Katie Powner

An Award-Winning Author 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. 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. 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.

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 my go-to author for multigenerational tales that take a tender and honest look at the human condition. . . . This is my favorite Powner book yet!"--AMANDA COX, Christy Award-winning author "When the Road Comes Around is a stick-with-you testament to why nurturing hopeful perseverance in ourselves and others is always the best route to take."--SARA BRUNSVOLD, Christy Award-winning author For fans of Fredrik Backman, small-town stories, middle-age characters, redemption arcs, and second chances, a clean, gently humorous contemporary novel by Katie Powner set near the mountains of rural Montana.

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 my go-to author for multigenerational tales that take a tender and honest look at the human condition. . . . This is my favorite Powner book yet "--AMANDA COX, Christy Award-winning author "When the Road Comes Around is a stick-with-you testament to why nurturing hopeful perseverance in ourselves and others is always the best route to take."--SARA BRUNSVOLD, Christy Award-winning author For fans of Fredrik Backman, small-town stories, middle-age characters, redemption arcs, and second chances, a clean, gently humorous contemporary novel by Katie Powner set near the mountains of rural Montana.

2024 Selah Award Winner, 2024 Christy Award Winner, and Carol Award FinalistFor 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 brings both humor and heft to the page as she celebrates simple pleasures and not-so-simple love."--JULIE CANTRELL, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Perennials

Pete is content in his simple life in a 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 difficult past, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at too high a price.

2023 Christy Award Winner and Selah Award Finalist "Katie Powner's engaging story will pull you in and leave you in wonder at that deep, blue sky."--CHRIS FABRY, author and radio hostSometimes 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?Praise for Katie Powner"Powner delivers life lessons that cross generations and will linger long after the last page is turned."--Library Journal starred review"My favorite stories are ones about everyday, salt-of-the-earth people. When I open a novel by Katie Powner, I know that's what I'm going to experience."--Susie Finkbeiner, author of The Nature of Small Birds

2023 Christy Award Winner and Selah Awards Finalist "Katie Powner's engaging story will pull you in and leave you in wonder at that deep, blue sky."--CHRIS FABRY, author and radio hostSometimes 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?Praise for Katie Powner"Powner delivers life lessons that cross generations and will linger long after the last page is turned."--Library Journal starred review"My favorite stories are ones about everyday, salt-of-the-earth people. When I open a novel by Katie Powner, I know that's what I'm going to experience."--Susie Finkbeiner, author of The Nature of Small Birds

Secrets are like pennies. Everybody's got one, even the poorest among us.For generations, the Jensens have raised their families in the small Montana town of Moose Creek, where gossip spreads faster than the wind. Yet some secrets need to be told.When twenty-one-year-old Bea discovers she's pregnant on the heels of her husband losing his job, she's forced to admit she needs help and asks her dad for a place to stay. But past resentments keep her from telling him all that's going on.Mitch Jensen is thrilled to have a full house again, though he's unimpressed with Bea's decisions: dropping out of college, marrying so young--and to an idealistic city kid, of all things. Mitch hopes to convince Bea to return to the path he's always envisioned for her, but she's changed since her mom died. And he refuses to admit how much he's changed, too, especially now that he might be losing his mother as well.Grandma June is good at spinning stories, but there's one she's never told. Now that her mind is starting to fade, her time to tell it is running out. But if she reveals the truth before her memories are gone forever, the Jensen family will never be the same."Powner will be the next big star in Christian fiction."--Library Journal starred review

After he's forced to sell the family farm he's labored on his whole life, 63-year-old Gerrit Laninga doesn't know what to do with himself. He sacrificed everything for the land--his time, his health, his family--with nothing to show for it but bitterness, regret, and two grown children who want nothing to do with him.Fifteen-year-old Rae Walters has growing doubts and fears about The Plan--the detailed blueprint for high school that will help her follow in her lawyer father's footsteps. She's always been committed to The Plan, but now that the pressure to succeed is building, what was supposed to unite her family in purpose, may end up tearing it apart.When their paths cross just as they each need a friend the most, Gerrit's and Rae's lives begin to change in unexpected ways. Can they discover together what really matters in life and learn it's never too late for a second chance?