Author Spotlight & Giveaway: Falling in Love by Stephen Bradlee (18+)

From the word go, I was intrigued with this book, Falling in Love, as it is based on a true story. This story pulls you in and takes you on this journey with Sherry, the cravings of love and how she sought it out.

It is not an easy ride for the character and you can't help but to feel Sherry's pain as she seeks the love she was denied growing up. Then she meets Paul and she believes it is love, but her addiction to sex destroys their love and again she is alone and faced with the addiction that is controlling and destroying her life.

This is not an erotica story, it is one that shows what an addiction can do to ones life. it is a breathtaking story of heartache, and a very intense read for the reader. Falling in Love is a raw story that takes you into a world you have never known. It tears at your heart strings and will leave you wanting to cry alongside the main character.

As you can tell, this book is an emotional roller coaster for both the characters and the reader and will leave you realizing there are more addictions out there than just drugs or alcohol. They are all very real and very destructive; the lack of love and the need to feel whole can consume ones soul if nobody is there to help.

I give this book a five, but that number seems too low to do it justice. This book is a must read for anybody 18+!

Goodreads Synopsis
Sherry Johnson is young, beautiful, bright and athletic. She has everything going for her, except for one thing. She is addicted to love. Her life is a vicious circle of nightly trysts and morning regrets. Her addiction got her kicked out of college, cost her the love of her life and has left her in complete despair. But still Sherry keeps falling in love. And falling. And falling. Finally, as Sherry struggles to pull herself up from a bottomless abyss, she realizes that she will have to learn to love the one person she has loathed for most of her life. Herself.

Based on the True Story of a Young Woman's Battle with Sexual Addiction.

Purchase Links

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Smashwords ~ Nook

Stalker Links

Goodreads ~ Website ~ Twitter ~ Amazon

1.     Tell us a bit about yourself.

I guess as a writer I am a bit unique. Although I have been writing for most of my life, outside of magazine articles, I have never published under my own name, including Falling In Love. I am using a pen name partly to help hide Sherry’s identity. Besides writing, I love—surprise, surprise—reading, as well as sports, both playing and watching them, also travelling and mostly enjoying life with my wife, our daughter and our dog.

  

2.     What inspired you to write your first book? 

Well, I actually wrote my first book when I was four before I had learned any written words.  It was really a comic book about my cat and I hunting for a mouse and when we found one, I wouldn’t let her kill it.  It was based on a true story. 

3.     How did you come up with the title Falling in Love?

I didn’t really want to call it Falling In Love because to me the title shouts “romantic comedy.” But there is a line in the book about her falling in love every weekend, and Sherry’s life really was a series of falling in love. And falling. And falling. It was the only title that really said what the book is about.  In the end, Sherry has to do the hardest thing for her, to find self-love.

4.     Describe Sherry, your main character, in five words.

Addicted, desolate, suicidal, apprehensive, inspirational.

5.     What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?

I think the most surprising thing I learned from Falling In Love is that my thoughts on sexual addiction resembled a character in the book who said that if she was a sex addict she would just “enjoy it.” After hearing Sherry’s story, I realized how impossible that would be. Sex addiction is as real as drugs or alcohol addiction.

6.     Have you ever done anything strange or weird in the name of research? 

Can I get back to you on that one?

7.     How long does it take you to write a book? 

Usually about a year. Falling In Love took longer due to extraordinary circumstances.

8.     Can you share a little of your current work with us?

I am writing a thriller, which is also based on a true story.  But I’m sorry, I don’t really talk about a work until after I’ve finished the first draft.  

9.     What is your work schedule like when you're writing? 

I would love to work during the day like most people but it never seems to work out that way.  I write best between 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. So when most people are ending their work, I am just beginning to work.

  

10.                        Do you have any writing rituals? 

I can’t really think of any. When I was young, I read a lot of books on how authors approached their writing routines. I tried several things like writing while standing up, as Ernest Hemmingway had done because he said no boxer ever fought sitting down. I also tried listening to classical music when I wrote. But in the end, for me at least, it always just came down to putting pen on paper, or more correctly, fingers on keys, and nothing seemed to make that any easier.

11.                        What book are you reading now?

The Collected Stories of Richard Yates

12.                        What new author has grasped your interest?

There are several but I think both Ashley Barron (Ava) and Clint Morey (When I Fall in Love and Jaidee: Out of Ashes) are interesting new writers.

  

13.                        Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? 

Well, I hope that they enjoy Falling In Love because I think it is a great read. But, also, hopefully, they will be inspired by Sherry’s story. I really think that if she can make it, anyone can. 

Random Questions:

1.     What’s in your fridge right now? 

Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables because my wife likes us to be healthy eaters. In the freezer, I’ve snuck in Grey Goose vodka and white chocolate raspberry ice cream.

2.     What song do you sing at the top of your voice every time you hear it?

“I Did It My Way.” (lol)

3.     Other than writing, what special or unusual talent(s) do you have?

I am ambidextrous. I eat with either hand, depending on what country I am in. I also play tennis with both hands (no backhand).

4.     Where did you last go on holiday? 

Montreal, Canada.

5.     If your house was attacked by feral aliens, and they were zapping your house with their Über super bombs, what five items would you save?

My Nook (I can’t live without it), cell phone, backup drive (my unfinished projects are on it), as many heirlooms as I can carry and my First Edition of the Catcher in the Rye.

6.     If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

Lying for a Living.  Isn’t that want all fiction writers do?

The generous and awesome Stephen has generously donated 3 ecopies of Falling in Love to Bex 'n' Books followers.
How amazing is that!
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