The Thirteenth Hour Podcast

Originally released on May 23, 2016. Today's episode is all about gadgets people carry in their pockets (or in bags), though it mostly focuses on pocketknives. Those of who who've watched Angus Macgyver at work know he can do pretty much anything with a Swiss Army knife and a paperclip, so these things are handy to have. Two of the covers of the Great Brain books written by John D. Fitzgerald. There are 5 others (plus one published from the author's notes after his death). I do believe these books made me interested in carrying a pocketknife when I read them as a child, though I probably would have shredded my hands with one. My folks wisely had me wait a few years. My father eventually bought me one like this at a local hardware store: A Schrade Old Timer Middleman stockman-style pocketknife. The box had a little manual that distinctly read "never throw your knife!" (whoops) The one I had was made with high carbon steel (which is softer than stainless steel- meaning it can be sharpened to a finer edge - but prone to rusting if not kept oiled/dry). The blades looked darker than those in this picture if I remember right. I had it through most of adolescence until it eventually slipped out of my pocket somewhere while in college, going to that mysterious place where lost pens, umbrellas, and socks go. Schrade as a company unfortunately went out of business in the 2000s. Taylor Knives took over this particular line and continues to manufacture them, through that has been outsourced to China now. Logan from The Thirteenth Hour loses his knife, too. In fact, he loses all his gear in the beginning of the quest, though he finds some new pocket swag in the course of this travels, including a new knife that he muses might be good for throwing. That's written about elsewhere, but I eventually found some knives made by the same company that wouldn't get lost so easily - the Schrade Cliphanger line, which has a little detachable carabiner that clips to your pocket but doesn't interefere with the rest of the knife. They only have one blade, which was stainless steel, but at least that means less maintenance. Plus, the blade locks in place. I've had a number over the years. Unfortunately, they're not so easy to find these days, either, but I recently found an older one made in the USA on eBay. It needed some work, but after some minor fixes and resharpening, it was good to go. Sharpening the blade took a fair amount of work since one edge came heavily beveled, but I eventually got it sharp enough. Not going to use it to shave anytime soon, but good enough to cut paper and such. More at https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=5246 ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ In other news, The Thirteenth Hour soundtrack has a new track! "The Imperial Ranger March" was released on the soundtrack's bandcamp page this past Friday. You can find more tracks there plus previews and discussion of music and movies that inspired the soundtrack on Instagram @the13thhr.ost. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally released on Mqay 16, 2016. Last week's episode on the influence of gymnastics on the writing of The Thirteenth Hour leads to today's episode which focuses more on martial arts. Although I've alluded to other martial activities on this blog and in the podcast before (like archery and knife throwing), I figured it was time to devote more time to martial arts itself. My experience since I was about 13 was with Eastern martial arts, so I borrowed elements of those arts in the style of unarmed martial arts Logan and his Imperial Rangers comrades learn and practice in the novel. Here, he talks about how sparring sessions would typically go for him: "... at this fledgling state in my career, things would progress something like this. In a somewhat paradoxical concern for safety, the instructors had us tie cloth pads around our shins, feet, hands, and head in an attempt to prevent injuries and simulate body armor but said that donning groin protection was “unrealistic” because no one walked around wearing it in daily life. Well, I've never seen anyone walking around boxing gloves or pads on their arms and legs either, but hey, that's just me. At any rate, then we'd each take a stance and start beating the living shit out of each other. Our trainers strictly informed us “don't kill each other” since this was just supposed to be practice. “You have to help each other,” they said. Well, that was a load of bullshit if I ever did step in a pile. Inevitably, the matches would revert to the following: your opponent, in an effort to impress the instructors, would throw a really hard shot, and if it connected, you would show your manliness by getting pissed and creaming him. Unless, of course, you happened to be me. I generally didn't stand an ice cube's chance in hell against those older guys. Maybe the instructors noticed my incompetence and felt I needed more practice, or maybe it was just a punishment, but it always seemed that I had to spend twice as much time on fighting drills as anyone else, part of which involved more time with the practice dummy ..." Logan may have just been more honest about his shortcomings, but actually his isn't an uncommon experience for folks. Of course, consistent practice takes care of a lot. Eventually, though, Logan learns enough to defend himself quite well. [pictures of Logan kicking here] Logan kicks! He wouldn't be doing these kicks prior to his training - guess it paid off. These high kicks make for flashy pictures, but I mostly envisioned he and the other Rangers spending most of their time practicing more utilitarian low and mid range strikes as well as those that utilize the body's naturally hard spots (like knees and elbows - which he uses in the final fight). Pixelart animation of Logan doing a sliding side kick. This was from The Thirteenth Hour game that didn't get finished. As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details! https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=5136

Originally released on May 9, 2016. Today's episode is all about flipping! Although it's pretty common to see acrobatics on TV and in video games today, at the time The Thirteenth Hour was written (1998), the whole extreme martial arts tricking community was still in its infancy, and it hadn't really permeated popular culture to quite the same degree yet. There were a few exceptions - video games like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Tomb Raider (plus its many clones) that came out around then had flipping protagonists. And there were Jackie Chan movies, plenty of older kung fu classics, and Gymkata showings on late night TBS. But if you wanted to see traditional gymnastics, you generally had to wait four years for the Olympics. I wanted Logan and the other Imperial Rangers from The Thirteenth Hour to learn acrobatics not only because of my own personal interest but because I thought it would make them more agile and help them push their limits. In the book, they grumble about it a lot, but it's hard to ignore the element of danger in learning movements that turn you upside down and occasionally have you landing on your rear, head, or neck if you're not careful. And although it's totally anecdotal, I think finding your personal limits and working through the fear translates into better focus and confidence in yourself. Here's a representative excerpt from the novel: "...That's how we ended up in the tall, airy room that'd been built to train the Army's special soldiers. The large room with mirrored walls was carpeted with