Overview
Since beginning this business more than 20 years ago, I’ve edited many textbooks and nonfiction titles, but novels have been beckoning me lately, and I’ve copyedited or developmentally edited nearly 300 of them over the past few years. And now I want to edit your book! I just really want to read your story and get lost in how you tell it. I want to get my hands into it and mark it up—not because I hate it, but because I love it and I want to get deeply into your vision and roll around in it and be part of making it happen. I’m so spoiled. I love my job.
Every book is different. Every book is special. The editing process for every book is unique. Let’s talk about what will work for yours.
***
To my copyeditor, Rachel . . . You’re a life saver.
—S. K. Golden, The Socialite’s Guide to Murder, 2022
Rachel . . . my fantastic copy editor. If only you could sit by my side while I write and fix all my tense and comma issues! My book is better because of you.
—Kalyn Fogarty, What We Carry, 2021
Rachel is a superbly talented, highly intelligent, and hardworking editor, with exceptional English language skills. Working with her is a pleasure. She follows instructions to the letter and maintains positive relationships with authors and clients. Recommended without reservation.
—Bill Bowers, author and editor at Bowers Editorial Services, 2012
Thanks to . . . Rachel . . . for meticulous copyediting.
—Nora Page, Read or Alive, 2020
To the copyeditor I know only as rsbk, which I am pretty sure stands for something like Really-Smart-Brilliant-all Knowledgeable because her attention to detail was both sensitive and relentless.
—Jane Willan, The Shadow of Death, 2018
As a managing editor, I came to rely heavily on Rachel's copyediting services. She is dependable, thorough, professional, and kind. She provides thorough feedback for the authors and has a keen eye for errors and areas in need of development. Rachel adheres to the assignment's parameters, from light copyedits to the more involved, developmental work; I knew I could always count on her. Rachel has my unreserved recommendation.
—Katie Moyer, former managing editor at W. W. Norton, 2015
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits
Inspirational
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Thriller & Suspense
Women's Fiction
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Work experience
Self-employed
Feb, 2002 —
Present
Portfolio
For fans of David Joy and Christopher J. Yates, comes Ian Pisarcik's haunting debut novel exploring the fraught nature of families and the inescapable secrets that are out to cripple them.On the outskirts of a town too tired for its own happenings, the boys we... read more
USA TODAY BESTSELLER“A psychological thriller that will keep you up all night...Get ready.”—Good Morning AmericaEveryone has a secret. For some, it’s worth dying to protect. For others, it’s worth killing.The glass beach house was supposed to be the getaway th... read more
A supernatural thriller in the vein of A Head Full of Ghosts about two young girls, a scary story that becomes far too real, and the tragic--and terrifying--consequences that follow one of them into adulthood.Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face... In 1991, H... read more
For fans of Rene Denfeld and Shari Lapena comes a rich, atmospheric family drama set in the 1980's following the disappearances of two paperboys from a small midwestern town.It's August 1984, and paperboy Christopher Stewart has gone missing. Hours later, twel... read more
One of POPSUGAR's Top 15 Medical ThrillersOne of REAL SIMPLE's 35 Chilling Psychological ThrillersOne of THE NERD DAILY's Top Sept. 2019 Book ReleasesA mother's worst nightmare, a chance at redemption, and a deadly secret that haunts a family across the genera... read more
One of Refinery29's Favorite Books of October 2019!Award-winning author Laurie Petrou makes her YA debut with this atmospheric thriller exploring the addictive pull of revenge.What you see isn't always what you get. Stevie never meant for things to go this far... read more
A Sun-Sentinel Top Debut Mystery of 2018“Last Girl Gone is...your new favorite procedural.”—BustleThis pulse-pounding series debut is the next obsession for fans of Julia Keller and David Bell, and readers of unflinching thrillers.Sometimes, the journey home i... read more
Chocoholic Charity Penn must smoke out the killer to stop her newly inherited beachside chocolate shop from going up in flames in Dorothy St. James’ decadent follow-up to Asking for Truffle.Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the... read more
It’s up to Sally Solari to serve up a killer before their family restaurant’s reputation goes up in smoke.It’s early autumn in Santa Cruz and restaurateur Sally Solari decides an open-air painting class is the perfect way for her to learn more about Paul Gaugu... read more
