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About
Hi there! My name is Samantha and I'm a midwestern comic artist, visual storyteller and children's media enthusiast.
My debut middle grade graphic novel, A TALE AS TALL AS JACOB, was published by Andrews McMeel in 2021.
I graduated from the University of Missouri with a BFA in drawing and earned a Master's of Library and Information Science from San Jose State University.
I worked as a children's librarian for 5 years before pursuing bookmaking fulltime. I am currently working on a JACOB sequel that will hopefully be announced soon!
FAQs
The most frequently asked questions by nosy kids
Q. Which of your siblings is your favorite?
A. My diplomatic answer: "I love them all equally." My real answer: "My sister Grace."
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Q. What are some of your favorite books, movies and shows?
A. Favorite things to watch: Jaws (1975) Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Megamind (2010), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Coraline (2009), SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) Avatar the Last Airbender (2005)
A. Favorite things to read: No David! by David Shannon, Imogene's Antler's by David Small, Saturday by Oge Mora, Lift by Minh Lê and Dan Santat, Another by Christian Robinson, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson, New Kid by Jerry Craft, El Deafo by Cece Bell
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Q. Did the events in A TALE AS TALL AS JACOB really happen?
A. Yes...and no. Every big event that happened in the book actually happened at some point, but not necessarily in that order or with those people. I have a VERY big family and had to leave a lot of people out, so many stories were adopted to feature Samantha and Jacob that actually involved other family members IRL. Things also didn't happen exactly in the order the book depicts. I moved a lot of events around chronologically to make the story work. And even if you have a good memory of your childhood, you still have to use your imagination to fill in lots of the gaps! So yes, sort of!
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Q. What's your biggest piece of advice for aspiring comic artists?
A. Don't stress about drawing hands well. Nobody is paying attention to them.
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Q. How old are you?
A. I was born in 1992, you do the math!
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Q. Do you have any pets?
A. I am a cat person and try to have at least 2 in my house at all times. I'm considering getting a beta fish.