About the Book

Book: Just Another Home

Author: Kimberly Banet

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction, Women’s Christian Fiction

Release Date: May 7, 2024

Sixteen-year-old Sam Keller has lived in foster homes and group homes most of his life and has long ago given up on the dream of a stable, forever family. Adults have always let him down, and so has God, and he has no use for either.

John and Abbie Grayson are a respected, successful couple in their fifties with two grown children. They live in their dream home in Franklin, TN, an idyllic suburb of Nashville, where John is a successful college basketball coach, and Abbie works part-time at their local church. But Abbie feels something is missing from her life and convinces John they should become foster parents.

Their worlds collide when Sam is placed in the Grayson home for a few days. Days turn into months, and Sam thrives with the Graysons and allows himself to dream of a forever family, while John and Abbie realize the teen has found his way into their hearts.

As the Graysons begin to investigate the possibility of adopting Sam, an evil agenda emerges, and a secret past is revealed. Nothing short of a miracle can save Sam from a harrowing ordeal and keep the Grayson family together.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Kimberly Banet received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. She started writing in 2020. Her debut novel, Just Another Home, was a 2023 ACFW Genesis Finalist.

Kimberly was married to the love of her life, Jeff, from 1988 until his passing in December, 2024. Together they raised two children, Nicole and Brandon.

Kimberly lives in beautiful Starlight, Indiana, with her two fur babies, Daisy and Winnie.

More from Kimberly

My debut novel, Just Another Home, was released in 2024. It’s about a teen in the foster care system, Sam, who is placed with a couple in their fifties, John and Abbie. Something most people don’t know about Just Another Home is that the setting of the story, Franklin, Tennessee, was not just some random town I chose for the backdrop of Sam’s story. Franklin is a place I’ve visited many times and is near and dear to my heart.

In 2015, our daughter and son-in-law moved to Franklin, a little over three hours from our home in Indiana where my husband and I have lived all our lives. We visited frequently. We loved the small-town, rural feel of Franklin, with its rolling fields and farms and the scenic beauty of the nearby Natchez Trace Parkway. It also satisfied everything we wanted in a small city with its unique shops, boutiques and locally-owned restaurants on Main Street and nearby Cool Springs.

My favorite things about Franklin, though, were the great family weekends we spent there. The memories of one weekend in particular always makes me smile. We attended the Dickens of a Christmas Festival on the square in downtown Franklin. It was just one of the many festivals they have there, but the one I love the most.

It was a blustery, cold day for Middle Tennessee. The high was only 30 degrees and snow flurries were flying. With coffee in hand, we braved the downtown streets and met all our favorite Dickens characters—Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, and Tiny Tim, among others. There were vendor booths, and a giant, beautifully lit Christmas tree in the square. It was a beautiful, Christmas-like day with our whole family together in the same place at the same time. When we got too cold to walk anymore, we ducked into a pizzeria to have lunch and warm up. Then we finished the day at our favorite local bookstore there, Landmark. This mother’s heart was full.

Does all of this sound familiar? If you’ve read Just Another Home, it does, because this exact story is played out as Sam attends the Dickens Festival with his foster family. It’s the first time he is genuinely happy since he can remember. He can enjoy the day with them without having to fight for survival or worry about what tomorrow brings. For once he is free and his heart is not troubled.

Kind of like this momma’s heart, having her whole family in the same place at the same time.

Interview with the Author

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?

During the writing process, the most surprising thing was how characters will just hijack the story. They will take it to places I couldn’t imagine before I began writing the story. It’s an amazing process. The most surprising part about the post-publication process is the amount of marketing involved. I never dreamed I’d be so busy with marketing tasks. I can’t say I love that part of it, but it’s all fun.

Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

YES! I love to hear from readers. I LOVE hearing from everyone, from friends and relatives to people I haven’t seen since high school. But the best is when I hear from people I’ve never met before. I’ve received cards, emails, and social media posts from people I don’t know, some who live far away. Many of them have foster care experiences and they tell me how much they love or relate to Sam’s story. And others love the faith thread throughout the stories. Nothing makes my heart happier than hearing how my books have affected someone.

How do you overcome writer’s block?

Do you have any advice for others in finding their process to overcome it? I force myself to write, even if it’s not good. I have found that if I step away and avoid writing, the writer’s block gets worse. If I make myself sit and write, eventually the story finds its way.

What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?

The first contest I ever entered yielded really low scores (in the 30s out of 100 – yikes!). The comments from judges were hard to read. Until I got to the 3^rd judge. She also scored me in the 30s, but at the end she recommended a couple of writing craft books for me to read, and said, “Whatever you do, don’t stop writing. You have an interesting story to tell, and I want to read it one day.” Her comment kept me going. I read the books, applied the knowledge, and entered more contests, eventually becoming an ACFW Genesis Finalist in 2023. I’m so thankful for the comments of that judge. They kept me going.

Is your writing space pristine or organized chaos?

My writing space has to be neat and organized. Clutter is a huge distraction. I like to write with a clean desk – just my laptop and a notebook. Editing, however, is another story. It’s organized chaos for sure. My editor’s notes, my publisher’s editing guidance, the CMOS opened, and different colored pens and post-it notes everywhere. It makes me crazy, but somehow the editing gets done.