Samantha Adair - Fast-Paced Thrillers with Relatable Characters

Posted on 10th of June, 2022 by Naomi Bolton

Samantha was a finalist in The Wishing Shelf Book Award for 2021 for her debut novel, Blood Orphan, book 1 in The Tom Grant Series – an ongoing series of which four books have been released. She enjoys writing fast paced thrillers with characters you can relate to. She also writes short stories that she features on her website. She takes inspiration from events she has been involved in or witnessed and uses her own emotional connections and feelings to colour her characters and tell stories that twist and turn. Samantha lives in Sydney Australia with her family and mischievous golden retriever. As our Author of the Day, she tells us all about her book, Blood Orphan.

Please give us a short introduction to what Blood Orphan is about.

Blood Orphan is about a flawed agent, Tom who has made some pretty big mistakes and is looking to redeem himself. He is assigned a babysitting job – just look after this girl, Isabella for one night and that’s it. This, however quickly turns chaotic and he ends up having to run across Paris with Isabella to keep her safe. Their pasts are connected – and when Tom finds this out he wants nothing to do with the job, but he soon realises he also can’t leave Isabella.

What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything that made you want to tackle this?

This is a weird one. I was daydreaming one day and a scene from the book (I can’t tell you which one or it gives away a twist!) but it came to me and I thought... that’s cool... I should write a story around that!

Tell us more about Tom. What makes him tick?

Tom is strong and protective. But his past also makes him sensitive, intuitive and guarded. He turns to the bottle when things get too much and this can become his undoing at times!

Why did you title this book "Blood Orphan?"

This title refers to one of the characters pasts. I shouldn’t give too much away 😉

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

Let me find my list...

What makes Isabella Wirth so special?

Isabella has lived through hell and made it out the other side. She looked after herself when she had the opportunity. She starts out as being meek and mild...but she soon shows what she’s capable of 😉 You might have to read the book to find out!

Interesting cover. Please tell us more about how it came about.

I love to use symbolic things on the covers of my books. Something related to the story that will make sense as you read.

This is the first book of a series. Can it be read as a standalone? How do the other books in the series tie in with this one?

This can definitely be read as a standalone. There are currently 4 books (and a short prequel – check out my website for how to get a copy of it for free 😊) The subsequent books do refer to things from the previous books.

Readers say this was a roller coaster ride. How did you pull this off?

I like to make the reader think all is well when it’s not! I also love to make characters do things that the reader will be surprised or shocked by sometimes!