YADP Post: Come Back To Me by Coleen Patrick

Young Adult Debut Promotions (YADP) is a post I do to help out debut authors, and to get them noticed.  My posts will definitely include a feature of the book, a feature of the author, and a giveaway, with an interview, guest post, or excerpt optional.  If you would like more information about YADP click here and scroll down until you come to the section talking about it.

Today I am featuring...


Coleen Patrick
And she will be doing an interview, excerpt, and giveaway!

~The Book~

Come Back To Me

by Coleen Patrick

Release Date: March 4, 2013

by Self Published

Goodreads / Purchase

Whitney Denison can’t wait to start over.

She thought she had everything under control, that her future would always include her best friend Katie… Until everything changed.

Now her life in Bloom is one big morning after hangover, filled with regret, grief, and tiny pinpricks of reminders that she was once happy. A happy she ruined. A happy she can’t fix.

So, she is counting down the days until she leaves home for Colson University, cramming her summer with busywork she didn’t finish her senior year, and taking on new hobbies that involve glue and glitter, and dodging anyone who reminds her of her old life.

When she runs into the stranger who drove her home on graduation night, after she’d passed out next to a ditch, she feels herself sinking again. The key to surviving the summer in Bloom is unraveling whatever good memories she can from that night.

But in searching for answers, she’ll have to ask for help and that means turning to Evan, the stranger, and Kyle, Katie’s ex-boyfriend. Suddenly, life flips again, and Whitney finds herself on not only the precipice of happy but love, too, causing her to question whether she can trust her feelings, or if she is falling into her old patterns of extremes.

As she uncovers the truth about her memories, Whitney sees that life isn’t all or nothing, and that happy isn’t something to wait for, that instead, happy might just be a choice.

~Author Interview~



1.Why did you decide to become a writer?

The idea of being a writer took on great importance in the fourth grade. J That’s when my teacher read a short story of mine to the class. She also gave me a pin that said, “I am an author.” I still have it. But, it wasn’t until five years ago that I decided I really wanted writing to be more than a hobby. I lost my brother the year before, and that was a reminder for me that life’s too short—I had to go for my dreams.

2. Who were your biggest influences?

Reading has always been one of my favorite things. When I was younger, I read every teen book or series I could find at the library, and spent a lot of babysitting money at the bookstore.  Judy Blume probably influenced me the most. Now, I am also inspired by John Green, Sarah Dessen, Laurie Halse Anderson, Susan Beth Pfeffer…I could go on!

3. Where do you like to write?

I have an office. I don’t sit at my desk, though. Instead, I have a  comfy chair in the corner that faces a window. Sometimes I have to close the window shade so I don’t start staring outside, but I put a big dandelion decal on the inside of the shade to remind me what I’m doing. Underneath the dandelion, it says, “Wishes.”

4. Do you have a special routine you like to do before you write?

Drink coffee, and then turn off the internet.

5. When and how did you get the idea for COME BACK TO ME?

The idea first came to me more than two years ago. I was driving (this seems to be an idea generator for me), and Pink’s song, Sober, was on the radio. I pictured a guy and a girl in a car. All I knew in that moment was that she was confused, but projecting a tough exterior—and this guy, who seemed to be a stranger, calls her out, gets her to think about things she’d been avoiding. The story evolved over the next couple of years, but there is an important scene between Whitney and Evan that takes place while he’s driving. It’s a nod to that first glitter speck of idea.  

6. Is there another book in the works? If so, what can we expect?

Yes! My next book is already with my editor.  I’m hoping it will be out by the end of the summer. The main character’s name is Grace. She’s almost sixteen, and the great thing about writing her story is that she’s funny. The book is about friendship, family, and how she deals with falling in love with her best friend.

THIS OR THAT

1. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Dark.

2.Cats or dogs?

Dogs, probably, but I don’t have furry pets. Yet. J

3. Hardcover, paperback or ebook?

I think I still prefer a hard copy, but ebook is a very, very close second.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE...

