Deanna Hoak

I had something happen the other day that I can’t believe I forgot to blog about! I got carded! It was a young waitress, and she was serious! Now for all you sweet young things out there this is no big deal, I’m sure, but I am 39. I was deliriously happy.
We were out for [...]

In line somewhat with my post on “Zen and the Art of Copyediting,” I thought I’d talk a bit about the process of compounding and how I handle it during copyediting.
First, the rule: Fiction copyeditors are instructed to follow Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition (Web11, as we call it in the industry), with regard to [...]

I love the smell of celery and onions sauteeing in butter. :-)

Me: Evan, no! No, the collard greens do not go in the pecan pie! Yuck!
Blaine (later, as Evan wields a potato peeler in her direction): Evan, no!! Do not cut my nose off!
I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving. :-)

So I just got done wrestling my 142-pound, muscled-up, utter wuss of a Ridgeback all over the floor of a grooming studio covered with the clippings of five different canine breeds while the doggy beautician did his level best to Dremel Cecil’s nails to a manageable length.
Yes, I stink like dog. A lot.
Off for a [...]

Before everyone has their Thanksgiving shopping done, I thought I’d post a wonderful and easy recipe that I make every year. It’s a big hit with the grown-ups. :-)
Brandied Cranberries
1 lb fresh cranberries
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. water
3-4 Tbsp. lemon juice
8 oz. jar orange marmalade
1/2 c. brandy (I, uh, tend to use a little more, [...]

I’ve had a pretty fair number of authors put me in the acknowledgments of their books, which is a rare honor for a copyeditor. Sometimes, though, I don’t even know that they have. :-) I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I tried putting my name in the Google Book Search to come up with [...]

Wow, what an incredible morning we had. We rented a boat and took a jaunt down the Banana River, the saltwater tributary that runs right by our house. As we left, rays of sunlight were streaming down through the clouds nearby, making diagonal stripes in the sky, but in the distance, dark streamers touched the [...]

A new author wrote to me yesterday asking for advice on the proper way to deal with his copyedited manuscript (which I was not the copyeditor on). He was very grateful to the copyeditor for catching some embarrassing inconsistencies, but was uncertain about some of the other changes. I offered him my advice and am [...]

Gakked from .
If you read this and you’re so inclined, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want.