thick, vaguely carpet–like mats. On those mats we were taught how to transfer the momentum of a fall to a roll without getting hurt, how to stand on our hands, and how to spring from our hands to our feet and back again. We were also taught how to flip in the air and how to run up a wall, flip backwards, and land on our feet. In the process, we were introduced to a new language, one born of bodies in motion. So, it was awkward at first, but exhilarating in a way, and looking back, a lot of it had to do with conquering fear, so in that sense, it really was essential to our training. After several months of trying, I was able to fling myself over backwards and kind of land on all fours with all the grace of a drunken ape. And then one day, I succeeded in landing without putting my hands down on the floor ..." Sketched animation of one of the Imperial Rangers doing a front flip - note he gets plenty of air and does not bust his ass on the floor (that happens a lot, though). Pixelart animation of Logan doing a backflip. This was from The Thirteenth Hour game that didn't get finished. As always, thanks for listening! Next week, part 2, focusing more on martial arts. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally released on May 2, 2016. Today's episode is all about throwing knives and other pointy things, like screwdrivers. It refers to a few past posts: -https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/02/15/logans-everyday-carry-edc-from-the-thirteenth-hour/ -A section of The The Thirteenth Hour where the main character, Logan, finds a pocketknife and contemplates fleetingly whether it would make a good throwing knife as well as the ending fight, where he lobs a large sword. -https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/ever-wanted-to-throw-knives-like-chuck-norris/ -A previous post that discusses no-spin knife throwing, inspired by Ralph Thorn's teachings. The post step-by-step how to perform the technique. Includes many links to references as well as a few video clips, like this one, where I'm throwing a screwdriver and a large cut-down nail: That post also formed the basis for the short how-to article for The Backwoodsman magazine, a bi-monthly outdoor publication (where to get it). The article came out in the most recent (May/June) issue, and you can see a picture of part of the article on this past Thursday's instagram posting. I didn't realize this when I recorded this episode, but the magazine is also available in digital format as well. I encourage you to see if you can find the article through the magazine to support the folks that put it together (plus, there are lots of other great DIY articles). But I know not everyone will be able to find a copy. So ... mailing list subscribers can get a .pdf of the article I originally submitted to the magazine, so check out the link below to join if you haven't already if you're interested. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ In other news, The Thirteenth Hour soundtrack has a new song! "Song of an Unsung Hero” (which takes its name from a poem in the novel, The Thirteenth Hour), has lyrics here and was released on Friday. You can find more tracks on bandcamp plus previews and discussion of music and movies that inspired the soundtrack on Instagram @the13thhr.ost. Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally released on April 25, 2016 Before we get to the podcast today, a note on Prince's passing. It took me three tries of recording the intro to not sound totally down in the dumps, so I apologize in advance if I sound more sedate. * I refer to interviews Prince did in the podcast - they were rare, but you can find some on youtube. This is part of a thoughtful interview where he talks about mentorship, having high standards held to you, and the value of persistence. Good talk! Prince was one of those people who a true artist in every sense of the word - difficult to categorize, independent, someone who paved his own way. Though many tried to emulate him later, he was always a hard performer to cover. There was always such a unique flair to the multi-instrumentalist from Minnesota with such range to his voice and the presence and swagger to pull off wearing heels and ruffled shirts. So, Prince, truly, "Nothing Compares 2 U." He was his own man and showed us what it meant to be an individual in a world where conformity ultimately often becomes the path of least resistance for most people. So long, thank you, and may the rain color purple coming down from the heavens. #RIPPrince - click on the photo above for an extended live version of "Purple Rain." ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ On a happier note, welcome, Kelly and your readers, to the podcast. Kelly St. Clare and her books have been featured on this blog a number of times (e.g. see her post on her experiences with Thunderclap). It was also Kelly who suggested George Sirois, who was on last week, for the show - so thank you. (That show, which I think is the longest yet, can be found here). For those of you who may be new to her work, here's a link to an interview she did to give you more info. Click on Kelly's photo above to be taken to her Goodreads profile. [gallery ids="3024,3025,2966" type="rectangular"] -Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellystclare ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ The last clip of the song I'm working on now, "Song of an Unsung Hero" (which takes its name from a poem in the novel, The Thirteenth Hour), has lyrics here. Stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks! You can find more about The Thirteenth Hour soundtrack on bandcamp or on Instagram @the13thhr.ost. Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details! Click on the books above to be taken to Kelly's Amazon profile to check out her books. -Website: http://www.kellystclare.com/ - there, you can join her exclusive club (can I call it that, Kelly? =) for updates and well, exclusive stuff you can't find elsewhere-Wattpad: http://w.tt/1MJs4hl - get a great introduction to Kelly's work by reading Fantasy of Frost, the first book in her (soon to be) tetrology free on Wattpad. You can find more samples of her other books on her website.-Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellystclare/

This episode originally aired on April 18, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=4855 Get ready for a mammoth episode - this is 70+ minutes of audio footage featuring author George Sirois! We covered a ton of material, including tons of 80s trivia, like: -80s Hits Stripped - acoustic versions of 80s songs covered by the artists themselves (links to youtube) -Stan Bush's "The Touch" (listen for clips in the podcast!) -The Transformers Movie 30th Anniversary -The Undertaker - remember this guy? This was a great conversation that could have easily have gone an additional hour. We also had a chance amid the 80s nostalgia to discuss George's books: Click on the cover to be taken to the Amazon listing. Abduction. Betrayal. Conspiracies. Murder. Welcome to the future of Sports Entertainment! Click on the cover to be taken to the Amazon listing. Put down the pen. Pick up the sword. Unleash the hero within. Created by high school senior Matthew Peters, Excelsior - savior of faraway planet Denab IV - is becoming an Internet sensation as the main character of a popular online comic strip. But before Matthew can enjoy his burgeoning success, a beautiful older woman arrives at his school and tells him that not only is she from the planet Denab IV, but that Excelsior's lifeforce lives within him. Now, with Excelsior's old enemies regaining strength, Matthew realizes he is the key to Earth's survival and Denab IV's salvation, and he has an opportunity that he never thought possible, to become his greatest creation. . . Social Media Links blog: http://www.georgesirois.com/ GR profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4103079.George_Sirois Google+: https://plus.google.com/+GeorgeSirois/posts Twitter: https://twitter.com/georgesirois Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgesirois/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/excelsiorbooks/ George, it was a blast! Looking forward to hearing more about the Excelsior audiobook when it officially releases. Hopefully, we can have you back on to talk more in the future! Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on April 11, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=4769 Angela, the creator of the Brain to Books cyber blog tour, took time out of her busy schedule to talk for an hour. We covered a vast amount of info: Back to the Future Delorean shirts, why having a flux capacitor is a good life decision, the Moon Patrol soundtrack, how her personal collection of weaponry influences her writing, why all the fuss about book reviews from the point of view of a reader and author, how persistence factors into writing, publishing, and life, and much, much more. Email Address: [email protected] Website: http://www.angelabchrysler.com/ Author Bio: Angela B. Chrysler is a writer, logician, philosopher, and die-hard nerd who studies theology, historical linguistics, music composition, and medieval European history in New York with a dry sense of humor and an unusual sense of sarcasm. She lives in a garden with her family and cats. Read More Social Media Links Official SiteAmazon Author PageGoodreads Profile Page TwitterPinterestFacebookGoogle+Story Time on YouTube - if you ever have have had a desire to create a podcast, consider doing what Angela is currently doing, as referenced on the how to create a podcast post done for Kelly St. Clare's blog.Dolor and Shadow (Tales of the Drui Book #1) Official PageFire and Lies (Tales of the Drui Book #2) Official PageBroken Official Page Books Discussed on the Show DOLOR AND SHADOW (TALES OF THE DRUI BOOK #1 ... BOOK #2 TO BE RELEASED 7/1/16). Genre: High/Epic Fantasy YouTube Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovHqM9cHGDE BROKEN Genre: Memoir/Psychological Thriller/Non-Fiction Awards: Finalist of the 2015 Wishing Shelf Awards YouTube Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqfR928fpWE ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Starving Artist Section: where I talk about making a few bucks on the internets! This week's app is Nextrack, which pays you (via gift cards, albeit slowly) to work out. It works via mpoints/mplus points, which is a point system used by a number of other games and apps. You can only redeem so many per day, but you can also earn free coupons and such. Nice little bit of positive reinforcement for maintaining an exercise habit. Available for Android and iOS. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Schedule for the next few weeks: 4/18/16: Episode #36: a conversation with author George Sirois 4/25/16: Episode #37: fantasy author Kelly St. Clare 5/2/16: Episode #38: knife throwing Thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour's instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost for your daily weekday dose of ninjas, martial arts bits, archery, flips, breakdancing action figures, fantasy art, 80s music, movies, and occasional pictures or songs from The Thirteenth Hour books. Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on April 4, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=4571 Discussion of how not shoot a bow by modeling Hollywood, book covers, and other art https://archive.org/download/13thHrEps16On/13th%20hr%2034.mp3 The Hunger Games movies and books have created a resurgence in archery as a sport. A lot of times, beginners will wrap a finger around the arrow to keep it from falling off. But it's best not to ever put your fingers anywhere near the tip of the arrow. Some different grip styles of drawing a bow. There isn't necessarily a right or wrong - just depends on the gear you have. The famous Diana statue by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. I originally thought she was using a thumb style draw. But after looking at the statue more closely, she isn't; she's pinching the arrow nock, a common way beginners think bows are drawn (they can be, though it's hard to manage a stronger pulling bow this way). Since she's supposed to be a hunter, probably not a hunting bow. Not sure what's going on here - guess it's some stylized version of the pinch grip. There are some situations where the drawing hand is in this position, but it's when a mechanical release is used. Here, Oliver Queen from Arrow shows an anchor point on his chin, important for accuracy, The position of his right hand seems a bit off in this photo, though I can't imagine they were using real arrows on set. Lara Croft from Tomb Raider (2013) shows the same. This game actually portrayed archery pretty well, though there some artistic licenses clearly taken. A floating anchor point (the drawing hand is not anchored to another part of the body, like the face or chest). Not great for accuracy ... http://geekdad.com/2014/08/hawkeyes-fault/ - a funny article about the portrayal of Hawkeye in the Avengers movies. The 2012 version of the comics, though, portrayed archery more realistically. Needless to say, art is. of course. different from real life and gets a pass on one level for creative license. But it makes it not the most reliable place from which to learn - at least when it comes to archery. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ News: free raffle for these three ebooks until 4/10! http://gvwy.io/9fdxaih [gallery ids="1964,750,746" type="rectangular"] Brain to Books Fantasy Cyber Convention 4/8/16! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Follow The Thirteenth Hour's instagram pages: @the13thhr and @the13thhr.ost Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This originally aired on March 28, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=4063 This episode focuses on archery, which I've featured a few times on this blog (see links below) and on Instagram, since it features in The Thirteenth Hour, though it will play a bigger role in the yet-unnamed sequel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/on-the-state-of-archery/ https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/on-the-state-of-lars-andersen-speed-shooting-and-armchair-quarterbackery/ If you're interested in making your own bows and arrows, here are some posts and links to get you started. Using PVC, you can make a cheap, durable, and powerful bow in an afternoon. There's still a learning curve, but it's not nearly as steep as it would be to make a bow the traditional way. Here's how to make this takedown bow: Clicking on the picture will take you to an accompanying youtube video. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/how-to-create-your-own-three-piece-takedown-pvc-fiberglass-bow/ The blue bow below is a variation of the model above: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/how-to-create-your-own-three-piece-takedown-pvc-fiberglass-bow-part-2-the-fourth-of-july-bow/ I'm working on a small how-to guide that goes into more depth on the making of the bows above as well as a crash course on archery - watch for more updates in the coming months. The bows below as also takedowns of different designs: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/the-imperial-ranger-three-piece-pvc-takedown-bow/ https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/09/11/auroras-bow-a-compact-two-piece-pvc-and-fiberglass-tent-rod-takedown-bow/ Clicking on the picture above will take you to a video on youtube. The bow below is a little different. It's a children's bow made of bamboo, though repurposed from a Halloween costume prop. