Samantha graduated with a BS in Journalism from Florida International University in 2003. She wrote and reported entertainment scripts that were aired on FOX WSVN 7 in Miami, FL and OWL Radio at Florida Atlantic University in Boca. She is passionate about writing and has been writing short stories and poetry since she was a kid, after learning that her favorite grandmother was a poet. Samantha began writing children's stories in 2004. She has completed a 18,000-word humorous, animal-talking, chapter book called MURPHY: THE PHAT CAT, which is being published by TOUCHPOINT PRESS. In addition, she wrote a 62,000-word middle-grade fantasy, RAINBOW CRYSTAL (book one) and the sequel, RAINBOW CRYSTAL: THE SPECIAL BOY WHO COULD is approximately 72,000 words. She is in the process of shopping RAINBOW CRYSTAL as a trilogy, and the first two as newly designed reprints. She adapted RAINBOW CRYSTAL into a feature screenplay. Samantha also co-wrote and finished a screenplay based on a true story about her Italian great-grandparents, MANO NERA. Both scripts are being entered into film festivals and shopped in Hollywood.
MANO NERA, 129-page drama feature, was a winner of the 4THEATRE Selection, the NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDS of 2021, and DELTA INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDS, LOS ANGELES FILM AWARDS, MULTI DIMENSION INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, and HOLLYWOOD ART & MOVIE AWARDS of 2022 as BEST DRAMA screenplay. It was a finalist two times in the CREATIVE WORLD AWARDS Screenplay Competition in 2018 and 2021, the EDIPLAY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL and ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY AWARDS, LONELY WOLF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL of 2022. It’s also It was also a semi-finalist in the SEATTLE MOVIE AWARDS of 2022 and AUSTIN INTERNATIONAL ART FESTIVAL, DALLAS MOVIE AWARDS, SICILY ART CINEMA FESTIVAL, LOS ANGELES CRIME & HORROR FILM FESTIVAL of 2022. It was selected in the SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY AWARDS and TORONTO INTERNATIONAL WOMEN FILM FESTIVAL of 2022 and an honorable mention in the LOS ANGELES FILM & SCRIPT FESTIVAL of 2022.
RAINBOW CRYSTAL, 120-page fantasy feature, was a winner of 4THEATRE Selection of 2021 and a winner in the NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDS, and LOS ANGELES FILM AWARDS of 2022 as BEST FANTASY. It was a semifinalist in the DALLAS MOVIE AWARDS of 2022. It was also a quarterfinalist with the TABLE READ MY SCREENPLAY GENRE COMPETITION and the ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY AWARDS of 2022.
Samantha is also certified, professional multimedia master makeup artist. She is the creator of RAINBOW CRYSTAL COSMETICS LLC. ~ a whimsical make-up line that will be aimed for young adults, age range 12-25. Her cosmetics will correlate with her RAINBOW CRYSTAL fantasy series, and all will be inspired from settings and characters in her books.Mainly, she's busy being a wife to Richard and mother to two children, Bella and Lorenzo. She enjoys reading, watching movies, working out, blogging, spending quality time with good friends, and/or traveling, whenever she can find extra time (usually one of those activities accompanies a cup of coffee or glass of wine), minus the working out part. However, there are always exceptions. Samantha lives on two acres in Davie, FL and has two bulldogs (Bleu and Buster), one white, fluffy cat named Gracie who is the princess of the castle, a rescue cat named Marlo Brando, a Cavachon pup named Daphne, a 150 lb. desert tortoise named Samson, and a bunch of exotic fish, corals, and albino iguanas. She has a lot of love, abundance, inspiration, and activity around her; she feels blessed – and even sometimes stressed – every day for it all.
