Cover Reveal- Darker Days (Darker Agency #1) by Jus Accardo and an Excerpt!

Hey y’all! I’m really excited for this book! I love Jus’s Denazen series and I know this one is going to rock as well! So without further ado I give you the cover, synopsis, and an excerpt from DARKER DAYS!

Darker Days (Darker Agency, #1)

Jus Accardo

Release Date: August 2013

Publisher: Entangled DigiTeen

Goodreads

Jessie Darker goes to high school during the day, but at night she helps with the family investigation business. Cheating husbands and stolen inheritances? They’re your girls—but their specialty is a bit darker. Zombie in your garage? Pesky Poltergeist living in your pool? They’ll have the problem solved in a magical minute. For a nominal fee, of course...

When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case—until the truth comes out. The box is full of Sin.

Seven deadly ones, in fact.

They’ve got five days to recapture the Sins before they're recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. Easy peasy—except for one thing...

There’s a spell that will allow the Sins to remain free, causing chaos forever. When the key ingredient threatens the life of someone she knows, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family—or lose everything. 

 And here’s the excerpt!

Excerpt

“So not your biggest fan at the moment,” I said, closing the office door behind me. The runofffrom my jeans had soaked my sneakers pretty good. With each step, I gave a slight squishing noise accompanied by an annoying squeak against the old tile floor.

From across the room, Mom stared. “What happened to you?”

           

“It attacked me.” Tossing my bag on the couch, I sank into her chair and made sure to grind my butt into the cushion. Got it nice and wet. I was all about sharing the love—and right now, the love was soggy.

          

She laughed, waving a folder in my direction. “Surely you’re overreacting. It was one little zombie. They don’t attack people.”

            

“I’m serious, Ma. It tried to drown me. And the client assaulted me with ugly footwear. As far as punishments go, I’d say we’re probably square. I’ve learned my lesson.”

            

“You’re serious?” Amused expression now replaced by concern, she crossed the room and leaned over her desk to get a better look at me.

            

“As a coronary.” Once I was sure the chair had sponged up all it could, I stood and huffed past her. Pulling at my favorite T-shirt—the word Fate inside a blood red heart, is a four letter word on the back—I said, “Child welfare would not be happy to hear you tried to feed your only child to a walking corpse…”

“But why would it attack? Did you provoke it?” Folding her arms, she frowned. “Insult it, perhaps?”

            

I winked at her. “Provoke it? Sure. I went and wiggled my ass in front of it yelling lunch just to see what’d happen.” I’d called it Stinky, but that didn’t count as an insult. Something couldn’t be considered an insult if it was true, right?

            

Right eyebrow twitching, she fought against a smile. “But you’re okay, right? No bites, broken bones, head injuries, possessions…?”

I smiled and did a little twirl. “All in one piece and still me.”

Mom had a checklist she went through at the end of each job. I was known for taking almost as much damage as I inflicted.

“Oh, and you’re probably going to get a call from the client. I sorta smashed her fence in the process.”

            

Mom groaned. “I told you to be more careful.”

            

“It’s not like I tried to break anything.”

            

“Something tells me you didn’t try hard enough not to break anything, either.”

            

“In my defense, it wasn’t a simple trap and slap…”

            

“We can’t afford this.” She reached down and pulled a white envelope out from under a stack of papers. “This is the bill for that Mercedes you smashed.”

            

“Oh! So not my fault. How was I supposed to know that Spring Heel was gonna land on the car? If it makes you feel any better, I think he was aiming for my head…”

            

“If you keep this up, we won’t even be able to afford the rent.”

            

She was right, of course, and it made me feel horrible. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m a wrecking ball wrapped in blue jeans. Take my cut of this job and put it toward the repairs. Keep my paycheck for the next month, too.” A good start, but it didn’t feel like enough. Sure, it would cover the damages—I hoped—but I felt guilty about upsetting her. The bills that were piling up kept her awake at night. This was only going to make things worse. We got a fair amount of business, but the overhead in our line of work was sky high.

As much as I hated the idea, I knew what would cheer her up. “I’ll even throw in pet possessions for the next month.”

About Jus Accardo

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing. Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing and is currently working on the first book in a new adult series due out summer 2013. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

Where you can find Jus Accardo

Website/Blog/Twitter/Facebook

So what do you think? Are you excited for DARKER DAYS? I know I sure am!

