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Author Interview,  Giveaway,  Hope-filled Fiction

Interview with Katie Powner & a Giveaway

April 15, 2026 /

Please welcome Katie Powner back to the blog this week! I love Katie’s books, and her upcoming release, Birds on a Wire, is no exception! As a member of Katie’s launch team, I have the privilege of reading an early copy, and I think you’re going to love it!

Be sure to comment below by April 21 for a chance to win a paperback of Birds on a Wire! (US winner only)

Welcome back to the Hope-Filled Fiction blog, Katie! For those who might not know you, please tell us a little about yourself and your family.

We live in a small town in Montana. My husband and I have been married for 22 years. We have two biological children, one adopted, and about a dozen that we have fostered over the past ten years. We also have a few chickens and a cat named Bartholomew. 

I love that you and your family foster precious kiddos. How and when did you start writing? 

I’ve been writing since I can remember. It’s always been a part of my life. I wrote a lot of short stories and poetry growing up, as well as newspaper articles, then moved into a songwriting phase in my twenties. 

When I turned thirty, I started thinking about writing an actual novel, but with three young kids at the time, whom I was homeschooling, I didn’t know how that would work. I figured I should wait until the kids had grown up and left the house. But I had a vivid scene in my mind that I felt compelled to write down one night, and the next thing I knew, I had a completed novel. 

That book was never published, but it inspired me to write another one, and another one, and here we are.

I, and many other readers, are thankful you kept writing! How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

The fastest I’ve ever completed a first draft was in four months, while other stories have taken up to eight months to complete. So I would say six months is the average.

Is Birds on a Wire inspired by true events or personal history? 

Yes, Birds on a Wire is very loosely based on my personal experience as a foster mom. No two foster care cases are alike, and I didn’t try to make this story match a particular case, but I used a case we were involved in as inspiration.

I adore books based on true stories, and I love Birds on a Wire. Please share the premise of the book.

In Birds on a Wire, a foster mom and a bio mom form a tenuous friendship over the baby they both love. As their lives become intertwined, the two very different women find themselves asking the same impossible question: Who is the best mother for the baby?

That’s such a compelling concept, and I can attest that readers will root for both moms. What do you hope your readers take away from Birds on a Wire?

One of the reasons I wrote this book was to show people what foster care is really like and to challenge some of the assumptions and misconceptions I see people make about foster care. I hope readers come away from the story with a new understanding of what people involved in foster care go through and with greater compassion for bio parents.

As a previous Court-appointed Special Advocate (CASA), I had an up-close look at foster families and bio parents, but your book has opened my eyes even more, so mission accomplished! How many unpublished and unfinished manuscripts do you have? Any plans to pursue publication for any of them?

I currently have six unpublished manuscripts and zero unfinished. Of the six unpublished, there are two for which I have high hopes of publication someday. One is on submission right now and there are plans to send the other out as well. 

Then there are two that I doubt will ever be published because they cover very controversial topics. No publisher is going to want to touch them, so I would have to self-publish them.

Of the remaining two unpublished manuscripts, one I believe has a shot at future publication if I went back and did a major revision, and the other, my very first completed novel, has no chance at publication. It’s honestly pretty terrible and I hope no one ever reads it.

Sounds like some good possibilities ahead, and maybe God will direct you to self-publish those controversial books! What are you reading right now?

I just finished Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and am now reading The Writing Life by Annie Dillard.

What’s next from you?

After Birds on a Wire, I have another book coming out in July. It’s an UpLit general market novel called The Second Chance Trailer Park. It will be my first book published in the general market, but the only difference in content between it and all my previous Christian fiction books is that the faith content is more subtle. 

There’s a lot of debate about whether Christian authors should write for the general market, but in my mind, the general market is like a mission field. I hope I can bring a little truth and shine a little light there.

Several years ago, I heard the term “Paper Missionaries,” and I think that applies to your goal to shine light into the world. May God bless you as you follow that endeavor, Katie!

