The man she’s always hated
may finally take her down
THE CORNER OFFICE
by Katerina Baker
Publication Date: 23 Jun 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Women’s Issues
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Tara Johnson's sacrifices are
about to pay off: a senior executive at thirty-five at a Fortune 500 company,
she's one of the two finalists in line for a Managing Director position.
Unfortunately, her rival of fifteen years, the charming, infuriating Richard
Boyd, is just as qualified, and unlike her, he's willing to cross pretty much
every line to get what he wants.
Of all the things Tara stored in
the attic to make it to the top, it's her personal life she misses the most.
That is, until she starts a steamy affair with sex god Aidan, her direct
report. Interoffice relationships with a subordinate can mean the end of a
career, and when Richard finds out, it's the perfect opportunity to take his
high-heeled nemesis out, especially since he's still nursing a grudge against
Tara for rejecting him years ago.
But Tara's increasingly
domineering lover has his own dark secrets, endangering more than just her
career. As her liaison spirals out of control, salvation will come from the man
she always thought she hated, and perhaps the only one to truly understand her.
THE CORNER OFFICE EXCERPT:
My mouth dropped open at what I saw.
Colorful ink formed a tattoo of a snake that twisted around his
arm. A tattoo. It started from the middle of his forearm and disappeared
into the sleeve at his elbow.
Wait a minute. Tattoos were taboo, a part of a bad-boy image.
Bad boys—at least not those whose badness was openly displayed in the form of
body art—did not hold leadership jobs at Fortune 500 companies. I once knew a
CEO and I wouldn’t mention his name, so as to not cause him any embarrassment,
who flew to Bermuda to get his tattoo removed. It was a tiny image of a skull
on his back and nobody would have found out that he had it, if only he weren’t
planning a New Year’s Eve bash. Which, at the insistence of his girlfriend, was
going to happen at a spa where all the guests would be in their bathing suits.
Needless to say, the CEO had flown as far away from New York as possible to
guarantee he wouldn’t run into anyone he knew and got rid of the forbidden skin
art and his reputation was saved.
So, as we dug into our burritos, I kept glancing at his
tattoo. Trying to imagine how high up his arm the snake ended. Would it be
covering his entire bicep or end just above his elbow? Perhaps I was staring a
little too openly, but the discovery was a bit too shocking.
Katerina Baker is a lucky gal who still attempts to have it all: full-time project management job that she enjoys, crazy family of four (with the ongoing threats of getting a pet to upset the family equilibrium) and writing.
Although on some days she is much more successful at managing her life than on the others, she still claims that she doesn’t want it any other way.Katerina is represented by Sharon Belcastro from Belcastro Agency, and hasa contract with Lachesis Publishing, who will be publishing her Romantic Suspense novel Under the Scrubs.
Get to know Katerina Baker:
1.
What
is the best thing for you about being a writer?
Like
many other authors, I started writing when I couldn’t find a book I wanted to
read. I was looking for a specific novel and couldn’t find anything similar, so
I decided to write it myself. The best thing about being a writer is to take
bits and pieces of reality and set them on a different course, bring them to a
different closure. I enjoy the plotting process and coming up with a new
formula for a book.
2. What is the hardest thing for you about
being a writer?
The
hardest thing is finding enough time to write! I used to think that it was hard
writing and working during the day and taking care of small kids. Now I realize
that was a child play. What’s hard is writing while working and taking care of
kids AND promoting your book. I didn’t realize how much work it is going to be
to actually publish and market a book, and how challenging it will be to find
time to actually write.
3. What genre/s do you write and what genre
is your latest release?
I
love Romance, so all of my novels have romance in their center. My latest
release is Contemporary Romance about a senior female executive who makes a lot
of mistakes in her attempt to have it all in her life: career and personal
life, a dilemma so many women struggle with.
4. What essential things have you learned
about writing in the last year?
I
learned to not take criticism personally. Oh, who am I kidding. I still take it
personally. I am human. Haha. But I am more away that I SHOULD NOT take it
personally. I try not to be upset when someone doesn’t love my book, doesn’t
love my writing style. Another thing that I’ve learned is that there is no
right or wrong way to write. You can always find an audience for your book. I’m
not saying we should release something with spelling mistakes or a plot that’s
half baked, but we should not strive to make everyone happy with our writing.
It is never going to happen. If I put a smile on an least one reader’s face, I
am happy.
5. What type of hero do you like? Super
alpha, wounded or somewhere in between? Or even something totally different?
Like
heroines, I like strong heroes with hidden vulnerability that’s not immediately
obvious to readers. I attempt to write multi-faceted characters, and for me
that means they are far from perfect.
6. Tell us about your journey in writing this
book.
I
wrote the first draft of The Corner Office more than four years ago. I actually
loved it, and I had a few early readers who loved it as well. At that time, I
was set on traditionally publishing all of my novels (conviction that I no
longer hold), so The Corner Office went through a very long submission process.
At some point after dozens of rejections, I shelved it and focused on my other
work. About a year and a half ago, I submitted the book to Lachesis Publishing,
the publisher who ultimately signed up to publish my Romantic Suspense novel
Under the Scrubs, and that was a pivotal point for The Corner Office. The
editor did reject it, but she followed it with a few pages of thorough and
thoughtful notes, which opened my eyes on a few issues with the book I wasn’t
able to see before. After I mulled over it for a bit—I wasn’t that great with
handling criticism yet, you see—I came up with a revision plan.
The
final straw that made me decide to publish The Corner Office this year was the
renewed wave of feminism in the US. The book deals with the important feminism
topics, and I felt it was the right time to release it.
I
took another few months in the beginning of this year to make final revisions,
final round of beta reading, final round of proofreading, final round of
editing, and viola! The book is going to be released on June 23rd,
which is my birthday, by the way!
I
felt it was appropriate to publish my first book on my birthday. (What a great birthday present for you!!!)
7. Tell us three quirky or interesting things
about yourself.
I am
good speaking in public when I am prepared but you can shoot me before I walk
into a room full of people I don’t know and make small talk.
8. What rituals do you use to help you focus
or get the words down on the page e.g. music or a snack?
I
don’t have much time so all I usually need is peace and quiet.
9. What book would you like to work on next?
I
will be revising and finishing my YA Sci-Fi novel BLUE which is about a math
genius girl. That’s my other passion: in my day job I work hard to help young
girls pursue technical careers and jobs.
10. What advice can you give to aspiring
writers?
Buckle
up and enjoy the ride!
Life
is a journey. Enjoy the process rather than live for that one moment when you
get a book deal. Being an author is so much more: building relationships with
other writers, getting better at your craft, revising your novels, and
learning—every day.
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