Hi guys,
I just wanted to let you know that we’re having a bit of technical difficulties with re-distributing IF YOU STAY globally. I am very thankful for your patience. We’re working hard to get the issue resolved. Hopefully, it will all be cleared up by Monday and IF YOU STAY will be live on global Amazon platforms.
Thank you again for your patience- and I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
You guys… I’m so excited today. Today is the day when Grand Central Publishing is re-releasing IF YOU STAY. Eeeepp. The new version will contain never-before-seen bonus material, a preview of the second book in the series (IF YOU LEAVE) AND it will be $.99 for a limited time. So, if you’ve already bought the original version and you’d like to read the bonus content ( the wedding night scene from Pax’s point of view), you can pick it up HERE for under a buck. (And HERE for Barnes and Noble).
Also, this is a frequently asked question lately— If you’ve purchased the original version of IF YOU STAY, the new version won’t automatically update on your kindle because the title has changed hands (from mine to Grand Central’s). I’m sure that’s one of the reasons that Grand Central is pricing it at $.99 for a short time– to give you a chance to re-purchase it at a low price if you’d like to read the bonus material. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience.
But anyway, to celebrate the awesomeness of the re-release, we’ve got some cool stuff going on. Let’s start with the giveaway. I’m giving away a custom-made IF YOU STAY charm bracelet and an e-copy (Kindle or Nook) of the new edition of IF YOU STAY.
To win, go HERE and enter via Rafflecopter. It will give you a few things to do that you can choose from (Following me on Twitter, tweeting a specific tweet, etc).
Also… Grand Central is hosting an awesome poster design contest. I’m not sure what all we’ll use the winning poster for, but I’m sure it will get a lot of exposure on several different websites. If you’re an artist of any kind, be sure to check this out! I can’t wait to see the winning entry!! Eeeepppppp!
Anyway. I want to thank you, my amazing and awesome readers, because you’ve been with me every step of this amazing journey. This year has been awesome already- and I can’t wait to see what the rest of it holds! 
You guys… so, as I announced already, Grand Central Publishing is going to re-release IF YOU STAY. And the re-release day is tomorrow! Eeeppppp!
I’m going to post again tomorrow with the details, but just know that we’re going to do some pretty fun things tomorrow in celebration. AND, the new re-release version of IF YOU STAY will contain never before seen bonus material. ANDDDD, Grand Central is going to have IF YOU STAY on sale for a limited time for $.99. I’m so excited about that.
So… stay tuned for more tomorrow!!
Hey guys,
I’m sorry that I’ve been so absent lately. I’ve been buried in my writing cave finishing up IF YOU LEAVE. And… the rough draft is finished! Eeeppppp!
To celebrate, I’m putting IF YOU STAY on sale next week. It will be $.99 all week long! Yayyy!! It’s also kind of celebration– because Grand Central will be re-releasing it on April 16. So I figured what better what to send it off than to put it on sale.
Anyway, you can find it here on Amazon and here on B&N. If you haven’t read it and you’ve always wanted to, now’s the perfect time.
Have a great Sunday!
I’m really horrible at keeping secrets- and this one has been a big, huge doozy. I’ve almost imploded a dozen times already- so I’m happy to say that I can finally announce my news now. Whew!
I’m very excited to announce that my book, IF YOU STAY (and the two books following it in the Beautifully Broken series) have been picked up by Forever, which is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing (Hachette).
–>> –>> insert crazy laughter, swooning, running in circles, then dropping on the floor in exhaustion <– <—-
What does this mean to me? Well, it means that my series will have the powerhouse backing of Hachette. The distribution will be wider than I could ever have accomplished otherwise, which means that more people will have the opportunity to see and read my books. *has heart palpitations from excitement*
What does this mean to you? Well, that expanded distribution means that when this series comes out in paperback (which will be in summer 2014), you will be able to walk into any bookstore and pluck them off the shelves. Yay!! As an author, that’s so exciting to me. A dream come true, really. It also means that the e-books in this series will be available on all platforms– Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iTunes, Sony… instead of just Kindle and Nook.
The sequel to If You Stay, titled IF YOU LEAVE, will be coming out this fall in e-book form. September, I believe. I’ll announce the exact date when I know it. Then the paperback will follow at a later date. And DID I MENTION IT WILL BE AVAILABLE IN YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE?? *squeals and collapses*
So isn’t this exciting!!?? I would run in circles again, but I’m too tired from the first time. This is all still surreal to me– this entire last month has been a crazy whirlwind of awesome.
