BooksChatter: ℚ♫ Released: The Eternal Balance [3]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Jus Accardo to talk about Released (28 March 2016, Entangled: Embrace, 200 pages), a New Adult Paranormal Romance, book three, the final part of The Eternal Balance series.

Author Q&A | Synopsis | Teaser | The Series | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

A very warm welcome to Jus Accardo; thank you for joining us on BooksChatter.

As we love music, Jus has shared with us her music playlist for Released, and it's a nice and heavy one - enjoy!

What was the inspiration for Released?

"The basis for this series came from a conversation with a friend about the story of Cain and Abel. After that it just kind of took on a life of its own.

The hard-core demon aspect came a bit later, after talking about it over breakfast with my editor. The idea was actually originally slated to be a YA, but thankfully we went the NA route. I don’t think I would have had as much fun with Jax’s character if we hadn’t."

Orazio Riminaldi, "Cain and Abel", 17th Century

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I really think there are little bits of me in all my books and characters. It’s not something I plan, but I’m pouring my heart and soul into these books so I kind of think it’s just inevitable. I find that a lot of my characters have that sort of sarcastic wit, and that is totally me."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Released - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"Unless you’re self-published, most authors don’t have much say in their covers. Entangled is amazing, and I think if I really hated something, they’d work to tweak it, but I’ve never had an issue with any of my covers. This particular one in the series was made by the awesome Curtis Svehlak!"

Why should we read Released and what sets it apart from the rest?

"Well, there’s not a lot of paranormal NA. (I would LOVE to see more!) Sam is a strong, independent woman who knows exactly what she wants—and goes after it. As for Jax, he’s obviously got some issues, yanno, having a demon inside and all, but I think that’s what makes him so interesting."

Yeah, I can see that would!

Can you tell us something quirky about Released, its story and characters?

"Well, it’s loosely based on the story of Cain and Abel—which was so much fun to do. Also, having essentially two characters bumping around in the same body was pretty awesome.

Jax and Azi are like two different characters, yet at the same time, they’re so twisted up in each other, sometimes it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. It makes for some interesting/emotional/funny scenes!"

Who would you recommend Released to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"I’d say anyone who loves flawed characters would love this series. No one is perfect and they make mistakes and I love that about them.

Jax has a mouth on him. He’s pretty vocal, but again, demon. They don’t generally put dimes into the swear jar ;)"

If you could / wished to turn Released and the The Eternal Balance series into a movie, who would be your dream team?

"Honestly, I’ve only given thought to this regarding the 4 main characters (and technically it would be 3 people because 2 are twins):

Marlon Teixeira would be Jax (and Chase)
Kaya Scodelario would make the perfect Sam
And the ONLY one in my mind who could play Heckle would be Ryan Reynolds

If anyone is interested, here’s the pinterest board for the series (with awesome Marlon pics ;) )"

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular New Adult Paranormal Romance or do you like to explore different ones?

"I’m a big fan of reading paranormal, but anything with a good story and characters who have complicated lives/relationships work for me.

As for writing, I pretty much love to go with whatever story is in my head and in my heart at the time. There was a point I swore I’d never write a contemp. I was wrong. Same thing with sci-fi. Now my first sci-fi is out the end of the year and I’m finding that I am totally in love with the genre."

What is your writing process?

"Honestly, I don’t think I have a set process anymore. Or, at least not at the moment. The past year and change has been hard. My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and underwent extensive treatment. My routine, my process, pretty much went out the window. I was working in weird places, at weird times. Everything was jumbled. We’re all slowly creeping back to normal, so maybe I’ll rediscover it. Or, maybe I’ll come up with something new."

We are very sorry to hear that and extend our best wishes to all of your family. To everything getting back to normal and better as soon as possible! :-)

What is in store next?

"This wraps up the Eternal Balance series, though I think I’d love to do a side book about Azi at some point…

Next up I have a YA sci-fi. It’s due out the end of the year."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

"I actually have several dogs, but my Akita, Rudy, is generally the one who sticks by my side at all times. Like, really. At. All. Times. I haven’t taken a solo shower since we brought her home from the pound a few years ago… ;)"

Hey gorgeous Rudy! Lots of cuddles to you from us at BooksChatter! :-D
Thank you for sharing Rudy with us. The shower story makes me laugh - two of our cats are our constant bathroom companions: Fixy and Kahlua. Animals are so wonderful :-)

We hope you are having a great release month and tour!