Author: Lor

I have had a very busy few weeks because… my little girl has started school! So whilst she is looking super-cute in her school uniform and learning how to read and making new friends, I have been able to expand the hours of work I do, which has meant I’ve been working with lots of new clients and loving every minute!

Because I have been so busy editing, I have neglected this blog somewhat, so I thought it was time to update you all on some of the projects I’ve been working on.

At the beginning of the year, I was working with debut author Debbie Sullivan on her story The Gift of Watching you Grow, which was published in the spring. This is such a lovely, calming, beautiful story all about the special moments between a parent/carer and child. The illustrations complement the tone of the story perfectly. I have been working on some more stories with Debbie too… so watch this space to see what she creates next!

Later in the year, I was delighted to work with Minda Gomez again on her next chapter book featuring The Martinez Kids and their incredible adventures! This one was set at Christmastime, and although it was spring when I was editing it, I was so engrossed in the story I got that magical, festive feeling!

As the summer approached, author Rahni Davies and illustrator Barbara Owczarek came to me with a fabulous story which really appealed to me. Edgar Allan Know and his Big Busy Brain stars little boy with a busy brain. Having children who have ADHD myself, I really felt like this story ‘spoke’ to me. There are some mindfulness techniques as well as lots of fun facts, all centered around a little boy who just wants to learn to ride his bike! Barbara’s mysterious, quite gothic illustrations, were incredible, and just a few months after it was published it won a Mom’s Choice Award!

When the summer holidays arrived, there was a bit of a sadness in the air in my house as my middle child was leaving primary school, however, the perfect book was published just in time! My Very Special Friendship Book by Barbara Pinke is bursting with questions and spaces for children to pass around for their friends to fill in. My son enjoyed handing this out to his friends and seeing their answers, keeping this as a lovely keepsake to remember his primary school days. I loved working on this book, knowing that it is likely to be the kind of book children keep forever and refer to often.

The end of summer brought with it the publication day of Gill Paul’s latest novel A Beautiful Rival, which tells the story of the bitter rivalry between Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubenstein. Within days of being published, it gained a best seller’s flag on Amazon! I worked on the developmental and marketing side of this novel and it has been a joy to see so many book bloggers and reviewers sharing and raving about it. And, psssst, be quick, it’s currently £1.99 on Kindle!

And now we are well within autumn with the nights drawing in and I’m excited about what lays ahead. There are so many manuscripts I’ve been working on which will be publishing soon that I can’t wait to share with you – including some very special Christmassy stories! Hopefully I’ll be better organised and actually update this blog more often so I can share their progress with you.

In the meantime, I’m busy working on edits for authors and adjusting to having three children at school and none at home – it’s a very strange feeling! When I’m not editing, being Mum or trying to keep up with social media, I do like to have a scroll through Amazon…

I like to look on Amazon and see how some of the books I’ve worked on are being received. There is something very special about seeing people writing reviews about books you have helped shaped. I was delighted to see that The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson now has over 1,500 reviews and an overall ranking of 4.6 stars, Vicky Weber’s Rhythm Rescue has nearly 600 reviews and an overall ranking of 4.7 stars, Stacy Bauer’s Cami Kangaroo Has Too Much Stuff has over 800 reviews and an overall ranking of 4.6 stars, Another Woman’s Husband by Gill Paul has over 3,000 reviews and an overall ranking of 4.4 stars, and Anna Smithers Tree Full of Wonder has over 500 reviews and a 4.6 ranking. How incredible!

I am proud of every author I work with. Whether they have 1 review or 1,000 reviews, I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work with them on such a wide range of books.

I’ve realised it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog so I thought now would be a good time to update you all on what I’ve been busy with here at Calico Editing.

2022 has been a very busy year so far. I’ve had lots of children’s picture books that I’ve been busy working on, several children’s chapter books and also two novels. One of these novels is by bestselling author Gill Paul (I’m currently rereading what may be her final draft of novel number 12 and it’s fabulous!) and the other novel is by a new author Danielle Jata-Hall who runs the popular PDA-Parenting social media accounts and often stands in for Jodie Isitt over on the incredibly successful The Nurture Programme.

Working on such a wide variety of manuscripts has been fabulous. I’m always amazed by the fantastic talent and diversity within the work I get to read, and this year has been busier than ever which has meant I’ve been able to enjoy even more books than usual!

I can’t list them all here as I would be here all day, but some of the books I’ve worked on are now published and doing brilliantly.