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/10/31/the-halloween-bow/ This is the hunter's bow from A Shadow in the Moonlight: If you're interested in learning more about this particular model, signing up for the mailing list will give you access to a special podcast that talks more about it. I highly recommend you check out videos on youtube such as the Backyard Bowyer channel by Nicholas Tomihama as well as the Google plus community for PVC bowmaking, a great resource! Next week, archery in the media! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ In other news, the 80s style ending song that I previewed last week is done. As I mentioned before, I decided to write a song to accompany The Thirteenth Hour, a novel I wrote influenced by the 1980s films I loved as a child. Those movies often had theme songs that played in the opening or ending credits referencing the story, title, or themes involved. Sometimes, the lyrics were largely unintelligible but relied on a catchy riff or beat to carry the song. “Searching for Forever,” with its synthesizer backing track, electric guitars, and lyrics that allude to various 80s songs and the plot of the book is my attempt to pay homage to this aspect of 1980s cinema. You can hear it at https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/track/searching-for-forever). As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on March 21, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=3878 Today, I've very pleased to welcome dark fantasy author Joshua Robertson to the show. It was a fun conversation and a chance to talk about all kinds of things related to fantasy, writing, and the like. Turns out that we had very similar journeys in writing - he created a fantasy world as a kid (1999) and then re-edited the manuscript for a long time until recently publishing the stories he'd worked on since adolescence. In fact, his first novel released publicly, Melkorka, he re-wrote 7 times! Holy persistence, Batman! He also discusses some of his most recent works, including Dyndaer, which was just released. If you're curious about some of the short stories that we read and discussed on the podcast, here are titles and links: A Midwinter Sellsword - an ongoing short story series based on a table top game world. Grimsdalr - a retelling of the Beowulf myth Anaerfell - the short story that introduces readers to the Thrice Nine Legends series - Josh recommends that new readers to his works start here. Josh's ongoing story on Wattpad, The Eadfel: Game of Houses, is available here. The story that I'm trying to turn into a novel, the modern retelling of the sleeping beauty fairy tale, is on Wattpad here. If you're an author or considering becoming one, Josh discusses a lot great information I wish I'd known years ago! To use a handy but one of those annoyingly overused catchphrases of internet marketing, he brings a lot of high value content to the conversation (as well as to the podcast)! Pay particular attention to his discussion on the importance of listening to your critics, making personal relationships with people on social media, starting the process of building your audience early (before publication - if you recall nothing else, remember this!!), the importance of a mailing list, and what he found most helpful as a young writer. And ... if you're an author and are interested in publishing a short story through Josh's publishing company, Crimson Edge, check out this anthology entitled "Maidens and Magic" - still taking submissions until 6/1/16. Check it out! Author Bio (links to Goodreads) Joshua currently lives in Alaska with his wife and children. In 1999, he began crafting the world for Thrice Nine Legends, including Melkorka and Anaerfell. He is also the author of the A Midwinter Sellsword and Gladiators and Thieves in the Hawkhurst Saga. His short story,Grimsdalr, is inspired by the tale of Beowulf. Social Media Links Amazon Goodreads Facebook Twitter - look for the #fantasychat Youtube videolog/podcast – The Writer’s Edge Crimson Edge Facebook Page and Book Club It was great having Josh on the show. Josh, if you're seeing this, know you're welcome back anytime! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Before I go, I'll leave you with a work in progress - as I mentioned, The Thirteenth Hour is getting an ending song. Since it's a book inspired by 80s films, I figured it needed an 80s style ending song replete with synthesizers and electric guitars. It's not done, since the vocals still need to be worked in, but I've finally finishing recording the instrumental parts, which you can listen to here, on The Thirteenth Hour soundtrack page on Bandcamp. Look for updates on the soundtrack page on Instagram (@the13thhr.ost). Amazon giveaway for the children's book, Your Star Will Glow Forever, is open until 3/22/16! Stop by to see if you can score a free copy. Mailing list subscribers find out about future giveaways and days when books go free early! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on March 14, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=3776 -Today's episode is a recording of an interview I did with WNRI radio host Wayne Barber about a month ago on his show, The Author's Hour. He was kind enough to read The Thirteenth Hour before the interview, and it's always fun to hear other folks' points of view. There were a number of callers with questions as well, some specific, some general. Overall, a fun time, so if you didn't catch the interview on the radio or livestream a month ago, you can hear it now. -In other news, there's currently an Amazon giveaway for the picture book I originally wrote for my daughter, Your Star Will Glow Forever. Just click on the link above to go to it. It's free, no purchase needed, and it'll go on until 3/22, 11:59 PDT. -Next week, we have another live guest - fantasy author Joshua Robertson! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on March 7, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=3349 There is bonus material available here: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=3398 Today, I have my first live guest! My brother, Jeremy, who writes about video games on his blog, Pixel Grotto, joins me for a conversation about the video games we made (and tried to make) when we were kids. It all started when Jeremy got interested in a graphical video game making software program called Klik 'N Play (this was in the late 1990s), and started making homebrew games. The nice thing was that because it was graphical, the learning curve to making games was considerably lower. Eventually, I became interested, too, and decided to make fan games of my own, starting with one called Tomb Raider: The Unicorn Quest, where a young Lara Croft goes on a search for a unicorn with her mentor, who is ambushed and killed not long after they locate the mythical animal, leaving Lara stranded on a quest to save the unicorn and avenge the death of her mentor. It sounds better than it really was! But I've recently relocated the game files - those and more about the game can be found in the separate post here). I wrote in a previous post about plans to make a sequel that I think I was going to call Tomb