I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the STRONG LIKE YOU by T.L. Simpson Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out
my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Author: T.L. Simpson
Pub. Date: March 12, 2024
Publisher: North Star Editions
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 224
Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/STRONG-LIKE-YOU
I haven’t cried one time since you
disappeared. Not even at football practice when Paton Roper told the whole team
you were probably dead. He said, “You know how sometimes a dog gets sick or
bites somebody and you have to put it down?”
Somebody said, “Yep.”
“That’s probably what happened to
Walker’s daddy.”
Walker Lauderdale hasn’t cried once
since his daddy went missing. And even though everyone says he’s dead, Walker
won’t give up hope. He knows his father is out there, somewhere, cutting a wild
trail through the Ozarks like always. But when a relative threatens to kick
Walker and his momma out of the family home, Walker realizes he has no choice
but to look for his daddy—a search that leads him straight to a drug-addled and
dangerous man named Lukas Fisher. While attempting to balance life as a normal
fifteen-year-old boy and star player on the football team, Walker begins a
desperate search across the hills of the Ozarks for the man who, for better or
worse, taught him everything he knows about strength.
Reviews:
“Strong Like
You is an engaging novel in which a high school football star is forced to
confront his ideas of manhood and forge better ones.” —Foreword Reviews
“The book explores masculinity, with Walker having a heartening insight near
the end, when he realizes that with the right help, people can learn better
than they were taught.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A serious look at the legacy and impact of violence, especially around the
toxic culture of football, along with a compassionate view of the struggle and
frequent hopelessness of rural poverty, the novel makes for a compelling read
with a mixed but ultimately hopeful conclusion. Recommended for libraries
serving middle and high schoolers.” —School Library Journal
T.L Talks Music for STRONG LIKE YOU:
Music is central to my writing
process, so a playlist for my debut contemporary YA novel STRONG LIKE YOU was a
no-brainer, even before I had any clue the story would be published.
Strong Like You follows
15-year-old Walker Lauderdale on a desperate search across the Ozarks for his
father, the man who—for better or worse—taught him everything he knows about
strength.
Before writing the book, I began
aggregating music to immerse myself in. I knew I wanted a country soundtrack,
but I didn't want anything overly commercial or radio-friendly.
Ozark Gothic, Pawns or Kings
I stumbled across this song late
one night on a journey down the YouTube rabbit hole. Ozark Gothic's gloomy and
downtrodden vibe is exactly what I imagined for my characters in Strong Like
You.
The opening lines resonate,
"They say nothing good would ever come out of those hills, just the meth
and the rot, guns and the pills."
It's no secret there's a drug problem festering in the hills of the Ozarks, and that's the backdrop behind Walker's journey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpp7qEimNS0
Morse Code, Elle Cordova
I have probably listened to this song more than any other song on my playlist. It's not exactly country, but it's folksy. It's a realization that the person you love no longer loves you. It hurts and is beautiful at the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBcr4LMF3mc
Lady May, Tyler Childers
Tyler had to turn up somewhere on
this list. There's a particular line in this song that always makes me think of
Walker. "Now I ain't the toughest hickory that your axe has ever fell, but
I'm a hickory just as well...I'm a hickory all the same."
Walker's journey deals with his coming to terms with what it means to be strong. At the beginning of the story, he'd never admit such a line as the one above. But I think by the end he might.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQp5xqs6-ww
Pay No Rent, Turnpike Troubadours
Turnpike Troubadours' song Pay No Rent reminds me of the relationship between Walker and his father. Walker's father is perhaps not worthy of admiration, but Walker admires him anyway. A kid loves his father because he doesn't know any better. If Walker was the singing type, he might croon, "In my heart, you pay no rent" to his daddy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sieOSRVQh3Q
Sonho Dourado, Daniel Lanois
I first heard this song in the
same place I think most people know it from—Friday Night Lights. The
instrumental guitar piece is played in the final moments of the film when it is
clear Permian won't win the state championship, as the kids pull themselves off
the ground after the defeat.
I was a sports reporter for almost
a decade. I've been on the field during a lot of these moments. Kids cry. And
you might think it's only sports. But a great deal of effort, expectation and
love goes into reaching that moment.
It hurts.
And that's okay.
This song hits me in the gut every time I listen to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50jlau88lw8
Stranger to Myself, Gravedancer
Gravedancer is an Arkansas artist with some really heartfelt Ozarkian music. Stranger to Myself is about the struggle just to exist after experiencing trauma. In the song's case, it's the singer's struggle with PTSD. "Can someone f–k me up with your fists or with your drugs?" is the kind of mindset the world can bake into a kid like Walker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mybTMgPRwBs
Dust in a Baggie, Billy Strings
Pretty self-explanatory.
"This life of sin has got me
in/ well, it's got me back in prison once again/ I used my only phone call to
contact my Daddy/ I got 20 long years for some dust in a baggy."
It's Walker's father's anthem. Plus Billy Strings can flat out play the guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qan4VRikfz8
Old Time Feeling (Like Before), Turnpike Troubadours
This song has a certain
hopefulness I hope comes across in Strong Like You. The world Walker inhabits
is tough as nails, and he endures some real hardship, but I never wanted the
story to to be bleak. It's a rough world out there, but there's beauty, love
and joy to be found. Old Time Feeling is about asking forgiveness. It’s about
making the same mistakes over and over again. But it is also about nostalgia.
If you ask me, football is tangled
up in nostalgia for much of America. Our fathers, fathers played it. We played
it.
It’s also wrapped up in the South
and the Ozarks.
Neither can be nor should be
without criticism.
But what can I say?
It is not perfect here.
Far from it.
But the nostalgia goggles are
powerful.
Things can get better. Surely they can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqp29kU_lVI
For the complete playlist, check out the Spotify playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5tD45lOXXDqQtklMBhStjl?si=2ab2da294c134115
About T.L. Simpson:
T. L. Simpson is an award-winning
journalist and editor of the Courier, a newspaper in his hometown of
Russellville, Arkansas. Simpson spent nearly ten years covering high school and
collegiate sports before taking over as editor. During that time, he was also
the paper’s primary crime reporter. In a lot of ways, Strong Like You is the
result of his experiences with covering both.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon
Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a finished copy of STRONG LIKE YOU, US Only.
Ends March 26th, midnight EST.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour
Schedule:
Week
One:
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3/11/2024 |
Interview/IG Post |
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3/11/2024 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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3/12/2024 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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3/12/2024 |
Guest Post/IG Post |
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3/13/2024 |
Blog Post/IG Post |
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3/13/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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3/14/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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3/14/2024 |
IG Review |
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3/15/2024 |
IG Review |
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3/15/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
Week Two:
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3/18/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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3/18/2024 |
Review |
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3/19/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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3/19/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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3/20/2024 |
Excerpt/IG Post |
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3/20/2024 |
IG Review |
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3/21/2024 |
IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post |
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3/21/2024 |
Review/IG Post |
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3/22/2024 |
Review |
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3/22/2024 |
Review |
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