Blog Tour + #Giveaway: True Faith by T.L. Bradford @tbradfordauthor @XpressoTours

True Faith
T.L. Bradford
(The Young Americans Series, #2)
Publication date: June 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

If you were granted just one wish, what would you choose?
Money? Fame? Power? Love?

The world could be your oyster,
if you were willing to take the chance.

But choose wisely, and prepare for the consequences.
Everything has its price.
Can you afford it?

Be careful what you wish for.
And remember, smiling faces tell lies…

****

Noah & Josh

The entire world witnessed their fight for love.
Obstacles were beaten and won.
They were living their best lives.

Wait?
Is that all? Is that the end?
Seriously, did you really think it would be that easy?
Oh, hell no.
Their story is just beginning.

Josh and Noah are navigating the twists and turns of their newly public relationship…to varying degrees of success.

When they are lured into the trappings of Hollywood’s influence, they end up on the rollercoaster ride of their lives.

Strap on your seatbelt and get ready for a bumpy ride.
You will need to hold on tight.

Temptation, by any measure, is a fickle beast.
And when you are given the world on a silver platter, it’s downright wicked.

Truth, lies, fame, fortune.

All bonds will be tested.

Will the binds that ground them finally break?

Goodreads / Amazon

Interview with T.L. Bradford

For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?

True Faith’s underlying theme is about sacrifice and compromise in relationships. Basically, is what you want worth losing something you need.

The book makes the various characters question what they are willing to endure for their partners to achieve happiness and what actions they need to take to make it a reality.

I would encourage readers to start by looking inside themselves to explore the theme. Take a moment to step outside of yourself to see how you appear to your partner. You may see a very different picture than what you perceive.

I think once you can view yourself truthfully, you can then strip away all pretenses and get to the bottom of the real issues that are causing any turmoil.

Once you start being honest and communicating in a healthy way, you may be surprised by just how understanding your partner can be, if given the chance.

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

A lot of the content that went into both of my books comes from real experiences I’ve had with my husband and in our marriage. And like all marriages, you have ups and downs.

We are very close and run a creative business together. We must be honest and supportive with each other to be successful in what we do. Often times, that can be tough because we have to point out errors in the other’s work. We need to have a tough skin to get through the criticism, without taking it personally.

A few years ago, I decided to take up my lifelong love of writing. As anyone who writes knows, it requires tons of isolation time and focus.

While I was happy pursuing my creative passion, I didn’t see how the time apart was personally affecting him. Though we both work on tons of projects alone and have always been supportive of each other, this one blindsided me.

I felt I’d taken a back seat many times to his dreams, yet when my time finally came around to pursue something on my own, he was not always as supportive.

These events happened after I finished the first book. I had another storyline in mind for the second book True Faith but decided to use this personal experience as the theme of the book. I thought it was more relatable to readers and touching in terms of emotional depth.

What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?  

True Faith is about trust and open communication. My goal, if nothing else, was to hopefully plant a seed in readers minds that would encourage them to not seek the easy way out when they run into rough patches in their close relationships, no matter if it’s a lover, friend or family.

Relationships in general can be tough, it’s inevitable, but it’s how we choose to deal with the underlying issues going forward that makes the difference between success or failure of that bond.

I have my characters go through a series of trials with each other, testing the boundaries of both romance and friendships. Whether those relationships lasted, depended on the level of communication, patience, and faith they had in their partners.

I’m so proud of the work I put into this particular story and felt I achieved my goal. I had these characters push some very tough boundaries and I feel the reader will respond to the raw emotional intensity of their interactions.

There were many times while listening back to their exchanges that I felt, even as the writer, I shouldn’t be listening in on their conversations because it felt so personal and private.

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?

Yes! Beginning in July 2020, on my website, I will begin “Josh’s Journal.” True Faith marks the end of Noah and Josh’s story as the main story arc. In future books of the series they will be present, but as background characters.

My goal with “Josh’s Journal” is to have the character keep the audience up to date with what’s going on in the lives of the characters in that universe. So, for instance we’ll see pictures and stories of the YA Crew that follow in real time. I’m very excited about it. Check it out in July: tlbradford.com

July will also see a bonus chapter for Just Like Heaven. It will cover the short period directly before the incriminating photos of Noah and Josh were taken.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

My books have a lot of emotional realism to them. What I enjoy writing the most, are the humorous parts, of which there are many in True Faith. In particular, there is a scene with Noah and Josh’s older brothers, which was so much fun to write, I had myself cracking up while doing it.

