Jose Oldenburg is a Miami-based author and filmmaker. He studied film in Los Angeles and spent nearly a decade working as a director and camera crane operator on independent productions. That background shows in everything he makes. Each page of The Leunam Tales is composed like a moving film frame, and both books come with cinematic audio companions that he produced and narrates, complete with orchestral scores and layered sound design.

The world of The Leunam Tales started with a nine-year-old boy who was terrified of dying and wrote heroes that made him feel brave. Decades later, one of those childhood stories became Horatio in the Wind, followed by its sequel Rose Marie and the Crystal of Desires. After 82 publisher rejections, Jose printed 3,000 copies, sold his first 30 at a local market in one day, and went on to earn a five-star Kirkus review and start a publishing company.

The books are now in the hands of families across the country.

A young adult sequel, August Enchanted, arrives summer 2026.