The Publicist Book One and Two by Christina George – Book Review + Guest Post

I received this book for free from . This review is voluntary. My opinion is not influenced in any way.

The Publicist Book One and Two on February 11, 2014
Pages: 591
Format: Paperback
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Can one woman change an age-old institution like publishing? Probably not, but Kate Mitchell sure wants to try. As a publicist with a large, respected New York publishing house, Kate finds herself at the mercy of a broken publishing system, books that don’t sell, and author egos that are often, well, as big as the island of Manhattan.

Enter the star editor, MacDermott Ellis: Tall, handsome, charismatic, married, and ready to save the day. Then there’s Allan Lavigne, once a revered author—now as forgotten as last year’s bestsellers and his nephew Nick: Tall, gorgeous, sweet, single, and ready to sweep Kate off her feet. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be driving her decisions.

As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, over-the-top author expectations, and the careful dance of “I’m sorry, your book isn’t on the bestseller list this week,” she also finds authors who are painfully overlooked by a publisher wanting more romance and sex, more celebrities, and more scandal.

Includes Book Two:

Publishing: An industry of out-of-control of egos, unrealistic expectations, and books with the shelf life of milk. This is Kate’s world, but for how long?

When one of Kate Mitchell’s star authors is carted away in handcuffs, she thinks it’s only the beginning of her troubles. As her world crumbles around her, Kate desperately looks for anyone to hold onto but finds that happy endings are truly works of fiction. When her career and love affair hit their expiration date, Kate sets off on a new adventure….

Starting over in California is easy, but Kate soon learns that leaving her old life behind isn’t. Nicholas Lavigne is eager to help her forget, but two things still own her heart, the dream of discovering the next great American novel, and MacDermott Ellis. As Kate tries to rebuild her life she finds a surprising gift that reboots her career in a new and unexpected direction. Suddenly her name becomes synonymous with one of the biggest bestsellers publishing has seen in ages and she's welcomed back with open arms. At the height of her success the ghosts of her past come back to remind her of the world she'd been trying to forget and the man who never let go of her heart. Behind the book, there’s always more to the story.

Guest Post

When Pigs Fly and Other Harrowing Publicist Stories

I have a friend who does freelance publicity, she’s a brave soul. Back when I did freelancing (before my New York publishing days) I was never at the mercy of people who, hmmm, for lack of a better term, went off their meds. With so many people writing books, it’s a brave (and often frightening) new world. So, this guy who she worked with three years ago writes to ask her if she’d like to promote his next book.

Freelance publicists love return authors, it’s always great when you can work with someone again so, of course, she wrote him right back and offered him marketing ideas and pricing for his new tome. What she got back from him was rather interesting.

He was “highly insulted” that she’d ask him for money when he had paid her already.

Um, three years ago.

He said he expected her to market him again and, in fact, market him till he was successful. He said he was furious that their conversation had taken this turn, and would await her immediate response.

Wait, is that a pig flying around?

She has a good sense of humor about this (also, drinking helps), she called me and said, “I wonder if we can try this with stuff, like, I dunno, vacations. ‘Hi, I know I flew your airline to New York two years ago, now I’d like you to take me to Maui, I didn’t enjoy New York that much, I’m hoping you’ll fly me around till I enjoy myself.”

What makes people think they can do this? I mean, seriously? He also said that he was insulted that she touted authors on her website and didn’t mention his book.

Wow. Anger management much?

Freelance publicists are some of the bravest souls in the industry. At least I have a high tower and guard at the front door to keep the crazies out, also, if things get too hairy we send people on tour to places like Bald Nob, Arkansas and Bobo, Alabama. I think pigs do actually fly there.

Note to authors: never jack with your publicist.

Christina George www.thepublicistnovel.com

So many good things to say about these two books. The Publicist Book One and Two by Christina George star our publicist, Kate Mitchell. She is a character who is really easy to like and relate to right from the beginning. I really just enjoyed these two books so much! I loved the ‘inside peek’ into the world of publishing. As a book lover, it was wonderful to get to explore a side of the book world that I haven’t really explored before. The characters are great and the story lines move at a good pace. I found myself reading and reading and reading until I was finished…I didn’t want to put the books down. Christina George has written a really great contemporary romance series, and I can’t wait for more. If you love strong female leads in contemporary romance, you need to pick this up…it’s just $1.99 at Amazon and sooo worth it!

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