Saturday Author Spotlight: Aimee Nicole Walker #Interview #Giveaway

I'm so excited to have Aimee Nicole Walker on my blog this Saturday. Aside from being a fabulous writer she's also beyond kind, really there for her readers, and just an all around great person. Today we'll take a look at some of her work, do an interview, and there will of course be a giveaway at the end. I'm sure if you haven't read her yet, by the time we're done here you'll want to.

Grayson Wright is a man who knows how to do many things. He knows how to follow his dream and create a company, Wright Creations, alongside his brother. He knows how to be a good son, brother, friend, and employer. Grayson doesn’t know how to fix his toxic relationship with his long-time boyfriend.

Grayson decides to throw his boyfriend a surprise birthday party as a last ditch effort to rekindle the old spark, but it’s Gray who gets the surprise of his life when he turns on the lights and learns the ugly truth about his life. Now at age 32, he re-evaluates who he is, what he wants out of life, and the kind of man he wants to give his heart to.

Chase Rivers has an MBA from Georgetown with a minor in marketing. His life starts looking up when he accepts an entry level position at an ad agency. It isn’t his dream job, but it’s a great start and it just feels right to him. He hopes this new beginning in his professional life will spill over into his personal life.

Chase is unlucky in love and draws every loser, liar and cheater like a magnet. He’s an expert at finding the perfect mate for his friends, but strikes out every time for himself. He gives up on finding Mr. Right and agrees to a date with Mr. Right Now out of loneliness and desperation. Chase didn’t expect Mr. Right Now to lead him to the doorstep of his very own Mr. Wright.

If their first meeting was a fluke, then what was the second and third? Twisted fate? Bad luck? Fated hearts? Buckle up for a bumpy ride as these two men travel down a broken road of heartache and discovery.

Life is a gamble and without risk, there can be no reward…

Hannah Stevens seems to have it all – beauty, a dream job, and she’s in love with an incredible man, Dr. Kyle Phillips. Her relationship with Kyle is everything she’s dreamed about since she was a little girl. So, why isn’t she content? Why is she feeling unsettled? Does it have anything to do with her ex-boyfriend, Matthew McGregor, pursuing her and expressing deep remorse for ending their relationship? Hannah loves Kyle, but she still has strong feelings for Matthew.

Matthew McGregor’s a man who lives his life to the fullest. He’s a brilliant lawyer who’s on track to make partner with his prestigious firm. He’s gorgeous, charismatic, and wealthy. Why isn’t he satisfied? Why can’t he be happy? Two words…Hannah Stevens. He regrets the day he let her walk out his life and decides to do something about it. She’s the only person he’s ever loved, except for his former college roommate, Kyle Phillips.

Kyle Phillips is about to pop the question to his girlfriend, Hannah Stevens. He bought the ring and made reservations for an exclusive restaurant. He’s the happiest he’s ever been in his life. Then he runs into his former college roommate, Matthew McGregor, at a diner a few days before New Year’s Eve. Seeing Matthew throws Kyle for a loop and he finds himself remembering the passionate night they shared twelve years ago, and the devastating rejection that followed.

Fate brings Matthew, Kyle, and Hannah together on New Year’s Eve. The chemistry between them is undeniable and explosive. At the stroke of midnight, the trio places their bets and rolls the dice in the game of love.

**High Stakes is book one in the Risk and Reward Series. This book contains approximately 42,000 words and is intended for mature, adult readers only. This book contains explicit sexual scenes, including ménage and male/male situations. This is not your mama’s romance book. **

Two completely different men and one powerful attraction.

Sebastian Blake is a cynical, self-made billionaire who has only known rejection and abandonment in his personal life. Adam Johnson is a closeted gay man who works for the law firm representing Sebastian in a civil lawsuit filed against him by a former employee.

The attraction between the men is immediate and intense, but neither of them wants a relationship. Sebastian makes an offer that Adam can’t refuse and they agree to have a purely sexual arrangement.

Passions ignite and their hearts refuse to be ignored, but...

Enemies from Sebastian’s dark past begin to turn up dead and he is the prime suspect in their murders. Adam is his alibi and the only one who can save him. Will Adam risk everything and out himself to protect the man he loves?

Everlasting love or fatal attraction?

Adam soon finds himself in the killer’s crosshairs, which forces Sebastian to face his feelings for the man. If these two men are to have a future together, they must trust each other, brave adversity, and outsmart a serial killer.

Interview

Thank you, Aimee, so much for being my spotlight author today. I’ve recently began reading your books and I’m falling in love with your style.

I’d love to ask you a bunch of questions about all sorts of things. Have fun with them and I look forward to your answers.

