Editing by Elizabeth

July 01, 2016

Blood Republic

“It is exceedingly rare to find someone who has both the editorial knowledge and storytelling sense coupled with the necessary humility to focus on making your book what you want it to be. I was extremely impressed with Elizabeth’s ability to deduce what I was ‘going for’ in my book and then tailor all aspects of her editing and suggestions to target this goal. In hiring Elizabeth you’re hiring a true team member, one who has the skill and instincts to help you achieve your goal.” — James R. Duncan →

June 30, 2016

Women’s Humanity in Crime Fiction by Marie Crosswell

It’s a pleasure to welcome Marie Crosswell to the site today. Her novella Texas, Hold Your Queens was recently released by One Eye Press Singles. Today, Marie is here to talk about the treatment of women in crime fiction, both the victims as well as the heroines/leads, and the challenges presented in making sure neither group is there merely to serve as a prop or jumping off point for other events (and male characters) in the story. →

June 09, 2016

Wake From Death and Return to Life by Andrez Bergen

It’s always a pleasure to welcome Andrez Bergen back to the blog. Andrez is one of my all-time favorite authors, and someone who I believe consistently produces some of the most creative, complex, and challenging fiction around. He’s also a machine when it comes to producing said fiction, so much so it’s hard to keep up with the guy. His latest, Black Sails, Disco Inferno, co-authored with Renee Asher Pickup, is out now and he’s here to talk about an old friend who makes an appearance in it. →

June 01, 2016

Genuinely Dangerous

“I’ve worked with Elizabeth on both self-published and traditionally published books. Each time I found her to be extremely professional, timely and she provided a great knowledge of the genre of crime fiction, as well as fixed my grammatical travesties. I could go with any number of people to correct my spelling, but Elizabeth gave my writing a bit more that I feel really helped push it to its final stage.” — Mike McCrary →

May 31, 2016

A Lot of the Story Left to Tell by Joe Clifford

It’s an honor to welcome Joe clifford to the site today. Anyone with even a passing acquaintance with the crime fiction community has known about Clifford’s work for quite some time. From getting short stories published places like Shotgun Honey, Thuglit, and A Twist of Noir, to working as the editor of the The Flash Fiction Offensive, to his first two novels Wake the Undertaker and Junkie Love, Clifford has been a mainstay in the crime fiction community. He took things to the next level, however, with the release of the first book in his Jay Porter series, Lamentation, in late 2014. Lamentation was well received by readers and critics alike, garnering a starred review from Publishers Weekly and earning an Anthony Award nomination for Best Mystery Novel. Now, with the second Jay Porter book, December Boys, about to drop and the writing of the third already under his belt, Clifford has stopped by to talk about what it’s like to settle in to writing a series. →

May 10, 2016

Terminal by Marshall Karp

“You started out this morning in the morgue, and you ended with a room full of people who are getting ready to take the big dirt nap. If you work homicide, it doesn’t get any more fun than that.” — Terry Biggs

As much as Detective Mike Lomax really doesn’t want to undergo his prostate exam, finding himself in the middle of an active shooter situation is not the way he’d have preferred to get out of it. Yet, in perhaps the ultimate case of being in the wrong place at the right time, Lomax springs from the exam table and responds, complete with ass hanging out of a flimsy exam gown, to the unmistakable sound of shotgun fire in the medical office complex where his doctor is located.

He arrives just in time to witness the shooter kill himself while standing over the body of the doctor he’s gunned down. Investigation reveals the shooter, Cal Bernstein, was terminally ill with a brain tumor, and though there was no connection between him and his victim, a fertility doctor, it still seems like an open and shut case. →

May 04, 2016

Hustle by Tom Pitts (Down & Out edition)

If you missed Hustle by Tom Pitts when it was first released, good news—a new edition is now out from Down & Out Books! Jacket copy:

Two young hustlers, caught in an endless cycle of addiction and prostitution, decide to blackmail an elderly client of theirs. Donny and Big Rich want to film Gabriel Thaxton with their cell phones during a sexual act and put the video up on YouTube. Little do they know, the man they’ve chosen, a high-profile San Francisco defense attorney, is already being blackmailed by someone more sinister: an ex-client of the lawyer’s. A murderous speed freak named Dustin has already permeated the attorney’s life and Dustin has plans for the old man. The lawyer calls upon an old biker for help and they begin a violent race to suppress his deadly secret.

I reviewed the book when it first dropped, and here’s a taste of that: →

May 01, 2016

Deadline

It was a tremendous pleasure to work with award-winning author Jessica James on Deadline, the first book in her Phantom Force Tactical series.

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Whether your manuscript is in the early stages and you’d like significant developmental input, you’re almost ready to query and are looking for someone to do a final copyedit, or anywhere in-between, I can help. For testimonials from authors with whom I have worked, as well as more detailed information about my editing services, please click here.

April 28, 2016

April Skies by Ian Ayris

Ian Ayris Something’s movin towards me. Gettin closer. Feelin its way in the dark. It’s took two years. But it’s comin.— John Sissons

John Sissons is working hard to put the events of the past behind him, events that landed him in prison for a seven-year stretch. (Abide With Me) Out for two years, he’s been working at a market stall several days a week selling produce.

When that job dries up, John signs on with a job placement agency that gets him in working at a door factory. It’s dreary, repetitive, soul-crushing work, but twenty-five years old and knowing it’s time to get on with being a man, John sucks it up and sticks things out.

Slowly, things seem to be taking a turn for the better. John settles into the pattern of the work, the money’s coming in, and he even starts dating a young woman who works in the factory office. And then news arrives that changes John’s world forever. →

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