+61 459 726 886
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
+61 459 726 886
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Stories Lorraine has helped authors bring to life…
Tom Kwok
Writing a memoir was challenging for Chinese immigrant, Tom Kwok. Despite being highly educated as an engineer, and having a great memory and an inspiring tale to tell, Tom struggled with writing in his second language, English.
Rainbow Works extensively edited his work, rearranged chapters to create hooks for readers and retain interest, designed the cover, registered the ISBN, typeset, designed pages, and arranged publishing.
Tom’s story is inspirational - a story of amazing courage and perseverance that offers a unique window into Chinese culture and history and the struggles of a young boy who left his family to migrate to a foreign land, eventually becoming a proud Australian who is thrilled to be able to present his amazing story to the world.
To say that Lorraine enjoyed working with Tom would be an enormous understatement. He is an exceptional person - inspirational, talented, smart, capable, but humble, always happy, and deeply grateful for the opportunities immigration has provided.
Venera Concetta
Venera Concetta was already an xperienced writer when she contracted Lorraine to help her take her novel from rough manuscript to a polished published book. Venera had studied psychology and ethnology, and her first- hand experience of growing up in a Sicilian immigrant family inspired the work.
Rainbow Works prepared this novel for publication, designed the cover, registered the ISBN and arranged publishing and a Readers’ Favourite review to assist marketing.
An extract from the 5-star Readers Favorite review:
…a powerful psychological account of the search for freedom and individuality… A bright, intelligently penned, and deeply serious work of fiction which informs just as much as it touches one’s heart…. A high quality literary work that discusses serious issues in a masterful and immersive fashion …
I asked Lorraine to help me publish my book because I was confident that her approach to the work, and her work ethic, aligned with my expectations, i.e. I knew that she would be as meticulous as I was when it came to ensuring the quality of the work she produced. And I was not disappointed.
She edited my writing with a keen eye for detail, she produced the work that she committed to on time, she kept me informed all the way through, and she consulted me all the way through all stages of the publishing process, and she received feedback well. I couldn’t have been happier with her approach or with the outcome.
Venera Concetta
ISBN 978-0-9945307-6-9
Fly Francesca Fly
DEEDS OF SALVATION
ISBN 978-0-9945307-8-3
Lance Smith (AKA Sir Cumference)
Writing his memoir was the launch point for a new career for Lance Smith, despite being well past retirement age when he began.
He has now established himself as a successful novelist.
His memoir tells the story of a life he describes as ‘’a rare gem, with a few bits of broken glass in the mix”.
Lance is a great story teller. His work needed significant editing, and the challenge was to ensure his unique voice was preserved while ensuring grammar and sentence structure was correct.
To say working with Lance was enjoyable is an understatement. He is a character, and his character shows through in this highly entertaining memoir.
Rainbow Works edited and arranged publication of both his memoir and his first novel, Deeds of Salvation.
Lance wrote, in gifting a copy of his memoir to Lorraine, “See… you can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Thanks for making my dream a reality.”
Thank you for your message.
We always endeavour to respond promptly. We appreciate your patience.
Giuseppe Sorbello
Guiseppe was over 80 when he took up writing, after a stellar career teaching opera. He joined a writers’ group and began writing short stories. He had both a vivid imagination and a flair for descriptive writing. He was also knowledgable and keenly interested in history, and a capable researcher. English was Giuseppe’s second language, and he struggled with writing it, but he had a wealth of knowledge of history and a creative mind.
He said the idea for The Bond came from a story one of his students told. He researched extensively to expand the story and create a complete family saga, following the family from pre-World War I through the Great War, and then through the terrible trials and suffering the Polish people endured under Hitler.
Guiseppe succeeded in bringing the characters to life. You feel their pain. You weep with them. You cheer for them. You celebrate their wins. By the end of the book, you feel as thought you lived their experiences.
Rainbow Works edited extensively and prepared the novel for publication, including designing a cover to the author’s very precise specifications, registering the ISBN, arranging publication, and assisting with an highly successful launch in a town library, selling hundreds of copies. (Guiseppe delighted the audience by bringing in a pianist and singing opera at the launch!)
This thoroughly researched work of historical fiction is ‘unputdownable’! Heart-wrenching. Informative, and superbly written.
Helga Parl said, “...The Bond gives us a rare glimpse into a different culture and era.”
Reviewer, Jan Peters, said, “I can’t get this wonderful story out of my head. It’s mesmerising.”
Raul R. Ramos
When Raul Ramos first contacted Lorraine, she could not have even begun to guess how his amazing story would unfold. He was pursuing a highly successful career in the U.S. Navy, and was deeply respected and admired by all who knew him.
Raul wanted to write a story that would inspire troubled young folk to follow his outstanding example of turning his life around, from a juvenile criminal and gang member, to a proud American, serving his country.
Lorraine was delighted to be able to coach Raul on the process of writing his memoir and arranging publication, and to provide him with examples.
Ultimately, due to geographic distance, Raul chose an American ghost writer to commit his story to paper. Joni Haughton had the advantage of being a sailor, so she was familiar with many aspects of Raul’s life and surroundings. She did a great job!
