Carry Me Gently (The Long Shadow Series by Duncan Gaye, #1)

Dominic Fournier knows how to carry weight. He's done it all his life-on the farm, in the gym, in the spotlight. But nothing has ever felt heavier than the things he's never said. Especially now, with his marriage crumbling, his career on edge, and a soft-spoken fan named Ryan asking questions he's not ready to answer.
What begins as an autograph becomes something deeper: an unexpected spark, a fleeting moment of warmth in a life built on pressure. As competition looms and emotions rise, Dominic must decide what kind of strength truly matters-the kind that lifts stones... or the kind that dares to be held.
Carry Me Gently is a tender, slow-burn queer romance about power, vulnerability, and what happens when the strongest man in the room finally lets go.

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.
The Long Shadow Series by Duncan Gaye is a thematic anthology series of stand-alone LGBTQ+ novellas and novels that tell love stories shaped by the extraordinary. Blending elements of speculative fiction, magical realism, tall tales, and literary drama, these are stories where intimacy and identity meet epic strength and emotional vulnerability.
From the mythical to the mundane, each book explores larger-than-life characters—strongmen, bodyguards, super soldiers, and other giants. For fans of emotional intensity, queer desire, and stories that stretch the boundaries of realism, this series offers a new kind of legend.