The first serious argument my parents had was about verb conjugation. With parents like that, I was destined to be an editor.
From a young age, I was fascinated by the written word. I read anything and everything: cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, Golf Digest, and books. Stacks upon stacks of books. All genres, any genres. I loved them so much that I majored in English literature in college, where I discovered that making people's writing better could be a job. After working as a copy editor on the campus newspaper, my advisors discouraged me from pursuing newpaper copyediting, as newspapers were in the process of firing all their copy editors to cut costs. The advent of widespread digital self-publishing has allowed me to finally pursue my dream job: helping awesome people make awesome writing.
When I'm not improving prose, I help run the family farm, now in business for over 150 years. I also knit, sew, weave, and do a dozen different fiber arts. All these things have helped me cultivate of spirit of patience and determination, as well as creative problem solving. I have a broad practical knowledge base to draw upon, which comes in handy when editing.
My preferred genres are science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance of all kinds, and erotica.
How do you pronounce Engelke?
You know Friedrich Engels, German philosopher and beard enthusiast? Engelke is pronounced like Engel + key. Some people pronounce it Engel + kuh, but the -key ending is how my family has always said it. We have a long tradition of individuality, among other traits.