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

StrangeLove
T.L. Bradford
Publication date: April 18th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Archer

The year began great for me.

Became the starting quarterback for an NFL team – check.
Secured a multi-million-dollar contract – check.
Moved to LA and lived the glamorous life – check.

What could possibly cause me any issues?
Oh yeah, one more thing. I’m gay.

I was outed a couple of years ago to my former team and my family, but it hasn’t been made public knowledge yet. Well, that is, until now. I’ll be known as the first LGBTQ+ active player in the league’s history. And if I stick to the conditions of my contract, it won’t be a problem. The thing is, I’m not really a guy known for playing by the rules.

Most people think of my personality as the three B’s: bold, brash, and blunt. My mouth has gotten me into more predicaments than I can count. Even my best friends have told me I’m stubborn as a mule and have the delicacy of a bull in a china shop. This presents a big problem for me because I have my eyes set on winning over the guy who stole my heart years ago, only he doesn’t know it yet.

Getting his attention is going to be challenging. It’s a good thing I’m tenacious.
Unfortunately, it’s not great timing and could get me into a whole mess of trouble.
Why does falling for a guy need to be anyone’s business but mine?

Kai

The past couple of years were a whirlwind of activity. My career took off after my guest shot appearance in Americana. I appeared in a few indie features and finally got a shot at my first major motion picture release. The work came as a great distraction from my personal life, which took a further nosedive after I found out the guy I was falling for had already fallen for someone else.

Why should I be surprised? He was another in a string of failed relationship attempts. I swore I wouldn’t get involved with anyone else, choosing to stay focused on my career instead. That is, until the force of nature known as Archer McMillan came storming into my life.

To be the pursued instead of the pursuer was not in the cards. To top it off, he’s everything I’m not. Yet, there’s something to be said for a guy who can make you laugh when it’s the last thing you want to be doing. I’ll admit he’s got a playful and determined spirit. Archer also has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever known. Not the mention the cute way he… Hold on. What am I doing? We cannot be a thing. Nope. Not gonna happen. Ever. Right?

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Follow Kai and Archer as they cross the lines as friends, partners-in-crime, and confidants, to discover a love beyond boundaries that needs no definition.

(StrangeLove is a funny, heartwarming, slow-burn love story. It contains a cast of fully developed characters that encounter romance, laughter, and life lessons. It contains adult language, mature themes, and is best enjoyed by those over the age of 18. It can be read as a standalone; however, if you would like to know the backstories of some characters, check out the prior books in the series.)

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Playlist:

Music plays a big part in how I construct the stories in my books. Each book gets its name from a popular 1980’s song. I base the book around the theme of the music group, with the title and part names also taken from those songs. The first book focused on the songs from The Cure. The second book had darker themes from the group New Order. StrangeLove gets its inspiration from the group Depeche Mode.

StrangeLove - Depeche Mode

A reflection of being your true self in a relationship. Even though you may love that person and want the best for them, you try your best to be the world to them and not cause them harm with the person you are, though this is difficult because no one ever reaches perfection.

Both Kai and Archer feel the intense pressure of fulfilling the worlds’ view of who and what they are thought to be, while trying to maintain who they are at their core.

Policy of Truth – Depeche Mode

Deals with the subtle nuances of what constitutes truth and lies in a relationship. We must live with whatever we reveal about ourselves, whether it is a lie or truth.

Archer struggles to withhold the secret of his true sexuality. He’s later forced to face the consequences for the choice he made.

People are People – Depeche Mode

I can't understand
What makes a man hate another man?
Help me understand

The songs lyrics are on the nose. Why does man hate each other over racial differences? And why is it so difficult to understand why we cannot overcome our differences?

World in My Eyes – Depeche Mode

This song encourages the listener to take a step back, forget about everything else around them and focus on the world from the singer’s point of view.

I felt this was important to Kai and Archer’s relationship, that they view life from each others point of view so they can understand the challenges facing the other person without judgement.

Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode

It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else. And how we can view another human as a god in some way, as though they are perfection, which isn’t a very healthy or balanced view of another person.

Archer has pined for Kai for a long time and sees him as a savior, a beacon and the answer to all his questions. Kai; however, sees himself as a normal, average flawed man and cannot accept Archer’s adoration.

1. Secret Love Song – Morissette Amon cover

A song about unrequited and forbidden love.

Chronicles the recurring theme through the book where Kai and Archer are a couple who cannot display affection in public. This is Kai and Archer’s love song. It was this song that inspired me to write the characters.

It was never originally my intention to put the characters of Kai and Archer into a romantic relationship. While writing the first book, there was a moment when I realized that both Archer and Kai would be thrown over by the couple of Josh and Noah. Then it struck me, that to tell a story between these two characters had such great potential because they were so different. A hundred different scenarios ran through my head.

Ultimately, their story would have to wait until I finished writing the second book, but in the meantime, I happened upon hearing Secret Love Song. The version by Morissette Amon made me cry the first time I heard it. It encapsuled everything about the couple’s relationship.

2. One of These Nights – Eagles

In my parallel life somewhere, I’m convinced I’m a dance teacher. In my early twenties I began taking dance classes, starting with Salsa. I later learned all the ballroom dances, with the rumba being my favorite.

The best dance performance of my life was dancing rumba to One of These Nights. I felt like the queen of the world. I’ve rarely reached that level of happiness. I never forgot that feeling and wanted to incorporate it into this story since it’s such and unlikely song for a rumba, but absolutely perfect, just like their pairing.

3. Same Page? – Tilly Birds

I’m a huge fan of Thai entertainers. The idea of Same Page? is based on a couple’s relationship where their feelings weren’t on the same page.

From the beginning, Archer has been head over heels with Kai and sees a path forward for them despite what everyone else may think. Kai is more reserved and worried for the consequences they will face if they become an out couple. They have two opposing perspectives on the situation and struggle with getting on the same page.

It's a beautiful and melodic song that makes me both nostalgic and sad at the same time.

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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