Samantha Whitlock Bio

Samantha "Sam" Whitlock

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
She's very tall for a woman at 6'2 standing flat.  Her build is mostly slim and muscular, but she tends to be slightly bulkier than what you'd generally consider slim

2. How old is he?
25 years old during the SL-9 investigation, 27 during Rise from the Ashes

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
She's mostly straight, but she slouches if she's been hunched over something for a good couple hours

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
She prides herself on being fit, she works out for at least 30 minutes everyday, longer if she can.  She's very prone to chest colds though, and is allergic to shellfish

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Her movements are deliberate and purposeful.  She's not particularly graceful, but not clumsy, more like some kind of hunter.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
She's rather rugged in appearance, doesn't really emphasize her femininity, so she's not the most gorgeous woman in the world, but definitely one who's probably best suited for someone into her type.  She's overall satisfied with how she looks, it's not a priority for her.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
She's rather tanned as she likes spending time outside with scars from accidents she's had in the past.

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Her hair is short, roughly chopped to about her shoulders giving her a shaggy appearance and smooth.  It's dark brown in color.

9. What color are his eyes?
A warm, darker green

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
None.

11. What are his chief tension centers?
The small of her back, her neck, and between her shoulders

12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Very relaxed and casual, even at work.  She wears very durable, rough clothing not unusual on men who work in construction or out in the fields as farmhands or ranch hands.  For court, she'll dress up a bit.  She also wears a lot of Western/cowboy-style clothing and is rarely ever without boots or her dark brown cowboy hat.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Her clothes are very comfortable fit.  They are made for comfort while working and durability after all.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
Generally yes, unless she's on a date or has to appear in court and give testimonies

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Underwear.

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
It's deeper for a woman's voice with a very heavy Texas twang

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Her voice is louder, and flows and she speaks very easily.  When excited, she'll talk louder and faster

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Very heavy, pronounced Texan drawl, she'll sigh or chuckle a lot when she speaks.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
She speaks English, Spanish and Hebrew, all with varying degrees of fluency but best at English and Spanish.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
She'll speak English when at work or in court, Spanish if she's needed to translate, and Hebrew if needed to translate or working with Jewish research

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
She'll take a few minutes to compose herself and figure out what she's going to say before she speaks… unless she's drunk, then she'll mouth off without thinking

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
She's rather eloquent and not really one to hold back… even if she's letting loose a string of profanity


Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
She's very intelligent, being one of the top in her field, she's still kind of new to the city life having grown up in small town Texas, but she's very tough

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Thinks on her feet most of the time.  She doesn't do well if she has a lot of time to prepare.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
She's a mix of both logic and intuition, and very practical

4. What kind of education has the character had?
She's been all the way through high school, college, and graduate school and has earned her doctorate

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
She knows quite a bit about music, having wanted to pursue a career as a country music singer, and firearms, from her grandfather.  Now she's an expert in forensics and anthropology and would like to learn more about psychology and sociology.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Extroverted

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
She's very hot-tempered, especially with alcohol in her.  She's cheerful, but does have a more melancholy side that she accepts, but refuses to let interfere with her life as living's more important to her.  She's more driven about some things than others.  She is very aggressive though when made angry and has been known to threaten people or start fights.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
She's very open, though somewhat guarded, and will adjust to the situation as best she can.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Act

10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fight.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
She's more apt to tease people though she hates disgusting jokes, she does laugh at other people's misfortunes if she finds it funny

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Mild anxiety which she controls with exercise and a healthy diet

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
Losing her parents in a car accident, leaving her small hometown for college, earning her degree, dealing with the loss of her boyfriend Neil and two years later finding out that the evidence had been forged

14. What does he fear?
Damon Gant, being stabbed, ghosts

15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Just live life to the fullest amongst her family and friends.  

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Neil's death impacted her more than she lets on, but tries to stay together for the sake of his brother and that Damon Gant scares the living crap out of her.


Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Her parents are dead, but she was raised from 15 until she left for college by her aunt and uncle and they have a good relationship

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
She has a younger sister named Mina and a brother named Anthony, she feels responsible for them, to the point of bringing them out to live with her after she got a stable job

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Her family is very close-knit, but she was close with her grandfather and great-aunt who had lived in Denmark during WWII and lost her family except her younger sister in the concentration camps.  She's not fond of her cousin Rachel because she's the perfect good girl.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Jake Marshall is basically her adopted brother.  She'd been dating his brother so they were around each other a lot.  She enjoys teasing him a lot about being a cowboy from California where she's a cowgirl from Texas and grew up on a ranch, but it's just a normal friendly, sibling-like relationship.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Cheyenne was, and still is, her best friend from the time they were young.  They went to their small Jewish school together.

6. Does he have other close friends?
She's friends with her neighbors in the building she lives in.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Her personality does rub people the wrong way from time to time, but she manages to make friends

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
To her, blood is thicker than water

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single, but she was in a pretty steady relationship… until her boyfriend was murdered.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No, but she's not really interested in looking

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Noah from her science class in 2nd grade… she punched him in the face when he wouldn't share his crayons.  She has no crush at the moment.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Sense of humor, someone who she can just enjoy being with or hanging out with.  Someone who doesn't mind who and what she is.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
She might like kids someday, but she's not really strongly invested

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
That's she's aware of, not really, but there probably are some… mostly her cousin Rachel

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Heterosexual…  Kinsey… scale…?

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
She enjoys it, but hasn't been indulging lately

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
She doesn't really have anything specific, but she loves cowboys

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Sagittarius (born December 21st) she seeks knowledge and provides warmth to those she knows, she loves doing things outdoors and is very outgoing, so yeah, it fits

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
She's both, active in her synagogue and she allows her faith to give her the strength she has.

3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
Her morals and ethics were ingrained in her by her family and faith, and it would take something real to compromise it (one of the reasons why she wasn't asked to help forge evidence because she would have flat-out refused)

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
She's curious and always likes to know more.  She tends to be very tolerant

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
She believes that all wrongdoers are evil, despite its irrationality and her own delinquent past

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
She's comfortable, a little bit on the higher end because of her job

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
She's always been of mixed backgrounds, her mother was a veterinarian and a ranch-owner and her father was a blue-collar mechanic from a refugee immigrant family

3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
She currently lives in an apartment with her two younger siblings

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Music, movies, guns and ammo, rope

5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
She's a forensics expert who works with the police and prosecutor's office to examine evidence and help solve the crimes, often bringing a more social science approach to her work that blends with the natural science.  She enjoys it, and only rarely wishes she were singing in Nashville.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Outside of work, she loves music and guns.  She prefers firearms a bit over music, but you can't make a career out of gunslinging unless you want to end up in prison.

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
She eats healthfully most of the time, her sister is a pretty good cook, but Sam is known to prefer heartier foods similar to what one would find in a cowboy's diet.  She does tend to follow the dietary laws of Judaism, but she isn't strict about it.  As for alcohol… she drinks a little too much every now and again.

Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:

1. Color? Green, brown, white
2. Smell? The desert, horses, cows, the ranch, leather
3. Time of day? Dusk and dawn
4. Season? Summer and fall
5. Book? Lonesome Dove, anything about the Old West
6. Music? Country, particularly Justin Moore, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum
7. Place? Her family's ranch in Texas, her apartment in LA, the desert in Texas, Texas
8. Substance? Leather, denim, canvas, alcohol
9. Plant? Yucca plant, tumbleweed, cactus
10. Animal? Horses, coyotes, dogs