About

I am a freelance editor based in South Wales, UK.  I live in a little house on a hill with my partner, three cats and numerous foster kittens.  I work largely in long-form fiction, particularly the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror, and am moving into the field of academic editing.

Experience

editing & proofreading (fiction)

I specialise in editing and beta reading long-form fiction, although also have experience in short-form fiction collections, non-fiction and academic work. I have worked freelance in editing fiction for the last five years, having career-changed from working in Finance, editing around 70,000 words a week. I carry out copy, developmental and content edits, and provide manuscript evaluations. I also provide critique on query submission packages. I have completed training with CIEP and am a CIEP Intermediate Member. I offer a unique set of skills honed by years spent writing for the commercial market, and postgraduate academic study of both English Literature and Creative Writing. I have also gained experience in the submission process and what publishers want by carrying out slush reading for Three Crows Magazine. A number of my clients have gone on to enjoy success, and a list of those who have published is available under the ‘Clients’ option on the menu. My clients have included works longlisted for the Bath Prize for Unpublished Fiction, Amazon best-sellers, and traditionally published novels. Although I largely work directly for authors, I have also completed work for small presses such as Orchid’s Lantern and Romaunce Books.

academic editing

I completed a BA in English with Creative Writing (2.1) from Bangor University in 2008 and a MA in English (Dist.) in 2019.  I am in the final year of my Ph.D. in English at Swansea University, researching hauntings in 21st-century fiction. I have publications in Literature Interpretation Review, Contemporary Women’s Writing Journal, and Revenant, and a chapter in Future Folk Horror (2023, ed. Simon Bacon) and Gothic Nostalgia (2024, ed. Simon Bacon). I have completed Swansea University’s Peer Advisor Writing training, passing with distinction and scoring the highest mark in assessment that the course has ever given. I am starting to take developmental editing work for academia, specialising particularly in the arts and humanities.

writing

Following my Creative Writing dissertation, I spent two years as a freelance ghostwriter, specialising in genre and erotic fiction. I am comfortable with explicit fiction and making sex scenes work. This includes most kinks -- I am quite difficult to shock!  I have also contributed blog content to The F Word and Divination Hollow, and maintain my own book reviews blog on this website.

event organisation & management

I am the lead organiser of Gothic writing retreat, The Writing Haunt. The Haunt offers a full-board, three-night writing retreat in unmodernised historic buildings, with workshops tailored to the participants and guest authors. I welcome applications for workshop runners and guest authors for these events — please get in contact via the contact form. I also co-organise Live Action Roleplay Games with Blanco’s Games.

speaking engagements & workshops

I am happy to provide workshops and speak on panels at writing events. I have provided workshops in the past on networking, Gothic and horror writing, ‘pantsing’ or discovery writing, and book-based entrepreneurship at events such as Bristolcon and the Abergavenny Writers Festival, and for writing groups such as Sutton Writers Group. I have appeared on writing-related podcasts such as The Part-Time Artist and Geek Herring. If you would like to book me for a speaking engagement, please use the contact form.