Welcome to Friday Reads!
There’s a giveaway for a print copy of First Love, Second Draft by Becca Kinzer, courtesy of the publisher. (US ONLY!) Enter by using the Rafflecopter link at the bottom of the post. (Contest ends May 2, 2025.) If you’re the chosen winner, I’ll contact you for your information to pass along to the publisher.
About the book…
She’s a romance writer burned out on love. He’s her famous baseball star ex-husband. The last man she wants to be forced to work with is the one who broke her heart.
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.
Q&A with Becca…
Q: What inspired First Love, Second Draft?
A: 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.
Q: What messages or themes do you focus on in this book?
A: Hope is a big theme in this book. How do we remain hopeful when we’re afraid we’re only setting ourselves up for more disappointment? How do we know when it’s time to move on and let go versus digging our heels in and refusing to ever give up?
Q: What inspired the personalities of your main characters, Gracie and Noah? What do you love about these characters?
A: 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.
Q: What do you enjoy about second-chance romance stories?
A: 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.
Q: How does faith play a role in this story?
A: The faith element goes right along with the hope element. Because Gracie’s faith in God wavered, so did her hope. When she pushed God away, she pushed away her reason to hope too. The story is about her learning to recapture both.
Q: What was most challenging about writing this novel?
A: I always find it challenging to write a romantic comedy that is both lighthearted and poignant, but this one was especially challenging because of the divorce and infertility angles. I want readers to have all sorts of rom-com fun with plenty of banter and laughs, but I also know we can’t gloss over the fact that these two characters went through a heartbreaking experience together. Finding that right balance to acknowledge the heavy topics while keeping the overall tone of the story light was a challenge.
Q: Gracie and Noah are divorced. What was it like exploring the complexities of divorce in this book?
A: I think part of what makes divorce complex, even in fiction, is we want to choose a side. So one tricky aspect in this story was trying to make both characters equally endearing to readers despite how much these two characters hurt each other in the past. I don’t want any reader to be Team Gracie Parker or Team Noah Parker. I want readers to just be Team Parker.
Q: The book discusses the sensitive topic of infertility. What motivated you to incorporate this particular struggle into your novel, and why do you believe it’s important to depict in fiction?
A: I needed a reason why two people head-over-heels for each other would push each other away and end a marriage. My motivation for making infertility part of Gracie and Noah’s reason stems from an awkward interaction I had running into an old friend years ago shortly after I had my first baby. There’s a long version to that story, but the short version is my eyes were opened to the unique sort of grief and frustration that those struggling with infertility face. By putting myself in the heads of my main characters, especially Gracie, I developed even more empathy, which is the whole reason I think we need sensitive topics like this in our fiction.
Q: What will fans of romance love about the relationship between Gracie and Noah?
A: 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.
Q: What do you hope your audience learns from First Love, Second Draft?
A: I hope they learn to cling tightly to God through everything, especially the disappointments and seasons of waiting. By keeping a tight grip on our faith, we’ll never lose reason to hope. And as with all my stories, I hope readers get some good laughs along the way.
Thanks so much, Becca. I’m sure my readers enjoyed learning more about your latest release.
About Becca…
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
Rules for the giveaway can be found here.
I don’t usually like RomComs, but this one sounds really good!
They’re not my go-to either, but I do enjoy some of them. Good luck, Trudy!
I really enjoyed this book, especially the last quarter of it 🥹
Awesome!