I’m not going to do an interview for this. I already know Donelle. Not only is she my Editor-in-Chief (so I’m probably going to get slapped around for doing this post without her final “OK”), she’s one of my best friends.

I started Stitched Smile Publications in January of 2016. I’m proud to say that in a genre-world dominated by men, this company is mostly women. It was not intentionally created that way. I was merely blessed with finding that many talented women who wanted to help me. I put out a call, the women answered. (By the way, men. There’s always a call for help out there if you’d like to even the playing field!)

Donelle is not only a fantastic editor. She’s an awesome writer. She co-authored Strigoi: The First Family and Strychnine, with Michael S. Freeman. She also has a short story in Unleashed: Monsters Vs. Zombies, and will have more coming up this year. I’m excited and honored to have her, and her works as part of the Stitched Smile Publications catalog.

One of Donelle’s strongest points is how good she makes the rest of us look. Indie publishing is filled with editing snafus and with Donelle’s help, we ensure that all of our books get combed through for all the nits and bugs. No one’s perfect … but bestie comes damn close.

Donelle has worked as a investigative journalist in the past and it gives her that curious edge that I love about her. She’s constantly poking for the “Why” and the “Who” of our work. She analyzes it down to the basic word structure, but also loves it from the reader’s point of view. She listens to the author’s voice and helps them fine tune it until the voice is strong and polished.

At SSP, we call Donelle, “The Gate Keeper” (better looking than Zuul, by a landslide) because nothing passes until she’s got every nook and cranny shined up, cleaned up and ready for print. That amount of pride and respect, not only for the author, but for me and SSP as a whole, is hard to come by. It is one of the million reasons I love her.

Editors don’t get enough credit. So I’m beginning this February’s Women in Horror with an homage to the amazing Donelle Pardee Whiting. Keep tuning in and find out more and if you can’t wait here’s a link to keep you tied over.

DONELLE PARDEE WHITING

See you Feburary 1st! Keep it scary.