In 1998, Joshua Blum wrote and illustrated an early draft of his first novel, The Thirteenth Hour, inspired by his love of 1980s fantasy and science fiction movies, fairy tales, archery, and martial arts. He finally had the time to publish it sixteen years later. In the interim, he graduated from Princeton and Penn State Universities. He is grateful to his parents for instilling in him a love of learning, his brother for keeping him young, and his wife and children for their love. He is currently working on his next novel and hosts The Thirteeenth Hour podcast, available on major podcasting platforms.