2016 Editing Commissions and Client New Releases

It's been a hectic start to 2016. Already in the bag:

Literary (content and copy) edit of The Far Side of Creation (Vanx Malic 7) by M.R. Mathias, and The House by P.M. Prior.

Currently working on a content and copy edit of The Engine Woman's Light by Laurel Anne Hill.


Here's the cover and blurb for The House, which was released today:

AMAZON

It was meant to be a place of safety. Their home. Her sanctuary. 

When Prue Bridgewater first glimpses the abandoned old house, it's love at first sight. Her husband Ray is not so sure. 

The property has been neglected for decades, and Ray can’t help wondering why. But with Prue on the brink of a nervous breakdown, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her sane, even if it means he has to live there. 

Once ensconced in their new home, Prue begins fixing up the place while Ray is away at work. And then a series of disturbing discoveries makes her fear she's losing her mind. 

She hears things and sees people who couldn’t possibly be there, and she can’t shake the feeling she’s being watched. 

As Prue’s hold on reality begins to disintegrate, along with her marriage, she struggles to tell truth from delusion. But things go from bad to worse, and soon not just her sanity, but her survival hinges upon the long-buried secrets of THE HOUSE. 

Busy, busy, busy!

I've recently worked on edits for Valmore Daniels. Mitchell Hogan, and M.R. Mathias:

Valmore Daniels:

Seed of Creation -- the excellent start to The MoonWar Cycle, and possibly his best book to date. It's good to see Valmore return to SF. Seed of Creation is tightly structured, fast paced, and very engaging.

I also provided a copy edit for an older work aimed at children, due to be released under a new title.


Mitchell Hogan:

First off, I provided a number of rounds of editing for Mitchell's foray into SF, Inquisitor, an accomplished novel that manages to be fast-paced while displaying Mitchell's trademark world building skills.

I was also involved with final edits for the revised Blood of Innocents, and for the yet-to-be-released conclusion to the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence: A Shattered Empire.

M.R. Mathias:

I've just finished a literary edit for Paragon Dracus, the latest installment of The Legend of Vanx Malic series.

OTHER NEWS

While working on the above, I've managed to finish my own Return of the Dwarf Lords (Legends of the Nameless Dwarf book 4), and have written approximately half of Legends of the Nameless Dwarf book 1: Carnifex. I've also started work on book 2: Nameless. Book 3 is already written (currently The Complete Chronicles, but to be re-released as Bane of the Lich Lord). There are seven books planned in all.

I've now signed with Fuse Literary to represent the books, so I'm working flat out to get the first four books ready in the next few months.

EDITING SERVICES

To make sure I reach my deadlines, I'm having to close to editing commissions for the time being. The good news is, Quills2keyboards editing services has agreed to consider all referrals from this site. I've worked with Paula on a number of commissions, and she's also edited two of my novels, and provided content feedback on virtually all of them. She's one of the most diligent and knowledgable editors I've worked with, and if you're a new writer, her First Draft Triage service is about the best thing I've seen.

Dragons, SF, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Steampunk

Over the past few months I've been fortunate to work with some terrific writers, some new, some established.

I'll be taking new bookings from February, but for now, here's a bit about the authors I've been working with, as well as a project of my own that's nearing completion:



M.R. Mathias


Blood and Royalty by M.R. Mathias

Always a pleasure to work with, M.R. Mathias continues to put out crisp, vividly imagined, fast-paced fantasy, and he keeps getting better. M.R. has his Dragoneers books down to a fine art now, to the point that the characters probably write themselves and generously allow him to take all the credit. My work gets easier with each new Mathias book.


Mitchell Hogan

Mitchell keeps going from strength to strength. He's now following up his massively successful A Crucible of Souls and Blood of Innocents with a science fiction novel that has yet to be named. I've provided developmental and copy editing, and have recently completed a second edit after Mitchell's extensive redraft. The book is carried by tight, focused point of view, compelling themes, and a very satisfying story arc.

Laurel Anne Hill

I provided developmental and copy editing for Laurel's forthcoming steampunk novel Engine Woman's Light. I don't want to say too much about the novel for risk of giving away the plot, but I was impressed by the use of language and voice, mise en scene, and most of all by a couple of scenes that were breathtaking in their brilliance.

Jessica Henwick

I provided developmental and copy editing for the first part of Jessica's debut novel Beneath the Jade Throne. This novel was one of those rare books that got my attention early on: not only does it have a unique setting and an astonishing depth of characterization, but the prose was fluid, measured, and very readable. This has the potential to be a genre classic. 

I know I'm probably light years behind everyone else, but when I Googled Jessica to see if she had an author page, I only found her iMDB entry and the Wiki entry linked to her name above. Seems she might be a little busy with Game of Thrones and Star Wars Episode 7 for a while! 

In the months ahead, I will be working with Rakesh Gupta, J.R. Tomlin, Michael Karner, and Mitchell Hogan.

