Art Samms: Stories

An American astronomer, working at the ALMA observatory and searching for the origins of the universe, finds himself drawn to a Chilean archaeologist who is studying the ancient petroglyphs left by the desert's first inhabitants. Their love story is a dialogue between the deepest past and the farthest future, a connection forged under the clearest sky on Earth, where both seek answers to humanity's biggest questions. Set in Chile's Atacama Desert.

A globe-spanning inter-cultural love story about three refugees from different backgrounds whose lives collide, and the friendships, romances, and found family they build along the way. Heartbreak, healing, and hope intertwine as they create a new life, and a future worth fighting for. The story is written in rotating first person POV.

Two virtual strangers, while exiting an office building where they both work, are shocked to discover that every single human being besides the two of them has instantly vanished, leaving them alone in the world. How will they survive? Can they put up with each other? There is no explicitly described sex in this story, although it's implied.

A slow-burn romance set in the fictional remote mountain town of Willow Creek, Colorado. A reclusive newcomer and a guarded local woman clash, circle, and slowly soften. As a small community pulls them closer, two wounded souls discover that belonging—and love—can be quietly built, one brave step at a time.

A divorced American man in his thirties looks for a fresh start as both an ecotourism consultant and a university professor in Botswana. The assignments lead to a perspective adjustment, self-discovery, and an unexpected new love interest.

In divided Cold War Europe, a West Berlin-based American journalist and a dissident Czech translator risk everything to communicate across the Iron Curtain. As secret corridors open and collapse, their emerging love collides with surveillance, betrayal, and state power. When a daring escape fails, they must decide: retreat to safety — or defy the system tightening around them.

Four people are abducted from a Texas park near the Rio Grande by Mexican cartel members, taken to a remote area in the interior of Mexico, and held hostage. How will they deal with the situation? Despite the Spanish title, the story is in English.

A divorced Peace Corps volunteer begins again in Nepal, finding purpose in environmental work and an unexpected bond with a local woman. Their quiet connection unfolds amid cultural limits and disaster recovery, proving that some loves change us without needing to stay. A subtle romance with an emphasis on self-discovery.

When a Manhattan creative director is wrongly swept into a viral nightclub scandal, his life grinds to a halt. Laying low in Queens, he clashes with a sharp-tongued local woman who sees only the headlines—until forced proximity, hard truths, and slow trust change them both.

Caleb Hartwell goes on a hiking trip in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina with a couple of buddies. He goes off by himself for a moment, stumbles onto a hidden time portal, and is sent back to the year 1853. He encounters a runaway slave, and suddenly, he finds a sense of purpose.