Gary Ballard - The Bridge Chronicles Trilogy

The book you hold in your hand is the unintended result of over 15 years of thinking, reading, and writing. The character of Artemis Bridge and his cast of supporting characters is a latecomer to the party. At first, he was meant to function as his namesake a bridging character whose adventures set the stage for the novel Ive been trying to publish since around 2005. That original series of novels which I started writingblied writ in 2001 was the main attraction. Bridge was a way for me to promote my writing online, to get my name out there to hopefully influential people who might one day want to pay me for that original series of novels. But in writing Under the Amoral Bridge, I found that I really dug the character of Artemis Bridge. He was a complete bastard, someone I could never sympathize with and could never like. But he was a great character to write. And before finishing this novel, two other novels started to write themselves in the back of my mind. Once Id had some resting time, I began work on the second Bridge novel, which has just been completed and fully published online as The Know Circuit, found at http://amoralbridge.blogspot.com. The three novels, supporting short stories and GlobalPedia pieces all form the tapestry I call The Bridge Chronicles.

Publishing the novel serially on a blog was an idea Id toyed with before, and its helped me tremendously. I write more because no matter how few or how many hits the site gets, I feel an obligation to get that piece out there because someone might actually want to read it. Though I missed a few deadlines with Under, Im happy to say that I didnt miss a day with The Know Circuits publishing schedule. Now that its done, I intend to write the third chapter in the sequence and publish it online in the same manner as the previous two. In the interim, I will be writing at least one other Bridge short story and some supporting pieces, most of which will go online at the aforementioned web site to keep people interested.

But if the contents of this book and the sequel are available for free online, why am I self-publishing a physical edition or selling an eBook version? The most obvious reason is that Id like to get paid for my work. It was over six months of my life, after all. Secondly, my hope is that more people will read a story of this size in a physical (or eBook) version than they will in chopped up bits on a blog. To give the non-free versions some added value, Ive included an unpublished Bridge short story as a bonus. The story Feeding Autonomy will not appear on the web site or in a free version for the foreseeable future. Shortly before the third novel is published online, I plan to release The Know Circuit in a similar physical edition, and it will also include an unpublished Bridge short story.

Regular viewers of the web site (amoralbridge.blogspot.com) will be treated to additional material that is not available in print, such as GlobalPedia 2028. These pieces are meant to give some additional history to the world. News related to the Bridge series will also be posted to that site, as well as my personal blog at gameangst.blogspot.com. Its important to me that I give every channel something unique, my way of rewarding the people who become fans of The Bridge Chronicles.

And what about that original unpublished series? Its still out there, waiting to be rewritten in light of changes to the setting Ive made in The Bridge Chronicles. Many of the important historical events of that series are the central focus of the Bridge novels. At least two characters besides Bridge are integral to the second series. Whether that series will be published the same way as the Bridge novels is dependent on the success of this publishing model. Stay tuned to the web site in the future. When I know, youll know.

So, I kept the introduction to less than 1,000 words, and youre probably ready for that Bridge fellow to take over. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for you aneart for purchase of this book. I hope you enjoy it.

*****

Dedicated to my beloved wife for all the support and understanding.

The following is a short story that takes place months before the event depicted in this novel.

*****

December 27, 2027

12:13 a.m.

They said you were the guy to talk to about special requests. Bridge put on as devious a grin as he could, but the revulsion he felt when listening to this weedy frat boy talk was difficult to tamp down. Bridge had done his usual due diligence on potential clients. The little douche sitting across the circular booth was named

Conner Archer, eldest son of some upper middle manager at Chronosoft, Inc. His daddy made good bank in software, and as a result, the kid got to fuck off at UCLA with as much beer, weed, Trip and whatever else he could shove down his rapacious gullet without fear of expulsion. Bridge hated everything about the kid; his spiky blond hair, his weasel grin, the erratic way he waved his hands around as he ran his mouth. The two kids to either side were just as irritating. One was a muscular jock type, a track and field kid whose father was an account executive at Chronosofts local news division. The third kid was a wannabe. His parents were struggling middle class, and the only way hed managed to make it into both UCLA and the frat was because his daddy was an alumnus. He seemed to be trying way too hard to impress his more well-heeled brothers.