Sam Polakoff on Chasing a Dream After 40 Years

Wendy & Rich 0:01
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Hartford County living presents Conversations with Rich Bennett. 

How are you? 

I'm good to hear. 

You're a bad guy. 

You're a bad guy. 

You're a bad guy. 

You're a bad guy. 

You're a bad guy. 

You're a bad guy. 

No, no, no. It's a bad guy. 

Rich Bennett 0:27
You ever have something to say that just won't go away? 

Sam Polakoff 0:30
It's 

Rich Bennett 0:30
A 

Sam Polakoff 0:30
a bad guy. 

Rich Bennett 0:30
dream that sticks with you for decades. For most people, life gets busy. Careers take over, responsibilities pile up, and that dream quietly fades into the background. But what if it didn't? What if, after nearly 40 years of carrying that dream, you finally decided, now's the time. Today's guess did exactly that. St. Paul Kauf is someone who's built a successful career in the world of supply chain engineering, leading a third generation company and even launching a software platform to help smaller businesses compete. But underneath all of that, he's always been a storyteller. And when the moment came, he didn't just dip his toe into writing, he went all in. Now he's an award-winning crafted in everything from gripping thrillers to historical fiction, and even stepping into the world of children's books. H stories aren't just entertaining. They pull you in. They make you think and stick with you long after you turn the last page. How's it going there, Sam? 

Sam Polakoff 1:41
Going so great, man. Don't great. Happy to...

Rich Bennett 1:44
All right. But you're still working full time. You're not retired, right? 

Sam Polakoff 1:48
I'm not retired at the end of 2024. 

Rich Bennett 1:52
Wow. Okay. Now when did you start writing? 

Sam Polakoff 1:56
Oh. Well, I wrote my children's book in 2006. That was actually my first publication. And then years later, 

I was challenged by a business coach to do something I've always wanted to do, but I've never done. And I said, well, gee, you know, I'd always wanted to write a novel. So that's something that I wanted to do. Gosh, back to my teenage years. 

Rich Bennett 2:23
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 2:24
Of course, my father knew I was a good writer because I've written a lot of technical things. But he said, no, he'll starve. He says, come work for me. I said, well, do it for a few years, but I don't want to be there forever. And of course, forever. I was there forever. 

Rich Bennett 2:39
So 

Sam Polakoff 2:42
anyhow, long story short, that's how I got started with writing novels. Basically, a challenge from a business coach. 

Rich Bennett 2:48
Wow. 

Sam Polakoff 2:48
And that, that, that. When I sat down to start writing, I was like that deer in the headlights, movie author staring at the blank screen and my fingers on a keyboard. And like, you know, what the hell do I write? 

Rich Bennett 3:02
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 3:03
So back to your opening monologue. It was a dream that got me started. It was a recurring dream I had about my grandfather who started this company, which is the oldest company of its kind, privately held company of its kind in America, the supply chain business that we have. So, so my grandfather passed away from cancer when I was five. I have boyhood memories of him, you know, bouncing what his knee, playing ball in the backyard. 

Rich Bennett 3:29
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 3:30
And they're home in the Baltimore area. You know, I just, I never really got to know him. And I always kind of regretted that. That I couldn't know him. So when I was a teenager, I started having this recurring dream. I had it for years and years, about once a year on the anniversary of his death. I would go to this beautiful facility. And they would reawaken him. And he'd spend the day with me. And at the end of the day, he'd have to kind of go back to hibernation. And I'd see him again in a year. So that's, that's how I started my first novel with that dream. So the novel was called hiatus. 

Rich Bennett 4:10
And 

Sam Polakoff 4:11
the protagonist was a young. A prodigy, a scientific prodigy who lost his grandfather to cancer and invented the technology to make what I just described possible. And he builds a national business out of it. So I use my business experience in there. And a villain who tries to ruin it all for reasons I won't tell you. 

Rich Bennett 4:30
Wow. 

Sam Polakoff 4:31
Yeah. So that became the first book. 

Rich Bennett 4:34
Now how did that take to write? 

Sam Polakoff 4:36
Well, then I was still working full time. So my writing time was kind of restricted to, you know, as you get older, you wake up early for no reason, right? So. I'd go into my office and I'm at 4 in the morning and I'd start writing these books. And, uh, so I'd write from 4 to 6, I'd go shower, I'd go to work. And that's, that' what I did for a few years. So, um, I started writing it in 20. 

Just to get it to where I thought it was commercially viable, uh, took some time. 

Rich Bennett 5:22
Now, and you go through a publisher, right? 

Sam Polakoff 5:25
Well, I own, so I created my own publishing company called Commodo Dragon Books. And, uh, it publishes one author. 

Rich Bennett 5:34
For now, right? 

Sam Polakoff 5:35
Uh, maybe, maybe not. It's 

Rich Bennett 5:37
(laughs) 

Sam Polakoff 5:37
a lot of work to take on another... 

Rich Bennett 5:39
Oh, I know, yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 5:40
It's a huge commitment and at my age, I don't know if I want to do that anymore. So, uh, yeah, for now, it's just, it's just mine. 

Rich Bennett 5:48
The reason I asked is because you always hear authors talking about how, and most of them seem to be going in the self-published way. Because it's so hard to find a publisher because most publishers want you to have an agent, and most agents want you to have a publisher first. 

Sam Polakoff 6:04
Well, I'm not sure I agree with the second point. The 

Rich Bennett 6:07
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 6:07
publisher... 

Rich Bennett 6:07
I think a lot of that has changed 

Sam Polakoff 6:09
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 6:09
now. 