Visit the #HopeFilledFiction blog and comment on @katie_powner’s interview by 4/21 for a chance to win a paperback of #BirdsOnAWire! (US only) #giveaway #contemporaryfiction

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Join the conversation. Have you read any of Katie’s novels? Which is your favorite? Are you looking forward to reading Birds on a Wire? What questions or comments do you have for Katie?

Comment below by April 21 for a chance to win a paperback of Birds on a Wire! (US winner only)

Birds on a Wire book cover

Birds on a Wire by Katie Powner

Click the book cover for more info & purchase link

Eighteen-year-old Bri Marshall is determined to do whatever it takes to get her newborn son back after he’s taken by CPS. But the chances of reunification with Providence are slim. Her drug-addicted boyfriend is the only reason she has a roof over her head. With no job, no car, and no family support, she’s at rock bottom, hanging on to hope by a thread.

Laura Gambler, on the brink of turning forty, is managing new challenges with her own children when she’s asked to take in Providence. She never could have imagined the chain of events her agreement to foster the baby 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, they face an impossible question: Who is the best mother for Providence?

Katie Powner is an award-winning author who lives in Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She writes contemporary fiction about everyday people, filled with humor and heart, including the Christy Award-winning novels Where the Blue Sky Begins and The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass. Katie is a mom to the third power (biological, adoptive, and foster) who loves candy, Jesus, and red shoes…not necessarily in that order.

Connect with Katie: Website / Facebook / Instagram

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Please share Katie’s interview on social media to help spread the word about her new release!

If you missed last week’s post with the 2026 April new releases, FIND IT HERE.

As a Jesus girl for more than thirty years, Deena Adams understands how important hope is to daily life, which fuels her passion to inspire others through hope-filled fiction based on true to life stories. She is a multi-award-winning author, an active ACFW member, and a six-year ACFW Virginia board member. Connect with Deena through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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69 Comments

  • Joan Benson
    April 21, 2026 at 3:02 pm

    Thanks for sharing Katie’s work with us, Deena. I am always excited to find someone new to me and add to my must-read lists. As an adoptive mom of four, two infants and two as 12-year-old troubled kids, I have many stories that will weave into yours, I imagine. So, I will read on and see what happens!

    May you have much success in sharing these invaluable stories of nurturing kids in and out of the “system.”

    In Him,
    Joan

  • Teri DiVincenzo
    April 21, 2026 at 10:15 am

    I was part of the lucky launch team as well, and I thought Birds on a Wire was phenomenal! It really digs to the heart of so many different emotions, especially those surrounding parenthood, the many forms of love, and the brokenness of our foster parenting system..

  • Barbara Schultze
    April 18, 2026 at 3:36 pm

    I just came from the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin University and saw at the Kregel booth that “Birds on a Wire” is due out next week! I’m looking forward to reading it.

  • Becky Lewis
    April 18, 2026 at 3:04 pm

    Given my husband’s and my past work in spec Ed and him esp as a social worker for the state as a side job, counseling at-risk parents, this topic interests me very much. Also, in the spec. ed classroom, we would get some wonderful parents, and other parents who you would wonder how the kids were still in the home.

  • Perrianne Askew
    April 17, 2026 at 10:17 pm

    I’m just here to say that Birds on a Wire is fantastic! Just expect some heart tugging and maybe even a few tears. I’ve followed Kathie through all of her published novels and cannot pick a favorite (they’re all so good!) but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any of them. (No entry, I’m also on the launch team).

  • Kathleen D. Bailey
    April 17, 2026 at 8:20 am

    Katie, thank you for your honesty. My first novel is totally unpublishable. Fortunately I no longer know where it is.
    My parents adopted my sister when i was in college. She was 4, so it was an older adoption. She has been such a blessing to me. Fostering and adopting are great if one can do them.

  • Kelly V.
    April 16, 2026 at 7:00 pm

    I’ve read A Flicker of Light, which was particularly moving for me since my father had Alzheimer’s. I’d love to read more of her books.

    • Katie Powner
      April 17, 2026 at 12:41 pm

      Thank you for reading A Flicker of Light. My grandma had Alzheimer’s as well and it was a healing process for me to write that story. Thanks for commenting!

