Randy Surles
I’m one of only a small handful of Story Grid Certified Editors in the world. I trained as an editor under Shawn Coyne, who originated the Story Grid method based on his 25 years’ experience in New York publishing, and I’ve been using Shawn’s techniques to help make authors better, as well as write my own books.
I spent over 20 years in the U.S. Army as a Ranger and Green Beret, working in the Middle East, South America, and Africa. While in the Army, I earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso so I could pursue my dreams of writing and editing once I retired.
While I am open to editing all genres, because of my background I find I am a huge benefit to authors writing novels with a military flavor. I am a big fan of Action, Thriller, Science Fiction, and Fantasy novels. I love a good story, but I want my clients to become writers of great stories. To do that, I give them recommendations on how to move their projects forward, identify those parts that are ‘just not working’, and make them better writers overall.
Laura Graves
Randy trained me in The Story Grid method, which I combine with the other training I received in my years as an English teacher when assessing manuscripts for authors, as well as my own personal writing.
My personal favorite genre to read is Romance. I love a good Love Story in all its forms, from dark gritty romance that crosses over into the Action and Thriller Genres to the cozy contemporary romances that inspire Hallmark movies. I also love Fantasy, which is probably why my favorite subgenres are Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy.
As a former elementary and middle school English teacher, I also have a love of middle grade and young adult fiction from a multitude of genres. My heavy reading in these age categories, combined with my extensive work experience with the target readership, gives me unique insight into the genre-specific rule variations that come into play when writing for these younger audiences.
To find out if our advice can help you write your best book, we offer a sample edit for full-length manuscripts. Request yours today!
The Story Ninja 