Authors Are Rockstars: Jus Accardo Top Ten Guest Post + Giveaway

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Why is Jus Accardo a Rocktar Author to me? Well, she wrote one of my very favorite books of 2011, Touch. And…she makes me want to read about Kale over and over again. But that’s not all…she also wrote an awesome novella called Untouched, as well plus there’s a sequel called Toxic coming out later this year.

Oh, there’s more…one of the things that make Jus a total ROCKSTAR to me is that she agreed to do a Skype chat with the Teen Book Club I run out of my local library. I was totally stoked not only for myself but for the teens that attended. They got to ask her a bunch of questions about her writing process and of course about her books and the characters she has created. She was so sweet and amazing during the whole thing. The library was so impressed that they ordered several copies of Touch for the library system.

So I’ll stop blathering on and on about how great Jus is and get to her awesome guest post, well actually...it’s Kale who’s doing the Top Ten post so read on…

I was asked to come here today and talk about Dez. To tell everyone the top ten things I love about her. Alex heard I was doing this and said something about a sonnet, or a poem—ode to Dez… I’m not sure if he was serious—or just being a douche-bag, as Dez calls him—but I’m just going to tell you what I love about her in the simplest words. These aren’t really the top ten because I don’t know that I could narrow it down. I love everything about Dez.

Except when she cracks her neck.

I hate that sound.

1. Her smile. Her smile is the thing that lights the dark in my world. I see it each time I close my eyes, and when I’m feeling angry or weak, it’s the thing that grounds me. There’s nothing like it. If you don’t believe me, just look—but don’t get any ideas. She’s with me.

2. Her strength. I have never met another person with as much inner strength as Dez. She’s determined and brave. Her whole life was turned upside down when she met me, and she didn’t let it stop her. She took control over the situation and made it her own. That girl can do anything she sets her mind to.

3. Her loyalty. Dez will go to the ends of the earth for those she loves. I’ve seen this first hand. She did the unthinkable for me. She infiltrated the one place in the world she should have stayed as far from as possible, putting her life on the line to help me.

4. The way she talks in her sleep. She denies it, but I’ve heard her do it. *looks to the right, then to the left* She hates the word, but it’s cute. The first time I heard her do it was over the summer when we went to find the Sixes on her cousin Brandt’s list. She was having an argument with a spider. Or someone named Spider. I can’t be sure…

5. The way she kisses me when we— *blushes* Never mind. I’m not supposed to talk about that…

6. She sees me. In all my life, there’s never been another person who looks at me the way Dez does. She says she sees through my outside and into me. Who I am. This scares me because I know who I am—and I can’t imagine someone as wonderful as her looking at me the way she does. But I won’t lie. I love it.

7. The way she talks. I don’t always understand the things she says, but I love it anyway. Or maybe it’s just her voice. Simply the sound of it calms the chaos and darkness that churns in my gut sometimes.

8. I love it when she— *frowns* Hmm. That’s probably off limits, too—which, to be honest, I don’t understand. Something so amazing shouldn’t be kept a secret…

9. The way she ignores my obvious faults. When everyone else was afraid of me, Dez looked me straight in the eye. But it’s not only that. It’s the way she overlooks the things other people find disturbing. Like my lack of social skills, or my habit of saying exactly what’s on my mind—something I’m told isn’t always a good thing. But most of all, my ability. Dez has never made me feel like I needed to be segregated. When I’m with her, I feel like a normal person and not a killer.

10. The way she bites her lip. This is a tricky one because Dez swears she doesn’t do this. She insists she hates people who do. But I’ve seen her. When she’s angry or deep in thought, she chews on the bottom right corner of her lip. I don’t mind. It makes me think about kissing her.

Well now I’m sure that if you haven’t read Touch and/or Untouched you are now dying to read them both. Plus I’m sure you are dying to add Toxic to your TBR pile. (You can click on the links and they will take you to GR so you can add to your TBR pile)

Synopsis for Touch
"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."

Entangled Publishing has donated an eBook of your choice (Touch or Untouched) and I am donating (2) signed Touch postcards, so enter in the rafflecopter below for your chance to win.