Sam Polakoff 6:09
the publishers won't talk to an author directly. They will have you come 

Rich Bennett 6:14
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 6:14
through them through an agent. The challenge becomes, is that within an agency, there are, I don't say, a dozen, 25, 30, some, just four or five, some random number of agents and each agent has his or her own criteria. How they want to be pitched, what they want to see, the format in which they want to see it, and they get besieged by so many... Unsolicited manuscript and authors 

Rich Bennett 6:42
Uh, 

Sam Polakoff 6:42
that they can't even respond to them all. So, I 

Rich Bennett 6:45
yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 6:45
spent when I written hiatus, that first book, rich, I spent, well, close to a year pitching different agents that I had researched and felt maybe interested in a book of this type. And, you know, I couldn't get a nibble. I think I gave up when I finally got a response from one that said, I got a letter that said, "Dear Sam, your concept is interesting, but we couldn't develop a deep meaningful connection to your main character in the first five pages." And I looked at my wife and I said, "What book have you ever read, where you've developed a deep meaningful connection with the main character in the first five pages?" 

Rich Bennett 7:26
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 7:27
I don't even know if that's viable. So, I gave up at that point and I started investigating, becoming an independent author and developing my own publishing company and kind of keeping control of my own fate. So, I've got a series of contractors that do things like editing for me and the interior layout 

Rich Bennett 7:44
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 7:45
design, the cover design. So, I can still focus most of my time on the writing and the editing and creating the best product that I can put out. 

Rich Bennett 7:54
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 7:55
And I've got the business end of it and the marketing, but to me that was more comfortable than it is for all 

Rich Bennett 8:01
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 8:02
of independent authors because of my business career. 

Rich Bennett 8:04
I also want to go back to that first book, the children's book that you wrote, especially since I play Santa professionally. 

Sam Polakoff 8:11
Oh, nice. 

Rich Bennett 8:12
The one called "A Christmas Tale." What made you decide to write a Christmas book? 

Sam Polakoff 8:18
Okay. Well, there's a story to that, of course. There's 

Rich Bennett 8:23
that. 

Sam Polakoff 8:23
a 

Rich Bennett 8:23
Well, 

Sam Polakoff 8:23
story to 

Rich Bennett 8:23
I would hope so. 

Sam Polakoff 8:25
Everything. I'm a storyteller. So, when I was the CEO of the family business, for 20 years, I had every morning on a timed basis, sent a morning message, I call the morning messages to my employees on a timed basis. So, at 5 a. m. every day, every employee would receive some daily inspiration. 

Rich Bennett 8:47
Yeah, that's smart. 

Sam Polakoff 8:48
Yeah. And it was just something that I was committed to and then in December, I would always do a series of things about people being kind to other people during the holidays. So, my daughter is also a writer. She and I had this conversation back in 2006. I said, "You know, each Christmas, I kind of recycle the same inspirational stories from the prior December." I said, "I 

Rich Bennett 9:09
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 9:10
really like to have something original." So, we have both agreed we'd write some material for this December 2006 for the morning messages. And one that I wrote was a Christmas tale. It was just a text story never meant to be a children's book. 

Rich Bennett 9:26
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 9:26
And it went out to all of our employees, of course. And then there was a group of friends around the country that received these as well every day. And one of my friends, who was a children's author, and he called me up and said, "Sam, this story is amazing." And he says, "You should turn this into a Christmas book." And at the time, my wife and I... 

Had a non-profit in Maryland to fight Calakama. He says, he says, 'I can help you get, get the resources you need to make this a children's book.' 

But I needed somebody who was a talented illustrator and I was aligned with one through the publisher, which back then was called Bookseerge, since acquired by Amazon and turned into Kindle Direct Publishing. But Bookseerge gave me a list of illustrators. And through that process, I found Jennifer Taylor, sorry, that um, did an amazing job, based on pictures of our own cats that I gave her. 

Rich Bennett 10:41
Oh wow. 

Sam Polakoff 10:42
So she kind of turned them into a personalized story. 

Rich Bennett 10:46
So, alright, so something else that you said there, you said your daughter is a writer too? Or an author? 

Sam Polakoff 10:52
No, she's not an author, but she was a journalism major at Penn State and she was the youngest editor in chief in the history of Valley magazine, which is State College is equivalent to Baltimore magazine, which I'm sure you're familiar 

Rich Bennett 11:04
Oh, 

Sam Polakoff 11:04
with. 

Rich Bennett 11:04
yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 11:05
But she did, she did an amazing job through that and she's, she's had a very nice career. And now she's working in marketing for Children's National Hospital in DC. 

Rich Bennett 11:14
Really? Oh, wow. Have you ever thought about collaboration on a book? 

Sam Polakoff 11:22
I honestly am so engrossed in writing historical fiction right now. 

Rich Bennett 11:29
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 11:29
And she's so busy with her career. And 

Rich Bennett 11:33
it would take for 

Sam Polakoff 11:34
young children. Yeah, yeah. One day, you know, honestly, what we talked about one years ago when she was still in college was co-authoring a book of poetry. 

Rich Bennett 11:44
No, 

Sam Polakoff 11:45
but I 

Rich Bennett 11:46
really? 

Sam Polakoff 11:46
Well, yeah, she's very gifted writing poetry and my, she, my, my poetry sounds like a hallmark card. So, 

Rich Bennett 11:56
what 

Sam Polakoff 11:56
so I don't know if I'm, I'm qualified to do that. 

Rich Bennett 11:59
would, Why not? Didn't make the book seem like a hallmark movie? 

