Samantha casts a wide net in terms of experience. She has a BA in Italian literature from Indiana University. She also has a BA in Middle Eastern Anthropology and Language (Persian Farsi), an MA in Terrorism Studies, and a PhD in Homeland Security. She wrote her dissertation on working K-9s. Before 9-11 she was training to become a concert violinist and was preparing to audition for some of the best music conservatories in the country. After 9-11 she heeded the call to service and has since become a 100% disabled veteran.

She owned her own dog training business and enjoys showing other veterans how to train their own service dogs. For fun she jumps out of perfectly good (and also some very sketchy) airplanes and travels the world. She speaks several languages and enjoys continuing her undergraduate cultural studies through her writing. Her writing is also influenced by her mixed heritage. She has ridden horses from the time she was a toddler and rides at a weekly veteran's horse group. She is firmly of the opinion socks do not intrinsically have to match.

She is represented by Bob Diforio of D4EO Literary.