About the book:
Kate Mitchell has never forgiven herself for breaking Nick Lavigne’s heart. Now he’s back and he’s moved on, and it’s affecting Kate’s life more than she’s willing to admit.Kate Mitchell has everything. She's the head of a crazy successful publishing house, engaged to the traffic-stopping sexy Mac Ellis and she's about to sign one of the biggest authors of her career.
And that's when everything falls apart.
Everything is perfect…until it’s not.
In a city of 8 million people Kate manages to run into someone she never expected to see again.
Nick is handsome, impossibly kind, every girl’s dream, and Kate’s former fiancé. He’s also the brother of the rising star author she’s trying to sign. Now that Nick’s back in town and has moved on he insists he’s over Kate, but part of him still can’t get past how amazing they were, and his sister won’t let anyone forget how brutally it ended.
When Mac is dealt a life-changing blow, it forces Kate to question every single choice she’s made.
Follow Kate as she embarks on a journey of life and love, navigating through the decisions that will change it all forever.
Interview with Christina George
Christina, what’s the story behind the title of your book?That’s a great question. So for all of these books: The Publicist, Shelf Life, and Climax I tried to go literary – do something that tied into the book world. Climax seemed like a natural thing because it was the climax point of the story and it is also a nod to the term editors often use.
Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
Yes, Climax is part of a series but it is written to be a standalone, too. I worked hard to do that because I didn’t want new readers to feel “forced” to buy all of them.
What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
Not to take anything personally. Much like Kate’s journey (and her job), it’s a hard lesson to learn. It’s not about you, it’s about whatever is going on for that person. That’s pretty freeing.
If someone gave you $5,000 and said you must solve a problem, what would you do with the money?
I would give it to an old dog rescue to pay for dog treatments. I have done some work with several of these rescues which take in elderly dogs that get discarded by their owners. Often even just $100 can be the difference between a dog getting a life-saving surgery.
What are your most cherished mementos?
I went to visit the beaches of Normandy in France and picked up a couple of rocks. It’s staggering to think what happened there.
If you could only save one thing from your house, what would it be?
My dog, who rocks.
How did you create the plot for this book?
Well, book one in particular came out of real life experiences. Ninety percent of the author stories in book one and two are based on things that happened to me in my job. And some of the other folks like Mac and Edward are based on real publishing people I worked with.
Are any of your characters inspired by real people?
Yes, just about all of them. Their names have been changed to protect the guilty and sometimes spoiled :-)
What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?
Not really a pet peeve but kind of a confession: I am a book sniffer. Sometimes I’ll sniff a book on a train and catch people watching me. They must be wondering “I wonder if that’s a new thing. A smell-a-tale?”
Have you been in any natural disasters?
Yes, I was living in Southern California once and we had a massive fire, I mean massive. It burned so hot and so fast that by the time they could warn us to evacuate, we had 30 seconds to get out.
What would your dream office look like?
The same as now but with minions. Minions rock :-)
Why did you decide to self-publish?
Well, I work in traditional publishing, and I published under a pen name because you know, some of these stories are real so I figured it was just easier to do it that way. Also, I have seen the man behind the curtain, so to speak. I get how tough traditional publishing is these days. It’s not because traditional houses are the villains, at all. They are in business and want to make a profit and this does not always include supporting first time authors because they love the book. I know a lot of editors who 100% fall in love with a book but can’t sign it because maybe the market isn’t right, or the market is too small. Also, I’m a control freak. Well, actually, I prefer a control enthusiast. I wanted this book written a particular way, I wanted to control my cover, timing of release, etc.
What are you working on now?
Well, I got so many letters from readers that they loved the series and wanted it to continue that I’ve decided to do that. So right now I’m working on a book about Mac, one of the lead characters in the series. Then we’ll focus on Vivienne who was in Climax (she was a new character). After that, I’m writing one on Allan Lavigne. He’s the big (huge) bestselling author who is Kate’s best friend.
What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
Wow, this is such a great question. I once had a fan write me a long email about what upset her about such and such in my book and why this or that character made such-and-such decisions. This was HUGE because wow, she cared enough to write me and she was so into the book that she became emotionally involved, that’s huge.
What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write? Why?
Climax was very hard because it was so complex, and I had to keep these folks likable and at the same time make them seem real and flawed. That, for me, was tricky.
What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
Really, most comments I get are about how someone hates Kate or Mac – or that Kate’s spoiled. You know feedback is a funny thing, if you read it, step back from it, sit with it –more often than not it’s helpful.
About the Author:
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