Sam Polakoff 12:03
Well, I don't know that would be good enough. But 

Rich Bennett 12:06
I, that's something I think that is missing. But thank God you're starting to see more, more books come out on poetry. And I think out of all the authors I've talked to on this in over 10 years, I think I maybe had two or three that have just written poetry. 

Sam Polakoff 12:26
So, I think I've tinkered with over the years. 

Rich Bennett 12:29
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 12:30
So, I've used, I've used them as morning messages. I'll attach a graphic, some stock photography to it and pop it in there as a morning message when I was working for the employees. And I enjoy it. It's a great way to express how you're feeling in in a rhythmic sort of way and, and I think the simpler they are, the more people can relate to them. 

Rich Bennett 12:51
Yeah. All right. So, after hiatus, which book came 

Sam Polakoff 12:56
Shaman. 

Rich Bennett 12:56
next? 

and oh, 

Sam Polakoff 12:59
Shaman, 

Rich Bennett 12:59
and what's that 

Sam Polakoff 13:00
Oh, 

Rich Bennett 13:00
about? 

Sam Polakoff 13:00
wow. That was a fun book. So the same business coach who challenged me to write hiatus. 

Rich Bennett 13:07
When 

Sam Polakoff 13:08
I finished, we were having coffee at the Starbucks on Birk Avenue in Towson right by the university. And, and we're sitting there, he says, so what are you going to write next? I said, you know, I don't know. I've got a lot of crazy ideas, but I just don't know. And he starts telling me that he is an actual practicing shaman. And I said, tell me what that really means. I said, I know, you know, a shaman is like a medicine man and 

Rich Bennett 13:31
yeah, 

Sam Polakoff 13:32
tell me what that really means when you say you're a practicing shaman. And he's as well in Western civilization, he is there still lots of people that practice shamanism, which is a method of healing. And, you know, not only physical, but mental approach to things. And so he gave me books to read on shamanism. He says, is this something that interest you, would you like to learn maybe about engaging with shamanism? I said, well, I'm not sure I want to be a shaman, but it sounds like something I could use in a novel. That's what I did. So I read, I don't know, four or five different books on shamanism and related topics like Akasha greetings, which I can explain if you're interested. And, 

Rich Bennett 14:15
oh yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 14:16
And so shamanism, this character I've got in shaman is a US senator from Maryland, named Dan Austin, and he starts experiencing crazy voices and visions, he doesn't understand. And ultimately through a practicing shaman and Akasha reader in Bel Air, he -- learns that he's been reincarnated from the last of the Incas in Peru 500 years earlier. And it is true, shamans believe that people reincarnate in groups. 

Rich Bennett 14:49
Uh-huh. 

Sam Polakoff 14:49
And that, you know, my daughter in this life might have been my sister in a prior life and my wife in this life might have been my daughter in a prior life. And since you and I are meeting today, we could have been, you know, friends or brothers or business 

Rich Bennett 15:04
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 15:05
associates. And a past life. This is what they believe. So in this story, evil forces from 500 years ago are trying to write wrongs from the 500 years ago period in Peru to modern day in Maryland. And the US Senator has to learn the practice of shamanism to defeat the evil forces that have been reincarnated into people he knows in today's society, that are actually trying to weaponize climate change to reverse the wrongs of 500 years ago. It's a complex story and it interweaves your read scenes from 500 years ago in those characters and you'll read scenes from current times with the current character. 

Rich Bennett 15:49
Right, 

Sam Polakoff 15:49
they've reincarnated into and then I converge them all toward the end to for the crescendo, so to speak. But that's how that book started and that's what it's about. In fact, people asked me frequently even today. What my favorite novel is of all my books. And that's, that's the answer. Because it got me so interested in shamanism and reincarnation. 

Rich Bennett 16:11
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 16:11
And all of these different concepts that it was just it was fun to write. It was challenging, it was fun. 

Rich Bennett 16:18
Can you imagine if a senator today was like that, first of all, everybody would think he was cuckoo. 

Sam Polakoff 16:25
They did in this book. They actually did think he was cuckoo. 

Rich Bennett 16:28
Okay. But, but the good and that's a good thing about you know, read it in a novel. You get just tied into it. And that's the one good thing about you know, being fiction and being real life. Because if it was real life, we don't, who knows maybe it is real. 

Sam Polakoff 16:47
And there's, there's a lot of things that 

Rich Bennett 16:49
makes you wonder. 

Sam Polakoff 16:50
It does because, you know, it's like we talked earlier about dreams like, 

Rich Bennett 16:54
yeah, 

Sam Polakoff 16:54
I have always had the sensation that I've been in some sort of horrible auto wreck. But I've never been in an auto accident of any kind in my entire life. You know, I'm going to be 64 years old and a few months. I've never been in an auto accident. But I feel like I've been in one and it's just, 

Rich Bennett 17:12
yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 17:12
There's no way to describe that other than to think, well, maybe I in a prior life, I was in some sort of auto wreck. Then, then. The other feeling that's kind of inescapable is I feel like I've lived in this old west kind of like those old Clint Eastwood movies and well, wouldn't swinging doors in the saloon and two guys challenging each other to a door in the dusty street outside. I feel like I've lived in that time period, but you know, I have no idea why I feel that way. I just have those feelings. I read in books these stories of there's one book called many minds, many masters by a famous psychologist at the University of Miami named Brian Weiss and he tells the story of a patient of his who was an administrative assistant at the hospital, who was having so many crazy experiences. What he calls regressive, he had a different name for it basically regression hypnosis where he 

Rich Bennett 18:07
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 18:07
would put her under hypnosis and she would start reciting things that he was able to verify were accurate from the earliest days of aircraft engineering. And this woman would have absolutely zero knowledge of the early days of building aircraft engines, but she was able to recite a chapter in verse under hypnosis. 

