Kathryn Le Veque – President and CEO

Kathryn Le Veque is a critically acclaimed USA TODAY Bestselling author of over 90 published romances, a charter Amazon All-Star author, and a #1 bestselling, award-winning, multi-published author in Medieval Historical Romance. Kathryn is considered one of the top Indie authors in the world with over 2M copies in circulation, and now Kathryn has brought that Indie juggernaut to Dragonblade Publishing to help other Indie authors succeed.

With an educational background in Dental Sciences before switching to Business Administration and Human Services, Kathryn spent 30 years in Corporate America in various capacities as Marketing Director, Director of Administration, and CEO, all the while writing as a hobby. In 2012, she finally took the plunge and followed her dream to Indie publish.

With a strong acumen for business operations and marketing, Kathryn started Dragonblade Publishing in 2012. Her mantra of ethical business practices, responsibility to her authors, and a quality product at a reasonable price has helped make Dragonblade Publishing the successful small press it is today.

When Kathryn isn’t rooted to her office, she likes to garden, interior design, or watch pre-code 1930’s movies. She’s a creative at heart!

Scott Moreland – Editor

Scott brings a wealth of editing experience to Dragonblade Publishing and its stable of amazing authors. He is also our comic relief. His motto is: If I ever quit acting like a five-year-old child, put me out of my misery!

Scott has degrees from the Schools of Journalism and Business from the University of Montana. He owned and operated his own advertising agency for twenty years, creating and placing marketing campaigns for his clients across the country. Upon retiring at the age of forty-five, he puttered for five years before contacting the Queen of Medieval Romance, Kathryn Le Veque, offering his services as her editor.

Four years later, from that single email to Kathryn, Scott has edited over 400 romance novels and novellas as well as numerous novels in other genres. He edits for multiple USA Today and NY Times Best Selling Authors as well as serving Dragonblade Publishing’s talented authors. His editing services have helped his authors win hundreds of awards both in the United States and internationally. He not only provides line editing, but also developmental editing, character development, historical fact checking and much, much more.

When Scott isn’t editing, he loves a good round of golf.

Violetta Rand – Acquisitions and Content Editor

Violetta Rand’s professional clients include NYT bestsellers, USA Today bestsellers, and a wonderful group of powerfully-voiced new authors who all share the same dream of penning unforgettable stories about love and history.

Her educational background includes a BA in Environmental Policy and Planning/Religious Studies and a MS in Environmental Management. She spent more than a decade as an environmental scientist, field researcher, project leader, and has produced dozens of key environmental research documents at the state and federal level.

Her professional background includes extensive technical writing and editing and over five years of fiction writing and/or editing, specializing in historical and contemporary romances with several publishers.

When Violetta has some spare time, she enjoys the great outdoors of her home state, Alaska.

Amelia Hester – Editor

Amelia brings a heavy-hitting resume to the table. A researcher by trade, she holds a Ph.D. in cultural history. She has published with Bloomsbury and other publishing houses, and has edited many successful books.

She especially enjoys working with authors whose novels take place in the long nineteenth century, her area of expertise. However, she’s at home in earlier time periods and has a penchant for unusual female leads.

Being a romantic herself, Amelia adores a good ‘slow burn’ tale. She has a detailed, no-nonsense, but supportive approach, preferring to let an author’s voice shine through rather than change it to suit a trend. Her particular strength is helping hone each manuscript she edits into its best self.

When she’s not reading, editing, or writing, Amelia can be found playing with her Persian cat, Rosie.

Jasmine Jordan – Proofreading

From the time she picked up her first book at the age of three, Jasmine has always been a lover of words.

Growing up, Jasmine used the words in books to discover new worlds and escape reality. As a student, she was a huge fan of English class and discovered her love of writing as well. Penning poems, short stories, and fan fiction became a hobby, and her love of words grew.

Jasmine now uses her fascination with words and the skills she learned from many wonderful teachers to proofread stories (and audio books), helping authors make their books shine. She has worked with new authors, USA Today Bestselling authors, and many others in-between.

When Jasmine isn’t proofreading, she can be found spending time with her husband and kids, hosting game nights with friends, reviewing books on her blog, or fangirling over nerdy TV shows.

