Second Act Stories

July 1, 2025

Author

Amy King
July 01, 2025

Hello, friend—

Did you know July 1st is International Joke Day?

Here’s mine:
Why did the writer go to the coffee shop?
To espresso themself.

Okay, okay, I’ll stick to poetry and fiction—but I couldn’t resist. 😉

This July, I’m leaning hard into second chances.
Second chances to write, to dream, to live out loud.

That theme runs deep through my current novel, The Taste of Crimson, where Angyel—a woman who once shelved her desires—is discovering there's more to life than safety and silence. In the smoky glow of Crimson, she finds something unexpected: herself. Passion. Power. Maybe even love.

It’s also the heartbeat behind The Shape of Healing, my debut poetry chapbook, which launched last month. These pages are tender but fierce. They're full of truths I once buried—and now, I write them down so they can bloom.

In this issue:

  • A peek into The Taste of Crimson: Angyel

  • My favorite lines from The Shape of Healing

  • A quick creative prompt you can try with your morning coffee

Because wherever you are in your story—this might just be your second-chance chapter.

With hope & heart,
Amy

A Peek into The Taste of Crimson: Angyel

“The scent hits first—leather, wax, perfume, skin. It’s not dirty. It’s intimate. Like the air here knows what you hide.”

Angyel isn’t chasing reinvention. She’s just trying to breathe again.

By day, she blends into cubicles and spreadsheets. But one night—one daring yes—leads her into Crimson, a nightclub pulsing with secrets and freedom. And suddenly, everything shifts.

In The Taste of Crimson, Angyel begins to ask:
What if the parts of me I buried were the ones that could bring me back to life?

This is a story of second chances.
Of shadow and light.
Of finding yourself where you least expect to.

Favorite Line from The Shape of Healing

Not at the starting line.
not at the place where the pain first cracked
open –
but here,
in the space carved by surviving.

—from “Where I Begin Again”
(The Shape of Healing)

Some beginnings don’t look like beginnings at all. They look like standing still. Like one deep breath. Like walking into a room you were once afraid of and choosing to stay.

This is where healing happens—in the space survival makes possible.

Coffee & Crimson Prompt

Write a 5-line piece starting with the phrase:
“I didn’t expect it to start with...”
Let it be messy, raw, or funny—whatever shows up is welcome.