December 16, 2015

Blog Tour: Come Back to Me by Mila Gray – Interview and Giveaway

Hello readers!  Welcome to our Tour Stop for

Come Back to Me by Mila Gray

hosted by Xpresso Book Tours!

We are so thrilled to have Mila on the blog tour for a quick Q&A.

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

In this heart-wrenching tale of love and loss, a young Marine and his best friend’s sister plunge into a forbidden love affair while he’s home on leave.

When a Marine Chaplain knocks on her door, Jessa’s heart breaks—someone she loves is dead. Killed in action, but is it Riley or Kit? Her brother or her boyfriend…

Three months earlier, Marine Kit Ryan finds himself back home on leave and dangerously drawn to his best friend Riley’s sister, Jessa—the one girl he can’t have. Exhausted from fighting his feelings, Kit finally gives in, and Jessa isn’t strong enough to resist diving headfirst into a passionate relationship.

But what was just supposed to be a summer romance develops into something far greater than either of them expected. Jessa’s finally found the man of her dreams and Kit’s finally discovered there’s someone he’d sacrifice everything for.

When it’s time for Kit to redeploy, neither one is ready to say goodbye. Jessa vows to wait for him and Kit promises to come home to her. No matter what.

But as Jessa stands waiting for the Marine Chaplain to break her heart, she can’t help but feel that Kit has broken his promise…

Riley or Kit? Kit or Riley? Her brother or her boyfriend? Who’s coming home to her?

Thanks so much for taking the time and spending time with us here at Chapter by Chapter!

Thanks so much for having me! I’m so happy that Come Back To Me is finally out in the US!

Describe your book in 140 characters or less (like a Tweet)

Secret lovers Jessa and Kit are torn apart when he is deployed overseas alongside her brother. But when only one comes back there’s heartbreak. Can there also be a new beginning?

What was your inspiration for writing this book?  Was it in a dream? A thought while taking a walk?

I actually write young adult fiction for Simon & Schuster under the name Sarah Alderson. And in the UK Pan Macmillan asked me to write something for a slightly older audience. I came up with the idea for Come Back To Me quite quickly. I wanted to root it in a world I already knew, so I set it in the same location as my first book Hunting Lila (close to San Diego). I also wanted to write about war and the impact it has not just on those who are in the armed forces but on those left behind.

I knew I wanted to start the book from the mid-point and then flash back. So you know in the first page that someone has died but you don’t find out who until much later so we feel the trauma that Jessa the main character goes through that much more.

Tell us about the main character(s).

The book is told from two points of view: Jessa and Kit, in alternating chapters. I really enjoy writing male POV and this way I got to take the book outside of Jessa’s reality and into Kit’s when he goes to war.

Jessa is 18, sweet, smart but living under the rule of her father who suffers from PTSD. It’s made her a shell of herself, nervous and on edge. She’s focussed on not rocking the boat. Part of her journey is about learning to follow her own path, not her father’s and to get the strength to stand up for herself and her dreams.

Kit is 21 and her brother’s roguish best friend. He’s a Marine and back from a tour he finally pursues Jessa who he has had a crush on for a while. Kit is sensitive (he’s grown up with 4 older sisters), kind, daring and dashing and an amazing cook too. He’s also wildly in love with Jessa and would do anything to make her happy and protect her from her father.

Do you have a favorite quote or specific part in the book that you really love?

It’s a really heartbreaking book and I know most people say they had to have tissues at the ready. I really enjoyed writing the part when tragedy occurs. Getting under the skin of the characters and feeling their grief, confusion and loss was emotionally exhausting but I think it paid off on the page. My biggest compliment was from an army wife who said it captured everything really well.

Was there a specific part in the book that you had an especially difficult time writing?  If so, why?

The sex scenes weren’t difficult to write but I did have to put out of my head the knowledge that my parents would probably read them. That’s embarrassing!

What sort of projects do you have going on right now.  Any new books coming out?

My second Mila Gray book was just published in the UK along with my first non-fiction book Can We Live Here? Which is a book all about how I quit my job and travelled the world and became an author.

My first book is in development as a movie and casting at the moment so I’ve been busy working on the screenplay of that, and another of my books The Sound, is also in development with a broadcaster here in the UK.

I’ve been doing a lot more screenwriting than books this year but I’m hoping to get back to books in 2016! It’s just difficult knowing what story to focus on next!

It was great having you on the blog today!  We hope you’ll decide to stop by again someday, and we wish you much success!!

Thank you!

About Mila Gray

Mila Gray is the pen name for Sarah Alderson, author of Hunting Lila, Losing Lila, The Sound, Fated and Out of Control.

Originally from London she has lived in Bali for the last four years with her husband and daughter.

As well as writing young adult fiction under the name Sarah Alderson and adult fiction under the name Mila Gray, she also writes screenplays.

You can find out more at www.milagray.com and on facebook: www.facebook.com/sarahjalderson

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