One of the authors who I have been working closely with is Stacy C. Bauer who launched an incredible new series of books last year called Young Change Makers. This year, she has worked tirelessly to expand her series, as well as being an incredible inspiration to other authors with offering various tutorials and insights into what it takes to be successful in this difficult market. Young Change Makers feature incredible children from around the world who have gone the extra mile and created some amazing things. Every time I work on one of these books I’m blown away by these children.

Another author I’ve enjoyed working with again on several projects this year is Vicky Weber. Like Stacy, Vicky devotes a lot of her time to encouraging other authors to follow their dreams. Recently, Vicky has been given a fantastic role as a children’s book agent. I just know that she will be the perfect person for this job! Maya and the Stage Fright is one of Vicky’s books which has been published this year and it is so wonderful – it shows children that having nerves before a performance is normal, and gives them tips on how to overcome them. The illustrations are beautiful and the tone perfect.

I was delighted to work with a new-to-me author Barbara Pinke who came to me with a request to edit her chapter book series Magilicious Journeys. I was immediately intrigued by this series as it includes travel, magic, food, problem-solving, teamwork, excitement, facts, recipes… the list goes on! The stories are fantastic and I really enjoyed working on them. Then… Barbara came to me with a new idea, this time a picture book. I always love it when authors try a different genre and I

get to see a different side to their writing style. When I first read Pesho The Fish who Wanted to Swim With the Stars I was delighted – Barbara had a real talent in the picture book market too! We worked on this book quite a lot together, helping to bring the determined character of Pesho to life. The illustrations are absolutely wonderful with rich colours, twinkling stars… my own daughter – June – loves reading this book!

Another author who has branched into a different genre this year is Kirstie Watson.

You may have enjoyed her Witch’s Cat books? If not, then you must check them out! The Witch’s Cat and the Cooking Catastrophe has over 2,000 Amazon reviews and is a fabulous read about a rather excitable, but very clumsy cat. This cat is loved so much by Kirstie’s readers that she decided to develop Cat further and create a chapter book with him as the main character. When I read the first draft I was blown away; this story was fabulous! Cat has become an even bigger character and there’s more disaster and chaos which leads to a very funny story… a new character features too – Puppy!

Gill Paul’s latest novel The Manhattan Girls was published this August. It was last summer when I read the first draft for it and it’s wonderful to see how much readers are enjoying reading it. The Manhattan Girls features four very strong women in the 1920’s Dorothy Parker, Peggy Leach, Jane Grant and Winifred Lenihan. I have to admit that the only one of these four that I’d heard of was Dorothy Parker, but after reading the first draft of this manuscript, I felt like I suddenly knew all four of them inside-out! Gill’s research is incredible and the way she crafts her stories can never fail but to pull you in. Now working on novel twelve, I’m currently enjoying reading her latest draft and very much looking forward to when she announces what it is about later this year! You’ll love it!

Claire Nielson may be a name you’ve heard of, or perhaps you’d recognise her from TV shows such as Fawlty Towers and Taggart? Earlier this year, I was very privileged to have the honour of working very closely with Claire who ventured into a new, exciting part of her career – becoming a children’s book author. Her story The House at Strone was based upon her own childhood adventures from when she and her siblings went away to a family home for the summer holidays – alone, no parents! The story is full of excitement, fun and mystery… it has a lovely tone to it which makes me nostalgic and reminds me very much of the likes of Enid Blyton. Working with Claire on the development of her story and also with marketing her book, was a sheer joy and was very much celebrated with a number one bestseller flag on Amazon during her launch week in May this year. Claire, I am delighted to say, is working on her next book – The House at Glasgow.

This summer, something very special happened – my children got to not only meet one of the authors I work with (whose books they have devoured) they also got to take part in a special yoga class with her too! This was an incredibly special moment and one I will always cherish. Anna Smithers is an author who I’ve worked with for several years… first, on her Yogi Superhero books which introduce the world of yoga to children in a calm, easy-to-follow way, and then in her new adventure of writing a book all about the importance of trees. Her latest book Tree Full of Wonder is a beautiful story which has been incredibly successful.

Over the next few months, I am looking forward to working on more manuscripts and celebrating the success of the authors I am lucky enough to work with. It is always such a joy seeing a book in the hands of a reader. I know how much hard work goes into each and every book I work on – whether it’s 300 words or 130,000 words, each one has a lot of passion and devotion ploughed into it.

