Spotlight & Giveaway: When You Were Mine by Mila Nicks

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Mila Nicks to HJ!

Hi Mila and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, When You Were Mine!

 
Hey everyone! Thanks for having me!
 

Tell us about the book with this fun little challenge using the title of the book:

W is for wedding chapel
H is for hot, sexy hero
E is for Edward Scissorhands
N is for next door neighbors

Y is for you never forget your first love
O is for Oak Bend
U is for up to no good

W is for Where’s Waldo
E is for Elena
R is for the rescue in fire rescue
E is for emergency

M is for mine
I is for I love you
N is for the N in Autumn
E is for the Ever in Happily Ever After

Please share the opening lines of this book:

“We’re in hot water now.” Quinton Brookes wore a grin identical to mine as we waited in the Castle Rock Casino. “Imagine if they find out. We’ll be done for.”

Please tell us a little about the characters in your book.

Sure! There’s my female protagonist, Penelope Spark. She’s practical, intelligent, competitive, and secretly loves breaking a rule or two and defying her predictable good girl image. As she grows older, the more practical and wary sides of herself takes over. She has a daughter she has to look out for now. But little does she know Dylan can still bring out the bad side of her too. 😉

Dylan is the male protagonist. He’s beefy, brawny and brave, but kept as it’s kept, he has an insecurity about being good enough. He doesn’t come from the best home life situation, which makes him doubt whether he deserves things like love and a family. No matter how old he gets, he’ll always love breaking a rule or two. Even better when he can get Pen to do it along with him.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• One fun fact is that the hero Dylan is named after another famous Dylan in pop culture. I’m a fan of the original 90210 series (the early seasons anyway!) and Dylan/Brenda are one of my favorite pairings. This is the first time I’ve ever named my male protagonist after another male character, but when I think of high school bad boy, Dylan McKay is the first thing that comes to mind. Another semi-related fun fact is that my Dylan calls the female protagonist Pen, which is short for Penelope. In the show, Dylan sometimes referred to Brenda as Bren.
• Another fun fact is that I really wanted to write a protagonist with a military background. As a veteran myself, I’ve been wanting to write a male or female character with a similar experience. It felt like it fit Dylan’s character and who he is, so I ended up including it as part of his backstory.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Dylan and Penelope originally meet as kids, though they barely spoke until high school. Dyl’s harbored a crush for Pen pretty much since puberty, ha ha! Not only was she the prettiest girl in school in his eyes, but he liked how underneath that good girl reputation was a little spitfire. He also appreciates how she holds him accountable and is never afraid to call him out.

Pen was a bit more reluctant to give Dyl a chance given his reputation. But she appreciated how confident and bold he was, and he even surprised her by being a bit more of a romantic underneath that bad boy exterior.

The First Kiss…

Dyl and Pen were sixteen when they went on their first date. It was to Oak Bend’s Fall Harvest Festival. They spent the day going for tractor rides, eating pumpkin pie and bobbing for apples. Finally, Dyl worked up the courage to kiss her on the Ferris wheel.

If your book was optioned for a movie, what scene would you use for the audition of the main characters and why?

“Just like old times,” he said, plopping a baseball hat over my head. He led the way onto the field with the diamond marking, dugout, and bleachers in the distance. None of it had changed; it was exactly like it was when we were in high school.
I didn’t object as he put on a catcher’s mitt and offered me a baseball bat. He tossed the baseball up into the air and caught it without his eyes on it. I gave a disbelieving laugh and shook my head side to side. He was so utterly hopeless.
“Still the cockiest player on the field,” I muttered.
“Isn’t that why you liked me so much?”
My eyes narrowed. “You realize you just proved my point, right? Didn’t they use to call you Heavy Hitter for a reason?”
He laughed, moving closer. So close he could’ve kissed me if he wanted. “Remember your nickname? Think it started with Ball and ended with Buster?”
“Someone has to keep your huge ego in check.”
“You were always good at the job,” he said with another husky laugh. He backed away and motioned for me to get in position. “Go on. You’re up to bat, Spark. Time to hit a home run.”
“We both know I’m the worst baseball player known to man.”
“But you look so dang cute in the hat and wiggling your booty like you do when you go to swing.” He was being bold flirting like that, but then again, I liked it. “Only wish you could be in my jersey again. I liked when you used to wear it.”
I stood still for a second, the bat limp in my grasp as nostalgia hit me. “Me too.”

