Revolt by Kyleen Valleaux

They broke the ultimate taboo. Bobby never imagined she would fall in love with a dragon. Maug hadn’t considered seeking a mate outside his race. They found each other by chance and stayed together by choice. Now Bobby and Maug have to contend with the enmity of two kingdoms, fairy and dragon. Worse, they trigger an all-out war that threatens the very existence of the dragons. With mass extinction in the balance, can Bobby and Maug’s love survive? Can they? From the realm of the fairy stronghold to the Chicago suburbs, Bobby and Maug will make you believe in true love.

Posted 31 March, 2017 by Michelle in Projects (Published) / 0 Comments

Ywriter for developmental editing

After sharing my page yesterday on my working process I had a few inquiries from fellow editors about the software I use to dissect developmental edit a novel. The software in question is yWriter. It was written by Simon Haynes (Spacejock) who, in addition to designing software, is also an author. Designed as a tool to help writers, I have found it a useful device for note taking during the developmental stage of editing. I have little awareness of how other editors work, but to quickly summarise how I work, I always read the manuscript in its entirety before doing any detailed analysis of story, technique or […]

Posted 12 March, 2017 by Michelle in Blog / 1 Comment

Mathematics of Eternity by David M. Kelly

Meet former space engineer, Joe Ballen. These days, he’s scraping a living flying cabs in flooded-out Baltimore, trying to avoid the clutches of his boss and the well-meaning advice of an old friend. When one of his passengers suffers a grisly death, Joe is dragged into a dangerous web of ruthless academic rivalry centered on a prototype spaceship. As the bodies pile up, Joe becomes suspect number one, and his enemies will stop at nothing to hide the truth. With the help of an enigmatic scientist, a senile survivalist, and the glamorous Ms Buntin, can Joe untangle the conspiracy and prove his innocence before it’s […]

Posted 28 February, 2017 by Michelle in Projects (Published) / 0 Comments

Age of Order by Julian North

Inequality is a science. Giant machines maintain order. And all people are not created equal. Daniela Machado is offered a chance to escape the deprivation of Bronx City through a coveted slot at the elite Tuck School. There, among the highborn of Manhattan, she discovers an unimaginable world of splendor and greed. But her opportunity is part of a darker plan, and she soon learns that those at society’s apex will stop at nothing to keep power for themselves. Daniela may have a chance to change the world, if it doesn’t change her first. Age of Order is a novel that explores the meaning of […]

Posted 11 February, 2017 by Michelle in Projects (Published) / 0 Comments

Goodbye, 2016… Hello, 2017…

2016 had been a good year for my editing business and personal writing, on top of which I’ve joined a wad of new groups and made even more writing and editing friends, some of whom I’ve helped launch editing businesses, or given short writing critiques. So, my year in review… 2016 was just crazy. All in all, I have edited or beta read, thirty-five stories/novels, of which, twenty-two have been (self) published, two are awaiting a publisher or agent, three are scheduled for (self) publishing in the first quarter of the year, and a handful are in the process of going through author edits. So […]

Posted 31 December, 2016 by Michelle in Blog / 1 Comment

R.R.Virdi: Dangerous Ways (The Books of Winter #1)

From the Dragon Award-nominated author, R.R. Virdi. Jonathan Hawthorne has lived over a century beholden to one rule: do not meddle in mortal affairs. He’s broken it twice. So when he crosses paths with Cassidy Winters, he’s forced to interfere again. Strike three. And the third time’s not the charm. Hawthorne is swept along as Cassidy slips through the cracks in reality. And being hunted by bands of monsters doesn’t help. To find the answers they need, they’ll have to play in a dangerous world. One where the odds and rules are stacked against them. They will have to navigate magical courts, queens and lords […]

Posted 15 December, 2016 by Michelle in Projects (Published) / 1 Comment

What to look for when assessing a freelance editor

I am not a published author myself – something I intend to rectify in the future – so the information in this post is based on things I’ve heard authors say about their experiences with freelance editors, my opinions after viewing their websites and posts, plus research I carried out when considering whether to become an editor (paying particular attention to the criticisms in the hope I might avoid some of the pitfalls). Just because a freelance editor ‘says‘ they are qualified in copy/line/developmental does not make it so. Once upon a time, I thought I could copy edit – until a client pointed out […]

Posted 26 October, 2016 by Michelle in Blog / 1 Comment

EFA: Book Mapping for Developmental Editing

Often, when I get a complex manuscript in (or one I’m struggling to get my head around) I take a giant step back and break it down into scenes, looking at the smaller parts of the puzzle, as opposed to the whole picture. So imagine my delight when I discovered it was an actual technique of developmental editing, and that it had a name – Book (or manuscript) mapping – and that the EFA (Editorial Freelancers Association) was running a course on it. I couldn’t sign up quick enough. Although I already do an element of book mapping, I’m always keen to listen to those […]

Posted 11 October, 2016 by Michelle in Blog, Book-Mapping, EFA / 0 Comments

Feedback assessment (of my first 10k)

Having succumbed to the latest strain of the common cold, courtesy of my youngest child, I took a couple of days off editing as my brain ceased to function well enough to read and edit. Instead, I took some time to read through the feedback I got from the Ink and Insights writing contest, collated the information into one document and then wrote myself a little ‘to-do’ list. ‘Little’ as in it’s an A4 sheet of paper long! As mentioned, I’m quite nervous about sharing my writing, but am strangely okay with it being pulled to pieces. Having it graded in the ‘real’ world, as opposed […]

Posted 13 September, 2016 by Michelle in Achievements, Ink and Insights writing contest, Writing / 0 Comments

So I entered a writing contest…

I rarely talk about my writing, mainly because I’m usually too busy editing to do any, but way, way back in June, I made a decision to enter Ink and Insights writing contest. The requirements for the contest was for writers to submit the first 10k of their novels, and as it so happened, I had written 15k for the April CampNano (and done not very much with it since then). It’s a novel I first wrote back in 2009 (for Nanowrimo) and have since changed and rewritten. It’s been into screenplay format and back again, only for me to then lose every word of […]

Posted 8 September, 2016 by Michelle in Ink and Insights writing contest, Writing / 2 Comments

New bookings are available from September