Samuel DenHartog's Blog: The Road to 1,440, page 2

Bringing a Persian Epic to Life in "Rostam of the Shahnameh"

Few heroes in world literature command the imagination quite like Rostam. His life stretches from a wondrous birth and the taming of his mighty horse Rakhsh, through battles that pit him against demons, armies, and even fate itself. In telling his full journey, I wanted to gather every moment of triumph, sorrow, and loyalty into one sweeping narrative that shows him not only as a warrior but as a man burdened by choices larger than himself.

The stories of Rostam are among the most powerful within the Shahnameh, yet many readers encounter them only in fragments. This book presents them as a continuous saga, beginning with the ancient days of Zal and the Simurgh and ending with the betrayal that claims the hero’s life. In following this path, we see how Rostam’s victories shaped the destiny of kings, how his mistakes carried devastating costs, and how his unyielding devotion defined his place in Persian legend.

What sets his story apart is the balance between grandeur and humanity. The battles are vast, filled with fire, steel, and impossible odds, yet they are matched by moments of grief that strike to the heart. When father and son face each other without knowing, or when the weight of loyalty forces him into unwilling duels, the epic becomes as much about tragedy as it is about triumph.

I wrote "Rostam of the Shahnameh" to capture this full sweep, from glory to heartbreak. It is a book about the endurance of honor, the cruelty of fate, and the immortal power of a hero whose name still carries meaning across centuries. Readers who open its pages will walk beside Rostam from his first breath to his final arrow, experiencing the rise and fall of a champion who belongs to the world as much as to Persia.

Sharing A Thai Epic Full of Music, Magic, and Myth in "Phra Abhai Mani"

The story of Abhai Mani is one of the great treasures of Thai literature, alive with adventure, romance, and magic. At its heart is a young prince whose gift is not strength of arms, but the haunting music of his flute. That single talent leads him into encounters with mermaids, spirits, giants, and kings, while also carrying him through moments of love, loss, and destiny. It is a tale where every choice reshapes his path, and where music becomes both a weapon and a prayer.

What makes this epic so remarkable is how it blends the human and the fantastical with such ease. Battles are fought not only with force but with words and melodies, and friendships and rivalries span both mortal and mythical beings. The story ranges from court intrigues to ocean voyages, from deep forests to enchanted isles, offering readers a landscape as vast and unpredictable as the sea itself. Through all of this, Abhai Mani remains a figure of both strength and vulnerability, a hero who must navigate not only external dangers but the longings of his own heart.

The settings themselves feel like characters, each one unforgettable. Readers encounter glittering shores where the horizon seems endless, hidden kingdoms ruled by spirits, and shadowed places where danger waits. Even the sea feels alive, swelling with beauty one moment and threatening destruction the next. These vivid backdrops give the journey its sense of wonder and grandeur, carrying the reader into a world where the line between myth and reality is always shifting.

Writing and publishing "Phra Abhai Mani" has been my way of sharing this extraordinary piece of Thai heritage with new audiences around the world. It is a work that has endured for centuries because it speaks to something timeless: the yearning for love, the courage to face impossible odds, and the belief that art and imagination can shape the world as surely as steel. For anyone who steps into its pages, the song of Abhai Mani will linger long after the last note fades.

Journey Across Ancient India in "Tales from the Ramayana Kandas"

When I began working on this book, I wanted to bring readers directly into the vibrant world of one of India’s greatest epics. The Ramayana is not just a single story but a vast collection of adventures, lessons, and relationships that span from the innocence of Rama’s childhood to the challenges of kingship and destiny. By dividing the narrative into the seven kandas, I was able to explore the epic in a way that honors its traditional flow while also making each episode feel complete on its own.

Readers will find themselves moving from the peaceful beginnings of Ayodhya to the wilderness of the forest where demons and sages share the same space. They will stand at the shores of the ocean as Rama’s army builds the great bridge to Lanka, and they will witness the courage of Hanuman as he leaps across the sea in search of Sita. Each chapter is designed to carry the reader into a world of wonder, where divine intervention and human choices are woven together with unforgettable power.

What excites me most about this retelling is the balance of grandeur and intimacy. The Ramayana is filled with battles, supernatural beings, and epic journeys, yet it is also a story of family bonds, loyalty between friends, and the struggles of love tested by hardship. By following the narrative through carefully chosen moments, I sought to highlight both the sweeping scale and the tender humanity that make this epic endure across centuries.

"Tales from the Ramayana Kandas" is a way to experience the magic of the ancient epic in a fresh form. My hope is that readers will come away with the sense that they have lived alongside Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman, and that these timeless stories still speak to us today with as much strength and beauty as ever.

Bringing Thai Folklore to Life Through "Tales from the Thailand Temples"

When I began researching Thai folklore, I quickly realized that it is a tapestry woven from many threads: Buddhist tradition, local animist beliefs, heroic epics, and folk stories passed down in villages for centuries. Every temple mural, spirit house, and festival seemed to hold a doorway into another story. I wanted to capture that sense of discovery and share it with readers who may not have encountered these tales before.