Raul has now retired from the Navy and is pursuing a new career as a public speaker, hosting book signings around the country and speaking in juvenile prisons and other places where troubled youth gather, inspiring and guiding them to turn from drug, alcohol, violence and crime and use their energies for healthy and productive endeavours.
In the Acknowledgments at the front of Raul’s book he wrote:
“In the early days of my first draft, I reached out to Lorraine Cobcroft, a talented ghost writer, author, publisher, and more. I’m indebted to her for acting as my mentor and sharing her hard-won wisdom on the book writing game. I’m shocked and honored that she even responded to my inquiry, and everything that came after was a bonus. This book would not have been possible without her.”
In the front of the published book Raul so generously gifted to Lorraine, shipping it across the ocean, he wrote in his own hand,
“Lorraine,
Thank you for being my mentor and for helping me make my dream come true! I can’t express in words how grateful I am! Thank you again. And I truly hope we can meet in person soon! I hope you enjoy my book. You taught me well!
Very respectfully,
Raul R Ramos”
(Thank you, Raul. The pleasure was all mine. You are such an inspiration, and you had a fascinating story to tell. It is a great read.)
Helga Parl
Helga Parl was another who came late to writing, beginning well after retirement age. But what delightful stories Helga had to tell. Combining over 70 years of diverse life experience with a lively imagination, Helga became a prolific producer of stories, including tales that provided a window into her unique childhood experiences in The Netherlands during World War II.
Lorraine was privileged to be allowed to edit and facilitate publication of two collections of Helga’s short stories, Pixels, and Eve and Adam. Having achieved great success with her first published work, Pixels, Helga embraced the task of writing a novel, and again she excelled. Angela and Her Boys is a delightful tale of a young widowed mother of special twins falling in love again after her husband’s death.
Educator and Entrepreneur, Heather Nicol wrote:
“From IVF to gravestones murder to love, Angela and Her Boys is a topical and thought-provoking page-turner. Enjoy this delicious read. You’ll be looking for clues to the very last page.”
Like several other Rainbow Works clients, Helga struggled a little with English. It was her THIRD language. But she had a wealth of creative talent, both for writing and for art.
Following the success of her novel, she published a second collection of short stories under the title Eve and Adam, subtitled Maxi, Midi and Mini Stories.
A long-standing member of Fairfield Writers, where she and Lorraine, met, Helga wrote:
As a long-standing member of our Fairfield Writers Group, I feel eligible to testify on Lorraine Cobcroft’s professionalism in editing and publishing works written by others. During the last ten years, she has edited, brought to fruition and published all five of our anthologies. Nearly all copies were sold and earned high praises, both from friends and strangers.
She also edited and helped me self-publish my own novel Angela and Her Boys, as well as a collection of short stories, I called Pixels. Both attracted as many buyers as I hoped for, and more importantly, were well received, thanks of course to not a small measure to the careful editing by Lorraine. As English is not my native language and I came rather late in life to writing, her work would have been especially difficult. She proved again equal to the task, when she edited —and assisted a Chinese migrant in self-publishing—his memoirs: Iron Rice Bowl. I feel confident in Lorraine’s work that our next anthology of short stories will be another success.
ISBN 978-0-9942792-2-4
ISBN 978-0-9942792-8-6
Out of print
Fairfield Writers Group
Fairfileld Writers Group (FWG) was struggling to arrange publication of their first anthology, Beginnings, Queensland Stories, when Lorraine joined the group in 2009. Lorraine volunteered to edit, typeset and arrange publication of the book, and the results delighted both members and the buying public. The book was a great success.
It has been a special privilege to be allowed to edit, typeset and prepare six Anthologies for FWG over a period of a decade, because so many of the writers whose stories are included have never been published before, nor even submitted work for publication. The Anthologies offer a great learning exercise as well as a genuine thrill for members seeing their words in print and participating in a fun book launch.
Anna Arnold, Group Co-ordinator when the 2nd Anthology was launched, said…
Anna Arnold, Group Co-ordinator when the 2nd Anthology was launched, said…
We have now almost sold out of print copies of our second outstandingly successful Anthology, Life’s a Roller Coaster. Again, Lorraine edited, proofed, and handled the typesetting, page design, cover layout, and prepress and publishing tasks.
Everyone whose story was included was delighted with the results. Lorraine’s passion for excellence resulted in an impressive looking, error-free production that the market loved. The group is excited that Lorraine is now directing the production of the work as an eBook, in order to expand our market reach.
I know that everyone at FWG would confidently recommend Lorraine to anyone looking for high quality editing, typography, page layout or pre-press services and/or help to publish or e-publish and market writing work, as well as to anyone looking for education, guidance and support to write or publish, whether for pleasure or profit.''
In a reference Louise Shellshear wrote, she said…
Lorraine's work is driven by her integrity and perfectionism, a work ethic that gets results. Despite her innate technical ability, she is very willing to accept advice.
Collaborating with Lorraine as we edited the last anthology, I was impressed by her ability to meet seemingly impossible deadlines
And member, Judith Comerford, said…
I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your excellent help with the stories I wrote for our last anthology and for your ongoing advice and assistance since then.
Your experience and expertise is immediately evident in all your exchanges with Fairfield Writers and it is a fortunate group to have you as member.
I have read several of your books. They too are evidence of your extensive knowledge and valuable talent.
