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Saturday, April 16, 2016

Learning to breathe Again by: Kelli Heneghan w/ Interview


Series: Texas Learning Book 2 (but Read as a Standalone)
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: April 6 2016
Edition/Formats: eBook & Print on Demand via Amazon
Blurb/Synopsis:

Bayleigh Morrow just wants to hide from the world for a little while, recover from all the knocks she’s been taking lately.  What better place than small-town Texas, where she can reconnect with her brother, meet her new sister-in-law, and just be left alone?
Jack Williams has no intention of ever falling in love again.  One betrayal was enough for him.  But when Bayleigh almost collapses in his office, he’s determined to help her and keep her safe.
Stranded by an ice storm, Jack is the only one there to pick up the pieces when she has a panic attack.  Sparks begin to fly and flames ignite as these two love-wary souls find their way out of the darkness and learn to breathe again.



He stroked her back with his left hand, his right hand resting beneath her rib cage.  He wanted her closer, wanted to feel her against him. Her hands clenched against his chest.  Damn, she’s reached her limit.  Prepared to stop, she surprised him by pulling him in closer, her hands now fisted in his shirt.  He stroked her tongue with his, retreating, pushing in…a dance as old as time.  And she responded to each movement.  Against the hand on her ribs, he could feel her heart as it raced and his own pulse sped up.  She moaned, or was that him?  Hell if he knew, or even cared at this point.
He needed to put the brakes on now, before he did something stupid, like sweep everything off the desk and lay her down.  That image should not be in his mind.  He broke off the kiss, resting his forehead on hers.  Her breathing was ragged, but it didn’t have that wheeze it would get with her panic attacks.  His hands rubbed over her back in soothing strokes, enjoying the moment of holding her in his arms.  The occasional car drove by outside, and the ornate clock on the wall ticked, the sound loud and obnoxious in the near silence of the outer office.  It was just the two of them for now.  He simply held her and waited.  Her hands relaxed and he moved his head so he could see her face.












Welcome Kelli! Please start off by telling us a little about yourself.   Hi there!  I divide my time (pretty unequally at times!) between writing, being a mom/ wife, etc., and a nurse!  I work full time as a nurse, and I’m seen quite often at volleyball/ lacrosse practices and games with a computer on my lap…gotten get those word counts in somehow!  I live in Texas, but grew up (mostly) in Ohio.  My husband and I were both in the Army, once upon a time.

Is Learning to Breathe Again a single title, or part of a series? It is part of a series, but still a ‘stand alone’.  The hero (Jack) was in Learning to Love Again, my release last summer. 

What were your inspirations for the story?  Lots of things, really.  Living in Texas, and near one of the bigger cities, gave me lots of ideas for both Jack and Bayleigh.  And being a nurse gave me the inside scoop on how they may react in certain situations.

Please share your setting for Learning to Breathe Again. Have you ever lived or visited there? If so, what did you like most?   Learning to Breathe Again is set in the Hill Country of Texas.  I live close to Austin, so the Hill Country is an easy (and scenic!) drive to make.  Waketon is a fictional town, but you could go to any small town in Texas and see Waketon.

When did the writing bug first bite?   I’ve always enjoyed writing.  In high school, I wrote during classes to stay focused---sounds crazy, but I actually pay better attention if I can write during lectures.  I slacked off during college—those nursing classes were killers!  And then a couple of years ago I was dared to enter a writing contest…I didn’t win, but I gained a lot of insight on what I need to do with the manuscript. Learning to Love Again went through some massive rewrites.  And once I had that one done, I started Learning to Breathe Again, mainly because Jack kept telling me how he wanted his story to go.

Who are you favorite authors, book/series?   I have a number of favorite authors that, if I see a new release, I will ‘one-click’ it without even looking at the description…Liliana Hart, J.M Madden, Sharon Hamilton, Lori Ryan, Cristin Harbor, Sloan Harper, Violet Duke.  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

If you could have an author roundtable discussion with any authors, who would you invite?  Any of the ones I listed above, plus Scott Silverii, Lisa Hughey, Denise Agnew

Do you have any hobbies or special things you like to do in your spare time?  Define ‘spare time’!  Mostly, I spend time with my kids/ my family.  My son now plays lacrosse and my daughter plays volleyball and dances.  Add in Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, school activities…if I’m not writing or reading, or doing something with the kids, I may pick up some cross-stitch patterns and try to work on one.

What's the strangest thing you've heard or seen?  Hmm….I’m a nurse, so there’s been a number of things I’ve seen and heard of that most people would find disgusting.  And because of all the HIPPA rules, it’s hard to talk about them now.



Kelli grew up all over the East Coast but her family finally settled in Cincinnati long enough for her to finish high school and college.  She has always loved to read books and write her own stories.  In high school, she used to pass around the latest chapter of the story she was writing for her friends to read.  There is more than one high school teacher out there that can probably remember telling her to put the book down and pay attention to the lectures.
Graduating from the University of Cincinnati with her BS in Nursing, she left Ohio for Texas and the U.S. Army.  She received a medical discharge for a knee injury, but was able to meet the man she'd one day call her husband first--thanks to some mutual friends who insisted they would perfect together.  And what do you know--they are! 
She continued to read books by the dozens and write her own stories.  And then one day, a friend dared her to enter a contest.  She didn’t win, but the feedback she received from the judges convinced her that maybe people were interested in the stories she wanted to tell.
She still lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two children and 2 dogs.  









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