Preview of Weekend Festivities

This upcoming Monday, on the podcast, fantasy author Angela B. Chrysler, will be on!  She’s been featured on this blog a few times before, and she’s heading up a huge cyber convention that’s also going on this weekend: the Brain to Books Fantasy Cyber Convention, starting this Friday (i.e. tomorrow), 4/8/16.

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Click on the picture above to learn more about this novel on Goodreads.

There’s a massive book giveaway as part of the convention.  You can see the books here.  I’ll be donating an e-copy of The Thirteenth Hour.  You can enter the contest here.

Speaking of which, I’ll have a “virtual booth” at the convention, as well, which will mirror real life, since I’ll be at a library event on Saturday.

I have a free raffle for both events going on using the same Rafflecopter.  You can win one of the three ebooks:

 

 

See you at one of these events!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #34: Archery in the Media

Episode #34: How Archery Gets Portrayed Inaccurately in the Media 

Discussion of how not shoot a bow by modeling Hollwood, 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.

diana.jpg

 

Not sure what’s going on here – guess it’s some stylized version of the pinch grip.

Image result for archer drawing bow mechanical release

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.

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News: free raffle for these three ebooks until 4/10! http://gvwy.io/9fdxaih

Brain to Books Fantasy Cyber Convention 4/8/16!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #29: Censorship, Children vs. Adults, and Raffle Winner

Episode #29: What age group is The Thirteenth Hour for?

https://archive.org/download/13thHrEps16On/13th%20hr%2029.mp3

-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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Win a Free Copy of The Thirteenth Hour

You can win a free Kindle copy of The Thirteenth Hour in this rafflecopter that author Kelly St. Clare was kind enough to host on her site:

Enter the Raffle Here!

Not sure what this is all about?  Inspired by 80s fantasy, scifi, and teen movies, The Thirteenth Hour is a fairy tale for adults about growing up, staying young, and finding the unsung hero inside.  And you can get a copy free by entering this free raffle.  There are a few little tasks to do that helps determine who wins.  You’ll be awarded points depending on what you choose to do. Some activities are worth more than others. The more points you get, the higher your chances of winning!

For example, tweeting a message earns you 1 point. Leaving a comment below an article on Kelly’s site gets you 2. Subscribing to the free weekly podcast on iTunes yields 3 points, and so on.  You’ll see when you enter the raffle.  All activities are pretty painless, and none require to do anything idiotic like give your phone number, credit card info, or the usual internet marketing rigmarole.

The contest runs for a week, until 2/29!  Good luck!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #28: 80s Movies Part 2 – Teen Movies

Episode #28: 80s Teen Movies, Author Coreena McBurnie Reading

https://archive.org/download/13thHrEps16On/13th%20hr%2028.mp3

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!

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-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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Big Thanks and Reminder for The Thirteenth Hour Raffle!

Thanks to everyone (400+ people) who downloaded The Thirteenth Hour when it went free the past few days!  Your support is much appreciated!

If you’d like a chance to win a signed copy of The Thirteenth Hour and a signed copy of the prequel to the Thirteenth Hour, the novelette, A Shadow in the Moonlight, all you have to do now is … cue drumroll, wailing guitar, and synth:

Aurora guitar play animated  Logan piano

1.) Read the book.

2.) Post your thoughts on amazon.com by June 13th, 2015 and email me (writejoshublum@gmail.com) a link to your review for a chance to win …

book pics

3.) … a The raffle winner’s name will be drawn from the entries on June 14th, 2014 and announced on my website (don’t worry, no contact info will be displayed).

4.) I will contact the raffle winner privately to arrange prize delivery (worldwide)!  The winner doesn’t have to pay for a thing.

Thanks in advance!  Happy reading and good luck!

In summary:

-Email your amazon.com review link at writejoshuablum@gmail.com by 6/13/15

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The Thirteenth Hour is Going FREE Next Week! Learn how you can win signed copies of The Thirteenth Hour and its prequel, A Shadow in the Moonlight!

What’s better that one free book?

Why, two of course!

Would you like not only a guaranteed free book (see how below) but a chance to win signed, print copies of not one, but two free PRINT books?

Then read on!

The Thirteenth Hour is a new adult fantasy tale heavily inspired by 80s fantasy film and books such as The Neverending Story and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It has a good sense of both humor and adventure, some of which is depicted in over 35 hand-drawn illustrations.

You can learn more about the book and art in the following links below:

Trailer: https://youtu.be/hpcIUpwTiFY
Music Video: https://youtu.be/aKYmB4xZaMY
Website: 13thhr.wordpress.com
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RFHG6WW

So here’s the deal. The Thirteenth Hour, normally 4.99 USD on amazon.com, is going FREE from May 13th to the 17th. Here’s how to enter the raffle.

1.) Download it free during that time (Kindle Unlimited also counts).

2.) Read the book (obviously).

3.) Post your thoughts on amazon.com by June 13th, 2015 and email me (writejoshublum@gmail.com) a link to your review for a chance to win …

3.) … a signed copy of The Thirteenth Hour AND a signed copy of the prequel to the Thirteenth Hour, the novelette, A Shadow in the Moonlight. The raffle winner’s name will be drawn from the entries on June 14th, 2014 and announced on my website (don’t worry, no contact info will be displayed).

book pics

4.) I will contact the raffle winner privately to arrange prize delivery (worldwide)! The winner doesn’t have to pay for a thing.

Happy reading and good luck!

In summary:

-Amazon link to free book 5/13-5/17/15: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RFHG6WW

-Email your amazon.com review link at writejoshuablum@gmail.com by 6/13/15

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