Rich Bennett 18:28
Wow, 

Sam Polakoff 18:28
so it makes you to start questioning what you believe and if it's reality and how that works and so that's why Shaman today is still my favorite novel. It's it was, you know, it was just a it was a really interesting in terms of a personal introspective look at my own life and what I experience. 

Rich Bennett 18:46
Oh, now I see now you want me, I want to study on that now. 

Sam Polakoff 18:50
I can give you lots of resources. 

Rich Bennett 18:52
Oh, that'd be great. I just there's that's the one thing I love about you reading different novels and everything and talking to different authors, it just makes you want to investigate all these different things. And another one I want to start studying like all these different religions as well. 

Sam Polakoff 19:11
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:11
Just because you you learn so much and a lot of times it's like they all sort of tie together. 

Sam Polakoff 19:18
And in a lot of ways they do there's there's ties and I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination I don't know in any religion, but the koschic records that we talked about earlier, the shamans believe in many cultures that everything you do in a lifetime. are multiple lifetimes per soul. is recorded in these Acasic records and that you can access them with a qualified Acasic reader. So in my book, my senator goes to visit Acasic reader. I had my own Acasic reading done, so kind of authenticate what I was writing and great those scenes. And some of the stuff I learned, 

Rich Bennett 19:59
it's amazing. 

Sam Polakoff 19:59
It was kind of mind-boggling, you know? 

Rich Bennett 20:02
Well, yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 20:03
I learned that I once as a blacksmith in the Old West, so that those recurring feelings of the Clint Eastwood movie swinging doors saloons, you know, I apparently did live as a blacksmith in that time period and my wife, uh, 37 years, was my daughter in that time frame, according to 

Rich Bennett 20:20
Oh, wow. 

Sam Polakoff 20:20
Acasic reader. So, oh, 

Rich Bennett 20:25
oh god, I definitely wanted to find out what I was. 

Sam Polakoff 20:28
Yeah, yeah, there's people that can that 

Rich Bennett 20:29
would be interesting. Yeah. Yeah. I hope it would be interesting. I hope I wasn't like some kind of freaking psycho or something. 

Sam Polakoff 20:37
Well, if you had been, the believe, the shaman's belief that your soul will continue to reincarnate itself until you live a life that's worthy of, and we'll call it elevation or, you know, into, 

Rich Bennett 20:52
okay, 

Sam Polakoff 20:53
I heavenly, uh, 

Rich Bennett 20:54
right 

Sam Polakoff 20:55
sort of body. But that's what they believe, you know, that's it. 

Rich Bennett 20:58
Well, if I was a psycho back then, hopefully I did, uh, you know, change all of 

Sam Polakoff 21:03
that. Yeah, what? 

Rich Bennett 21:04
Also, are you, so with hiatus and shaman, it was, you said it was a business coach it gave 

Sam Polakoff 21:09
you. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 21:10
Yeah. Yeah, was he the first one to actually read both copies after they were published? 

Sam Polakoff 21:15
Uh, well before anything's published, my first reader for every book has been my wife Denise. 

Rich Bennett 21:20
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 21:21
Like I've always told people, you can watch a movie, read a book with her at the same time, you know, the same book, watch a TV show, and she will always guess the ending, like a third of the way She'll 

Rich Bennett 21:34
into it. 

Sam Polakoff 21:34
pause 

Rich Bennett 21:34
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 21:35
it, she'll pause a TV show and she'll say, I already know it's going to happen. And 

Rich Bennett 21:39
Wow. 

Sam Polakoff 21:39
nine out of 10 times she's right. So she's got an uncanny instinct. So she's always been my first reader rich because I figured if I can keep her guessing, I've got something good. 

Rich Bennett 21:50
Is she a good critic? 

Sam Polakoff 21:52
Uh, she's a good critic. She tells me 

Rich Bennett 21:54
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 21:54
if something's not working. And like even like the historical fiction that I'm now writing, after four thrillers, I wanted to write a historical fiction because it's something I've always been passionate about as a reader throughout my entire life. And I chose to write the first book in this trilogy from the first person account of a woman, a 1773 English midwife young woman 23 years old at the time, the story starts. And I remember telling my daughter, I'm going to do this. She says, well that's ambitious because you know, I'm You know, you don't know me. We're just knowing getting to know each other, but 

Rich Bennett 22:33
not right 

Sam Polakoff 22:33
I'm not the kind of man that you would think could easily write a book from the perspective of a woman in the 17th 18th century. So I did that. It was hard work. And so relied on on my daughter, my 

Rich Bennett 22:46
challenged, 

Sam Polakoff 22:47
wife. 

Rich Bennett 22:47
though, isn't 

Sam Polakoff 22:47
Yeah, to tell me, are you getting this right? Are you not getting this 

Rich Bennett 22:50
it? 

Sam Polakoff 22:50
right? 

Rich Bennett 22:51
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 22:51
A woman would never say this, a woman would never react this way. And it was very important to me to capture the true essence of what a woman in that time frame would feel and how to do that. So that's that's another thing I'm especially proud of is that that book has been very, very highly regarded and the second book was written in the third person with Essie, who was the main character in the first as one of three point of view characters, one of actually several. But yeah, so that was that was challenging and fun. 

