Author Interview with Kassie Angle // Tattered Wings Book Release Blog Tour

EEEEEEEPS!!! You guys, I'm sooooo excited!!! This beauty is fiiiinally released!!! 

If you've read the book, you know why I love it so much. If you haven't... please do. Because it's amazing. Perhaps you have no idea really what I'm squealing about. In which case I apologize for the overexcited intro. XD

Today is the start of the release tour for.... *dramatic drum roll & fanfare of trumpets* 

Some scars can't be seen. And some can't be hidden.
Layla Trent's life is pretty much perfect, except for the little matter of a dog of her own--and maybe a brother. So why does a random nightmare of a princess dress, a hospital, and a stranger who's definitely not her daddy feel more like an aching wound? And can a broken, glassy-eyed puppy somehow help her release the pain she didn't even know she was carrying?
Corporal Andrew Reyes has proven he has what it takes to be the best--a US Army Ranger. But when a double tragedy rocks his world, his resolve is shaken to the core. What's left for a man to live for when he's lost everything he ever wanted to be? And is the sudden appearance of a teenage girl with a three-legged therapy dog a cruel joke or a divine appointment?
Some scars can't be hidden. But some don't need to be.

You guys. This book is amazing. Kassie's debut novel was amazing too. But this one is even more amazing. <33 

My review will be posting on Old-Fashioned Book Love on Saturday, so be sure to go check it out! The book releases on the 28th, but you can preorder it on Amazon now! Here are all the links...

Goodreads | Kindle (U.S.) | Kindle (CA) | Paperback

And now, an interview with the lovely author. <33 

When did the idea for TW come to you? 

Literally, driving home from the commissary singing “Stubborn Angels” and making a music video in my head, because I’m such a daydreamer. There’s a line that says “Now you need to walk the walk and maybe run a few stop signs,” and at that line I pictured this scene with a double amputee running with a three-legged dog. That was the seed of the idea—I wanted to write a story where I could include that scene. Let me warn you, that’s quite the way to try to write a story…but hey, it worked! ;)

Oh wow! That is a crazy cool idea story! 

Did you cry while writing this book? When? ;P

Oh yeah, of course I did! Specifically the scene where Layla sees her dad cry for the first time. If all my characters are crying, I’m gonna melt. And then my last three chapters, but that’s total spoilers. XD

Pretty sure I teared up some time in this book too... 

Which character was the funnest to write? 

Well, with the rollercoaster I put them on… Even still, I loved writing Isaiah, through all the ups and downs. He’s the steady one and at the same time he’s my rowdy Alabama boy. (ROLL TIDE!) Every scene with him was just, my heart. <33 And I loved writing the scenes with the Reyes boys in Arizona, just being normal kids.

(Yessssss. Isaiah is amazing.)

Did you have difficulty naming characters??? (Because I get stuck every. single. time.)

Honestly…no?? There are two side characters in Tattered Wings whose names are chosen at random. Everyone else is named after someone I wanted to include in the story somehow. Layla’s and Andrew’s names were kind of instant choices, and beyond that it was just a matter of figuring out who would be tied to who. 

That is amazing. <3 I love that. 

Any special people that this book makes you think of (because they helped in some way, because they inspired the story in some way, etc...)?

Well, I sorta already hinted at this. X’D Yes—my characters’ namesakes. The soldier/Marine/SEALs Andy, Dakota, Kyle, and Danny are named after. Family stuff snuck into names. Little things that mean a lot to me. And things that didn’t end up so obviously in the story but which I will always know are there. So yeah, I totally didn’t answer that, but…yes. This book is wrapped around a lot of special people. And I’m keeping them special by just leaving them hidden in the story.

I love that so much. <33 

How many drafts did TW have? 

Something like two and a half. I completely scrapped the original draft a few chapters in and started from scratch, and then I wrote in two separate documents and pieced it together, with scenes written ahead floating all over the place waiting to see if they’d make the cut. It was messy but I learned to love it.

See, guys, scrapping isn't bad! ;) That's such a cool writing process. 

What lesson did this book teach you? 

Don’t quit. I only wanted to write on O to be Like Thee. I didn’t want to be committed to another story just because I’d started writing it. I didn’t want to get down in it, work out the kinks, get the story flowing. But I didn’t quit, and I watched God take a story I didn’t like further than I had ever dreamed. And that’s only one of the things I’ve taken away from Tattered Wings.

