Ever wonder what we’re all really doing here on this pale blue dot spinning madly through the speckled purple cosmos? Whether you believe in the divine, or that we’re all fleas on the back of some cosmic dog, or that the Earth is actually flat, or that we’re all destined to become worm food, one thing is certain: We have but one human life to live in our current carbon bags.
I don’t know about yours, but my carbon bag is destined for a fulfilling, creative life. And in creative pursuits, I lean hard toward books.
My bio:
I'm a Vermont-based story developer and revision guide with more than a dozen years of experience in story coaching, book doctoring, and developmental, substantive, and line editing of fiction, memoir, academic, and creative non-fiction works for hybrid and independent publishers and independent authors. I'm also the managing editor of MetaStellar Magazine, which became the second most popular science fiction and fantasy magazine on the internet in 2023. My fiction has been published in Flash Fiction Magazine and The MicroZine, and I’ve a new story coming in 2026 that I can’t wait to share with you all.
Books & Bullshit is a little of this, a little of that, and a whole lotta (mostly) bookish fun. Here, you’ll find:
Speculative flash fiction stories and non-fiction stories from my gray matter to your brain meat;
The brain droppings that fill up my noodler when I read books, work with authors to develop books, and navigate freelance work to remain rooted in books;
The terrain-focused and other philosophical musings of a suburbanite working hard to build a sovereign life with my partner and show our young daughter how exactly we may be free in this chaotic, captured world.
Whether you’re strapped in for the ride or totally rubbernecking it, come on in and enjoy the show.
Looking for The Novel Nest, the writer’s accountability group, fiction craft boutique, and cult-publishing label I’m building in a grassroots, community-led effort to upend legacy publishing and push authors into the New Renaissance of the 21st century?
Want to work with me to develop and elevate your book so you can be certain your words will reach your readers?
I’m a literary omnivore, and variety is the spice of life, so I work with memoir, self-help, creative non-fiction, and fiction of many kinds.
What I do:
My specialty is in big-picture structural, delivery, and language edits, helping you identify and revise reader stumbling blocks with concepts, ideas, motifs, and theme; proper paragraphing and information delivery techniques to make sure the right information remains with your readers; and sentence-level language tweaks that showcase your authorial voice and style and make sure your book reads like you via:
Ongoing book and manuscript coaching to keep you on task and on track to stave off isolationist overwhelm and finish and revise your book for readers.
Deep-dive story development conversations or written feedback reports to explore what’s happening in your book, and why, and how it can tightened up or expanded upon to satisfy your readers.
Developmental, substantive, or line edits, depending on what your books needs, including redline text (e.g. Track Changes) for the big picture and delivery of your book’s narrative as you prepare your manuscript for polishing and publication.
And those are just the basics.
Depending on your learning and writing style and what your book truly needs, I also offer one-off brainstorm chats, developmental, substantive, and language ghostwriting, and more.
Who and what I do it for:
Are you the kind of person who salivates over a well-wrought sentence?
The kind of person who calls your significant other into the room so they can listen to you read a particularly powerful paragraph?
Do you pace up and down your hallway reading aloud so you can savor your books auditorily, as well as intellectually?
Is your name ‘Bruce’?
Our alchemical melding is just as important , if not more, to our bookish relationship than any list of preferred genres could begin to communicate.
Frankly, it’s easier to tell you what kinds of books I avoid (erotica/pornography, whether sexual or violent) than give you the laundry list of books I’d love to hold in my hands.
Here are a few clues as to what really trips my bookish trigger:
rebellion against the establishment in pursuit of health, wellness, or happiness
seizing your individual power by leaning into the spirituality of planet Earth
people who take charge of their stations and situations for powerful change
slipstream and magical realism highlighting opportunities for betterment
underdogs who push forward despite their obstacles and limitations
social re-imagining in celebration of real liberty and diversity
heroes who learn to love living even as they face destruction
philosophical musings on individualism and collectivism
heart-thumping psychological horror and thriller
As a book coach and editor, I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people don’t even like tea! But if I’m your cup of tea, allow me to clink my mug against yours in solidarity. Because this world is a little nutty, and the only way we get through the grayest of middles is by being each other’s light.
If you heard yourself or saw a glimpse of your book in any of what I shared, let’s talk. Let’s see if we’re alchemically compatible, whether we can stir up some delectable book potion, how we can send your magic into the world where it can reach your readers.
Note: I’m in a migration process at the moment, as I figure out how to serve non-fiction authors separately from serving fiction authors on The Novel Nest. If you’d like to explore my pricing, please visit The Novel Nest’s “About the Editor” page. I’ll move the relevant information here soon.
Why subscribe to Books & Bullshit?
You value real writing penned by a real human without the use of artificial intelligence tools that churn out, more often than not, absolute schlock.
Subscribe to the sections of my newsletter that make sense to you and leave off the rest. I’m an “assume good intentions” person, and there’s no sense in adding further inbox clutter to your day.
I’m rather socially awkward when it comes to reaching out to new folks (Like, what do I say?), and nobody teaches adults how to make friends. (Wanna see a cool rock I found? Y/N?) So if you want to talk about any book I’ve read and written about, want to discuss the cosmos, philosophize about life, or debate, in good faith, the realities of the terrain theory of disease or how voluntaryism can be applied on a mass scale, come say ‘hello!’ I believe in community, and if you’re a cool person with interesting things to say, you’re welcome here in mine.
As Joe Dirt says, “Keep on keepin’ on,” y’all.