If you’ve read the books, you know Xander and Zach are the prank playing, funny older brothers of Josh. I have no idea where that bit of inspiration came from to write it, but I like to think of it as one of my many happy accidents.

Like life itself, there are dramatic and comical fragments; shoot sometimes in the same day. I love both, so anyone reading my books can expect to run the emotional gamut.

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

My plan is to move to the next couple of my Young Americans Series, which will focus on Kai and Archer. I’m incredibly excited about these characters because they are such polar opposites. The way they come together and the obstacles they must overcome is funny, touching and heartfelt.

Their story was originally intended to be the second book, but I felt that Noah and Josh still had unresolved issues to deal with.

In their story, readers will also get more background on a character I introduced in True Faith named Liam, who is deliciously fun/scandalous to write.

How long have you been writing?

While I’ve always written stories from a young age and knew by the time I was twelve I wanted to be a writer, I did not write anything professionally until about three years ago.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in True Faith?

Noah – Originally from Tennessee, but as an actor, has created a posh persona to cover up his rough past. Suffered from a broken family and physical child abuse when young. He is arrogant, has issues with anger management, and is very particular about himself and his surroundings. He is often considered a jerk by those who do not know him well, but those who do know him well, would say what a loyal, direct, supportive friend he can be.

Josh – From Colorado. A good-natured frat boy type. He is playful, funny, loyal, good-looking, cocky and very charismatic. Played football in High School and College. Is very smart, creative and multi-talented. Has a heartbreaking past.

Gemma – Castmate. Best friend and former girlfriend of Noah. Strong and supportive. Will meddle in others business in order to help out in various situations. Plays a big role in Noah's story arc.

Sarita – Castmate. Acts bougie, but it’s a front. Strong personality. Rich. Trendy. Has an attitude but loves and supports her friends. Sarita is very snarky, and witty. Has some of the best/funniest lines.

Olive – Castmate. A total valley girl. Very trendy. Eats a lot of sugar. She is sweet, hyper, nosy, and has no mouth filter. She is very ballsy and will frequently get herself into bad situations she has not thought through clearly.

Ash – Castmate. Best friend to Josh. Very down home. Kind and open. Loves to tease his friends. Has a friendly / antagonistic relationship with Sarita. Romantically involved with Gemma.

Chloe - Josh's twin sister. Chloe is Josh's sounding board and soulmate. They have a strong twin mental connection, though it only goes one way. Chloe is very real and raw with Josh when giving advice, which he seeks often. She is funny and gregarious.

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from True Faith who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.

Josh and Chloe, the wonder twins, hands down. Originally Josh was only going to have phone conversations with Chloe to ask for advice, but I enjoyed writing their banter so much, that I had to bring the characters together.

I consider myself to be a raw, blunt and direct person. I like what I like and make no apologies for it by trying to fit in with any crowd. I feel that I would have no problem hanging out with these two characters because they are the exact same way.

We would spend the day road tripping, cracking on each other, listening to embarrassing music, eating tons of crap, and generally being silly. In fact, we would enable each other in this regard.

Author Bio:

T.L. always hated math, so it was a good thing she had a way with words. Since she was a shy and quirky kid; words were her best friends. She would imagine entire worlds in her head and talk to herself endlessly. Her mother wondered if she was speaking with ghosts for a while.

Her older sister was a voracious reader of trashy romance novels and would pass them down to her after she had finished them. T.L. was the only 10-year-old kid sitting in class reading “The Stud” by Jackie Collins during reading time. Oddly enough, she never got called out on it.

As she grew older, her tastes evolved, but one thing held fast; her undying attachment to love stories. One day out of the blue, she decided to write the love stories she always wanted to read instead of searching for her story. Since then, writing has been a dream fulfilled for her and she could not be happier.

She enjoys writing about love, regardless of gender and is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ community.

T.L. calls the Pacific Northwest her home and enjoys the quiet rural life of her little oceanside home with her playful/crazy husband and their giant dog Noah.

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