    • Deena Adams
      April 17, 2026 at 3:40 pm

      Hi, Kelly. I’m sorry you had to experience your father having Alzheimer’s. It’s such a cruel disease. Reading stories about what we’re dealing with helps us know we’re not alone. Thanks for stopping by!

  • Gina Hayward
    April 16, 2026 at 3:01 pm

    So far I have read The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass and I thoroughly enjoyed that one! I am looking forward to reading more. This sounds like a deep story and possibly heart-wrenching so I think I would really like it. Katie being both a foster and adoptive mom will have great insight to this situation! I look forward to being stretched and challenged by reading it and would love to win.

    • Katie Powner
      April 16, 2026 at 6:28 pm

      My hope and prayer for the book is just what you said…that people would be stretched and challenged by reading it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

  • Connie Porter Saunders
    April 15, 2026 at 11:14 pm

    I’ve had the pleasure of reading The Sowing Season, Where the Blue Sky Begins, and The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass. I love Katie’s writing and look forward to reading both of her new books. Thanks for sharing!

  • Katie Updike
    April 15, 2026 at 7:49 pm

    I’m really looking forward to reading this book. I have really enjoyed Katie’s other books.

  • Julia Casselman
    April 15, 2026 at 7:23 pm

    Such a wonderful story. I’m most glad that you showed the cycle of poverty and how difficult it is to actually rise above it when you don’t have the tools to do so.

    • Deena Adams
      April 16, 2026 at 8:24 am

      Yes, Julia, Katie’s portrayal of the bio parents and their life is truly an eye-opener and sparks lots of compassion for those in their situation.

    • Katie Powner
      April 16, 2026 at 2:28 pm

      The obstacles many of these parents must overcome are overwhelming and we must have compassion because it is only by God’s grace we aren’t in their shoes. It is only by God’s grace that we were born into a family that taught us basic life skills, for example. My hope and prayer is that this story will change people’s perspective.

  • Vickie
    April 15, 2026 at 11:57 am

    Oh, this sounds so good.

    A few years into our marriage my husband and I considered being foster parents. After much discussion and prayer we decided we wouldn’t be able to.

    I admire people who can provide love and support to foster children.

    A good (great) cover always draws me to look at a book. I love this cover.

    • Katie Powner
      April 15, 2026 at 12:19 pm

      It’s definitely not for everyone, although I do encourage people to think about other ways they can support vulnerable children, even if fostering isn’t possible.

      I’m so glad you love the cover! Thank you for commenting!

    • Deena Adams
      April 16, 2026 at 8:27 am

      Hi, Vickie. My husband and I also considered fostering children but never felt the strong call from God to do it. I so admire those who follow that call and help so many children who need a safe and loving home, whether short-term or for a longer period of time. As I said in Katie’s interview, I served as a CASA for foster children for three-and-a-half years, and the horrific situations children face are heart-breaking. I was blessed to be a small part of helping some sweet kiddos through a tough time.

  • Traci
    April 15, 2026 at 9:36 am

    I’ve had this on my TBR for quite a while and cannot wait to read it! I do enjoy your books!

  • Dana McReynolds
    April 15, 2026 at 8:49 am

    I’ve read all of Katie’s books, all 5 star reads and cannot pick a favorite. Can’t wait for this one!

    • Lorraine Groom-Ashmore
      April 16, 2026 at 12:17 am

      I am my church’s librarian and I have gotten all of Katie’s books for our collection. I want to have one as a summer book club discussion this year and I need to quickly decide which one it will be so I can ask Katie to join us on a zoom meeting. I just love her writing style and that she has non-traditional careers in her books.

      • Deena Adams
        April 16, 2026 at 8:30 am

        Any of Katie’s books would make for a wonderful book club read, Lorraine! Children in foster care is dear to my heart, so Birds on a Wire is up there among my favorites of hers.

        On another note, I’d love for you to consider my debut novel, Stronger than the Storm, for a future book club. I’d love to Zoom with your group!

      • Katie Powner
        April 16, 2026 at 2:24 pm

        I would be honored to do that, Lorraine! And thank you for carrying my books in your library, I really appreciate that. Be sure to check out the Book Club resources on my website!