Candlelight Reading...: Behind the Scenes with Scorn of Secrets by B. Truly #Romance #YA #GuestPost @BrandyTruly @XpressoTours

Scorn of Secrets

B. Truly

I must keep it locked away—the memory of my darkest secret….

When the rising tides of my life peak, I’m left struggling with the currents of the storm. The first dilemma is my dad’s gambling debt. Mama bounces back quickly from the ramifications it causes. She proves this by getting a new man. Her Rico Suave is just the tip of the iceberg—she moves us across state to live with him and his two sons.

My outgoing, older sister fits right in—she’s the total opposite of me. I am Madison Guillory, the shy, quiet type. Taught to make the best of even the worst situations, I contemplate giving my new family a chance.

Living with my future stepbrothers is interesting, to say the least. They’re like night and day. I have more in common with the laid-back brother, and we become instant friends. I’m adjusting to Taylor High, and the arrogant brother is even starting to grow on me. Maybe everything will work out after all.

My life finally seems to be falling into place until a dreadful night shatters my dreams. My world is flipped upside down because of the consequences I must now bear.

The memories of that night lurk in the shadows to torment me. If I think of what happened, I’ll succumb to my fear. His face has scorned me. No one will believe me if I confess, not even my own sister. I hold the key to my darkest secret, desperate to keep it locked away.

Publication date: April 27th 2021
Genres: Coming of Age, Romance, Young Adult

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Behind the Scenes with Scorn of Secrets

I wrote Scorn of Secrets, my first novel, over twenty-seven years ago, when I was fifteen. At the time, V.C Andrews was my favorite author, who is the inspiration for the family secrets theme in Scorn.

I probably shouldn’t have been reading Andrews at that age, but what can I say? My aunt recommended the Ruby series to me. I devoured it, as well as the Dawn and Heaven series.

Wanting to implement family secrets, I foreshadow them into the plotline. The major secret of Scorn is the one that the main character, Madison Guillory, keeps locked.

I’ve always been close to my family. Especially, my mom and younger sister. I realized everyone isn’t blessed with close family ties, so I wanted to explore circumstances of this nature. The main character isn’t close with her mom or her sisters. Madison struggles with wanting their love.

Character personality traits is another aspect I always try to balance in writing. Madison is shy and quiet, so I made her sister the total opposite—rowdy and egotistic. The brothers in the story are also polar opposite. One brother is laid-back and the other is headstrong. Different character personalities add variation to the story.

Now that I’ve become self-published, I’ve been able to bring Scorn of Secrets to light.

Scorn is meant to deliver empowerment by helping young women fight for justice when being wrongly done.

The main plot of Scorn of Secrets is about a young woman coming into her own. She deals with tragic situations and must figure out how to weather through the storms.

After Madison’s dad’s gambling debt puts her family in a bind, they’re forced to start over without him. Her mom begins dating, and that is just a blip on the radar. She moves Madison and her older sister to live with her new Rico Suave and his two sons. When her situation brightens, Madison decides her new family may not be so bad after all. Entangled in a forbidden romance, Madison discovers she’s become part of a manipulative obsession.

Another aspect of Gothic romance books are dark themes and suspense. Keeping that in mind, I added them into the equation. There is complex drama that builds with the plot. From daddy issues to sibling rivalry, to complicated love and devasting twists. Scorn of Secrets is a gripping YA that will strip your emotions bare while leaving you yearning for more.

B. Truly

B. Truly has wanted to be an author since she was fifteen years old. She is grateful to have accomplished this dream. B. Truly has very vivid dreams and a wild imagination. She likes to read, watch tons of TV shows, and movies. She’s addicted to romance and gets a thrill out of suspense and sci-fi. She writes young adult, new adult, and adult romance, sci-fi, dystopian, and paranormal genres.

B. Truly likes to explore conflicted plots of romance with thrilling twists. She also loves creating impossible situations for her characters to grow from and try to overcome.

B. Truly has three wonderful children, and a husband who defines the person that she is today. She works full-time as an Ultrasound technologist in Houston, Texas.