After the Ascent
by Monica Harrington
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Pub Date 1 Aug 2026 | Archive Date 15 Dec 2026
Monica Harrington | McCue Publishing
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Description
Ellen thought she knew the man she married.
For eleven years, she and Steven built a life together in Seattle — a city crackling with tech wealth, ambition, and the particular confidence of people who believe they're building something that matters. Ellen is a senior executive at a design startup moving toward an IPO. Steven is brilliant, driven, and restless in ways she has learned not to examine too closely. But on the eve of a dangerous climb up Mount Rainier's Liberty Ridge, Steven tells Ellen something she cannot fully absorb. By morning he is gone.
As uncertainty on the mountain increases, so does Ellen's uncertainty about her marriage — and about the life she had so carefully constructed.
What follows is a psychological thriller with a love story at its center and a meditation beneath it all on what it means to have lived alongside someone you never fully knew. While the world mourns a hero, Ellen navigates grief, betrayal, and discoveries that reframe everything she believed about her marriage — and herself. In the wreckage, she finds her own voice and a new life amid unexpected people.
After the Ascent is a literary novel with a suspense spine — witty and emotionally honest, refusing easy resolution, insisting with considerable force that a life disrupted can be rebuilt on your own terms.
"Fast-moving plot…swerves between mystery and romance. GET IT!" — Kirkus Reviews
A Note From the Publisher
After the Ascent is slated for publication in summer of 2026, and the author welcomes reviews, especially on GoodReads and Amazon, before and after publication.
Advance Praise
"Insightful characterization and humor...(and) fast-moving plot, told from Ellen’s and Mark’s alternating points of view, engages readers as it swerves between mystery and romance...a compelling, character-driven tale. GET IT" - KIRKUS Reviews
Marketing Plan
After the Ascent will be distributed through IngramSpark for print retail and library channels, and through Amazon KDP for digital.
Media: The author has an established presence on Medium, where she writes on a broad range of topics drawn from her life and career, including technology, aviation, and the outdoors. Pacific Northwest media outreach is underway.
Author Platform: The author spent several decades working in technology, including at Microsoft, and was a founding team member of Valve, a pioneer in online digital game distribution. She brings an established professional network in the Pacific Northwest tech community and is especially interested in how technology can help with book discovery and matching readers to books they'll love. After the Ascent is set against the backdrop of Seattle high-tech and outdoor adventure, and Harrington's experience as a tech executive and National Park Service Ranger provide valuable context for the novel's authenticity and sense of place.
Reviews: Kirkus Reviews GET IT. Actively seeking additional reviews and ARC readers through social media outreach.
Online Presence: Author website at monicaharringtonauthor.com. Active on LinkedIn and Medium.
Target Audience: Readers of literary psychological suspense — fans of Liane Moriarty and Lisa Jewell. Pacific Northwest readers with a particular interest in Seattle tech world settings.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9798234090430 |
| PRICE | $17.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 320 |