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Tori Samuels was born and raised in Bolton. The published author navigated her school years here as well, first attending St John the Baptist and Holy Family Elementary. Later she shifted to the public system for Allan Drive Middle School and finally Humberview Secondary School.
A writer of contemporary romances Tori remembers a time she did not want to be in this town that ultimately become the locale for her books.
“Bolton is a small town and for the longest time in my teens I couldn’t wait to leave. You’re stuck in a place that has seen you go through your Twilight phase, the braces, and all the times you sucked at high jump” she recalls with a smile.
“Later, when I was drafting, I realized I could very much relate to why Hallmark characters dislike coming home. They got out, and now they’re forced to move back” she continued.
Tori, who admits to reading at least a book a week herself, knew she wanted to write at a very early age. When I ask when she penned her first book, she laughingly responds that “The literal answer is at the age of 14, but we do not talk about that.”
To support her enthusiasm for writing Tori attended University of Toronto for a Professional Writing Major, and also specialized in Information Technology. “I had hoped to use both to enter into the publishing world” she explains “but my love for writing, and reading, remains my quiet passion.”
Her actual debut novel was published in 2017, a Young Adult (YA) Fantasy under a different pen name. As Tori Samuels, The Holiday Match debuted in November 2022.
“My mother and I watch a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies, and I had thought, ‘why is it that the guy never returns home for the holidays to find love?’ She told me to write it.”
Thinking back to the teenager who wanted to get out of town and then considering the growth of characters who later in life begin to appreciate their upbringing, Bolton stood out as right location for her story.
“And I decided I wanted to name a town that was real” says Tori. “As well, Hallmark movies are sometimes filmed in this area, and I was writing my version of a Hallmark Christmas, so why not name the place after where it is based?”
Speaking about the inspiration for the plot and characters Tori explains “I can’t quite remember where the Secret Santa matchmaking service idea came from, but as I worked out the story, I played with a bunch of holiday festivities. I’m sure you can guess that the 12-day countdown leading up to their final reveal was themed after the 12 Days of Christmas. I knew I wanted to set the story in Bolton at Christmas with a male point of view, and the rest just fit together.”
“The first draft was far from the final. Originally, the book was written like a Hallmark favourite, light and with a different love interest. But Richard had a lot to work through before he was ready for love. From there, the world expanded. His friends stole some of his spotlight, and where Richard’s book ends, Margo’s (book two) begins. The books can be read separately, but the plot of The Boyfriend Countdown couldn’t have come to me without book one. Readers are really rooting for Richard in book one, so when he goes to meet his blind date I realized, “her story isn’t going to be an easy one.” Then her ulterior motive was born. A forgivable one, but a bump in Richard’s happily ever after. This time the story is told from Margo’s point of view.”
“Richard is leaving a bad relationship. He has anxiety and struggles to prioritize himself. Margo is an ambitious woman. She is set on focussing on herself and not wanting any distractions, and we know men fall into that category. These are two sides of a healing journey, and I very much wanted these emotions to come out authentically. Heartbreak is sometimes how we learn what we need from relationships, and I wanted to portray that.”
“It seems cliche, but each of my characters have pieces of me in them. No one is based off of people I know in real life. For inclusivity and fair representations of ethnicities and sexual orientations, I interviewed friends and beta readers to help round my characters as accurately as possible. Some even pitched I used their names.”
When I ask if there is a character in her books that is a personal favourite she easily responds. “Eric. I know I’m not supposed to pick favourites, but Eric is the comic relief. He is the teddy bear with a past trauma we get a taste of and that I am most excited to dissect.”
The successful self-published author has six books (see list below) in print and another coming in late 2024 or early 2025. You can purchase them locally at Forster’s Book Garden or on Amazon.
Follow Tori on social media:
Instagram: @torisamuels.writes
TikTok: @torisamuels.reads
Contemporary Romance titles, Tori Samuels:
The Holiday Match (Holi-FATE Book One)
The Boyfriend Countdown (Holi-FATE Book Two)
YA Fantasy titles, SV Filice:
The Summoning (Moral Bloodlines Book One)
The Prophecy (Moral Bloodlines Book Two)
The Resurrection (Moral Bloodlines Book Three)
Caged by Steel and Gems
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