Wow... that's good. 

What do you hope this story teaches others? Or, how do you hope it touches them?  

Our soldiers have sacrificed a lot, and that hits hard in places you won’t see, whether or not that seems obvious. They deserve our thanks. So do our police officers. Working dogs are heroes and deserve to be treated right. God answers prayers. You never know who’s trying to make a hero proud.

Ahhhh!! Yessss!! Just a few of the amazing lessons of this book... <33

Thanks for joining me for this interview, Kassie! I can't wait to read your next releases. XD 

Kassie Angle is a teenaged Christian author, cowgirl, therapy dog trainer, stereotypical INFJ, and Army girl to the core. Her first love, i.e. debut novel, O to be Like Thee, swept her unsuspectedly into the world of indie authors. She tries to use her stories to fill the silences in literature, helping more people understand the world of the Army and showing how God heals the broken-hearted. You can find her and more of her writing at SoldierGirlStories.com.

*NOTE: KASSIE’S DOMAIN HAS LAPSED AS OF 2022 AND BEEN TAKEN OVER BY ANOTHER COMPANY. DO NOT GOOGLE IT*

And now... pop over to Kassie's website to see the other posts for today! Consider subscribing--I promise it's well worth your time. Her posts are always so amazing. ^_^

Rejecting Prejudice // An Appeal to Christians

This is a short post, but it is heartfelt. 

I grew up in Montréal, surrounded by people of every culture, colour, race, & religion. Ever since I can remember, our church had been full of diversity. Just now Italy, Africa, Haiti, Québec, & English Canada is represented in our church. I would be happy to see Jews, Arabs, First Nations, Asians, West Indians, South Americans, Europeans--anybody--joining too. I am convinced that when God sees our church, He is happy to see so many people of different countries, colours, races, nations, & backgrounds all gathered together, worshiping Him, growing in faith, & striving to reach the world for Him. 

I don’t get how someone can allow a person’s race, nation, colour, or religion to make them dislike that person. I don’t get it. I don’t, I don’t. What does it matter what their skin colour is? What does it matter what country they’re from? What matters is whether they have Christ in their hearts or not. What matters is to give them the Gospel.

My friends, it breaks my heart to think that some churches don’t accept people of a certain colour or nation. It breaks my heart that some people dislike people of another nation. This is contrary to Scripture. God tells us He loves the whole world—not the whites, not the Europeans, not the athletic, not the geniuses, not the rich, not the beautiful—THE WHOLE WORLD. We, as Christians, need to reflect that love. We cannot allow prejudice to creep into our hearts. Friends, I challenge & beg you. Reject prejudice. Don’t allow the Devil to plant that thought in your mind. Show God’s love & Jesus’ sacrifice to everyone, without any distinction. God created every single person on this planet; He cares for every single individual. Who are we to decide one is greater than another? We cannot. We will not. 

Cast this cancer far from you, and learn to love everyone. We hate the sin, but we do not hate the person. We disagree with the sin, but we love the person. Treat everyone as Christ would treat them.

Ask yourself this: What would Jesus do? Then go thou and do likewise.

Book Buddy Collab Tag! { How Well do You Know Your Bookish Friend? }

Hey, friends! I have a special fun post for you all today. My sweet friend Kassie from Soldier Girl Stories & I are collaborating to do a special tag! Her answers about me are over on her blog, so make sure to go check the post. :) We had a lot of fun doing this. ;)

*NOTE: KASSIE’S DOMAIN HAS LAPSED AS OF 2022 AND BEEN TAKEN OVER BY ANOTHER COMPANY. DO NOT GOOGLE IT*

Rules: 

01. Thank the blogger that tagged you. Link back to the creator.  //  So I was actually tagged by Kassie... xD 

02. Pick a bookish blogger friend to do the tag with you and contact them.  //  Kassie offered to do it with me--thanks so much, girl! 

03. Coordinate so that your bookish buddy posts their part of the tag on the same day as you. Be sure to link to their post/blog on yours! // Check! 

04. Answer the questions given. Comment on your buddy’s post to let them know how well they answered! // We decided to co-write the posts instead, so my answers are in normal type & Kass's replies are in italics. 

