FH is Top Ten! SpaceX, space dives, and Episode 11

First let me say how excited I am about the growing number of listeners for Fractured Horizon. Subscribers and number of downloads continues to climb and Fractured Horizon is now in the Podiobooks Top Ten !

I feel that I haven't done enough to solicit input from listeners, so I'm looking into creating a better forum for discussion. Wordpress has been suggested and I'm looking into it. I'm also going to sync my feed more closely to the Podiobooks feed, which may mean not giving out a new episode here, but I'll try to find something valuable to include instead-- perhaps a short story or interview. Suggestions?

Second, with all the economic news going on you may have missed out on the announcement that SpaceX was a success. They achieved the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to orbit the Earth http://www.spacex.com/.

It is an auspicious sign for Episode 11, since Kay, the heroine of Fractured Horizon gets to go into space for some extreme sports. I've been interested in space diving for quite a while.

Joe Kittinger broke the sound barrier diving and parachuting down from a very high altitude. Check out this video or any of the many others out there. People are still striving to break records and reach higher. I was very disappointed by Michel Fournier's failure in May. But I think it is just a matter of time as technology improves.


We are so close to accomplishing so many great things. It just makes me wonder, how am I ever going to live long enough to see everything? I am impatient.

My five-year-old wants to be a flight attendant-- in space. So at the start of the summer I helped her send a letter to Virgin Galactic. After all, they're already taking reservations, if you have $200,000 to spare, so perhaps they also give job advice 13 years out. Sadly, they did not respond.

Time Capsule Journal- Short Story Extra for Fractured Horizon

I've added that great Extra that I have been promising.

Now Available! Helen Downs Time Capsule Journal- Helen left a time capsule for her daughter, Kay. Learn the story of her meeting with Cabel, see where Kay gets her idealistic idea of love, and discover clues about future events. Seven pages. (Suggest listening after Episode 5. No spoilers.)

Episode 10 now available & questions answered

Episode 10 is now available. Here's the blurb:

The start of Volume 2: Onna City! Kay's mission is to return to Onna City and discover how the Royals predictions have become so accurate. But the Royals have been preparing for generations. Don't you hate it when you stumble into a musical about your life?

Here are answers to some questions I've gotten or made up:

Is Nauru real?: Oh yes! When I heard the amazing This American Life article I knew it could be the perfect place for Adam internment. It is a very remote island. Phosphate mining once gave them the highest per capita income on the planet, but left them with an environmental wasteland. The inhabitants turned to desperate acts such as offshore gambline and banking, suing other countries, and covert operations. Finally they took on refugees that Australia wouldn't accept. It is completely amazing! I can't make this stuff up. Check Wikipedia.
(If you'd known how cool the answer is, you'd have asked.)




Can you dive off Snoqualmie Falls?: I don't believe it is deep enough at the bottom for a diver. Careful readers who have made it a ways into the book will recognize the significance of Kay falling asleep before she can even drive away. Do not try it.
(This is a real question.)

Weird names, weird accents, couldn't you keep it simpler?: Diversity is sometimes lacking in science fiction, I try to show that the world has contracted together in one place, bringing all races and nationalities together. But that has its pitfalls when read by a white girl from the Pacific Northwest. Please make allowances; I am not a professional narrator or performer, and rest assured that I do not give annoying accents to characters who will do much talking. That's my gift to you.
(Note to DUD: Stop comparing me to Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. Not nice. I will take away your title of SBT (Sole Beta Tester.))

Note to Podiobooks listeners: Episode 7 has been submitted and will be available as soon as it is approved.


I may be interviewed soon. If you have topics you'd like discussed, please submit them.


Thanks! Enjoy the episode.

H.E. Roulo

New Extras Available Now!

First, welcome new subscribers! Hopefully you are getting into the novel. Rest assured that the newest episodes are the strongest ones yet, so please give them a try!

I have added some new Extras on my web site corresponding to Volume 2: Onna City. There are character lists of the Royals and Townspeople that we encounter in this section of the book. This completes the list of characters for the novel. If you've followed along this far, dear reader, then you've earned a respite, and now you can sit back and simply enjoy the unfolding of the plot. There are surprises in store-- some I've hinted at and some I'm sure you won't see coming no matter how clever you think you are.

I have also added a Glossary of Terms. Since the Adam culture is so different from ours, they have a number of unique ideas and I've tried to capture those, as well as other titles and times that may confuse.

Let me know if you find things that I should add to the lists or new Extras you would enjoy.