Raider: Shadow of the Wolf, with better animations ... but that ended up in development hell, as they say. You can read more of here). Links to download the other games we talked about (games about chimp fighting, breakdancing, etc) are here. [gallery ids="3484,3544" type="rectangular"] Links to the gamemaking software we talked about: Klik 'N PLay The Games Factory Multimedia fusion Clickteam Fusion - the modern, free version of the above programs Unity You can follow Jeremy on Twitter as well to get real-time updates and his unique insights into games and how we play them. Here are a few links to his articles on his Tumblr site: -http://pixelgrotto.tumblr.com/post/131556691816/mobile-for-sommerlund-and-the-kai-when-i-was-a - on the Lone Wolf game books and how they were visual novelized -http://pixelgrotto.tumblr.com/post/129636036426/now-playing-knightfall-warning-lots-and-lots-of - on Batman: Arhkam Knight As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on Feb 29, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=3263 -I get asked this question occasionally and am still refining my answer, which is generally, "adult, though teens over 16 may enjoy it as well." The only ones who generally seem interested in the answer are parents or grandparents not interested in the book for themselves but as a present for the children in their lives. I feel it's better to let them know what to expect first rather than have them surprised when little Johnny lets them know that someone in the book said, "oh, shit!" That said, there are no f-bombs (sort of the king of English curse words), but, in the fine tradition of the 80s movies from which it drew inspiration, there are a few four letter words sprinkled in the text for emphasis. No one has sex, either on or off the page. No one loses a head or has organs ripped out. But there are some fight scenes, as well as some introspective narrative passages on more adult-oriented things like growing older, waxing nostalgic for the seeming simplicity and innocence of childhood, the inevitable regrets along the way, the aftermath of traumatic experiences, the complicated and halting way romantic relationships start, and the struggle to become one's own person ... stuff that may not necessarily be the most interesting to an eight year old. I sometimes say that if it were a movie, it'd probably get a PG-13 rating, which coincidentally, is what the movie The Martian is rated, and that does have a few f-bombs :) Anyway, sometimes I think we protect children in very weird ways (e.g. banning books and other kinds of media). But that is a different topic altogether and dangerously close to real world activism, which this corner of the internets strives to steer away from. Onto other things ... -Although I've had guests on the show before (e.g. authors Lo-arna Green and Coreena McBurnie), I've not had live guests yet. That is, until next week, when my brother, who writes about video games, will be joining me live! We'll be discussing the video games we tried to make when we were kids (as I discussed previously in this post which has a collection of Tomb Raider sprites I made for a game I never finished). -Starving Artist section: make some passive $$ by watching videos on your phone (you don’t have to watch ’em!) on Swagbucks! See this guide on Reddit for the apps you'll need to get in order to maximize your points: https://www.reddit.com/r/SwagBucks/comments/229bf6/detailed_guide_about_swagbuckscom_for_the_newbies/ -Lastly, today I announce the winner of last week's raffle hosted by Kelly St. Clare, chosen at random by the gods in the Rafflecopter machine: Jeremy J., you're the big winner! (You'll be receiving an email from me with more info). Congratulations! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on Feb 22, 2016. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=3149 Man, this was a super long episode. I guess I got carried away talking about the 80s teen movies :) Anyway, these were all influences, one way or another, for The Thirteenth Hour and the themes running through the book (i.e. figuring yourself out while straddling the line between childhood and adulthood, then trying to find your way in a seemingly inhospitable world). -More on the writer of many of these films, the late, great John Hughes, as remembered by a teenage penpal he kept correspondence with for a number of years. -Movies discussed (that link to Youtube clips): --Sixteen Candles -always loved the song at the end (done by The Thompson Twins) --The Breakfast Club -great scene - Bender falls through the ceiling - cracks me up every time! --Some Kind of Wonderful -Ahh, first kisses. Something special about them, especially when it's with a longtime friend. -As an aside, the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink was similar in some ways, but the genders were switched and had a great ending song by OMD. --Real Genius -The great ending song by Tears for Fears -Speaking of ending songs, The Thirteenth Hour is getting its own 80s-style ending song soon! Details to come. Watch for it on the soundtrack page on bandcamp! -Ever want to learn to throw playing cards? Now you can learn to throw like Logan from The Thirteenth Hour with, well, a handmade Thirteenth Hour throwing card kit. Available on eBay. -Kelly St. Clare, who recently wrote a post here about her experiences with the social media crowd blasting site Thunderclap, has been kind enough to host a raffle for free copies of The Thirteenth Hour on her site starting 2/22 (today)! -Guest reading by historical fantasy author Coreena McBurnie from Prophecy, a novel about Antigone, from the Greek myth Oedipus Rex. Welcome to the podcast and thank you for sharing a segment of your work! -Starving Artist section: make some passive $$ by watching videos on your phone (yo udon't have to watch 'em!) - Checkpoints As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on Feb 15, 2016 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=3115 This is an episode that breaks a little from my so-called tradition of talking about escapist entertainment and discusses things that may actually have, well ... practical use to you if you're an aspiring writer or artist. This past week, fantasy author Kelly St. Clare was kind enough to host an article I did on podcasting as easily and cheaply as possible. (If you haven't checked out her great series, The Tainted Accords, do yourself a favor and do so!) She, in turn, discussed her recent experience with the social media crowd speaking site, Thunderclap. In any event, this particular episode touches on some of the material in the post above. But whereas the post walks you through the creation of a podcast, this audio clip is more of a dialogue about why podcasting may be of help to you as an author/artist and discusses some suggestions about what you can do with it as a platform (e.g. interviews with guests, behind-the-scenes stories, influences, etc). I reference the article "1000 True Fans" by Kevin Kelly in the podcast. It's talked a lot about in marketing circles, and folks like Tim Ferriss often cite it as a model for developing a dedicated following. On a smaller scale, working towards a dedicating podcast following has the potential to accomplish much the same thing in a way that's more difficult to achieve with traditional social media, which can be more superficial and ADHDish. Stay tuned for more on this subject in the future, as well as a live guests on the podcasts! Lastly, Kelly St. Clare was kind enough to host an upcoming rafflecopter giveaway for The Thirteenth Hour on her site. Stay tuned for more info in the coming days. