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I was blessed to have award-winning author Katie Powner endorse my novel, The Broken Weathervane, which launched on September 2, 2026. As a thank you, I’m featuring her and her books on my blog.

Teaser for The Broken Weathervane

• Two co-workers seek the same information for opposite reasons
• Leslie’s quest to learn the truth about her family comes at a high cost
• Family drama meets mystery, deception, and thwarted academic aspirations

Back to Katie . . . 

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass was my first introduction to Katie’s works. That led to reading many more. 

I’ve always been drawn to small town and/or rural settings with regular flawed people trying to get by, trying to overcome challenges, trying to make sense of the hand they’ve been dealt. Stories with serendipity and second chances.

Katie’s books have also been my introduction to rural Montana, a place I’ve never been. But I feel like I’ve spent time there now–through her stories. 

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Coming this month! . . . Birds on a Wire releases on April 21, 2026

Blurb for Birds on a Wire (Kregel Publications)

A deeply moving contemporary story about family and foster care from a two-time Christy Award-winning author

When her newborn son, Providence, is taken by CPS, eighteen-year-old Bri Marshall is determined to do whatever’s necessary to get him back—with or without Providence’s father. But hurdles like no job, car, or family support complicate the process. Bri never expected to sink this low. What will it take to hold her baby in her arms again?

Thirty-nine-year-old Laura Gambler, facing the big 4-0, is managing new challenges with her own children when she’s asked to take in baby Providence. She could never have imagined the chain of events that agreeing to foster would set in motion—or the carefully buried pain from her past it would drag back to the surface.

Both women wrestle with doubts about the future and their ability to parent Providence, even as their love for him grows stronger every day. As their lives become irrevocably intertwined, the two very different women face the same impossible question: Who is the best mother for Providence?

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Katie’s inspiration for Birds on a Wire (in her own words):

I became a foster parent about ten years ago.
At the time, we had three young kids at home, we were in full-time ministry,
and we were homeschooling.
To say foster care turned our lives upside down would be an understatement.
It has changed the way I look at the world and has challenged me more than I could’ve thought possible.
It has also shown me that people have many assumptions and misconceptions about foster care. 

Many people believe foster parents are either saints with superhuman abilities
or villains who are in it to either abuse kids, take money from the state, or both.
Many people also believe bio parents either don’t want their kids anymore
or are heinous monsters. Or both.
The truth is, most foster parents are just ordinary people who care about
vulnerable children and want to help if they can.
And most bio parents love their kids fiercely but are stuck in a cycle of dysfunction
that is extremely difficult to get out of.
I wrote Birds on a Wire with the desire to portray foster care in an honest way
that will help people see what it’s really like.

I hope readers will open their hearts to this story and give it the chance to change their perspective.

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Also coming soon . . . The Second Chance Trailer Park releases on July 21, 2026 (Alcove Press)

Fifty-two-year-old Meredith McGillicutty is not having a midlife crisis. She’s just ready for a change of pace, that’s all. The fact that she lied to get into a retirement community has nothing to do with being passed over for a promotion at work nor her recent breakup with the only man she’s ever loved.

Nothing.

Meredith only wants some peace and quiet. To sit on a porch in elastic-waist pants and mingle with other mature individuals who value a life of serenity. But the residents of the Peaceful Pines retirement community have other plans for her. These quirky and endearing neighbors seem to know her better than she knows herself, and they decide Meredith’s life is only just beginning.

Blending humor and tenderness, The Second Chance Trailer Park will appeal to fans of Fredrik Backman and Lenora Worth.

Blurb for The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass (Bethany House Publishers, September 2023)

For the first time in his life, Pete has everything to lose.

After years of drifting, fifty-year-old Pete Ryman has settled down with his potbellied pig, Pearl, in the small Montana town of Sleeping Grass–a place he never expected to see again. It’s not the life he dreamed of, but there aren’t many prospects for a high-school dropout like him.

Elderly widow Wilma Jacobsen carries a burden of guilt over her part in events that led to Pete leaving Sleeping Grass decades ago. Now that he’s back, she’s been praying for the chance to make things right, but she never expected God’s answer to leave her flat on her face–literally–and up to her ears in meddling.

When the younger sister Pete was separated from as a child shows up in Sleeping Grass with her eleven-year-old son, Pete is forced to face a past he buried long ago, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at a higher cost than she’s willing to pay.

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My thoughts

I love the unique, down-home characters in this story—which includes a pet pig named Pearl! Pete, Wilma, and Windy Ray were endearing people I enjoyed getting to know. I was rooting for them the whole time—which becomes tricky when the tension grows thick between them–when I’m privy to their thoughts before they know each other’s secrets. Check out my full review here. 

Excerpt from the Q & A about The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass

What was your inspiration for writing this story? What is your personal connection to the setting?

This story is set on the Hi-Line of Montana, which is the area in northern Montana that runs east to west along Highway 2 and the Great Northern Railway. I live in the southwest part of Montana but sometimes drive up to the Hi-Line to visit my brother and his family in Cut Bank.

My brother works as the garbageman for the city of Cut Bank, and he would sometimes tell me stories about things he would see or people he would encounter while driving the truck up and down the alleys collecting trash. His stories got me thinking about all the things a garbageman might notice while going largely unnoticed by everyone around him. That’s how The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass was born.

For the rest of the Q & A, go here. 

