Author Interview: Sammantha Selwood

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Friday Night Writes! As always, our goal is to shine a spotlight on members of the book community and introduce readers to awesome authors, narrators, event hosts, influencers, and more.

This week, we'd like to introduce our featured guest and sponsor, debut author Sammantha Selwood. Sam will be leading the interview.

Sammantha Selwood

Thanks for joining us this week. So, Sammantha, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you?

I’m a twenty-four-year-old mother and wife. I’m a Mainer through and through, and I’m Filipino American.

We've met several authors from Maine now. Your state must provide a lot of inspiration. Very cool. Can you share a few of your favorite things with our readers?

My favorite things are Halloweentown (the movie), the beach, and music. My least favorite things are bugs.

Fair enough. Halloweentown is awesome and bugs are the worst. Did you always know you wanted to be an author?

No. I wanted to be a cop. I thought I could change the system for victims of abuse.

A worthy goal. When did you decide to pursue an author career, then?

Shortly after my brother passed away unexpectedly. I’ve always loved reading and writing, but he was the reason I took a chance and wrote my first book. (That one will never see publication.)

I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds like you loved him very much and still do today. What a great way to honor his memory and process trauma all at the same time. Writing is such a valuable creative outlet. How long have you been writing?

I used to write fan fiction in middle school, but more seriously since the end of 2020.

The Covid-19 Era really kickstarted a lot of author careers. That's when I started pursuing this journey, too. Are you independently published or traditionally published?

Independently! For me personally, there were more pros than cons to go this route. The biggest one is the freedom I have; I don’t have to go by anyone else’s rules or schedules but my own. I like being in control.

Same here. What genres do you write in?

As of right now, only Contemporary Romance.

From what I know about you, that totally fits your energy. I love it. Are you pantser or a plotter?

One hundred percent pantser! I’ll have a general idea for the story, but otherwise, all I have is a dream and the vibes.

Me too. Every time I start a new project with a plan, the characters switch things up on me. LOL Do you find that writing routines help you at all?

I don’t really have a routine. I write when I can, so sometimes that means on my phone in the car or late at night while my kids sleep.

So relatable. I wrote almost an entire book on my phone while I was rocking my newborn son to sleep back in 2021. We do what we have to do to get the writing done. How do you handle the author/life balance?

I still haven’t really figured that out. I just wing it and hope for the best.

Me too. If you ever get it down, let me know. I'll try your methods. What do you do to recharge your mental health?

Music helps me the most. It’s part of why the series I’m writing has a lot of music references in it. And I’m pretty certain every single book I publish will have a book playlist.

Book playlists are great. Do you ever get writer's block? How do you handle it when it pops up?

Yes. Cry, mostly. But in all seriousness, I listen to music that isn’t a part of my specific book playlist to get a different perspective.

Sometimes a small change can make a huge difference. Occasionally, I alternate between projects myself. How many WIPs do you have going?

I have two WIPs currently and one on the back burner for now. I’m trying to focus on the series I’m working on. My debut book is one of three interconnected standalones that I have plans to publish. Book two is my main focus at the moment since it will be going to the editor at the end of September!

That's exciting! Does it have a title?

Book two is called Secret Love Song, and it will be a college romance…That’s all I’ll say for now.

Oh, alright. Keep your secrets, then. LOL How many books do you currently have published?

As of tomorrow (September 13th, 2025), I’ll have my first book published.

Go you! Congratulations! That must feel incredible, Sammantha. Nice work! Where do you get the inspiration for your books?

I definitely insert small pieces of myself and people I know into my books, but I also have fun thinking of things outside of my little bubble.

No matter what we do, we always find little pieces of ourselves in our books. That's pretty cool. Do you prefer standalones or series?

Do I have to pick? I like a bit of both; hence why I’m doing interconnected standalones!

The best of both worlds. I like your solution. What do you enjoy most and least about being an author so far?

I loathe marketing and love the writing process. Writing the first draft always feels so special to me.

Me too. Aside from writing, do you have any hobbies?

Aside from the obvious, reading, I also love swimming.

That makes sense since you said you love the beach. Do any of your characters enjoy swimming, too?

The main character in It’s Always You, Saylor, loves the beach because of my love for the water.

Since we're on the subject of characters, do you have a favorite or least favorite?

So far, my favorite has to be Rachel from Book Two. She’s very sassy, driven, and a little extra when it comes to her favorite things. My least favorite is definitely Mason from It’s Always You; he’s the bad guy for a reason.

Gotta love to hate a good villain. I'm curious, are there any authors who have inspired you so far?

Jenny Han, Bal Khabra, and Samantha Moran. All for very different reasons, but Bal and Samantha specifically were some of the first few indie authors I read (Bal is now trad.), and they also gave me the courage to chase my dream.

I'm so glad you did. It's been awesome to watch you grow. Do you have anything you're passionate about outside of writing?

I am very passionate about helping SA Victims. As a survivor myself, I want to be part of the change that needs to happen. I plan on donating my royalties to the Joyful Heart Foundation and/or the National Sexual Assault Hotline every April during SA Awareness Month.

That's amazing. As a fellow survivor, I can't tell you how much that means. Both of those organizations help so much. Thank you for giving back to the community. Okay, one last writing question for now. Do you have any advice for new or unpublished authors?

Don’t worry about perfection. Just write the book. You can’t fix what’s not there.

Absolutely. We get in our heads too much, for sure. Really quickly, we'll do a few rapid-fire questions just for fun. How about we start with this one: do you believe in ghosts or aliens?

I definitely believe in ghosts!

Same! What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

Maple!

Hmm, I've never tried that one. I'll have to check it out! One more: what food have you never eaten but really would like to try?

Most Filipino cuisine, but I really want to try Turon or Halo-Halo.

Now my stomach is rumbling! That was fun! Alright, let's wrap things up. Where can our readers find you online?

TikTok

Instagram

Facebook

You heard her, folks. Do you have any appearances or signings planned so readers can meet you in person?

As of right now, I only have one event planned for this year. I will be doing a meet-and-greet at the Farmington Maine Library on October 25th. 

Very cool. It's always great to meet local readers. :) You mentioned you wanted to offer an incentive for ours. Could you tell us a little about it?

I'm hosting a US-only giveaway for a signed copy of It’s Always You, a tote bag, and some extra goodies like character art, a bookmark, and a sticker. 

Sounds awesome, Sammantha! Our readers are definitely going to be excited about the opportunity. Well, thank you again for joining us this week. It's been a pleasure chatting with you! Congratulations on tomorrow's new release!

To all of our readers, thanks for spending some time with our guest author and Friday Night Writes sponsor this week! We hope you've enjoyed this interview! In the meantime, be sure to follow Sammantha on her social media platforms so you can keep up to date with her journey. Building a better, stronger community is what Friday Night Writes is all about!

Be sure to join us next week when we talk to author Mason Carlisle! We will also have a special live interview tonight with author and Friday Night Writes sponsor Rebecca Jose on TikTok at 8pm EST!

See you soon!

The Friday Night Writes Crew

Evie Black & Samantha Moran

Friday Night Writes would like to thank our amazing sponsors: Bobbie Isabel, Rebecca Jose, Eden Knox, Kris Mitchell, LeAnn Kelley, and Sammantha Selwood. Through their contributions, we are able to host interviews on a dedicated site and reach new audiences through our newsletter. Thank you!