Horizons Past

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Thanks for joining us here on HORIZONSPAST.COM. I'm Bill Stephens, author of the novel HORIZONS PAST, inviting you to read my novel for free. After 20 years as a newspaper columnist I finally wrote a novel.

First novels usually get a bad rap, but my fearless prediction is that you'll enjoy this read. I call my literary style "Nicholas Sparks with a sense of humor." If you've never read Nicholas Sparks' books, you would remember the movies "The Notebook," "Message in a Bottle," and "A Walk to Remember."

Take "Notting Hill" (1999 movie with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant - Hollywood actress falls for the owner of a small travel book store in London's Knotting Hill area) and set it on the Texas Coast, add substance, a sand poet, intrigue, a hurricane, and a pinch of Anna Karinina, and you have the story line. Cultures collide and humor abounds when the movie star (think Sandra Bullock) encounters the reclusive Texas beach sand poet (think Harrison Ford)

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HORIZONS PAST

By Bill Stephens

Chapter 1

Approaching what was left of Fish Pass Road, State Park Ranger Jeffrey Randall slowed his Bronco and stopped before turning. His friend, Lottie, looked at him. "It's something we really have to do, right?" Jeffrey nodded agreement, but said nothing.

He had driven the twelve miles of Texas Park Road 361 between Mustang Island State Park and Port Aransas several times daily in the seven weeks since the hurricane. His days were now totally dedicated to rebuilding the park's infrastructure, but each day after his shift he drove into town to help friends with their efforts to rebuild and to regain their normal lives.

There were temporary repairs to the road, but potholes and washed out sections of pavement remained, and still caused him to bounce and weave through a series of small detours. Progress was slow on this trip out from Port Aransas, but neither he nor Lottie were anxious to reach their destination.

Recent Chapter

Chapter 38

The dim hope of one day rejoining Chris was gone. That thread had, for the months since leaving Corpus Christi and Mustang Island, sustained Trish. Often she had uncontrollable urges to call Jeffrey. To hear something – anything – about Chris would have sent her soaring again, but in the end she could never bring […]