After earning my B.A. from the University of Michigan and M.A. from Oakland University, I’ve worked as a language arts teacher, private tutor, and freelance editor. I have one published novel and another in the works, so I know both how rewarding and how challenging it is living that “author life.” As an editor, my specialties are personal statements and fiction—either way, helping you tell your story.
In elementary school, my friend Scott and I co-created a book series about an alien spaceship that crashes on Earth and turns its occupants into different animals from every country of the world. Our teacher let us staple them together and put them in the class library—my first “published” books. Fast forward a couple decades, and now I’m married to the most amazing woman I know, have an adorable infant son, and still care about publishing stories. I grew up, and my dreams grew out.
I hate listening to recordings of my own voice. Why? Because to me, I don’t sound like that. Something’s off. It’s alarming and bothersome to realize that other people don’t hear me in the same way I hear myself.
Writing’s not so different. Almost certainly, the way your story sounds to you is not the way your first readers will experience it. As an editor, I want to bridge that gap. I’m not here to rip your novel to shreds or tell you what you should or shouldn’t write to be successful. What I will do is declutter, detangle, and demystify. Whether it’s a total plot overhaul or careful sentence refinement, my goal is always to help the story you are telling become more of the story you want to tell.