Rich Bennett 23:26
You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

Terry Trouyet 23:32
Hey, Terry Trouyet. A station coordinator here at 91-1 WHOFC inviting you to support us right now at W HFC 91-1 dot O R G. Your support keeps us playing your favorite tunes and bring you the latest campus news to donate right now. Be a part of our vibrant community W HFC 91-1 dot O R G. And thanks. And now the seven books you've written. This is the first series. 

Sam Polakoff 23:58
This is the first series. And I've had a reason for that too. 

Rich Bennett 24:02
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 24:02
So as a reader, we've all read books that are parts of series 

Rich Bennett 24:09
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 24:09
and they go on and on and on and on and on and on. And I said, sometimes I just get bored with the characters as a reader. I, you know, different scenarios, and the author put these same people in. And after a while, it starts to feel sort of perfunctory. So I always said, I wanted all of my novels to be independent stories that to stand on their own. I fall in love with those characters while I'm writing them. I immerse myself into those characters and their stories while I'm writing that book. And then I move on to create no one's. So when I started writing The Diary of Essie Lassiter and I finished it, I just felt that story was not finished and that it needed the trilogy. And so since it takes place during the run up to the war, the Revolutionary War, and ends with the Declaration of Independence, the second book which came out March 29th, Freedom's Lonely Cry, just takes place with Essie, Enter Husband, and a lot of famous people, George Washington, and John Hancock, the name of a couple, through the Warriors. So the third book which I'm writing now, Cromwell's Passage, will be the conclusion, because you've got pre-war, war, and post-war, and I'm thinking to myself after that, you could start a generational thing where I start writing about their children and their children. 

Rich Bennett 25:25
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 25:26
But as an author and as a reader, I'm afraid I'd get bored with my own characters. So I'm going to start something new. I'm going to, three books I think is it for one series. 

Rich Bennett 25:39
Maybe there's something you said there too, which makes a lot of a sense. If as a writer, you're writing it. I think maybe this is where maybe a lot of authors mess up. They're writing it, thinking that the readers are still liking all these characters. But when you said as a reader, if you're getting bored with the characters, you don't want to read, that's pretty smart. You're wearing both shoes. 

Sam Polakoff 26:07
Well, I 

Rich Bennett 26:07
for 

Sam Polakoff 26:07
think 

Rich Bennett 26:08
your books, 

Sam Polakoff 26:08
you have to. Again, maybe this harkens back to my business experience rich. The first thing you always have to consider, no matter what you decide, is what the view of the customer is. I was the chairman of the advisory board for Telson University College of Business, I walked in there and my first meeting as the leader. I said, it's time to start thinking of our students as customers. Not 

Rich Bennett 26:31
When 

Sam Polakoff 26:32
endless people that are going to keep signing up to come here. Why are they coming here? What choices do they have? How do we differentiate the program? So as a writer, I do the same exact thing. My reader is my customer. How do I differentiate these stories? How do I keep them interested? How do I keep them wanting to come back? And it's the old show business attitude of always leave them wanting more. Whether it's the end of the chapter or the end of a book, but at the same point, more might be something new and different. Verses more of the same. 

Rich Bennett 27:02
smart. So with this series, because with Shaman, of course, you read all these different books, how much research and what type of research 

Sam Polakoff 27:12
It's 

Rich Bennett 27:12
did you put in for this series? And I could tell already it was a lot of fun. 

Sam Polakoff 27:18
Let's do this, because we're probably close in age, right? 

When I learned about the Revolutionary War, I was growing up in Randall's town, and I went to public school. And you know, I don't know, what grade are we in when we learned about the Revolutionary War? Sixth grade, 

Rich Bennett 27:36
seventh grade? Oh God, I'll remember. 

Sam Polakoff 27:37
Right. You don't even remember that. But I remember what we can agree on, it was 50 years ago or so. So everything I kind of remember from being educated in the public schools is kind of like hanging back there in the cobwebs. And I've had to visit museums, read books, talk to other people, and start getting my arms around the way life actually was, because they're right in novel. You know, it's true that an author puts himself a piece of himself and every character he writes, good, 

Rich Bennett 28:09
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 28:09
bad, or indifferent. And as you're immersing yourself into those characters, you really have to have a feel for how they lived, how they spoke, what they wore, what they did in their free time. How they felt about different things, so on, so forth. So the research for the first book was extensive, particularly back to our earlier conversation, the history of art county. Hardford, 

Rich Bennett 28:31
right. 

Sam Polakoff 28:32
And I've lived in Harvard County for 35 years now, but I did not know the complete history of it the way I do now, and it gave much better appreciation for creating the town of Cromwell, which is my prominent Harvard County town. And now I'm getting ready to write, well let me, let me back up to the second book. The second book was during the war years. And so, you know, learning about the actual war again, going to places like the, there's a wonderful museum in downtown Philadelphia, called the Museum of the American Revolution. So, if you've never been interested in the revolution, it's, it's phenomenal, beautiful place, and, and it's got a ton of great exhibits. So, I went there, I'm reading books, I visited with my wife, Mount Vernon because George Washington as a central figure during the Revolutionary War, and he's an prominent character in my, in my second novel of the series. And I'm still reading. So, now I'm doing even more research because after kind of relearning the war and studying those battles that names you vaguely familiar, you're vaguely familiar with from 50 years ago, you're reading about these battles and learning things like, a lot of these battles that are so famous the Revolutionary War, some of them were over in 40 minutes. It 

Rich Bennett 29:49
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 29:50
didn't stretch like a conflict to go on 

Rich Bennett 29:53
It couldn't shoot as far! 