Reagan Summerside returns in national bestselling author Duffy Brown’s fifth Consignment Shop mystery, now for the first time in hardcover.There are two social functions in Savannah guaranteed to get people talking: weddings and funerals. And just as consignme... read more
When a young nurse dies on her watch, Florence Nightingale must uncover the deep-hidden secrets someone will kill to keep buried.It is 1853. Lady of the Lamp Florence Nightingale has just accepted the position of Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlew... read more
Agnes Blythe and her glamorous Aunt Effie must take a break from restoring their inn to rake in the clues when a local mechanic is murdered in national bestselling author Maia Chance’s charming second Agnes & Effie mystery.It’s leaf-peeping season in Naneda, N... read more
Perfect for fans of G. M. Malliet and M. C. Beaton, The Shadow of Death is divine entertainment from a talented debut writer.A charming and clever traditional mystery debut set at a bucolic Welsh convent, The Shadow of Death introduces Sister Agatha, a mystery... read more
When the mayor’s daughter goes missing in Dallas, maverick police detectives Rob Soliz and Frank Pierce must race to find her alive in this thrilling procedural debut from a seasoned law enforcement officer. When the 19-year-old daughter of the mayor of Dallas... read more
By hook or crook, Molly will clear her name in On the Hook, national bestseller Betty Hechtman’s irresistible twelfth Crochet Mystery.The Tarzana Hookers crochet club could come apart at the seams when thwarted ambition, shady ethics, and a puzzling murder con... read more
In the first of a delectable new Southern-set baking cozy series, Sophia Cummings, pastry chef extraordinaire, must craft the perfect cake for an old friend’s wedding while sifting through the suspects in a murder. Bucolic Rumford, Kentucky has glowing fields ... read more
A gritty tale of how far we'll go to protect the ones we love for fans of Daniel Woodrell's Winter's Bone from Gale Massey, a talented new name in crime fiction.Everyone says the Elders family are nothing but cheats, thieves, and convicts, a fact nineteen-year... read more
The buoyant mood at Bistro Rousseau deflates when Chef Camille’s sister, Renee, turns up dead in the chef’s kitchen, and Mimi Rousseau must tease the real killer out of a mélange of menacing characters.Crush Week in Nouvelle Vie is a madhouse—in a good way. T... read more
In D. A. Bartley's compelling debut, Detective Abish Taylor returns home to Utah and uncovers dark secrets lurking within the quiet Mormon community.Detective Abish Taylor left Utah for a reason. But with her husband’s passing, it’s time to come home. Reconnec... read more
Twenty-nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln has spent his entire adult life running from his past—from the poverty of the dirt-floor log cabin where he was raised, from the dominion of his uneducated father, and from a failed early courtship. But now, Lincoln’s past ... read more
Autumn leaves aren’t the only things falling in the historic Virginia village of Taylorsford—so are some cherished memories, and a few bodies.October in Taylorsford, Virginia means it’s leaf peeping season, with bright colorful foliage and a delightful fresh c... read more
Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell mysteries comes the enchanting series debut from Vivian Conroy, The Butterfly Conspiracy. In late Victorian times, when new inventions cause both excitement and terror, a mysterious death at a zoological... read more
Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke and Leslie Meier, national bestseller Lucy Burdette's eighth Key West Food Critic mystery sees the return of fan-favorite food critic Hayley Snow, who must once again get to the bottom of a bitter murder. When a killer strikes ... read more
Fans of J. T. Ellison and Tami Hoag will find a new favorite in J. R. Backlund’s second installment of the Rachel Carver mysteries. Ex-SBI agent Rachel Carver’s past comes back to haunt her as she uncovers a trail of murderous revenge—and a horrifying secret.R... read more
A delightful read for fans of Donna Andrews and Juliet Blackwell, national bestselling author Kate Kingsbury returns with a third installment of her Merry Ghost Inn mysteries. If bed-and-breakfast owners Melanie and Liza, along with their laughing ghost tenant... read more
Joy Avon’s festive series debut featuring a book-themed tea party organizer will be tons of fun this Christmas for Lorna Barrett and Jenn McKinlay fans. In the run-up to Christmas Eve, organizer of book-themed tea parties Callie Aspen and her lovable Boston te... read more
National bestselling author Amanda Flower returns with her second floral Magic Garden mystery, perfect for readers of Paige Shelton and Sheila Connolly. Florist Fiona Knox left behind her gloomy life for a magical garden in Scotland, but a murder on her shop’s... read more