The book brings together a wide range of figures, from protective land spirits and rice goddesses to mischievous ghosts and legendary kings. Some stories are tender and filled with devotion, like the tale of a goddess guarding the harvest, while others lean toward the eerie, such as restless spirits who wander when rites are left undone. There are also epic adventures, with heroes facing crocodile demons, princes falling in love with celestial maidens, and even a white-furred monkey warrior whose antics are unlike anything in Western myth.

What fascinated me most while writing was how these stories are not only ancient but also still alive. You can see them in the guardian giants standing watch at temple gates, in the annual fireball phenomenon on the Mekong, and in the offerings left at shrines by people who believe these spirits remain active today. The folklore has a way of shaping everyday life, blurring the line between the sacred and the ordinary.

"Tales from the Thailand Temples" grew from my desire to bring that living world of myth and belief into a collection where readers could experience it for themselves. My hope is that it feels less like reading a book and more like stepping into a temple courtyard at dusk, with the scent of incense in the air and stories waiting to be told under lantern light. Each tale carries with it a sense of wonder, mystery, and the enduring spirit of Thai culture.

Unraveling Time, Elemental Power, and Sisterhood in "The Forgotten Coven"

After all the buildup, the story finally continues. In this latest installment, our four witches leave behind the familiar streets of East Haven and step into a fractured past where magic still lingers in stone and silence. The riverbank, once a place of quiet reflection, becomes the entry point into something far older. They find themselves in Alexandria during the last days of its great Library, where a secret coven entrusts them with a task only they can complete.

Each girl is pulled into a different thread of time and place. Laurel walks among the firekeepers of ancient Ireland. Susie finds herself in a village ruled by fear during the witch trials of England. Blanca witnesses the fall of a kingdom in Spain as earth magic slips beneath the soil. Andrea follows the wind into the depths of the Black Forest, where superstition and truth twist together. These chapters test who these girls are becoming and ask who they are willing to be.

The heart of this story lives in the way the past speaks to the present. Each setting reveals something elemental about the girls, both in terms of their magic and their character. The history they walk through is not static. It asks for something in return. It demands courage, honesty, and sometimes loss. As they recover the ancient texts, what they truly gather is a deeper sense of what legacy means and how much power lives in what we choose to carry forward.

Back in East Haven, life seems unchanged. But under the stillness, something new stirs. The girls have brought more than magic back with them. They carry memory, responsibility, and a bond shaped by everything they had to survive alone. In the quiet moments after the final page, that feeling lingers. The sense that what was lost has only been waiting to return. And now it has.

Find Fresh Beauty in Familiar Words with "Psalms in Rhyme"

For generations, the Psalms have offered comfort, strength, and inspiration to people walking through every kind of season. Their language is rich and evocative, their themes timeless. But for many, especially in our fast-paced world, the style can feel distant or hard to absorb. That’s what sparked the idea to reshape these ancient songs into gentle, rhyming verse that invites the reader in and unfolds naturally, like a familiar melody.

In creating this collection, I wanted to preserve the beauty and depth of the original text while offering a fresh voice that flows easily off the tongue. Whether read aloud in a quiet moment or tucked into daily reading routines, each poem seeks to reflect the heart of a Psalm in a way that feels accessible and deeply personal. The language is poetic but not lofty, meant to stir the spirit without straining the ear.

Some poems follow the familiar rhythms of paired rhymes, others use alternating lines to create a gentle sway, like waves or walking pace. That variety grew out of the Psalms themselves, which are emotional and varied, sometimes overflowing with praise, other times aching with lament. Matching the tone of each passage with the right poetic structure became part of the joy and challenge of writing.

If you love the Psalms but have longed for a new way to engage with them, or if you're simply drawn to meaningful poetry rooted in faith and experience, I hope this book finds a place on your shelf and in your heart. When reimagined in verse, there is something ancient yet immediate about these songs, and I’m grateful to share that experience with you in "Psalms in Rhyme."

Beneath the Stones of Tintagel in "The Sorcerer's Key"

The journey from East Haven to Cornwall isn’t just a shift in setting. It’s a crossing into something older, something wilder. The cliffs and moors of Cornwall, especially near Tintagel, don’t just hold history, they pulse with it. The land feels like it’s waiting for someone to listen. For the girls at the heart of this story, stepping into that landscape means stepping into something much bigger than themselves.

These four witches have long shared a bond, but this time, the magic they face is more personal. It doesn’t ask them to fight. It asks them to choose. Each of them arrives in Cornwall carrying something different, uncertainty, curiosity, hope, or doubt, and the land responds to all of it. I wanted their magic to feel alive, tied to more than just spells and elements. It’s shaped by what they believe, what they fear, and how far they’re willing to go to protect one another or themselves.