Sam Polakoff 29:54
now. It's, it's crazy. But, and now the third book in the aftermath of the war is concentrating on the reconstruction that's required. And specifically, George Washington and some of the main characters, what George Washington did along with some of his inner circle and my, made up characters, in that time period between when the war ended and when George Washington became president, which was a long period of time. 

Rich Bennett 30:23
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 30:23
So, six years or so, I believe. So, there's a lot, there's a lot there to study and learn, so that I can fully immerse myself into whatever that story is going to become because it's not fully fleshed out yet. 

Rich Bennett 30:36
Ooh, you like history a lot, don't 

Sam Polakoff 30:40
I do. I do. Like since I was a kid, I like learning about history through historical fiction. That was, 

Rich Bennett 30:46
you? Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 30:46
that was my thing. And I loved reading James Clovelle, who wrote Ty Pan and all the different Asian sagas, King Rat and Shogun and some of the others. Yeah, those are great books. 

Rich Bennett 31:02
So then, I don't know if you can answer this or not, but what is going to be after this? 

Sam Polakoff 31:10
Well, I'm already thinking about that and already doing a little bit of at least peripheral research, because I'm so busy researching the post-war era. But 

Rich Bennett 31:21
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 31:21
I am very interested in putting together a novel relating to and around the Stock Market Crash of 1929. 

Rich Bennett 31:31
So, ooh, ooh, ooh, 

Sam Polakoff 31:33
ooh. So, 

Rich Bennett 31:33
ooh, 

Sam Polakoff 31:34
it's going to be historical fiction because obviously it was 100 years ago now almost. 

Rich Bennett 31:41
Oh, God. 

Sam Polakoff 31:42
And it's probably going to combine, to some extent, my experience as a thriller writer with my experience as a historical fiction writer. So, I think I can do both in one story. 

Rich Bennett 31:58
So, the Stock Market Crash of 1929, it wasn't prohibitioned right around that time too? 

Sam Polakoff 32:04
Yep, yep. And then the depression followed. So, 

Rich Bennett 32:07
oh, wow. I see, Sam, I see another series here. 

Sam Polakoff 32:12
I don't know if it's a series yet, but it's one great novel. That's what my aim is. 

Rich Bennett 32:17
I mean, take a bag. Oh, my God. Yeah, to be working in the Stock Market at that time, door prohibition, because you know you want to drink, and you can't find one anywhere. Oh, God. All right. Now, I got I'm not even, I have all the gears in my head. I can't, I can't wait for this one to come out. 

Sam Polakoff 32:43
Well, you got a couple years to wait. 

Rich Bennett 32:45
Okay. Well, I got to finish the series that you're writing now anyways. 

Sam Polakoff 32:49
And I have to finish writing it. 

Rich Bennett 32:51
Well, yeah, that's true too. All right, so if somebody that, for somebody that's never read any of your novels, 

but they really want to get hooked on you as an author. And what would you suggest that they read first? 

Sam Polakoff 33:10
Shaman. 

Rich Bennett 33:11
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 33:12
And 

Rich Bennett 33:12
feeling you were going to see that. 

Sam Polakoff 33:13
Well, here's why, because like we were talking about the Stock Market idea for the future. 

Rich Bennett 33:19
Mm hmm. 

Sam Polakoff 33:19
Shaman in a way does combine historical fiction with a modern-day thriller, because parts of the book, as I mentioned earlier, take place 500 years ago, and you're reading and getting immersed into the characters from that time period, living in the the the the the dying incase civilization, the last of the incase during. 

In Peru 500 years ago, so that getting that sense of historical fiction and melding it with a modern-day thriller, I think, is a pretty unique insight into a reader's beginning of Sam Pollack, of novels. If you like that, you're pretty much going to like everything I've written. 

Rich Bennett 34:07
Now, with your books, because not everybody likes to turn pages, or even electronic pages, they are in audible form as well, r? 

Sam Polakoff 34:19
They are. They are. Audible has been for an independent author, until recently, an unaffordable plateau to reach, because when you listen to books on audible, and I do, and I enjoy them very much, especially some of the eyesight issues I've had recently, I've been listening to books a lot. 

The narrators, they're gifted people. They do a tremendous job of making you feel what a character is going through or saying that will want to do it well. But for an independent author to hire a narrator and go through oh thousands of thousands of thousands of dollars. So Amazon owning audible and Kindle has recently used an AI voice studio where an independent author can turn their Kindle version into an audible book using what they call virtual voice, and they give you 

Rich Bennett 35:18
really, 

Sam Polakoff 35:18
yeah, and they give you dozens of voices to choose from. And in concept, it's a great thing because it's free. And it 

Rich Bennett 35:27
takes 

Sam Polakoff 35:28
about 15 minutes, but you have to listen to the entire book before you post it on for sale on audible because the vertical. They don't always pronounce names properly. They don't always pause properly. Sometimes their voice rises at the end of a sentence where it shouldn't. And virtual voice, the studio that Amazon provides is better today than it was a year ago when it was first introduced to the public, but 

Rich Bennett 35:56
okay, 

Sam Polakoff 35:56
still imperfect. And so while all my books are out there on audible, they're all using virtual voice they they they're still enjoyable, but I'm a 

Rich Bennett 36:08
yeah 

Sam Polakoff 36:09
perfectionist and virtual voices software doesn't allow me yet to make some of the changes to something a human narrator could do much, much better. So that's where we're at. And I'm hoping Amazon is put out information that they're working on improving the technology and then I can pull each book back and re edit it in audible, you know, to make it better. So unless you want to volunteer to narrate all the novels for me, that would be. 