National bestselling author Betty Hechtman brings the Tarzana Hookers to a winning thirteenth installment in the Crochet mysteries. It's going to get knotty.The Tarzana Hookers crochet club is ready for its close-up! But Molly Pink may be getting too close to ... read more
Barry Award-winning author E. J. Copperman is back with the tenth hilarious installment in his national bestselling Haunted Guesthouse mysteries.Haunted Guesthouse proprietress Alison Kerby and her ghostly guest detective, Paul, “auto” know better than to dig ... read more
Fans of Rhys Bowen will be abuzz over Amanda Allen’s second installment in her bold Santa Fe Revival mysteries.The on-set murder of a famous Jazz Age film director unearths a hornet’s nest of passion, duplicity, naked ambition, and bitter revenge.The golden ag... read more
For fans of Charles Todd and Deanna Raybourn comes Christine Trent’s second Florence Nightingale mystery.Cholera has broken out in London, but Florence Nightingale has bigger problems when people begin dying of a far more intentional cause—murder.The London su... read more
Readers of J. T. Ellison and Tess Gerritsen will be enthralled by Do No Harm, by real-life small-town doctor and national bestselling author Dawn Eastman. Small-town doctor Katie LeClair is drawn back into an old murder investigation, a mysterious disappearanc... read more
For fans of Miranda James and Jenn McKinlay, the third conspiratorially delightful third entry in Victoria Gilbert’s critically acclaimed Blue Ridge Library mysteries.Has a curse fallen on the small town of Taylorsford, Virginia? After a young woman goes missi... read more
Julie Chase is back with her fourth delightful Kitty Couture mystery, perfect for fans of Rita Mae Brown and Blaize Clement.With a pet pageant around the corner and a killer unleashed, Lacy will have to collar the culprit before the claws come out.Lacy Marie C... read more
For fans of B. A. Paris and Mary Kubica comes a propulsive, twisting psychological thriller that asks, How can you save someone else if you can’t save yourself?After years of learning how to manage her bipolar disorder, Emily Firestone finally has it under con... read more
USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower is back with the third in her more-charming-than-ever Magical Bookshop mystery. Fans of Sofie Kelly and Heather Blake, prepare your bookshelves!Niagara region booksellers Violet Waverly and Grandma Daisy sleuth the sl... read more
Amidst the heraldry of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations, a string of brutal murders rocks Britain's upper crust—and could threaten the realm itself—in the spellbinding debut of Patricia Marcantonio's Felicity Carrol mysteries.Felicity Carrol is int... read more
National bestselling author Eva Gates’s fifth Lighthouse Library mystery will carry fans of Miranda James and Jenn McKinlay to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.Dark deeds in the Lighthouse Library threaten to send Lucy Richardson’s soon-to-be-wed cousin Josie... read more
On a remote Scottish island, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton wrestles with her own past while sleuthing a brutal killing, staged to recreate a two-hundred-year-old unsolved murder.Autumn has come and gone on Scotland’s Isle of Glenroth, and the islander... read more
Perfect for fans of Charles Todd and Susanna Calkins, comes Nancy Herriman’s second bewitching tale of herbalist Bess Ellyott who uncovers the sinister underbelly of Elizabethan England.The dark shadows of Elizabethan England envelop a bucolic village when a b... read more
National bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s intrepid food critic Hayley Snow must sniff out a killer in the ninth Key West Food Critic mystery.Key West food critic Hayley Snow scents-es something fishy when a customer falls stone-crab cold dead on a seafood ta... read more
Not even a witch can keep her secrets safe in the sizzling ninth installment of national bestselling author Heather Blake’s Wishcraft series.Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather’s enchanted wedding plans are put to the test when murder invites itself to her bridal l... read more
Restaurateur Sally Solari’s cousin Evelyn may be blind, but she can see all too clearly that her chef mother’s death wasn’t an accidental overdose—she was murdered.Santa Cruz restaurateur Sally Solari’s life is already boiling over as she deals with irate cook... read more
USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Ellen Byron cranks it up to eleven in the fifth fast and funny Cajun Country mystery.Louisiana B&B owner Maggie Crozat kicks up her heels at a country music festival--but she'll have one foot in the grave if she c... read more
Sure to delight fans of Betty Hechtman and Maggie Sefton, A Crafter Hooks a Killer is the second installment in Holly Quinn’s Handcrafted mysteries.Community Craft proprietor Sammy Kane suspects that a tantalizing thread links the deaths of her best friend and... read more
