Welcome to my fourth Muse Monday post. It’s a chance for a character who inspires me to guest on the blog. Today, we have René Oshawee, the guarded and handsome drummer from Two Princes, book one in the When We Were Young series. Check out what René has to say.
When Maggie suggested the blog post, I wasn’t keen on the idea. I even proposed to her that Billy guest since he loves talking. But Maggie insisted she wanted to hear from me. I wasn’t sure what to speak about, so she suggested I try music, knowing it’s the true love of my life, next to Billy.
Anyway, I’m René Oshawee. I’m one of the “heroes” in the When We Were Young series, which consists of four books. I guess you could say I’m the yin to Billy Redsky’s yang (the other hero in the book who comes from a totally messed up family). My dad’s the chief of Thunder Mountain First Nation (a stone’s throw from the city of Thunder Bay), and my mom’s an accountant. Some say our family is rich, which most people on the rez don’t like since you don’t dare get ahead of the pack, but I disagree. We work hard, we make sure we’re educated, and if that leads to money, so be it.
Music plays a big part in the series and in my life. I started drumming when I was ten. Realizing I wasn’t like my friends left me feeling isolated. I couldn’t share my secret with my main man, Chunk. All I knew was that when one of my buddies, Sheldon, stole his stash of hardcore porn from his older brother, the women in the magazines did nothing for me. It was the men. So I faked it. And they believed my lie, really thinking I dug chicks.
Seeing my older brother’s best friend in the shower, naked, when I was eleven, confirmed what I feared most—I really dug dudes. And I had the major hots for my older brother’s main man. Something I wasn’t comfortable with, because I didn’t know at the time Keith was also into guys.
Drumming helped me forget everything. It was the only time I felt normal. That I did belong. There’s something in the beats and even creating patterns for a song (since we write our own music) that takes me far away to a different place. It’s when I feel confident. When I think, “Yeah, this is me.” It’s cool figuring out the tempo, the fills…all the cool stuff you can play with while fleshing out the song.
But I guess I can’t keep ignoring who I really am. And it’s Billy Redsky who pretty much forced his way into my life. It was either change or lose him… I have a big decision to make.
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To win over the chief’s haughty son, a drug-dealing punk from a dysfunctional family must risk the only two things he has: his reputation and freedom.
Blurb: Billy Redsky, a rebellious punk who loves art and nature, is saddled with a welfare-leeching, alcoholic mother and criminal older brother who are the joke of their Ojibway community. Sick and tired of being perceived as a loser, Billy deals drugs for his older brother to earn quick money. He hopes if he buys a dirt bike, he’ll finally impress the chief’s popular and aloof son, René Oshawee.
When the two are forced to serve detention together, a friendship begins to bloom, but much to Billy’s frustration, René keeps putting him on ice. To make his biggest dream come true if he finally wants to call René his own, Billy must make a huge decision that could cost him everything.
Genre(s): Multicultural Romance, M/M Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+, Young Adult.
Heat Rating: Level 2
Publication Date: June 12, 2020
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Maggie Blackbird 