Part of The Long Shadow Series by Duncan Gaye
Benny Cerone has always felt like the odd one out. Sensitive, artistic, and adopted into a powerful Chicago family with secrets darker than they let on, he's spent his life playing it safe?until now. At nineteen, he's finally free, starting fresh at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, surrounded by music, freedom, and the promise of becoming who he really is.
Then he meets Ox.
A towering, quiet presence with a haunted past and a job that keeps him firmly tethered to Benny's family, Ox is everything Benny shouldn't want?and everything he can't stay away from. As their connection deepens, Benny is pulled between two lives: the one he's creating on his own terms, and the one he thought he left behind.
Set in the vibrant heart of 1980s Chicago, Enter the Ox is a tender, slow-burn romance about chosen identity, first love, and the quiet ways two people can change each other forever.
Autorentext
Duncan Gaye lives in River Forest, Illinois. He believes magic can be found anywhere, even the suburbs. He writes the kind of love stories that sneak up on you?queer, tender, and just a little strange. His books are full of burly big-hearted men, tall tales, impossible odds, and the kind of endings that leave you wanting more.
When not writing, he likes to read, travel and relax with his adorable senior dogs, Spotty and French Fry.
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