Jade Varden Official Blog

As a self-published author, you're going to have to do all sorts of things to get readers to notice you. It's necessary to join Twitter, to participate in forums, to find potential fans and engage with them. Social media is great, but at the end of the day you want people to be interested in your writing. So give them stuff to be interested in .  Free Articles Okay, so the goal of publishing is to get your words read .  You're an artist, you have a voice and a viewpoint and something to share with the world. But you also live in the real world, and that costs money. So clearly, it's ideal to make money from your writing. Creating free articles seems to be at odds with this goal.  But you're wrong for thinking that, and I'm about to tell you why: publicity is invaluable. Getting your name out there with a byline is so worthwhile, you should be paying the Internet for allowing you to do it. But you don't have to pay. In fact, there may be a wa...

The copyright. The cover. The Facebook ads. The paid reviews. The trailer, the proof print copies. All those marketing materials. When you self-publish, expenses add up quickly. Have you got a marketing budget yet?  Being Businesslike    You're creative, and if you're like me then you're also shite with numbers. When you become an indie author, you're no longer just a writer. Now you're a promoter, and an accountant. Don't become your own worst enemy as well. Establish a book budget...before you start writing the book.

Some authors spend a ton of time describing the leaves of trees and the way the grass blows in the wind. That's all well and good, but don't ever forget to include the details that matter. What?! When I was a little girl, I found the plot of Star Wars to be incredibly confusing. This is because I thought they were saying that Luke's father had gone to the dark side of the forest . I was always like "well, maybe he got lost." It took me a long time to really understand the plot of those movies, and it's not even my fault. The storyteller should have made it more clear.  It's your job to make sure no one is thinking that about your books. Sometimes when I'm writing, I get into a zone where the words are just pouring out. I don't even have to think about them, half the time. And I might slip into all sorts of slang and colloquialisms. Then I go back and read what I've written and I realize that I'm the only person who knows ...

Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that last night marked the world premiere of Flowers in  the Attic on Lifetime. Fans have been waiting 30 years for a decent adaptation of  this powerful book. Is the wait over?  Wilting  FITA became a bestselling book in the 1980s, so naturally a movie adaptation followed. Despite a strong performance from Louise Fletcher, the film was disliked by critics, fans and  anyone else who read the book. It became infamous for being bad.  Fans were thrilled when Lifetime announced their intentions to do their own adaptation, and I was chief among them. So how  does this new film stack up against the old one? More importantly, how does it compare to the book? In the Attic The movie began with the prologue from FITA, much to my delight. This introduction was changed a little. We found Cathy on film at age 12, not 7, and got thrown into the ill-fated birthday party pretty quickly.  The...

V. C. Andrews was one of the first authors I read when I discovered books, and I adored hers. I re-read her early series books more times than I'm willing to admit. Her works inspired me to become an author (or something like one, anyway), and for that I owe her a debt...or maybe I should dislike her? Either way, I was greatly influenced by her work...and I think something rubbed off on me. You Are What You Read If you read a lot of a certain author, and love that author, it's only natural that you'll be influenced by that author. It's sort of like musicians. They always get asked "who influenced you" and they'll rattle off a list of names. Sometimes when they say a name you go "yeah, I can tell." Well, I was influenced by V. C. Andrews...and some of my readers can tell .

 originally published Friday, October 12, 2012 It is the job of all authors to bring their characters to life. Most well-loved characters have a distinct look, noticeable characteristics, great flaws and strengths. Some authors even take things one step further, and create a distinct style for their leading ladies. To honor some of the great fiction fashion icons that I've read over the years, I'm introducing a new feature with one of my most favorite characters: Cathy Dollanganger. Fashionable Femme Fatale  Cathy Dollanganger is the main protagonist of the Dollanganger series, which spanned five books. The series was introduced in a debut novel from V.C. Andrews, Flowers in the Attic . It became an instant hit, though the movie didn't fare quite so well, and launched a career that has, phenomenonally, continued with new novels even beyond the author's death.     It all began with Cathy. Through the series, she goes from age 9 to age ...

post originally published Saturday, August 11, 2012 When a book is very popular among a large group of readers, filmmakers generally like to take special care with the film adaptation. They consult the author of the work, they read the book themselves, they pay homage to the original material. This isn't what happened when Flowers in the Attic was transformed from a YA horror book that struck a strong note with teen girls...into 93 minutes of on-screen swill that you can't ever get back. Cringe if you like, but that description really isn't harsh enough for one of the worst book-to-film adaptations in the known world.   The Book Full disclosure: I'm a little biased. Flowers in the Attic is actually a very special book to me, as it inspired me to become a writer (the jury's still out on whether or not I am). It was written before I was born and published in 1979 by V. C. Andrews, known to friends and famil...

Lifetime's remake of Flowers in the Attic airs this weekend -- so we're going to celebrate here at the blog until it hurts.  Flowers, Not in the Attic Flowers in the Attic was the first book written by V.C. Andrews, and it was published in 1979. It immediately became a hit. The book struck a chord with readers. With it, Andrews forged a career that continues after her death and pioneered a genre. Her writing is marked by its unusual mix of gothic horror, youth-oriented narratives and the recurring theme that sometimes blood is not thicker than water. Flowers was mainstream fiction, yet it explored extremely taboo subjects like rape and incest.  And it inspired yours truly. I became aware of this book at age 9, Thanksgiving Day. I found it on a nightstand and started to read, purely out of boredom (what was I gonna do, watch football?). By the end of Chapter 1, Flowers in the Attic had changed my life. I decided, then and there, that I would write stories...