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired on Feb 7, 2016 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=2895 -News: Upcoming radio show appearance on 2/16: Email the host, Wayne, with questions or comments for a chance to win a copy of The Thirteenth Hour. -http://waynebarbersauthorshour.blogspot.com/2016/01/brand-new-radio-show-authors-hour.html –Event Details (Live at 1380 AM WNRI or livestream, 9 AM EST 2/16/16) -More News: brand new audio page for songs on Bandcamp - two new songs in the works! Stay tuned for more info. -Even More News: Read most of The Thirteenth Hour ebooks for free! The standalone prequel, A Shadow in the Moonlight, is free on Amazon and Smashwords. The standalone epilogue, "Falling Leaves Don't Weep," is now free on both Amazon and Smashwords. And, you can get about 25% of The Thirteenth Hour free when you join the reader's group. WIN! -Film influences for The Thirteenth Hour - this is a big topic that will probably take at least two episodes. This post I did about a year ago is an outline of some of what I talk about on the show. About the same time, I wrote an Amazon listmania about some classic 80s fantasy movies. Amazon doesn't use these anymore, but the post is still up on the internets: -http://www.amazon.com/So-You-Want-to-Watch-an-80s-Fantasy-Movie/lm/R1H34IQ5YOD1PV/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full -Check out this podcast preview on Bandcamp that talks about 80s fantasy films and the nostalgia coming from rewatching these films, flawed as they often are. -Featured Author Section: Epic Fantasy Author Malinda Andrews -Read an excerpt from Through the Mountains -Starving Artist Section: -Bing Rewards - get gift cards for searching the internet! -Referral link: https://www.bing.com/explore/rewards?PUBL=REFERAFRIEND&CREA=RAW&rrid=_0ff6bda3-4386-4da3-b4f8-61f9628e1bc6 -As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy ofThe Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

This episode originally aired Feb 1, 2016 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post&jetpack-copy=2779 This morning I randomly woke up to theme music of one of my favorite movies of all time, The Last Starfighter, playing in my head. Probably not a surprise, since it was an inspiration for The Thirteenth Hour and always had a kickass theme song to boot. Here's a little dose of morning 80s inspiration: https://youtu.be/BSf5tx4e_PA The Last Starfighter main characters: Maggie (Catherine Mary Stewart) and Alex (Lance Guest). Of note, Catherine Mary Stewart was in a number of other great 80s movies, like Weekend at Bernie's and Night of the Comet, both of which I've seen innumerable times. Click on the picture above for a great review of The Last Starfighter. -In other news, the radio show appearance I mentioned last week was rescheduled due to a station conflict. It's later this month. More details in the links below. Email the host, Wayne, with questions or comments for a chance to win a copy of The Thirteenth Hour. -Author's Hour show details: http://waynebarbersauthorshour.blogspot.com/2016/01/brand-new-radio-show-authors-hour.html -Event Details (Live at 1380 AM WNRI or livestream, 9 AM EST 2/16/16) -By the way, Happy Groundhog Day! -If you want to learn to throw playing cards like Bill Murray does in the movie, check out this card throwing how-to: -https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/11/24/ever-wanted-to-be-like-gambit-card-throwing-101/ -Stay tuned for Thirteenth Hour throwing cards in the near future! -Writing and Drawing the Main Characters (Logan and Aurora) from The Thirteenth Hour: where I try to deconstruct the thought process behind creating the world these characters live in, why they were drawn the way they were, and why fantasy novels have been a predominantly Western European, white affair. -We obviously all have prejudices and biases, and I think the thing is not the total eradication of these parts of being human, just an openness to try to understand these aspects of ourselves and see the world from the points of view of others. -I will say, however, it would be refreshing to have more ethnically diverse characters in fantasy stories, but not just to make a social statement as the token ethnic character. Let them be more than just a color, to paraphrase Michael Jackson. -As an aside, this topic refers back to these post: -https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/writing-the-main-characters/ -There's a question in the interview below about which Hollywood actor I'd cast to play Logan and Aurora if the movie were one day turned into a film. Even though I pictured the book being more a cartoon, the question still stands: -http://www.angelabchrysler.com/featured-reads/the-thirteenth-hour/ -#NYNB2016 Epic Fantasy Author Feature: Joe Jackson - reading an excerpt from White Serpent, Black Dragon. -Be sure to check of Joe’s blog for an impressive amount of background history he created for the world in his books. -Follow Joe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShoelessAuthor -Easy Dinero Segment: Check out the Techslugs channel on Youtube for much more info and reviews of apps and programs to help you make some cash to support the starving artist lifestyle! -As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast and a demo copy ofThe Thirteenth Hour! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally published January 25, 2016 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-24-the-last-unicorn/ After hearing enough people say I should find out more books like The Princess Bride and The Last Unicorn, I finally sat down with my daughter to listen to an audiobook of The Last Unicorn, read by the author, Peter S. Beagle. Later, I watched the cartoon, which, by the way, has a great voice acting cast. So in this episode, I talk a little about this fairy tale fantasy classic. I thought it would be an appropriate follow-up for last week's discussion on what makes a fairy tale fantasy. Quotes: You have all the power you need if you dare to look for it. Then what is magic for? What is the use of wizardry if it can't even save a unicorn? ... That's what heroes are for. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Before I forget, I'll be appearing on local radio show (1380AM WNRI) this Tuesday, 9AM EST. In a twist or ironic humor, I'll be talking about a podcast on a radio show, and it should all be good fun. You can listen live over the internet as well. Lastly, for anyone (but especially you aspiring authors out there), from here on out, I'll occasionally talk about some ways to make a few bucks online. There are many sites out there that basically pay you to watch videos (in reality, watch ads), and they tend to pay in gift cards. It can be handy to have some money in your Amazon account to be able to send books to friends, family, reviewers, and giveaway winners and offset the cost of buying the books yourself. One such site is earnhoney.com, which you can use on your computer. If you're interested in learning more, check out this channel on youtube for more info. Good luck! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ More about ⁠⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠⁠⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, ⁠⁠Long Ago Not So Far Away⁠⁠, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the ⁠mailing list⁠! Website: ⁠https://13thhr.wordpress.com⁠ Book trailer: ⁠http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY⁠ Interested in a free Kindle copy of The Thirteenth Hour? Just email me at ⁠[email protected]⁠ for more details!