I know that I have been promising copies of Helen's journal, and I am working on that as well as several other Extras. I will notify you as soon as I have that completed.

I have submitted my podcast to Podcast Alley, Podcast Pickle, and AmigoFish, so look for me there and rate kindly, please. I'm new to this and my ego bruises easily.

Episode 10 is "in the can", to use an anachronism. I think it came together really well. You'll see it later this week on my regular release schedule. Are you keeping up? I may pause for a week to let new subscribers catch up-- let me know if you have any strong objections.

Volume 1: Adam Stronghold Complete. Episode 9 Now Available!

Fractured Horizon is now live on Podiobooks! The number of subscribers has gone up substantially. Welcome new listeners.

At around 17 minutes Episode 9 is half the size of a typical episode but there was simply no other way to break it as we reach the milestone Volume 1: Adam Stronghold completion.

Blurb Episode 9: "Talos is surprised by Kay's reaction to a revelation that is obvious in hindsight. It changes her quest and leaves her marked.

You scheme for weeks and weeks, and then one little revelation gets you your way. What's the fun in that? Lots! Because there are always new plots to hatch!"

For this episode I gave up on Levelator. I simply don't like the quality it gives to my voice. Hopefully you'll agree that the quality improves.

Volume 2: Onna City begins next week. There are four consecutive volumes in all.

Episode 08 Available

Episode 08 of Fractured Horizon is now available for download.

Creating blurbs for each episode is an art. I want to tell you what happens in the episode clearly enough that you could glance over the list and remember, "Ah yes, I have listened to that excellent episode already." Yet I must consider the new subscriber who might look over the upcoming episodes and say, "Oh, look who turns evil, who dies, and who isn't dead!"

Here is this week's blurb--

"I'd save your life if you'd stop shooting at me."

Empathy Among the Adams a Dead Trait?

First, and most importantly, if your feed is broken then please be aware I am now using the feedburner link exclusively. This means you should use http://feeds.feedburner.com/fracturedhorizonnovel for your feed. Similarly, if you're subscribing to this blog, use http://feeds.feedburner.com/herouloblog.


Excellent news, we have finally settled on September 17th for the release of Fractured Horizon through Podiobooks. It won't make a difference to those of you who have already found the novel, but will perhaps bring in some new listeners, new fans, and if there is enough demand then some new content here.

Case in point, here part of an email I received today:

"Having the extras on your site is a big help, your book is populated by quite a few characters, sometimes I have a hard time keeping track of all of them. I guess you have two novels worth of characters that get introduced in this novel.
I like how you softened Penelope after (author's note: spoiler removed). Just curious, do the Adams that have physical defects (Penelope & Keats) also have metal defects (as far as the Adams would see it), that is human empathy? It seems that way, even Boyle is balding and seems to have more empathy. Am I misreading that?"

This is a question that I've never been asked before and it is very observant. Since I enjoy writing, and have gotten to do so little of it recently due to all the audio recording and publishing tasks, I'm going to answer it perhaps more fully than you would like.

It is true that we see the most empathy from Adams with weaknesses. Kay gathers other outsiders, quite naturally, whose experiences make them able to empathize with her.

Adams are not inherently unable to empathize, but most of them have not been around humans, were not raised by anyone who cared to teach empathy, and have never needed it themselves. Hector is a young Adam who cannot comprehend Kay's or Keats' weaknesses. He isn't bad, in fact I quite like him, he's just ignorant.

Which isn't to say you must be an outsider to empathize. Lunos is fully Adam but is older and more experienced. He is a noble example of choosing to learn good qualities. Conversly, Aggie is also older and had similar experiences but chose the opposite side of the coin.

As for Boyle, I don't think his baldness was a physical defect. The Adams have a great deal of variety in their genetic make-up and this is just one more expression of it. It is actually his place in their society that has given him more depth to relate to Kay. You'll learn more about that in Volume 3 (which is a good many Episodes away, I'm afraid.)

Empathy is not a trait valued by the Adams, though they would not call it a mental defect. They think in terms of weaknesses and strengths. In their current situation I suppose it would be a weakness. But I think that just shows how twisted their world has become, that empathy is not valued. The models who were strongest in it are probably not at the head of the line for regrowth, compounding the problem.

Thanks for the question. Glad you're enjoying the episodes. Episode 7 is ready and will be posted soon. Boyle plays an integral part in Episode 8-- so does empathy, now that I think about it.

Hope you enjoy it!