If your hero had a sexy-times play list, what song(s) would have to be on it?

Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer

If you could have given your characters one piece of advice before the opening pages of the book, what – would it be and why?

Never rent an apartment sight unseen! ;P

What are you currently working on? What are your up-coming releases?*

I have a paranormal romance coming out later this month. Black Siren’s Song is book three in my Paranormal Hunters series. It follows a lunar witch Selene and her paranormal investigator boyfriend Aiden as they travel the country and investigate paranormal phenomena. It’s such a fun series, and definitely something to check out if looking for a spooky read this Halloween!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: $10 Amazon GC + backlist ebook title – winners choice

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: How would you react if you saw your first love out of the blue for the first time in years? How do you think they would react?

 
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Excerpt from When You Were Mine:

For a long while, we were statues in a staring contest. Neither of us moved or said a thing. Finally, I jerked out of my trance and choked out, “Dylan?”
“Pen.” He stopped there and we stared some more.
Dylan looked as I remembered him—only now a grown man. Thick scruff framed his square face, jaw hard-set, and eyes as stormy as memory served me. All traces of his easy boyish charm were gone. Instead it was replaced by an innate and rugged masculine quality to his face. His hair was as brown as the earth. It was short in length but growing just long enough that the loose waves began to appear. I still remembered what those waves felt like between my fingers. How the longer they grew the more they curled.
He’d grown taller in the years since I’d last seen him. His shoulders and chest had broadened out and the bulges of muscle on his arms were visible even through the flannel shirt he wore. At some point he’d gotten a sleeve tattoo, the bottom half peeking out from where he’d rolled up his shirtsleeve to the elbow.
A flush spread across my brown skin. Damn it, he was still as handsome as ever. Still as sexy as ever. I fumbled for something else to say in order to fill up the awkward silence.
“What are you…why are you here?”
“I live here. Just moved in.”
“No, you didn’t,” I said automatically. My eyes widened looking from him to the 2F on the door. “There’s no way.”
He dangled his apartment key in front of my face. “Signed the lease this morning. Spent the whole afternoon moving my stuff in.”
Tabitha, bored of our stammering exchange, tugged on the hem of my T-shirt. “Mommy, who is this man?”
Both of us glanced down at her. More heat flamed me, creeping up my neck, burning up my face. I couldn’t meet Dylan’s eyes again as it dawned on me how strange this all was. I couldn’t think of a proper response no matter how hard I tried, though. Everything suddenly seemed like a bizarre dream—or a nightmare.
“This is…this is Dylan Turner,” I said tightly. “He’s…he’s, uh, our new neighbor.”
“Hi, Mr. Dylan.” Tabitha waved her hand back and forth with a guileless kind of friendliness only a small child could pull off. “Why are you so big?”
“Tabby!” I scolded. “What have I said about asking rude questions?”
“But, Mommy, he’s soo big, like Thor!”

Excerpts. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Book Info:

From Mila Nicks comes a second chance romance packed with charm, heart, and a swoon worthy happily ever after.
When bad boy Dylan Turner walked out of Penelope Spark’s life six years ago, she was convinced she’d never see him again. Now a single mom to her daughter, Tabitha, and the owner of a small candle shop, Penelope looks forward to a stable life without heartbreak.

That was before Dylan Turner showed up in Oak Bend like a relic from the past. Even worse? He’s rented the apartment next-door. A few years older and more mature but still with a bad boy edge, Dylan is a firefighter just trying to figure out what he wants in life. Could that be his first love, Penelope?

But there is one minor problem. Penelope has a secret that’s six years in the making. One that might destroy their relationship for good. If they’re meant to be together, they’ll need to come to terms with the past and learn to trust each other again. Can they overcome past heartbreak for a second chance at forever?

Welcome to Oak Bend where blue-collar hotties work hard and love even harder, especially when it comes to landing their happily ever after.
Book Links: Amazon |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Mila Nicks is an emerging romance author on a mission to pen entertaining love stories featuring women of color.

From the time she was a small girl with crayons and an overactive imagination, she’s had a passion for storytelling. In addition to serving ten years in the United States Air Force, she has received her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing.

When she isn’t busy tapping away at her keyboard, you can find her binge-watching her favorite TV shows, daydreaming about her next vacation across the globe, or spending quality time with her spunky pet Chihuahua, Zayden.
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