Padme's Library: Blog Tour: Second Wind by Aimee Nicole Walker

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Blog Tour: Second Wind by Aimee Nicole Walker

Title: Second Wind

Author: Aimee Nicole Walker

Genre: M/M Romance

Release Date: February 14, 2018

Photographer: Wander Aguiar

Cover Design: Jay Aheer at Simply Defined Art

Summary:
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.

I suddenly felt an invisible pull to go to the pier and ride the damn thing. No, Rush wouldn’t be with me in person, but the memory of him would be. I walked the short distance and bought tickets for the Centennial Wheel. The pier was packed with families and friends just looking to have a good time and enjoy the beautiful June weather before the serious humidity hit later in the month.

I felt a little silly as I approached the long line by myself, but I passed the time by texting Phee and checking my email. The line had suddenly stopped advancing, and I wondered if the ride broke down or something. Then I heard the chatter about newlyweds posing for photos with the grand Ferris wheel in the background.

“Look how handsome the grooms look,” someone said.

“It so good that people don’t have to hide any longer,” another person added.

I stepped out of line to see for myself, and my heart thudded to a stop in my chest before it raced with recognition. It wasn’t the grooms that held me spellbound; it was the photographer. I’d know that stance anywhere because I sure as hell had seen it enough times growing up. The camera he held in his hand was a lot different and more expensive than the ones he used to own, but the way he stood and cradled it like a rare treasure was all the same. Rush! But how was this possible? My mind had to be playing tricks on me. This moment was nothing but a fantasy brought on by all the trips down memory lane I’d made the past twenty-four hours. I would wake up to find that I fell asleep in the hotel room instead of walking to the pier.

There was no way in hell that Rush, my Rush, was a few hundred feet away from me. It had to be someone who resembled him. The photographer turned around and smiled at something his assistant said to him. I started walking toward him without stopping to think if I should. For the first time in more than twenty-six years, my world felt right. My Rush.

It felt like I’d caught my second wind.

What is the biggest influence/interest that brought you to this genre?
I stumbled across this genre by accident really. I read one of Nicole Walker’s books that had man-on-man action inside as part of a MMF threesome and I was like, “HELLO.” I know what you’re thinking. I was in it for the sexy parts, right? Wrong. It’s all about the issues and struggles same sex and other couples in the LGBTQ+ community face. Sure, the sexy parts opened my eyes, but it’s not the reason I fell head over heels for this genre. I love when men openly show love to each other. I just think its beautiful. After I read Nicole’s book, I started looking for M/M romance and came across Riley Hart’s Collide. That was it for me; I never looked back. On a rare occasion, I will still read M/F, and I even wrote one. M/M will always be my first love.

When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process (outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
I’m the odd person who loves all phases of writing, including the editing. My favorite part is writing and getting caught up in my fictional world. There’s some thing magical about it that never gets old. I fall in love with each new project and give them everything I have.

When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
LGBTQ books are still my favorite reads. I want to support the other authors in my genre as much as I can, so I buy a lot more books than I’ll ever read in a year. I’m always looking for a new author whose words take me out of my headspace.

If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
I’ve coauthored two books with Nicholas Bella and we’re working on our third now. I’m also working on a collaboration with Annabella Michaels. I love my collab partners and our projects. There’s something truly special when two minds merge and create a book we’re both really proud of.

Have you always wanted to write, or did it come to you "later in life"?
I’ve always dabbled in writing, but never got serious about it until I was in my late thirties. I was thirty-nine when I published my first book. Prior to that, it was dabbling here and there starting stories I never finished. One day, I found the determination to sit down and write a complete story. It was the most remarkable feeling I’d ever felt.

Author Bio:

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.