Books We Love's Tantalizing Talent ~ Author Gail Roughton

Gail Roughton is a native of small town Georgia whose Deep South heritage features prominently in most of her work.  A retired paralegal as of 2016, she worked in a law office for over forty years, during which time she raised three children and quite a few attorneys. She kept herself more or less sane by writing novels and tossing the completed manuscripts into her closet. A cross-genre writer, Gail’s produced works ranging from humor to romance to thriller to horror, sometimes in the same book.  When she’s not writing, she’s busy spoiling her grandchildren, enjoying her family and giving thanks for retirement.

Gail Roughton Books published by Books We Love

Vanished

my name be Cain..and my color be Se’ben

Country Justice  (Southern Justice, Book 1)

Sisters of Prophecy – Ursula (Co-written with Jude Pittman)

War-N-Wit, Inc.: The Novellas

The Witch - Book 1

Resurrection - Book 2

The Coven - Book 3

MeanStreet, LLC - Book 4

(All four novellas available together as a Boxed Set)

Country Justice – Southern Justice – Book 1

Amazon

What goes around comes around. That’s justice. Especially in small towns where everybody knows how many eggs you ate for breakfast before you've even left the Scales of Justice Café. Funny thing, though. Usually what everybody thinks they know—they really don’t. Take the folks in Turkey Creek. Oh, everybody knows Maggie Kincaid doesn’t speak to her father. They think they know why. But they don’t. They know Billy Brayton died twenty-five years back. Too bad nobody told him. Because now he’s home. And it’s time to right some past wrongs. Time for justice. Country Justice. 

War-N-Wit, Inc.

Amazon

Paralegal extraordinaire Ariel Anson’s life wasn’t going at all the way she planned. Not after private investigator Chad Garrett of War-N-Wit, Inc. roared into her life in response to her urgent call for a skip-trace. Instead of settling down with her steady CPA fiancé, Ariel’s swept into another life entirely. How could she know War-N-Wit stood for Warlock and Witch? Or that Chad Garrett was a warlock in search of his eternal soulmate, the witch he’d reincarnated with through many lifetimes? The witch he insisted was – her! From Vegas to Savannah to Daytona Bike Week and back to Vegas, this series takes the characters on some out-of-this-world adventures! 

my name be Cain…and my color be Se’ben

Amazon

Deep in the woods that slide off into Stone Creek Swamp, teenage drug dealers retrieve their stash and receive an unexpected dividend—the unwitting resurrection of Cain, powerful Bokor of Black Magic. Atop Coleman Hill, two young attorneys renovate a decrepit relic of a house for their home and office. A house with a past it wants to share, showing Ria Knight tantalizing scenes of its original owner, Dr. Paul Devlin. Dr. Devlin’s not exactly alive and well, but he’s not dead either. With Cain’s resurrection, the battle between the two first begun in 1888 rages again. Because the past, like evil, never dies. It just—waits. 

http://bookswelove.net/authors/roughton-gail/

http://gailroughton.blogspot.com/

 

Looking back by Roseanne Dowell

I've got a birthday coming up next week. Seems like the older I get the quicker the time passes. Wasn't it just yesterday, I got married? Had my first child? First grandchild? First great grandchild. Certainly seems like it.
Nope, it wasn't just yesterday. I got married 54 years ago, had my first child 52 years ago,  my first grandchild 33 years ago, and  my first great grandchild almost 6 years ago. Since then I've been blessed with two more great grandchildren and another on the way.
I look back on those years and see how much time has changed. Not just couples, in a two bedroom duplex. The landlord lived downstairs. 

me, as a person, but everything in life. My husband and I started life on a shoestring like many young
We moved several times in the early years before we bought our first house. Most of our furniture was given to us by our parents, with the exception of our bed, it was brand new. Of course we got a lot of new stuff from our shower and wedding, and I thought we had everything  we needed. Which for the time, we did. A small black and white TV served as our entertainment. Living on a budget didn't allow for dinners or movies out very often. On weekends we visited family and played cards or just sat around and talked.
Can you imagine that? Just sitting around talking - no texting, no computers. Heck I didn't even have a typewriter until  years later after I had six kids and decided to try my hand at writing. And not one of those newfangled electric ones either. Nope, not right away at least and I didn't want one either.

