About Sam Rawlins

Author Sam Rawlins

My Story

Sam was raised in Oklahoma and Arkansas in the 1940s and early 1950s.

From an early age, Sam became very patriotic, with a tremendous love of God and country. Sam’s grandfather encouraged his early interest with history and historical events.

Studying the life of Abraham Lincoln led into a life-long obsession to know everything about him. This fascination has continued over several decades. Discovering thought to be extinct letters and other rare unpublished or out of print documents inspired Sam to do on-site research in New Salem and the surrounding area in Illinois. This laid the groundwork that led to the writing of Young Lincoln of New Salem.

Growing up in ‘tornado alley’ in the early 1950s, Sam became an eyewitness to many destructive twisters such as the one depicted in his novel A Return To Meadow Wood. Things he experienced in those early years have stayed with him his entire life. This included a year long bout with polio, in which doctors said he would not live. Turning to the Lord in prayer, he became a Christian as a young boy. Being healed, he believes God has been with him ever since, guiding his life.

In the 1960s, Sam served as a medical corpsman in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Observing young men in the last moments of their lives, praying with them, and later seeing the horrible effects of PTSD in so many that survived, profoundly changed him.

After the war, Sam’s interest in novel writing was rekindled. Believing he had survived death for a purpose, he became a writer of faith-based, inspirational stories.

In the years since then, the knowledge gained from these life experiences has given him a unique voice in writing with a degree of intimacy and understanding that would otherwise not been possible. Reflecting on his craft, Sam has said, “I think of writing as a sacred profession, one in which I’m guided by a power greater than myself. Most recently, I see this in my new book, Naomi’s Journey Into The Light. Reminiscent of elements from A Christmas Carol and It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s a heartfelt story of faith I believe readers will not soon forget.”

Sam presently lives in the Southwest, continuing to write stories that touch people in special ways, making a difference in their lives.