Overview
I spent fifteen years acquiring books for Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group, previously Warner Books/Time Warner Book Group) and just under one year at Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press (Macmillan), before leaving to work as an independent contractor.I have discovered many debut authors and have seen at least thirty-three individual titles make it to the New York Times bestseller list for print books, many in the Top 10. I’ve worked on tie-in projects to major properties including movies, television shows, and video games, and I’ve worked on graphic novels, teen fiction, and narrative nonfiction.My private clients include first time authors trying to develop their books before submitting them to agents or publishers or for self-publication, but many seasoned authors have sought me out to help them improve their craft. The most successful authors are always learning, always challenging themselves to grow. Like a sports coach that helps athletes to reach their maximum scoring potential, I help authors become better writers.
Services
Fiction
Action & Adventure
Comics & Graphic Novels
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humor & Comedy
Mystery & Crime
Romance
Science Fiction
Thriller & Suspense
Young Adult
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
History
Humanities & Social Sciences
Nature
Languages
English (US)
Work experience
Freelance
Apr, 2015 —
Present
As an Independent Contractor, I have a mixture of publisher and private author clients. My publishing clients have included The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, whose ebook anthology program I helped to start. I have edited authors published by Forge (Tor/Macmillan), St. Martin's Press, Titan Books, Amazon Trade Publishing, and Simon & Schuster’s Young Readers division. I have also packaged (and partially written) original books for Open Road Media.
Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin's Press (Macmillan)
May, 2014 —
Apr, 2015
(11 months)
I specialized in acquiring crime, suspense, and thriller novels and also worked on literary fiction and women's fiction.
Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group)
Mar, 1997 —
Feb, 2012
(almost 15 years)
I began my career in science fiction, fantasy, horror and pop culture and ultimately spent four years as the Editorial Director of the imprint Warner Aspect. I’ve had the privilege of editing some of the greats in that genre: David Eddings, Jacqueline Carey, Carrie Vaughn, Octavia Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, Gregory Benford, and Michael Moorcock.
Later I transitioned into mainstream fiction and nonfiction, with a specialization in thrillers. I’ve edited every type of thriller from legal to archaeological to supernatural. I spent more than a decade as the acquiring editor for the joint novels of Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child and helped them make #1 on the New York Times hardcover print list. I also worked with the estate of Robert Ludlum and presided over an expansion of that program from two titles per year to three, which involved finding and developing authors.
Another highlight of my career was launching author Julianna Baggott’s critically acclaimed adult/teen crossover novel Pure. A futuristic dystopian story, it drew together my love of thrillers, science fiction, and teen novels into one awe-inspiring project. The novel received endorsements from a host of literary and genre writers as well as praise from The New York Times Book Review.
Portfolio
In bestselling author Tim Green's latest thriller, Casey Jordan returns-seeking justice in a small town riddled with . . . FALSE CONVICTIONS Casey is counting on an open-and-shut case, a sure success for her first effort with the Freedom Project, the renowned ... read more
Darren Shan, New York Times bestselling author of the Cirque du Freak and Demonata series, makes his adult fiction debut with this first book in a dark and twisted new series, The City.PROCESSION OF THE DEADWhat had I done before coming to the City? I couldn't... read more
The global war on terror is raging out of control. The president is popping Prozac. And the #1 selling videogame in 2011 America is the terrorist-simulator Infidel Massacre: Los Angeles. On the streets of gentrified Brooklyn, videoblogger Jimmy Burns' latest a... read more
Introducing Gideon Crew: trickster, prodigy, master thief.At twelve, Gideon Crew witnessed his father, a world-class mathematician, accused of treason and gunned down. At twenty-four, summoned to his dying mother's bedside, Gideon learned the truth: his father... read more
He Can't Run, and He Can't HideJesse is terrified. For four years, a twisted hacker named King has hijacked his computer webcam, collecting incriminating photos and videos he uses to blackmail Jesse. So far, Jesse's given into King's ruthless demands in order ... read more
Danger descends in the second book of The Internment Chronicles, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy.After escaping Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath th... read more
Felix Castor is a freelance exorcist, and London is his stamping ground. It may seem like a good ghostbuster can charge what he likes and enjoy a hell of a lifestyle--but there's a risk: Sooner or later he's going to take on a spirit that's too strong for him.... read more
After getting caught turning wolf on national television, Kitty retreats to a mountain cabin to recover and write her memoirs. But this is Kitty, so trouble is never far behind, and instead of Walden Pond, she gets Evil Dead. When werewolf hunter Cormac shows ... read more
Egyptologist Daniel Knox's lifelong fascination with Alexander the Great and his tomb, a fabled wonder of the ancient world, could be the death of him. After construction workers excavating in Alexandria expose a catacomb dating back to ancient times, Knox eag... read more
Octavia E. Butler is one of the finest voices in fiction--period. . . . A master storyteller, Butler casts an unflinching eye on racism, sexism, poverty, and ignorance and lets the reader see the terror and beauty of human nature.-"The Washington Post Book Wor... read more
Once there were great magicians born to the Maghuin Dhonn; the folk of the Brown Bear, the oldest tribe in Alba. But generations ago, the greatest of them all broke a sacred oath sworn in the name of all his people. Now, only small gifts remain to them. Throug... read more
Jason Bourne returns to Georgetown University and the mild world of his alter ego, David Webb, hoping for normalcy. But after so many adrenaline-soaked years of risking his life, Bourne finds himself chafing under the quiet life of a linguistics professor. Awa... read more
Paul Janson, a character first featured in Robert Ludlum's bestselling novel The Janson Directive, has a new goal: save the world, one operative, one mission, one redemption at a time.Reformed from his days of covert-operations, Paul Janson has set a new missi... read more
We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . . Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lo... read more
Devastated by the discovery that his wife, Helen, was murdered, Special Agent Pendergast must have retribution. But revenge is not simple. As he stalks his wife's betrayers--a chase that takes him from the wild moors of Scotland to the bustling streets of New ... read more
In the nonfiction tradition of John Berendt ("Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil") and Erik Larson ("The Devil in the White City"), New York Times bestselling author Douglas Preston presents a gripping account of crime and punishment in the lush hills sur... read more
The second book in "A Tale of the Albino." When his beloved wife Oona is abducted by a band of albino Native Americans, Ulrik von Bek trails the group by using the Skrayling Oak. Soon he finds himself in the multiverse, where he is reconnected with his alterna... read more
