Author Interview: Kimberly Banet

Do you love stories with a bit of heartache and a whole lot of triumph and love? Well, Kimberly Banet has what you're looking for. Check out this fun interview to find out where she found her inspiration, her location, and even HOW she wrote her first book. You might be surprised! ​ Kim, congratulations on your newest book. Can you tell me what inspired you to write about foster families? 

Thank you, Amy! I had a coworker who always fostered teens, and I found that fascinating. She portrayed fostering teens as heartbreaking at times, but also very rewarding at times. Although her stories were nothing like my main character Sam’s experiences, bits and pieces of the heartache and the triumphs became part of Sam and the Grayson family’s story. You're from Indiana, but set your books in Tennessee. What made you choose that location?

My daughter and son-in-law lived in Franklin, Tennessee for about five years and my husband and I absolutely fell in love with the town. It’s festivals, downtown, and history drew us in. We spent a lot of time there. When thinking about a small-town setting for my series, it was never a question in my mind that it had to be Franklin.

Which one of your characters is most like you? In what ways? 

I would have to say Abbie. She has a great marriage to her husband John, just like my marriage to my husband Jeff was. And her friendship with her best friend Wendy is modeled after my friendship with my lifelong best friend.

You didn't start writing until 2020. What sparked your interest in writing?

In March of 2020, I lost my job at a law firm due to the courts shutting down because of the pandemic. Stuck at home with nothing to do for the first time ever, I decided to try something I’d always wanted to do but was always afraid to try – writing. I started writing Just Another Home and entered it in many contests and used judge’s feedback to make my writing stronger and better. Eventually I won a couple of contests along the way, then in 2023 I was offered a publishing contract from Scrivenings Press.

What is one of the hardest things you've found in writing about foster care? 

I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight. Even though I write fiction, I wanted to make sure the story was believable. I put a lot of time and effort into my research, especially in how the state of Tennessee’s foster care system operates.

Are there any pieces of your own life you've woven into your stories? Which ones?

In Just Another Home, the Dickens Festival scene was straight from real life. It was one of the few times we had both our adult kids together in Franklin, and we all went to the Dickens Festival. It was very cold just like the scene in the book, and it mirrors our experience there, from the sights and sounds right down to the coffee shop and pizza for lunch.

What's next? Can you give us a sneak peek into what you're working on now? 

I’m currently working on the third and final book of the Family Forever series. I’m excited to wrap up the story of Sam and the Grayson family. I hope to have it in readers’ hands next summer.

Last but not least, can you tell us one fact about yourself that very few people already know about you? 

When I started writing Just Another Home in 2020, I didn’t have a home computer, so I wrote the first 50,000 words on my phone. I don’t recommend doing it that way!

Wow!!! Well, I'm even more impressed than I was before. Readers, keep scrolling to find out more about Kim's books and how to follow her on social. Sounds like she's got some great ones!
Just Another Dream

Sam Grayson has achieved what he once thought impossible. Overcoming a troubled childhood in foster care, he has graduated college and embarked on a dream career that honors his faith. Grateful for his adoptive parents, John and Abbie, who took him in at sixteen, Sam enjoys a picture-perfect life in Franklin, Tennessee, where John thrives as a college basketball coach and Abbie runs a local business.
But when Andy Quinn, Sam’s estranged biological father, reaches out from federal prison, turmoil ensues. A misunderstanding fueled by deception escalates, shattering Sam’s relationship with his girlfriend and fracturing his family. As everything he values hangs in the balance, Sam must confront painful truths and lean on his faith.

Is it too late for Sam to rebuild his life, restore his dreams, and heal the bonds of the Grayson family?

Kimberly Banet holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. She started writing in 2020, and in 2023 Just Another Home was a Genesis Finalist and went on to become her first published novel in 2024. Kimberly and her late husband Jeff were married nearly thirty-eight years and raised two grown children, Nicole and Brandon. She lives in beautiful Starlight, Indiana, with her two dogs, Daisy and Winnie. 

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