STORY DEVELOPMENT
& LINE EDITING

;

ABOUT

Marissa is a speculative fiction editor and writer. Her editing credits include Amazon #1 bestsellers and award-winners, and non-fiction ranging from National Geographic hardcovers to university-press publications. She’s an associate editor at Apex Magazine and a regular guest on the SFF Audio Podcast. In a volunteer capacity, she is a slush reader for Apex Magazine, a screener for the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) StoryBundles (2020 and 2021) and has worked as online moderator for the Nebula Conference and FIYAHCon. She has fiction forthcoming in Dark Matter Magazine and the Los Suelos interactive anthology.

Marissa grew up in Aotearoa New Zealand, has lived in Dublin, Munich, Berlin, and Los Angeles, and now lives in a log house in rural Vermont with her husband and Ripley, their rescue cat. She loves to write, hike, play atmospheric video games, and learn about the natural world. Her favorite way to spend an evening is roaming outside with the owls, bats, and coyotes.

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TESTIMONIALS

Marissa is a consummate and talented editor, always challenging me to look at my own work with fresh eyes and think again how to make it better. I attribute much of my growth as a writer in the last two years to working with her, and I count it a privilege to have had that opportunity. I cannot recommend her enough.

Ciara Ballintyne

IN THE COMPANY OF THE DEAD (Pinnacle Award Winner for Best Fantasy)

Marissa is a fantastic editor. … Her line edits are some of the best I’ve seen. I highly recommend her.

Dan Jeffries

THE SCORPION GAME (Quarter Finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award)

Marissa has reset my bar for creative collaborators. From the firm guiding hand, to the side conversations about literature, to the different points of view she was able to get me to look at my own work, our time together was invaluable.

Alys Arden

THE CASQUETTE GIRLS (Amazon Kindle #1 Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Starred)

It’s kind of creepy, how you get in my head and know what I mean even when I write it badly. Some authors I know resent the edit process, but it felt empowering to share the vision with you. I learned more during these edit sessions about my own weaknesses and how a reader views my words than I have in any other experience.

Ellen Joyce

SHADOW SIDE

Your work is extraordinary. I can’t even begin to enumerate what I like about it. It’s all wonderful.

Bayard West

HARBINGER OF TREASON

Working with Marissa as a developmental editor was a wonderful experience from start to finish. She identified story issues that had escaped both me and my critique partners and made her suggestions with such insight and enthusiasm that I was left energized rather than anxious about the revisions ahead. I have no doubt my book is much stronger thanks to her guidance. Can’t wait to work with her again!

Megan Crewe

A MORTAL SONG (Amazon Kindle #1 Bestseller 2016)

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RECENT POSTS

Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey…

Mar 30, 2019 | Fantasy

I stumbled across this beautiful quote by GRRM on why he writes fantasy - how great is this? It so perfectly captures my love for fantasy, science fiction and all its wild colors. We fantasy readers are the children who dreamed of hunting the forests at night and...

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The Cities of Dead

The Cities of Dead

Mar 21, 2019 | Books Edited by Marissa, Fantasy

By ALYS ARDEN. The Cities of Dead Gothic Horror / Fantasy Novel "Old World witches collide with the French Quarter’s strangest denizens, setting off events that could tear the fabric of the Natural and Supernatural worlds, and only the most elusive, mischievous Voodoo...

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