Portfolio : Publishing & Editorial

I have written and produced and published throughout my working life. On the editorial side, before starting my own publishing company, this has included content for organisational magazines; creation, layout and editorial on a church magazine (click here for a PDF); and working with aspiring authors editing their work. After starting my publishing company I brought over 40 books out, including full production - editing, layout, etc. I have also worked on layout (typesetting) and covers for other publishers. Just a few book examples are featured, the rest are listed, or you’d never get through the page!

Books: Women’s Literary

I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing many authors’ dreams to fruition with their women’s literature books! Above is Julie McGowan’s “The Mountains Between”, a Welsh saga; I have also brought her other books through from scratch, to finished work - “Just One More Summer”, “Don’t Pass Me By”, and “Close To You”. Other women’s literature books I’ve read, loved, commissioned, edited, laid out, cover designed, and project managed, include “Moving On” and “Someday, Maybe” by Jenny Piper; “The Long Way Home” and “Rooster Street” by Janet Purcell; “Fish Soup” by Michelle Heatley, and “Going Astray” by Christine Moore.

Books: Children’s fiction

I have loved bringing forth children’s books! These have included “The Lost Crown of Apollo” by Suzanne Cortados; “Sophie’s Quests” and “Sophie Topfeather, Superstar!” by Sonja Anderson; “The Skipper’s Child” by Valerie Poore; and “If Horses Were Wishes” and “Trouble Rides a Fast Horse” by Elizabeth Sellers.

Books: Memoirs - non-fiction

I have been privileged to work on two memoirs: “Blackbirds Baked in a Pie” by Eugene Barter; “A Little Book of Pleasures” by William Wood; “Watery Ways” by Valerie Poore; “A Whisper on the Mediterranean” by Tonia Parronchi; and “Far Out: Sailing into a Disappearing World”. In this category I should also mention “My Sea is Wide” by Rowland Evans - amazing! … All are fabulous books, and again, I brought them from scratch to published article. I could class my own book, “Dance of Eagles”, as a memoir, but it is half fiction too, so that comes later - below, in fact.

Books: General Literary

I started in 2007 by retrieving the rights for my own book from another publisher, and putting it through the wringer as the trial book for my own publishing company. “Dance of Eagles” is an adventure thriller/historical fiction based in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). I’ll also mention Rowland Evans’ “My Sea is Wide” - both the plain text version and, later, the illustrated version. A very lyrical as well as deeply interesting book, glimpses of Wales, China, and Tibet through the authors’ eyes - and by the same token I will also repeat “A Little Book of Pleasures” by William Wood here, a lovely collection of memories around the world.

Books: Romance

One of the first imprints I created was for Inspirational Romance, followed by one for secular romance. These have included several competition winners, as well as others that were commissioned by myself. Some of the competition winners were especially challenging to edit, and a good time was had by all! But we got there in the end. The competition winners included: “Embracing Change” and (following year) “Broken Shells”, by Debbie Roome; “Blue Freedom” by Sandra Peut; and “A Flight Delayed” by KC Lemmer. Commissioned romances include: “Breaking the Circle” by Althea Barr; “Bridge to Nowhere” and “Bridge Beyond Betrayal” by Stephanie Parker McKean; “Redemption on Red River” by Cheryl R. Cain; and “Uncharted Waters” by Sara DuBose.

Christian Non-fiction

Apart from Rowland Evans’ “My Sea is Wide” (sorry to harp on but it is a fabulous book, lol!) I took on the re-editing and production of several of Dag Heward-Mills’ books: “Loyalty and Disloyalty”, “Daughter, You Can Make It!”, “Church Planting”, “He That Hath”, “How You Can Be in the Perfect Will of God”, “Many Are Called”, and “Those Who Accuse You”. (Christian Fiction included Christine Moore’s “Going Astray”, Althea Barr’s “Breaking the Circle”, and the inspirational romance books.)