Diana Mathur, Author

Every writer needs a beta reader—someone brave enough to tackle a manuscript before it's ready for the world. My latest novel was fortunate to land in the hands of Barbara Peterson, an educator, mystery lover, and trusted reader whose feedback I treasure. Also, she's my sister, which means she can't easily escape future drafts.

Any novelist writing about a foreign culture is wise to have a manuscript reviewed by a cultural sensitivity reader. My upcoming historical mystery is set in 1941 Riga during some of the Holocaust’s most horrific atrocities. I’m fortunate to have regular feedback from Jewish writers in my critique group. But I needed a Latvian’s opinions. So I asked Lisa Edmondson to serve as a cultural sensitivity reader for my manuscript. She caught major misunderstanding as well as nuance,