Samuel DenHartog's Blog: The Road to 1,440 - Posts Tagged "action"

Hello, Clean Dreamers and Super Hero Believers,

Get ready to roll out with my latest creation, "Toilet Paper Man," where whimsy meets the every day in the most sparkling of tales. Dive into the pages where Wayne Thompson transforms into the hero our cities never knew they needed—but always wanted.

"Toilet Paper Man" isn't just about tackling the literal spills of life—it's a journey of laughter, unexpected friendships, and the magic found in the mundane. With each chapter, Wayne wipes away the grime, revealing the brighter side of the streets we walk and the places we visit.

Unroll this adventure, revel in the cleanliness, and discover how, sometimes, the hero you need most might just come wrapped in... toilet paper.

With a twirl of the roll,
Samuel DenHartog

Are you ready to embark on a fantastic journey from A to Z? My latest book, "The Alphabet Adventures" is here to whisk you and your little ones away on an enchanting adventure that spans the entire alphabet! Each letter brings a new character and a thrilling tale that sparks the imagination and teaches important lessons along the way.

From Astrid, the astronaut's space explorations, to Zoe, the zoologist's exciting discoveries in the animal kingdom, this beautifully illustrated book is a treasure trove of stories. Each page turns into a portal to a new world where children not only learn about various professions and hobbies but also master their ABCs and expand their vocabularies.

Imagine hunting for treasure with Pete the Pirate, or perhaps you’d prefer a serene visit to Ellie’s enchanted garden. Designed with vivid illustrations and engaging narratives, this book is perfect for bedtime storytelling or as a wonderful addition to classroom reading sessions. Ideal for young readers and early learners, this collection of short tales is bound to be a cherished addition to any child's library.

Whether you're a parent looking for a fun way to teach the alphabet or a teacher seeking engaging stories for your class, "The Alphabet Adventures" offers something special for everyone. Let’s turn the pages and jump into adventure after adventure — because learning is best when it's fun!

A child at heart,
Samuel DenHartog

When I first read the original story, “Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades by G. A. Henty,” that inspired me to write this book, I was struck by the power of the setting and the spirit of adventure—but I kept wondering what the tale would feel like if the central figure were someone the world never expected to see in armor. That simple shift, from a traditional squire to a young woman born into the same code of chivalry, opened the door to a deeper exploration of identity, conviction, and the meaning of honor. The time period didn’t change. The battles didn’t soften. What changed was who stood in the middle of it all, shaping the story through her presence.

The heroine at the center of this retelling, Gweneth de Lance, doesn’t wear a disguise or pretend to be anything other than who she is. That felt important to me. Too often, historical stories force women to prove themselves by denying themselves, but Gweneth simply is—a knight, a warrior, a person of conscience in a brutal and uncertain time. Writing her journey meant balancing ferocity with introspection, loyalty with doubt, and always pushing her forward in a world that accepted her role without question but still demanded everything of her.

I didn’t want this to be a story about rebellion or exception. I wanted it to be about legacy, about living fully within a tradition and reshaping it not through resistance, but by embodying its truest form. The Crusades were a time of great conflict, but also of profound cultural encounters and moral complexity. That context gave me room to tell a story that respects the gravity of history while centering a character whose presence brings new resonance to old themes.

This book became a way for me to ask, “What does it really mean to be a knight?” and then follow that question into battlefields, desert marches, and the quiet moments in between. Whether you come for the swords and sieges or the character and conviction, I hope you find something that stays with you long after the final page of "The Ideal Knight".

At its heart, this book is about pursuit—of truth, of meaning, of something buried deep beneath centuries of silence and stone. "Quest for the Incan Treasure" follows Della Montrose, a resourceful and determined Englishwoman who finds herself swept into the dangerous shadows of Peru’s highlands. What begins as a practical decision to seek a new future becomes a relentless search through jungle paths, forgotten ruins, and layers of betrayal. Della isn’t chasing adventure for its own sake—she’s chasing answers, and along the way, the questions only grow more personal.

Peru is more than a setting here—it’s a living presence, shaping every risk Della takes. The Andes rise like ancient sentinels, and the remnants of the Inca Empire press in from all sides, whispering secrets in every crumbled wall and sacred site. The line between legend and history blurs as Della and her companions piece together clues pointing to a treasure hidden during the Spanish conquest—something worth killing for, and worth dying to protect. But the deeper they go, the more the journey tests their loyalties, forcing them to decide what they value more: gold or each other.

Della herself was a joy to write—calm under pressure, fiercely intelligent, and quietly brave. She doesn’t seek the spotlight, but she also won’t be pushed aside. She makes hard decisions and carries their weight without complaint. Her journey isn’t just a physical one across dangerous terrain—it’s an internal one as well, as she uncovers what drives her, what she’s willing to sacrifice, and what kind of legacy she wants to leave behind.