Cornwall gave the story its breath, but Tintagel gave it its bones. I’ve always loved places where myth and landscape blur, and writing in that space allowed the story to shift between what’s real and what’s remembered. The girls aren’t just tested by what they find, they’re tested by what they want. And sometimes, those are the same thing.

What started as a story about magic quickly became a story about decisions, the quiet kind that change everything. These girls may come from East Haven, but the heart of their strength is forged among sea-worn stone and whispered legends. The rest of the story waits for you in "The Sorcerer’s Key."

Exploring Magic, Sacrifice, and Choice in "Three Princes, One Heart"

When I first began shaping this story, I knew it wouldn’t be about crowns or cleverness alone. It would be about what someone gives up without knowing what they will get in return, and how real love rarely arrives with trumpets. I set it in a world brushed with the wonder of old stories, vanishing cities, rose-lit towers, sea-bound palaces, but gave it a heart that beats through silence and sacrifice. There are echoes of "One Thousand and One Nights" here, but this tale travels its own path.

At its center stands Princess Nouronnihar, raised in silk and ceremony within the Jasmine Court, yet quietly restless beneath it all. When three foreign princes come from distant lands, Persia, Arabia, and the Maghreb, the Sultan refuses to choose among them by lineage or wealth. Instead, he sends them outward, each to find something truly rare. Their quests stretch across kingdoms and beliefs, each prince tested not just by what he finds, but by who he becomes in the finding.

The magic in this story is unmistakable: a carpet that can fly, a telescope that peers across continents, an apple whose breath can heal. But those are not what linger. What matters more is the way each gift reflects its bearer, and the moment when these rivals must act together, not to win, but to save. When a vengeful genie steals the princess away, everything shifts. The rescue depends not on power, but on trust and loss and timing that cannot be undone.

At its heart, this book is about love with choice at its core. Not a contest to be won, but a gift to be offered. I hope readers will find wonder in the journey and perhaps see a little of themselves in the characters who travel so far, not just to earn love, but to understand it. That is the soul of "Three Princes, One Heart."

Secrets, Siblings, and Summer Heat in "Fried Plantains and Fatal Secrets"

This summer, I told myself I would write something simple. A beach novella, maybe a picnic romance. But instead I found myself tangled up in murder, secrets, and family dynamics, especially when the Florida heat starts pressing in. This time, I’ve taken Margot Bellamy out of Cozy Cove and into the vibrant streets of Ybor City, where the scent of garlic, citrus, and fried plantains drifts through every conversation. What begins as a quiet invitation from an old friend quickly becomes a case of long-held grudges, missing money, and a suspicious cup of espresso.

This book gave me the chance to explore new settings that still feel deeply tied to Florida’s character. Ybor City, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg each offered something different, including history, elegance, and even a surreal twist or two. The atmosphere became its own kind of puzzle, full of color and contrast, helping to shape the tension in the story. I enjoyed watching Margot walk through unfamiliar streets, trying to read between the lines while pretending she was just enjoying the architecture.

One of my favorite parts of writing this novel was developing the Del Castillo family. Five adult siblings, each with a stake in the family restaurant and their own version of the truth. I didn’t want villains. I wanted people with pressure points, buried wounds, and reasons to lie that sometimes even made sense. That’s always the most satisfying kind of mystery, where guilt and grief often sit at the same table.

You can now find the latest in Margot Bellamy’s journey in "Fried Plantains and Fatal Secrets," a story full of family loyalties, complicated legacies, and the quiet strength of someone who knows how to listen more than she speaks. I hope readers enjoy uncovering each layer as much as I did.

A Ball, a Blade, and a Grave-Grown Tree in "Cinderella and the Roots"

Fairy tales were never meant to be harmless. They were warnings, maps of pain, and blueprints for survival. In this book, readers return to the ash-covered bones of one of the oldest and most unsettling stories, where magic does not sing, it watches, waits, and remembers. The beauty is sharp, the dresses are not woven with joy but with grief, and every gift from the grave demands something in return.

Set in a world of birds that do not chirp but choose justice, and trees that do more than grow, this novel unearths the raw nerves of a girl’s survival in a house built on cruelty. You’ll find no fairy godmother here, only the grave of a mother who listens more closely in death than anyone did in life. It is not kindness that saves the heroine, but persistence. Not charm, but endurance. Each chapter digs deeper into the soil of mourning and transformation, revealing roots that reach far beyond childhood tales.

The horror here is slow and elegant. It creeps in through daily humiliations, glints in the stepmother’s calculated smile, and lands sharp with the crunch of a glass slipper soaked in blood. The prince is not a savior, the palace is not safe, and the birds do not forget. There is justice, but it is not gentle. What you’re left with is not a happily-ever-after, but something older and far more honest.

This is a story about pain that refuses to stay buried, about love that is twisted by grief, and about a girl who does not forgive. She does not need to. If you're ready for a fairytale that remembers its own teeth, step carefully into "Cinderella and the Roots."