Gillian Holmes - Editor
I have worked with many authors, and I never get tired of helping someone write the very best book they can. It's always a thrill.
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Overview
Hello, I'm an editor with nearly twenty years experience of the UK publishing industry. For the past six years I have been working as fiction editor at Arrow, an imprint of Penguin Random House, where I have worked with many bestselling authors such as Dorothy Koomson, Katie Flynn and Cathy Woodman. I specialise in commercial fiction, but I have also edited non fiction, such as The C Word by Lisa Lynch and I have been working with Rosemary Conley on her diet and fitness books. I am happy to do a structural edit, copy edit or proofread, so if you need help, please do contact me.
Languages
English (AUS)
English (CAN)
English (NZ)
English (SA)
English (UK)
English (US)
Fiction
Action & Adventure
Anthologies
Historical Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Romance
Thriller & Suspense
Women's Fiction
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Work experience
Editor
Penguin Random House
October, 2009
–
October, 2015
(about 6 years)
Acquiring and publishing commercial fiction for the Arrow imprint in the UK. While at Arrow, I worked with many bestselling authors including Dorothy Koomson, Katie Flynn, Cathy Woodman, Amy Silver (now better known as Paula Hawkins, author of Girl on a Train), Katie Price (novels), Kathy Reichs and Tony Parsons.
Portfolio (18 selected works)
This is from the bestselling author of The Ice Cream Girls, The Woman He Loved Before and My Best Friend's Girl, an emotional story about love, identity and the meaning of family. "Where are you coming from with that accent of yours?' he asks. 'Nowhere,' I reply. 'I'm from nowhere.' 'Everyone's from somewhere,' he says. 'Not me,' I reply silently. Clemency Smittson was adopted as a baby and th... read more
They thought they'd be friends forever, until a tragic accident drove them apart. Now, seventeen years later, five friends meet again, and are forced to face up to the secrets of the past Jen, Andrew, Lilah, Natalie and Dan were inseparable at university, but in the seventeen years since they left they have hardly seen each other. Until Jen invites them all to stay at her house in the French A... read more
Vets on Call: (Talyton St George)
Cathy Woodman
It's all change at Otter House as a new vet moves in. Perfect for fans of Katie Fforde and Catherine AlliottMotorbike-riding, leather-clad Ross looks like a bad boy, but underneath the leathers, he’s a good-looking charmer and he soon worms way into the hearts of everyone in Talyton St George.Even vet nurse Shannon warms to him. So when she needs a place to live, it makes sense to move in with... read more
The Sanctuary Seeker (A Crowner John Mystery Book 1)
Bernard Knight
When an unidentified body is found in the village of Widecombe, Crowner (coroner) John is eager to assume his new duties. However, the corrupt sheriff, Richard de Revelle, erects numerous stumbling blocks to the investigation.
Still Waters (DCI Mark Lapslie, Bk 1)
Nigel McCrery
When the badly decayed body of an elderly woman is unearthed, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslie and his sergeant, Emma Bradbury, are called in on the case. The body provides only two mysterious clues to the identity of the murderer: someone with a deadly knowledge of household plants used shears to clip the fingertips off the corpse's right hand. But this dearth of evidence is not Lapslie... read more
The C-Word
Lisa Lynch
Updated with new material, The C Word is the incredibly moving, darkly humorous account of one woman's fight against breast cancer. Now a BBC Drama starring Sheridan Smith. The last thing Lisa Lynch had expected to put on her 'things to do before you're 30' list was beating breast cancer, but them's the breaks. So with her life on hold, and her mind stuffed with unspoken fears, questions and e... read more
Bloody Valentine (Quick Reads)
James Patterson
Valentine's Day goes horribly wrong in this exciting and gripping novel from bestselling author James Patterson ... because this year Valentine's Day isn't for romance - it's for murder.Mega rich restaurant owner Jack Barnes and his second wife Zee are very much in love. However, their plans for Valentine's Day are about to be torn apart by the most violent murder.Who is the strange figure plo... read more
Learn Love in a Week
Andrew Clover
Polly has been married to Arthur for ten years when she meets James Hammond. He's her Road Not Taken. The One That Got Away. He's also rich, and in one week he's inviting her to his hotel in the country to give her the job she's always wanted. He also wants her.Polly is so tempted. Arthur is gorgeous, but he's grumpy. He insists he can change, but can he? After ten years, can you learn to love... read more
Midnight Girls
Lulu Taylor
The new, glitzy, page-turning novel from Arrow's irresistible book-a-year blockbuster author, Lulu Taylor. From the prestigious dormitories of Westfield to the irresistible socialite scene of present-day London: everywhere Allegra McCorquodale goes, scandal follows her. And in Allegra's shadow are her closest friends since school, the Midnight Girls. Romily de Lisle: super rich, brilliant and ... read more
How to Kill Your Husband
Kathy Lette
All wives sporadically want to kill their husbands - 'where there's a will, I intend to be in it' wives half joke with each other. But when Jazz Jardine is arrested for her husband's murder, the joke falls flat. Life should begin at 40. Not life imprisonment for killing your hubby.
