Blog Tour #20 - JUS ACCARDO GUEST POST - UNTOUCHED BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY

Today I'd like to welcome to the blog, JUS ACCARDO - author of TOUCH (A Denazen Novel #1) and the new novella UNTOUCHED (A Denazen Novella #1.5).  

Jus has written a great guest post for us and her awesome publisher, Entangle Publishing, has provided us with an ebook for a giveaway (see end of post).

GUEST POST written by JUS ACCARDO

SINGLE TO SEQUEL

When I sat down to write TOUCH, I had nothing. No plans. No plot. No expectations.

Zero.

Zip.

Zilch.

It was just a really cool idea I was going to run with. 

Then it started to unfold and I was like, Huh. This could actually be something. Sassy chick. Sweet, yet dangerous guy. A whole boat load of secrets and some really twisted baddies. Fun, right?

And it was. But I’d never really thought about making it a series. It wasn’t until I got to the end that I realized there was so much more to Kale and Dez’s story. So much more than one lonely little book could possibly tell. And just like that, the Denazen Series was born.

I wrote TOUCH in under a month. Fast, right? I couldn’t help it. I was a woman possessed. When I sat down to start on UNTOUCHED, the first novella in the series… Well, let’s just say it wasn’t as easy.

The first book has done so much better than anything I could have ever imagined, and I’ll be totally honest. I started to panic. What if I couldn’t do it again? The novella was planned in Kale’s POV. What would people do to me if I screwed up Kale?

(please—no one answer that! I’m not sure I want to know :D ) 

Not to mention the idea of novellas in general scare me. Yes. You heard right. I have novellaphobia. Sounds sexy, right? It’s not! Add all that to a brand new empty page one and I was terrified. Seriously. I had nightmares.

UNTOUCHED had three different opening chapters. Well, that’s not true. It had three different opening 4-6 chapters. I’m not kidding. I had people talking at me from everywhere. Need to make sure this is epic. Even though this is a novella, it’s technically this is your sophomore book—don’t blow it! Each time someone said something, I’d go back, delete everything, and start from scratch.

I went back and forth like that for two weeks. And then I took a day off and reread TOUCH. When I sat down the next day, I had a hard time remembering what the issue was. Granted I ran into a snag here and there—Dez and Kale’s voice is so different and I found myself reverting to old Dez-habits in some places—but overall, it wasn’t as hard as I was making it. And so much fun!

So what have I learned from all this? A couple really cool things, actually. First of all—self doubt is a bitch. I knew what I was doing all along, but I let outside influences bog me down. My best advice for anyone writing their second book? Tune everything out. Focus on your characters and their world and do what you love to do. Have fun with it! 

Second? Each and every book is going to be a wholly new (and exciting, and scary, and wonderful) experience. Like snowflakes, no two book journeys are the same. That dreaded empty page one is going to bring something new with each title.

And honestly, I really can’t wait to find out what…

Book Blurb

Untouched (A Denazen Novella 1.5)

Until he met Dez, Kale’s days were filled with violence and death. He was used as a weapon of destruction by the power hungry men of Denazen. He’s a Six. A person with an abnormal ability. Some people call them gifts, but not Kale. Kale’s touch means instant death.

But now there’s Dez, the girl he can touch, and they’re hunting down Sixes and warning them about Denazen. Kale is learning about the world outside captivity and trying to put his dark past behind him. But they underestimated how badly Denazen wanted him back.

When Dez sacrifices herself to save the new Six they’d rescued from falling into the corp’s hands, Kale is lost. Denazen has brought out its best to get the job done. Samsen, a nightmare from Kale’s past—the only person he’s ever truly feared—has come for them, and it soon becomes obvious he has his own twisted agenda.

Kale will need all his training to get Dez back and ensure they make it out, free—and alive. But will it be enough? 

Add Untouched to your TBR pile on Goodreads

 

Touch, the first novel in the Denazen series, is set to re-release in mass market on June 12^{th (}Complete with additional scenes from Kale’s POV!).

 

Toxic (Denazen 2) hits shelves on September 11^th 2012. As a thank you to those who pre-order, Jus is giving away a book plate and magnet of choice 

Bio

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. Her first book, Touch, is available now from Entangled Publishing. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

Give Jus a yell on Twitter, or visit her on Facebook, and her website. 

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

*** OPEN INTERNATIONAL***

Thanks to Entangled Publishing one lucky blog follower will win an ebook from the Denazen Series. 

The winner gets to choose:

Touch (A Denazen Novel #1)

or

Untouched (A Denazen Novella #1.5) 

Competition Closes 

10th May 2012

Aussie EST Midnight

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Leave a comment below with your email address & which ebook you would like to win

If you were to win this ebook, what format would you like it in?

+1 extra entry for tweeting this posting (leave link)

+1 extra entry for being GFC follower (leave name)

Maximum entries obtainable is 3 =

 1 for comment + 1 tweet + 1 GFC

GOOD LUCK & ENJOY!

MARISSA