First question, Fated Hearts Series. This universe, how’d it all come to be?

That is an excellent question. This story line came to me completely out of the blue. My best friend had sent a text talking about all of the birthday and graduation parties she had to attend one weekend when all she wanted to do was stay home and read. Later that day, the idea for the first chapter came to me. I got to thinking about birthday parties and various surprises one might expect or not expect to see and WHAM!  After that, I began building a cast of characters in my mind and let them ruminate in my brain while I finished writing Only You. The cast of characters expanded and I kept saying, “Oh wow, he needs a book.”

Do you have a favorite character in that series, or one you connect with more than others?

Jagger “JJ” Jackson of Perfect Fit is the character that has touched me the most. He was only supposed to have one scene in Chasing Mr. Wright as Chase’s buddy with benefits. I started writing a little bit about their backstory in their scene and I just knew he was going to have his own book.  I found myself thinking about JJ a lot as I wrote the books leading up to his book. Besides JJ, the secondary story of Big Jack and Jeremiah in Surrender Your Heart moved me in ways that I could talk about for hours.

From your first book of this series to your most recent, what have you learn and how do you feel you’ve grown?

I’ve learned so much about myself and about writing. I feel that I’ve grown a lot technically, but I’m always trying to grow and improve my technical skills. I strive to do better with each and every story that I write. The biggest thing I’ve learned is to trust myself and go with my gut. I’m one of those writers who do very little, if any, structuring of a story before they begin. I make a cast of characters and jot down a few plot points I’d like to see happen, but they’re never in concrete. My stories are completely character driven. I never know what I’m going to write each day and I just let the characters sweep me into their worlds and tell the stories. I’ve learned not to fight it, which has been my biggest challenge because I am a control freak when it comes to myself and my space. So, sitting down at my laptop and letting my characters lead me has been a big deal for me. By the time I reach the end of the book, I don’t even remember what I wrote. I only have impressions of how the story went. That is way out of my comfort zone, but I’ve decided not to questions what has worked so well for me.

Do you have any writing inspirations?

There are so many writers I admire that I can’t begin to list them all, so I’ll go with the ones who were my very first M/M reads. Nicole Edwards was the first author to introduce me to the beauty of guy on guy action in her Walker Brother series. It was done in a ménage, but it really peeked my curiosity and sent me searching for strictly M/M stories and I found Riley Hart’s Collide. I have never looked back.

If you were at Bottoms Up and Jack wanted to name a drink after you, what would you love it to be named?

Spitfire.

If you could travel anywhere for book research where would you love to go?

Europe, namely Ireland and Scotland. I am both Scottish and Irish, although many generations removed. Those green hills call to me.

Would you ever collaborate with any author and if so who?

It’s not something that I’ve given a lot of thought to because of my writing method. I think my pantsing might drive some writers crazy. My best friend is currently writing her first book and she would understand me and be able to work with me. I get texts from her and she’ll tell me that now she understands what I mean about the characters taking over and guiding the story.

Have you ever had writer’s block and if so what has helped you overcome it?

I haven’t had writer’s block, but there are times I feel a little stuck in the plot. I have a few things that I do to open up my creative channels – listen to music, color, exercise, and take a bath or a shower. Any type of water relaxes me and gets my creativity flowing. I remember hand washing dishes as a kid and my mind would create an alternate universe so that doing dishes wasn’t quite so mundane.

Can you tell us what you’re currently working on?

Return to Me (Fated Hearts #5) is undergoing first round of edits as I type. Once the book goes through two rounds of editing, I’ll send off to my betas and I’ll begin book 6. I’m looking at a March 22^nd or March 29^th release date.

If you could go out to dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would you choose?

Wow! I love this question.

My mom, who passed away in 2009. I’d love to thank her for all of her wisdom, her unconditional love, and her open-minded view of the world.  Martin Luther King Jr, because he was an amazing human being. Marilyn Monroe, because I’d love to know the real Norma Jean and not the image that Hollywood created.

How can your readers follow you through social media? Twitter, Facebook, website, etc…?

            Twitter - https://twitter.com/AimeeNWalker

            Facebook –http://www.facebook.com/aimeenicole.walker

            Blog – AimeeNicoleWalker.blogspot.com

Thank you so much for being here and enduring my Q&A! it’s been a blast!

Thank you for having me. These were really fun questions!

Giveaway

Aimee will gift one person a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card

Simply fill out the rafflecopter below and enter to win

Contest will run until February 19th. 

Winner will be contacted via email so be sure to check your spam!!

I really want to than Aimee for being here today and for being awesome!

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