Jade Varden Official Blog

 

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...