While there’s no denying the author is the creative mastermind behind every story, all great reading experiences stem from a combination of powerful storytelling and careful editing. Even the most accomplished author benefits from such reviews.
At Roan & Weatherford, all our stories go through rigorous development, and once drafts are completed, they undergo meticulous line edits. As a final step in our quality control efforts, the books are proofread for typographical errors. No one can guarantee perfection, but we do guarantee we strive for it.
Editorial Director
Amy Cowan
Amy Cowan, a seasoned professional with nearly a decade of experience in publishing, excels in acquisitions, editing, and financial intricacies. In addition to serving as the Publisher at Young Dragons, an imprint of Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates, she manages the editorial staff and also line edits. Based in Northwest Arkansas, Amy enjoys spending time with her always-supportive husband, six children, and three grandchildren, often accompanied by her newly-found love of crochet projects. Her expertise in shaping literary landscapes and her devotion to family and artistic pursuits define Amy’s dynamic presence in both her professional and personal spheres.
Wishlist
I love supernatural, fantasy, and sci-fi stories, but I want the characters to be people that I would want to be friends with or who I can admire. I like a good villain too. I want to see my own flaws in others because it allows me to relate to them or to understand why a particular decision may be made in a story. Regardless of the genre, the story or the reactions of the characters need to be believable.
Editors (listed alphabetically)
Lisa Lindsey
Lisa Lindsey has been an avid reader since childhood. The fictional worlds she dove into inspired her to begin writing her own stories at age 15. She’s been scribbling tales of fantasy and paranormal creatures ever since, as well as jotting down the occasional poem, all under the pen name Rie Lindsey.
Lisa’s writing has won a handful of awards, and she has short stories published in Volumes 4 and 5 of Del Garrett’s Vault of Terror anthologies. She was recently offered a contract with Roan & Weatherford Publishing Associates for her urban fantasy series. She also serves as a line editor with Roan & Weatherford, where her obsession with grammar rules is being put to good use. She serves as secretary for White County Creative Writers and is a member of Gin Creek Poets, a branch of Poets’ Roundtable of Arkansas.
Besides writing, Lisa enjoys baking sweets, crocheting cozy things, and brushing up on her French. Raised in Arkansas and having lived all over the Natural State, she finally settled down in Searcy with her husband, Darren, and their three children.
Wishlist
I like to see the following things:
Thought-provoking, intriguing narratives that bring a new spin/perspective on difficult topics
Worldbuilding capable of taking me to a new place/reality
Truly laugh-out-loud humor to brighten my day
Dragons because why not?
Don Money
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Wishlist
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Rachel Santino
Rachel Santino was born and raised in Virginia. She took a liking to reading at a young age and began writing and editing after college. After a varied career in education, travel industry, event planning, photography, and the restaurant industry, she returned to the field of editing. She runs Armadillo Editing and edits for top publishers in the Western genre. She loves building lasting connections with authors and works diligently to help perfect books readers will love. She’s traveled five of the seven continents and loves a good road trip. When she’s not working, she’s holding down the fort as a wife, big sister, and proud aunt. Rachel is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.
Wishlist
Rachel is looking for western and historical fiction stories set after the Civil War with a strong sense of place and vivid natural settings of the Old West. These stories should highlight the struggle between civilization and wilderness and explore elements of adventure, clean romance, drama, faith, family, humor, mystery, and survival. Protagonists and antiheros of the frontier are often interchangeable and define a strong feeling of personal justice and individualism and are dangerous, unpredictable, and charismatic. Keep me hooked with plenty of suspense or pull at my heartstrings with stories of reluctant heroes and unattainable love.
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.