Need to know Giveaway Deets: 

• US and International
• Must be at least 13 years old
• Two winners (One winner will get your choice of Touch or Untouched eBook and the other winner will get the two postcards--one for you and one for a friend)
• One entry per household
• Ends on Aug 8, 2012 at 12:01 am

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also be sure to head on over to Fiktshun where Rachel is featuring her ROCKSTAR AUTHOR Karsten Knight!! 

Untouched Blog Tour: Q&A with Jus Accardo plus Giveaway

We are super excited to have the lovely Jus Accardo today on the blog. She’s the author of Touch (a Denazen Series Novel), an absolutely fabulous book that Patricia read last year. Untouched which is a novella from Kale’s POV, will be out on March 27^th  in e-book format. So we’ve asked Jus to answer a few questions and she has kindly agreed to do so. So without further delay here we go…

Jus: Thanks for having me J !

Two Chicks: For those out there who’ve not read Touch, can you tell us what it’s about?

Jus: Short and sweet version: A seventeen year old adrenalin junkie goes on the run with her father’s best assassin, igniting a war between the company that owns him, and a rogue group trying to bring them down.

Two Chicks: How did you decide that you wanted to write a book in the paranormal genre?

Jus: I’ve always loved the paranormal, and I’ve always loved to write. It was a no-brainer. Other than several horse and dog themes stories I wrote as a child (horrible, horrible stories that will forever stay locked away in a box that’s hidden in a lose floor board of a secret room), everything I’ve ever written has been infused with some kind of paranormal. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Two Chicks: What made you want to write Untouched as a novella for this series?

Jus: I really had never given any thought to writing a novella. My editor and agent suggested I do one, and the rest is history!

Two Chicks: And we are so happy that you did! How did you come up with the titles for the Denazen series (Touch, Untouched and Toxic so far)?

Jus: TOUCH was born with the help of my crit partner, Heather. It was originally titled REAPER (those of you who have read it will understand why ;) ) But with so many books floating around at the time it was being queried about reapers, she thought it gave agents the wrong idea—which she was totally right about.

UNTOUCHED was born from the genius of my editor, Liz. She’d asked me for title suggestions and I had nothing. Like, echo in a large stadium kind of nothing. Crickets, dead air, yadda yadda—you get the picture. She suggested UNTOUCHED and it was like, BAM. There it is.

And TOXIC… *huge grin* Toxic just kind of named itself. And it is perfect. Its literal, it’s symbolic… I can’t wait to hear what readers think!

(Two Chicks: We can’t wait to read it!!)

Two Chicks: Who was your favorite character to write and why? Who was your least favorite or gave you the most trouble?

Jus: Dez was my fave to write hands down. She’s everything I wish I’d been at her age. Confident, self reliant, and brave. Writing her was the most fun I’ve had with a character in a long time.

If I had to pick a hardest, I’d have to say writing UNTOUCHED from Kale’s POV gave me the most trouble. And it’s not so much that it was hard… Dez and Kale are so different—which is one of the things I love about them as a couple. But going from Dez to Kale was a bit of a shock to my system. Kale isn’t snarky and views things in a totally different—almost pure—way. It definitely took me a pass or two until I was happy with it.

Two Chicks: Do you ever get writer’s block and if so how do you deal with that?

Jus: It happens—though thankfully not a lot. When I do find my brain all stopped up, I either listen to music or go for a run. Sometimes I bake, but I try to avoid that. It usually involves chocolate cupcakes and I’m the only one who eats chocolate in this house… Do the math… Yeah.

Two Chicks: What are you working on now?

Jus: I’ve just wrapped up the first book in a new series, and now I’m working on the second novella in the Denazen series—which has been SO much fun. It’s about a character who isn’t Dez or Kale. Anyone wanna guess?

Two Chicks: What do you do when you’re not writing?

Jus: I love to cook, and I get out with the dogs and go hiking behind the house whenever the weather allows it. I’m also a huge gamer geek. I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since like right after it came out. :D

We want to know you better questions:

Two Chicks: Do you believe love can last forever?

Jus: I really think it can—if the right two people find each other! I was very lucky, I found my forever person when I was only eighteen.

Two Chicks: If you could learn any language, which would you choose and why?