We've lived through color TV, cable, satellite, and now netflix and so many other ways to watch TV.  When cable TV first came out, I couldn't imagine paying to watch television. Who needed that many channels to begin with? You could only watch one at a time. Never imagined watching one channel while recording several more.
I started out with a wringer washing machine - not that they didn't have automatic

washers, I just couldn't afford one. And I hung the clothes to dry -outside in the summer and inside during the winter. Yep, even had to hang diapers. Yes, diapers, real honest to goodness cloth diapers. No such thing as disposable - at least not that I knew of and even if there were I couldn't afford them. I think it was with my third child I finally had an automatic washer and dryer. Praise the Lord for small miracles. With two kids in diapers it was a God-send.

Can you imagine being tethered to a wall talking on a telephone? No such thing as portable phones, let alone cell phones. If you were out and had to make a phone call you found a phone booth. We saw a phone booth at a gas station the other day and my my husband was amazed.
I guess there's still a few around, but they're few and far between. Plus the phones had a dial, not push buttons back then. Growing up we had a party line on our phone - we shared phone service with someone else, which meant you'd often pick up the receiver to make a phone call and someone else would be talking. You'd have to wait for them to hang up before you could make your call.

 Most of the time the other party was considerate and hung up soon after. You heard a click when someone picked up the phone. Usually within 5 to 10 minutes the phone would be free. I can't imagine that now. My sister and I talk for hours when we get on the phone.
The old commercial (I believe it was for cigarettes - yes back when it was fashionable to smoke) You've come a long way, baby sure wasn't kidding and that was back in the 70s. We've come a long way since then.
I've seen a lot in my life-time. The first spaceship to the moon, the first man walking on moon - who would've thought?

 Typewriters to computers (I had a Commodore 64) to laptops, IPads, tablets and now smartphones.
Ah yes, many changes over the years. Sometimes I think things were better back then. Life was simpler. People were friendlier. Neighbors talked, kids played outside instead of having their nose in an ipad or whatever they use now.
But as they say, Life goes on. Hmm sounds like the title for a new book.

My book, Deadbeat Dads is available at Amazon.

After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, Erica Morris starts a group for ex wives of deadbeat dads. Little did she know just how many there were. 

In the process of rebuilding her life, someone tries to blackmail her. Can she put the past behind her or will it catch up to her?

Author Events

To paraphrase Forrest Gump, you never know what you’re going to get. This is the lesson I have learned in doing author events, such as book signings or readings. And each event is valuable in its own way, regardless of the number of books distributed.

Book table

            My fantasy novel, The Yoga Zapper, is based on the authentic mythological narratives common with Hinduism and Buddhism, as relating to the origins, transmission, diminution and rebirth of the teachings of yoga. As such, I identified several audiences for the book: readers of fantasy, yoga practitioners and ethnic East Indians.

            Keeping this in mind, I have spent my efforts to reach these audiences in attending author events. An obvious venue is the yoga studio, where I have found very receptive audiences. Many yoga studios have community events, usually annually, where members of their studios as well as the general public are invited for get-togethers. In Calgary, I have done three yoga studios, and at each one I have found eager audiences. Yoga students and teachers were intrigued by my concept, and several remarked that my book opened up an aspect of yoga that they were unfamiliar with.

            I also attended a couple of ethnic events, and received a very good response from one and a poor one from another, which I attribute to its not being set up properly to meet authors. It is important for an opportunity and space to speak with and personally connect to guests exists. It is crucial to have a pitch, of not more than a couple of minutes, which should inform, intrigue and finally, convince the guest to buy the book.

At Yoga event with customer

            I have also done a couple of bookstores, again with mixed results. The key, in my experience, is the support one receives from the bookstore. If the bookstore takes interest, such as sending notice of the event to its mailing list, or putting up posters, one can expect a decent turnout.

            Sometimes, unexpected benefits arise: many yoga studios have a bookshelf where they sell books related to yoga. I have had success selling books to studios for their stores, and also had bookstores order the novel for their shelves. From ethnic events attended, contacts with other organizations arose, leading to further invitations.

            Regardless of the number of books sold (my range has been from none to seventeen per event,) I believe it is important for authors to present their work at events. Social media marketing is a must for writers, but speaking face to face with readers is an invaluable opportunity to learn what readers are looking for, to spot new areas of interest, and finally, to get away from the computer and speak to real live persons!

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper, published by Books We Love, Ltd. He lives in Calgary, Canada. www.yogazapper.com