The Typical Battle Between Good and Evil
Gloria: A Love Story follows Captain Augustine ‘Gus’ Tadlock, who is hurled centuries into a depraved future to help a rebel leader save what’s left of goodness, until the slave girl he frees betrays him and turns love into a weapon. What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
In that broken future, there are two factions: the majority is the wicked, who loot, pillage, rape, and murder, contrasted by the smaller number of good people who want to live in peace while raising families—the typical battle between good and evil. Augustine is a hardened commando but a good man who, out of the kindness of his heart, frees the 16-year-old Gloria, who was forced into slavery at a young age. She’s beautiful, witty, and a headstrong teenager, but has hidden deep-rooted trauma. The wicked had apparently murdered her family and kept her alive to serve as a sex slave. Augustine becomes her protector, and she becomes attached to him as they grow together. Gloria loves Augustine and never betrays. It’s much more mystical than that, and happens later in the book in chapter 10, and is fully explained in chapter 11, and is quite a surprise. Again, the book is based on that never-ending theme: the typical battle between good and evil.
What drew you to framing “goodness” as something measurable and fragile enough that a government would try to “save” it with time displacement?
The preservation of goodness is not so much defined by a word but as a concept of protection, and is apparent in every civilization. One must imagine a world where those who loot, pillage, rape, and murder are free to roam the streets of the town or city where you live. Augustine (Gus) helps Manhig build an army to protect his ‘followers’ from the wicked who want to hurt them.
Gloria’s betrayal seems both intimate and ideological. What was the hardest part of writing her “mask drop” without flattening her into a simple villain?
Again, Gloria never really betrayed anyone. That’s the surprise learned in chapter 11; giving it away would ruin that surprise for the reader. They have to read the book to understand that complexity. Gus is a soldier dropped into a world where morality is theatrical and public. What did you want his revulsion and adaptation to reveal about him?
Augustine, or Gus as he is nicknamed, was chosen by the U.S. Command for that mission because he was a moral and just man. The earlier chapters explain why he was selected from the information in their file on him. They also pose questions during their interview with him.
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A U.S. Commando is sent to a fallen, dystopian future to help a man known as Manhig—Leader of the righteous. Finding himself in an extremely wicked place, he comes upon and frees a teenage slave girl, Gloria. After helping her recover from the trauma of slavery, they set out together to find the Manhig, and their adventure begins.
Gloria is a beautiful romance novel that contrasts a broken world with customs completely different from ours today. The book is a unique love story set in both 2026 and over 200 years in the future, in a broken, devastated setting. This is the story of a young woman struggling to become a doctor in that broken and challenging time and place.
For over two hundred years, the world has lacked social structure, governments, law enforcement, or any form of civilized stability. In that place, two centuries in the future, only two factions remain: mostly the wicked, who thrive on depravity and debauchery, and a much smaller number of the good, who follow a man called Manhig—meaning Leader in Biblical Hebrew.
A sister-and-brother team of scientists inherited an instrument capable of viewing the past. Together, they had worked on it for years until, by 2026 AD, they could also see images of the future. What they observed so startled them that they allowed the U.S. Government to access it. Without help, the leader of the righteous, Manhig, is about to fall to the wicked, leaving no balance between good and evil. Wickedness is about to control the future.
The United States Army sends its best-qualified commando, Captain Augustine ‘Gus’ Tadlock, over two hundred years into that ravaged future. His mission is to find the Manhig and evaluate him to determine whether he is a good man and leader, as they believe he is. If so, Augustine can begin helping him with full support from the U.S. military of 2026 AD.
A problem arises, and Augustine is mistakenly placed far from the Manhig. Instead, he finds himself near a wicked place and must search for the Leader. While gathering information about the Manhig’s whereabouts, Augustine has his first glimpse of the future, a brutal place. The wicked lead unbridled, licentious lifestyles. Among other unholy things, human slavery exists—people are bought and sold like animals. While in that wicked place, Augustine, an honorable man, learns that the Manhig is about ten miles north of where he is. However, the good-hearted Augustine comes upon and frees a teenage slave girl, Gloria. Not knowing what to do with the young girl, he brings her back to his campsite. There, he attempts to heal her repressed trauma of slavery before they can set out to find the Manhig. Then the adventure of a lifetime begins, and their lives take shape.
There are touching depictions of Gloria and Augustine bonding after they meet. Then come many stirring, warming moments as Augustine and Gloria develop a deep friendship. They eventually meet up with Manhig and forge a lifelong friendship with him.
Suspenseful battles for survival add action. A love triangle develops, and steamy romances unfold, some ending in heartbreak. A bit of humor also appears in the least expected places. A reader might find himself or herself keyed up one moment, then crying the next, in this outstanding emotional read.
A little more than halfway through the book, a totally unexpected and shocking crude event occurs, sending the storyline into a dark period of licentiousness.
The novel Gloria offers well-developed characters and plenty of twists and turns. It has an exquisitely creative and beguiling literary plot for mature readers.
From The Author:
Gloria is one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as an author. Bringing these passionate characters to life was challenging enough, but crafting the core of the storyline’s sentimentality drew on my own emotions as much as it will on the reader’s.
Posted on April 15, 2026, in Interviews and tagged author, book, book recommendations, book review, book reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, David Navarria, ebook, fantasy, fiction, Gloria: A Love Story, goodreads, indie author, kindle, kobo, literature, nook, novel, read, reader, reading, romance, science fiction, story, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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