The Next Breath Blog Tour

The Next Breath: A Heart-Wrenching and Witty Love story

by Laurel Osterkamp

Grief has no expiration date—and neither does love.

Ten years after the sudden death of her first love, Robin is doing her best to start over. Jed was the kind of person who changed your whole perspective—brilliant, unpredictable, and unforgettable. He never promised forever, but he gave Robin something just as lasting: a play he wrote just for her, delivered just before he passed. Robin has kept that part of her life hidden… until now.

When she agrees to perform in Jed’s play, she’s already falling for Nick—gentle, honest, and steadfast. But Nick doesn’t know he’s sharing Robin’s heart with a ghost. As rehearsals begin and Jed resurfaces in her dreams, Robin is forced to confront the tangled threads of love, loss, and the way grief lingers in unexpected corners. Can she move forward without erasing the past? Or will honoring one love mean sacrificing another?

The Next Breath is a tender, lyrical novel about second chances, emotional honesty, and the fragile balancing act between memory and moving on.

Amazon: http://bit.ly/3GeVJqO
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212336698-the-next-breath

 

Laurel Osterkamp writes stories that explore the quiet complexities of women’s lives—how love, identity, and personal reinvention collide in surprising ways. A longtime teacher and Minneapolis native, Laurel brings real-world emotional resonance to her fiction, which includes The Side Project, Favorite Daughters, and the Amazon #1 bestseller Beautiful Little Furies. Her work speaks to fans of Jo Jo Moyes, Carley Fortune, and Katherine Center—readers who appreciate a little humor, a lot of heart, and characters who feel deeply real. Learn more at laurellit.com or follow her on Instagram.

 

Author Interview

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing The Next Breath?

While writing The Next Breath, I wanted to make sure I wrote about cystic fibrosis in a realistic way, so I did a lot of research. Same is true for feelings of loss and grief. But, both my biggest reward and challenge was writing Jed’s play within a novel. I started writing plays before I ever began writing novels, so it wasn’t completely out of my comfort zone. However, I was kinda dumb, to set it up in the novel that Jed’s play is REALLY GOOD. I put a lot of pressure on myself. And, it’s while performing Jed’s play that Robin finally confronts her grief. This was definitely the most difficult scene I’ve ever had to write, ever, in any book of mine. But also the most rewarding.

 

If your book were made into a movie, what songs would be on the soundtrack?

Funny you should ask! Here’s a link to my Spotify playlist for The Next Breath.

 

Your book is set in Des Moines, Iowa. Have you ever been there?

I have been there many times because my best friend lives in Kansas City and I live in Minneapolis. At least once a year, we drive a few hours either north or south, and meet in Des Moines. I love that city because there are many fun memories connected to it.

 

What is your next project?

Currently, I’m working on a novel titled My Winter Song to You. It’s a fake dating, friends-to-lovers, holiday romance inspired Shakespeare’s “problem” play, The Winter’s Tale. And it takes place in Sugar Pine, Colorado, where I also set my novella, I Bet You Think About Me. (You can download that novella FREE when visiting laurellit.com!)

 

What is the last great book you’ve read?

I just finished Emma Grey’s Pictures of You. I was riveted! She does a great job with the dual-POV, flashback/flash forward structure. Such a great job, that she makes it seem easy, but it’s anything but. And, the story captures the feelings of love young while also dealing with some very serious topics with care.

 

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