About the Book
Book: The Air I Breathe
Author: Karen Baney
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 15, 2023
Single mom, starting over Christian Contemporary Romance.
One moment of weakness changed everything.
When life throws Kelly Sutton a curve ball, she packs up everything she owns to move to Arizona to be closer to her daughter’s dad. Starting over in a new town stresses Kelly and triggers panic attacks—something she thought she was over. When a panic attack comes on and the only person she knows in town can’t help her, his roommate comes to her rescue. Will Kelly find her footing again in this new town?
Matt Dixon has too much on his plate. He works as a financial analyst during the day while he goes to seminary at night. He also juggles an internship with his church to fulfill his dream of becoming a youth pastor. When he comes to the aid of his roommate’s ex, he never expects his life to go off the rails. Will he choose love for a woman over his dream?
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My Thoughts:
Kelly is a single mom who has just lost her job and her boyfriend. So, when the father of her daughter asks her to move out to Arizona so he can be closer to his child, Kelly does just that. However, Kelly has a problem. When she becomes too stressed out, she has some serious panic attacks. That is how she meets Matt.
Matt rushes over to his buddy's ex-girlfriend's place to help her get medical attention. What he is not prepared for is the meeting and getting to know this wonderful woman and her daughter. Matt has devoted his life to the ministry, but he is quickly falling in love with Kelly. Then something happens that upends everything.
This is a story of second chances, and more second chances. Of forgiveness times seventy. These characters have some baggage in their lives that they are trying to learn from and cope with, but alas they are still making mistakes and decisions that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Kelly and Matt have a lot to learn and to go through till they get their happily ever after.
I was provided a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.
About the Author
Her faith plays an important role both in her life and in her writing. Karen and her husband, Jim, make their home in Gilbert, Arizona, with their two dogs, Bella and Daisy. Both Jim and Karen are active at Rock Point Church in Queen Creek, Arizona.
More from Karen
Inspiration Behind the Novel
The female main character in The Air I Breathe, Kelly Sutton, suffers from panic attacks. The inspiration behind this came from a real-life encounter. Around twelve years ago, my coworker and I took a break to walk around the office building we worked in. We saw a young woman leave the building. To our shock, we watched as she kneeled on the concrete sidewalk and bent over.
Concerned about her well-being, we rushed over to her and asked if she was alright. She said she was having a panic attack. I’ll never forget the sound of her wheezing.
I asked what we could do to help her and if we should call 911. She begged us not to call, so I knelt beside her, rubbed her back, and silently prayed over her. After ten minutes or so, she recovered enough to go back inside the office building. She told us that when people call 911, it embarrassed her. She knew how to cope with the panic attacks, but others didn’t understand and overreacted, making things worse for her. She thanked us for stopping and for listening to her.
Though we never crossed paths again, that encounter stuck with me. When I sat down to write Kelly’s story about starting over in a new city, I knew two things:
- I wanted to represent this experience through her character.
- I wanted to tie her experience with the idea that God is the air we breathe (like the popular worship song’s lyrics).
Many times, real-life provides inspiration for my characters or their trials and that was certainly true for many of the topics, besides the panic attacks, included in this novel.
Blog Stops
lakesidelivingsite,
October 2
Gina Holder,
Author and Blogger, October 3 (Author Interview)
Life on
Chickadee Lane, October 3
Debbie’s
Dusty Deliberations, October 4
Locks, Hooks
and Books, October 5
Truth and Grace
Homeschool Academy, October 6
Texas Book-aholic,
October 7
For the
Love of Literature, October 8 (Author Interview)
Pause for Tales,
October 8
Because I
said so — and other adventures in Parenting, October 9
Happily
Managing a Household of Boys, October 10
Back
Porch Reads, October 11 (Author Interview)
Book Reviews
From an Avid Reader, October 12
For Him and My
Family, October 13
A Reader’s
Brain, October 14 (Author Interview)
Splashes
of Joy, October 15
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Karen is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 gift card with signed paperback copy of The Air I Breathe!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/2842e/the-air-i-breathe-celebration-tour-giveaway
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review The Air I Breathe. I'm glad the theme of repeated forgiveness came through loud and clear. Thanks for sharing my book with your readers. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Air I Breathe will show that even as forgiven believers, we still make mistakes and sin, so we must ask for forgiveness again, and we must forgive those who wrong us as well.
ReplyDeleteThis will be a solid good read. Thanks so much for hosting.
ReplyDelete