About

Editor of Select Fiction and Nonfiction

When I was 5 years old, I lived 100 feet from Carter Glass Library in Reston, Virginia. I haunted the place. When I was 13, Reston’s Used Book Shop opened its doors. I discovered the golden age of science fiction.

I majored in comparative literature at the University of Virginia, graduating at 20 with three journal articles accepted for publication in three different fields. I got my law degree at William & Mary Law School and went to work immediately as a prosecutor.

I am now in my second career as an editor and ghostwriter. I left the legal profession so as to care for a family member whose needs began to escalate in 2012. The only regret I have is in not switching to editing and ghostwriting sooner. I miss the courtroom. I do not miss the conflict baked in to the practice of law. I love editing and ghostwriting.

I made the decision to join the profession on September 30, 2013, but I did not open my virtual doors until early 2015. You don’t go to bed a lawyer and wake up an editor, and I made sure to get the right coursework, training, and mentoring first. I am a member of ACES: The Society for Editing, and I have taught webinars for the Editorial Freelancers Association, ACES, Communication Central, Editors Canada British Columbia, and Northwest Editors Guild. Like every professional, I continue to take continuing professional development classes.

When I am not editing or ghostwriting, I read detective fiction, science fiction, speculative fiction, and dystopian fiction (also known as Tuesday), as well as select nonfiction. My own police procedural/science fiction crossover, A Million Monkeys, is on the desk of a developmental editor, and I’m currently writing the second book in the series, Sick Puppies.

I was an AstraZeneca Stage III COVID-19 vaccine trial participant who got the vaccine, and I’m boosted with the Pfizer vaccine, which kind of makes me feel like a member of a family where two sides like rival sports teams.

During the pandemic, I stopped drinking lattes and eating salads and, in two and a half years, gradually lost 45 pounds. I have kept it off.

In 2013, I started practicing Tactical Black Krav Maga and ultimately earned a black belt. My fight school continues to be my happy place. I have osteoarthritis, but I achieved my goal of being totally unremarkable, and I continue to not stand out in class in any way. To defend yourself, you don’t have to be the best, you just have to be good enough, and I am. I will continue practicing until my joints turn to dust. I do have a third degree black belt in taekwondo and some hapkido, but I stopped practicing in 2012.

I could tell you my favorite books, but the list is too long. My favorite Scotch is Glenlivet 14 and my favorite wine is Terrain Vineyards Red Blend ($4.99 at Trader Joe’s).

I have two editorial assistants. The senior assistant is Joey, large dilute calico, and the junior assistant is Frederick, a 75-pound mutt.