Jade Varden Official Blog

"Another solid novel by Jade Varden that meets up to the expectations left by its predecessor. Book Two did not disappoint." "It's very well crafted and executed, sustaining a very tense chase, almost to the point of becoming a thriller!" The Tower (Deck of Lies #2) has been reviewed at Verdict Book Reviews! It's a must-read for those who are trying to sort out all the suspects in the book, but only if you're up to speed on the events of Justice (Deck of Lies #1). Go check out the whole thing!

It is a truth universally accepted that a reader in possession of a good book must be in want of another good book, and as a self-published author this is the mantra you must adopt. After your book is written, and published, and promoted, there's only one thing left to do: write more. Want to sell more books? Then start writing more books.  You're Only As Good As... What's your favorite song right this minute? What was your favorite song, one year ago on this day? Do you even remember? Most people probably won't, for one simple reason: there's always something new. There's a new singer to hear, a new food to try, a new show to watch, a new book to read. No matter how remarkable or fantastic your book, eventually it will be eclipsed by another. Just ask J. K. Rowling, and 10 million Twilight fans, how quickly the tide of the MTV movie awards can turn against you.  Unless you write a book that becomes the basis of a religion, or come up with some...

A Christmas Carol , written by Charles Dickens, is arguably the most popular Christmas story of all time. It's certainly one of the most-adapted, with more feature-length and TV-film versions than you can fit in a single blog post. The story is so famous, you can say just one word and everyone will know what you're referencing. But if you've only ever seen it on film, you don't know the whole story. The Book In a very real way, Charles Dickens is the father of the modern Christmas. When he wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, Christmas itself was in a transitional phase. Newfangled trends, like Christmas trees, were mucking up this traditional season of church-going, quiet reflection and somber celebration.  And so Dickens wrote about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge, a bitter old miser who loves money more than people. It's a very short story told in only 5 chapters, or staves, and it starts on Christmas Eve. It is 7 years to the day of Jacob Marley...

Words are the stock and trade of every writer, but some authors get too caught up in their own words. When you're writing out a scene involving any sort of character action at all -- even when it's talking -- you also have to work out the logistics. If you can't put yourself inside of every scene and picture exactly what's happening, you've got a real problem.  Get Back Inside the Box The environment the characters live in is just as important as the characters themselves. Your characters are only extraordinary or special when compared to everything else around them. How they move is just as relevant as how they think. That's why you've got to think about your books three-dimensionally, not just the way they read on the page. Just about every room in the world is shaped like a box. Some boxes are bigger than others, some substantially so. Some are elongated so they're more rectangular in shape. Some are enclosed with walls made of plaster, ...

"This was a great third instalment in this series. I thought that we had maybe uncovered all the lies in the last two books, but there are just more and more!"   "I enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to find out how it all ends in book 4" Death (Deck of Lies, #3) has been added to Sarah Elizabeth's bookshelf. Visit the blog to read the whole review -- the big spoiler is hidden!

If you've read any of my books, you know I'm a big fan of end-of-book promotions. You should absolutely be including them in your self-published works. Find out why they work, and how to add them to your books.  Beyond The End The end of any book should leave readers with some of good feelings -- satisfaction, excitement, happiness. If you've done your job, they ought to be in a receptive mood. And they should also want a little bit more . The end of a good book is always a small disappointment, too, because you wish there was more.  So add more. Now that the book's over, you've got one more shot to connect with your readers and turn them into you fans. You've got one more shot to get them to buy another one of your books. You do that most successfully with an end-of-book promotion, also known as a teaser.  That's right: I want you to give them a taste of the next book. If you're writing a series, this is really a necessity. You want to...

"It's very engaging, and from the moment I started reading Justice, I was hooked." "The author's writing is superb. I think the story unfolded quite nicely, and that the revelations were well-thought. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from this author." Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at Jelly Loves Books! Go read it before you go buy your copy of the book.

As a self-published author, getting reviews has to be one of your main goals. You should spend time on it at least once a week, sending out letters and refining your review requests. Once you figure out how to get reviews , it's not going to help unless you know where to go.  Finding Book Bloggers Save yourself time by looking not for individual book blogs but lists of book review blogs. There are so many book blogs out there, you could never find them all through individual searches. Vary your search query to get more results. Look for book blogs that review indie books, ebooks, and books in your genre. Jade's List In the meantime, use my list of book review lists. Some of these are YA-specific, and you'll run into many blogs that are old, broken or no longer about books. But, you will find some viable blogs inside the lists, and nobody ever said it wasn't going to be hard work. These are in no specific order whatsoever: http://www.theindieview.com/indi...