Fractured Horizon
Please join me in welcoming H.E. Roulo to the site with her science fiction book, Fractured Horizon:
Katherine Downs sets off to find her mysterious father—and awakens hundreds of years later into a world guided by visionary Royals. But Kay inadvertently blinds their power.
Hunted, she joins the rebel Adams, bioengineered warriors who rely on banned technology for a precarious foothold on the fading world. Will they destroy Kay for being only human, or will revelations about her own unnatural origins cause Kay to help them in their ongoing war?
Greeted by a high-tech horde, courted by visionary royalty, and always steps away from her goals, Kay must master her own abilities before humanity is destroyed on Earth and the colonies in space.
Envision a world ready to collapse– and then watch it tip over the edge.
The first 6 episodes are in the default feed. Or go to the book’s page to start the book from the first episode and get ‘em delivered to you on your schedule.
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October 15th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Congrats H.E. Roulo I am enjoying your story. I can’t wait to see what Kay does next and how the Adams and the Royals will influence her search. The suspense has me waiting for the next installment.
October 30th, 2008 at 6:48 am
Great reading voice, filled with emotion. I just finished the first of the four parts.
I have to admit, even though you use the music to transition between the timeshifts, I sometimes have a hard time keeping track of the characters. (could also be that I mostly listen while driving.)
I do have one question though, what is the music you use at the very end of Episode 8?
Keep up the good work, good luck!
-Bill
October 31st, 2008 at 7:58 am
Hi Bill,
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. I’m glad that you’re enjoying the story.
I don’t want anyone to have to choose between listening and driving! I have tweaked Ep 6 to have more cues for the listener.
After Ep 9 the timeline is simple, though the storyline remains complex.
The music of Everyday Jones is available for free download at http://podsafeaudio.com/jamroom/bands/207/music.php. I use several of their songs. Episode 8’s is “All You Said.” Good stuff, isn’t it?
I think I hit my stride in section 2, and can’t wait to see if you agree. Thanks again for commenting!
October 31st, 2008 at 8:13 am
Rhonda,
I know we’ve talked off-line, but I wanted to thank you for taking the time to listen to my stuff while you continue to podcast The Mark of a Druid.
I love getting comments on the book, especially positive ones!
Please remember to rate the novel, and keep letting me know what you think.
H.E. Roulo
November 14th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Hi, H.E., Julie at Forgotten Classics has given me a good lead again! She recommended this book as a good one to listen to, and she was right.
You have hit the sweet spot between giving listeners too much and too little information, and I want to know more about everything. Um, why is why Kay’s hair that color? lol I’m up to episode 4.
Thanks for a great story, Kay’s method of time travel has been convincing.
November 15th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Hi Gail,
Thanks for letting me know you’re enjoying the story!
I loved Julie’s review. She understood precisely what I wanted to express. It’s a pleasure to have such discerning listeners.
Episode 4 brings in the idea of art, so it’s appropriate you ask this question about Kay’s hair color now. Let me just say that her hair color is tied intimately with the fate of the Adams. You get an explicit answer at the very end of the book.
The concept of the story when I came up with it included the tag line, “She traveled through time the hard way– by living through it.”
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:52 am
There will be no new episode this week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.
December 19th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Just wanted to let folks know that there will be no new episode released the week of Christmas.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Good audiobook, it becomes a lot more enjoyable after the first 4-5 episodes.
I do have a little bit of constructive criticism: In the first volume of the book, Devon’s memories seemed a bit too chaotic to keep up with.
But with the beginning of volume II, I was a happy listener. =)
Also, I would like to recommend to apply some compression in the application that you use to record/master your audio.
p.s. Oh, and thank you for this free audio book!
January 9th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Podcast *faster*!!! I’m loving this story. I’m devouring the episodes faster that you can dish them out. Thanks!
January 15th, 2009 at 10:46 am
I just saw the new comments. Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you’re thinking!
Marlene, comments like that certainly give me the incentive I need to produce new episodes! This week’s episode is a good one, too.
Anton, I’m glad that you stuck with it. When I finish the last few episodes, I’m considering going back to the first episodes to tweak some of the mechanics. It would be a shame if people were unable to listen simply because I was less deft at providing audio cues on time and place.
Let’s talk about the application I use further off-line. I’m curious to hear what you suggest.
Thanks again!
January 15th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Wonderfully done. This story is so good I was hooked from the word go. The writing & reading is very well done, well worth the download. Can’t wait to hear more. Please, please, please (did I say please) give us more.
LOVE IT.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Hi Cathie! Thanks for letting me know you’re enjoying the book. I put this week’s episode up a day early. It is really exciting to be this close to the end. There are only another three or four episodes to go!
February 16th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Just finished hearing the last episode and loved the end. Is there hope for more? Loved the ending, Great job. Thank you so much for sharing your work.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Very well done. I loved the story; it kept me interested and involved. The ending seemed to leave an opening for more books? I hope so and plan to listen when more are available. Thanks for all your hard work. Keep it up.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
It’s great to hear from people who enjoyed the book!
I’ll answer your question: Yes, there is a sequel. I’m 40,000 words into it. I’m just not certain when it will be complete because I’ll be working on other projects as well. I estimate that I can finish by the end of the year. Nag me and I might get it done sooner.
Now my turn to ask a question: Are you interested in a text version? I am considering releasing Fractured Horizon and the sequel in print. Would you want to purchase this book? Are there any changes that would make this better before I go to print? Please let me know your thoughts. Leave a comment here or you can visit my blog http://www.heroulo.com/blog and leave a comment there.
It was fun to share it. Thank you for listening.
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Thank you to everyone who listened or is listening to the book.
Please remember to rate the book and consider leaving a comment if you haven’t already.
I’ll continue to post updates here as I work on new projects. There will be an announcement soon.
Also, I’m revamping the Fractured Horizon website (www.fracturedhorizonnovel.com) to be more interactive and later in the year there may be some giveaways and contests as things start ramping up for the sequel. I’ll let you know when these things are ready.
March 22nd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
As I listened to Fractured Horizon, by H.E. Roulo, I was reminded of the popular show Battle Star Galactica, the fighting between the cyborgs–Adams and the Royals–humans. Tonight is the final show of the BSG series and I wait anxiously.
I listened to the last episode of Fracture Horizon today.
I had grown to know Kay, watching her memories brought to her through the centuries via a chip and learning to survive in a world she did not belong in. She had to chose sides in a war that was bound to destroy one side or the other - did she choose correctly when she jumped and clung to a ship, rescued by an Adam?
Heather masterfully winds us around in her story, becoming friends with enemies and cringing when betrayed by them.
I enjoyed Fractured Horizon and hope the final hours of BSG can hold up to its promise as well as Fractured Horizon did.
Kay chose the right side. — or did she?
And what adventures lie ahead of her now?
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Wonderfully done. This story is so good I was hooked from the word go.
It was wonderful. Well written, socially poignant. I was immerse into her imaginary universe. She made my drive so pleasurable even with 2 accidents on the way home.
Watching Kay and her memories brought through time via capsule and learning to survive in a world she did not belong in. She had to choose sides; the bioengineer warriors Adams, or the human visionary Royals who are at war; a war that was bound to destroy one side or the other?
May 6th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Hi Arlene and Hooked,
I know that I’ve spoken to each of you individually, but I wanted to again thank you for your comments.
Arlene, it was fun discussing the Battlestar Finale.
Hooked, glad to hear that I didn’t contribute to those accidents!
Heather