Fiction Writing Consultant
Developmental Editor

Kelly Lynne is the proud “auntie” to over 20 published novels, novellas and short stories, which have sold to Kensington Publishing, Cerridwen Press, Awe-Struck Publishing, Samhain Publishing, Wings ePress, and The Wild Rose Press. These books have gone on to earn high praise from reviewers and readers, as well as multiple awards and contest wins. As an editor for The Wild Rose Press, she has edited contemporary western and light paranormal romances, with heat ratings from sweet to spicy. Her fiction fortes include sci-fi, fantasy, romance, speculative fiction, young adult, and stories of psychic or supernatural phenomena.

Empathic about the “feel” of a story, Kelly provides suggestions so that authors may revise with their own style in mind, preserving the individual voice, while alerting authors to current trends in publishable styles. Developmental fiction editing requires an emotional investment in the work—an investment of time and effort that Kelly is happy to make.

Specialties:

• Style-sheet to track continuity, character traits and plot aspects
• Critique of story plot, character believability and setting
• Weeding out cliches, redundancies, wordiness, triteness and vague generalizations.

Kelly has published over 100 non-fiction articles, two short stories, and has a novel coming soon. In between her freelance assignments. She knows the hoops authors are expected to jump through and helps authors polish their submission packets. Query letters, synopses and professional quality formatting are as important as a well-polished manuscript.

Feedback:

"Lovely, available, thorough." (Contact information on request)

"Kelly has a magnificent eye for detail coupled with an ability to find weak writing and weak ideas. She does not in any way change your intentions. Instead, she makes multiple suggestions for improvement in a straight forward, professional way. These suggestions will polish your manuscript into stellar final copy. She'll deliver a fantastic edit in a timely manner--one that will keep you using her service over and over and over. She's that good." ~Patti Ann Colt, author of The Sweetheart Dance, 2009 CAPA nominee

"Kelly has a keen eye for detail and an incisive editing style. She catches the tiniest goofs while maintaining a larger perspective on a story's overall pacing and tone. When a verb isn't brave enough or a metaphor isn't clear enough, she pulls no punches. Kelly helped my drafts become polished, saleable manuscripts, for which I'm grateful." ~Carrie Lofty, author of Scoundrel’s Kiss

"Kelly Lynne’s editing skills are outstanding. In addition to her excellent knowledge of grammar and the fundamentals of good writing, she provided brief summaries of each chapter that I found invaluable. She pointed out gaps in story line and inconsistencies in characterization that kept us on track. She's been a joy to work with." ~Isabel L. Martens, author of Nightflyers, 2009 CAPA nominee

"Thank goodness for editor Kelly Lynne. She worked with me to shape my ms into the best book it could be. With her knowledge and skills, she guided and encouraged me to push my own boundaries. I now have an epic sci-fi romance well received by readers and reviewers alike. My experience with Kelly has been nothing but wonderful, leaving tough shoes to fill by other editors." ~Donna Michaels, author of Legend of the Fourth Moon: The Mark of Goren

"Kelly [has] a good sense of humor and a tactful way of communicating, who relates to writers as equals, not underlings. With each manuscript Kelly has edited for me, I've gained invaluable knowledge about the craft of fiction writing." ~Stacey Coverstone, author of High Lonesome

"When I recall what [my award-winning] manuscript looked like the first time Kelly read it, I cover my face in embarrassment. Truly a sow's ear that became a silk purse. [She] got me to not just fix what was on the page, but to improve my process. I was writing on a higher plane by the time we finished." ~Lynnette Baughman, author of Love with a Welcome Stranger, 2009 EPPIE winner Best Contemporary Romance and First Place, Single Title Contemporary, 2009 Write Touch Readers' Award.

"Working with Kelly was a pleasure. With professionalism and a touch of humor she pointed out errors and supplied suggestions and reasons for changes. In no way did she ever try to alter my voice or my vision for the book. I would love to work with her again on any manuscript." ~Carolyn Smith [writing as Caroline Clemmons] author of Out Of The Blue

"Kelly’s editing made such a remarkable difference! When I thought "no!" I trained myself to try her suggestions each time and damned if they weren’t right – she gave professional advice and professional polish and never once stepped on my story or my voice." Mae McCulloch, author of A Single Tear 

"[Kelly] has a gift for finding weak spots in storytelling and character development. My rewrites were few, but each suggestion, even the one we debated, improved the story. I can't wait to work with her again. ~Keena Kincaid, author of Ties That Bind

"‘Editor’ is not a detailed enough job description to fully describe what Kelly does for manuscripts. Her title should be: ‘Human thesaurus/mistake-catching/grammar-watching/plot-strengthening/cheerleader of a gal who loves your book, loves you and always exceeds expectations.’ She works with you so that the finished product is still your novel...just better!" ~ Dylan Newton, author of Despite the Ghosts

"Kelly focuses on the details a writer often misses: timelines, passive voice, and all those pesky odds and ends that might turn off a reader. Her recommendations never watered down my voice, yet managed to make my story shine! I’m grateful for her sharp eyes, enthusiastic approach, and professionalism at every step of the editing process." ~Katherine Brandon, author of Kismet’s Angel

"The network responded promptly to all my queries and emails. My consultant was friendly enough to make the editing process a comfortable one, but also professional enough so that you never forgot this was also a business transaction. She did her best and then some to accommodate me. If she is free, I do plan on using Kelly in the future because she’s warm, friendly, and uses honesty instead of editor intimidation to get you to improve your book." (Contact information on request) 

List of published titles:

Novels:

The Daddy Spell, by Patti Ann Colt 

The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt, 2009 CAPA nominee

Nightflyers by Isabel L. Martens, 2009 CAPA nominee   

Best Laid Plans by Isabel L. Martens

Scandalous by Diane Drew

What a Scoundrel Wants by Carrie Lofty  

Love With a Welcome Stranger by Lynnette Baughman; 2009 EPPIE winner ~ Contemporary Romance; First Place, Single Title Contemporary, 2009 Write Touch Readers' Award.  

High Lonesome by Stacey Coverstone  

Legend of the Fourth Moon: The Mark of Goren by Donna Michaels

A  Convenient Cowboy by Shari Thayn

Ghost of a Chance by Judi Phillips; winner 2010 Bean Pot award for Paranormal Romance, New England RWA

Alex by Monica Robinson

Ties That Bind by Keena Kincaid

Scoundrel’s Kiss by Carrie Lofty

Jazz Baby by Lorelie Brown

Kismet’s Angel by Katherine Brandon

Out of the Blue by Caroline Clemmons

Song of Seduction by Carrie Lofty

A Single Tear by Mae McCulloch

Despite the Ghosts by Dylan Newton; release July 2010

Spirit of the Mountain by Paty Jager; release August 2010

Hands by M.A. Street; release September 2010

Enthralled by Keena Kincaid; release date October 2010

Short stories:

Sundial by Carrie Lofty

Chasing Her Dreams by Stacey Coverstone 

The Wiccan Kitten by Susanne Saville

From the Ashes by Cait McCarter

The Bewitched Cowboy by Tess Quinn

The Festival of Flowers: The Courtesan and the Scholar by Denise Golinowski