Just in time for Sherlock Holmes's 166th birthday, the fifth installment in national bestselling author Vicki Delany's Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery takes Sherlockania to the max with a Holmes convention and historic 221 Baker Street.Gemma Doyle and her fri... read more
A young woman encounters the killer she accused years earlier—and finds herself drawn back into a vortex of evil she thought she’d left far behind her.A decade after Cadence Lawrence accused the perpetrator in the brutal murder of her high school friend, she’s... read more
What’s black and white and dead all over? Georgia bed and breakfast proprietor Nina Fleet finds out when she comes across a corpse in a penguin costume.Nina Fleet’s life ought to be as sweet as a Georgia peach. Awarded a tidy sum in her divorce, Nina retired a... read more
The new arrival of a woman named Mary Todd wedges a rift between Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed, but they must resolve their differences if they stand any chance of cracking one of the most harrowing murder cases they have ever faced.In the winter of 1839, a... read more
The mist-shrouded moors of Devon proffer a trove of delights for two vacationing zoologists—but also conceal a hoard of dark secrets reaching down to the fathomless depths of the ocean.Miss Merula Merriweather barely saved her uncle from the gallows after he w... read more
The growth of the Mormon Church has slowed. Young men are abandoning the Church, leaving their female counterparts unmarried and childless. Now, the Church is about to lose one more member...and it may be due to murder.Detective Abish “Abbie” Taylor returned t... read more
In award-winning author Elizabeth J. Duncan's tenth Penny Brannigan mystery set in North Wales, Canadian amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan attends a dinner party at a posh country house--where a historic chair disappears and a waiter is murdered.Artist and spa ow... read more
Essie Lang's second Castle Bookshop mystery is perfect for fans of Lorna Barrett and Vicki Delany.Thousand Islands bookstore owner Shelby Cox sleuths the slaying of a true-crime writer who may have learned too much about a murder case that should have stayed s... read more
A mystery author is charged with murder--and the plot thickens faster than anyone can turn the pages--in USA Today bestselling author Callie Hutton's new series debut, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ellery Adams.Bath, England, 1890. Mystery author Lady Amy... read more
For fans of Julia Keller and Sheena Kamal, All We Buried disturbs the long-sleeping secrets of a small Washington State mountain town.Interim sheriff Elizabeth "Bet" Rivers has always had one repeat nightmare: a shadowy figure throwing a suspicious object into... read more
National bestselling author Lucy Burdette's tenth Key West Food Critic mystery is piping hot with pie-enthusiasts and murder suspects.When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef's murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied. ... read more
A famous fiddler has been kilt. A magic garden's left to wilt. Does Fiona Knox's father hold the guilt? Will florist Fiona's blood be spilt?World-famous fiddle player Barley McFee arrives in blustery Bellewick, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, for a grand homecoming c... read more
Perfect for fans of Laura Levine and Stephanie Barron, Elizabeth Blake’s Jane Austen Society mystery debut is a mirthfully morbid merger of manners and murder.In this Austen-tatious debut, antiquarian bookstore proprietor Erin Coleridge uses her sense and sens... read more
The second book in Emilia Bernhard's charming Death in Paris series, featuring two American sleuths in the City of Lights, is perfect for fans of M. L. Longworth and Juliet Blackwell.Parisian summers are for strolls in the park . . . and solving a murder--or t... read more
American antique dealer Kate Hamilton's Christmastime jaunt to a charming English village leads to an investigation of a missing ruby...and a chain of murders.It's Christmastime and antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is off to visit her daughter, Christine, in the ... read more
In the vein of Lisa Jackson and Julia Maynard, a dark and compulsive mystery about secrets too big for the small town’s britches.When secrets are too big to buy, it’s worth killing to bury them.Growing up, Laura Mori was constantly overshadowed by her far more... read more
November 2019 Top Pick, Library ReadsTwo brutal murders, a menacing band of poachers, and a fearsome creature on the loose in the mountains plunge Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo into a sinister vortex.An explosion outside a community dance sends Mattie C... read more
