Helios Roared: Recent Episodes
Mark Bethea
20 YEARS AGO, HELIO-ANTHROPOLIGIST GEORGE PORTER STUMBLED UPON AN ANCIENT MAYAN TEXT IN SOME NEWLY DISCOVERED RUINS. AFTER YEARS OF EXHAUSTING RESEARCH, HE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE ANCIENT TEXT PREDICTED A SUPER-MASSIVE SOLAR FLARE THAT COULD BE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE LARGER THAN ANYTHING TO HIT THE EARTH BEFORE. IT WOULD BE CAUSE AN APOCALYPSE OF UNIMAGINABLE PROPORTIONS...NOBODY BELIEVED HIM. SO HE SET OUT TO PREPARE HIS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RANCH TO BE AN IMPENETRABLE, SELF-SUSTAINING FORTRESS. AND HE TRAINED HIS KIDS, 16-YEAR-OLD IZZY AND 18-YEAR-OLD JAKE TO SURVIVE WHATEVER CAME THEIR WAY. BUT NO AMOUNT OF PLANNING OR TRAINING COULD POSSIBLY PREPARE IZZY FOR THE CHALLENGES THAT LAY AHEAD...Each Podcast Episode is the voice-over narration of one chapter of the novel. One new chapter will be released each week.
With the ranch 100% ready, his children as prepared as he could make them, George begins his most difficult endeavor to date: Waiting for what he and he alone knows is coming.
George embarks on a plan to let the people of Twin Pines know that if something bad happens, their children could be safe at his ranch.
With preparations at the ranch almost complete, George and Ernie contemplate the next steps.
Grant Turk, a convicted rapist, gets out of prison and makes his way towards Twin Pines.
Izzy shows herself to be a freak of nature when it comes to military tactics and strategies--much to the chagrin of her family.
An infamous Civil War fort serves as the inspiration for George's preparations at the ranch.
On his first day in public school, Jake tries to maintain a low profile, but his plan is derailed by the school bully.
While showing Jake some of the preparations that their father was making to secure the ranch for the coming apocalypse, Izzy poses a question that rocks Jake's world: What if he's right?"
Jake spends his first day at a public school taking standardized tests. The results are surprising to everyone.
George has always home-schooled Jake and Izzy. But when he reaches a conclusion about Jake, he must rethink things--it doesn't help that 15-year-old Jake is making things difficult.
On a hunt with her father and her brother, Izzy surprises everyone by bagging an elk. Her first kill.
Stanley Parker endures a horriffic tragedy which leads him to the small California town of Twin Pines, where he eventually becomes Sheriff.
Young George Porter approaches his mentor about a new academic discipline - Helio-Anthropology.
HELIOS ROARED IS MY FIRST NOVEL. IT IS CONCEPTUALIZED AS AN APOCALYPTIC THRILLER ABOUT A NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FAMILY THAT HAS BEEN PREPARING FOR A CATACLYSMIC EVENT FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS. IT IS AN EVENT THAT THE FATHER ALONE HAS PREDICTED. AND LIKE CHICKEN LITTLE FROM THE FOLK TALE, NOBODY BELIEVED HIM WHEN HE TOLD HIS TALES OF DOOM--UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. WHEN I SET OUT TO PUBLISH HELIOS ROARED, I WAS CONFRONTED BY THE FACT THAT IN 2016, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET PUBLISHED, FROM SELF-PUBLISHING TO TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING DEALS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. AT THIS POINT, I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW I AM GOING TO PUBLISH THE BOOK. IN THE MEANTIME, AS I WORK ON THE FINAL EDITS, I DECIDED TO SHARE THIS VERSION ONLINE TO GET FEEDBACK. SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT, MAKE SUGGESTIONS AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS THROUGH THIS SITE. I PROMISE THAT I WILL READ AND CONSIDER EVERYTHING, AND FOR FANS WHO ARE LOYAL TO THE BLOG AND PODCAST, I WILL OFFER SIGNIFICANT DISCOUNTS ON THE BOOK WHEN IT DOES GET PUBLISHED.SO THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR READING AND/OR LISTENING AND SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ME. I DEEPLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.ENJOY HELIOS ROARED!MB
THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT DOING THE ONLINE WEBSITE/BLOG/PODCAST, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME AS I GET THE HANG OF IT. HERE'S HOW I HOPE THINGS WILL WORK:THE BLOG - I WILL BE USING THE BLOG SECTION TO POST NEW CHAPTERS OF THE NOVEL IN THE FORM OF A FREE PODCAST. MY CURRENT PLAN IS TO POST A NEW CHAPTER EACH WEEK. I PLAN TO RELEASE A NEW PODCAST EACH WEEK WITH AN AUDIO VERSION OF EACH CHAPTER. I MUST WARN YOU IN ADVANCE, THOUGH, I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL VOICE-OVER ARTIST, SO MY CHARACTER VOICES ARE GOING TO BE...WELL...THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE VERY GOOD. I HOPE YOU'LL BEAR WITH ME!THE ARCHIVE - I MAY END UP USING THE ARCHIVE TO HOUSE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS IN ORDER TO KEEP THE MAIN PAGE UNCLUTTERED. NO PROMISES THERE, THOUGH SINCE THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS. CONTACT - THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS SITE IS TO SOLICIT FEEDBACK FROM THE AUDIENCE. I AM HOPING THAT THE "COMMENTS" SECTION WILL ALWAYS BE FULLY FUNCTIONAL AND I INTEND TO REVIEW ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS AND ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AS I GO ALONG. BUT IF ALL THAT FAILS, I CAN ALSO BE REACHED VIA EMAIL.
HELIOS ROARED
AUTHOR: Mark Bethea
Mark Bethea, Inc.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Copyright © 2016 by Mark Bethea, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
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www.heliosroared.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Book Layout ©2016 Mark Bethea, Inc.