Colette Ballard

Today’s blog post is an interview with our very own, Jus Accardo, whose debut novel has just been released!! First of all, a big congratulations to Jus, as well as a shout out to the cover artist: )

TOUCH

Touch

A DENAZEN NOVEL - Book One - by Jus Accardo

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

1.Touch has a very interesting premise. Where did the idea for your book come from? Honestly? A coffee drive-through line. Totally serious. I was sitting on line, waiting for it to move (which it wasn't, in case anyone's wondering) and I was staring off into the woods. I got the picture in my head of a girl being chased through the forest. She was barefoot and everything she touched--trees, branches, the ground beneath her feet--all shriveled and died. It all just kinda snowballed from there. Three weeks later, the first draft was done.

2.When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? And how did you decide on YA? I've wanted to be a writer or a chef since I was really little. Growing up I was either in a corner with my nose in a book, or in the kitchen with my grandparents. I actually started out writing adult paranormal and UF. The first book I queried was an adult urban fantasy. But thanks to the genius of one of my critique partners, it was pointed out that my voice is more YA than adult. This was fine with me because 90 % of what I read is YA anyway :D

I get more out of writing young adult. There are so many firsts... Experiences and strong emotions. In reality, first kisses don't always make you swoon. Going to prom isn't always the best night of your life. Meeting the one isn't always sunshine and puppies and singing angels. It's fun! Tons of painful, messy, angsty emotion.

3.What is your writing process like? My process is a little funky...being I don't really have one. Not a normal one, anyway. I don't plot--it screws me up. The most I start out with is a vague list of scene ideas that I've seen in my head (because yes--I not only hear voices, but see things, too) I know it might sounds strange, but I've tried to plot. It doesn't work. All the twists and plot points come out as I'm writing. If I try to get it planned before hand, I just sit there staring at the screen. It's not pretty. There's even drool involved...

As for how often I write... It's every day. I can't not write. There's too much going on in my head and lemme tell ya...it gets crowded in there. I start around 5 or 6 when my husband leaves for work, and usually go until midnight. I run errands in between, of course. That many hours straight in front of the computer would probably turn my brain to pixel particles.

I average anywhere from 6 to 10k on a normal day. People always flip when I say that, but really, when you think about it, that's not that much. This is my full time job. It's what I do all day (and night sometimes) Plus, my 3 kids are the fuzzy, four-legged variety and don't require trips to soccer or ballet. They've happy as can be to just chill at my feet all day as I work.

4.Your book was sold as a trilogy, many writers speak of hitting a wall after they sell the first one. Have you experienced this? If so, how did you overcome it? When I sat down to start book two, for five days, all I did was kind of sit there and pull my hair out. I'd worked myself up over it so badly, that I just couldn't think. It was like my brain shut down. As soon as I relaxed though, it all flowed nice and easy and book two poured out (almost) as quickly as the first.

5.Anything you'd like to share about what readers can expect in book two? Hmm... Well, Dez and Kale aren't going to have it easy. (cue evil laughter). They went through a lot in TOUCH and things aren't going to get any simpler. You can expect more secrets, some surprising betrayals--even some side switching. Oh, and there's a chance someone might die... ;)

6.Who are some of your favorite authors and why? Kelley Armstrong, Rob Thurman, Mary Stanton, Lili St. Crow, Rachel Vincent... There are SO many. The thing they all have in common is that their books are full of characters I can't stop thinking about. Stories that stay with me way past the final page of the book.

7.Oh, and how much do you love your cover?? : ) OMG. My cover... Look at it and tell me you don't want one of him for your very own?!!? I love the colors, the guy--and those eyes. He's the perfect Kale.

Thanks so much for letting me hang out on your Sunday, Colette! This was a blast :)

To read an excerpt of Touch and for ordering information, go to Entangled Publishing at:

http://www.entangledinromance.com/2011/10/10/get-your-jus-on-with-touch-buy-it-now/

OR to be entered in a drawing for a FREE SIGNED COPY….

Leave a comment below and like her on facebook from now until 10/29:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/JusAccardo/118357108246769

For more on Jus, check her out on:

Twitter

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Resetting the brain...

My debut releases in less than 38 days and it’s made me really think about things. The short explanation—I freaking love my job. How many people can say that? Really say that? 1 in 100? 1000? I’m one of the lucky ones.

It took a while and a ton of crappy jobs to get here. I’ve been a Real Estate agent—go ahead…you can laugh (I do). I’ve trained horses. That was actually fun since I love to ride. I did the whole retail thing (in a book store of course) and even was a nail tech for two years (SO not my thing). But I’ve but I’ve finally made it. Found my true North. I get to make stuff up for a living. It seriously can’t get better than that. And if it does, don’t tell me. I’m not sure my brain could handle it…

It’s because I love what I do so much that I sometimes forget there’s an actual world out there. One with live people and obligations, and most of all, fun stuff to do! Well, fun stuff other than torturing characters, hooking people up, and kicking some bad guy ass. Who’da thunk it, right? Downtime is good. Resetting the brain helps get the creative waves flowing!

So what’s my pastime of choice when I need a brain reset and finally walk—or get dragged as the case sometimes is—away from my characters?

*looks around*

I—well—I kill stuff.

*backs away as a crowd brandishing pitchforks and zip ties closes in*

In games. I kill stuff in games. Seriously people. Do I seem like a Jack the Ripper type? Wait. Don’t answer that.

So there you have it. My dark confession—and obsession. I’m a gamer. Specifically WoW (World Of Warcraft for those not in the know) I’ve been playing since right after beta rolled out. A little over 6 years now. I’m an achievement whore who hoards pets (Still fishing for Mr. Pinchy!) and mounts (oh turtle mount, why do you mock me?) with multiple level capped toons and bankfulls of outdated armor and various vanilla junk. I play with my husband, friends, and a few family members. We raid 3 nights a week. Granted, some might argue that it’s technically not walking away since the game is played on the computer, but it’s a mental break. For me, a great way to relieve stress, unwind, and this might surprise some, come up with new ideas.

In TOUCH, there’s a scene with a bear. The idea actually came from my time playing WoW. Selkie, my little resto Druid, is a bear magnet. If there’s a bear within a 50 mile in game radius, it will come along and NOM on me. Munch my limbs like Twizzlers. From level 1 to level 85, it’s been a disturbing and inescapable trend. This is actually amusing considering Druids, as a race, can turn into bears. I even wrote up a short background on the character explaining her bear-fear which I won’t go into because it borders an entirely epic level of gooberdom on my part...

*ahem*

Anyway, gaming gets the creative wheels in my brain turning. It helps me reset. WoW is full of awesome back story and evolving story lines.

So for those of you who play WoW—what’s your favorite loading screen tip? Mine currently is Don’t stand in the fire! Because, even though that seems like it’d be common sense, someone always stands in the fire. Remember what Buffy said – Fire bad…tree pretty!

For the non-WoWers—how do you unwind? What makes the stress melt away after a long day at the office?

Jus Accardo

Jus Accardo is the author of YA paranormal romance and urban fantasy fiction. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.


DEBUT: Touch (November 2011 from Entangled Publishing)

A seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie with a penchant for irritating her father goes on the run with a boy whose touch kills, inadvertently igniting a war between the powerful corporation who "owns" him, and a rogue group of talents determined to bring them down.