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Blurb for When the Road Comes Around (Bethany House Publishers, August 2025)

Only trouble can bring about the beauty of redemption and grace.

In the small town of Grady, Montana, twenty-four-year-old Tad Bungley has a reputation for trouble. When he lands a job at Come Around Ranch, however, his life seems to take a positive turn. As he develops a soft spot for Sam, the ranch owner’s disabled son, and a special bond with TJ, a rescue horse with a poor reputation of his own, Tad becomes determined not to bungle it up this time.

Forty-eight-year-old Anita Wilson is too young to feel so old, but rheumatoid arthritis limits her ability to work on the guest ranch she owns with her husband. It was a risk to hire Tad for the summer, but Anita is convinced he just needs a bit of encouragement to find his footing. What she doesn’t anticipate is that Tad’s presence at the ranch will change everything, including her relationship with her son. And when Tad finds himself in more of a mess than ever, he and Anita must learn when to hold on, when to let go, and what grace really means.

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My thoughts on When the Road Comes Around

Even though Dan and Anita Wilson have problems of their own, they open their arms to others and their problems, in this case young Tad Bungley. His name tells all. He seems to bungle everything he does. But Dan and Anita are committed to giving him the chance he needs to make something of himself.

Tad develops a good relationship with Dan and Anita’s special needs adult son, Sam, which has both good and bad outcomes. Though I don’t have a special needs child, I completely identified with Anita as a mother, and her struggle between wanting to both protect her child while letting him have the experiences he needs. 

I was rooting for Tad too. That’s the power of this story. Even when the characters are at odds, you’re rooting for all of them. You want the best for them and wonder how in the world it’s going to work out, considering the fallout. That makes the redemptive thread that runs through this story even more meaningful.

But don’t just take my word for it! Here’s another review by avid reader and pre-published author Ruth Schmeckpeper. 

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Blurb for Where the Blue Sky Begins (Bethany House Publishers, October 2022)

Sometimes the hardest road of all is the road home.

When confident and handsome Eric Larson is sent to a rural Montana town to work in the local branch of his uncle’s financial company, he’s determined to exceed everyone’s expectations, earn a promotion, and be back in Seattle by the end of summer. Yet nothing could prepare him for the lessons this small town has in store.

At forty-six years old, eccentric and outspoken Eunice Parker has come to accept her terminal illness and has given herself one final goal: seek forgiveness from everyone on her bucket list before her time runs out. But it will take more courage than she can muster on her own.

After an accident pushes Eric and Eunice together, the unlikely pair is forced to spend more time with each other than either would like, which challenges their deepest prejudices and beliefs. As summer draws to a close, neither Eric nor Eunice is where they thought they would be, but they both wrestle with the same important question: What matters most when the end is near?

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My thoughts on Where the Blue Sky Begins

Generally, I don’t prefer reading about characters with terminal illnesses because I don’t want to deal with death in a story. But this one goes above and beyond my expectations. First, the most unlikely friendship evolves between Eric and Eunice—total opposites and headed in different directions—but it’s completely believable. And compelling—particularly the premise of a bucket list of apologies.

Being from Seattle and climbing the corporate ladder, hotshot Eric is definitely the square peg in a round hole in Montana. But so is his new neighbor Eunice, for completely different reasons. Which Eric will eventually find out.

This novel runs the gamut of emotions with both tear-jerking moments and humor (some which involves a chicken). Some people might consider this story slow going, but the tension is always present. Questions are raised, assumptions are challenged. These people and their individual stories matter. 

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I haven’t read these yet, but I look forward to doing so!

A Flicker of Light (Bethany House Publishers, October 2021)

The Sowing Seasons (Bethany House Publishers, October 2020)

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Back to Laura . . . On a similar note . . . 

If you like dual timeline fiction about family dynamics in a small town Midwest (Wisconsin) setting, try The Broken Weathervane (launched September 2). Two co-workers seek the same information. One wants to publish it; the other has good reasons to keep it hidden. The timeline alternates between 2015 and the 1950s. Check out the reviews and book trailer here.

If you like historical fiction, you might enjoy A Hundred Magical Reasons (launched January 2025). This story spotlights L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, his friendship with a young girl, and his impact through the decades. Set in Holland, Michigan, this dual timeline novel alternates between 1980 and the early 1900s. Read more and watch the book trailer here. 

If you like Southern fiction and small town/rural stories about family dynamics and secrets, you might enjoy my novel All That Is Hidden. Set near North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains in 1968, the story spotlights the bond of family and the connections of a tight-knit community. Northern exploitation threatens as a father’s hidden past catches up to him and tests family ties. Learn more and watch the trailer here.

All That Is Hidden is now an audiobook! 

I invite you to join my monthly newsletter for writing updates, freebies, and giveaways. Sign up and I’ll send you a prequel and 7 Oz-inspired recipes: StandoutStoriesNewsletter.com  

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Katie Powner bio:

Katie Powner is a Christy Award-winning author who lives in rural Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She writes contemporary novels about redemption, relationships, and finding the dirt road home. She is a mom to the third power (biological, adoptive, and foster) who loves red shoes, candy, and Jesus—not necessarily in that order! Learn more at katiepowner.com.

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Join me next time for a visit with author Barbara M. Britton.

Meanwhile, have you read any of Katie Powner’s novels or others set in Montana? How about any novels having to do with foster children?

Answer in the comments below for a chance to win an ebook or paperback of your choice.

Ever reading,

Laura

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