05. Tag five other bookish bloggers and give them a set of 10 new questions. // Ehhh... what?? Ok. I hope I can find five...

And now for the fun questions!!

01. What’s your buddy’s all-time favourite book?

ACK. The Douglas Bond book that’s grey and has soldiers on the cover??? *goes find the title* War in the Wasteland, by Douglas Bond. 

...Or The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.... (Considering how often she mentions it...)

Hey, I’m impressed you remembered the cover so well! And yep, you’re right, which reminds me I should reread it. (It’s so good...) The Hiding Place is definitely on my master list of favorites, but it isn’t my very top favorite. 

Hahahaha that was mostly a lucky guess... ahhh, yes, I knew you loved that one but I didn't think it was the very top. ;)

02. How about their favourite author?

Douglas Bond. Right??

If you want me to pick only one... XD 

Lol...

03. What cliché does your buddy hate most?

Oh my word. I have no idea? I’m pretty sure she told me this in a comment under my post about my least favourite clichés... but I totally don’t remember. :[] Erm... love triangles?? They don’t seem her genre...

Love triangles are SO not my thing. X’D That would probably be my least favorite; there’s just better things for your heroes to be fighting over, right?

Is there really anyone who loves love triangles?? 

04. What’s their favourite genre to read?

Military fiction. XD Or military nonfiction.

Yes and yes. *heart eyes* (I usually say historical fiction and contemporary, but we all know that means military stories. ;)) Missionary stories are a close second on nonfiction, but military all the way.

Haha, right! Oh, yes, I love missionary stories too... <3

05. What book are they reading right now?

I have no idea. Sorry... Maybe my own book Broken?? I really don’t know... we never speak of that for some reason! :{

I KNOW RIGHT!!! I’m actually reading Band of Brothers—I finished Broken on like New Year’s Eve, though, so pretty close. 

That is hilarious! I read her book Tattered Wings on Christmas Day and she read my book on New Year's Eve... xD

06. What’s your buddy’s favourite side character?

Maysen. He’s from her own book, but I KNOW she adores Maysen. (He’s pretty amazing, guys... <3).

*wonders who she’s going to say for me*

Yeahhhh...Maysen all the way. Like she said, he’s pretty amazing. Hey, there’s not even a main character that can compete with my love for May...

May is amazing... <33

07. What’s their favourite reading-time drink?

Do other people actually drink while reading?? It always sounded like multitasking to me... unnntil I started doing it. xP I’m gonna say water. Or iced tea...

I definitely don’t... X’D Okay, so first thing in the morning when I’m reading my Bible I’ll drink hot tea. Otherwise, yeah. 

Hahaha, I never thought of you drinking hot tea. XD

08. Name a book that they read but hated.

I feel like I’m epically failing these questions. I have no idea. Like, I can’t even make a guess. Um... maybe a politically correct but historically incorrect Civil War book?? I simply don’t remember her mentioning a book she disliked...

That was like basically what I was thinking for this question. X’D If I didn’t like a book, I won’t really ever mention it. Although she’s right, there was that one Civil War book...at least get your historical names right, people... 

Lol! We just don't really mention that. (Seriously though, why are books like that even published??)

09. What’s their favourite classic?

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Is that a classic?

*thinks*

In a way yes, and in another way no... anyway, if we’re going with the traditional sense of “classic,” um... does she even read classics??

*goes complain to my sister*

Lissa: She loves Little Woman.

Me: *glares because WHY DID I FORGET.*

So I’m totally gonna cheat and say Little Women. XP

The answer to if I read classics is basically no. X’D. I’ve read a few but, yeah. XP HOWEVER! I adore Little Women. Don’t get me started... X’D (That’s not cheating. That’s literally my favorite classic.)

That is so cool that we both love LW!!

10. What book are they super excited to get their hands on?

Ummmm... Ryana Lynn Miller’s next Battle for Heritage book. XD

I AM INDEED (mostly because she has me worried about what character gets killed...)!!!

I'm eager to read those too!! 

And now... the tagged! 

Dessa, Rebekah Morris, Kaitlyn, Mikayla, & Victoria! And if anyone else wants to do it, go ahead & send me the links so I can read the posts! 

