“What can I say about Holly? I’ve worked with my share of editors and with all but Holly, the editing process was like sitting down to a gyno visit every time a new round showed up in my inbox.
Don’t get me wrong, the woman is hell on grammar and sentence structure – and will straight up tell you when your story needs to be gutted – but she does it all with professionalism, class and heart.
She’s honest without being mean. She’s intuitive and creative, and her input always opens my eyes to avenues that I may not have seen otherwise.
Before Holly, I always thought editors were like the guys who trimmed your hedges. They picked up chainsaws and hacked and chopped away at your work until it was in the designated neat and trim square that a proper hedge should be.
Holly, however is more of a Bonsai artist. She works within the world you present to her. She brings out the true shape, feel, and design of your book until what you thought was going to be a boxy hedge that looks like every other hedge on the block has been crafted into a unique and beautiful work of art.
Until Holly I didn’t truly understand the importance and the difference having a gifted and talented editor could make. Now that I do, there is no going back.”
– Lainey Reese, USA Today Best Selling Author of A Table for Three, Damaged Goods, Innocence Defied, and Embracing the Fall
“Holly has edited three of my novels. I can’t imagine how they would have turned out without her steady hand. l would have never been offered that first publishing contract without her contribution.
She has been a professional editor for years and has tackled every aspect of my novels. From plotting, point-of-view and pacing to characterizations and consistency. She is like a master diamond cutter, in that she can see my story in my rough stone, and she cuts the gem perfectly – where aspects need to be expanded and where it needs to be tightened.
Her language, grammatical and punctuation edits are flawless. Though my stories are set in the past, she’s even fact-checked some of my more esoteric details.
Holly annotates changes as she edits and her comments have worked to sharpen my writing skills. Above all, Holly is kind and thoughtful. She is ‘good people.’ With Holly, you’re not just getting an editor, you’re working with a skilled partner who is an advocate for you and your writing.
I adore her so much that I dedicated my latest release to her. Yeah, my daughters don’t even have a book dedicated to them. You should have been here at Christmas!
In short, Holly is the bomb.”
– Terri Meeker, author of Not Quite Darcy, Angel of the Somme, and Dancing with Billy the Kid
“Holly Atkinson’s keen editing eye has not only strengthened my writing overall, but her suggestions also improved plot, continuity, and character development in each of my books. She doesn’t pull punches so you can be sure that you are getting an honest, thorough edit of your work. She is also a great lady and always pleasant to work with.”
– Angela Addams, author of Cursed, Wolf Slayer, Wolves’ Bane, Spell-Weaver, Valiant Heart, Mayhem, and Dark War
“I personally worked with Holly on four books. She did an AMAZING job. You couldn’t ask for better! I hold her in the highest regard and would recommend her to anyone, be they new to the industry or vets in the business!”
– Brenda Huber, author of The Slayer, The Seer, Temptation, and Demon of Vengeance
“I’d practice do-it-yourself brain surgery before I’d release a book without a thorough edit, and I’d burn cash before I’d hire anyone but Holly. She brings unblinking honesty, sound judgment, and years of solid professional experience to the process. If you need professional editing – and you do, we all do – you can’t make a better choice than Evil Eye.”
– Frank Tuttle, author of Dead Man’s Rain, The Mister Trophy, The Cadaver Client, Hold the Dark, The Banshee’s Walk, The Broken Bell, Brown River Queen, The Five Faces, and The Darker Carnival.
“I was fortunate to work with Holly Atkinson on the first three books of my red-hot contemporary series, One Moment. Holly has a great eye for a good story and can delve right into the heart of the characters and pull out the very best. She gets it.
The one thing I have loved about working with Holly is that while she pushes me as an author along, she has always stood up for me for my author voice. She is a thorough professional, but with her wicked sense of humor, editing was something I looked forward to, especially when it came to Holly Americanising my Kiwi.
I won’t be hesitating to use Holly with my next manuscript – both as a beta reader and as an editor, and would absolutely recommend any authors take advantage of her many editorial talents.”
– Toni Strawn, author of Moment of Weakness, Momentary Lapse, and Not for a Moment
“Holly has an uncanny talent for finding the exact areas of the story that I sensed needed help, but couldn’t quite figure out what to do with, and pointing me in the right direction to fix them. Seriously—we’re talking superpower levels of discernment here. And her feedback is always very clearly respectful of maintaining the artistic integrity of the piece and preserving my author’s voice. Plus she’s just plain fun! That’s a very important part of the author-editor dynamic for me.”
– Cassandra Chandler, author of Wandering Soul, Whispering Hearts, Gray Card, and Resident Alien
“Before I became an editor, Holly helped me get three of my novels published, each of a wildly different genre, and I was always happy with the results. She knew what I was aiming for, and the best way to get there.
“When she told me of an opportunity to become an editor myself, I jumped at it, and was lucky enough to have her as my mentor while I learned the ropes. If my authors are happy with the job I do for them, they have her to thank for it.”
– Noah Chinn, author of Bleeding Heart Yard, Trooper 4, and Getting Rid of Gary; Samhain Publishing Editor
“I’ve worked with Holly on five separate novels and I hope we’ll work on many more. She has such enthusiasm for the work—both in the editing and the stories themselves. She’s a professional with a solid grasp on characterization, story and pacing. Her sharp eye doesn’t miss much and she’s wonderfully honest, even when it’s painful. She also doesn’t hesitate to drop a compliment right in the manuscript or let you know when you’ve made her laugh. She’s a dream of an editor.”
– Rinda Elliott, author of Dweller on the Threshold, Blood of an Ancient, and Raisonne Curse
“I’ve been working with Holly for years, and she’s proven to be a versatile editor who understands story, character, and author’s voice regardless of genre. Her feedback, while always honest, is constructive and supportive, and she is very responsive to questions and the rarely needed request for clarification. I can’t wait to send her my next book!”
– Cecilia Dominic, author of The Mountain’s Shadow, Long Shadows, Blood’s Shadow, A Perfect Man, Eros Element, Light Fantastique, Aether Spirit, and Noble Secrets