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. I got my law degree at William & Mary Law School and went to work immediately as a prosecutor.

But my son is disabled and his needs escalated in 2013. I wanted to do something else that I loved that allowed me to make my own hours and meet my son’s needs. Today he is an adult and I am his legal guardian, and the only regret I have is in not switching to editing sooner. This is something that he is public about: he has serious mental illness and autism, and I have had to advocate for him through all levels of the mental health and special education systems.

I have been an editor since early 2015, but I made the decision to join the profession on September 30, 2013. You don’t go to bed a lawyer and wake up an editor, and I made sure to get the right training, mentoring, and coursework before I opened my virtual doors.

When I am not editing or ghostwriting, I read police procedurals, thrillers, true crime, literary fiction, and occasionally contemporary poetry. I’m an AstraZeneca Stage III COVID-19 vaccine trial participant and I’ve made a commitment to remain in the study for the full two years. (I’m pretty sure I got the vaccine because of the side effects.) I’m looking forward to going back to practicing Krav Maga.

I also admit to watching medical/first-responder soap operas Grey’s Anatomy, Station-19, 9-1-1, and The Good Doctor. My favorite of these shows are Flashpoint and Code Black, but those were cancelled.

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, 11, large dilute calico, and the junior assistant is Frederick, a dog who is 75 pounds and, as far as we can tell, he’s part cattle dog, part Palomino, part mouse (that’s the head part).