SECOND WIND
AIMEE NICOLE WALKER
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: 02.14.18
COVER DESIGN: JAY AHEER/ Simply Defined Art
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER: WANDER AGUIAR
BUY LINKS:
BLURB
Second wind: a new strength or energy to continue something that is an effort. After an amicable divorce, Lincoln Huxley is ready to embrace the sexuality he repressed for more than two decades. Rush Holden is no longer willing to settle for closeted men or those who don’t share his dreams of marriage and fatherhood. A chance encounter on a lakeside pier is the second wind they both need. Or will it just be a painful reminder of all they had lost?
Second chance: an opportunity to try something again that failed one time. Rush and Lincoln have shared a lot of firsts—friendship, young love, and heartbreak. Cruel reality forced the two men to choose paths that took their lives in different directions. Twenty-six years later, they get a second chance to fall in love with each all over again. Can it really be that simple, or will the same issues ruin their happiness a second time?
Happily ever after: to live happily for the rest of one’s life. Rush and Lincoln know that love and life can’t be defined by words alone. Patience, commitment, and the determination to do whatever it takes will be the only way the two men achieve their happily ever after.
Second Wind is a funny, sexy, and endearing standalone romance novel about love, loss, and rediscovery. It contains sexually explicit material and is intended for adults 18 and older.
Hello everyone. I want to thank Love Bytes for having me here to chat about my brand-new book, Second Wind. I’m going to talk about the inspiration for the story, give you a fun fact about the book, and share a teaser or excerpt.
About Second Wind:
The idea for Second Wind came to me while I was on vacation with my husband in eastern Tennessee. We hadn’t updated our GPS since the previous year, and the directions to the restaurant we chose for dinner took us to the back of a new high school where their outdoor athletic fields were located. So, my husband was angry as hell, but I was enthralled by the football field and the majestic mountain view for a backdrop. My creative brain fired up immediately, and I clearly saw a football game playing out. I heard the crowd cheering as the king of the gridiron scores a touchdown, the marching band playing their fight song, but what stood out in my imagination the most was the silhouette of another boy on the sideline taking pictures for the school paper and yearbook. I immediately knew three things: the king of the gridiron and the photographer were in love, nobody knew it, and their love story would take me on a journey I’d never forget.
In Second Wind, I try to honor the men and women all around the world who didn’t have an easy coming out experience or one at an early age. I tell the story of a man who tried to repress his true self to play by society’s rules and the journey he takes once he decided that living half of a life is not really living at all. I also try to show that members of the LGBTQ+ community don’t just come out one time; they have to come out each time they meet someone new. And most importantly, it’s never too late to find your happily ever after.
Fun fact about Second Wind:
Music is my passion. It’s the one form of entertainment that I couldn’t live without. It is also the biggest source of fuel for my creativity. Songs trigger little scenes in my brain that play out like music videos, and those scenes later become books. How many times has a song come on the radio and you were immediately transported back in time to a memory? Melodies and lyrics are pure magic to me. In Second Wind, I combined two of my passions—writing and music—to create something unique. In the front of the book, I provide a playlist. Those song titles also act as chapter headings to set the tone for each chapter. Second Wind is a song by the talented Maren Morris. I heard it last summer for the first time after I returned home from vacation, and it resonated with me. I literally needed to catch my second wind. I also realized it would make the perfect title for Rush and Lincoln’s book. They were at some serious crossroads in their lives and needed a second wind, that push to make some big changes. I realized then that I wanted to set the entire book to music.
I hope you enjoyed this behind the scene look at the making of Second Wind. That sounds a touch stuffy, doesn’t it. I hope you liked this peek into my brain. Better? Thank you so much for hanging out with me, and thanks again to Love Bytes for allowing me to talk about a project that I’m so passionate about.
Inside that diner is the one guy you never got over. Like I needed a reminder. Just breathe.
When I opened my eyes, Lincoln stood looking at me through the glass. He gave me that crooked smile that I loved so much. It showed me that he was nervous too, which gave me the courage to finally open the door.
“I worried you were going to bolt,” Lincoln said huskily, reaching for my hand.
“I thought I dreamt you here.”
I went into his arms again, not giving a fuck about anyone around us. God, he smelled and felt so fucking good—both familiar and different at the same time. I felt tears burning behind my closed eyelids and knew I had to rein myself in. I’d save that for a private meeting if we had one.
“I feel it too, Rush,” he whispered before he pulled back. “You must be starving.”
“Oh, I am.” I hungered for more than just food. I’d been starving for him since we parted. I don’t think I realized just how much I had missed him until that moment.
“Let’s get a bite to eat and catch up a little.” And see where this goes.
I followed Lincoln to a booth in the far corner of the diner, assuring us a little bit of privacy. “I don’t quite know where to begin,” I told him honestly. “Let’s start with what brought you to town.”
I am a wife and mother to three kids, three dogs, and a cat. When I’m not dreaming up stories, I like to lose myself in a good book, cook or bake. I’m a girly tomboy who paints her fingernails while watching sports and yelling at the referees. I will always choose the book over the movie. I believe in happily-ever- after. Love inspires everything that I do. Music keeps me sane.
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Congrats on the book, it sounds great. I love second chances because it gives the couple a chance to reconnect usually after they have done some personal growing on both parts.
Can’t wait to read it – sounds excellent 🙂
My favorite thing about second chance romances is the healing that takes place.
Congrats, Aimee, and thanks for the post. I like second chances b/c of the built-in conflict it introduces and the struggle, the desire, and the hope – the watching the whole process of how they get back together.
seeing how things have changed from the first time around