About Samantha

I’m a writer and teacher living on the coast of North Carolina.  My first memory involves holding a book and pretending to read it.  I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember.  I love words and the power 26 letters have to create  whole new worlds, to inspire emotions, and to make us think and be better people who can connect with one another through the page and feel a sense of community, belonging and home. 

I want my writing to entertain, inspire and make readers think. 

My second passion is teaching.  I love to meet a student who hates English.  What an exciting challenge!  My favorite piece of advice I tell my classes each semester is this:  everything in life can be taken from us — our looks, our health, money, our loved ones, our home, possessions — but no one can take your education away.  That is such an empowering thought to me.  My biggest battle each year is choosing books that will appeal to both men and women and turn them on to reading.  So far, I’ve had good success with The Kite Runner, The Alchemist, Alive, Into the Wild, Black Like Me, Felicia’s Journey and Dead Man Walking.  If you have another good suggestion, please let me know.

I’m also a total grammar geek and cringe everytime I see a glaring grammar no no.  I would love it if everyone could learn the difference between “it’s”  (it is) and “its” (belonging to it).  And it would be a dream come true if people would learn that “drug” is not a verb meaning to drag across the room. 

One thing I wish I could teach everyone is that if words have the power to create, so do our thoughts.  I’m a big believer in our ability to create our life circumstances with our thoughts.  Negative people create drama, fear, and anxiety while positive people invite happy circumstances, synchronicity and joy into their lives.  Belief in ourselves, our abilities and our gifts is essential to creating success.