An old saying goes, “write what you know.” Samantha Keith knows her subjects inside and out.
Her current book, “The Stephens’ Stories: Our Changing Family” is about a blended family told through the eyes of two children, Lane and Kassidy. Samantha checked the “write what you know” box when she got married 28 years ago to a man with two children, Seth, 4 at the time, and LaShae, 2 and a half at the time. Seth, “a natural flirt,” took to her right away. But LaShae took a while to trust Samantha. “She wanted to be the only girl in her dad’s life,” Samantha said.
Samantha also has written four picture books that haven’t been published yet. She checked that box, too, as a teacher for the past 27 years, a mother of four children, and grandmother to 10. The picture books satisfy a love of “writing feel-good books that teach moral lessons.”
Samantha grew up in Shepherd, near Houston, and earned bachelor’s degrees from Stephen F. Austin University and Howard Payne University. She is certified in Special Education and Family Consumer Science. Samantha got started on her writing career when she was 12. As the oldest of 35 grandchildren, Samantha said she “often felt the need to entertain them with made-up stories.” Those stories eventually led to a published book. Her writing has been rewarded with the Friesen-Press Best Seller honor and the San Jacinto County’s Author of the Year award.
By Loretta Fulton
Related: Abilene Authors
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