My Other Book Babies

A lot of you know I started content editing in the fall of 2022. What is a content editor? I basically get to read stories before you and help the author polish up the overall story itself, little inconsistencies, sentences that don't sound quite right, or other little nitpicky things that keep the story from reaching its full potential. I don't have to worry about the grammar part, though I do tend to fix those mistakes if I notice them. 
When I first started, I really wasn't sure how it was going to go. After all, I still need someone else to do content edits for me. How was I going to be good enough to do this for someone else?
The thing is, I notice things while I'm reading, even if I'm not in editor mode. I've just been trained now to where all the little mistakes stick out to me. Especially if it's a story I didn't write.
Also, it's amazing to be able to reach into someone else's story and help them polish it up where it shines even brighter. Because these stories were already good. We're just helping them be better. And I've loved being able to work with other authors to do that. And now their books feel a little like my "other" book babies. :)
So, what have I helped edit?

Here are the ones that have already released. And I highly recommend each and every one of them. If you want to check into them further, just click on the photo of the book.

Lori's contemporary romance is SO GOOD!

​After years of jumping through other people’s hoops to be all they thought she should be, and enduring a tragedy no mother should, self-described “newbie” Christian, Harper Townsend, has finally found her true calling … and her true love. Until it appears that to follow one may mean leaving the other behind.
Adolescent Psychologist, Wyatt McCowan, is beyond delighted to have the-girl-that-got-away back in his life, and his heart. But even as they fall more in love, he realizes that being obedient to God’s calling on each of their lives may pull them apart. She rejected him once in favor of another, which left him hurt and angry. But this time, he can’t fault her for following hard after the God she loves with all her heart, even if it means leaving him once again.

Christina's book brought me to tears several times, y'all. I absolutely loved it.

Running from her grief, interior designer Ava Stewart makes a hasty decision to join a missionary group heading to Uganda. She’s in the country only a few days before tragedy strikes and a mistaken identity leaves her with an uncertain outcome.
Special Operator Blake Martin is assigned to a humanitarian mission when he’s captured by a group of armed men. Wounded and miles away from his team, Blake’s brought to Ava, and she’s ordered to care for him.
Thrown together in chaos, with the threat of danger pressing in from all sides, Ava and Blake are forced to rely on each other—and God—to escape. An undeniable bond is formed during their flight to safety, but opening their hearts to love carries its own risk. A risk they aren’t sure they’re willing to take.
Now, miles apart and living separate lives, they need to decide if the connection they shared in the untamed, wilds of Uganda is strong enough to confront the future. A future where Ava’s fragile heart and Blake’s hazardous job collide, and only God knows the outcome.

I always enjoy Cynthia's books, so it was a huge honor to be her content editor this time. And I'm looking forward to working with her on the next one too!

​After suffering disabling burns during the fall of Richmond, Adelaide Hanover awakens in a hospital alone and destitute, escalating her already stanch hatred for Yankees. When the Union soldier who freed her from the rubble begins paying her visits, she wants nothing to do with him … or his faith. Yet, his persistent kindness penetrates her resolve and forges a much-needed friendship. But after a dangerous man threatens Addie, she flees Richmond, intent on finding her only remaining relative before he does.
Haunted by a tragic failure in his past, Corporal Luke Gallagher takes Adelaide’s plight on as his own. Though his strong beliefs collide with his growing feelings for her, he offers his family’s home as a place to convalesce. Adelaide’s initial rejection, followed by her unexpected willingness to accept his benevolence, hints there’s more to the decision than a mere change of heart. When trouble follows her, endangering her safety, as well as his family’s, Luke must lay his life and his convictions on the line to save them.

Jenny is a dear friend, and I loved her first book in this series. I've now been blessed to not only edit this one, but the next one as well, And a novella I'll mention in a minute that ties in. Sweet series!

John Kennedy (John K.) Billings has spent his whole life living up to his hero inspired name. Now, back from a traumatic incident in the military, he finds himself running from the fact that he is only human, with real-life struggles to overcome.
Faith Caldwell feels free to pursue her own dreams now that her family’s regularly scheduled rodeo has ended. After helping care for her cancer-stricken mother she is determined to bring big city medical expertise to small-town Arkansas. While trying to prove she can fulfill her dream on her own, a new admirer seems determined to pull her down.
Both enjoy the idea of seeing more of the world, but find their hearts are still tied to the mountains of Arkansas, and the people who live there.
Can these lifelong neighbors help each other face their weaknesses while following God’s plan for their lives?

This collection is so sweet, as are the authors who contributed to it. I enjoyed working with all three of them, and am proud of how these stories turned out.


A beautiful hand-carved nativity set travels from its original home in Germany to a riverboat in Van Buren, Arkansas, in the mid-1840s,  then to Mexico, Missouri, at the beginning of the American Civil War. More than a century later, it resurfaces in a tiny town in the Arkansas River Valley.
Three stories tell of the impact this treasure has on the families who own it. God’s love survives tragedy, turmoil, and even abandonment. His love is the gift for all, for all time.

I've already started editing some books releasing next year. Jenny Carlisle's final book in her series will release early next year. Terry Wangard's new book is releasing in the Spring and it was a joy to edit (set in WWII in Brazil, believe it or not). And Tonya Ashley's book releasing early next year is so good, y'all. I'm set to edit Lori DeJong's next book later this month or early January and am excited to read the next story in that series. And I'm scheduled for quite a few others that I'm looking forward to.
Even though I wasn't sure about this whole editing thing, I am loving it now. Gives me a greater appreciation for my own editors too. ;) I hope you'll take some time to check out some my other book babies, my editing babies. A couple of them were even up for awards this year.
Do you love discovering new authors? Which of these books intrigues you the most?