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. ^_^