Overview
I’ve been an editor for almost twenty years, and I hold two first-class post-graduate degrees -- an MFA in fiction and an MA in writing. In 2011, I was taken on as the acquisitions editor for a small, high-quality publishing house. The following year, in my down-time, I opened a freelance editing company specializing in mentoring writers through to traditional publication deals. Over the years, I’ve developed a keen eye for what agents and publishers are looking for. My success rate with helping serious clients obtain a publishing deal is over 87%.
That’s not all I do, of course. There are some significant benefits to self-publishing, and I’ve worked on numerous books of all lengths on that basis. I’ve also compiled and edited anthologies, helped writers-for-hire with manuscripts for contracted delivery, worked with authors on plotting and outlining novels, assisted in preparing pitches and samples, and all sorts of other things.
My services include copy-editing and r developmental editing, and I've recently added editorial assessments. I also do mentoring, collaborative writing, ghostwriting and ghost-editing. Talk to me about the possibilities.
My usual genres include historical fiction -- including historical romance, historical mystery, historical with a dash of speculative fiction and historical fantasy -- urban fantasy, non-graphic horror, and romantic suspense. I especially love stories that evoke elements outside of the normal day-to-day of modern life. But I’m comfortable working on a wide range of projects, and I also have good experience in contemporary romance, dark fantasy, crime fiction, cosmic horror, superhero fiction, and near-future sci-fi.
I have experience working with non-native speakers of English to polish their fiction.
I find it really rewarding to help writers improve their craft, and I particularly love to see my clients succeed. If you’re interested in working towards traditional publication, or just want to make your story the best it can be, get in touch.
MY WISH LIST
I would particularly be amenable to taking on another historical with some sort of subplot: romance, mystery, thriller, perhaps others. If you're serious about writing good books, please chat to me about the possibility of working together over the long term.
Services
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Historical Mysteries
Historical Romance
Military Science Fiction
Romantic Suspense
Time Travel
Urban Fantasy
Languages
English (AUS)
English (UK)
English (US)
Work experience
Self-employed
Oct, 2012 —
Present
Flourish Editing came about because Tim Dedopulos and I were dismayed at how difficult it was for us to find freelance editors of the calibre we wanted for the books we were publishing at Ghostwoods Books. We realised how much help writers needed and we wanted to use our skills for good. Since we started, we have helped dozens of writers prepare their books for publication, including for self-publishing, work-for-hire, small press publishing and publishing with big publishers such as Penguin, Harper Collins and Harlequin. We have worked with American, British and Australian writers, as well as writers from other countries whose first language isn't English. I've had a very high success rate in my editing practice when writers want to be traditionally published and are willing to put in the amount of work necessary.
Ghostwoods Books
Jan, 2011 —
Present
Here's what my bio says on the website: Reads new manuscripts before anyone else; acts as a liaison to authors; coordinates book covers and audio books; edits; copy-edits; acts as primary contact to press; makes a lot of snacks. Eats them all herself.
Portfolio
As Randall ‘Flame’ O’Donnell starts a new chapter in his private life, he is called upon by a Navy admiral on a very personal mission. A 16-year old American boy has been lured into a warzone in the Middle East, and the team is asked to bring him home safely, ... read more
Rachel Fallon is gone. With everything changing at a pace she can’t control, she isn’t sure whose life she’s living anymore. Is this the life she wants or the life everybody else wants for her? When Rachel decides to leave her fiancé, Tyler, and best friend, J... read more
This book is no longer available through this publisher. Will be available again in February 2015 Date TBA. A whole new story with a whole new look.
