About Peternelle van Arsdale
Photo by Elena Seibert
My editing and writing clients include bestselling authors as well as not-yet-published first novelists and memoirists. I assist clients at every stage of their projects’ development, and I also offer coaching to those interested in ongoing support while they develop their ideas.
I have been privileged to work with many highly acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors, including Isaac Mizrahi (I.M.), Gail Saltz, M.D. (The Power of Different), J. R. Moehringer (The Tender Bar and Sutton), Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Sister of My Heart), Andrew Young (An Easy Burden), Tananarive Due (The Between and My Soul to Keep), Jim Fergus (The Wild Girl), Steve Lopez (The Soloist), T. Jefferson Parker (Silent Joe and Black Water), Cecelia Ahern (P.S., I Love You), Lynn Cullen (The Creation of Eve), and Renée Rosen (Dollface). Over the course of my career I have worked in-house as an executive editor for HarperCollins, Anchor/Doubleday,Hyperion, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons. I bring to my clients a particular understanding of the complex task of telling a story well, and insight into the practices and expectations of the book publishing industry.
In addition to my work as a ghostwriter, I am the author of two young adult novels. My first novel, The Beast Is an Animal, has been described as “a psychologically intense fantasy” (Horn Book Magazine). My second novel, The Cold Is in Her Bones, has been praised as a “dark, magic-infused story lit by bravery and hope” (Booklist). I’m a staff writer for the women-owned sustainable fashion brand Four Objects, and I’m at work on my third novel. I’ve published essays and short fiction, and I’ve performed my personal essays for the storytelling series Generation Women. You can read other published writings by me here.