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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I received a complimentary copy of the book,

And all opinions given are my own.

Author Interview

- What/Who inspired you to write on the main themes found in the book?

Kelly’s life as a pastor’s daughter came from my personal heartache after our pastor (from a previous church) fell from grace. Life as the family of the pastor isn’t easy. Everyone has an opinion about you and how you should act or live. So, when the pastor’s family is in crisis, how the people in the church act can leave lasting scars or welcomed healing. I tried to show many different angles of this from the good, the bad, and the ugly in this novel.

Regardless of how others act, we have a choice how we respond to their actions, just like Kelly and Matt did. Forgiveness is always a good idea.

-Which character in your book do you relate to the most?

The overcommitted Matt. I tend to take on too much, then freak out when I’m overwhelmed. Like Matt, I completed my degrees at night while working full time and volunteering. I remember how stressful that was. When Matt tries to fit a new relationship into the mix—well, that’s how I met my hubby. I was working full time while carrying a full-time credit load at night. Insane? Yes.

- If you could meet your characters in real life, what would you talk about?

I would love Matt and Kelly to be part of my home group. We would talk about life, work, spiritual growth.

- What did your research process look like for this book?

The Air I Breathe intertwines a lot of my own experiences with the dynamics of a mega church, home groups, the settings, and more. The most research I did for this book was for Kelly’s career as an event planner. Even though I am not a single mom, much of the inspiration comes from a few close friends of mine who are.

- What made you choose the setting for this book?

The setting is Chandler, Arizona, specifically near the mall area. It’s where my hubby and I moved when we first got married. We had wanted to buy a house there, but prices were cheaper further out (Gilbert). I still have fond memories of that part of the Phoenix metro area.

-What message do you hope readers take away from your book?

Regardless of our mistakes and sins, God forgives us—even when we repeat the same ones over and over again. His love is steadfast, and His Spirit gives us life and strength to face any challenge in life, even the ones of our own making.

About the Author

Karen Baney is passionate about writing stories full of flawed characters. She enjoys weaving together stories of second chances, redemption, and overcoming personal trials. As a transplant to Arizona in the late 1990s, she loves researching the state’s history and finding ways to seamlessly incorporate real history and real settings into her novels. In addition to writing and speaking, Karen works as a Software Development Manager for a Christian ministry.

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.