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.

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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

Do you read books in this genre?

If so, who do you like to read? I only read Christian/clean fiction, but I read many genres within that. Mostly contemporary women’s fiction, but also cozy mysteries, suspense, and some romance. I love so many authors, but the great ones I’ve read recently are Karen Kingsbury, C.C. Warrens, Jamie Jo Wright, Hope Toler Dougherty, and Jen Dodrill.

What helps you to write? Do you eat snacks, listen to music?

Coffee, the sound of my dogs snoring on their bed in my office, and contemporary Christian music. And my notebook and purple pen have to be nearby.

What is your favorite hymn and why?

I would have to say How Great Thou Art because it reminds me of spending Saturday night with my Grandma and Papa then going to their church with them the next morning. They belonged to a tiny white church like you see in the movies. Probably less than 50 people in the congregation, but they belted out the old hymns in a way that made you thing there were hundreds of congregants. How Great Thou Art was my favorite because it painted a picture of a BIG God and Creator who could do anything. I still love the song today.

What is one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you?

Probably that I wrote the first 50,000 works of Just Another Home on my phone because my laptop was broken. It was during the beginning of covid and I didn’t want to spend money on a new laptop. I didn’t get one until my son won a laptop at his work. He didn’t need it and asked me if I wanted it. I then emailed the 50,000 words from my phone to the laptop, and my writing life became much easier at that point!