Christine Sandquist is an NYC-based cultural consultant, sensitivity reader, and editor. They have worked on premier media properties including Critical Role and with authors such as Hugo Award Winner Mary Robinette Kowal, World Fantasy Award Winner Tobias S. Buckell, and Lambda Award Winner Cadwell Turnbull.
Cultural Consulting & Sensitivity Reading
“Dear God, you are good.“
— Mary Robinette Kowal, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award Winner
“. . . careful, articulate, timely and beyond helpful. They will be my go-to resource from now on!“
— kc dyer, international bestselling author of Finding Fraser
Creators often struggle to approach depicting characters whose background is different from their own. I specialize in analyzing and providing feedback on works that include diverse, queer casts, neurodivergence, themes of mental health, representations of sexual trauma, and broader gender-based violence. I will take a deep dive into language, character work, and plot in a hyper-focused editorial analysis of your manuscript or outline.
Developmental Editing
“They were able to dig into a wide range of narrative and character issues, focusing not just on the text but on the larger context of the story, and on what the book was ultimately trying to accomplish.”
— Scott Fitzgerald Gray, author of The Three Musketeers
An in-depth review of your full manuscript with a focus on plot, pacing, characterization, and style. I will help you bring out your authorial voice and refine your story through thoughtful review and examination.
Other Services
Contact me for information on book cover design, website design, or project / time management consultations. I have a professional background in project management, and I can help your team develop process flows, streamline hand-offs, and more.
Unfortunately, I no longer offer publicity and author assistance services. However, you are welcome to contact me if you would like to be referred to a different author assistant or freelance publicist in my network who would be a good fit for your individual needs or if you have questions about what an author assistant can provide you.
Essays
Building Beyond: I Was Featured on Sarah Gailey’s Newsletter!
Sarah Gailey invited me to participate in their newsletter as part of their Building Beyond series, which consists of a collection of worldbuilding prompts answered by various writers and fans. I had aContinue reading “Building Beyond: I Was Featured on Sarah Gailey’s Newsletter!”
Finding What Was Meaningful – a 2020 Retrospective
I started a “Best of 2020” list. Then, I started over. I scrapped it. Started again. I looked through my books, ran my fingers down their spines, and tried once more. I threw together a spreadsheet from Goodreads, sorted it by date, then by rating, then by author. Deleted it in frustration when the books didn’t feel the way I needed them to. I couldn’t do it.
Does The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks Hold Up to a Modern Reading?
Within the context of its time, The Player of Games is a shockingly progressive novel. Given that it was written at the height of the AIDS epidemic, I’m impressed that Ian M. BanksContinue reading “Does The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks Hold Up to a Modern Reading?”
Reviews
After the Dragons by Cynthia Zhang
fter the Dragons is quiet, thoughtful, and, above all, kind. It’s not easy to do right by one another, especially when we’re put in hard places without clear answers. Death, and how we face it, matters.
A House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman
Josh Malerman does an excellent job at developing creepy, uncanny atmospheres. The House at the Bottom of a Lake excels at just that. Although I found the characters a bit flat and difficult to become invested in, I was thoroughly drawn in by their exploration of the strange, underwater house they discover. Locked doors, strange noises, and clothes floating through the water where no current should be all come together to create a read that will keep you on edge.
Composite Creatures by Caroline Hardaker
Melancholy and compelling, Caroline Hardaker has captured the narrow wistfulness of self-inflicted isolation. As we draw ourselves away from the world, tuck ourselves into the warmth of our four encroaching walls, it becomes harder and harder to connect with anything and anyone that exists outside ourselves. We chain our doors, check the locks, and keep ourselves in as much as we keep others out. While this is not a book about pandemics, or plagues, or even about quarantines, it nevertheless manages to invoke a sense of catharsis in relation to current events.
Christine Sandquist 