Originally published January 18, 2016 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-23-what-is-fairytale-fantasy/ In this episode, I attempt to explain what fairytale fantasy as a genre is. My take on it, anyway. At some point, I'll have to delve more into this, but based on what other people have told me after they read The Thirteenth Hour and its spin-offs is that there are a few titles in the same genre (fairytale fantasy) that I should check out, as they're similar in style. All are very established, classic titles, so comparisons to such giants make me uncomfortable, but based on what I know, I think the tone and overall feel is similar (I use the term 'title' since in many cases there's a movie and a book, and it becomes hard to separate the two): -The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (read the book, watched the movie) - I've spoken about this one a lot and can say it directly influenced the writing of The Thirteenth Hour - though probably moreso the movie than the book. -The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle (recently listened to the audiobook read by the author; still need to watch the cartoon) -The Princess Bride by William Goldman (saw the movie in college for the first time; in the process of going through the book, which starts quite differently from the movie and seems a bit more cynical than the movie so far) -The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (on the list to read) -Stardust by Neil Gaiman (about halfway through the book; never read anything by him before aside from maybe a few Sandman comics as a kid which I don't remember well and probably didn't understand) With the possible exception of the Discworld books, which I haven't read and can't really speak to, all fit into the genre of fairy tales aimed primarily at adults. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ On an entirely different note, thank you to everyone who helped support The Thirteenth Hour in it's recent 3rd edition re-launch, and thanks to everyone who helped to support the Thunderclap, which was success - so many thanks for helping me spam the hell out of social media!! :) ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ More about ⁠⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠⁠⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, ⁠⁠Long Ago Not So Far Away⁠⁠, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the ⁠mailing list⁠! Website: ⁠https://13thhr.wordpress.com⁠ Book trailer: ⁠http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY⁠ Interested in a free Kindle copy of The Thirteenth Hour? Just email me at ⁠[email protected]⁠ for more details!

Originally published January 11, 2016 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/01/11/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-22-80s-music-alphaville-when-in-rome-van-halen/ This week, I experimented with playing music in the background while recording this episode in music that influenced the writing of The Thirteenth Hour. The sound quality leaves something to be desired, but I only played a few short clips anyway. I may experiment with ways to make the sound quality better in the future but clearly opted for the low-tech option today :) So ... here's youtube links to the full songs discussed so you can hear (and see) them in all their 80s big hair glory: -(Alphaville) Forever Young (courtesy of Atlantic Records at the time) -(When in Rome) The Promise (courtesy of EMI Records). This is the song I pictured as Logan flew on Lightning. -(Van Halen) When it's Love (courtesy of Warner Bros at the time). This is song I had in mind for these scenes in the book: The theme song to The Thirteenth Hour, heard in the intro and outro of the podcast and influenced by these kinds of 80s songs, is found on the audio page, as is "I'll Fly Away". More details on these and other musical influences come from this original post: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/influences-behind-the-thirteenth-hour-part-4-music/ As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ More about ⁠⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠⁠⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, ⁠⁠Long Ago Not So Far Away⁠⁠, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the ⁠mailing list⁠! Website: ⁠https://13thhr.wordpress.com⁠ Book trailer: ⁠http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY⁠ Interested in a free Kindle copy of The Thirteenth Hour? Just email me at ⁠[email protected]⁠ for more details!

Originally published January 4, 2016 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-21-special-edition/ Today is another special edition of this podcast, discussing the upcoming launch of the 3rd edition of The Thirteenth Hour (special editions are longer - this one is 30 minutes - and less frequent; the other special edition is the episode on A Shadow in the Moonlight for subscribers of the mailing list - see link below for free access). The following links are referenced in the episode. i.e.: -Talking about how the book came to be in print (unofficially) as early as 1998: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/the-evolution-of-the-thirteenth-hour-in-print/ -Illustration updates to this newest edition: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/10/11/the-evolution-of-a-thirteenth-hour-illustration/ Like the above link, here are a similar progression of images showing the creation of an image (this time of King Darian) from sketch to computer edited image: -The saga of cover creation: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/09/27/work-in-progress-new-thirteenth-hour-drawing/ https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/whats-in-a-cover/ -And what you can do to personally support the launch: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/help-support-the-thirteenth-hour/ -Other ways to get a sample of the book and see if the writing style is to your taste: ->download a sample on amazon ->download a free copy of the prequel, A Shadow in the Moonlight, on Smashwords or Amazon ->download a free copy of the standalone short story, "Falling Leaves Don't Weep" (may contain vague, obtuse spoilers) on Smashwords ->email me for a sample chapter @ [email protected] ->email me @ [email protected] if you'd like to review the book - you get a gift copy for free. ->download the first 15 episodes of this podcast on itunes (granted, an earlier draft of the book, but it's all there, start to finish). So, lots of ways! Best wishes for the new year! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ More about ⁠⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠⁠⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, ⁠⁠Long Ago Not So Far Away⁠⁠, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the ⁠mailing list⁠! Website: ⁠https://13thhr.wordpress.com⁠ Book trailer: ⁠http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY⁠ Interested in a free Kindle copy of The Thirteenth Hour? Just email me at ⁠[email protected]⁠ for more details!

