Curling up by the fireplace on a cold, winter’s day is a pastime Samantha (Sam) Rae is encouraging everyone to enjoy this wintery season, especially if you are reading her first novel entitled New Beginnings.
Once upon a time, not so very long ago a young girl named Sam Rae was asked by her Norwell District Secondary School grade 10 teacher Mr. Hendricks to show all she had learned that semester by writing a story.
Her assignment in hand, she turned in her project and awaited her score. The teacher was excited by the twist to the tale. With high grades and praise, Sam’s inkling of ‘This could be a novel!’ sent her back to her lap top to tap out over 50,000 words. A book, she finished on her 16th birthday.
Satisfied with her project, she searched in earnest knocking on doors, via websites and the mail to find a publisher. She found XLibris, an American company with a printing press in British Columbia who would help her publish her own novel herself. With enough money saved from working part-time after school and giving up weekends of partying with friends, she laid her money down and the venture of her young life time took shape. XLibris helped her structure each and every step of her goal. She became an entrepreneur writing, researching, printing, marketing, and distributing her very first novel. With this tremendous undertaking, Sam held the promise of the future in her hands, literally. 250 copies rolled off the presses for the first printing.
Rae would love for you to read a copy of her book or better yet buy a copy of her book for yourself or someone you know who is curious about hometown literature and the supernatural. You will find a special rapport with tweens, teens, and young people throughout the pages of the first novel. For the environmentally conscious and the techno savvy, you can purchase an a-book at one half the price of her paper back or one third the cost of the hard copy.
The stream and forest on the front cover invites you to dip inside the pages of her first book in what she has named ‘The Twiddle Series’. This psychological thriller of a young girl’s imagination offers a twist of fate and a little literary craziness. Don’t let the cool stream and trees fool you, there is a lot of warmth in those pages that comes straight from her heart. You can find out a little bit about the book by heading to the Facebook pages – ‘Twiddle Series’.
Rae has already written three more books and is actually working on a fifth book, but only one book has been published to date. Sam is treading timidly into this area of publishing any more, ever watchful for a publisher eager to have her on the next bestsellers list.
“I may never be J. K. Rowlings and have more money than the Queen, but I would like a taste of fame.”
She already has an incredible fan base with her family, friends, and co-workers, like Ty at Stewarts.
Her parents Debbie and Doug Campbell and grandparents Myrtle and Brian Demerling couldn’t be prouder.
No doubt, her book will have a place of honour in their home..
Rae says she feels a little funny every time she signs her name and leaves a message inside each cover. Although she may have a quest for greatness, she hopes her ego never gets the best of her.
She wants to remain grounded in the familiar roots of this village of Clifford, even as she sets her goals and sights on the University of Guelph to study Psychology.
Rae has moved on from her pastimes of horticulture, basketball, and strumming on her guitar to develop her passion for writing.
She is focused on a career as a student delving into the subconscious of people, but is still committed to developing deeper, richer relationships with her characters. Sometimes Ty finds her scribbling notes on the yellow sales flyers while at Stewart’s Town and Country Market in Mildmay. For late night ramblings, her notepad and pen are ever close at hand.
The future looks promising for this creative, young talent.
