The Thirteenth Hour
Author
Joshua Blum
Author Bio
A child of the 80s, Joshua Blum, like many other people, remembers wishing he had Marty McFly’s hoverboard from “Back to the Future 2” to ride to and from school. For awhile, he wanted to be an American Indian hunter and spent many a misspent day making bows and arrows out of tree branches, ultimately leading to a love of archery which continues to this day. After entering that penal colony known as middle school, he decided that he ought to learn to defend himself, leading to the wide world of martial arts and lots and lots of push-ups, both of which he enjoys to this day.
All of these elements were inspirations for aspects of “The Thirteenth Hour,” which he wrote after finishing high school and edited little by little until the present day – in effect growing up with the characters. During this time, he was educated at Princeton and Penn State Universities. In total, he estimates having spent 23 years of his life in school (give or take). Despite that rap sheet, he still enjoys learning new things. He credits his mother for instilling in him a love of literature, music, and yard sales. He credits his father for teaching him to do, you know, manly things, like hit a baseball, ride a bike without falling over, and most importantly, never give up on the important things in life. He credits his younger brother for helping him stay young at heart.
He currently enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter. Although not surprising given the decade in which he grew up, he still enjoys breakdancing, though he will admit the bruises take longer to go away now that he can no longer consider himself a young adult. He hopes to forever avoid corporate middle management and is currently at work on a graphic novel for adolescents as well as a sequel to “The Thirteenth Hour.” He hopes it does not take sixteen years to finish.
Description
Combining the adventure of “The Princess Bride,” the irreverent humor of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy,” and the feel of 1980s fantasy films such as “The Neverending Story” and “Labyrinth” with a healthy dose of introspection surrounding the journey from adolescence to adulthood, “The Thirteenth Hour” is a modern-day fairy tale for adults.
Logan is a young man raised in a sleepy village orphanage whose main talent is daydreaming. His life changes quickly at age eighteen when he is drafted into King Darian IV’s Imperial Army. When he is picked as one of eight men to be specially trained for a mysterious mission, he discovers there is more to himself than he realizes. During his adventure, Logan is reunited with Aurora, a childhood friend, and together, the two travel to the four corners of the Earth to find the secret of eternal life.
Part adventure story, part travelogue, and part introspective narrative detailing the struggles we all face going from adolescence to adulthood, “The Thirteenth Hour” contains over 35 illustrations, music written specifically for the story, and rich world both on and off-line that was sixteen years in the making.
Take a look today, and let the story of “The Thirteenth Hour” become your story!
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You might enjoy reading this book if you like …
-1980s fantasy and science fiction films
-books like “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende or “Stardust” by Neil Gaiman
-adventures with unassuming, introspective protagonists
-young adult coming of age stories
-irreverent (probably politically incorrect) humor
-fantasy art
-martial arts
-gymnastics or acrobatics
-archery
-throwing cards or magic tricks
-skipping stones
-contemplating the nature of human existence
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• Website: http://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpcIUpwTiFY
Book excerpt
Lightning beeped cheerfully and drifted forward slowly down the lighted blue pathway that I had walked down earlier. She really picked up speed in the windy section near the entrance. I crouched down low, white–knuckling the board with both hands. Maybe I should have practiced a little first, I began thinking to myself. But Aurora was in trouble, and I needed to concentrate on that. The flight to Cordel would have to be my practice. Lightning shot out of the Palace and began to climb steeply. My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I prayed that we would slow down, eyes shut, knuckles even whiter as I gripped the edges of the board for dear life.
The board beeped then; I opened my eyes slightly, and by shielding them against the torrential winds, I was able to see a message flash across the complicated, yet impressive looking front of the board.
“Relax, Logan! There’s no way you can fall. Both your feet are now strapped in. You can let go of my sides if you want. Have fun!”
I looked down; my right foot was now securely strapped onto the board. I stayed crouched low, but let go of the edges, first one hand, then another. As soon as I did, I felt as if I were going to fall backwards and began to flail my arms. Lightning slowed down a little, allowing me to regain my balance. But at every dip, my stomach felt like it was shooting up to my throat. I wanted to grab onto something solid, but I realized that there was nothing but air to hold onto! In desperation, I gripped the side of the board again, but it didn’t do any good.
“This is harder than I thought!”
Another message flashed across the screen.
“Well, it really isn’t too hard once you get the hang of it. Just relax and let me do the work. Now, how about some aerobatics, my favorite?”
“Uh, wait a minute! Aerobatics? Is that anything like acrobatics? I don’t think I’m ready for that!” I yelled.
“Sure you are! You just don’t know it yet! All you have to do is hang on!” flashed the screen.
I yelled a succession of curses as my stomach shot up to my throat as Lightning spun around three times in succession. The screen read, “Barrel roll maneuvers complete.”
Whatever that meant! She ended up in an inverted position, with me looking at the sea, dizzy. I had paid so much attention to the insides of my eyelids that I hadn’t looked around to notice how high we were. We seemed to be travelling at an insane speed. The waves far below flashed by in a blur. The wind kept getting caught in my gaping mouth and bellowing out my cheeks while I was struggled to close my mouth …
