Duncan Gaye writes queer fiction where history, folklore, and everyday life intersect. His novels are populated by gentle giants, lonely dreamers, impossible romances, and ordinary people searching for a place to belong. Whether grounded in realism or touched by a hint of magic, his stories share an abiding belief that compassion is its own kind of strength.
He lives in River Forest, Illinois, where he enjoys composing electronic music, reading, traveling, and relaxing with his two senior dogs.
About The Long shadow Series:
The novels in The Long Shadow Series are not direct sequels, but they share a deep connection in spirit.
Each story is a standalone tale with its own characters, settings, and time periods. Some are historical romances, while others fall under literary fiction, magical realism, noir, or myth. They all share similar emotions: longing, masculinity, tenderness, and isolation. They also touch on memory, identity, and resilience.
I often found myself writing about similar characters—outsiders, drifters, laborers, soldiers, and lonely men trying to survive in harsh environments, both physically and emotionally. Many of these stories feature strength paired with gentleness, or gentleness underlying strength.
The settings may vary, from a remote village in Nova Scotia to a battlefield, a dockside pub, or a cabin in the forest. However, these books all share a common atmosphere and emotional core. They complement each other, casting a long shadow across different worlds and eras.
This connection is why I've brought them together under The Long Shadow Series.
Thank you for reading.
— Duncan Gaye
Author Bio:
Duncan Gaye writes queer fiction where history, folklore, and everyday life intersect. His novels are populated by gentle giants, lonely dreamers, impossible romances, and ordinary people searching for a place to belong. Whether grounded in realism or touched by a hint of magic, his stories share an abiding belief that compassion is its own kind of strength.
He lives in River Forest, Illinois, where he enjoys composing electronic...
Lieutenant Alistair Harrow knows the rules of survival during wartime: stay alert, maintain control, and never let the men see you crack. Then, his world explodes. An artillery attack leaves him broken and half-buried beneath the wreckage of a collapsed trench, certain he will die alone.
Brian Dunleavy came to the North Woods to write a serious novel. Instead, he falls in love with a kitschy paper towel mascot.
It begins with a whistle in the trees and the unmistakable sense of being watched. A boot print the size of a bathtub. Then a muscular, 43-foot-tall lumberjack steps out of the forest like a dream come true.
Patrick Callahan comes to Cape Breton expecting easy money from a quick and lucrative timber deal. Instead, he only finds humiliation. Swindled out of his inheritance and stranded in a windswept fishing village, he is left with nothing but a single suitcase and a future that has collapsed overnight....
The novels in The Long Shadow Series are not direct sequels, but they share a deep connection in spirit.
Each story is a standalone tale with its own characters, settings, and time periods. Some are historical romances, while others fall under literary fiction, magical...
