apostrophes correctly, you've got to understand how, exactly, they're used. Missing letters In certain circumstances, apostrophes can be used to represent missing letters -- this is the case in absolutely every single contraction. Words like can't , don't , you're and all the rest rely upon apostrophes to exist. We get so used to seeing contractions, it's easy to forget wha...

I was drawn at once to the cover and the blurb for The Fossegrimen Folly , and I actually contacted the author Michael Almich to ask for a review copy (generally it goes the other way around). He was kind enough to send me one, and the time I spent reading it definitely wasn't wasted. I'm very much looking forward to the second book in the series. I wanted to read a YA novel with a male lead, and I'm pleased to say I picked a good one. Shy is a completely believable kid who's been sent, against his will, to summer camp. He fits his name well; before camp, Shy spends most of his time with his dog or dodging bullies at school. He's upset about his parents splitting up, and not at all looking forward to two months of forced separation from the world he knows.  At first. Soon, Almich takes Shy (and me!) into a world of magic and mystery. Camp Lac Igam is introduced in spectacular fashion, along with supporting characters like the staunchly loyal Da...

Are you moving toward success with your writing...or towards it? Make sure your use of grammar in writing isn't untoward, and figure out what your words mean before you use them. That's right: it's time to find the real difference between toward and towards. There's got to be some reason they're two different words...right?  Toward vs. Towards In the dictionary, toward means in the direction of . Contrary-wise, towards means toward (seriously, go look it up). Basically, the takeaway from this is that there is no difference whatsoever between the two words. So which one are you supposed to be using? Either one you like. Both words have the same meaning, and I'm pretty certain the letter s simply showed up at the end of toward in order to confuse writers. The no-s version is actually more common in American English, while towards is more frequently seen in British English. Whichever one you like the best is the one you ought to use. Change ...

"Varden's writing was compelling and left me thoroughly entertained." Danica Page has kindly reviewed Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) on her blog, Taking it One Page at a Time . Go and read the whole thing before you decide if you want a copy of your own.

It's time to clear up some confusion. Too many authors are all over the place when it comes to writing numbers, dates, years and times in their books. Find out if there are rules when it comes to writing numbers in fiction, exactly what the rules are, and what authors need to know to keep their work clean, readable, and formatted in a sensible way. You Are Not Writing for a Newspaper We all love AP style. It's an industry standard in newspaper writing, online writing and magazine writing of all kinds. It's a college course, and it's a requirement in English classes all over the nation. It's also incorrect when you're writing a novel. When you're trying to figure out how to properly format your numbers, dates, years and times, the first thing you need to do is set fire to the AP style book. Do not follow these rules when you are writing prose for a novel -- fiction or non. The only time you'll need to know AP style if you write books, in fac...

 I'll be revealing the cover for Death (Deck of Lies, #3) in less than two weeks, and you've only got a little longer than that to wait for the book's release . Until then, I'm releasing this exclusive excerpt that you can't find anywhere else. Keep reading!       I nearly shouted with glee when I saw Fallon’s familiar curvy figure leaning against my locker door. She’s a little taller than me, but Fallon had a habit of slouching and turning her shoulders inward that made us almost look the same size -- at least vertically.      “Where have you been?” I was so pleased, I leapt forward to give her a hug.      “I wasn’t in the mood this morning,” she shrugged. “But I showed up in time for lunch. Thanks for not bailing on school again today.”      “Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. I wasn’t feeling well.” It wasn’t really a lie. I’d been feeling terrible the last few days, but not in the way I ...

Do your characters wait for about an hour, or a hour? Does it make a difference that the word hour is pronounced without its H? Should I write that my books delve deeply into a history of a very deceitful family, or an history? Are you treating H like a vowel...and do you know any of the answers? Why I Hate Words That Start with H You might think every letter in the alphabet is equal, that all 26 of them are totally benign. The truth is, some of those letters are actually ticking time bombs -- and they may have already detonated inside your book. If you think Y is a tricky letter, you've never gone 10 rounds with the letter H. The problem with H is that sometimes it audibly shows up to the word party, announcing itself loudly and proudly. Other times, it sneaks in with other letters uninvited. Before you know it, H has spiked the punch, set the carpet on fire and done who-knows-what to get A all bent out of shape. There goes your word party...now you're just breaking ...