About Me
I bring a 35-year love of the English language to my freelance editing business. I cut my teeth in the world of fanfiction writing and editorial journalism. I’ve been writing fiction and nonfiction for 90% of my lifetime.
Flash fiction, short stories, educational blog posts, novellas, or full-length stories, it makes no never mind to me. Working with words is my vocation and my avocation.
For reference, I’ve written nearly 1.8 million words just in fanfiction alone. I’ve made all the mistakes, and I’ve learned how to fix a majority of them.
Photo by Shannon Scott
Working as a story coach, developmental editor, and manuscript evaluator, I have the honorable opportunity to collaborate with authors and bring their story vision to life by combining realistic plot pacing, well-rounded characters, emotional conflicts, and a truly satisfying ending that all fit together and accurately reflect the author’s intent while ensuring the reader has no choice but to continue reading page by page.
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My book obsession started when I was four years old. Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, Ghostwriter. These are the cultural icons of the late ’80s and early ’90s that stoked my love of stories.
I was the preteen child under the covers with a flashlight sneaking one of my mom’s Harlequin novels to read each night. I was the child who spent whole days in their local library.
My fiction writing journey started in sixth grade, and nonfiction writing joined the team seven years later during my freshman year of college. The principles of good writing are the same across categories, even if the “rules” are unique to each one.
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Traveling these parallel paths throughout my life only deepened my love of writing, of stories, of how people both real and imagined have the power to change lives and the world. I spent hours upon hours in my local library, continually stoking the fire that would eventually propel me into the freelance editing world.
It turns out every career decision I made inevitably led me to what I actually should’ve been doing the whole time. Editing and writing come naturally to me, so helping authors learn how to tell their own stories through both clear and concise writing, impactful emotion, and tension-riddled plots was the only path forward after over a decade spent in military technical documentation.
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I graduated from Radford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Sociology, as well as a minor in Media Studies.
A million moons ago, I wanted to be an event coordinator for WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, the largest professional wrestling company on the planet).
I’m glad that didn’t work out, because I eventually completed the University of Washington’s Certificate in Editing program. I’m constantly reading craft books, enrolling in professional development courses, and participating in writing classes and critique groups.
I take my role as a professional freelance editor seriously!
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I also live with several neurodivergent diagnoses about which I speak openly as a mental health advocate and as someone who lives my truth wholly and unapologetically.
I don’t hesitate to list which ones if asked, so don’t feel like you have to dance around this subject.
My diagnoses are a core part of me, but they are not ALL of me. Keep that in mind as we work together “reflecting on your story one word at a time!”
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Reflecting On Your Story One Word At A Time!