I am the author of five novels, six novellas and numerous short stories. Currently, all my writing is focused on The Bridge Chronicles series of cyberpunk novels, and I have just completed The Stepping Stone Cycle, a six-novellas series based on the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. Keep your eye on this site for more information.<\/p>\n
I’ve recently begun recording a series of videos that provide a running commentary on the series. In this series of videos, I share some of the inspirations and ideas behind the series. In addition, you’ll get to hear all sorts of behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the characters, settings and choices made in the books, including a few oopsies<\/strong><\/em> that made it past my editing. You can see the videos here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Stepping Stone Cycle<\/em><\/a> is an episodic series of cosmic horror novels with its roots in the Cthulu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. I have recently completed the six-novella series. The series follows Dr. Jack Carter, a forensic pscyhologist suspected of killing his wife after he wakes from a year-long spell of amnesia in a mental hospital.<\/p>\n The Bridge Chronicles<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>are hard-boiled near-future cyberpunk novels.\u00a0Riveting science fiction stories set in the corporate-controlled world of amoral fixer Artemis Bridge, known as the Amoral Bridge, they are available in both paperback and eBook formats. The entire trilogy is collected in one eBook, called The Bridge Chronicles Trilogy<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n Under the Amoral Bridge<\/a><\/strong><\/em> The Know Circuit<\/a><\/strong><\/em> if [tribe] =<\/a><\/em><\/strong> The Long and the Short Swords<\/a> Tales from the Bridge Chronicles<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is a loosely-connected series of short stories set in the same universe as\u00a0The Bridge Chronicles<\/em>\u00a0novels. The stories range from side stories starring Artemis Bridge to stories with nothing to do with Bridge at all other than sharing the same setting. The entire set of stories has been collected into an exclusive eBook, available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am the author of five novels, six novellas and numerous short stories. Currently, all my writing is focused on The Bridge Chronicles series of cyberpunk novels, and I have just completed The Stepping Stone Cycle, a six-novellas series based on the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. Keep your eye on this site for more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-50","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240,"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50\/revisions\/240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgechronicles.com\/garyballardauthor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Stepping Stone Cycle<\/h4>\n
The Bridge Chronicles<\/h4>\n
\nArtemis Bridge is the know-who, go-to guy, the amoral fixer in 2028 Los Angeles with the connection for any illicit desire no matter how depraved. You need it, he can get it without questions or judgment. He prides himself on staying detached from the depravity, untouched by the filth, untouchable by the law. When a young hacker is assassinated before his eyes, he is burdened with a scandalous video of the mayor on the eve of the city’s most important election of the century. With digital assassins and murderous thugs dogging his every step, he has only days before the corrupt mayor is re-elected, handing the Chronosoft Corporation complete control of the city. Unable to sell the video, he is forced further into a complex conspiracy.<\/p>\n
\nArtemis Bridge can get you what you need no matter how immoral or illegal, no questions asked. With practiced detachment, he keeps everyone around him at arm’s length. But when the city of Boulder is trapped in a mysterious dome, he must set aside his detachment to help his bodyguard Aristotle’s search for his missing grandmother. Every step he takes towards the dome deepens the mystery, as he is compelled to seek out the source of the strange happenings. Flaming dragons, cars transformed into robotic golems, a corporate- military quarantine and disturbing visions drive Bridge to a life-altering conclusion.<\/p>\n
\nLeader of the Los Angeles street gang Los Magos is assassinated by the rival El Diablos. As members of the Five Families, war between the two gangs could ignite the whole city, prompting a response from the Chronosoft Law Enforcement Division (CLED) that could destroy all the Families. Artemis Bridge, the amoral fixer with the quick wit vows to stay out of the war despite his friendship with ex-footballer turned gangland revolutionary Stonewall, new leader of Los Magos. Bridge is reluctantly pulled into the middle of the worst civil unrest since the 2027 Riots, where he discovers the war is more than a little tribal bloodletting between rivals.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/em>Bridge didn\u2019t used to get involved with his clients, especially clients who put him at risk. From the minute he spoke to the killer who called himself Logan, he knew this one was trouble. All Logan wanted was someone to forge him a new identity so he could continue running from the secrets of his past. A simple job for Bridge, hook Logan up with a paper guy, got complicated in a hurry when his connections start turning up dead, killed by black-robed killers with swords. To escape, Bridge and Logan dive under the radar and into the politics of the Gangland, the autonomous zone in the middle of the corporate-owned Los Angeles of 2029. Bridge must find a way to make Logan disappear before the clan of religious assassins from ancient Japan catch up to them both.<\/p>\nTales from the Bridge Chronicles<\/h4>\n