Overview

I love sentences. I love the music of words; John Updike was said to admire the phrase "four-door Ford," and--really--who could not? I love words' endless combinations and recombinations, the process of subordination, through which we instantly recognize what is at the heart of a particular sentence and what is ancillary to it. I love the way that sentences can be rewritten or restructured to change the emphasis. Word order is everything, though not everything is word order.

Annie Dillard writes, in the opening of The Writing Life, "When you write, you lay out a line of words. The line of words is a miner's pick, a woodcarver's gouge, a surgeon's probe. You wield it, and it digs a path you follow." She is right in this--though wrong about other things--and I like the precision of the tools she mentions. They are physical tools to deal with the physical world, and I love the physicality of words and the physical world they create. I love to help other writers say as clearly and cleanly and directly as possible what it is they want to say. Or, alternately, I love to help writers discover and celebrate their own particular vision of the language, their own way of writing sentences, their style.

I'm an expert developmental, line and copy editor.


I'm also the author of SATYRDAY (Putnam's), THE RIVER (Ace), AMAZING STORIES 1 & 2 (Ace), DAYLIGHT SAVINGS (Gibbs Smith), THE STRANGE AND WONDERFUL STORY OF ROBERT MCDOODLE (THE BOY WHO WANTED TO BE A DOG) (Simon &Schuster), and A CAT OF A DIFFERENT COLOR (Random House/Delacorte).

Services

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Fiction

Non-Fiction

Taught poetry writing, fiction writing, and American literature

Velvet Shanghai: A Novel

Vivian Shen

Epic in scale, Velvet Shanghai tells the story of Tanfeng, a sensational Shanghai movie star, and her romantic and entangled relationships with several prominent men, especially her ambivalent, Western-educated director (Richard Yang) and a young, rising Communist leader (Kao Yüan) through the many historical changes including the Sino-Japanese War that rocked China from 1925 through 1945. Tan... read more

Epic in scale, Velvet Shanghai tells the story of Tanfeng, a sensational Shanghai movie star, and her romantic and entangled relationships with several prominent men, especially her ambivalent, Western-educated director (Richard Yang) and a young, rising Communist leader (Kao Yüan) through the many historical changes including the Sino-Japanese War that rocked China from 1925 through 1945. Tan... read more

Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome

Crystal King

Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Crystal King’s seminal debut features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction.On a blistering day in the twenty-sixth year of Augustus Caesar’s reign, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired for the exorbitant price of twenty thousand denarii. His purchaser is ... read more

Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Crystal King’s seminal debut features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction.On a blistering day in the twenty-sixth year of Augustus Caesar’s reign, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired for the exorbitant price of twenty thousand denarii. His purchaser is ... read more

Faint Promise of Rain: A Novel

Anjali Mitter Duva

Shortlisted for the 2016 William Saroyan International Prize for WritingIt is 1554 in the desert of Rajasthan, and a new Mughal emperor is expanding his territory. On a rare night of rain, a daughter, Adhira, is born to a family of Hindu temple dancers. Fearing a bleak future, her father―against his wife and sons’ protests―puts his faith in tradition and in his last child for each to save the ... read more

Shortlisted for the 2016 William Saroyan International Prize for WritingIt is 1554 in the desert of Rajasthan, and a new Mughal emperor is expanding his territory. On a rare night of rain, a daughter, Adhira, is born to a family of Hindu temple dancers. Fearing a bleak future, her father―against his wife and sons’ protests―puts his faith in tradition and in his last child for each to save the ... read more

Kedzie: Saint Helena Island Slave

Bonnie Stanard

St. Helena Island slaves speak English, but African drums still throb in their veins; they hear the whispers of their ancestors. From this arises a girl of unusual strength, whose pampered life ends when her kindly mistress dies, and she moves to a shanty in the quarters. Kedzie soon learns that the punishing fields aren't nearly as grim as her master's abuse. Enter Rio, a young man without a ... read more

St. Helena Island slaves speak English, but African drums still throb in their veins; they hear the whispers of their ancestors. From this arises a girl of unusual strength, whose pampered life ends when her kindly mistress dies, and she moves to a shanty in the quarters. Kedzie soon learns that the punishing fields aren't nearly as grim as her master's abuse. Enter Rio, a young man without a ... read more

Master of Westfall Plantation

Bonnie Stanard

It is 1857 and Tilmon Goodwyn wields absolute power over his plantation on St. Helena Island, South Carolina which hardly makes a profit because of his profligate spending and gambling. He has maneuvered to secure financial benefits from his wealthy widowed mother. When she becomes interested in a Charleston artist who has his eye on her fortune, Tilmon meets head-on with a threat to his inher... read more

It is 1857 and Tilmon Goodwyn wields absolute power over his plantation on St. Helena Island, South Carolina which hardly makes a profit because of his profligate spending and gambling. He has maneuvered to secure financial benefits from his wealthy widowed mother. When she becomes interested in a Charleston artist who has his eye on her fortune, Tilmon meets head-on with a threat to his inher... read more

Sonny, Cold Slave Cradle (Kedzie, Saint Helena Island Slave Book 1)

Bonnie Stanard

A bold, mesmerizing novel that interweaves the story of two slaves with the characters in Bonnie Stanard’s previous novels, Master of Westfall Plantation and Kedzie, Saint Helena Island Slave. Slavery was a system that separated black families. Even benevolent plantation owners in the old South were responsible for taking babies from their mothers. The story of Sonny is not documented history,... read more

A bold, mesmerizing novel that interweaves the story of two slaves with the characters in Bonnie Stanard’s previous novels, Master of Westfall Plantation and Kedzie, Saint Helena Island Slave. Slavery was a system that separated black families. Even benevolent plantation owners in the old South were responsible for taking babies from their mothers. The story of Sonny is not documented history,... read more

The Blue Monk

David Emery Bricker

In 1989 Dave Bricker set off across the Gulf Stream in a small sailboat with $30 in his pocket. His voyages aboard The Blue Monk through the Bahamas and across the Atlantic to Gibraltar are recounted in vivid prose. The Blue Monk is a journey of self-discovery set in a world of saturated colors, remarkable people, hazardous reefs, and transcendent beauty. Bricker chronicles a little-known frag... read more

In 1989 Dave Bricker set off across the Gulf Stream in a small sailboat with $30 in his pocket. His voyages aboard The Blue Monk through the Bahamas and across the Atlantic to Gibraltar are recounted in vivid prose. The Blue Monk is a journey of self-discovery set in a world of saturated colors, remarkable people, hazardous reefs, and transcendent beauty. Bricker chronicles a little-known frag... read more

Peter in Flight

Paul Michael Peters

Peter can tell you how to run a great marketing campaign. He can tell you everything there is to know about successful trade show programs. He can tell you stories about the thousands of people he has met, miles he has flown, hotel rooms he has stayed in, and ways to work the system to your advantage when you travel. But he can’t tell the woman he loves how he feels.

Peter can tell you how to run a great marketing campaign. He can tell you everything there is to know about successful trade show programs. He can tell you stories about the thousands of people he has met, miles he has flown, hotel rooms he has stayed in, and ways to work the system to your advantage when you travel. But he can’t tell the woman he loves how he feels.

Luba's Travels: Travels of the Heart

Luba Ruzicka

LUBA’S TRAVELS is the first-person account of Luba Ruzicka. The daughter of an eminent Slovakian cardiologist, she is born on Christmas Eve 1940 in Bratislava and spends her earliest years in the shadow of World War II. LUBA’S TRAVELS is much more than the classic immigrant’s story and will appeal not only to the millions of people who have traveled from far away to make America their home. It... read more

LUBA’S TRAVELS is the first-person account of Luba Ruzicka. The daughter of an eminent Slovakian cardiologist, she is born on Christmas Eve 1940 in Bratislava and spends her earliest years in the shadow of World War II. LUBA’S TRAVELS is much more than the classic immigrant’s story and will appeal not only to the millions of people who have traveled from far away to make America their home. It... read more

Wake Up, We're Here

Dallas Hudgens

In these collected stories of deeply human, flawed men and women in search of connection, consolation and better odds, Dallas Hudgens once again taps into the powerful and resonant view of ordinary lives made less so that has earned him national praise for his novels, Drive Like Hell and Season of Gene. In a Nation's Capital fully occupied by the ninety-nine percent, going about the business o... read more

In these collected stories of deeply human, flawed men and women in search of connection, consolation and better odds, Dallas Hudgens once again taps into the powerful and resonant view of ordinary lives made less so that has earned him national praise for his novels, Drive Like Hell and Season of Gene. In a Nation's Capital fully occupied by the ninety-nine percent, going about the business o... read more

On Bittersweet Place

Ronna Wineberg

On Bittersweet Place is the powerful coming-of-age story of Lena Czernitski, a young Russian Jew whose family flees their homeland in the Ukraine after the October Revolution. The story unfolds in Chicago during the Jazz Age of the 1920's, where Lena's impoverished family has settled and where she must traverse the early years of adolescence. Lena's new world is large and beautiful and full of... read more

On Bittersweet Place is the powerful coming-of-age story of Lena Czernitski, a young Russian Jew whose family flees their homeland in the Ukraine after the October Revolution. The story unfolds in Chicago during the Jazz Age of the 1920's, where Lena's impoverished family has settled and where she must traverse the early years of adolescence. Lena's new world is large and beautiful and full of... read more

With Malice Toward None: The Night Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Was Killed

Peter Rogers

With Malice Toward None is the self-portrait of a young medical student grappling with the turmoil of the American South during the late 1960s. Peter Rogers leaves Ohio to study in Memphis at a time when civil rights marches, workers' strikes, and institutional segregation create an atmosphere of conflict and division. He attends a KKK meeting and experiences the full force of ignorance and in... read more

With Malice Toward None is the self-portrait of a young medical student grappling with the turmoil of the American South during the late 1960s. Peter Rogers leaves Ohio to study in Memphis at a time when civil rights marches, workers' strikes, and institutional segregation create an atmosphere of conflict and division. He attends a KKK meeting and experiences the full force of ignorance and in... read more

Dancer And Spy

Michael Myers

Jay Hall needs more than her pepper spray and cue ball on a chain. Sergei Shannin is watching when she puts moves on a Silicon Valley CEO. Sergei promised to deliver the CEO's trade secrets to an offshore client, but can't get inside the company. He makes Jay an offer. She knows a kept woman is one kick away from a graceless exit, and so follows him into the shadows of espionage. Jay believes ... read more

Jay Hall needs more than her pepper spray and cue ball on a chain. Sergei Shannin is watching when she puts moves on a Silicon Valley CEO. Sergei promised to deliver the CEO's trade secrets to an offshore client, but can't get inside the company. He makes Jay an offer. She knows a kept woman is one kick away from a graceless exit, and so follows him into the shadows of espionage. Jay believes ... read more

White Bird

Ruta Sevo

Thomas lands bewildered in Kathmandu, to find a place to scatter the ashes of his older brother Paul, who was a Peace Corps volunteer decades before in Nepal. He meets an American cohort of Paul’s and her parents who work with Tibetan refugees. Things happened after Paul left. His friend Helen stayed and became a Buddhist nun. His encounter with them is awkward but his mother in Seattle is thr... read more

Thomas lands bewildered in Kathmandu, to find a place to scatter the ashes of his older brother Paul, who was a Peace Corps volunteer decades before in Nepal. He meets an American cohort of Paul’s and her parents who work with Tibetan refugees. Things happened after Paul left. His friend Helen stayed and became a Buddhist nun. His encounter with them is awkward but his mother in Seattle is thr... read more

Time Change: Time Travel Series Book 1

Alex Myers

Imagine what would happen if you made different choices..."This sci-fi historical novel... is great fun and an awesome read." (James A. Anderson, Amazon reviewer)"...combination of styles such as HG Wells and George Lucas." (Tesla, Amazon reviewer)"An absolute must have for lovers of time travel! Fascinating look at pre-Civil War America." (Crystal, Amazon reviewer)HE MAJORED IN SCIENCE AND MI... read more

Imagine what would happen if you made different choices..."This sci-fi historical novel... is great fun and an awesome read." (James A. Anderson, Amazon reviewer)"...combination of styles such as HG Wells and George Lucas." (Tesla, Amazon reviewer)"An absolute must have for lovers of time travel! Fascinating look at pre-Civil War America." (Crystal, Amazon reviewer)HE MAJORED IN SCIENCE AND MI... read more

Breaking Bread in Galilee: A Culinary Journey into the Promised Land

Abbie Rosner

Breaking Bread in Galilee - A Culinary Journey into the Promised Land, by Abbie Rosner, takes the reader along a journey the author has made, exploring local foods and age-old culinary traditions that are described in the Hebrew Bible, and still being practiced in the Galilee today. In the process, she, and the reader, experiences how sharing foodways is a powerful means for overcoming suspici... read more

Breaking Bread in Galilee - A Culinary Journey into the Promised Land, by Abbie Rosner, takes the reader along a journey the author has made, exploring local foods and age-old culinary traditions that are described in the Hebrew Bible, and still being practiced in the Galilee today. In the process, she, and the reader, experiences how sharing foodways is a powerful means for overcoming suspici... read more

Dream Cat

Kat Lowe

Praise for Dream Cat: "A smart, sassy tale, skillfully told, that will make kids excited about history. It's a book that cries out for a porch, a swing, and some lemonade on a quiet afternoon. Enjoy." STEVE BERRY, bestselling author of historical thrillers, including The Jefferson Key. Dream Cat synopsis: Elizabeth is about to get a terrible surprise birthday present. Lucifer is going to send ... read more

Praise for Dream Cat: "A smart, sassy tale, skillfully told, that will make kids excited about history. It's a book that cries out for a porch, a swing, and some lemonade on a quiet afternoon. Enjoy." STEVE BERRY, bestselling author of historical thrillers, including The Jefferson Key. Dream Cat synopsis: Elizabeth is about to get a terrible surprise birthday present. Lucifer is going to send ... read more

Called to Serve

Tom Weiner

Stories of men and women confronted by the Vietnam War. Contains personal stories of Vietnam War Veterans, people who fled the country, people who refused to go to war, people who beat the draft, people who obtained Conscientious Objector status, and people who loved and supported them.

Stories of men and women confronted by the Vietnam War. Contains personal stories of Vietnam War Veterans, people who fled the country, people who refused to go to war, people who beat the draft, people who obtained Conscientious Objector status, and people who loved and supported them.

On the Verge

Garen Glazier

Art, demons, and death. Seattle is On the Verge.2016 BookLife Prize Quarterfinalist"The sinewy plot...provides a solid matrix for imaginative insights into the relationship between art, creativity, and myth that hold the tale together." - Critic's Report, 2016 BookLife PrizeFreya is just a university student worried about grades and tuition until a gorgeous succubus interrupts her post-exam la... read more

Art, demons, and death. Seattle is On the Verge.2016 BookLife Prize Quarterfinalist"The sinewy plot...provides a solid matrix for imaginative insights into the relationship between art, creativity, and myth that hold the tale together." - Critic's Report, 2016 BookLife PrizeFreya is just a university student worried about grades and tuition until a gorgeous succubus interrupts her post-exam la... read more

The Boy from Hell's Kitchen: Growing Up in a New York Slum

John G Fleming

John Fleming grew up in the 1940’s and ‘50’s in Hell’s Kitchen, a New York City slum, now gentrified. He wanted to show how it was at that time, since no writer he was aware of had told this story with the voice of one who had lived the experience. In this candid and often humorous memoir, Fleming shows it all. The dark side includes dirt, roaches, alcoholism, promiscuity, fighting, bullying, ... read more

John Fleming grew up in the 1940’s and ‘50’s in Hell’s Kitchen, a New York City slum, now gentrified. He wanted to show how it was at that time, since no writer he was aware of had told this story with the voice of one who had lived the experience. In this candid and often humorous memoir, Fleming shows it all. The dark side includes dirt, roaches, alcoholism, promiscuity, fighting, bullying, ... read more

Snake Route

Fergus MacRoich

Snake Route is the wild, outlandish, and literally fabulous story of Luke Regan, the son of a dead Navajo shaman and a white mother, from whom he is stolen while still an infant by his mother’s identical twin Emily. Having traveled from California to West Virginia, Emily takes refuge with Daniel, a wood carver she’d previously met in Mexico. Together they raise the boy on an idyllic Appalachia... read more

Snake Route is the wild, outlandish, and literally fabulous story of Luke Regan, the son of a dead Navajo shaman and a white mother, from whom he is stolen while still an infant by his mother’s identical twin Emily. Having traveled from California to West Virginia, Emily takes refuge with Daniel, a wood carver she’d previously met in Mexico. Together they raise the boy on an idyllic Appalachia... read more

Mr. Memory and Other Stories of Wonder

Paul Michael Peters

Uttering the name Mr. Memory evokes the live performances and talk show appearances when he would impress the world with his abilities of recollection. His clarity of remembrance has kept listeners captivated for days while sharing the adventures of his life. In this collection of short stories, we learn the truth about Mr. Memory, the fantastic gone unseen, and a world of wonder which can ins... read more

Uttering the name Mr. Memory evokes the live performances and talk show appearances when he would impress the world with his abilities of recollection. His clarity of remembrance has kept listeners captivated for days while sharing the adventures of his life. In this collection of short stories, we learn the truth about Mr. Memory, the fantastic gone unseen, and a world of wonder which can ins... read more

The Airshipmen: A Novel Based on a True Story. A Tale of Love, Betrayal and Political Intrigue.

