Blog Tour: THE LOVE THAT BIND US by Phoenix Blackwood

 

The Love that Binds Us

by Phoenix Blackwood

 

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GENRE:   LGBTQIA+ Coming of Age

 

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BLURB:

 

From the outside, Alex has a perfect life. She has a partner who loves her, gets good grades in school, excels at most sports, and has a big heart. From the inside, Alex’s life is anything but perfect. She hasn’t spoken to her father in years. She’s hiding the fact that her once-best-friend now-romantic-partner Theo is trans and nonbinary from her homophobic mother. Bullies are harassing her and Theo at school, taunting and shoving. It’s all becoming too much for Alex to bear.

Things take a surprising turn when Alex’s mother discovers her relationship with Theo. After Alex is thrown out of her house and taken in by Theo’s foster family, Alex can live honestly. For a while, things start to feel manageable. Alex finds a new group of friends. She navigates what “family” means beyond her mother and sister. She even considers forgiving her mother’s past mistakes. But forgiveness requires honesty. Secrets Alex’s mother has been keeping are surfacing, trying to bind Alex to misery. As Alex learns the full truth of her mother’s past mistakes, she will need the love of her chosen family and friends to gently bind her life into a shape that keeps her whole.

 

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Excerpt One:

 

I sat on my bed and pulled Theo down to my level, kissing them on the forehead. They sat down with me and kissed me on the lips until they were leaning over me and my hands were wrapped around the back of their neck, pulling them closer. They were so soft, always so tender. I focused all my attention on the kiss, so much so that I didn’t hear the small squeak of my door opening. Theo pulled away suddenly, jarring me and forcing me to look in the direction of their gaze.

 

Leah had opened the door. She stood there with her mouth open, her face frozen in wonder and confusion. She’d known Theo since we’d become friends, I bet she had never imagined finding us kissing when she opened my door.

 

Theo and I looked at each other in horror. The secret was out, how were we going to get her to keep quiet? We should’ve been more careful. We’d gotten too comfortable.

 

I signed for Leah to come sit between us on the bed. My face got hot as she sat and tears brimmed in my eyes. My mom could never, ever find out - Leah knowing was so dangerous.  She looked up at me with wide eyes and signed, “Boyfriend?”

 

Theo must’ve seen the panic rising up in me, because they took over. They gently rested one hand on her shoulder to get her attention and then explained, “We love each other. I’m not a boy, but I’m still her partner. I’m like a boyfriend, just minus the boy part.”

 

Walking through the threshold of Theo’s house was like a weight lifting off my shoulders, all the tension of home and school falling away. This was what home was supposed to feel like. I flopped down on the couch and Theo joined me a couple minutes later with two mugs of tea, handing me one. I leaned into them as they wrapped an arm around my shoulders after turning the television on to the latest show we’d been binging. This felt so safe, so calm. A feeling I rarely got in my own home. Always on edge, an internal dissonance telling me that I wasn’t good enough. Here, I was everything I was supposed to be.

 

We watched television until Seth–Theo’s brother–made his way down the stairs and started rummaging through the kitchen to start dinner. The house was quickly filled with smells that made my mouth water - meat searing in a pan, vegetables being chopped, pasta water boiling. I sat in the scents until I couldn’t take it any longer and my stomach growled, causing me to get up and make my way into the kitchen.

 

Seth shot me a sly smile. “Probably another ten minutes.”

 

I pouted, staring at the food and willing it to cook faster.

 

 

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 What message do you hope readers will get from your book?

The main message that I hoped to portray in The Love that Binds Us is that of chosen family and self-acceptance. Alex, our main character, struggles with her identity due to both external and internal factors, and finds it difficult to come to terms with things that happened in the past that affect her identity in the present. From an external point of view, the lens through which people view her at school, she has it made – good grades, a “stable” home life, and a partner that loves her. However, this starts to fall apart early on in the book and she grapples with homophobia – both at school and home – and new information that changes the way that she sees herself.

The Love that Binds Us is a journey through which Alex experiences incredible hardship, and must learn to define herself on new terms. I want readers to see Alex’s experience and how she comes out on the other side, not unscathed, but a better and more confident person. People will hopefully see her and believe that they can take control of their own lives, no matter how difficult, and change them for the better. That inner strength is everything, and with the right people around them, they can make their own happy ending (or beginning).

Found family plays a huge role in the story, and Alex definitely wouldn’t be the same in the end without them. Her partner takes care of her when she needs it, and she discovers a small group of like-minded people who share some of her identities. Being rejected by her blood family, the importance of these relationships in her journey make a world of difference in the outcome. Without them she’d be in a very different place. With this chosen family, she has the support she needs to confront her mother about secrets she’d been keeping for Alex’s whole life. These secrets peel back another layer to Alex’s identity and send her reeling, but with the healthy relationships she’s formed, she finds a way through.

Above all else, The Love that Binds Us seeks to show people that chosen family is everything, and your experiences may alter your perception of yourself, but only you can truly define who you are. Strength is found in those who care about you regardless of blood relation, and those that stay through hardship are your true family.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Born and raised in New England, Phoenix has always been a creative – whether it’s painting or writing. From a very young age, Phoenix has envisioned and created characters, writing them into existence and exploring them through visual arts. Having graduated to first-time short story author, Phoenix is embarking on a journey towards novel writing as they finally bring characters they’ve known for years into the world. Phoenix is neurodiverse and intersex and hopes to bring more representation to both topics with their writing. They believe in creating relatable characters that people can find themselves in and empathize with.

 

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Love-that-Binds-Us-ebook/dp/B0BNC6VFPD/

 

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GIVEAWAY :

Phoenix Blackwood will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway