Samantha Specks
Samantha Specks is a licensed independent clinical social worker. Dovetails in Tall Grass is Samantha’s debut novel. Currently, she is writing Dovetails of a River, which is set at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. She and her husband live in Houston with their baby (Pippa) and fur baby (Charlie). When not in Texas, they enjoy spending time on the lakes of Minnesota and in the mountains of the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado.
Instagram: @SamathaSpecks
Is there a work of art that you love. Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
Painter Marcel Majid Kahhak has a gallery on Main Street in Carbondale, Colorado. One night a few years ago while walking off a Phat Thai dinner, my husband and I wandered into the gallery. We were lucky enough to chat with the artist about his work. I fell in love with one piece: a bright, beautiful, abstract oil painting of a horse. We’ve been back to Carbondale a few times, but never caught the gallery during open hours. So, I cup my hands around my eyes and lean against the darkened storefront windows – hoping for a glimpse of that beautiful painting again.
Is your go to comfort food sweet or savory? Is it something you make yourself? Does food inspire your writing?
Salty! I love green olives, french fries, sunflower seeds, and the like. I’m a difficult person to go to a movie with as I’m unwilling to share a bucket of popcorn.
Vacation druthers… City or Rural destination? Why?
Rural. To me, there’s nothing better than open space, quiet, and nature. My favorite spots on earth are the beaches of Kauai, HI, the lakes of northern Minnesota, and the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado. My husband and I went on safari in Africa for our honeymoon and it’s the single best travel experience of my life. And - it’s not a vacation, per se, but I drive Interstate 35 from Texas to Minnesota at least twice a year; I truly love that open stretch of highway through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa. Some people call them the “fly over states” but I feel very fortunate to enjoy the beauty of those places.
If you’re headed to explore a new city, please still send me an invitation! My husband Markus and best friend Katie are similar: they’re confident, outgoing, business-savvy city-folk. Traveling and exploring different places with each of them has enlightened me to the wonder of the urban. I’ve had the best food and cocktails of my life thanks to them getting me out of my comfort zone!
Not all books are for all readers… when you start a book and you just don’t like it, how long do you read until you bail?
If someone I trust has highly recommended the book I push through to the halfway point. If there’s still no hook, I dump it. Life is too short and there are too many good books to spend long on one that isn’t a fit.
Is there another profession you would like to try?
If I had a more lifetimes there are a few careers I’ve always wanted to try being…
An FBI hostage-negotiator*. I used to work as a mental health therapist, often with adolescents. Teenagers were my absolute favorite group to work with – they are brilliant, complex, ever-changing and most aren’t going to do something because someone tells them to… needless to say, they can be extremely talented negotiators. I learned from the best, so in a future lifetime I could give it a try with the FBI.
A meteorologist. Besides being a big Al Roker fan and checking my weather app multiple times a day, I have a glorified (fictional) view of life as a meteorologist. I used to work in broadcast journalism. One day, in the bustling newsroom, the sports anchor walked up to me and pointed to the weather team on the opposite side of the room. The summer sun was shining through the window behind them as they laughed together. A meteorologist sat relaxed, rocking on the back two legs of his chair and the weather intern spun around on her swivel chair as their computers autopopulated the forecast. The sports anchor said to me, “Now, that’s the gig we should have tried to get.” I dream of a career where I twirl in a chair until I go on air to tell people what a lovely weekend they can expect to have.
A producer for a reality show. Bridezillas, Housewives, Intervention… it would not be boring.
*Ideally, part-time.
