Lori Brown is a brilliant editor. I loved working with her on my historical novel Without Warning: The Saga of Gettysburg, A Reluctant Union Hero, and the Men He Inspired. This novel was an enormous editing challenge, a huge story that covers 760 pages. Lori edited the manuscript four complete times, with each editing pass focusing on a different aspect of the novel. Lori spent hours and hours with me ensuring all the timestamps were historically accurate.

One of Lori’s gifts is her ability to grasp where the story was going and suggesting how the manuscript could be improved. When we were working together on an editing challenge, she insisted we get it right before moving on to the next editing challenge.

One of the unintended benefits of working with Lori has been in writing the sequels of Without Warning (Thundering Courage, to be followed by Fractured Pursuit). As I reread a sentence or paragraph or a scene in Thundering Courage, I feel Lori’s presence saying, “That’s not going to fly” or “That’s a great sentence.” Working with Lori was like studying for an MFA in writing. The highest compliment I can give her is that when Without Warning was published in June 2020, I knew that it was as accurate as historically possible because she checked all facts (and made me re-check them) sometimes two to three times to ensure they were aligned.

I would bet on Lori in any editing gunfight with another editor. Lori is fast, gifted, thorough, and a total professional of the highest degree. Another of Lori’s gifts is that she understands an author’s perspective. Put simply, she is gentle but firm when the writing is not working. One of the greatest pleasures of working with Lori is that she doesn’t pull her punches, so when she says a sentence or paragraph is great, it’s a fantastic feeling.

In the strongest terms, I would recommend Lori as your editor. She is truly the best of the best.