And the 10 new questions:

01. What's your buddy's favourite book-to-move adaption?

02. What's their favourite cliché/trope?

03. What's their favourite movie? 

04. What is their least favourite genre? 

05. Do they check reviews before buying or reading a book, or just dive right in? 

06. What’s your buddy’s all-time favourite character?

07. Can you name three of their favourite nonfictions? 

08. What's their favourite series? 

09. Does your buddy enjoy buddy-reading? ;P

10. Does your buddy like to snack while reading?

Have fun, guys!! * whispers: if you need a buddy, me loves this tag. xD *

January 2020 Wrap-Up

Hello, friends! The first month of 2020 has ended. How is your year going so far? Honestly, mine is going so well. It's a learning curve but I've never been so close to God before. <33

So let's take a look at how my January went, shall we? :)

~ Happenings ~ 

// I was supposed to start college on the 6th and I was very nervous. Turns out I can’t because of some complications, and so now I still don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing for college. Hopefully I can start in March! Until then I’m working as hard as I can on all my projects. XP
// We had two days where someone was supposed to visit the house and ended up not coming. xD

// I asked my followers what 3 things they associated with me. The answers were so fun. 

// While we're on the selfie subject...

 

I am so happy with the change MONAT is doing for my hair and face!!!! My acne is so much better and my hair is curlier, less greasy, and fuller. 

// I worked a lot on my blogs. Got a lot of posts up--all the way to June! And even some later than that, for OFBL.  Hopefully this will keep me from having to stop for college. We'll see what happens next year... xD

 // I did a lot of colouring with the Happy Colour app... it just makes me happy. <33

 

// Random IG stories... XD

 

 // Random stuff about books....

  

^^ these quotes. <33 I love Ballantyne

IDK, I just found this cool. ;)

// I reread Enemy Brothers with my dear friend Mary. We had such an amazing time. We found so much we’d never seen before, chatted long almost every day, and wound up with a video chat in which we talked for over two hours and both teared up. XD It was so much fun. We also created a Reading Guide for Enemy Brothers!!! I spent so much time putting it together and I loved every minute. The songs, poems, paintings, & other stuff pertinent to the story are all linked in it so that you can listen to or read them. I have also divided the book into its different sections (it naturally falls into certain divisions) and had so much fun finding the names for the sections! 

 

// I participated in Sarah Grace’s #LWYbirthday Instagram party! I took a lottt of pictures and haven’t yet posted them all! XD

// I tried hard to get up early. It took me all month to really get it down and I still haven't nailed it. xD  Why is it that when you make up your mind you’ll get up at 5 a.m. you immediately can’t fall asleep until 11 p.m.?! 

// I started another series all about bookstagramming tips on my bookstagram. I’m notoriously bad at keeping on with my series. I’m still working on the one I started in December!! Buttt hopefully I will stick to this one. Also trying to go back to the monthly book wrap-up on my bookstagram. I stopped not even mid-way through 2019. 😂

// I posted almost every weekday on my bookstagram & on the Instagram page of LBFJ. That was amazing & so fun!! Some of my favourite bookstagram posts of the month... 

(click on the images to read the posts)

  

  

 

// I FINALLY FINISHED HOW TO READ A BOOK. I’ve been wanting to read that book for years. Last year I got about 1/4 through and then stopped. This month I buckled down and read it and I’m so glad. It’s such a good book to read!!! It takes a lot of concentration & dedication but it’s so rewarding. I also finished 1867 by Christopher Moore, which I’ve also wanted to read for a long time! 

// January 27th was Holocaust Memorial Day, but I didn’t know and I posted about a Holocaust memories on the 24th. Which slightly annoyed me. And the 19th was National Winnie the Pooh Day but it was Sunday so I posted on Monday. XP Yes, I’m a detail-oriented person. How did you guess??? 

But I did highlight some of my favourite Holocaust stories. 

// I’ve been wanting to reread a book since 2016 and I never would because it totally broke my heart and I was so afraid of having my emotions torn to pieces again. I read the second book in 2017 and the prequel, too. The third book came out in 2019 and I never read it because I was so afraid of what would happen to the characters! But I’ve wanted to reread the series for a looong time so I finally buckled down and started it. By 23% in I was already having allll the feels. It’s an amazing book, guys. 

