Photo courtesy of Rose Hoffer Photography
If you pick a classic novel off the shelf at Grove City Library, there’s a good chance the author made a living doing something other than writing. From legal clerks and factory workers to car dealers and museum curators, even the world’s most famous writers have held day jobs.
Roxanne (Walker) Sams, an English teacher at Galloway Ridge Intermediate School since August 2018, is not unlike her predecessors. In addition to being a teacher, she is the author of two young adult novels, written under the pen name R.L. Walker. In fact, her urge to self-publish first came as a way to incentivize students in her classroom. Sams is also inspired by her time spent abroad, as well as a childhood immersed in the carnival.
One Wild Ride
Sams’ family, now living in Ashville, owns a carnival business, Rube’s Concessions, that spans three generations. For a young Sams, that meant traveling all around Ohio to the fairs and carnivals with her family, enjoying the attractions, working at the concession stand and interacting with a diverse group of people.
“My childhood growing up in the carnival taught me that everyone has a different life story and we can all contribute in our own unique way,” says Sams. “Traveling and carnival life (taught me) to go with the flow and to be ready for anything.”
This ability to adapt is something Sams says she often utilizes while teaching and writing. She partly credits her vivid imagination and sense of curiosity to those childhood adventures.
“I was a daydreamer. I was constantly dreaming of all kinds of interesting scenarios, but I never really put them down to paper until recently,” says Sams. “I always tell stories to people around me, so I guess I am more of an orator than a writer.”
When she wasn’t on the road helping with the family business, Sams lived just outside of Lithopolis and attended Bloom-Carroll Local Schools. Inspired by strong role models at home and at school, she was excited to go off to college and continue to expand her horizons.
“My mother's work ethic and drive always made me push myself, while my teachers showed me … that you can accomplish anything with an open mind and hard work,” says Sams. “And while I loved my small town, I wanted to get out and see the world.”
Sams’ decision to study archeology at the University of South Florida offered her the chance to travel. Though she hadn’t started writing professionally at this point, she found herself thinking of potential stories with each new adventure.
“When I was on an archeology dig,” says Sams, “I told everyone, ‘You know what? It would be really cool to write a book about this.’”
After finishing her undergraduate degree, she decided to move to South Korea to teach English and continue traveling. It was during this time that she started to keep a journal of her experiences, considering how they could supplement the stories she had been dreaming up for years.
“(Teaching in South Korea) encouraged me to obtain my master’s in education from Ohio University,” says Sams. “Then, I took a job (at Allen Elementary School) with Chillicothe City Schools.”
“The goal is to try and get some of (the students) to be able to publish something they’ve written themselves.” - Sams
When Allen Elementary split its literacy department, Sams was tasked with teaching the writing portion of the curriculum. She soon found the best way to motivate her students to write was to share her personal writing goals and process.
“I began writing with the intention of being published around three years ago,” says Sams. “I wanted to motivate my students to write more, so I started sharing my writing with (them) and told them that I would publish by the end of the year.”
Sams self-published her first novel, The Disappearing Act, with a teenage protagonist, Zoe, whose family owns a traveling carnival business. Sound familiar? The YA mystery novel combines her personal anecdotes with supernatural fiction; her Chillicothe students even helped decide on the character names and cover art.
“In addition to writing, I also had to learn – through blogs and Amazon – how to design my own book covers and how to format my manuscript to publish online. It was quite a learning process,” says Sams.
With the start of a new academic year and a new class, she began a new novel. This time, she decided to draw on the archeological knowledge base she gained in college.
Kai’s Secret: Mysteries at the Museum Series features another female protagonist, Kai, who gets a summer internship working at the Smithsonian Institution. Sticking to the mystery genre, Sams includes themes of American Indian heritage and parallels to contemporary politics. Kai’s Secret was published in April 2018.
In August 2018, Sams moved to her current position teaching sixth-grade literacy at Galloway Ridge Intermediate School and she has plans to publish more.
“I am currently working on the sequel to The Disappearing Act called Crimival,” says Sams. “I just love writing mystery adventures, yet I want to venture outside the box. I am interested in writing a comparative memoir of my grandmother's teaching experiences and my own.”
In the meantime, she has created the Aspiring Authors Club to give students a chance to come together, share their creative writing and gain insight into their work through peer review.
“The goal is to try and get some of (the students) to be able to publish something they’ve written themselves,” says Sams.
Sams and her husband, Christopher, live in Canal Winchester, but they take every chance they can get to explore the surrounding areas. Grove City is one of their favorite places to visit with family and out-of-town guests because it offers a variety of shopping and dining options. The two also enjoy taking advantage of amenities like Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.
“We went and checked out Battelle Darby Metro Park; we’ve done quite a bit of hiking around there on several occasions now,” says Sams. “I love the nature center and hanging out there and learning more. They have really good kayaking around there as well.”
Jenny Wise is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at ncollins@cityscenemediagroup.com.