Seeing my books in bookstores will be a dream come true. Seeing my book on the New York Times bestseller list was another dream come true– and YOU made that happen. I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate each of you. Seriously- I’m so, so thankful for you. And I’m so thankful to my agent, Catherine Drayton for taking me under her wing and to Amy Pierpont from Hachette for seeing potential in my books. *faints*
And I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again- I’m also very thankful to Kelly Simmon, my awesome publicist. Her capable hands guided the release of IF YOU STAY into something more successful than I would ever have dreamed. I’m gonna marry her someday, probably.
So anyway. That’s my news. I’ve got to get back to writing now- I’ve got a deadline to keep. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!
You guys, I have a huge stack of signed postcards sitting on my desk. If you’ve read IF YOU STAY and would like a postcard, just leave a review for If You Stay on Amazon and email me a link to the review (to courtneycolewrites@gmail.com). If you’d prefer a signed bookmark, that’s fine- I have those too. Just tell me in your email which you would prefer.
I know that each and every one of you is a busy person. So to know that you not only take the time to buy and read my book, but then take a couple of extra minutes to leave a review… That just makes my heart melt and I want to do something nice to thank you. I can’t do something huge for each of you, but I can do this. I just want you to know how much I appreciate you.
I fully believe that I have the best readers in the world and there’s not a minute that I’m not thankful for you.
I hope you’re all having a fabulous weekend!!
Hey Everyone,
I’ve been asked a bunch of times now what my playlist was for If You Stay. I don’t actually write with a playlist playing, because I find music distracting while I’m trying to write. But I do listen to playlists while I am plotting. I find that music puts me in the right frame of mind to think about my plot, even if I can’t listen to it when I am actually trying to write the plot down.
The main song that I had on the top of my playlist during If You Stay was The Last Time by Taylor Swift and Gary Lightbody. The words don’t exactly fit the the story of If You Stay, but the tone of the song does. I love it and it put me in the right mood to write more times than I can count.
When I was writing a scene where I was in Pax’s head, particularly the scene from the beginning of the book, I listened to I’ll Be Gone by Linkin Park quite a lot. Something about the words and the tone and the general feel of the song reminded me of Pax.
In the beginning of the story, when Mila first gets to know Pax, there is only one song that came to mind. I knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift.
Another song that I listened to when I got 3/4′s of the way through the book was Kelly Clarkson’s Dark Side.
A song that was brought to my attention by Mandie from IReadIndie was Just Give Me a Reason by Pink and Nate Reuss. The book was already written when I found this song, but it fits it perfectly. And in fact, it also fits book two, If You Leave, so I’m still listening to this song quite a lot.
I think all of these songs perfectly fit the feel of If You Stay and I’m thankful that I had them to listen to.
Also, just wanted to remind you of the Bring Pax Home contest. The first part of the contest will end on Thursday February 28th. Check out the details here on how you can win a necklace like Mila’s. The second part of the contest is on-going. When I reach the top 3 on the Amazon’s bestseller list, I will release a bonus scene from If You Stay…. the wedding night, from Pax’s point of view. I’m itching to let you guys read it, so I hope I hit number 3 soon. Eeepp!!
Anyway, I hope everyone is having an awesome Monday!!
You guys, I was just putting together the books, postcards and bookmarks that I still need to mail out… and I came across an extra paperback of If You Stay that I didn’t know I had. Eeepp!! So obviously, I’m going to sign it and give it away!
All you have to do is tweet this: Come see how badboy Pax learned that Love Never Fails. If You Stay by @Court_Writes. http://ow.ly/hODvX #AmazonTop10 Please RT.
If you don’t have Twitter, that’s fine… you can just share a similar message on Facebook, just be sure to tag me in your post so that I see it.
I’ll draw a random winner tomorrow morning at 11:00 EST.
And because I hate it that everyone can’t win, I will send everyone who participates (and emails their address to me), a signed If You Stay postcard.
Happy Monday, everyone!
So… you guys did it!! You pushed me into the top ten on Amazon. As of this morning, If You Stay is sitting at #9!! (If you’re looking at the product page. If you look at the best-seller’s list, it’s #8!!) Ohmygosh!! I am so grateful to you. Thank you so, so much!!
True to my word, I am posting the deleted scene from IF YOU STAY below. It’s just a small way for me to say THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Please note, I deleted this scene from the book because it is pretty steamy. It is most definitely intended for mature readers. Please don’t read it if you aren’t mature. Haha.
