The Companion

A New York Times Recommended Summer Read 2021 "This book is sexy: everything is vintage garters being unsnapped and forearms being revealed and silk blouses falling to the floor." -New York Times Book Review. New York, 1948 After years of trying to break into New York City's literary scene, Madeline Slaughter is emotionally and physically exhausted. When a friend offers her a safe haven as the live-in companion to reclusive, bestselling novelist Victor Hallowell she jumps at the chance to escape the city. Madeline expects to find rest and quiet in the forests of Upstate New York. Instead, she finds Victor, handsome and intensely passionate, and Audrey Coffin, Victor's mysterious and beautiful neighbor. When Victor offers her a kiss and the promise of more Madeline allows herself to become entangled even as Audrey is also claiming her heart. The only problem is that Audrey and Victor are ex-lovers with plenty of baggage between them. As Madeline finds herself opening up and falling in love with both she starts to wonder, can there be a future for all three?

EE Ottoman is a romance and speculative fiction author specializing in trans and queer fiction with a historical setting. He currently lives outside of Philadelphia with his wife and an entire house full of dogs and cats. He grew up surrounded by the farmlands and forests of upstate New York. Ottoman has an undergraduate and a graduate degree in US history and a degree in library science, concentrating on archives. He is passionate about history, stories, and the queer spaces between the two. In his free time, Ottoman is an avid vegetarian cook, practicing fiber craftsperson, and novice mushroom cultivator.