When Becca drops out of grad school, all she has left to fall back on is her baking. With the help of her lizard-booted neighbor Sal, she starts a small business selling her wares to hungry office workers. But things quickly get complicated when she meets the ... read more
The gray sky looms over the broken remains of our world. Life is hard for Dirk, who’s stumbling through the wasteland. Demon grass is cutting him, and acid rain is burning his skin. Out here, far from his family, Dirk makes acquaintances that lead him upon a p... read more
January, 1930 - ChicagoSomething evil stalks the streets performing human sacrifices every new moon.The police are baffled. High society wants it covered up. The mob wants the murder weapon.Fearing the involvement of a long time parishioner, aging priest Fathe... read more
A 2013 'Wishing Shelf' Gold Award Winner!! Read the fun times and adventures Harry and his Dad share together during the day while working in their garden, then enjoy the fictional bed time stories Dad created for Harry about all the new insect friends they me... read more
For a woman who'd like to forget the past, it'll take a bad boy to break old habits!When Dr. Carolina Rodriguez accepts a temporary assignment in Texas, she immediately locks horns with her new boss. Matt is brash, pigheaded, and too sexy for words. She's look... read more
Derek, Tim and 'Trol' are three ageing rebels, hitting their fifties. Disillusioned by the way the world has turned out and the frustration of their teenage dreams of a better life or a revolution. All they have left are stories of past glory and pints of chea... read more
Get the cash. Save his wife.. . . at least that’s the plan.To rob the bank, Jack needs to enlist the help of his estranged childhood friends who owe him. They’d never forget Jack. Not after the sacrifice he’d made. At least, that’s what he’s banking on.Trouble... read more
A dark, sexy subculture romp, All Lies and Jest is a novel about belief, delusion, and the dangers of being so open-minded that your brain falls out.When the USA becomes a fundamentalist theocracy, one of its first actions is to round up all the queers, atheis... read more
Secrets. Forgiveness. Death. Nothing has been right in Kasper’s life for quite some time. Then the eclipse comes, and his father is stolen away. When the police arrive, instead of trying to help, they drag off his mother too. Down at the station later, the des... read more
When archaeologists discover an ancient device at the edge of space, Sarge and his Hellhounds set out to retrieve the artifact at the center of the mystery. What started as a simple smash-and-grab gets complicated quickly when the crew of Green Dawn discover t... read more
YOU is a second person novel that puts you in the role of Leo Evans. Leo is disgruntled, middle-aged, unhappily divorced, and a cultist who has developed genuine extra senses and paranormal abilities by adhering to a set of beliefs he freely admits seem prepos... read more
Jordie has lived through the worst. Widowed at twenty-three and left to raise a child alone, she packed up, moved to NYC and beat the odds. Now, a successful business owner, nothing can shake this indomitable woman. Nothing until a chance at love arrives in th... read more
His secrets are tearing them apart.But the truth may get them killed.Fed up with Archer’s shadowy secrets, headstrong Rosalina seeks a fresh start by fleeing back to Tuscany. But even her home town isn't safe. A clue to Archer’s mysterious medallion hurtles he... read more
Jimmy Doyle is an honorable man who took a bullet for his country. On his return home to 1950s New York City to become a private detective, he accepts a position with Lucius Fogg, a preeminent occultist. Fogg dabbles in solving macabre crimes, and as his legma... read more
Jimmy Doyle is an honorable man who took a bullet for his country and returned home to become a private detective. His boss, Lucius Fogg, is a preeminent occultist who dabbles in solving the more macabre crimes of 1950s New York City. As Fogg’s legman, Doyle i... read more
Jimmy Doyle returned home from the war to begin his career as a private detective working for Lucius Fogg, the preeminent occultist in 1950’s New York City. Together they help the police with cases too bizarre for the normal laws of man. In his time working as... read more
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents."The classic American horror author H. P. Lovecraft coined the term weird fiction in the 1920s. Even today, in our rational world of wonder, his le... read more
It’s a treacherous region, the future.You can’t see far, and the footing is uncertain at best. Ghosts and phantoms stalk the haze around you, and their chittering will lead you astray. There are no maps to this territory, but sometimes a brave soul strides out... read more
Shatter a mirror, and rearrange the pieces. What shapes will you find in the splintered glass? Sinister forces roam London's streets, skulking through the neon-lit rain. They are not alone. Haunted by memories of the man who abandoned her, Amber goes walking i... read more
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die." At the time of his death in 1937, American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft was virtually unknown. The power of his stories was too vast to contain, however. As the decades slippe... read more
A young woman confronts her own dark desires, and finds her match in a masked conjurer turned assassin. Inspired by Gaston LeRoux's The Phantom of the Opera, Marion Grace Woolley takes us on forbidden adventures through a time that has been written out of hist... read more
Salome has 3 reviews
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Ed G.
Jun, 2020
Elliot C.
Jun, 2020
Mathew T.
Dec, 2019
