Author's Blog: The official blog for Jade Varden, author of the Deck of Lies series.
Twitter: @JadeVarden
E-Mail: jadevarden@gmail.com
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Author Description: Jade Varden is a teller of tales from Louisville, Kentucky. After she completes the Deck of Lies series, she will start working on a new book series that will take readers into a shadowy underworld that exists beneath the thin veneer of wealth and privilege.
The Deck of Lies series is the first in several young adult series and stand-alone novels Jade will publish in 2012 and 2013.
Also, Jade does Indie book reviews and has a blog that provides writing help (Writing 101) and self-publishing tips and more to indie authors.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Do you have a new book coming in your series, Deck of Lies? If so tells us when it will be released and give our readers a brief teaser about the book.
Yes, I do! The final book in the series, Judgment, will be released in November. Check out the blurb to get a taste for how the series will end:
Cashing Out
Do I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
How can I, when the truth will destroy us all? Now that I’ve started telling lies, I can’t stop. Not until all this is over, and I’m free of the family that never felt like mine. Maybe it’s wrong. Maybe I’m a bad person.
But it’s definitely the only way I’m ever going to escape them. I have to take the opportunity, no matter how terrible it is…don’t I?
You have written a very popular series of YA mystery books, Deck of Lies. How do you manage your plots, characters, timelines, etc. to keep your stories going? Do you use software to keep track of these things?
I use every trick in the book to keep it all straight. I have a huge cast list with everyone’s full name and description, and a massive timeline that shows important dates and events across all four books. For book 4, I had to pull out all the stops and come up with extra documents and calendars just to keep everything straight. I don’t use any special software, but I do use blank templates to help me keep the information organized.
You have a large twitter audience (almost 13K followers). How much does social media fit into your book marketing? Do you have time to do the traditional marketing things like book signings and personal appearances?
Social media definitely plays the biggest role in my marketing efforts. At this time, I don’t do personal appearances but it’s definitely something I would consider.
Between your book writing, blogging, marketing, family and all the other things that can get in your way, how do you handle time management? Do you have a soft schedule with goals? (Like you might write two hours a day and blog one hour a day.)
I think I could manage my time a little better, because sometimes I’m really short on sleep, but no I don’t set goals on a time limit. I make up a list of tasks that I need to complete and I try to get them done in a timely fashion. Some days I’m faster than others, but I think that’s the same for everyone. I don’t like to tell myself I’m going to write for x amount of hours, because sometimes the words just won’t come and then I’m staring at a blank screen needlessly and wasting time.
You can be found in all the normal author hideouts like social media and Goodreads, are there any other writers groups you are involved with?
I did attempt to get involved with some local writing groups where I live, but I’m not much of a social butterfly. I work best when I’m alone and everything’s quiet. I like forums because I can interact with people there on my own time, even at 2 in the morning.
Your blog Writing 101 is very good. Do you enjoy helping other authors with your knowledge? Does it give you a break from storytelling?
I love doing the blog, yes, but sometimes I think it prevents me from getting work done on my current book project (whatever it may be at the time). I started doing the Writing 101 posts because I was noticing mistakes that I was making, and I thought maybe I could help other writers not make them.
I liked the blog about book trailers. It is valuable information for any author. Have you developed book trailers for your books? If you have, what software program did you use?
Yes, I have, though I must admit I’m not much of a visual artist. I got pictures and video clips for my trailers at Creative Commons, because that material is all Fair Use. I put it all together using Windows Live Movie Maker, a free program that comes with the newer Windows packages.
Author's Book List
Death (Deck of Lies, #3)All In I never wanted to get in this deep, but I did go looking for the truth before I was prepared to handle it. But how do you close the lid on Pandora's box? You can't unlearn something, or forget a dark secret once it's been revealed. I have no choice but to do my part to bury the truth again -- this time, someplace no one will ever be able to find it. But that's the problem with lies. Once you start pulling threads, everything unravels. No one is who they seem to be...not even me.
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Book Trailer: Death (Deck of Lies, #3)
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Amazon Buy Page
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The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2)A Tower of Deception... Death brings some families closer, but it's ripped mine apart. I wanted to convince the police that they had the wrong suspect...but I never expected them to start suspecting me. Now, I have no choice but to keep searching for the truth, even if all my relationships fall to pieces around me. Someone is trying to make me look guilty. I never thought my mission to prove my own innocence would lead me to more family secrets. I thought I had already discovered the truth about myself. But every answer raises more questions, and everything I think I know is about to change...again. I have to find the truth, no matter how much it hurts -- before I get charged with murder.
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Book Trailer: The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2)
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Amazon Buy Page
-- Barnes and Noble Buy Page
-- Smashwords Buy Page
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Justice (Deck of Lies, #1)A House of Cards... When you build an entire life on a foundation of lies, it only takes one truth for the whole thing to come crashing down. I never invited the truth in. I never went searching for it. I never had any reason to suspect that the two people I loved most were dishonest with me every second of every day. I made one bad decision, and in a single day my entire world changed. If I'm ever going to discover the truth about myself and my parents, I have to trace all the lies back to their source. I have to try to find the truth that they're hiding. The more I discover about myself, and my past, the more I realize that lies really are better than the truth. But now that I know the lies are all around me, I can't stop until I've discovered them all. I'll pull each lie away, one by one, and examine it to see what's underneath...until this house of cards crumbles into dust at my feet. I just hope I can survive the crash.
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Book Trailer: Justice (Deck of Lies, #1)
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Amazon Buy Page
-- Barnes and Noble Buy Page
-- Smashwords Buy Page
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the HBS Author's Spotlight plus the blog: eBook Author's Corner
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