// I wrote a letter to myself at 25 and found an old letter I’d written when I was 13 for myself at 23. XD I’m so curious to see what it says. 

// I participated in the Read Another Page Reading Challenge! I’m almost done. :) My goal is to finish before March because #college. 

// I reread one of my favourite series... The What Katy Did Series by Susan Coolidge. I love this series so much. It’s so beautiful and real and humorous and full of amazing characters and scenery... and Katy. 💖💖

// I spent a couple hours categorizing all the 540+ books I read in 2019 and decided that from now on I’ll categorize them as I write them down in my Books Read List. XP

// I joined in a writing challenge with my writing club. We voted for a title and then we all had to write a 4-5k story with the same title. I started mine and it was like pulling teeth... but it did have a couple gorgeous lines. Finally I restarted the story, fell in love, realized my theme was way too big for 5k, struggled a lot, and decided to just turn it in because I didn’t have time to write a new story nor did I have another idea for the title! We’re writing another in February and I have barely any idea for it. #sendhelp 

 

// I decided that it was not very good business advertisement for a proofreader to always do typos. ;P So I’ve been much more careful about proofreading my Instagram posts and blog posts, though I still do a lot of Rushin (typing too fast & consequently getting typos) on text messages.

 

// I reread the Tales of Taelis series by Sarah Holman and loved them even more than I did before. 

// I texted when I was way too sleepy or brain-tired.

 

// My grandpa sent me lots of good Snoopy cartoons. ;D

 

 

*Images screenshotted; sent from Pinterest*

// I started using the Rain Rain app again. OH MY WORD IT’S SO GOOD. I’ve created a playlist now. XP

   

// I dug out my commonplace book because I had a lot of quotes from “How to Read a Book” to copy down and I found a ton of quotes from last year that were waiting to be copied down so... I’m trying to do 10 minutes of commonplacing a day. 😉 It feels so good to be back into that!

// I listened to the Messiah with my sister quite a lot but now I started tuning it out while I work and THAT IS SO SAD. 

// My birthday was the 26th and it was a Sunday, so we celebrated on Monday. Monday was lovely. I got to Skype some friends with my sister in the morning and I was able to talk with my bestie in the evening! I also received a lot of lovely cards & messages from many friends—thank you all!! So appreciated. <33 My 5-year-old sister decorated my chair to “make me love it.” We had tacos for supper (I made them into a salad 😂) with sparkling apple-pear juice, which was really good but would have tasted better uncarbonated, in my opinion! Lissa also made my dessert—homemade ice cream sandwiches. They were DELICIOUS. Also, my family counted down to my birthday with gifts, which was so nice! 

Chocolate-covered raisins, my favourite crackers, roses, a kindle book, a notepad & pen, washi tape, & stickers (not pictured).

// Apparently I love orchids and I didn’t know it. XD I also have a strong liking for these white-robed, simple, faceless Willow Tree figurines that I’ve seen around!! 

// I GOT A NEW PLANNER. I love it so much. It’s almost perfect for me and it’s sooo pretty and I’m using it so much!!! It’s amazing. 

// I drove 100% alone for the first time. In the snow, mind you. It was fun and not as scary as I thought it would be. Granted, I didn’t go far and I know that road like the back of my hand. Still. XP

// I started posting about the lessons God’s teaching me daily on the LBFJ Instagram account. It’s so amazing to hear people say that they needed to hear that. 💖

// My two oldest sisters & my mother & I went shopping right after New Year’s to spend our Christmas money. It was exhausting, but so fun! I ended up with very sore feet (I walk very hard and wear my feet off!) but I bought a lot of stuff and it was all stuff I loved or needed. Some highlights were... beautiful scenery. Lovely dishes at HomeSense (I love that style 😍 and also I love rows & rows of colour). Having fika/tea at Tim Hortons. Laughing so hard about the craziest stuff. Squealing over all the books at Value Village. 😉

// We four oldest kids also took our youngest brother out to McDonald’s for supper and we all had a blast. XD Lissa drove, not I. 

// Random... 

My friends got some bunnies and now we are all wanting a bunny SO BADLY. They’re just the cutest thing!!!