Rich Bennett 36:37
Oh, I don't know if you will character voices 

Sam Polakoff 36:40
you, 

Rich Bennett 36:40
for but I'm glad that Amazon is doing that now, though, because you're seeing, especially of AI, you're seeing all these platforms now where you can do different voices and everything. And that's you're right. It's it's when it comes to independent authors trying to do audio book is too expensive. 

Sam Polakoff 37:01
It's it's it's an affordable. It would cost you, you know, probably between $5 and $10, 000. And there's really no return on that investment. 

Rich Bennett 37:10
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 37:11
Unless you have some 

Rich Bennett 37:12
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 37:12
sort of one away best seller 

Rich Bennett 37:14
and a lot of people prefer to listen to a book and it's like you said, that's the only way they can enjoy a book 

Sam Polakoff 37:22
in a lot of cases that's accurate. 

Rich Bennett 37:23
Yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 37:25
So. 

Rich Bennett 37:25
So 

Sam Polakoff 37:26
for my for my purposes, people that can't read or don't like to read, but like to listen, they have a functional yet imperfect manner in which to listen to my novels, and I appreciate that. But I'm also committed to making it better as Amazon gives me better tools in the studio. Proof those novels, I'm committed to making them better for people. 

Rich Bennett 37:50
I'm just happy that they're in audio book. 

Sam Polakoff 37:53
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 37:53
Well, I mean, that's great. So any plans on ever doing another children's book? 

Sam Polakoff 37:59
I never say never. You know, it's funny. It's funny when I look back on that children's book from 20 years ago, and remembering the story we told earlier, it wasn't written as a children's novel. was written as an inspirational 

Rich Bennett 38:13
for 

Sam Polakoff 38:13
story 

Rich Bennett 38:13
it. 

Sam Polakoff 38:14
that we turned into a children's novel. So looking at it in hindsight, there are words in there that are maybe a little bit too sophisticated for second and third graders, which is what the book is intended to be for. So as the book comes to its 25th anniversary in 2031, which sounds far away, but it's not, I've thought about issuing a 25th anniversary edition that kind of 

writes it the way would write it today, meaning a little bit more geared toward children and not an adult story that was morphed into a children's book. 

Rich Bennett 38:52
Right. 

Sam Polakoff 38:53
So that's the only real thought about. Yeah, it's the only thought I've had about really writing another children's book. I even though I'm retired, the research and the energy and the passion I have for writing historical fiction of thrors is so strong. I don't know that I could the time to pour myself into another children's book when 

Rich Bennett 39:18
take 

Sam Polakoff 39:18
there's so many great children's authors out there already. And I'm thinking more that I'll stay in my lane. 

Rich Bennett 39:24
Well, I was going to say, the historical fiction and the thrillers is your passion. That's what you love doing. 

Sam Polakoff 39:30
I enjoy it. 

Rich Bennett 39:32
Oh, man, something very important. Where can people find your books? What's the website? 

Sam Polakoff 39:39
Well, everything's available at sampolicoff.com or commoderdragonbooks.com, which is my publishing company, take you to the same place, and everything's on Amazon. Everything is on Amazon. Amazon's distribution now makes the books available. So if you went to Barnes and Noble, you could buy them through Barnes and Noble, but I tell everybody just go directly to Amazon. 

Rich Bennett 40:01
And those of you listening, you already know what I'm going to say. When you purchase Sam's books, make sure you leave a four review because that's important. And you don't have to just leave it on Amazon. You can leave it on Goodread Barnes and you can leave it everywhere because he, Sam doesn't matter. Yeah, mine. Do you? 

Sam Polakoff 40:23
Nope. The more than let's

Rich Bennett 40:25
exactly, well, for those people that live the other states are out of country. How can they get an autograph copy? 

Sam Polakoff 40:34
Well, that's a good question. So my appearances are always on the home page of 

Rich Bennett 40:40
Okay. 

Sam Polakoff 40:40
sampolicoff.com. And if they want to come to Kray Fest in May at the college or any of their places where I'm appearing, I'm happy to autograph books that they already have, which probably the easiest way. Somebody wanted to send me a book and post a return and have me mail back to them wherever. I'm happy to do that as well. 

Rich Bennett 41:01
Now, Sam, this is going to be tricky. Actually, first of all, is there anything you'd like to add before I get to the latest question? 

Sam Polakoff 41:08
No, I think we've covered a lot of good ground, 

Rich Bennett 41:11
And then this is a tricky part 

Sam Polakoff 41:13
okay. 

Rich Bennett 41:13
because you're going pick the question. 

Sam Polakoff 41:15
Okay. 

Rich Bennett 41:16
Pick a number between one and five 

four four. All right, now I got to get to that block. All right. Now note that's block number three. Now pick a number Beach. I haven't funny feeling this question is going to tie in with what we've been talking about. Now pick number between 61 

Sam Polakoff 41:42
and 80. 61 and 80. 70. 

Rich Bennett 41:50
70. If you could design ideal day with no limitations, what would it look 

Sam Polakoff 41:59
like? Well, that's a heck of a question. 

Rich Bennett 42:03
That's the first time. That's the first time that one's been picked. 

Sam Polakoff 42:09
You know, to do that justice, because I'm a researcher and someone likes to deliberate on things, I'd really like to think more about that and I will. But to answer something today, I think the ideal day is spending time with my wife and my children and my grandchildren and just being people I love and enjoying where I am. 

Rich Bennett 42:35
You know what that is? A great answer because you never know what tomorrow will bring. 

