About Samantha
Samantha St. Claire is the pen name of an author passionate about American history and the people whose legacies are woven into the fabric of a nation. She writes these characters to life in her novels of the western frontier, their trials and triumphs. Coming from a family of pioneers, she honestly claims her roots as a Daughter of the American Revolution and descendant of a Scottish Laird.
The road from college graduation led due west where teaching in a small Arizona town fulfilled childhood fantasies on multiple levels. Hiking and backpacking the canyons and desert fed her imagination with the landscapes she would use later in life as an author. Moving to California opened new vistas, but Idaho sparked her interest in the history of the magnificent central mountain ranges.
Never faint of heart, her signature protagonists face the hazards of the frontier with courage, wit, and a healthy pinch of humor.
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A little more . . .
I grew up on Westerns. The traditional values represented by my cowboy heroes reinforced those instilled by a family whose roots go deep in the American dream. As a kid, I rode a barn-sour horse and wore my six-guns to bed. All-in-all it was a great way to grow up, even if it wasn’t until I left college that I saw any of the land inhabited by my heroes.
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With my teaching degree in hand, I moved west to Arizona and for a decade lived out a few of my western fantasies. Many of my students came from the reservation and it was my privilege to really get to know them as fellow dreamers. As their English and drama coach, we wrote together and imagined together. The next season provided a wonderful family of my own. Life, the universe and everything shifted.
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Now, I’m back to dreaming again with my eyes open and a keyboard at my fingertips. I hope my writing captures the adventurous spirit of the west and that I can take many along with me on these fictional journeys into the past. But I promise you, dear reader, that I will research the truth behind the legends. In fact, the research is as much fun as the weaving of the story. I’ve learned so much that is even more fascinating than the myths I grew up believing. If you have a similar interest in history, check out my blog posts where I’ll take you with me to the ghost towns and libraries that hold a treasure trove of stranger-than-fiction facts.
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My hope for you is a pleasant ride under a wide-open sky and that every story takes you on a new and satisfying adventure. Maybe you’ll smile and even find encouragement for your own adventure. If a story makes you laugh or cry, then I’ve done my job as a writer; I’ve touched your heart.
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—Samantha St. Claire