The Thirteenth Hour Podcast

I have finally come up with a title for The Thirteenth Hour sequel - Dare.  In many ways, that's what the book is about.

There are a number of characters that accompany Logan on his journey to find Aurora after she is spirited away:

-Tinder: an full blooded eleven youth from a well- off family who has chosen to distance himself from the family business (and a a life of privilege) by making his living as a nomadic minstrel. ...

This week, wanted to talk about Logan and Aurora's house for The Thirteenth Hour sequel.  I recently finished a painting of an illustration I started a few months ago.  I'm talking about the outside as well as the inside, especially all the personal touches they put in to add some element of convenience to their little sanctuary - a stone hearth, a shower area, a root cellar, and their tatami-like sleeping area.  Thi...

This week, I am doing some more show and tell of the illustrations for The Thirteenth Hour sequel I have done so far:See the pictures here:

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2026/07/20/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-571-thirteenth-hour-sequel-update-20-illustrations-2/

Logan and Aurora flying on Lightning off their island to the mainland for a weekend.

The new female Imperial Rangers - King Darian IV's former personal guard.

A squirrely messen...

This week, I am doing a little show and tell of the illustrations for The Thirteenth Hour sequel I have done so far:

https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2026/07/13/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-570-thirteenth-hour-sequel-update-19-illustrations/

The Wayfarer's last stand.

Alfred asleep in his apartment with a hand-drawn/written copy of "The Thirteenth Hour" he wrote as a kid after witnessing the events of the first book.

Logan and Aurora in dre...

This week, I am talking about the morning exercise routines that I have done for years; Logan's "morning exercises" referred to in The Thirteenth Hour sequel (and I think even in the first book a bit) are similar.  But in the sequel, Aurora starts her own version of these exercises that are more tailored to her own needs.  She has less interest in martial arts but does find that due to the pressures and lack of physical a...

This week, I'm continuing work on the ending theme I started in episode 564 and now have some lyrics to go with some of the skeleton chords I came up with before.  I have a better sense, also, what I want to song to be about - with themes touching on coming to terms with the concessions of age, understanding yourself and where you come from better, and being brave / taking chances.  There is a little poem I recall from a ...

This week, I wanted to touch on a piece that ties The Rocketeer (the film version just turned 35 this weekend) with The Thirteenth Hour sequel.  In some previous episodes (125, 126, and 127), my brother created a little interlude with the Wayfarer, a character that I've talked about a bunch recently that features heavily in the sequel.  He gets a magical rocketpack in that standalone campaign and so I talk about it during...

This week, I'm working on an idea for a main theme for one of the main characters of The Thirteenth Hour sequel, the Wayfarer.  Part of this episode was recorded outside (sorry for the environmental sounds) and the rest in front of a keyboard where I was hammering out a skeleton framework for the theme.

I think I settled on an illustration style I like for this book - ballpoint pen with watercolors.  Here's a picture of th...

This week, I wanted to go over some main details of the plot of The Thirteenth Hour sequel, which is really four stories in one - Aurora's tale, Logan's tale, Alfred (from the first book's tale), and the plot that weaves them all together.  It might be too big for one book.  But so far, I'm just writing!  96K words so far and probably only half done.  I know I'll have a lot of editing to do!

More next week!

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This week, I'm working on an idea for a new ending(?) song for The Thirteenth Hour sequel.  I don't have the lyrics yet and only a vague idea of what it will be about (acceptance? integration? family trauma? I don't know yet exactly ... I have heard this kind of story is called a "second coming of age" tale since it's more about the shift into middle adulthood), but I have the chords for the verse and chorus and some riffs tha...

This week, I'm reading from a random section from The Thirteenth Hour sequel draft.  Last week, I talked about the Wayfarer, so this week happens to be a section where Logan and Aurora first meet him.  I've mentioned a bit about the half elf freedom fighter, the Wayfarer, before, but this section gives a bit more characterization, as we get to know him more and more as the story progresses.

More next week!

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Once Upon...

This week, I'm reading from a random section from The Thirteenth Hour sequel draft.  Last week, I talked about Aurora, so this week happens to be a section where Logan and Aurora reconnect with the new Imperial Rangers (formerly King Darian IV's all female guard) and invite them back to the island where they live for a visit. 

I scrolled to this section randomly but recall it was fun to write; I enjoyed being able to flesh...

This week, I thought I'd discuss a bit about Aurora's backstory and some of the themes I wanted to touch on in the sequel to The Thirteenth Hour.   Not all of the research/backstory always makes its way super explicitly in the actual text, but I usually create a history for the characters in order to help create things consistent. 

For Aurora, we already learned she grew up at an orphanage and knew nothing about the f...

This week, I'm playing around with a variation of the archery technique I was working on last week (holding arrows in my bow hand) but also combining it with another technique, holding a few in my drawing hand also.  They each have their pros and cons, but I think Logan and Aurora might have played around with both, and probably others.

At the suggestion of former show guest Billy Campbell, I have been reading the fantasy book,...

This week, I'm playing around with something I saw in a Franco-Belgian comic book from the late 70s/80s calledThorgal, written by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by Grzegorz Rosiński, about the child of a race of people from elsewhere in the universe who crash land on Earth.  The child (Thorgal) is raised by Vikings and grows up to be a very skilled archer. 

I just discovered this comic on a trip to visit my brother across ...

This week, I'm reading from a draft of The Thirteenth Hour sequel that gets at the life that Logan and Aurora have created for themselves.  This section is told from Aurora's perceptive:

Satisfied that I had the gear I needed, I said goodbye to Logan and walked away from our house towards the ocean.  Whereas Logan preferred hunting in the forest, I liked hunting in the grassy plain overlooking the tall cliff leading down t...

This week, after some time away (visiting my brother and his wife), I had a couple of reflections.  Not only are our kids getting older and can do things like pull their own bags and navigate subway systems and sit through restaurant meals but they're also old enough to more fully appreciate differences in culture, language, and society much more so than when they were younger.  It's cool to see!  I mention that sinc...

This week, we are continuing the talk started last time when game developer and musician, Paul Korman, came on the show; this week, my brother Jeremy joins us for further discussion on Paul, his game The Phantom Fellows, oneshorteye's mini documentary, "The Ghost Game That Isn't About Death" about Paul and the game, as well as game development in general.  The last time I talked to Paul, I was not actively making the Rocketeer...

This week, we are starting a two part episode with solo game developer and musician, Paul Korman, who was last on the show on episode 493.  Paul and his game The Phantom Fellows are the subject of the oneshorteye's mini documentary, "The Ghost Game That Isn't About Death" about Paul, where he lives, the things that went into the making of the game, and the process of its creation and release.  If you're into game developm...