Jade Varden Official Blog

"Everything gets more complicated in this book...but I LOVED IT!" "It was like a story book version of Desperate Housewives or a very tense soap drama filled with dirty family secrets." Death (Deck of Lies #3) has been reviewed at BookAThon Freak . It's pretty spoiler-free, so feel free to read the whole review and see if you agree with the reviewer!

I'm convinced that irregular verbs exist only to annoy writers. They always show up at the most inopportune times, right when you're in the zone and your fingers are flying. One moment, your creativity is pouring out of you. The next, you're staring at the word burned and wondering if it ought to be burnt instead. Verbs, Adjectives, Words That Don't Make Sense The verb to burn is irregular. It has two past tenses: burned, and burnt. When something is burned , it's been scorched by heat and/or flame. Your skin may get burned by the sun or even hot water.  Burned is easy to use, because it's an example of classic past tense. Just add ed to burn , and you're ready to go. You could always add a t instead. Then, the word becomes burnt . When something is burnt , it's been scorched by heat and/or flame. Your skin may get burnt by the sun or even hot water. No need to check that twice. Burned and burnt mean exactly the same thing, and...

Listen, I can get as flowery as the next guy. I'll wax poetic about the sky if you want me to, and I'll bet I could come up with some adjectives you've never even imagined before. But really, what's the point? The most beloved books aren't necessarily the most thrilling, the most frightening or the funniest stories ever written...but they are easy to read. Want to be a writer? You need to understand the merits of simple English.  Verbosity He strolled forward with the night wind on his shoulder, propelled by a steady tread that squeaked just so with each new stride. The dead foliage on the trees made crackling sounds, shivering with the frigid mistral that came sweeping down the mountain. The refuse storage loomed in front of him like a spectre, a hungry maw waiting to swallow his offering whole. Do you know what I was describing with the above? I'm talking about a guy taking out the trash on a chilly fall evening. If you didn't get that right a...

Writers pour their very souls onto the page. They sweat, they bleed, they cry, they laugh right out loud...they scare their family members, frankly. When you put all of that into your work, it's hard to take that work and destroy it. But sometimes, that's just what you've got to do. Starting fresh is scary, but sometimes that's the only option. Starting Fresh It's a New Year, and everyone's thinking about fresh starts. You know who doesn't like starting over from scratch? Writers. Nothing is more horrifying than a blank page. It sits there, and it stares at you...and it knows exactly where you are weakest.  Erasing text is even more horrifying. Many writers will attempt to endlessly edit their past book projects, no matter how error-stuffed or poorly-written. A good idea is a good idea, and bad writing can always be fixed...right?  No. Sometimes, starting fresh is your only option -- and incidentally, today is the perfect day to make that le...

"This book was perfect...The writing lovingly holds your hand and leads you through the story." "It was brilliant. I wish there was a better word to describe it, but there really isn't." Ariel Avalon has reviewed Judgment (Deck of Lies #4) at her blog. There are some spoilers, so feel free to read the whole review if you've already read the first three books in the series.  If you haven't, get the boxed set edition of the Deck of Lies, and get caught up on the entire series.

People use New Year's Eve as a time to look back and reflect on mistakes they've made, to think about what they want to change...to get drunk on life (and other substances). While you're making out your resolution list this year, include a few that will help you become a better writer. Maybe 2013 is the year of your bestseller.  Writing Resolutions What should you resolve to do as a writer? Make up your list, stick to it, and your writing will improve as a result:  Show what you mean. Don't tell me that Stacey walked downstairs to the front porch. Take me on the journey. Maybe the stairs creak when I walk down them, and the floor below is cold on my bare feet. Is it cold on the front porch, or warm and sunny? Always write descriptively in the upcoming year, and write better. Write real dialogue. Make your dialogue sound true to life. Read it out loud, and ask yourself if this is how people really talk. Read and re-read. Edit, edit, edit . Many readers ...

If you've never thought about what it's like to be a single mother during the Great Depression, you've never read Mildred Pierce . It's a dramatic novel, stuffed with plot, completely revolving around one woman who's just trying to raise her two girls. There are two film versions of the story, both featuring very well-known actresses. But if you watch them both, you're going to think you're watching two totally different stories. The Book Mildred Pierce , written by James M. Cain in 1941, is set in the 1930s in southern California, and it opens in the respectable suburb of Glendale. This is where Mildred lives with her husband Bert and their two daughters. The youngest is Moire, or Ray, the eldest Veda. Bert doesn't have a job. And to add insult to injury, he's cheating on Mildred. She knows it, and one afternoon summons up the gumption to kick him to the curb. It's in this fashion that Mildred finds herself practically pennil...

Self-published authors have to work hard to build up a fan base and to establish themselves as "real" authors in the eyes of their readers. That's why stepping outside your genre and writing something completely different can be pretty tricky and scary business. What if you go out on a limb...and lose all of your fans?  Outside the Box After putting all that time and effort into building up a fan base, stepping outside that comfort zone with a totally different book is a brave thing to do (some might say foolish). While some of your fans may stay true, others may be turned off because they aren't fans of that particular genre. That means you've got to start all over again, and start targeting fans in your new genre to find the readers that will be interested in this new book of yours. It's a lot of work, but it's not all that different from all the marketing you've already done. You should re-focus your efforts with every new book you rel...