Blog Tour: Character Interview with Mila from If You Stay - By: Courtney Cole + A GIVEAWAY!!!

Title: If You Stay (Beautifully Broken #1)
Author: Courtney Cole
Publisher: Lakehouse Press, 220 Pages (February 5th, 2013)
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis: 24-year old Pax Tate is an asshole.

Seriously.

He’s a tattooed, rock-hard bad-boy with a bad attitude to match.

But he’s got his reasons.

His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with guilt although he doesn't understand why. What he does know is that he and his dad are left alone and with more issues than they can count.

As Pax grew up, he tried to be the kid his father always wanted; the perfect golden boy, but it didn't work. His dad couldn't overcome his grief long enough to notice and Pax couldn't keep up the impossible perfect façade.

So he slipped far, far from it.

Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the ugliness, the black void that he doesn't want to deal with. If he pretends that the emptiness isn't there, then it isn't, right?

Wrong.

And it’s never more apparent than when he meets Mila.

Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air to his hardened frown, the beauty to his ugly heart. He doesn't know how to not hurt her, but he quickly realizes that he’s got to figure it out because he needs her to breathe.

When memories of his mother’s death resurface from where he’s repressed them for so long, Mila is there to catch him when the guilt starts making sense. Mila is the one…the one who can save him from his broken troubled heart; from his issues, from the emptiness.

But only if he can stop being an asshole long enough to allow it.

He knows that. And he’s working on it.

But is that enough to make her stay?

Character Interview -

Mila, thanks for hanging out with us today and taking the time to answer a few questions.

Thank you so much for having me!

So, how does it feel to have everyone reading about your story?

It’s a bit unnerving.  It makes me feel a bit vulnerable, I guess.  Our story is so personal…it will be interesting to see what people think of it.

What’s one important thing you've learned throughout your journey?

That people really can change…if they want to.  They always say that people can’t truly change, but they can if the will to change is there.  They have to actually want to change and that is sort of rare.  But if the desire and will is there, it can be done.

Can you tell us about that first time you “met” Pax? I was scared while reading it, I can’t imagine being in your shoes.
Girl, I was terrified.  But it was like my body was moving on its own accord.  Before I could even think, I was in motion.  Thankfully.  If I’d had a second to think about it, I might have frozen up and not done what needed to be done.

Can you describe Pax from the beginning of the book in three words?

Damaged.  Reckless.  Vulnerable.

I know art is a huge part of who you are and your life, can you tell us what you’re working on right now?

I always have several projects going at a time.  And most of them involve Lake Michigan.  However, I do have a painting of Pax in progress.  I’ve been working on it for awhile, but we always get distracted when he poses for me.  He and I have a thing for paint….

How about a few quick fire questions so readers have a chance to get to know a few things about you that they might not know?

Cake or Pie?  Pie.
Painting or drawing? Painting.
Coffee or Hot Chocolate?  My sister makes a mean Italian hot chocolate.
Winter or Summer?  Winter.
Favorite time of day? Night.
Favorite Holiday?  Thanksgiving.
What did you have for breakfast today?  Leftover pizza and coffee.
Favorite movie?  The Notebook
Favorite book?  Anna Karenina
Favorite music?  All of it

Without giving away any spoilers, can you tell us what’s next for you? Any chance we might find out what happens after the end of If You Stay?

You will definitely find out a bit more.  Apparently, there’s going to be a companion novel to If You Stay, titled If You Leave. It will follow my sister Madison.  I think you’re going to like my sister’s story.  She’s pretty amazing.  And feisty.   You’ll see a bit more of Pax and me, too.

Mila, thanks again for visiting with us! It’s been great to getting to know you a bit better.

Thank you so much for having me!  It was a pleasure.

About Courtney:

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could. She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds. She loves chocolate and roller coasters and hates waiting and rude people.

Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.

Find Courtney Online:

Website/Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Order If You Stay Online:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

GIVEAWAY!!!!

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