Gail Emma Scott Releases Her Debut Novel Double Lives
United States, 6th Nov 2025 — Independent publisher Mount Hood Books & Media LLC proudly announces the release of Double Lives, a haunting and redemptive debut novel by Gail Emma Scott, available November 20, 2025. Set against the turbulent backdrop of 1970s Texas, Double Lives delivers an emotional story about the destructive power of secrets and the strength found in love, truth, and forgiveness.
Miami Book Launch Details
A live launch event will take place at the Miami Book Fair, followed by a virtual launch open to readers and reviewers worldwide. To request access, email gailemmascott@gmail.com with the subject line “Virtual Book Launch RSVP.”
At the heart of Double Lives are three sisters—Jessie, Dawn, and Mandy Briggs. These preacher’s daughters grow up under the heavy shadow of fame, faith, and fear. Their father, Reverend Willy Briggs, rises from revival-tent sermons to national television fame, transforming himself into a self-styled prophet. What starts as obedience to a man admired by thousands slowly becomes a fight to reclaim their own voices and their truth.
Charisma, Power, And Consequences
When television producer Derrick Lewis and his wife Carla find Willy preaching in an abandoned beer hall, they instantly recognize his charisma and their chance to profit from it. Together, they lift him into the spotlight, but their ambition quickly corrupts everything around them. As Willy’s hunger for power grows and Derrick’s reckless desires push toward ruin, the Briggs family begins to crack under the weight of lies and betrayal.
- Mandy, 19, struggles to rebuild her identity after escaping a manipulative affair with a married man.
Dawn, 17, tries to keep the family together while fighting her own doubts.
Secrets, Silence, And Survival
- Jessie, only 13, carries a secret too painful to reveal and too dangerous to ignore.
Their mother, Betty Sue Briggs, also a preacher’s daughter, desperately wants to protect her girls. Yet she remains silent while her husband’s empire expands and their home falls apart.
Hypocrisy And Hidden Truths
Told with cinematic clarity and emotional honesty, Double Lives reveals a culture where charisma often overshadows character. In this world, fame replaces faith, and silence masks itself as loyalty. As the sisters begin to see the hypocrisy around them, their courage to confront the men controlling their lives becomes the driving force of the novel.
“Double Lives grew from my fascination with shadow work and the parts of ourselves we hide,” says Scott. “It explores how faith and ambition collide, and how courage and connection can guide us back to wholeness.”
Echoes of Hidden Truths
More than a family saga, Double Lives exposes what happens when truth becomes too dangerous to speak—and the cost of finally telling it.
The novel is dedicated to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and to all those whose childhoods were stolen by predators.
About the Author
Gail Emma Scott wrote several novels in her twenties but did not submit them for publication until 2025, at age 63. Born in Ohio and raised in Austin, Texas, during the early 1970s—a period of cultural disruption and school integration—she later moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated from The Blake School, earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, and completed a master’s degree at Columbia University’s School of Journalism.
Her career took her across Europe, including a year in Budapest during the final years of communist rule. After marrying, she settled in North Carolina, where she and her husband raised three children before relocating to Portland, Oregon. There, she worked as a communications director for a major healthcare company and developed a passion for restoring historic homes and managing rental properties. Eventually, she returned to writing, bringing decades of life experience and emotional insight into her fiction.
Availability
Double Lives will be available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats through major online retailers beginning November 20, 2025.
Company Details
Organization: Mount Hood Books and Media LLC
Contact Person: Gail Scott, for author interviews
Website: http://gailemmascott.com/
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Release Id: 06112536594