And thank you again, SO MUCH, for being so awesome.
DELETED SCENE– IF YOU STAY
Pax’s eyes are my undoing. They always have been and I’m guessing they always will be. They are so warm right now, warmer than I’ve ever seen them and my legs shake when his hand skims the top of my thigh.
He raises an eyebrow, returning his gaze to the road.
“Hmm. You seem to be a bit bothered, Miss Hill. Any reason why?”
And of course his hand is still moving as he speaks. His fingers have found me now; shoving my panties to the side, plunging inside of me and filling me up. I lean into his hand.
“Not anything in particular,” I manage to answer raggedly. “Not really.”
Pax chuckles and then abruptly withdraws his hand, sliding his index finger into his mouth, licking it clean.
“You taste as sweet as you look, “ he tells me, before he swerves off the highway and into an empty parking lot next to the beach.
He throws the car into park and lunges out his car door. I am bewildered for just a scant moment, until he throws my door open and pulls me out, scooping me into his arms. We are immediately surrounded by the night, by the crash of the waves, by the starlight from overhead. The night feels almost dangerous, just like the night we met.
Before I know it, he is striding down the sand and I am dangling from his arms. I run my fingers along his taut bicep.
“I can walk, you know,” I tell him.
“And I can carry you,” he answers back. “This way, I get to grope your ass.”
He winks down at me and my heart flutters. He isn’t even out of breath.
Ahead of us, rising out of the darkness, sits a darkened building; where the lifeguard stand is and where the restrooms are housed for this beach. There is no one there now and Pax heads immediately for a low ledge that runs along the outside.
He sits me upon it and pushes me backward until I am sprawled in front of him. He pulls off my pants without preamble, and then my shirt. The night air causes goose-bumps to immediately form on my skin.
“I’ve got to taste more of you,” Pax growls as he takes off his shirt and then presses into me, devouring the side of my neck. His warmth is delicious. “I’ve wanted you all day.”
“Someone could see us,” I gasp, as I feel his taut muscles flex into me. “Someone might be here.”
Pax pauses. It is utterly silent, but for the sound of the water and the lonely ring of a bell from a bobbing buoy nearby.
He grins.
“Doubtful. There’s no one here but us.”
That’s probably true. It is almost midnight and it’s not exactly prime beach season.
Pax lifts my thigh, propping it on his shoulder and his head ducks as he brushes his lips along the inside of my leg.
“You smell like vanilla,” he murmurs, his lips grazing my skin. He licks my thigh. “You almost taste like it, too.”
My heart is pounding a million times an hour as his tongue traces a trail up to the juncture of my thighs. I am growing wetter by the moment and it feels scandalous to be doing this outdoors where the stars twinkle overhead and there is nothing preventing anyone from seeing us.
But I don’t care.
I twine my fingers through Pax’s hair and guide his mouth to where I want it to be. He groans at the same moment as I gasp from the raw pleasure.
“Holy shit,” I breathe. I can’t even think straight as he continues to move, as his hands and tongue press into me, stroking me.
I feel like I might die from it.
“You taste so good,” he mutters against me, his lips still on me. “Do you like it as much as I do?”
“God, yes,” I answer, my fingers shaking as I rake them through his hair. “But I want more of you.”
I clutch his shoulders and pull him up toward me…and he comes willingly.
“What do you want?” he asks mischievously, his hazel eyes sparkling wickedly. “Tell me.”
I stare into his eyes. “You,” I whisper. “I want you.”
He grins and then kisses me, his tongue plunging into my mouth. I can taste myself there. I feel his hardness wedged between my legs and I buck against him.
“Please,” I add.
He is moving against me, unfastening his jeans, but then he pauses.
“You have to tell me what you want me to do,” he says hotly, his gaze like liquid amber fire. “Tell me.”
I know exactly what he wants to hear. I reach out to him, running my fingers along the hard length of him, enjoying the way he sucks in his breath when I touch him. He gets even harder beneath my touch.
I stare him in the eye.
“Fuck me,” I tell him. “Fuck me, Pax.”
His eyes are cloudy with desire now, unfocused. Before I know it, he is sliding into me, hard and hot.
Thrust by thrust, we build toward a climax. He is so beautiful. I absorb every expression that passes over his face, memorizing it.
And then….laughter.
Coming from just a short ways away on the beach.
We freeze, utterly unmoving, as we listen.
Someone is talking, having a conversation, probably only thirty or forty yards away. A woman and a man chat and laugh, and I stare into Pax’s eyes.