Originally published December 28, 2015 https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-20/ I’m deviating from the previous episodes today to talk about a few books generally classified as “children’s” literature, though in reality, they can probably be enjoyed as adults as well. While not directly related to The Thirteenth Hour, they were books I enjoyed as a child, which influenced my love of reading, and later, or writing and creating stories. The following links all go to Goodreads. I also used the cover illustrations for the versions of the books as I remembered them, though there are updated covers now that make these ones look dated in comparison. It just goes to show that these things are cyclical, and what’s popular and fashionable in one era may not be twenty years from now. The Chronicles of Narnia The cover for the fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Silver Chair, which is different from the photorealistic covers fashionable in today’s books but still striking in my opinion. A Wrinkle in Time My Teacher is An Alien The Girl with the Silver Eyes Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year! As always, thanks for listening! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ More about ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, ⁠Long Ago Not So Far Away⁠, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in a free Kindle copy of The Thirteenth Hour? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally published December 21, 2015 This episode refers to video games (Ultima V, Ironsword) discussed in this post: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/influences-behind-the-thirteenth-hour-part-3-video-games/ Check out this cover art for Ultima V! Unfortunately, the inside of the game looked like this: But there's a remake/mod for Dungeon's Seige: http://www.u5lazarus.com/ Gauntlet, also featured on this episode, at least the 1985 PC version, has an entry on wikipedia. Gameplay and picture above courtesy of old-games.com. I've included links on old-games.com for the games below: King's Quest (KQ6 is featured here). The song on the CD version, "Girl in the Tower" is on youtube. Legend of Kyrandia Simon the Sorcerer Quest for Glory (QFG1 featured here) Incidentally, my brother wrote about Quest for Glory in his blog, as well as many of the games of that era, here. (His experience playing games was much different from mine - more positive). He also followed that post up with discussion of fan-made remakes of QFG, Quest for Infamy and Heroine's Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok. We have recently been playing the game Magicka, which has a similar sense of humor to some of the above games, as well as The Thirteenth Hour. As always, thanks for listening! ⁠More about The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY

Originally published December 14, 2015 This post refers to the comic books (Bone, Archie) referred to in this post: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/influences-behind-the-thirteenth-hour-part-1-books/ The old (more comicky) and new (more ?anime-ish) covers to the novelette prequel to The Thirteenth Hour, A Shadow in the Moonlight are as discussed in this episode are here for comparison: [gallery ids="474,742" type="rectangular"] Dave Stevens, the creator of the comic book hero, The Rocketeer, is discussed here, especially his art style and the storytelling influence on the creation of The Thirteenth Hour. As always, thanks for listening! ⁠More about The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY

Originally published December 7, 2015 This episode talks about literary influences to The Thirteenth Hour, partly based on a post which can be found here: https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/influences-behind-the-thirteenth-hour-part-1-books/ I also refer to the TSR Endless Quest series of gamebooks, similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books of the time. Image courtesy of Elfsteaks and Halfling Bacon Here is a link on Goodreads to the historical gothic romance adventure books written by Madeline Brent, pseudonym for author and comic book written Peter O'Donnell. He was creating great independent female characters before it was as trendy to do so as it is now. “When You don't know what to do, just do whatever comes next and go from there.”― Madeleine Brent, Moonraker's Bride Although not mentioned in the podcast, another book that I remember enjoying in grade school that is somewhat similar to books like The Neverending Story (but written for a somewhat younger audience) is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Episode 18 will talk more about comic books and illustrations. Thanks for listening! More about The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY

Originally published December 3, 2015 After about a year, I've decided to resume the podcast that I originally set up to read an earlier draft of The Thirteenth Hour. In regular 15-20 minute episodes, I'm going to be talking about the creation of the book as well as some topics that are also featured on this blog that relate, in some way, to the book (archery, martial arts, backflips, etc). Sometimes the episodes will refer back to previous posts, as they do in this first one. I'll include relevant links in these posts when that happens. Here are the posts referred to in this episode - technically episode #16, though really the first one of this format. How the book began How I envisioned it as a futuristic book with flexible screens How the main characters were created I think it will be a nice venue for other things as well, like playing ot performing music and songs written for the book and its cousins. I have changed the podcast cover image to reflect the book's new look. More on The Thirteenth Hour "An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.” ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Signup for the mailing list! Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY Interested in a free Kindle copy of The Thirteenth Hour? Just email me at [email protected] for more details!

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the fifteenth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is the rest of chapter 26 plus the Epilogue from the novel. After this point, the podcast will shift from reading the novel to discussing topics that have influenced it. ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the fourteenth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 25-26 from the novel. ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the thirteenth (!) Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 22-24 from the novel. ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the twelfth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This continues chapter 22 from the novel. The Thirteenth Hour An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the 11th Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapter 22 from the novel. ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the tenth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 20-21 from the novel. ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the ninth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 18-19 from the novel. ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the eighth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapter 18 from the novel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/13th-hr-podcast-episode-8/ ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the seventh Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 16-17 from the novel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/13th-hr-podcast-episode-7/ ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the sixth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 14-15 from the novel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/13th-hr-podcast-episode-6/ ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the fifth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 10-13 from the novel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/13th-hr-podcast-episode-5/ ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the fourth Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is wraps up chapter 9 from the novel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/13th-hr-podcast-episode-4/ ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the third Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 7-9 from the novel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/13th-hr-podcast-episode-3/ ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Jan 6, 2015 This marks the second Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 3-6 from the novel. https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/13th-hr-podcast-episode-2/ ⁠The Thirteenth Hour⁠ An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”

Originally released Dec 25, 2014 This marks the first Thirteenth Hour podcast episode, where I read an early draft of The Thirteenth Hour during the fine-tuning stages, shortly prior to publication of the first edition. There are 15 episodes in total, each about an hour in length. This is chapters 1-2 from the novel. https://wordpress.com/post/13thhr.wordpress.com/172 The Thirteenth Hour An impossible quest to the ends of the world. An unlikely hero. And ... a little magic. If an optimist sees opportunity even in disaster, then Logan, the sole surviving member of an ill-fated military expedition to the ends of the world, is most definitely an optimist. You’d have to be to continue on without supplies, ship, or crew. But to someone who’s daydreamed of seeing the world since childhood, perhaps disaster actually hides freedom. And, besides, who ever said adventures were supposed to be easy? Of course, every hero on a “desperate quest against incredible odds” can use a little help. Enter Aurora, Logan’s best friend from childhood, whose fate collides serendipitously with his, a magic collapsible hover board, three bumbling wizards, and the elemental forces from the lands of wind, water, fire, earth, and dreams. These characters and many more collide in an illustrated fairy tale fantasy inspired by enough 1980s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies that an original retro 80s synthesizer soundtrack, Long Ago Not So Far Away, was created to accompany the novel. Scroll up to enter a whimsical world of what reviewers called “creative, fast paced adventure” best “described as a fairy tale for anyone who grew up on old school fantasy movies in the 80s.”