I am writing this blog post whilst thinking back to the year we’ve all just gone through… it’s been one crazy year! We’ve had various vaccines, new Covid variants, hybrid schooling/working… but one thing which has been consistent for me has been books.

Some weeks I may not have known whether my children would be being taught at home or at school, I may not have known whether that cough was a cold or Covid… but one thing I did know was that books would provide the perfect escapism for many of us.

Over the last twelve months, I have worked with many incredible authors and illustrators. I have seen first-time authors become best-sellers, and seen well-established authors gain even more amazing 5-star reviews in the nation’s newspapers. I have also worked with authors who are just starting out with their manuscripts and are hoping to publish next year, and this makes me really excited, 2022 will be another year with many wonderful books to enjoy.

I have certainly been kept very busy over the last year with many authors sending me their manuscripts. I’ve loved the diversity that each manuscript brings and how much talent I can see in the authors’ writing. I’ve read books about solving mysteries, fighting Covid, standing up to bullies, appreciating nature, loving yourself, coping with family changes, inspiring others, tackling anxiety, saving the planet, magical islands, birthday surprises, talking animals, unicorns, clumsiness, magic spells…

Several of the authors I work with have won awards, had their stories read by royalty, appeared on national television and had top publishers sign them up. I’ve also enjoyed celebrating the smaller wins too; an author who had their very first 5-star review from a reader they didn’t know, an illustrator who was commissioned to design a follow-up book, an author who found the courage to show me her work despite feeling very anxious. I’m proud of all my authors and their incredible stories. It’s hard to pick out just a few to share with you…

A firm-favourite author of mine whose manuscripts I adore working on is Stacy C. Bauer.

This year has seen Stacy step into a different genre, and it has been a pleasure to work with her and watch her flourish in this genre too. Stacy has created a new series of books, Young Change Makers, all with inspiring children at their hearts. These books include real children who have carried out real acts of kindness and generosity. When editing these manuscripts, I have been blown away by the talent and kindness that the youngsters have shown… from children who have fought blizzards to clear the snow off the vehicles of healthcare workers’ cars whilst they’ve been at work, to children who have raised many hundreds of thousands of dollars to help those in need… these books are bursting with inspiring youths. Stacy’s next manuscript is due to land on my desk at any moment and I can’t wait to see how incredible the children included in it are. 2021 may almost be over, but you can be sure that 2022 will be another successful year for this author who devotes so much of her time to helping other authors too.

This year has also enabled me to continue working with best-selling author Gill Paul who has published another fantastic historical fiction novel this year.

The Collector’s Daughter is an emotional read, taking the reader on a journey of discovery through the memories of Lady Evelyn Herbert who was the first person to step inside Tutankhamun’s tomb. I adored working on this in its early stages when Gill Paul first began writing it, and I have loved reading all the fantastic reviews that have been streaming in from around the world for this book. I’m also very excited to have been working on the next novel from Gill Paul, The Manhattan Girls, which will be published in 2022… didn’t I say 2022 is set to be a fantastic year for books?!

Another book which will be published next year that I have worked on this year is Olly The Lone Red Squirrel.

This story is written by a new author who contacted me in the summer. Larissa Soares reached out to me and when I heard about her story, I couldn’t wait to work with her. This is a very special book, it shows the reader the importance of kindness and of not judging people based on their looks. Teamed with an exceptional illustrator – Olga Volgina – Larissa is set to have a beautiful book which will be treasured next year.

But I shall leave this blog post with a book which is currently available and is very seasonal right now – Abbey Angel The Accidental Fairy.

I worked on this with authors Julia Mcmillan and Shanice Evans this time last year. When working on Abbey, it felt very Christmassy; my tree was up, my children were getting excited and there was magic in the air… and now, when I read this story and see the beautiful illustrations, I can really sense that magic again. This story is about Abbey, a special angel, who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time! It has everything; it’s funny, heart-warming and, best of all, magical. With inclusive characters and beautiful illustrations, this is one of my favourite stories to have worked on this year.

So, now that I’ve left you with this wonderful festive story and a little hint at some of the books you can enjoy in 2022, I would like to take this time to thank you all for keeping me so busy this year and for sharing so many wonderful and special manuscripts with me. I am incredibly proud of each and every author and illustrator who I have the honour of working with.

From my family to yours, I wish you all a very merry and peaceful Christmas.