From the time she could hold a pencil, Kristin H. Sample loved to write. In middle school, around the time that One Square Mile takes place, Kristin was awarded the highest score on the NY state writing test. Her teacher said Kristin was the best writer she ever taught—at least this is what Kristin’s mother swears happened.

Her love of stories continued throughout her youth. She eschewed math and science in her senior year of high school in favor of taking two English courses and studying English at Fordham University. At Fordham, she was one of four students invited into the pilot accelerated Masters program. She was awarded a Presidential Scholarship and a fellowship to complete her MA.

After finishing her MA, Kristin shared her love of writing as an English teacher at Preston High School, an all-girls Catholic school in the Bronx. While working there, she completed a second advanced degree, an MST in Adolescent Literacy.

A few years later, she moved to Los Angeles and discovered her love of blogging. Kristin became the lead blogger and west coast editor for TV Squad, a division of AOL TV.

While in LA, she joined her first creative writing group and wrote her debut novel, North Shore South Shore, about a young woman who suddenly finds herself running a crime family on Long Island.

In 2019, she had the pleasure of meeting Sandra Cisneros and discussing life, writing, and the creative spirit. “Don’t write what you remember, write what you wish you could forget,” Cisneros advised. That night, Kristin wrote the first story for One Square Mile.

The collection, inspired by her adolescence in her beloved small town on Long Island, explores the joys and heartbreaks of late childhood. Existing between the haze of memoir and the veneer of fiction, One Square Mile reminds us what it’s like to figure out how to be ourselves.

While Kristin moved around the country, LA—NY—Austin—Dallas, she always found time to return to Long Island. The connection with the people, the ocean, and her memories remain dear to Kristin’s heart. When she’s on Long Island, she’s home.