After Our Castle | Blog Tour Kick-Off

by Kellyn Roth |

October 12, 2022

After Our Castle is launching this weekend, and I don’t really know what to say except “thank you.”

Thank you to my street team, for being so sweet and kind. Thank you to my editors (Grace Johnson and Andrea Cox) for their dedication. Thank you to all the random people who have got excited (or angry) over this novel. Thank you to God, of course, for enabling this to happen in the first place.

Some of this will be shared in an Instagram post, but:

With book 6 coming out, I can’t help but look back on how Ivy has grown and changed over the course of the series.

In book 2, we had a gentle but smothered soul, unable to express herself, frightened of all around her …

And by book 4, though Ivy was at least convinced that she was important enough to deserve the love of her family and her own voice amongst personal circles, she certainly needed to learn a great deal about her own worth.

It’s in book 6, however, that Ivy learns to embrace her own validity. Her opinions, thoughts, and feelings can sometimes be smothered due to her sweetness, altruism, etc.

But sometimes there is a place for standing up for the person God desires you to be, and for you to, well, not allow EVERYTHING. There’s a moment at the end of the book that I think encapsulates Ivy’s journey.

I shall never write stories of “female empowerment.” The point of Christianity is to highlight God’s already-existing power, not to “empower” us. Sometimes the highlight of a Christian’s life may be an act of submission, an act of humility.

But that is one kind of story and this is Ivy’s. There are people who need to be humbled (like me!). And there are people who God works through by giving a strong dose of confidence.

This is one of the stories.

Of course, this is also Violet’s story, and Violet was a challenge to write. I enjoyed her so much, and yet, at the same time, she’s a painful character. A tough character. One of those eggs you have to crack … but even though it’s necessary, you really need to do it.

It’s also a rotten egg, but I won’t get into that now. This story was all about exploring Ivy, Jordy, and Violet’s relationship.

And, well, every possible combination: Ivy and Jordy, Ivy and Violet, Jordy and Violet. Basically, all of them together and apart and in couples and as a trio.

Yet there is one thing that’s kind of missing. You’ll notice that there isn’t really a scene with Ivy, Jordy, and Violet (with a few notable exceptions). 😉 Yes, that is intentional.

Anyway, I’ll let you get into the blog tour now!

About the Book

And they lived … well, happily ever after.

A year into a blissfully happy marriage, Violet Angel admits to a dose of skepticism. She’s not married, granted—but as the closest friend of the bride and groom, she feels she has a perspective no one but the people directly involved could have. There’s no such thing as a happy ending, and it’s only a matter of time before the castle in the sky plummets to earth.

If only Violet were always wrong instead of just mostly wrong. Ivy McAllen doesn’t believe she and her new husband are out of the honeymoon period—if they are, she isn’t going to admit it to herself—but there are certainly areas of adjustment that she hadn’t expected.

Changes at the village of Keefmore and in Ivy’s life lead to complications, and Violet spirals further and further from reality. When a castle in the sky turns out to be more cloud than stronghold, finding a foothold proves more than a little difficult.

Amazon ~ Goodreads