1. Movie?

So hard to choose! I will go with an older one, When Harry Met Sally, because I find myself quoting it a lot.

2. Ice cream flavor?

Vanilla with peanut butter and chocolate mixed in.

3. Animal?

Any baby animal.

4. Book?

Paper Towns by John Green

5. Actor and actress?

I will see any movie that has Reese Witherspoon in it.

6. Fictional character?

Quentin Jacobsen from Paper Towns.

~Excerpt~

55 days.

What if Colson isn’t the answer?

I ignored the thought and continued to face the liquor cabinet, the bottles shifting into pairs as my vision glazed over.

A tiny frisson of cold moved from my heel and up my spine to prickle at my scalp.  I pictured my newly short hair standing on end, like hundreds of tiny spikes framing a carrot-orange cartoon sun. 

I froze, avoiding my reflection in the mirror-backed wall of the cabinet.  The tingling returned. Was someone behind me?

I dropped my head.  My heart pounded under my chin.  My bangs curtained my face, but I took in my shoes, the floor, the craft store bag, fur . . . wait, fur?

I turned around and sighed.  “Bug.”

She stared at me, still, as if she too saw a ghost.  Her fur stood up in tufts and shocks around her head, but that was just Bug.  Imperfect breed, imperfect hair.  Not that Bug knew that.  According to her, she was a purebred.  She didn’t seem to know that the pretty auburn and dark brown coat around her head faded to an almost dirty white on her back and legs, or that her slim build didn’t match her squashed up face, or that she had a funny name, or that she was the result of a full pedigree/mutt hook up.  She’d never believe any of it.

I shook my head, pushing my fingertips into my eyebrows. 

“What are you doing, Bug?” My mom wasn’t home. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her without my mom. 

Bug walked to the craft bag and sniffed.  She sat down in front of it. 

“There’s nothing for you in there.”  I picked up the bag and headed for the stairs.  Bug’s tiny but imperious steps followed.

I turned around.  “Do you need to go outside?”

If a dog could roll her eyes, she would’ve.  I swore she looked insulted, as if she didn’t have a paper-lined crate in the laundry room. 

“Are you hungry?”

Bug ignored me, pushing her nose into my bag.  She wouldn’t come to me for food anyway.  My mom’s culinary skills were what turned her from my shelter rescue into my mom’s sidekick.  Whatever.  Glitter was the only thing on my agenda right now.

            The air conditioning turned on, and I jumped, catching my reflection in the mirror again. I frowned and moved to close the liquor cabinet doors.

            A crazy but funny idea popped into my head—me covering all the bottles with glue and glitter.  I looked at Bug.  As if she could read my mind, she cocked her head.  “I’m just saying it would be hilarious to see their reaction.”

            I imagined my dad pouring himself a drink out of a sparkly, fuchsia Jameson bottle—right into a matching bejeweled highball glass.  Except the enjoyment would only last for a split second, just like the first hit of alcohol.  Yes, I wanted that initial sense of relief, the momentary lapse in emptiness.

Until tomorrow, when I’d have to start all over again. 

I swallowed.  Glitter.  I shifted all my focus to glitter. 

 



~Giveaway~

There will be 5 winners

~Giveaway ends on March 23, 2013 @ 12:00 A.M.

~This giveaway is INT

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Get to Know Coleen Patrick~

Bio:

Coleen Patrick grew up in New Jersey, Virginia, Michigan, Louisiana, and Indiana. Always being the new kid, she learned that books and friends are precious—and dessert. She never met a dessert she didn’t like (except for flan).

When she’s not writing, reading (or avoiding flan), she enjoys TV, arts and crafts, quoting movies, and trying to take cool photos.

She lives in Virginia with her husband and two kids. 

Connect:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Pinterest

Thank you so much Coleen for stopping by today!  It was a blast to have you on the blog!!!

Thanks for checking out this post!  If you could share it with a friend that would be really great.  The whole point of this post was to get an awesome debut author noticed, so if you could help that would be awesome!