I think I was two when I first told my parents I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I’d just learned to “write” (a series of looping squiggles on a page that meant absolutely nothing, though I thought they did.) The whole concept seemed magical to me — you could put designs on a piece of paper and transport people, make them feel things, see things, hear things. It still seems magical to me.

After publishing a few books, and being rejected a few more times than that, I decided to learn more about storytelling, and what makes books and stories work. I dove into it, reading everything I could find, attending lectures and workshops and talking to writers the world over.

That led me to volunteering to do critiques for friends, until they said “you know…you’re good at this…maybe you should try editing as a job.”

So I applied for a job with an e-publisher, and learned more about the process of editing, and the way stories need to work to resonate with readers.

After working with three different e-publishers over ten years, I started Hart to Heart.

I love working with authors to make their manuscripts the best they can be before sending them along, whether it’s to self-publish or to look for an agent or publisher. My main area of expertise is story structure, and mapping internal character arc to the external plot, though I’m known to nerd out over Just the Right Word for an occasion.