I've come to this work along a meandering path. A lifelong love of language and a curiosity about writers and their creative lives has always fueled my inner fire. In 1975, I taught English in East Africa, and discovered my voice, what I call my own "river of language" flowing beside and through the red dirt foot paths of the bush, in the warmth of the equatorial sun. Through college, I tutored English and worked with students from around the world. I spent a few years with some very rowdy teenage boys as an assistant Special Education teacher, working with the nuts and bolts of language and communication, but most importantly learning to identify individual learning styles and patterns. I've worked as a freelance editor with many folks over the years on writing projects as diverse as magazine articles with physicians, a psychoanalytic film newsletter by a film and photography professor, short stories by a professional astrologer, a quirky Paris travel memoir by a psychotherapist/author, and tall tales by a cowboy poet! For the past 18 years, I've worked in a large psychology practice, where I have had the great good fortune to be the "first contact" for folks looking for help, listening to the stories they so bravely share and guiding them to an appropriate psychotherapist, with whom they will feel safe. I've always believed that language is love in action. To tell our stories helps us change and grow, which is what life's all about, at heart. To assist you in this process is a joyful honor.

Testimonials:

"Shaun has a keen eye for the potential of a manuscript and helping to shape it into a final, saleable product. For my book, Intoxicating Paris: Uncorking the Parisian Within, she even named the book! Very few developmental editors can see the forest AND the trees. She's a gem and I highly recommend her as both a developmental editor and a book shepherd with savvy." P.J. Adams, author of best seller Intoxicating Paris, Daughter Wisdom, and Freud's Revenge

"I cannot begin to express how pleased I am with the job you did with my book. When I look back at all of the changes, I am impressed most with how the integrity of my story was always kept, but huge changes took place. You are a sly fox!" Madonna Ball, author of Memories of a Mud Bee, a memoir

“Shaun, a good prerequisite for working with words is a sensitivity to their sacred qualities, and their malleability, and this comes naturally to you. You understand that writing is both an art and a craft, and you are skilled in both. Your clients are in very capable hands. I trust your instincts and experience, and your kind heart. I feel you are helping me say what I want to say, to get clear about what is important to me.” T. Michael (novel in progress)