“Someone’s here,” I whisper, as he remains perched over me. He is buried deep within me, frozen, and even though I should remain still, I can’t help but buck my hips up to meet his.
He stares at me in surprise, then he grins in the night.
“Then you’ll have to be quiet.”
I inhale sharply as he thrusts into me hard, then harder. We can hear the couple on the beach drawing closer and closer to us, and even though we are shrouded in darkness, we know that we could be discovered at any time.
It is unnerving.
And exhilarating.
I clutch at Pax, drawing him as close to me as he can possibly be.
I stare into his gorgeous eyes until he closes them, until he groans and presses into me, shuddering with his release.
I hold him against me, enjoying the feel of his heart beating against mine, absorbing his warmth and his strength.
I keep him there until the couple approaching us is literally feet away, rounding the corner of the lifeguard building. We scramble to our feet, pulling on our underwear as we race away down the beach. I see the startled look on the girl’s face as we pass and I can’t help but laugh as Pax grabs my hand and pulls me with him toward his car.
We collapse inside of it, laughing like maniacs as we pull on the rest of our clothing.
“You’re sexy as hell,” Pax tells me as he fastens his pants and starts up Danger.
“You’re sort of sexy yourself.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Sort of?”
I laugh and sag into his side as he drives, enjoying the way his body feels against mine. As we drive toward Pax’s house, there is only one thing on my mind: What else we will do when we reach his house… or more specifically, his bed.
********
If you haven’t had a chance to read If You Stay yet, you can find it here on Amazon and here on Barnes and Noble. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!! <3
So…. this week has been flooded with amazing, wonderful, overwhelming things. Very amazing, very wonderful and very overwhelming…. and all in a very good way. (Is that too many ‘verys’?)
First– and this is absolutely scream-worthy. As of right this minute, If You Stay is sitting at #16 in the ENTIRE Amazon kindle store. The entire freaking Amazon store!! Holy. Wow. I’ve been in shell-shock all week! It’s sitting at #8 on Barnes and Noble. Double Wow. I am literally floating on air right now.
I am so, so thankful for every single one of you. You have no idea how thankful and grateful I am!! I have been brought to tears many times this week by the messages and tweets and Facebook posts that I have received over this book. So many awesome bloggers have shared and featured If You Stay and so many readers have read it. I am humbled by your responses to it. To say that I am ecstatic over your reception of Pax’s story…. that’s the biggest understatement of my life. Seriously. I can’t express how thankful I am.
So, to try and show you how thankful I am for you and how much I appreciate you, I am going to offer you something…something I never planned on showing anyone because I had decided that it was too steamy to include in If You Stay.
That’s right–I said too steamy. (Is that even a thing???)
I am so very close to reaching the top ten in Amazon. Closer than I’ve ever been or ever thought I’d be. So close I can practically taste it. So this is my offer to you:
If and when I break into the top ten on Amazon, I will post a deleted sex scene from If You Stay here on my blog. A very steamy sex scene of the very R-rated nature that contains of a LOT of Pax yumminess…Pax at his most naughty. I think you will like it. I definitely liked it… the only reason that I only cut it from the book because it was so steamy.
So, please… if you read and loved If You Stay, please help me share it. You can find it on Amazon here and Barnes and Noble here. YOU GUYS are the reason that If You Stay has had the early success that it has. And if it reaches the top ten on Amazon, it will be because of you.
Secondly, and equally important, I have signed with the amazingly awesome literary agent, Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management. Catherine Drayton!! Holy cow. I am beyond confident in her ability to manage the chaos that If You Stay’s release has brought with it. And I am ecstatic to be repped by Catherine. This past week has been a wild ride full of amazing things and I cannot wait to see what else the future brings. Eeeeppp!!
But anyway. Thank you again. I am so hoping that If You Stay reaches the top ten and when it does, I can’t wait to release Pax’s sexy deleted scene right here on my blog.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
I am a novelist who loves thunderstorms, Autumn, Harry Potter books and picking all of the cookie dough out of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.
I am the author of If You Stay (book one of the Beautifully Broken series). I am represented by Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management.
My other books include: The Minaldi Legacy (Of Blood and Bone), The Paradise Diaries (Dante's Girl and Mia's Heart), The Cougar Chronicles (Confessions of an Alli Cat), The Bloodstone Saga (Every Last Kiss, Fated, With My Last Breath and My Tattered Bonds), The Moonstone Saga (Soul Kissed and Soul Bound), Princess, and Guardian.
