He Jumped First

TWO LIVES. ONE SECRET. A LOVE THAT REFUSED TO SINK.

When Hollywood producer Ben Howell dies by suicide, he leaves behind a single, unassuming key-and a lifetime of unanswered questions. His estranged son, Will, expects to tie up loose ends. What he finds instead is a hidden journal that unlocks more than just a door. It unleashes the voice of a seventeen-year-old boy named Benji, trapped forever on the decks of the Titanic as it plunged toward disaster. Through his father's words-aching with longing and regret-Will is drawn into Benji's haunting story: a boy who, amidst luxury and legend, found a love he was never meant to have. A forbidden love, so fierce, it would alter the course of two lives forever.

-As the Titanic sails toward its fate, Benji's desperate passion unfolds. And as Will reads deeper into his father's confessions, he uncovers a devastating truth about that frozen April night-learning that some survivors never truly escaped the disaster, their secrets drowning them long after the ship sank.

-Now, standing at the edge of his father's truth, Will must decide: Was Ben's death the end of the story... or the beginning of setting a soul free?

-From the depths of history comes a sweeping, heartbreaking novel of forbidden love, family secrets, and the unbearable cost of a life unlived.

-He Jumped First is a poignant blend of historical fiction, forbidden romance, and LGBTQ+ love, sweeping readers from the gilded decks of the Titanic to the silver shadows of old Hollywood.

-Perfect for fans of the epic romance of Titanic, the heartbreaking secrets of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and the profound love of The Song of Achilles.