GUEST POST! Jus Accardo author of Touch

My Brain Might Be Broken — But I Like It that Way…

"I'm fine in the fire

I feed on the friction

I'm right where I should be

Don't try and fix me"

--10 Years - Fix Me

A lot of blogs ask authors to talk about writing. Their process, their
inspiration—all of it. How did you this and why did you that. And that’s
all cool. Those questions are awesome and they always interest me in other
writer’s posts, but I have to be honest—I always felt stupid. Don’t get me
wrong—I can answer them most of the time—but I always felt like a hack.

I saw all these other writers talking about their process—the outlining
and the beat sheets and the extensive written background for each
character—and I was sure I’d been doing it wrong. Missing a crucial step
or skipping something that was going to equal big time fail in the end. I
knew a woman two years ago that, when she found out I didn’t plot,
insisted with the passion of a thousand fire ants, that was the reason I
couldn’t sell my book (the one I queried before TOUCH) Granted she’d read
the book, loved it and saw no gaping plot holes or inconsistencies in the
characters, but still. I hadn’t plotted it extensively so that made it an
autofail. If I didn’t outline and plot and spend weeks preparing before I
started writing, I’d never sell a book. (side note – NeeNerNeeNerNeeNer :D
)

For awhile before I started TOUCH, I actually believed her. I spent weeks
trying to do as she did. I wrote up pages of back story for each
character, made a detailed scene outline (or tried to) and plotted all the
major points and plot twists. Then, I started to write.

It. Sucked. Monkey. Ass.

Really. Everything was forced. The plot was predictable and boring. The
characters were cardboard and lacked depth. I spent more time staring
blankly at the screen in a haze than I did getting words out. After two
weeks of writing, I had barely 20k (which is a joke for me) and the
biggest collection of crap I’d ever seen.

And this is when I had an epiphany. To hell with the rest of the world.
Nothing in my life has followed the norm, why should writing be any
different? So my creative process isn’t the same as everyone else’s? Big
deal if my characters form before the plot. So what if my major plot
points and super twists come to me as I’m writing the scene.

Why? Because it works for me. It might seem like the most insane,
crazysauce way to write a book, but it works for me. If you could peek
inside my brain (I don’t advise this, FYI. It's scary in there!) you’d
probably see what looks like a chaotic mess of disorganized insanity—but I
get it. It’s the only way things make sense to me. I’ve got my own way of
doing things, and I’m okay with that now.

Author 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 due out in November 2011 from Entangled Publishing. She is
represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

Touch 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'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. Dez and Kale 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."

Title: Touch by Jus Accardo
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
ePub ISBN: 978-1-937044-44-2
Print ISBN: 978-1-937044-45-9
Release Date: November 1, 2011

Buy Links:

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Touch-Denazen-Novel-Book-1/dp/1937044459/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1320098205&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/touch-jus-accardo/1105812249?ean=9781937044459&itm=1&usri=touch%2bby%2bjus%2baccardo

Website: http://www.jusaccardo.com/

Blog: http://www.jusaccardo.com/category/blog/