David Dennington

A riveting love story that plays out against the background of one of the most intriguing chapters in aviation history. David Dennington weaves a fascinating web of romance, courage, tragedy and shattered dreams and gives the reader a front row seat to eye-opening, high-stakes political battles on two continents. A real page turner with the constant feeling that something new and unexpected is... read more

A riveting love story that plays out against the background of one of the most intriguing chapters in aviation history. David Dennington weaves a fascinating web of romance, courage, tragedy and shattered dreams and gives the reader a front row seat to eye-opening, high-stakes political battles on two continents. A real page turner with the constant feeling that something new and unexpected is... read more

The League and the Lantern

Brian Wells

AFTER A DISASTROUS SIXTH GRADE, Jake Herndon is anxiously awaiting his Big Do-Over, starting with his new school's notorious seventh grade sleepover. Awkward team-building games and forced fun quickly become the least of his problems, however, when a dangerous organization invades and the night takes a shocking turn. Jake and two new classmates, Lucy and TJ, barely escape, only to find themsel... read more

AFTER A DISASTROUS SIXTH GRADE, Jake Herndon is anxiously awaiting his Big Do-Over, starting with his new school's notorious seventh grade sleepover. Awkward team-building games and forced fun quickly become the least of his problems, however, when a dangerous organization invades and the night takes a shocking turn. Jake and two new classmates, Lucy and TJ, barely escape, only to find themsel... read more

What Missing Means

Bonnie Stanard

Letters from Germany keep the Reinhart family connected to a son serving as a soldier in 1945. An empty mailbox is a worry. Though they are a tight-knit clan and look out for one another, there are subterranean angers and resentments, missed opportunities and lingering regrets—all of which thirteen year-old Lily only vaguely comprehends. When a marriage unravels, more relatives move into the R... read more

Letters from Germany keep the Reinhart family connected to a son serving as a soldier in 1945. An empty mailbox is a worry. Though they are a tight-knit clan and look out for one another, there are subterranean angers and resentments, missed opportunities and lingering regrets—all of which thirteen year-old Lily only vaguely comprehends. When a marriage unravels, more relatives move into the R... read more

The Loved Ones

Sonya Chung

In this masterful novel of inheritance and loss, Sonya Chung (Long for This World) proves herself a worthy heir to Marguerite Duras, Hwang Sun-won, and James Salter. Spanning generations and divergent cultures, The Loved Ones maps the intimate politics of unlikely attractions, illicit love, and costly reconciliations. Charles Lee, the young African American patriarch of a biracial family, seek... read more

In this masterful novel of inheritance and loss, Sonya Chung (Long for This World) proves herself a worthy heir to Marguerite Duras, Hwang Sun-won, and James Salter. Spanning generations and divergent cultures, The Loved Ones maps the intimate politics of unlikely attractions, illicit love, and costly reconciliations. Charles Lee, the young African American patriarch of a biracial family, seek... read more

The Intersect: When life veers off course, strangers find comfort and lasting connection

Brad Graber

Set against Arizona’s political and cultural vortex at the start of 2010, "The Intersect" explores the issues of the day by weaving together the lives of disparate characters striving to survive in a world where the strongest link, and most lasting connection, is made among strangers. When Dave and Charlie relocate from the Bay Area to Phoenix, tensions ratchet up in their relationship as Char... read more

Set against Arizona’s political and cultural vortex at the start of 2010, "The Intersect" explores the issues of the day by weaving together the lives of disparate characters striving to survive in a world where the strongest link, and most lasting connection, is made among strangers. When Dave and Charlie relocate from the Bay Area to Phoenix, tensions ratchet up in their relationship as Char... read more

The Latent Terrorist

Fergus MacRoich

"The Latent Terrorist by Fergus MacRoich is a novel with a unique vision and a unique voice. Though it takes on subjects as large and important as Big Pharma, the encroaching power of the state and its omnipresent surveillance of ordinary citizens, police brutality and overreach, and the connections among various branches of "law enforcement," it is nonetheless a comic novel, and its narrator ... read more

"The Latent Terrorist by Fergus MacRoich is a novel with a unique vision and a unique voice. Though it takes on subjects as large and important as Big Pharma, the encroaching power of the state and its omnipresent surveillance of ordinary citizens, police brutality and overreach, and the connections among various branches of "law enforcement," it is nonetheless a comic novel, and its narrator ... read more

Alicia Dreams America

Fergus MacRoich

Fergus MacRoich has drawn on "Alice in Wonderland" and the disorientation of immigrants facing new cultures as inspirations for "Alicia," a satirical tale for adults. The story follows Alicia out of her hopeless desert village in Mexico to follow her mother's dream. As she crosses the Rio Grande she steps into the uncharted waters of a very surreal America.

Fergus MacRoich has drawn on "Alice in Wonderland" and the disorientation of immigrants facing new cultures as inspirations for "Alicia," a satirical tale for adults. The story follows Alicia out of her hopeless desert village in Mexico to follow her mother's dream. As she crosses the Rio Grande she steps into the uncharted waters of a very surreal America.