I'm also finishing the second draft of my own novel The Archon's Assassin (Shader 4), which has been a long time coming. After I self-edit a few times, I'll be sending it to my editor Paula  at Quills to Keyboards. Paula worked on some of my Nameless Dwarf books and the first two Shader books. It's good she's finally quit the day job to run the editing business full-time.

Current editing commissions - M.R. Mathias and William Bakke

I'm currently working on The Emerald Rider for M.R. Mathias (a literary edit of the fourth Dragoneers book) as well as beta reading Landfall for William Bakke (science fiction).

Editing Updates

Currently working on a literary edit of Dragon Isle (Vanx Malic 2) by M.R. Mathias. Next up is Half-Orcs 6 by David Dalglish.

I'm also working on the preliminary edits for Bane of the Liche Lord (Nameless Dwarf 5) and preparing the 5-book omnibus, The Nameless Dwarf for release this Christmas.

The Legend of Vanx Malic

My last editing commission was the start of a fantasy series, The Legend of Vanx Malic, by M.R. Mathias. It's a departure from Mathias's Wardstone trilogy and his Dragoneers books, but retains the depth of world building and complex, flawed characters. Mathias's gift for language makes it a light and enjoyable read, and there's enough engaging action and good-natured humour to keep you fully engaged.

The cover art for this one is by the exceptionally gifted Anton  Kokarev, and shows Vanx on a haulkatten.

Check out Vanx Malic here:

Recent Edits -- David Dalglish; M.R. Mathias

I've just completed a copy edit for David Dalglish's The Broken Pieces, the final book in the Paladins series. I've also just finished a literary edit of M.R. Mathias's Through the Wildwood (The Legend of Vanx Malic).

As always, it's been a pleasure working with these two prolific authors, both of whom are always utterly professional.

Editing Schedule

I'm currently working on a literary edit of The Legend of Vanx Malic (Book 1 -- Through the Wildwood) by M.R. Mathias.

Next up is a copy edit of the fourth Paladins book by David Dalglish, and then I have commissions from Sibel Hodge and Rex Jameson.

Please email me with all your editing, proofing, beta reading queries and I'll do my best to slot you into a date that suits your schedule.

Latest edit -- M.R. Mathias -- The Wizard and the Warlord

I've just finished a massive literary edit on The Wizard and the Warlord by M.R. Mathias. This is the third book in Mathias's Wardstone trilogy and is a truly epic tale.

The twists and turns, characterisation, and sheer breadth of world building in this series are astonishing. Those things, along with literally hundreds of character names, demons, and all manner of strange creatures, make it a potential editing nightmare. Suitably forewarned, though, I compiled a Wardstone dictionary during the first two sweeps of the text and was able to reference that throughout the final edit.

It's not very often I actually enjoy a book I'm editing. Editing, by its nature, is a very exacting process and I tend to hate whatever I am working on at the time. When I look at the finished books again some months later, my outlook has changed and I usually really like them. With this edit, however, I found myself enjoying the story and the humour at each stage.

I've worked on a few Mathias books now, and have read a couple of others. Without a doubt, The Wizard and the Warlord is his best work to date.

Current commissions

I'm currently editing Crimzon and Clover III for M.R. Mathias and Paladins 3, The Old Ways for David Dalglish, which looks set to be my last edit of the year.

Thanks to all the authors I've worked with in 2011. Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Confliction Compendium features a foreword by me

Amazon link

M.R. Mathias has released the compendium of books 1,2, & 3 of the Dragoneers saga (two of which were edited by Homunculus). He's included a foreword written by Derek Prior.

Editing Update

I've just finished a copy edit for Sibel Hodge's The Baby Trap, and a literary edit for the third book in M.R. Mathias's Dragoneers series. The Confliction follows on from events in Cold Hearted Son of a Witch and features Mathias's trade mark humour, grit, and fast-paced story-telling.

Next up is Music of the Spheres, the sequel to Valmore Daniels' Forbidden the Stars.

The Butcher's Boy wins silver medal

Congratulations to Michael Robb Mathias whose The Butcher's Boy won the Readers Favorite silver medal for Horror. 







The Butcher's Boy
Fall 1984 - This story begins with a trial. A man was accused of killing his family. Richard King the defense, attorney cared little whether his client was guilty or not. He took the case for the publicity. The accused (Buxley the Butcher) declared his innocence... Read More >>






I worked on a literary edit for this great horror story last year. It's had a stream of excellent reviews and this award is well deserved. M.R.'s a prolific writer who's not afraid of hard work. This book is one of the best examples of his natural story-telling ability and ability to find just the right words for his characters, action, and exposition.

Coldhearted Son of a Witch

Just finished a three-stage literary edit of Coldhearted Son of a Witch by M.R. Mathias and will now be taking a short break until the next commissions start in October. Coldhearted is book 2 of M.R.'s Dragoneers saga. It's a tightly written action-packed adventure and great fun to read.

I'll be spending the next few weeks finishing off final edits for my own Best Laid Plans (Shader book 2), as well as drinking fine wine in France.