The Rayburn Affair (A Novel)

Art, ambition, and desire collide when an aspiring writer becomes entangled in the marriage and creative life of her literary idol.

By day, Dr Ruth Morgan lectures on ‘AI: the new frontier of storytelling.’ By night, she toils away at a collection of short stories, fantasising about a writing career to rival that of the internationally renowned Shelby Rayburn, a literary icon widely hailed as the voice of Ruth’s generation of women. 

When Shelby and her husband, Oscar, make an appearance at an annual faculty party, Ruth can’t believe her luck. The trio instantly hit it off, and an intoxicating intimacy builds between them, underwritten by a simmering sexual tension. 

After their chance meeting, Shelby proposes an unconventional scheme to bring Ruth’s unpublished writing into the limelight, though it is not without conditions: their plan must remain secret, even from Oscar. Bound together by this pact, Ruth and Shelby’s bond tightens. But how long before ego and ambition cause their secret alliance to snap?