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Author Spotlight,  Giveaway,  Hope-filled Fiction

Katie Powner: Spotlight on When the Road Comes Around & a Giveaway

August 27, 2025 /

I’m thrilled to spotlight Katie Powner, one of my favorite authors, this week. Enjoy her post about her new release, When the Road Comes Around, and be sure to comment below by September 2 for a chance to win a paperback of her book! (US winner only)

I love living in Montana. Most people know it’s a beautiful place with a big sky, but not many people know how diverse the landscape is. There are mountains, of course. Lots of them. They are huge and striking and have cool names like Beartooth Mountains, Crazy Mountains, and Ruby Range. But there are also plains. The Northern Great Plains, to be exact. This is one of the largest and most significant remaining grasslands in the United States, home to the rarest mammal in North America: the black-footed ferret.

Then there are the valleys. You can’t have mountains without valleys. And canyons. And basins. This means there are hundreds of creeks and rivers, which support millions of acres of ranch land and farmland. In fact, there are more cows than people in Montana. And the crops! Have you ever seen a field of wheat that seemed to never end?

Don’t even get me started on the wildlife. Or the two National Parks. But for all the beauty and wonder, Montana has a dark side, too. For instance, this great state has the highest suicide rate in the country. The highest rate of under-21 alcohol-related driving fatalities and fifth highest rate of DUIs. It also has the fifth highest rate of overall alcohol abuse.

Like I said, you can’t have the mountains without the valleys.

There are many factors that contribute to these disheartening stats, including isolation, extreme weather, and the lack of sufficient financial and mental health resources in hard-to-reach rural areas. Montana also has twelve tribal nations and seven Native American reservations. Unfortunately, these communities, as well as farmers and ranchers, have disproportionately high rates of issues such as substance abuse, depression, and suicide.

My new book When the Road Comes Around is set in southwest Montana on a guest ranch outside of the fictional town of Grady. When I was writing the story, I was acutely aware of the paradox of how Montana can be so beautiful and so ugly at the same time. The vast magnificence of nature contrasted with the painful struggle of the human condition. I didn’t want to paint a rosy picture of life on a Montana ranch, as if it’s all riding horses and watching the sunset from your porch, but I also didn’t want to paint a grim picture, as if there is no hope for hurting communities. Because there is always hope.

Some of the difficult stats I mentioned show up in the story. For example, Tad is dealing with an alcoholic father. Anita volunteers for a program working to bring mental health resources to agricultural areas. At times, she wonders if what she’s doing is really helping anyone, which is something I think we can all relate to. We don’t always get to see a positive outcome from the time we put in to serving others. We don’t always know what’s going on behind the scenes or what kind of fruit our efforts might bear somewhere down the road.

This is one reason why some of the storylines in my book are wrapped up in a positive way and some are left open-ended. Because Tad’s story and Anita’s story and Montana’s story are still being written. There’s still work to be done and changes to be made and obstacles to overcome. But this great and wild and awe-inspiring state and all the people in it are worth the effort.

Thanks so much for this insight into your beloved home state and your new book, Katie! Now I get why the end of the story left me hanging a bit. I pray God will continue to bless you as you write amazing stories for readers to enjoy.

If you’re interested in my review of Katie’s new book, you can check it out HERE.

Visit the #HopeFilledFiction blog & comment on @katie_powner’s spotlight by 9/2 for a chance to win her #newrelease, When the Road Comes Around! US winner only. #giveaway

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Join the conversation. Are you a fan of Katie’s work? What’s your favorite of hers? Does When the Road Comes Around pique your interest? Have you ever visited or lived in Montana?

Be sure to comment below by September 2 for a chance to win a paperback of Katie’s book! (US winner only)

When the Road Comes Around book cover

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.

Katie Powner is a Christy 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 red shoes, Jesus, and candy, not necessarily in that order.

Connect with Katie: Website / Facebook / Instagram/ X / BookBub

Katie Powner headshot

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

If you missed Amanda Cox’s Zoom interview last week about The Bitter End Birding Society, 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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