The Publicist (Book #1) by Christina George Audio Book & Interview

Category: Adult fiction
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Audible
Length: 6 hours
Release Date: Nov 2014
Narrator: Lisa Cordileone
Audiobook available: Internationally
Content Rating: PG-13 Mature *Please scroll below for explanation of our content rating

About the book:

Behind every book, there’s always more to the story.

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 always sell (at all) 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. Kate wants to do the right thing but her hormones seem to be driving her decisions. Then there’s Allan Lavigne, once a revered author, now as forgotten as yesterday’s news; and his nephew Nick, who wants to sweep Kate away from New York for another coast, California.

As Kate tries to navigate the landmine of publicity, the 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 sex, more celebrities, and more scandal.

My Review…

I just recently have become a fan of audio books.   I found the voice of a good narrator can entertain me while working out, doing dishes, and driving.  When I was asked to listen to Christina George’s The Publicist I was so happy to have the chance.   I have read the series and loved it so was excited to hear what the book would sound like.   

The voice of Lisa Cordileone, the narrator, was the perfect choice for this audio book .  Her voice changed tones as needed but kept a great flow of reading.   The cadence of her voice was even and easy to listen to.  I loved when she became a male character and sometimes couldn’t help but let out a little giggle at the roughness of her voice.  I found myself picturing Kate meeting with the different authors and hosting their events.   I loved the meetings between Kate and Mack and later in the story with Nickolas.  

I am a fan of Christina George in the written form and am now a fan of her audio books.  I hope that the rest of the series will be released in the audio form so that I can continue with this series. 

Meet Christina George

1.    What is your next project? 

Glad you asked! I just finished up with book three in The Publicist series called Climax, and I’m very excited. It launches December 15, 2014

2.    What made you write a book about being a publicist? 

First off I wrote this book because I am a publicist and I felt like this was such an interesting industry, with many stories to tell. A lot of readers have commented on how fun it was to see the inner workings of the publishing industry and, of course, there is romance, lots of that. But Kate’s job is tough and it sometimes takes center stage over her life, anyone who is in publishing can really relate.

3.    Where do you get inspiration for your stories? 

Well some are real and some aren’t some are a hybrid mix of both. I get ideas from real life, sometimes watching people, observing them or hearing stories on the news. For The Publicist, this book was a blend of real and fiction. A good percentage of the author stories are real and the romance with Mac is real up to a point. Yes there was a “Mac” in my life who inspired these. He was a force of nature, much like Mac in the book.

4.    What is the last great book you've read? 

It would have to be Gone Girl which I loved and it creeped me out at the same time. If you’ve read it you know what I mean. It’s a wild ride.

5.    What books did you love growing up? 

Candidly I loved Nancy Drew, I wanted to be Nancy Drew solving mysteries and helping people. Loved those books. I also loved all of the Laura Ingalls books, such a fascinating life she had.

6.    What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing? 

Well publishing is easy now, thanks to self-publishing – and I always tell authors that writing is the easy part (though I know it does not feel easy when you’re in the midst of it). But for most authors, the marketing is really tough. That’s why I encourage them to reach out to someone who can help, maybe a fellow author or going to a writers conference or something. Don’t isolate yourself, that’s the worst. It’s hard to do it alone.

7.    What makes you angry? 

When really good authors are overlooked or their books don’t get noticed. That really bothers me and sadly, I see a lot of it in my line of work.

About the Author:

Christina George has worked in publishing for twenty years (give or take). Here’s what this book isn't. It’s not a slam against publishing (though it is broken) and it’s not a slam against authors (though some of them are crazy). This book is not autobiographical though many of the stories are true. No you won’t know which ones, cause it’s more fun to guess, right? George continues to work in publicity and helps authors because at the end of the day she does love books, she loves publishing, and she loves authors. She hopes you’ll enjoy this romp through Kate’s world as much as she enjoyed creating it.

Connect with Christina: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook  ~ Goodreads