Julie Gustafson Sampson was raised in West Hartford, Connecticut where she returned after college to work as the sports editor of Imprint newspapers. A lifelong sports enthusiast and diverse athlete, Julie combined her passion for sports and writing. While at Imprint, she was awarded a Miller Lite Women in Sports Journalism award for newspaper feature articles.

Julie moved to New York with her husband John Sampson where she worked at Newsday in the sports department and special sections. Along with her sports articles, her work appeared in Newsday’s special guidebooks about recreational life on Long Island.

When she had her children, Julie focused on raising the family and wrote freelance articles for Newsday, The New York Times, American Cheerleader magazine and other publications. She also published two non-fiction books – Elite Wrestling (McGraw Hill 2007) and Beginning Wrestling (Sterling Publishing 2000).

Then Julie shifted her focus toward helping her husband build an international shipping business called New Direx, Inc. Traveling for the business brought her to some spectacular parts of the world including Thailand, Malta, Majorca, Hong Kong, Ireland, England, Italy, France, Portugal and Spain. The art history, architecture, cuisine, wine, and above all else, the amazing people, opened her eyes to the beauty of the world.

Julie shifted her writing focus to fiction. Her entry in the 2020 fall Writer’s Weekly 24-hour short story contest won first place.

Julie is a Springfield College graduate where she was a member of the women’s varsity soccer team, served three years as the editor-in-chief of The Student weekly newspaper and she graduated with multiple honors and awards.

When she is not working for New Direx or writing, Julie enjoys cooking, photography, yoga and long walks on the beach with her husband and two dogs. Julie’s greatest joy is spending time with her two children, Troy and Sheila. She lives on Long Island.

The Eye in the Ceiling is her first novel. The sequel is in the works.