Merzapamed

by Farnsworth, Marty

Twenty-year-old Prince Jappath is lost in the woods for what feels like almost a week. After struggling to return to his father’s kingdom, Dore, he finds that he has been gone for ten years and that the kingdom is preparing for war. Haunted by fragmented memories of a warrior princess, Jappath struggles to solve a puzzle of conspiracies and betrayals. When winged warriors Princess Zayna and her escort, suddenly arrive before the war’s final battle, more questions and memories arise for Jappath. The battle is ferocious, filled with stratagems, tactics, and war machines. Zayna is seriously wounded during the battle. The battle is not going well. Then when all seems lost, King Yousif and his flying warriors come to Dore’s rescue. Jappath’s great uncle, Arkhedish the wizard, tends to Zayna’s wounds and, using old and new magic, reveals the truth of Jappath’s forgotten past.

Marty Farnsworth has always told stories to his coworkers. After a knee replacement, as he was recuperating in a hospital, he felt he couldn’t find employment suitable for his financial needs. After much pondering, praying, and meditating, he began to take classes and write. First he started with screenplays because they were a comfortable medium. As he grew in this field, he met Romeo Eshalom, and the two began a friendship that blossomed. Through this friendship, Marty began to learn about the Assyrian/Chaldean culture and was told an amazing folktale that would have been lost if not written down. When Marty began writing this novel, he found that, as with the ancient master storytellers, parts of the story seemed to write themselves. Marty lives in Phoenix with his wife. This is his first novel.

Romeo Newton Eshalom was a lieutenant colonel in Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army. He was born and raised in Iraq and suffered many hardships because of Christian beliefs. Even when he was placed in positions of judgment and authority, his ethics showed through and caused some to benefit from his heritage. He listened at his grandfather’s feet as his grandfather told many stories in his master-storyteller ways; it was in a time before television, and the stories could be seen vividly, each with morality woven into it. He remembered these tales as he grew up. After Romeo moved to Phoenix, he worked on and completed his master’s degree in engineering. During this time, his friendship with Marty Farnsworth blossomed, and the two collaborated extensively on several screenplays. Romeo lives in Phoenix with his family.