This happened almost every day... #choosejoy

Every year we put together a calendar of family pictures for the family. This year I did it. And each time I sat down to upload pictures I forgot to click the “upload” button. 🙄

Signing makes me so happy. 

This happened a lot...

Rediscovered this poem & loving it so much right now for some reason. <33

This quote by Moriah Grace. <33

~ What I Learned ~ 

• Let God have His will in me. <3
• I can make a difference if I love people & shine for Christ.
• Planting is a great way to regard daily planning!
• Don't wait for the next "tomorrow," just start now.
• What really matters isn't my projects. It's God's work.
• Things won't actually end up being as bad as I think they will be.
• Just be still & see God's wonders around me.
• It's not about me. It's about Christ.
• Starting my day with God makes it so much better.
• When life doesn't go as I planned, surrender it & choose joy.
• Enjoy the little things in life.
• Just singing can help my day so much.
• God's plans are perfect & always come to pass.
• Start things with prayer. 
• Choose happiness. Over & over & over & over.
• Sometimes when I decide people don't understand, I'm actually the one refusing to see the problems I'm causing.
• Letting it go is so necessary. 

~Reading~

Books Read: 40.

Books Reviewed: Between 30-40 books. Also updated some old reviews.

1 star: 2 books.

2 stars: 2 books. 

3 stars: 5 books. 

3.5 stars: 1 book.

4 stars: 10 books.

4.5 stars: 5 books.

5 stars: 7 books. 

5+ stars: 5 books. 

~Favourite Blog Posts~

"Thou Shalt Not" & Our Thoughts | With a Joyful Noise
2019 > 2020 | Stories By Firefly
2020: A Look Ahead | Whimsical Writing for His Glory
2020 // Just Some Thoughts & Letters | Showers of Blessings
The 5-Second Prayer | With a Joyful Noise
5 Tips For Writing Retellings | The Destiny of One
6 Research Tips | Read Another Page
9 Tips to Reach Your Goals (and a Free Printable!) | Everyday Blooms
12 Christmas Blessings | Soldier Girl Stories
12 Steps to a Better You | Everyday Blooms
19 Things I Learned in 2019 | Showers of Blessings
19 Totally Random Facts About Me | Showers of Blessings
Be A Blessing In Your Battles | Quintessentially Living
Current WIP - According to Pinterest | Whimsical Writing for His Glory
Don't Laugh At Me | Soldier Girl Stories
For All You Writers Out There | Showers of Blessings
Guest Post // Lil' Sis | Showers of Blessings
How To Choose a Word of the Year & Why You Should | 'Tis Me, See
How to Use Color-Coded Editing to do a Quality Edit for Your Novel | The Fearless Type
How to Write Grey Characters & Almost Villains | The Fearless Type
I Thought I Was Over It | Loved Before Time
If You Love It, Cut It | Professor Carol
In Your Unknowns, Know That HE is Still God | Quintessentially Living
Jumping Ahead | With a Joyful Noise
My Struggle, Your Struggle | Loved Before Time
My Top 12 Goal-getter picks | 2020 | 'Tis Me, Vee
Never Have I Ever Tag (Writer's Edition) | Mikayla Holman
Nostalgia, Episode 37 | Professor Carol
Obedience, When It's Hard | With a Joyful Noise
Porch Swing Hugs: A Short Story | Kate the Author
Research? Reading? | Read Another Page
Researching Recent(ish) History | The Destiny of One
Rosaatje | Soldier Girl Stories (a serial)
Setting Goals || Advice for Writers | Life of Heritage
Soldier Life || Captains || Episode 10 | Life of Heritage
Soundbite Or Symphony | Loved Before Time
This Moment | Loved Before Time
Traditional Maps & GPS | Professor Carol
Victoria’s Guide To Making Friends & Influencing People (Pt. 1 & 2) | Victoria Lynn
Warrior // 2019 | Victoria Lynn
What Makes Us Love Jane Austen? | The Destiny of One
What Tommy Didn't Know | Rebekah's Reading Room (a serial)
What to Do When You’re in a Slump | Everyday Blooms
When Life Gets Crazy Busy | Mikayla Holman
Where is Your Vision? || A Devotion | Life of Heritage
Who Am I Waiting For? | Loved Before Time
Writing Prompt 080 | Victoria Lynn

~ // ~ 

How did your January go? :)