We also all know most people do. At least, where actual books are concerned.
At Roan & Weatherford, we study genre trends and strive to make certain our books appeal to fans of their respective genres while also standing out, capturing readers’ attention and enticing them to further explore the work.
Composite photo manipulations or illustrated designs, eBook or print book format, standard text or full color interiors… inside and out, we take pride in our work.
Go ahead a judge our books by our covers. We’re confident you’ll like what you see as much as you like what you read.
Creative Director
Casey W. Cowan
Casey has worked in the journalism and literary fields for nearly thirty years as a graphic designer, reporter, and publisher. In 2013, he co-founded Oghma Communications, which, through its subsidiary, Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates, has become an award-winning mid-sized independent publisher of genre fiction and nonfiction. The following year, in partnership with late Western writing legend Dusty Richards, he also co-founded Saddlebag Dispatches, an award-winning magazine featuring original fiction, poetry, history, interviews, and articles dedicated to the American West. When he’s not working, Casey enjoys reading, writing, travel, music, catching up with his six adult children, indulging his five young grandchildren, and sharing his crazy life with his always-supportive wife, Amy.
Wishlist
From my childhood as an Air Force brat to my education in military history, I’ve always resonated with stories of war and espionage, be it fact or fiction, past, present, or future. But simple conflict is not enough for me. History is, at it’s essence, a story about ordinary—and even sometimes not-so-ordinary—people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. I’m looking for stories with deep and fully-realized characters drowning in the flood of their own emotions, fears, flaws, and petty jealousies as they face such intense moments. More than that, I want real stakes and uncertainty in my stories, as well. Nobody wins all the time, and no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The prospect of failure, defeat, loss, and death must be included. Examples of the kinds of novels I would like to acquire include Michael Shaar’s The Killer Angels, Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, Anton Myrer’s Once and Eagle, and early works by the likes of such authors as Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, and P.T. Deutermann. For nonfiction, historical works by such luminaries as James D. Hornfischer, Ian W. Toll, Stephen Ambrose, and Dan Jones top my list.
Associate Creative Director/Lead Illustrator
Victoria Marble
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Wishlist
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Layout Artists (listed alphabetically)
Michele Jones
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Wishlist
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George “Clay” Mitchell
George wrote his first short story in first grade (1978) about a boy who woke up to prepare for school. Everything was going wrong, only to have the kid wake up again to realize he was about to repeat the day, and he’s been telling stories ever since.
A vigorous reader since he picked up his first book, George completed two 100-book challenges during two summers and takes pride that he’s read every Texas Bluebonnet Award book nominee who was listed from 1980-1984. It was also at this time he discovered the kind of books that children weren’t probably supposed to read, like the works of Ian Fleming, HG Wells, Issac Asimov, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, Robert E. Howard, Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas, Louis L’Amour, Arthur Conan Doyle, John le Carré, and Gothic Romances (Women With Great Hair Fleeing Dark Houses). He’s also read an entire encyclopedia set about the stories of the Bible and all of the Time-Life Old West books before he was eight years old. (He still has the original set his parents owned with the index, and for a long time, it was a point of tension with his mother about whether or not he would give them back.)
Before junior high, he also discovered Dungeons & Dragons and the world of role-playing games. This led to ghostwriting and editing some RPGs during the d20 boom.
Being half-deaf, watching movies and TV shows was challenging to follow before closed captioning became widely available. In college, he discovered foreign films… movies, and TV shows with English captioning built right in. This developed his appreciation for stories being accessible from around the world. He’s a bit of a cinephile and will often guess the lines and “plot twists,” much to the amusement and dismay (respectively) of his family.
What does this have to do with Roan & Weatherford? To quote the founder, Casey Cowan, “George is the best story developer I’ve ever met. It just comes naturally to him.” It wasn’t just instincts but the accumulation of stories and insight across different mediums about what works and doesn’t.
He has developed over 70 novels for Roan & Weatherford across various genres and reading levels and has begun work on a story-development guide to help teach others what to look for.
George is also a 20-year newspaper veteran and freelancer for an online high school sports website. He can also accurately predict what penalty is about to be called during a football game.
Wishlist
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Staci Troilo
Staci Troilo is the Executive Vice President and Publisher of Roan & Weatherford’s Radiance Imprint. She joined the company in 2014 and, after a brief departure during which she moved back to her hometown to be near family, she returned to Arkansas and the company in 2022. Born and raised in Western Pennsylvania, she chose to stay in the area she loved through her college career, receiving her B.A. in Professional Writing and Creative Writing from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon earning a scholarship to continue her education, she achieved her M.A. in Professional Writing from her alma mater in two semesters. Staci has worked as a writer and editor for over thirty years, more than fifteen of which were spent editing for independent publishers. She is currently searching for exceptional manuscripts in the upmarket and romance genres.
Wishlist
For upmarket, I’m looking for complex drama. Secrets hidden under layers of riddles wrapped in an enigmatic shroud. Stories with throat-gripping beginnings, messy middles, and jaw-dropping endings. Bonus points for snippets of humor to give readers a smile or two between crying jags.
For romance, I’m looking for strong, unique characters. A mash-up with another genre that’s seldom or never done. Something to revitalize the standard, tired tropes. I want the chemistry to be palpable, regardless of heat level, and any explicit scenes to focus more on the emotion of the moment than the biology and logistics. At the heart of the matter, these are all love stories. I want to fall in love with the characters as they fall for each other.
