Jus Accardo
Series: Denazen, #1.5
Release date: March 28th, 2012
by Entangled Publishing
Goodreads / Purchase
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?
The Denazen series:
I read Jus Accardo's debut novel, Touch, last year and I absolutely loved it. Kale is just so sweet and funny; he's definitely memorable. So when I was approached about being part of the blog tour for her new novella, written in his in his point-of-view, I jumped at the chance. Jus is here today for an interview and there's also a giveaway for my lovely readers. You can also look forward to my review of Untouched on Saturday!
Want to know what I thought of Touch?
Click here for my review!
Interview with Jus Accardo
Q. Kale, we all adore him, can you tell us a bit about how he came about? Is he based on someone you know?
He’s not based on anyone I know. Kale is all Kale ;)
I started with the opening scene (originally right where Dez and Kale met). I had two character personalities burned into my brain. An adrenalin junkie who had a volatile relationship with their father. And a lifelong prisoner, used as a weapon and completely ignorant to things in the outside world.
There wasn’t much more planning that went into creating him other than that. He wasn’t there one minute, then poof. There he was, along with Dez. A lot like the book in general. One second I was sitting there wondering what to work on next, the next I had this awesome jumping point that just exploded right from sentence one.
Q. How was it to switch to his point-of-view for Untouched; was it hard to write from a Male's perspective?
Writing from a guy’s POV wasn’t hard for me—but writing from Kale’s proved to be a little tricky. Untouched went through a lot of drafts before I really felt I’d gotten it right. It’s very natural to me to write the snarky, jaded, sarcastic character. But someone who sees the world like Kale? That was an adjustment. He doesn’t use slang—doesn’t really understand it, doesn’t lie or see the purpose in it, and even the simplest things are amazing to him. It was so much fun, though. There’s a purity in how he sees most of the world. It was an awesome chance for me to do something so different.
Q. What goes into building a world with so much mystery and paranormal elements?
This is a hard one for me to answer because this world developed over such a long time. The Denazen universe was something that was first born when I was nineteen. I wrote three books and seven short stories revolving around this world and the Sixes (though not called Sixes at the time). Granted they will never see the light of day, but they did bring me deeper into the universe. I got to know every corner, every rock…
So, to me, this is like home. I know it so well. From the trees lining the employee parking lot of the Denazen building, to the main drag where the Blueberry Bean sits. It’s all so clear in my mind.
I think the most helpful aspect of world building is spending time in your world…
Q. We're all dying for Toxic, can you give us a hint on what we can expect that's not already on the blurb? (Pretty please)
Well… We’re going to learn more about Dax. He’s not at all who Dez thought he was. I’m not telling if that’s good or bad ;)
It kinda goes without saying IMO, but I’ve seen people debating so I’ll clear up that, yes, we will be seeing Alex again—which should make a few of you very happy ;) His feelings for Dez are still there—as are her lack of feelings for him.
We’ll also meet two of my favorite new Sixes. Aubrey and Able. Goth twins who work for Cross and give new, creepy meaning to the term yin and yang.
Q. What's on your reading list this summer?
OMG. There’s so many awesome things coming out!
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Inbetween by Tara Fuller
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout
Before I wake Rachel Vincent
Flawed by Kate Avelynn
Seriously…I could go on and on… And on and on and on and… You get the point.
He’s not based on anyone I know. Kale is all Kale ;)
I started with the opening scene (originally right where Dez and Kale met). I had two character personalities burned into my brain. An adrenalin junkie who had a volatile relationship with their father. And a lifelong prisoner, used as a weapon and completely ignorant to things in the outside world.
There wasn’t much more planning that went into creating him other than that. He wasn’t there one minute, then poof. There he was, along with Dez. A lot like the book in general. One second I was sitting there wondering what to work on next, the next I had this awesome jumping point that just exploded right from sentence one.
Q. How was it to switch to his point-of-view for Untouched; was it hard to write from a Male's perspective?
Writing from a guy’s POV wasn’t hard for me—but writing from Kale’s proved to be a little tricky. Untouched went through a lot of drafts before I really felt I’d gotten it right. It’s very natural to me to write the snarky, jaded, sarcastic character. But someone who sees the world like Kale? That was an adjustment. He doesn’t use slang—doesn’t really understand it, doesn’t lie or see the purpose in it, and even the simplest things are amazing to him. It was so much fun, though. There’s a purity in how he sees most of the world. It was an awesome chance for me to do something so different.
Q. What goes into building a world with so much mystery and paranormal elements?
This is a hard one for me to answer because this world developed over such a long time. The Denazen universe was something that was first born when I was nineteen. I wrote three books and seven short stories revolving around this world and the Sixes (though not called Sixes at the time). Granted they will never see the light of day, but they did bring me deeper into the universe. I got to know every corner, every rock…
So, to me, this is like home. I know it so well. From the trees lining the employee parking lot of the Denazen building, to the main drag where the Blueberry Bean sits. It’s all so clear in my mind.
I think the most helpful aspect of world building is spending time in your world…
Q. We're all dying for Toxic, can you give us a hint on what we can expect that's not already on the blurb? (Pretty please)
Well… We’re going to learn more about Dax. He’s not at all who Dez thought he was. I’m not telling if that’s good or bad ;)
It kinda goes without saying IMO, but I’ve seen people debating so I’ll clear up that, yes, we will be seeing Alex again—which should make a few of you very happy ;) His feelings for Dez are still there—as are her lack of feelings for him.
We’ll also meet two of my favorite new Sixes. Aubrey and Able. Goth twins who work for Cross and give new, creepy meaning to the term yin and yang.
Q. What's on your reading list this summer?
OMG. There’s so many awesome things coming out!
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Inbetween by Tara Fuller
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout
Before I wake Rachel Vincent
Flawed by Kate Avelynn
Seriously…I could go on and on… And on and on and on and… You get the point.
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.
Entangled Publishing has generously offered once copy of either Untouched or Touch to one lucky winner.
Open internationally
Giveaway ends April 28th
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter
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