Sam Polakoff 42:41
And being in the present, 

Rich Bennett 42:43
yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 42:44
And being in the present is so so important because so many people worry about what happened, what might happen, 

Rich Bennett 42:52
it 

Sam Polakoff 42:52
didn't happen. That's 

Rich Bennett 42:55
true. 

Sam Polakoff 42:55
It's hard to do, but I think just being present and and appreciating the things that you've got, the people that that are in your life, that that's really super important. 

Rich Bennett 43:06
I agree with you 110%. 

See, that was a great answer, Sam. But at all honesty, I thought you were going to say 64, because you said you're 64 years old, right? 

Sam Polakoff 43:19
Not until July. 

Rich Bennett 43:21
Not till July. 

Sam Polakoff 43:22
That's 

Rich Bennett 43:22
Alright, 

Sam Polakoff 43:22
right. 

Rich Bennett 43:22
so 63. Wait a minute. 

You know what, I'm gonna ask you 63 and 64 anyways. I'm cheating, I've never done this, but I'd like these 2 questions. So 63, if you could instantly acquire one new skill or talent, what would it be? 

Sam Polakoff 43:41
Uh, I'd like to be able to fly. 

Rich Bennett 43:44
Ooh, 

Sam Polakoff 43:46
just like Superman. That's another, we talked, see, this is gonna come back full circle to the beginning of the conversation. Where we talked about dreams. 

Rich Bennett 43:53
Uh-huh. 

Sam Polakoff 43:54
For the craziest stupidest reasons, I've always had dreams that I'm Superman, and I could fly and save people. 

So, yeah, let's, let's, let's down the red cape and, you know, let me fly. 

Rich Bennett 44:09
Well, in that case, this question just has to close it out. Because going back to those dreams, you being Superman and, and the books and everything. If your life had a theme song, what would it be and why? 

Sam Polakoff 44:26
Oh boy. Those are really tough questions. 

Rich Bennett 44:30
I, that kind of 100 different ones and I've, I've yet to go through them all. I don't even look at the questions in advance. I let people pick the number. 

Sam Polakoff 44:41
I, I kind of relate to, um, Uh, the Neil Diamond signature song, "I Am I Said" where he's lost, 

Rich Bennett 44:49
oh 

Sam Polakoff 44:49
lost between New York and Los Angeles. And, you know, for me, that's more like, you know, I was lost between the supply chain career and my, my passion to write. And, you know, how do you reconcile the, the distance between the two? So, uh, because you're not giving me any time to ponder, which I need, I'm gonna say 

Rich Bennett 45:08
yeah. 

Sam Polakoff 45:08
I, I am, I said. 

Rich Bennett 45:09
But that's a good song. 

Sam Polakoff 45:10
Oh, that's a great song. 

Rich Bennett 45:12
Yeah, I mean, I can deal with that. 

Sam, I want to thank you so much. It's been an honor and I have to say this. Terry Troy, hey, thank you for suggesting to get Sam on. 

Sam Polakoff 45:26
Terry's a great guy. 

Rich Bennett 45:27
Oh, he is. He is an awesome guy. I, I love having him on, whenever he comes on, whenever he gets a chance to. He's been on a few times, but, um, oh my god. Yeah. 

There's your voiceover for your books. 

Sam Polakoff 45:42
He actually did the voice. Uh, we had him do the, uh, the voiceovers for our phone system here at, next terrace. 

You're, 

Rich Bennett 45:50
you know, really? 

Sam Polakoff 45:51
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've done Terry a long time. And I thought there's a, there's a great voice. I got to put that to work somehow, so we did. He recorded all of our phone scripts for us. 

Rich Bennett 46:01
Oh, yeah. He, he is, he is awesome. And I actually served on the board for, you know, WHOFC for the community advisory board. And I, I mean, I could sit down and talk with Terry for hours. 

Sam Polakoff 46:15
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 46:15
You know, and of course, he always cracks on me because he was Air Force, you know, me being the Marines. Well, he tries to crack on me, but got to admit Air Force had the best sleeping quarters and the best food. 

Sam Polakoff 46:28
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 46:28
I think they still do, you know, our food, apparently, according to the Navy, was crayons. So on that note, Sam, thanks a lot. 

Sam Polakoff 46:36
Thank you. Appreciate it. Enjoyed it very much. 

Rich Bennett 46:38
One of the things that really stood out to me today is that Sam never let go of a dream. For nearly four decades, he carried the desire to write novels while still building a successful business career, raising the family and leading a company. And when the opportunity finally came, he didn't make excuses. He actually made it happen. We talked about everything from recurring dreams and reincarnation to the Revolutionary War, historical fiction, publishing, family, and the importance of staying curious. And if there's one thing I took away from this conversation, it's that it's never too late to pursue something you're passionate about. So whether you're intrigued by the thought-provoking world of Shaman, fascinated by the historical depth of the diary of S. E. Lasitor series, or simply inspired by Sam's determination to follow a lifelong dream, I encourage you to check out his work. Visit Sam Polakoff, S-A-M-P-O-L-A-K-O-F-F dot com, turn to learn more about his books upcoming appearances, and where you can get your hands on a copy. And as always, when you read a book by any independent author, do them a favor, leave a review. Those reviews make a bigger difference than most people actually realize. Sam, thank you for sharing your story, your insights, and your passion with us today, and to all of you listening. Thank you for joining us for another episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett. And if you enjoy this episode, be sure to share it with your friends, family, book lovers, history buffs, and anyone who has a dream they've been puttin' off. Until next time, remember, sometimes the stories that stay with us the longest are the ones we almost never told. Take care, keep the conversation goin'.