The Thirteenth Hour Podcast

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!

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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!

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This episode originally aired on March 21, 2016.

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

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This episode originally aired on Feb 22, 2016.

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!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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.”

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