In this guest post from rom-com author Becca Kinzer, Becca answers a few questions about her latest contemporary romance, First Love, Second Draft.
In the second chance romance, Gracie is a romance author burned out on love who is forced to work on the memoir of the man who broke her heart, Noah, her baseball-star ex-husband.
Hear from Becca about the inspiration behind the story and the characters, as well as her thoughts on Gracie and Noah’s chemistry and what romance readers will love about this rom-com.
If you want to know more about Becca’s romance, get access to the entire first chapter of First Love, Second Draft, or find your own copy in softcover, e-book, or audiobook at a retailer near you.
What inspired First Love, Second Draft?
The original inspiration started one night when I was having trouble sleeping. Scenes about a baseball player and his wife kept playing out in my mind. What if the absolute best night of a baseball player’s professional career coincided with the absolute worst night of his wife’s personal life? When I told my husband about the idea the next morning, he said, “You should write it.” So that’s what I did. I wrote the first draft years ago before I had my first publishing contract, so I joke that this story should be called something more like First Love, Seven Hundredth Draft.
What inspired the personalities of your main characters, Gracie and Noah? What do you love about these characters?
I think a little bit of the inspiration behind their personalities actually came from seeing the musical The Last Five Years several years ago when I was in college. I always wished there was a way for the two characters in that show to end up happily-ever-after together. Well, I obviously can’t help those two characters, but I realized I could write my own story where two characters who share a similar drive to chase after their own goals and dreams even at the cost of their marriage do find their happily-ever-after back together at the end. I love how Gracie and Noah simply can’t help themselves from loving each other, even when they’re driving each other crazy.
What do you enjoy about second-chance romance stories?
I love the instant tension that sparks between two characters who share a romantic history together—and Gracie and Noah certainly aren’t lacking in sparks. Plus there’s an element of redemption and forgiveness that always seems to go hand in hand with a second-chance romance. I don’t think the world can ever get enough of that type of story.
What will fans of romance love about the relationship between Gracie and Noah?
Gracie and Noah can banter like nobody’s business. And whether they want to admit it or not (for a while, Gracie definitely does not) they are without a doubt the love of each other’s lives. Any romance fan who loves the idea of having a soulmate or one true love will adore the relationship between Gracie and Noah.
Read this short excerpt from First Love, Second Draft:
The tingles grew sharper as Gracie held her nephew’s gaze. “What did you do?”
When a throat cleared behind her, Matt didn’t have to answer. She knew. “You little Benedict Arnold.” The back of Gracie’s neck no longer tingled. It blazed.
If Gracie had a will, she’d write Matt out of it first thing tomorrow. She never did care for her one and only nephew. “Look me in the eye right now and tell me the nice guy you rented my cottage to is not my ex-husband.”
Rom-com writer Gracie Parker hasn’t written a bestseller since she and her husband, a major league baseball star, divorced five years ago. On thin ice with her publisher—and with a looming deadline—Gracie couldn’t have picked a worse time for a painful injury that has her flat on her back. At this point, she’d accept help from anybody . . . except her first love and ex-husband, Noah Parker.
The baseball season has just ended in massive disappointment for Noah. He’s facing the stark reality that he gave up everything for a career that’s let him down and that it might be too late to get back the one person he should’ve held on to. So when Gracie’s nephew calls, saying Gracie’s looking for a tenant for her next-door rental, it feels like it’s meant to be.
All Gracie cares about is turning in her manuscript on time, which is directly at odds with Noah’s attempts to win her back, even if she is slightly charmed by his kindness. But can people ever really change? Then Noah throws a curveball that could give Gracie the extension she needs, but it will mean working directly with Noah, something she’s not sure she can face. With no other choice, and everything on the line, Gracie must decide if it is too late for a second draft of their own love story.
Becca Kinzer lives in Springfield, Illinois, where she works as a critical care nurse. When she’s not busy taking care of sick patients or using up all the storage on her phone with pictures of her dog, she enjoys making up lighthearted stories with serious laughs. She is the author of multiple titles including Dear Henry, Love Edith, which won the 2024 Carol Award for debut novel. First Love, Second Draft is her third novel. Visit Becca online at beccakinzer.com.
