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Author Interview,  Giveaway,  Hope-filled Fiction

Katie Powner: Montana, Second Chances, a Giveaway & More

October 18, 2023 /

Katie Powner has become one of my favorite Contemporary Christian Fiction authors, so I’m excited to share her interview with you this week. I’m even more excited to read her new book, The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass.

Be sure to comment at the bottom of this page by October 24 for a chance to win a paperback copy. (US resident only)

Welcome, Katie. I’m so glad to have you here! Tell us a little about yourself and your family.

I live in rural Montana with my husband, three kids, twelve chickens, and two bunnies. I would also love to have a milk cow, a pig, and a goat, but alas they are not allowed inside “city limits”…even if the “city” still has dirt roads and only two thousand people. 

But you have Moolene! LOL (Readers, if you don’t know who Moolene is, connect with Katie using the links in her bio below) What does your writing space look like? Any animals there?

Our house is pretty small, and my desk is in the corner of the living room. It looks like a disorganized mess most of the time, though I know exactly where everything is. It has a lot of family photos on it, and Moolene is there, too. There’s also a DeskCycle underneath so I can get some exercise while I’m sitting around typing.

Do you have a favorite drink or snack you indulge in while writing?

Let’s just say I keep a box of dark chocolate Dove bars nearby in a secret location.

Depending on how many of those you indulge in daily, that DeskCycle could come in handy.  How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?

From the first idea and brainstorming to a complete version that I feel comfortable sending to my editor, it takes me about eight to ten months.

I hope to go from idea to an edited manuscript in less than a year someday. Let’s talk about your new book, The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass. Was it inspired by true events or personal history?

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass is set on the Hi-Line of northern Montana and the main character is a garbageman. The story was inspired by my brother, who lives on the Hi-Line and is a garbageman. He would tell me stories sometimes of interesting things he would see or people he would encounter while driving the truck up and down the alleys of his town, and they gave me all kinds of ideas that turned into this book.

I love that you used your brother’s experiences as inspiration. What is the premise of the book?

In The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass, Pete is content in his simple life in a rugged and remote Montana town, but elderly widow Wilma is busy meddling in Pete’s life to make up for past wrongs. When the sister Pete was separated from as a child shows up, Pete must confront a long-buried past, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at a higher price than she’s willing to pay.

What do you hope your readers take away from The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass?

This book is about second chances and seeing the value in the people around you even when others don’t. I hope readers will be reminded to look around and notice how beautiful and unique the people around them are, especially those cast aside or forgotten by the world.

Your book sounds wonderful. How many unpublished and unfinished manuscripts do you have? Any plans to pursue publication for any of them?

At the moment, I have six unpublished manuscripts, all finished. Of those six, there are three I hope to see published one day. The other three were the first three I ever wrote and they really aren’t very high quality. Their purpose was not publication so much as practice. As for unfinished manuscripts, I currently have none, but I plan to start a new project in a couple months.

I hope those three are published soon! What’s next from you?

Good question! I’ve got one book out on submission right now and a second one I hope to send out soon, but you never know whether a manuscript will receive a contract or not. So far my manuscripts have had success less than 50% of the time. Publishing is a difficult and often heartbreaking business. But I choose to be faithful to write the stories I think God wants me to write and leave the rest up to Him.

God will reward your faithfulness, Katie. Keep at it! Your stories are blessing people. Thanks so much for sharing on the blog this week.

Comment on @katie_powner’s author interview by 10/24 for a chance to win a paperback of her new release, #TheWindBlowsinSleepingGrass. (US resident only)

#giveaway #amreading

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Join the conversation. Have you read any of Katie’s books? Which is your favorite? Does the premise of The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass sound interesting to you? What questions or comments do you have for Katie?

Be sure to comment below by October 24 for a chance to win a paperback of The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass. (US resident only)

Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass book cover

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner

Click the book cover for Amazon purchase link or find the book at Baker Book House

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.

Katie Powner is an award-winning author who lives in Montana, where cows still outnumber people. She writes contemporary fiction about redemption, relationships, and finding the dirt road home. She’s a mom to the third power (biological, adoptive, and foster) who loves Jesus, red shoes, and candy.

Connect with Katie: Website / Facebook / Instagram

Katie Powner head shot

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

Check out these interviews with Tim Bishop, Kelly Goshorn, and Mary Pat Johns.

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 represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and is a multi-award-winning writer, an active ACFW member, and ACFW Virginia president. Connect with Deena through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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