Pauline Trent – Proofreading

Pauline Trent graduated from Northeastern University with a B.S. in pre-law and political science. She spent more than a decade in her chosen field-until she realized her love of editing and proofreading friends’ college papers could actually be a career. She quit her human services job and never looked back. Over the last fifteen years, she has expanded her skill set to include editing, proofreading, writing fiction and nonfiction, and project development. A digital nomad and helicopter groupie, Pauline’s life motto is “Have pen, will travel”. In her spare time, you’ll find her hunting down the best cup of coffee wherever her travels have landed her.

Shawn Morrison – Director of Operations

With an extensive background in Business Management, Shawn joined the Dragonblade team as the Director of Operations. With over twenty years in the corporate world, Shawn has held positions in Office Management, Senior Sales Coordination, Contract Administration, and Accounting. At Dragonblade Publishing, Shawn’s focus is on the day to day duties that make the company run effectively and efficiently including publishing schedules, executing author contracts, and maintaining a fluid relationship with our authors, vendors, and readers.

In her spare time, Shawn likes to spend quality time with her husband of 20 years and their three rambunctious boys ages eleven, seven and one.

Kris Newberger – Special Projects and Administration

Having discovered new author Kathryn Le Veque on the ‘free eBook’ site on Amazon in 2012, Kris has been an avid fan of Kathryn’s novels (now 100-plus and counting) since the first day Kathryn started publishing on Amazon. Kris has a background of 22 years working in the transcription field and has transitioned those skills over to working for Kathryn Le Veque Novels since 2012.

When not at the computer busily working on the administrative side for Kathryn Le Veque Novels and its subsidiaries, you can find her travelling for her youngest son’s sporting events.

Dar Albert – Graphics Manager and Designer

Dar Albert has been creating custom art since the age of nine and designing covers for eleven years. She has worked with both traditional publishing houses and indie authors alike, using her diverse skills to help brand and catapult clients into bestseller lists around the world. She graduated with honors and an AA in arts in 2008 from Whatcom Community College. She has been nominated for several awards both locally and abroad, winning the RONE award for best historical cover of the year in 2017.

Dar spends her free time painting, teaching several fitness classes a week, including bellydance, spoiling her teacup Pomeranian Zuzu, and being a mom to her three adult children.

Evelyn Adams – Marketing Manager

Evelyn Adams has over a decade’s worth of experience in the publishing industry. As a RITA nominated and New York Times bestselling author, she understands how to craft a compelling story and how to apply that storytelling to a successful marketing plan.

She’s worked with New York Times, USA Today bestsellers, and new authors starting their careers to build marketing strategies that include a variety of advertising outlets. One of the most satisfying things about her work is using her marketing experience to help authors find new readers and readers find new books to love.

When Evelyn isn’t working, she’s chasing kids, reading, or binging Mrs. Maisel and Mad Men.

Rob Hogan – National Sales Manager

Rob brings his 35 years of sales experience on a national level to Dragonblade Publishing. Rob has worked in a number of industries over the years including Publishing, Automotive Aftermarket, Aerospace, Sports Marketing and Promotions, Damage Prevention, Materials Handling, and a few others in between. When he is not trying to make the “impossible” sale to prove that he is the best sales person ever, he lives on his bicycles – where he is trying to prove that he is the best cyclist ever (he’s not there yet…). Rob graduated from the University of La Verne with honors and dual majors in Business Administration and Physical Education (and yes, even back then, he was trying to prove that he was the best student ever).

Mary Ellen Sexton – Director of Accounting

Mary Ellen Sexton brings the “left brain” influence of the group.  She is the numbers guru.  She calculates the royalty reports each month and is responsible for sending reports and payments to Dragonblade authors.   Mary Ellen has worked in the accounting field for more years than she cares to admit…she served as Chief Financial Officer for a software development company for over 18 years and now has her own firm working to help clients with their specialized accounting needs.

Viola Chisolm, CPA

With 30 years of experience in corporate taxes and bookkeeping, Viola is Dragonblade’s certified public accountant. Viola has her own accountancy corporation in Orange County, California.