Jus: I’d learn Italian. I know a few choice words—none of them useable in polite company—and would love to learn more. I have tons of family in Naples and I’d love to go there one day and be able to chit chat :D

Two Chicks: If you could have dinner with any author, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Jus: Hmm. I’m gonna go with Poe. I love the dark stuff and he made such a strong impression on me when I was a kid. I’d love to buy him a sandwich and a beer and pick his brain a bit.

Two Chicks: Who is your favorite cartoon character?

Jus: Stitch!

Two Chicks: What is the last book you read?

Jus: I finished Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones a few weeks ago and I’m currently reading Doubletake by Rob Thurman. (both awesome and you should check them out if you haven’t already!!!)

Two Chicks: Chocolate or vanilla?

Jus: Both—smushed together! Come on, admit it. Everyone loves ice cream soup!

Two Chicks: Breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Jus: Well, I’m allergic to eggs so that limits breakfast, and I’m not usually hungry till after four so definitely dinner.

Two Chicks: Sunrise or sunset?

Jus: You can’t beat facing an awesome sunrise as the day stretches out before you.

Two Chicks: Cats or dogs?

 Jus: Dogs. I’m pro shelter dogs all the way. I have three large, lazy ones of my own and I couldn’t see my life without them! (go out and adopt a dog!)

Untouched 

(A Denazen Novella 1.5)

Author: Jus Accardo

Release Date:  March 27th, 2012

ePub ISBN: 978‐1‐62061‐116‐6

Publisher:  Entangled Publishing

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!). You can pre-order your copy here.

Toxic (Denazen 2) hits shelves on September 11^th 2012

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

If you like to win an e-book of Untouched be sure to enter below: 

Cover Reveal: Untouched by Jus Accardo

So last week we had a cover reveal for Jus Accardo’s sophomore book Toxic which is the sequel to the fantastic novel Touch. You can find Patricia’s review of Touch HERE.

This week we have pleasure of revealing the cover to a new novella that will take place between Touch and Toxic called Untouched. This novella will be from Kale’s point of view and we can’t wait!

Just look at the hottie that graces the cover and if you’ve read Touch you know that it’s not just his looks that make him totally swoon worthy. 

So be sure to add Touch, Untouched and Toxic to your TBR pile today.<-- (these links lead to Goodreads). You can purchase Touch right now in print and ebook format from Barnes and Noble, Amazon or ask for it at your favorite book store. 

Cover Reveal: Toxic by Jus Accardo

We are super excited to be participating in the cover reveal of Toxic, which is the sequel to Jus Accardo's riveting and amazing debut novel Touch. 


I (Patricia) read Touch and found it absolutely fantastic! You can check out the review here. 


Here's a reminder of what the cover for Touch looks like along with the synopsis...

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.

Isn't the guy on the cover just delish? We can't wait to read more about Kale when his new novella, Untouched, comes out. As soon as we know more deets on this we'll let you all know. 


But without further delay here is the cover and synopsis for the next book in The Denazen series, Toxic...


(Be warned: If you haven't read Touch be please be aware that the synopsis for Toxic is a bit spoilery to the first book)

When a Six saved Kale’s life the night of Sumrun, she warned there would be consequences. A trade-off. Something taken for the life they gained. But Dez never imagined she’d lose the one thing she’d give anything to keep… And as if it’s not enough Dez finds her immunity to Kale fading, the Six brought in to help Kale learn to control his killer touch starts drooling on him the moment they meet. Worse than that? Jade can touch Kale. But bimbo Barbie is the least of Dez's problems. After Dez and Kale got away at Sumrun, her father lost not only his most powerful weapon but an important piece of the Supremacy project. Forced by Denazen to remedy the situation, he poisons Dez and offers her a choice—surrender to Denazen for the cure…or die. Determined to find a solution that doesn’t involve being bagged and tagged—or losing someone she loves—Dez keeps the poison a secret. But when a rash of Denazen attacks hit a little too close to home, Dez is convinced there’s a traitor among them. Jade. Sacrifices, broken promises, and secrets. Dez will have to lay it all on the line if there’s any hope of proving Jade’s guilt before they all end up Residents of Denazen. Or worse, dead...

This cover is absolutely gorgeous! The way Dez is pictured here is flirty yet conveys her defiant and kick-a** attitude. The background is pretty cool too and make me wonder how much destruction and chaos we befall Dez, Kale & company. We are very much looking forward to reading this book. You can add Toxic to your reading pile on Goodreads by clicking HERE.