I am thrilled to have author Jus Accardo with me today. She is the author of Touch (review here), which is a fantastic new young adult paranormal book. The book is on shelves now, so make sure you check it out. Now, onto the interview!
A Bookworm’s Haven (ABWH): Can you start out by telling us a little bit about Touch for those who might not have read it yet?
Jus Accardo (JA): TOUCH is about a seventeen year old girl who will go to extreme lengths to irritate her father. When she runs into a strange boy on the way home from a party one night, she sees an opportunity to do just that but bringing him home ends up turning her entire world inside out. Here is the official blurb:
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 is 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 is 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.
(ABWH): What was your inspiration for writing Touch?
(JA): There was nothing particular. I got the idea for the characters, and the rest kind of unfolded as I went. I was sitting on line waiting for coffee when I got the idea, so if anything like everything else in my life it was inspired by the fierce need for caffeine!
(ABWH): Do you have a favorite scene from Touch? I personally
enjoyed watching Dez try to explain the “birds and the bees” to Kale. 
(JA): That was hysterical to write! I have so many favorites it is impossible to pick. One though, is when Kale is in Dez’s room for the first time. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read yet, but they’re talking, and there are kissies, and the scene ends with a really sweet statement from Kale.
(ABWH): If you could describe Dez and Kale in just three words (each), what would they be?
(JA): For Dez, I think it would be loyal, fearless, and independent. For Kale, I think dangerous, survivor, and intense.
(ABWH): In Touch, you have characters called “Sixes” that have special abilities. If you discovered that you were a Six, what ability would you like to have?
(JA): I’d love to be able to talk to animals. I’ve always wondered what my dogs were thinking when just sit there and stare. Teleporting would be awesome, too. Confession: I’m terrified of flying. The ability to just pop anywhere would expand my travel abilities. 
(ABWH): Touch is the first book in this series. Are you a plotter and know the path this story will take? Or do you write and see where the story takes you next without planning it out?
(JA): So not a plotter. I get an idea and go with it. When I started TOUCH, I had no clue where it was going. The characters pretty much wrote the story. I’ve tried to plot in the past, it really screws me up.
(ABWH): What types of books do you like to read in your free time? Are there any authors/series that you must have when they come out?
(JA): I devour paranormal and urban fantasy. I love a good thriller, too. Rob Thurman, Kelley Armstrong, Lili St. Crow, Dean Koontz… Way too many to list. All I can say is, thank God for my nook. We were in serious danger of being run out of the house by my books.
(ABWH): In the back of your book it mentions that you were accepted into the Culinary Institute of America. That is a big accomplishment! You declined however, to pursue writing as a career. Was being a writer something you always wanted to do or did you decide after being accepted?
(JA): It was always going to be food or fiction for me. When I was a kid, I was either in the kitchen with my grandfather or in a corner somewhere with my nose in a book. I’d always leaned more toward writing, but ended up applying to the CIA because it was the more practical of the two. In the end though, writing won. I’ve never once regretted my choice.
(ABWH): Can you share what you are working on right now?
(JA): Right now I’m bouncing between editing the second book in the Denazen series, TOXIC, and wrapping a novella set to come out between books 1 and 2. Hint for all the Kale lovers out there, it’s in his POV.
(ABWH): Do you have anything you would like to add?
(JA): Thanks for having me today! This was a blast
If you want to learn more about Jus you can find her on her website here, her twitter account here, her blog here or her facebook account here. And be sure to check out her book Touch!
Great interview! I’m really looking forward to reading “Touch”