My childhood was spent on a farm in a small rural community on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, where I wrangled sheep with my dad, baked, sewed, and crafted with my mum and was a keen netballer.

Scouring the school library shelves for Sweet Valley High romance novels and sneaking a read of Mum’s Mills & Boon books became a favourite pastime in my teens and fuelled my passion for reading and writing.

Nowadays, I live in Adelaide with my two teenage boys, husband, and border collie whose name is Zeb.

After years of nurturing clients in travel, communications and fashion, it was becoming a romance author that set me on the path to what I LOVE to do now.

When I handed in my first manuscript draft, I was somewhat shocked to find out my grammar wasn’t up to scratch, not to mention issues with punctuation, plot and pacing!

(That’s all been sorted and my debut romance novel with Harlequin is available now. See the details here.)

But rather than feel defeated, I took it on as a challenge.

It spurred me on to gain my qualifications in editing and publishing as well as proofreading and transcription and establish Nurturing Words.

I now love to support self-publishing romance and women’s fiction authors.

As an editor and proofreader, my ultimate goal is to work with you to produce the best possible manuscript for you and your readers.

Don’t risk wasting all your hard work on a book no one reads.

As a professional editor and proofreader, I know what it takes to nurture a manuscript into a masterpiece.

I provide gentle, constructive and insightful feedback and edits … and a lot of suggestions to improve, not change your story or voice.

YOUR story will be nurtured, and your natural writing style will shine.

Not only that, I offer a sample edit service* of 1,000 words from your manuscript so you’ll know we’re an excellent match before making a commitment. *Cost of sample edit is $50 which will be deducted from your quote should you decide to go ahead and book my editing service.

You can’t lose.

“Jo's professional ethic and commitment to making my stories sparkle are outstanding. Jo is efficient, understanding, and detailed in her work.”

Luisa Redford, It’s Your Story