The Meeting Planner: A Riveting Tale of Love, Power, and Life on the Road
This debut novel by Mary Robinson takes readers deep into a billion-dollar industry rarely explored in fiction. With heart-pounding drama, alluring romance, and a storyline inspired by real-life experiences, The Meeting Planner sheds light on what really goes on when powerful executives are far from home.
Discovering the Realities Beneath the Glamour
Lacey, a young, ambitious professional from Boston, has landed her dream job: Director of Global Meetings for a high-profile corporation. She’s ecstatic to step into a role that promises excitement, travel, and influence. But as Lacey soon finds out, this prestigious position comes with unforeseen challenges and hidden costs. What was once a dream job quickly turns into a whirlwind of late-night meetings, lavish events, and a tangled web of personal compromises that change her life forever.
Traveling to international destinations like South Africa, Bermuda, and Europe, Lacey finds herself not just planning meetings but stepping into a secretive world of business conduct, where corporate power comes with its own unspoken rules. From impropriety to infidelity, she is thrown into a fast-paced industry filled with high expectations—and where the old boys’ club still holds sway.
As she climbs the corporate ladder, she questions her own identity, torn between ambition and her core values. Lacey’s story is a relatable and intense look at how the pressures of career and personal integrity often come into direct conflict.
Behind the Scenes of a Billion-Dollar Industry
Set against the backdrop of a global five-billion-dollar industry, The Meeting Planner is the first novel to delve into the complex, rarely seen world of meeting planning—a profession with over 140,000 practitioners in the United States alone and a growing global presence. Despite its substantial role in the business world, there’s a scarcity of fiction that captures the essence of this profession. Instead of how-to guides on event planning, this novel offers readers a unique, eye-opening perspective on what it truly means to manage large-scale events and navigate relationships when work takes you far from home.
An Audience-Driven Story with Global Appeal
Ideal for both male and female readers, The Meeting Planner will resonate with anyone who has ever faced the challenge of balancing work and personal life. The storyline, filled with high-stakes decisions, vivid locations, and the intensity of a forbidden romance, is gripping for readers in their twenties through fifties, especially those familiar with corporate travel and its effects on personal lives. Whether or not readers have experience in meeting planning, they’ll be drawn in by Lacey’s journey of self-discovery, her struggle to find her place in a male-dominated industry, and her life-altering relationship with a married executive.
A Love Story of Complexity and Realism
At its heart, The Meeting Planner is also a romance, exploring the intricacies and consequences of a secret relationship. Lacey’s affair with a company executive—a married man—adds a pulse of excitement and emotional conflict to her story. For those who have experienced the complexities of relationships and moral dilemmas, Lacey’s affair provides both a captivating narrative and a thought-provoking look at the impact of love on personal and professional choices. Readers will find themselves deeply invested in Lacey’s decisions, rooting for her as she grapples with love, loyalty, and self-respect.
The Author Behind the Meeting Planner: Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson brings a wealth of firsthand knowledge to her debut novel. A seasoned professional with extensive experience in global event planning, Mary knows the excitement and challenges of organizing large-scale corporate gatherings. Her career highlights include creating international distributor conferences and sales incentive programs and pioneering a global approach to marketing and branding. As the former Director of Worldwide Meetings and Events for a prominent software company in the 1990s, Mary brings authenticity to Lacey’s character, drawing on her own international travels to places like London, Paris, Sydney, and Johannesburg. With her impressive career background, Mary crafts a novel that resonates with realism and offers readers a genuine insider’s view of a high-stakes industry.
Beyond her role in event planning, Mary’s creative journey spans numerous writing and artistic achievements. She studied art at Sarah Lawrence College and earned a BA in English and Journalism from the University of New Hampshire. Her published works include co-authoring and illustrating Hassle-free Boston, a guidebook, as well as editorial roles on various projects.
Mary’s work has earned her multiple awards, including Communicator Awards, Global Awards, and Telly Awards. Now, as a freelance writer based in South Carolina, she continues her creative pursuits with the release of The Meeting Planner, her first work of fiction.
Key Themes and Messages
“It’s Not What She Thought”
Lacey’s journey challenges readers to rethink the allure of “dream jobs.” As her story unfolds, the job that once seemed glamorous and full of promise becomes a profound lesson in how reality can clash with expectations. The novel explores how roles in high-stakes industries can test one’s values, especially in environments that celebrate power and privilege over personal ethics.
“The Old Boys’ Club”
Lacey’s experiences also highlight the persistent gender dynamics in corporate culture. Despite her qualifications, she confronts the unspoken rules of the male-dominated workplace. Her journey of navigating these obstacles will resonate with many readers, especially those who have encountered similar struggles in their careers.
The Complexity of Forbidden Love
For readers intrigued by romance, Lacey’s affair with a married man is filled with emotional highs and lows, offering a realistic portrayal of the struggles and moral dilemmas involved in such relationships. Through her relationship, The Meeting Planner explores themes of vulnerability, desire, and the power of personal choices.
Thomas Walker
Book Writers Avenue
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