Jade Varden Official Blog

I've written a great many blog posts on punctuation and grammar, word usage and various ways to self-publish. What I haven't written much about is marketing, though it is a huge part of self-publishing. Some experts say that marketing is most of self-publishing; I read somewhere that many advocate spending 80% of your time on marketing and only 20% on the actual writing. But I believe in fundamentals. Build a book from a strong foundation of good grammar and perfect punctuation, and it'll all work out. But let's face it, you're going to have to think about marketing sometime. Before you launch your strategy and start spending time on promotion, you've got one important task to complete. You've got to know your audience. Picking Labels Readers like to read, and most readers enjoy many different genres. But if you write a sex-soaked historical drama with a love-heavy bent, you've got to realize your words are going to attract mainly female reade...

"Justice was well written, had a good pace, and had so many twists to the plot it was really hard to work out what might happen next." Kelly at Have Book Will Read has kindly reviewed Justice on her blog, and I want you to read the whole thing. While you're there, make sure you sign up for the giveaway to win a free copy of the book.

Sometimes, the dream of becoming a published author feels like a silly fantasy. Repeat rejection letters have a way of taking their toll, and everybody's got their limits. Well, maybe not everybody. One author you've definitely heard of was rejected 800 times before selling any of his writings. Today, his books are among the most popular fiction ever written.  Clive Staples Lewis, more commonly known as C. S. Lewis, lived in a world of words. He was on the faculty at Oxford University's English Department and belonged in a literary group called the Inklings (cute, right?). Whether he was working or socializing, words were everywhere. One of Lewis's closest friends was J. R. R. Tolkein, who famously wrote the Lord of the Rings books.  No, Thank You C. S. Lewis also wanted to be an author. He began writing while working at the University, but every manuscript he sent to editors came back with a rejection slip...by the hundreds. Lewis didn't publish h...

"It's a great read, filled with life-like, credible characters, and to be honest, I found it impossible to put down." After you read the newest review for Justice at Today in Shenaya , keep going to get a look at an in-depth interview where I discuss the other books in the Deck of Lies series and my writing process in general. While you're there, sign up for the giveaway to get your own copy of Justice, and see if you agree with the review!

You wouldn't be wrong if you called me an author/blogger...unless you do it in a book. I'm a big fan of brevity, a point I've made clear in several past posts, but I am not a fan of the slash key. When you're writing your books, forget it even exists. / The slash serves a very important function on the Internet, and it's a fantastic little device for shorthand purposes. Lots of people and items are more than one thing. Gene Kelly was an actor/dancer, Marilyn Monroe a pinup girl/movie star, new Kindles function like ereaders/tablets. It's common to see the slash in product advertising, online and print articles, commercials -- you can find it everywhere. That doesn't mean I want to find them in your books. The novel is one of the last vestiges of civility society still has. Each book is a tribute to, and an expression of, the written word. Start substituting those words with handy little symbols like the slash, and you're on a slippery sl...

"It kept me in constant suspense throughout the story and once again it was virtually impossible to predict who did what." "The unpredictability of the book is what makes it so great." Sienna Logan, at Lost to Books, has followed up her review of Justice with new reviews for The Tower and Death, the second and third books in the Deck of Lies! "This series is great and I would recommend it to everyone! The murder mystery keeps you in suspense and the love interests keeps you hooked." Visit the site to read the full review of The Tower .  "Jade Varden once again surprised me by turning the story on its head again and continuing it in a way I'm sure no one will predict." See if you can predict where the story's going after you read the full review of Death .

Many authors like to read the work of other authors, and it's easy to get inspired by the greats. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so isn't it only natural that authors emulate the authors they like? Just know that, when you do, you should consider the source. Some of the most popular books aren't necessarily well-written, and you definitely don't want to take a page from them and re-produce the bad grammar. Bad Grammar, Poor Punctuation Some books explode into pop culture unexpectedly, becoming wildly popular and read by large audiences. But it cannot be taken for granted that such books are well-written, or shining examples of good grammar. In fact, sometimes the exact opposite is true. There are literally hundreds of books that sold well but still had horrible mistakes within the pages, but for the purposes of this post we're only going to talk about two mega bestsellers. One's a self-published book, and one is not. ...

Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) is being featured next week, and you'll never guess where. The book is coming to Fashion Fantasy Game to give readers the chance to dress Rain, the main character in the Deck of Lies series. I've blogged about Rain's style in the past, and Deck of Lies readers know that fashion plays a strong part in the series. If you keep reading the series, you'll find that Rain's fashion choices often reflect how she's feeling about herself and her life. But maybe you can do a little better than me at dressing her up. Visit the Facebook page for Fashion Fantasy Game to find out when the competition begins. When it does, you'll have a chance to win my giveaway -- and to blow me away with your amazing fashion sense. Now, go have fun!