USA Today bestselling author and Agatha Award winner Amanda Flower turns the charm up to ten in her fourth Magical Bookshop mystery.With the help of Walt Whitman's works, magical bookshop owner Violet Waverly puts her pedal to the metal to sleuth a bicycle-rac... read more
Earl Marcus has faced a litany of demons in his time, but a grisly murder sends him spiraling into a vortex of long-buried secrets.After losing a hotly contested sheriff's race to the lackey of corrupt politician Jeb Walsh, Earl Marcus has had the worst summer... read more
Fans of Jodi Picoult and Fredrik Backman will fall for this tenderhearted debut mystery following a young girl on a quest to save her family.I know my brother is dead. But sometimes Mama gets confused.There's plenty about the grownup world that six-year-old Ao... read more
Amidst the heraldry of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations, a string of brutal murders rocks Britain's upper crust--and could threaten the realm itself.Felicity Carrol is interested in everything--except being a proper young matron of Victorian societ... read more
Blue Ridge library director Amy Webber learns it wasn't all peace and love among the "flower children" when a corpse is unearthed on the grounds of a 1960s commune.Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber's friend "Sunny" Fields is running for mayor. But... read more
The Elizabethan court is beset by traitors at home and abroad as spies, rogues, and would-be usurpers of the throne vie for power.England, 1586. Tensions rise as threats to the realm abound. Traitors are plotting for Mary Queen of Scots to depose Elizabeth I a... read more
A page-turning new historical mystery for fans of Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series and Kate Quinn's The Alice Network.How far would you go for vengeance?It's V-E Day 1946 in London. World War II is long over, and former spy Livy Nash is celebrating with... read more
For fans of Jodi Picoult and Anita Shreve comes an exhilarating debut novel of one woman's courage in the face of catastrophe.She'll do anything to save them.But what will she do to save herself?When Kat Jamison retreats to the Blue Ridge Mountains, she's coun... read more
An explosive debut mystery for readers of Christine Carbo and Paul Doiron featuring a newly minted deputy thrust into the cutthroat world of hunting.This waterfowl season, the hunters become the hunted.Newly promoted sheriff's deputy Delia Chavez has worked ha... read more
A cold case murder, a grisly discovery, and a viper's nest of resentment, betrayal, and dirty secrets converge in this mystery perfect for fans of Kathy Reichs and Jayne Ann Krentz.It's been 12 years since Sandi Parkman went missing after being dropped off at ... read more
Perfect for fans of Tasha Alexander and Rhys Bowen, Katharine Schellman's debut novel is sure to delight.London 1815. Though newly-widowed Lily Adler is returning to a society that frowns on independent women, she is determined to create a meaningful life for ... read more
Three missing girls, no leads, a vault of dark secrets, and a case that's getting chillier by the minute, set the stage for this nail-biting procedural from former cold case homicide detective and acclaimed author Lissa Marie Redmond.Three college freshmen go ... read more
A mystery author is charged with murder--and the plot thickens faster than anyone can turn the pages--in USA Today bestselling author Callie Hutton's new series debut, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ellery Adams.BA mystery author is charged with murder--an... read more
From the critically acclaimed author of SIBA Okra Pick A Murder for the Books, Victoria Gilbert embarks with a new series for perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Juliet Blackwell.A book lover's B&B in an idyllic waterfront village becomes the scene of a gris... read more
For fans of Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley, a riveting locked-room mystery about five college friends eager to reunite after years apart--only to be ripped apart again when their host's disappearance unearths dark secrets and old grudges.Their reunion just became a ... read more
Fans of Ellery Adams and Heather Blake will be charmed by Esme Addison's new Enchanted Bay mystery series.Aleksandra Daniels hasn't set foot in the quiet seaside town of Bellamy Bay, North Carolina in over twenty years. Ever since her mother's tragic death, he... read more
A match-made in cozy heaven for fans of Jenn McKinlay, Kate Carlisle, and book lovers everywhere, Nora Page's third Bookmobile mystery will (book)worm its way into your heart.Wrongful accusations have librarian Cleo Watkins and her loved ones booked for troubl... read more
Rachel has 31 reviews
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Aug, 2023
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Jan, 2023
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Dec, 2022
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