Our Team

Christine Joy Arante, eBook designer

I have over 12 years of epub and kindle conversion experience in the publishing industry. Over the years, I've converted numerous fiction and nonfiction books using reflowable and fixed-layout formats. I worked for a large publishing company as a senior member of the conversion team, then got into the freelancing world and work with various authors and companies.

Right now, I enjoy using my expertise to contribute to the exciting technological advances that happen every day at Emerald Lake Books.

Paul Steinmetz, publicist

I am a former newspaper reporter and editor who now works as a public relations professional and freelance writer for individuals and businesses. My work includes writing and pitching press releases for Emerald Lake Books' authors as well as creating blog content and website copy for business owners.

I live in Northwest Connecticut with my wife. We have four adult children.

Blazej Szpakowicz, editor

I was born in Warsaw (Poland), raised in Ottawa (Ontario), received a PhD in history at the University of Cambridge (England), and now reside in Kamloops (British Columbia). I've been a professional copy and line editor since 2017, and have worked on a wide range of fiction, nonfiction and academic texts—as well the occasional weird thing that somehow fell across my desk.

I'm a member of Editors Canada, for whom I have served on the training & development committee (2017–21) and national executive (since 2021). I write a bit too in what passes for my spare time.

Jessica Williams, bookkeeper

I am a self-proclaimed number nerd with over 20 years of accounting experience in various industries. I have an MBA and a Certified Public Bookkeeper license.  Some people can cook, I can make a mean spreadsheet.

I live in Sherman with my husband, son and dog. When I’m not crunching numbers, my favorite thing to do is go hiking with my family on one of the many beautiful trails in the area.

Asir Uddin, executive assistant

I'm a detail-driven operations professional with over seven years of experience helping businesses stay organized, efficient, and moving forward. At Emerald Lake Books, I support the executive team across a wide range of areas — from formatting authors' manuscripts for our design team and managing the company website and online book stores, to creating promotional materials and keeping day-to-day operations running smoothly.

Proficient across the Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and platforms like WordPress, Ecwid, WooCommerce, and Shopify, I bring the technical range to support both the creative and operational sides of publishing — always with reliability, attention to detail, and genuine care for the people I work with.

Laeeq Hussain Arif, senior designer

Hello! I am a senior designer specializing in book cover design, interior formatting, and professional typesetting for authors and publishers worldwide. With 15+ years of experience and over 500 completed books, many becoming bestsellers, I have worked extensively with Amazon KDP, Kindle, IngramSpark, Lulu and other major publishing platforms. Known for combining strong visual storytelling with publishing-standard precision, I create premium, market-ready book designs across fiction, nonfiction, business, memoir and academic genres.

Susi Clark, art director

Susi Clark has more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and publishing, including over a decade serving as an art director. She specializes in book cover design, interior formatting, ebooks and preparing production-ready files for Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and offset printing.

Susi enjoys helping authors transform their manuscripts into polished, professional books across a wide range of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, planners, journals and workbooks. She is known for her attention to detail, collaborative approach, and ability to help make the publishing process feel less overwhelming for authors.