I’ve asked myself a few questions on this page. I hope the answers will give you an idea of how I approach stories and whether I’m the right beta reader for you.
Why do you sell your freelance service through Contra? I’ve chosen this platform because it provides reassurance to clients. Contra is an escrow service. The client’s money isn’t released to me until after the work is complete. Here is the link to my service page on Contra:
https://contra.com/s/22PvFvs3-beta-reading-or-romances-or-couples-aged-35-or-65-k-to-90-k-words
Why do you like reading and watching romances? I love the feeling of rooting for characters and willing them to make the right decisions. Reading or watching a romance is always a feel-good experience. I also like knowing what’s best for the couple before they recognise it themselves!
What sort of romances do you enjoy? I love stories about couples from different worlds, such as a city dweller and a farmer, an alien and an astronaut, or a time traveller and a 21st-century citizen. Small-town North America is also one of my favourite places.
Do you ever read or watch stories about younger couples? Yes, I certainly do. Some of my favourite TV series are set in American high schools and universities (Vampire Diaries, Buffy, Teen Wolf, The Magicians). I also enjoy watching reruns of Friends.
Do you ever offer beta reading for stories about teens and twenty-somethings? I’m open to romances with strong lead characters in their twenties or late teens. I’m not the right beta reader for anything that involves power imbalances (e.g. CEO and intern), age gaps, passivity, secret babies, pregnancy, or the omegaverse.
What are your least favourite romances? I don’t watch hospital dramas (okay, House is okay), so hospital romances have never appealed to me. I do like stories about family doctors working in the wider community.
What else do you enjoy besides romances? I love stories about space travel, time travel, haunted houses, other cultures and time periods, and the paranormal. I also really enjoy classic literature because it’s a way to visit the attitudes and emotions of people who lived in the past.
What do you think about AI? In a few short years AI has gone from being a novelty to being everywhere. Avoiding it now is like trying to avoid the internet. I’m happy about how it’s being used to advance scientific and medical research. I’m worried about the far-reaching impact it’s having on people’s livelihoods. I do use AI occasionally – including to make the images of couples on this website.
What do you think about AI being used in creative writing? I’m keeping an open mind about this one. Many people use AI for brainstorming and as a sounding board for ideas. I think that’s okay. Obviously, it’s not great if someone gives an AI a few prompts and then passes off its output as their own work. My main objection is that this is extremely disempowering for the would-be author and robs them of their chance to grow.
Have you worked in publishing? No, I’ve never worked in publishing. I trained remotely as an editor and proofreader with several excellent educational institutions, including UCSD, the Publishing Training Centre, Poynter-ACES, and the Editorial Freelancers Association. After that, my career focused on business, education, and charity content.
Have any books changed how you see the world? I read a lot of international English literature as a young person. This was long before social media, so it was my only exposure to the viewpoints of people in other countries. I think my favourite was Ben Okri’s magic realism novel The Famished Road (1991). It was my first encounter with any kind of West African spiritual belief.
Have any TV shows changed how you see the world? Stranger Things reminded me that it’s okay to be excited about knowledge for its own sake. The younger characters have such straightforward enthusiasm for the things they love, without feeling any pressure to monetise their abilities or be great successes.
And what’s more, everyone in the show has a talent. I particularly like how Joyce puts ideas together long before anyone else.
Are you an author? No, but I’m fascinated by how stories work, so I have studied creative writing. At the moment, I’m immersing myself in gothic fiction and experimenting with some ideas of my own.
Thank you for reading this far.
You can find me on Instagram and Contra.
The Beta Files 