The
Corner Office
by
Katerina Baker
Genre:
New Adult Romance
Releases
June 23rd, 2017
The man she’s always
hated may finally take her down
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
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Q. What is different about The Corner Office and why should anyone read it?
A. The Corner Office is a fun take on what really goes through the head of one successful woman executive. Her decades-old hate relationship with her biggest rival, check. Her attraction to a sexy subordinate she hires, check. Her “dates” with Adam&Eve in lieu of real relationships, check.
She is an accomplished professional woman, yet she has many flaws that make her relatable.
Q. Tell us some fun facts about The Corner Office.
A. I wrote the first draft four years ago. The story was pretty much the same, what’s changed is the main character. Tara was harsher, more cynical, less neurotic… The fun scenes came later: being worried about being seen riding a motorcycle, her secret obsession with tattooes, an imaginary tree that she keeps bringing up in her head whenever she needs to feel composed. As I continued revising, I realized Tara’s personality wasn’t quite right, and I rewrote many scenes.
Q. Have you met Tara in real life? Has anyone inspired you?
I’ve met many Taras, women who chose to delay starting families or meaningful relationships for the sake of their careers. I remember speaking with one senior managing director in her early forties. She was fun, and she had that infectious laugher that drew people in. But a mind of a writer works in mysterious ways. I kept glancing at her red high heels and I couldn’t stop thinking about her spending long nights in the office, sleeping on her couch, eating Godiva out of a box, and yes, a vibrator at home instead of a man because no one could ever catch up with her. I couldn’t stop thinking, what if there was a man, a co-worker, she spent years hating, who actually was her perfect soulmate. What if that man she spent decades fighting with was really a guy who’d make her want to scale back on her working hours and perhaps give romance a chance?
Q. You have an agent. What made you decide to self publish The Corner Office?
A. I’ve always wanted to be a hybrid author: have both traditionally published and self published books. Ultimately, I feel that self-publishing gives an experience I wouldn’t get with traditionally published books. I get to do everything myself: work with a cover designer, editor, proofreader, do my own marketing and promotions, make a judgement call as to when a book is ready to be published. It gives this great liberating feeling that I haven’t felt when my agent was submitting my books to big publishers. Being on submissions was a very discouraging time: it’s not easy to get one rejection after another, some of which don’t make much sense. It’s hard to stay focused on writing when you are hearing that editors didn’t find your work good enough, that they didn’t “connect with your voice,” or they didn’t see the market for your book. It’s such a subjective business, and deep down you always say to yourself that all it takes is one yes, but the path to that “yes” may just take too long.
On the other hand, it’s great to see and experience the entire path to publishing. I feel that it will make me a stronger author for the publisher to work with. After I’ve been on the dark side of self-publishing, I know the hard work that goes into its production, and I intend to do as much, if not more since I’d be utilizing my existing experience, for my traditionally published books.
Q. How did New York influence your writing?
A. New York is such a lively, full of promise city. I love it all: New Yorkers’ attitude, the feeling of hope that the city carries, the optimistic aggression. It’s the city that allows everyone to express who they are, to be unique, to re-define success, to nurture and cultivate new ideas. It’s like you are part of something greater, yet you are special in your own way. You belong because you get up every day and show up on the streets before the tourists take over. The Corner Office, as well as several other novels I’ve written are based in New York City, because I can’t imagine any other city more fitting for my characters, but also because New York can throw you into the thick of things and unusual situations and take a story forward when your characters are stuck.
Q. What can we expect from you in the future?
A. I’ve signed a contract with Lachesis Publishing to publish the first novel in my Romantic Suspense series, Under the Scrubs. It’s a fun, adventure packed novel about a young OBGYN woman who accidentally gets involved with an FBI agent and in a murder case. She is your down-to-earth girl next door who’s into baking and homemade meals. Her dating life has been put on hold for too long due to studies and residency, and when she meets this mysterious, intense guy in a chance encounter, she is instantly drawn to him. The novel would be your typical opposites attract story, except the setting is a high-stakes murder case, and the main character gets thrown into life-or-death situations where she has to play a hooker, break into a prison and fight for her life. This has been such a fun novel to write that I’ve already finished the first draft of a sequel, which is based on a Caribbean island, called Scrubs Overboard. I can’t wait to share this series with all of you.
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