After the Honeymoon
Janey Fraser
Two couples, one honeymoon destination, and enough secrets to end both marriages. Perfect for fans of Jill MansellHow can one honeymoon cause so much trouble?Much as Emma loves Tom, she would never have got married if he hadn’t insisted. But with Tom sick for the whole week, shouldn’t she at least take advantage of the entertainment?Winston married Melissa after a three-month whirlwind romance... read more
Who Built the Moon?
Christopher Knight, Alan Butler
Thought-provoking' - Daily MailThe moon has confounded scientists for many years. It does not obey the known rules of astrophysics and there is no theory of its origin that explains the known facts - in fact it should not really be there. When researching the ancient system of geometry and measurement used in the Stone Age that they discovered in their previous book, Civilization One, the auth... read more
Time to Say Goodbye
Katie Flynn
From the Sunday Times bestselling author Katie Flynn. Three girls, evacuated from Liverpool during World War Two, support each other through hardship and heartbreak..It’s 1939, and three ten-year-old girls meet on a station platform.Imogen, Rita and Debby all missed the original evacuation and now the authorities are finding it difficult to place them. When Auntie and her niece, Jill, who run ... read more
His Kidnapper's Shoes
Maggie James
Daniel is my son. He has always been mine. And he always will be.On some level deep inside, Laura Bateman knows something is wrong. That her relationship with her son is not what it should be. That it is based on lies.But bad things have happened to Laura. Things that change a person. Forever.For twenty-six-year-old Daniel, the discovery that his mother is not who he thought comes close to des... read more
Meghan Smith has always been a protective mother. Her baby son, Harry, has a life-threatening condition and is never far from her sight. But on the evening of her wedding anniversary, as she and her husband celebrate in the garden with friends, Harry disappears from his cot without a trace.In an instant, the perfect life she always longed for is in tatters, her family exposed to interrogation ... read more
'Rosie writes such heart-warming sagas featuring believable characters and well-researched backgrounds and eras' Lyn Andrews'An absorbing story in the grand tradition of the best saga authors' Margaret Dickinson'The new Catherine Cookson' Coventry Evening TelegraphTuesday's child is full of grace . . .Warwickshire, 1910. Pious young Grace Kettle escapes the world of her unsavoury and bullying ... read more
Spring, 1941. France has fallen but the Free French naval forces are in no mood to surrender. Royal Navy Sub-Lieutenant Harry Gilmour is also ready for action, despite the horrors of his first taste of submarine warfare.When he is appointed as British Navy Liaison Officer aboard the Free French submarine Radegonde, he finds it anarchic, disorientating—and very French. Within its claustrophobic... read more
Gillian has 22 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Gillian, perceptive from the get go, suggested an editorial review (rather than any heavy editing). And true to her word she touched on several points that highlighted her thoughtful engagement with the manuscript. Her touch was light, but spot on, and I was so grateful for her insight and recommendations.
In particular she commented on the final chapter, where she found too much detail tha...
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Jillian McKelvey, May 2020
Reply from Gillian Holmes
Excellent developmental editor. Would highly recommend.
Christina Pishiris, June 2019
Gillian has done an excellent job on editing my manuscript. She's given me a lot to think about regarding adding extra dimensions to my plot and characters, and quite a bit to revise but all her comments were spot on and just what I needed to enable me to refocus on some of the greyer areas of my novel, that I knew existed. I'm excited by the challenge because I can see how much better my book ...
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Carolyn Mahony, March 2019
I cannot thank Gillian enough! Her sensitive thoughts on my work (and careful unpicking of my convoluted sentences) have been invaluable. A pleasure to deal with and an absolute star!
Louise Mumford, February 2019
Gillian is wonderful to work with, and I definitely made the right choice when I selected her out of five possible editors. She is professional with the added bonus of being very supportive.
Mary M, February 2019
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