Welcome to my seventh Muse Monday post. It’s a chance for a character who inspires me to guest on the blog. Today, we have Stephen Brandt, the guilt-ridden but music-loving hero from Back Where You Belong, a second-chance, m/m contemporary romance. Check out what Stephen has to say.
I’ve always been referred to as an old soul. Maybe everyone’s right, since I love old-school music. As a matter of fact, I wanted to become a radio DJ. The reserve had its own station at once, and the local DJ showed me everything about running it. There was nothing I loved more than working behind the scenes or manning the microphone. It didn’t matter to me where I volunteered, just as long as I got to be a part of the radio station.
But my father said there was no money in radio since computers were taking over everything. He was right. Still, I longed for the dream. It’s why I started an Internet radio channel when I lived in southern Ontario after graduation. I even gained a following. Another introduced me to DJing for parties and weddings. I loved that just as much as radio.
I did need to pay the bills, though, so I became a teacher. Maybe I kept myself super-busy out of guilt? I broke my best friend’s heart. A man who took me in as a young child, since we grew up together. I was teased mercilessly for only being half Ojibway since my now-deceased father was Caucasian. With Hudson Suggashie, I didn’t feel different. I believed I did belong at our isolated northern Ontario reserve. He even supported my radio dream. Together, we listened to tons of old-school music, something we bonded over.
I wasn’t ready to come out at the time. But Hudson was. Maybe we weren’t mature enough back then. Or maybe I hadn’t found the courage to tell my dad the truth. So yeah, I left for Southern Ontario, and Hudson went west to Winnipeg.
I moved back to the reserve after my dad died since my mom needed me to help her manage her illness. It was okay at first. I quickly got a job since the northern reserves are always in dire need of teachers. But I never expected Hudson to return…
I want to speak to him. But I don’t know how he feels. What we had ended horribly. I must try, though. He’s always been at the back of my thoughts, hidden somewhere, even after I moved on with my life.
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He rejected love the first time. Now he wants a second chance.
Blurb: After having his love tossed back in his face, Hudson Suggashie has eliminated the word trust from his dictionary. Since his return to his Ojibway community, his suspicions are running high, all because one man is hinting at a second chance—the too-gorgeous and sexy ball-crusher who turned Hudson’s world to black fifteen years ago.
Stephen Brandt knows he screwed up big time when he rejected Hudson’s love, and he’ll do anything to win him back, even if it means being a mere bed buddy to the man whose love he aches to reclaim.
The longer the former best friends engage in their no-strings affair, they want something more—what they lost as teenagers. But Hudson isn’t about to open his heart again, leaving a desperate Stephen searching for a way to earn back the trust he broke, or for the second time, they’ll lose the greatest love either has ever experienced.
Genre(s): LGBTQ+, M/M Contemporary Romance, First Nations Romance, Adult
Heat Rating: Level 3
Publication Date: October 14, 2022
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Maggie Blackbird 