This story is full of narrow escapes, shifting alliances, and the lure of a past that refuses to stay buried. But more than anything, it’s about the cost of discovery and the courage it takes to walk into the unknown. If you love stories where ancient mysteries come alive and characters must earn every step forward, I think you’ll enjoy walking beside Della through "Quest for the Incan Treasure."

When I first began writing this book, I didn’t expect the siege to become so personal. The destruction of Jerusalem is one of the most tragic and complex moments in ancient history—filled with desperation, fractured loyalties, and sacred symbols pulled into the dirt. But amid all that collapse, I kept returning to a single idea: what does it look like to hold fast when everything around you is falling apart?

Eleazar came to me not as a warrior, but as someone who refused to be erased. He isn’t drawn to violence or power, but when the world pushes him into war, he doesn’t flinch. Through his eyes, we see the strain of leadership when surrounded by ruin, the cost of conviction when betrayal is constant, and the quiet dignity of someone choosing to protect rather than destroy. And always at his side, even when absent, is Mary—the person who sees him most clearly, who anchors his resolve with love, loyalty, and her own kind of courage. His journey doesn’t offer easy answers, but he never stops asking what is worth saving, and who he’s saving it for.

I found myself more interested in the spaces between battles. The silences in the temple courts, the weight of a decision made in the dark, the loyalty that survives when every cause has been questioned. The story moves across hills and cities, blood and prayer, but it always comes back to something quiet and human: what does faith look like when it no longer wins, and what love endures when even hope feels dangerous?

That’s the question at the heart of The Olive and the Empire, and the reason this book became more than a war story to me. It is about survival, yes—but also memory, silence, and the fragile bonds we cling to when history turns violent. I hope it lingers.

London is loud with music this Season, and the ballrooms feel like living creatures, warm with breath and rumor. At the center of the crush moves a widow in crimson who never eats in public and never wastes a word. Around her, a circle of glittering names trades sapphires for silence, then laughs about the cost over ices and compliments. I wanted a story where a single waltz could change the air in a room and a mask could be both costume and confession.

The romance carries heat and patience at once. Lord Adrian Whitcombe is not a rake in need of reform but a man who already knows the weight of honor in a city that forgets it by morning. He sees danger and still offers his hand. Their courtship plays out under chandeliers, on frost-bright terraces, and in a carriage where a vow tastes sweeter than wine. Each scene puts manners and desire in the same room and asks which will win.

Danger grows alongside the music. A stolen necklace becomes a thread that leads through routs, ridottos, and finally to a snowbound house party where guests are trapped with their own secrets. Iron burns, silver bites, and the night has more rules than the hostess’s card. I loved writing those candlelit corridors where truth has to reach for proof before dawn, and where justice can wear a gown and still carry a blade.

The world of "Masquerade at Midnight" belongs to gaslight and gossip, to affection that is both tender and fierce, and to a heroine who hunts evil without giving up the right to love. If you like your historical romance with high society sparkle and a heartbeat that quickens after midnight, this is your invitation. Will a waltz be enough to turn curiosity into devotion, and can a secret survive the light of morning without losing the people it protects?

When I first sat down to write "The Seven Dwarfs and Snow White", I wanted to begin not with a princess, but with a cottage full of miners who already had routines, loyalties, and regrets long before a frightened girl knocked on their door. The story opens on their world of early mornings, cramped tunnels, and quiet suppers, and the early chapters linger there. You get to know how each dwarf moves through the forest, what he hides, and what he refuses to leave behind. Their clearing feels small at first, almost forgotten, yet every path around it is heavy with unspoken history.

Into that private space stumbles a barefoot fugitive from the court, a girl used to being looked at rather than listened to. Once she joins the household, the narrative becomes a kind of negotiation between her presence and the lives that were already in motion. I enjoyed slowing down the famous moments and letting you see what it means to share a table, divide chores, and learn when to stay silent for someone else’s sake. The girl is not a symbol of purity here. She is a person in shock, trying to earn her place among seven very particular hosts.

The palace and the queen’s mirror never fully disappear, even when chapters stay deep in the woods. News arrives through peddlers, traveling singers, and rumors carried by men from the mines in other valleys. Poison, vanity, and envy circle the story like wolves outside a ring of firelight, and you watch how fear seeps into the cottage in small, believable ways. I wanted the tension to rise not only from magical dangers, but from the everyday question of who will speak up when it costs something and who will convince themselves that it is safer to do nothing.

What matters most to me in this book is the idea of chosen family under pressure. Seven strangers who once chose solitude must decide how far they will go to protect someone who might bring ruin to their door. A girl who has been valued only for her face must decide what she is willing to risk for the people who finally see more than that. If you enjoy fairy tales that keep their enchantment but open the doors wider on the characters who live inside them, I hope you will find this forest worth visiting and revisiting.