Sam grew up a stone's throw from Washington, D.C., where he cultivated a disdain for authority and an unhealthy obsession with storytelling, English lit, and dark fantasy. He began the final version of his first novel as a freshman in high school - four years and 580 pages later, he self-published Attrition: the First Act of Penance at the age of 18. After its release, Attrition went on to win the Gold Medal for Fantasy Fiction from the Readers' Favorite Book Award at the Miami Book Fair. It reached #1 Bestseller status in both Epic Fantasy and Dark Fantasy categories on Amazon, and has garnered the acclaim of readers and reviewers alike.   Since then, Sam has spent his time drafting the Second Act of Penance (it's coming, he swears!), hacking out a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing, marrying his high school sweetheart, and releasing a smattering of short stories. He thinks of himself as cynic, a bitter libertarian, and an aspiring hermit, but he has a soft spot for puppies and musicals about French people.