Welcome Tex

I've got a very special guest this week and I'm sure all you authorly types will be as excited about this as I am. One of the editor for both eXtasy and Devine Destiny, the fellow goes by the name Tex. Please give the man a warm welcome and feel free to ask him whatever questions you'd like.

1. What got you started as an editor?

I love helping writers polish their work. I checked several epubs to see if they needed an editor and Jay Austin, EIC of eXtasy and Devine Destinies, accepted me as one of her editors.

2. Besides reading, what are your favorite hobbies?

Well if you call watching professional sports a hobby then I love watching baseball, football and hockey. I am also a trivia buff and go to local trivia contests. I also enjoy going for walks.

3. What is your favorite genre to read? Your least favorite?

Thrillers, courtroom dramas and, mob and gangster stories. I hate reading Sci Fi, but love watching it in the movies, ex: Star Wars, Star Trek etc.

4. As an editor, do you get to choose the books you edit?

Yes, Jay knows editors prefer certain genres and so tries to match authors and editors in certain categories.

5. Have you ever met any of the authors you’ve edited for? If yes, could you tell us about it?

I haven’t officially met her but I have spoken over the phone to Annie Alvarez, one of my favorite authors to edit for. She has come a long way since I did her first book and I am very proud of her. I have also received Thank You’s via slo-mail from other authors.

6. What clothing makes you feel sexy?

I hate wearing suits and thankfully, my job doesn’t require it. I just love wearing casual clothes. A loose t-shirt and jeans. Not sure if it makes me sexy but I feel comfortable wearing them.

7. From an editor’s point of view, do you have any advice for authors?

Before submitting to an epub or traditional publisher, read and reread your story. eXtasy and DD have standards in the submission policies page and asks authors to make sure their stories are as clean as possible. Unfortunately, I have found more than one author who doesn’t comply with this. Editors are not book doctors. We do not and will not write or rewrite your book. All we do, is polish your book, by telling the author about passive voices, POV shifts, head hopping and/or catching minor grammar or punctuation faux pas, etc. We make suggestions to the author. If I have authors who have a lot of issues, more than once I have sent the book back to them to have them fix the rest of the problems themselves. I do it because it is the only way they will learn.

8. If you could invite a famous person to dinner, who would it be and what would you serve them?

My favorite author is James Patterson. I would love to pick his brain while serving him lasagna.  (This from Jude: Um, can I come? I LOOOOVE lasagna!)

9. What’s your favorite comfort food?

Orange sherbet ice cream.

10. Did you receive any special training to edit?

The only training I’ve had is through Jay Austin, whose advice has been invaluable.

11. Are you a dreamer? Why yes or no?

I have a Walter Mitty mind. In case someone doesn’t know Walter Mitty is a character from a James Thurber novel. A movie was made about him starring Danny Kaye. He went through life imagining himself as a hero or famous person. I always dream or dreamt that I kicked the winning field goal in the Super Bowl, being a famous movie star, getting on the NYTimes best seller list.

12. Is there one book you remember and would read again in a heartbeat?

Yes, The Godfather. In fact I have read it several times and will read it again if I come across it.

13. Winter or Summer?

Both actually. I love looking out the window during winter and watching the snow falling down. It is so relaxing. I also love summer, though not the heat wave we had here in the Midwest, but I love the rain, especially hearing it at night while lying in bed.