2017 Local Authors Expo Spotlight: Doug Segrest

Author Doug Segrest

Books: A Storm Came Up (Author House 2011) and The Sea of Mississippi (in progress)
How to reach the author: e-mail Doug Segrest at dsegrest@gmail.com or visit him at https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Came-Up-Doug-Segrest/dp/1463413971,
https://www.facebook.com/A-Storm-Came-Up-192367397489549/, or twitter: @dsegrest
Quote Segrest uses as a guide in life: “I just follow the Golden Rule.”
Quote from author about being involved in Local Authors Expo: “This will be my second appearance at the Local Authors Expo. I was blown away the first time by the talent of the other authors from across Birmingham and Alabama, the size of the crowd, and how accessible everyone was that day. If you are an avid reader or an aspiring author, this day is a treasure trove of opportunity.”

Doug Segrest will be one of over 30 authors featured in the Birmingham Public Library’s 2017 Local Authors Expo, taking place on Saturday, August 19, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., at the Central Library.

A veteran journalist, Doug Segrest loves history. And he loves character-driven novels. In his debut novel, A Storm Came Up, he combines both, dropping three innocents into the chaos and confusion of a small Alabama town caught up in the apex of the civil rights movement. The result is a personal, fast-paced Southern novel that’s part suspense and part coming of age. The book is well written and historically accurate, drawing strong critical praise from newspapers and readers who have taken the time to delve into the world of fictional Takasaw, Alabama.

Segrest is better known for his work outside of fiction. A long-time sports writer for the Birmingham News and Nashville Banner, Segrest remains a weekly regular on The Zone, ABC 33/40’s long-running Sunday night sports talk show, with Jeff Speegle and Kevin Scarbinsky. He has also contributed stories to Sports Illustrated and newspapers across the country, ranging from the Chicago Tribune to the Dallas Morning-News. He remains a Birmingham resident, working for a company based out of the Magic City.

He is well into his second novel, The Sea of Mississippi, which is a radical departure from his debut. Set in the future, it’s a wild ride into the unknown set in the New South.

Segrest has written as vocation and hobby since he was a child, inspired by legends such as John Updike, William Faulkner, and Gay Talese. He’s comfortable with the everyday technology of the 21st Century, but knows that only a good, hardcover book offers true freedom.

A Sample of Reviews for A Storm Came Up
"Doug Segrest may write sports for a living, but he has found his calling—novelist. In this, his debut novel, he captures the tenor and the times of the sixties South as few have done. Preachers and sheriffs who are Klansmen, good people, everyday people, trying to do the right thing, some fearfully but steadfastly and, of course, bad people doing really bad things...southern terrorists, if you will. Doug Segrest brings those times to life once again in an evocative story told in an evocative style."

“His sense of place and personality is superb, as are his characters and their development. In reading this book, you get to know these people, you admire them and they inspire you, you laugh with them and cry/ache with them. Others you abhor. This is very much a human odyssey and the characters, though fictional, are real, as real as the people were in that day and time.”

"This book captures the intensity of the times. Following three young boys, Brax, Moses, and Andy into adulthood, revealing how troubling times shaped their futures. This is a thrilling book that will captivate you from beginning to end. A must read!"

"The story races and turns against the backdrop of the slow south—never trite nor predictable. I literally could not put it down. Segrest has the gift of painting the time and place and bringing the people to life in such depth that you feel you are watching a movie in your mind. Don't miss this very strong first novel!"