Gary Ballard, Author

Sunset looking out over Capitol Street from the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi from back in June.

Sunset looking out over Capitol Street from the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi from back in June.

Sunset looking out over Capitol Street from the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi from back in June.

Sunset looking out over Capitol Street from the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Mississippi from back in June. #mississippiphotographs #mississippi #oldcapitolmuseum #photography #photographer #mississippiphotography

The sunlight dapples the buildings in downtown

An abandoned bottle of rum - where has all the rum gone?

Buildings in Downtown Memphis, TN

The Malco Theater in Downtown Memphis, TN

Here are some more shots of my wandering around downtown Memphis back in June. #mississippiphotographer #photography #prettypictures #photographer #memphis

The Hotel Chisca in Downtown Memphis

Nature in Memphis is reclaiming its own.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Reflection Park sculpture

A few architectural shots from wandering around downtown Memphis back at the end of June. #mississippiphotographer #photography #photos #memphis #photographer

The sun sets in a ring of fire at the Mississippi State Fair.

A long view down the strip at the Mississippi State Fair around sunset

My evening was spent wandering the Mississippi State Fair taking pictures. Just a few that stood out on first review. #mississippistatefair2025 #mississippiphotography #photography #mississippiphotographer

The bass player in the groove at B.B. King's Blues Club Memphis

A couple cuts a rug to the music at B.B. King's Blues Club Memphis

The band plays on at B.B. King's Blues Club Memphis

A random band playing at BB King's club on Beale Street, late on a Friday afternoon. Thanks to Chris, the sound guy, for giving me tips about taking pictures around Memphis! #mississippiphotographer #photography #memphis #bealestreet #photographer

YouTube video by Gary Ballard The Author Has Thoughts - Various & Sundry: The Rising Tide

"A rising tide lifts all ships" or boats or whatever. I've heard that phrase most of my life as a justification for cutting taxes for wealthy people and businesses to spur economic growth. But it's a horseshit phrase. See the full video on my Youtube channel- youtu.be/KchZAm5MT68

The Fountain outside the Crystal Shrine Grotto in Memphis, Tennessee

Bizarre lighting, murals and sculptures at the Crystal Shrine Grotto in Memphis, Tennessee

Bizarre lighting and sculptures at the Crystal Shrine Grotto in Memphis, Tennessee

Bizarre lighting, murals and sculptures at the Crystal Shrine Grotto in Memphis, Tennessee

An utterly strange place called The Crystal Shrine Grotto in a Memphis cemetery. To me, it's a very odd set of Christian iconography in a bizarre setting. I'm sure it means something to someone. #mississippiphotographer #photography #iconography #landscape #photos #photographer #crystalshinegrotto

I recently contracted with a voice actor to record the #audiobook version of my latest #cyberpunk #novel, Hiss Whistle Dead! You can find out more about the book at bridgechronicles.com/novels/hiss-... Hope to have it out before the end of the year. #scifi #mystery #author

For my followers on Bluesky who either have or have not read my books, I have two questions:

1) Why haven't you read my books? (Genuine question, not fishing for compliments)

2) Should my next Bridge Chronicles book be in the main storyline, or write another Shel the Excavator book?

Entering the balcony at the Old Capitol Museum

Sunset down Capitol Street from the Old Capitol Museum

Looking down Capitol Street towards a gorgeous sunset, taken on Juneteenth at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, MS. #mississippiphotographer #mississippiphotography #photographer #photography

YouTube video by Gary Ballard The Author Has Thoughts - Various & Sundry: GenAI Stops Hallucinating, Embraces Lies Instead

What happens when the plagiarism machines of the GenAI crowd stop hallucinating, and just start embracing random lies that they defend with absolute confidence? I examine four incidents/articles and tell you why that should frighten you. youtu.be/Jt5C9VQczOk

#GenAI #artificialintelligence #LLM

The Illinois Monument at Vicksburg Battlefield Park in Vicksburg, MS.

Man made cave life.

A trek through the woods to the Hill of Death near Edwards, MS.

Some more photos from my June trip following the Vicksburg campaign. We took a trek up the Hill of Death, the man made cave, and finally the Battlefield Park. #vicksburg #mississippiphotos #mississipiphotographer #photographer #photos

Looking through the front door to the outside world at the Coker House in Edwards, MS

A sun dappled grove outside the Coker House in Edwards, MS

These pictures were taken at the Coker House and Champion Hill near Edwards, MS back in mid-June. #mississippiphotographer #mississippiphotographs #cokerhouse #photography #photographer #blackandwhitephotography

The cap of a column at Windsor Ruins set against a blue sky.

The caps of multiple columns at Windsor Ruins set against a blue sky.

I processed a few more pictures from my April trip to Windsor Ruins. #mississippiphotographer #mississippiphotography #photography #photos #photographer #art

Tales From Eternal Dusk, by Ashenheart 4 track album

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The ruins of the pump house at the Mississippi River Basin Model

An image from Butts Park in Hinds County, MS, from the ruins of the pump house at the Mississippi River Basin Model. #mississippiphotographer #mississippiphotography #photography #photographer #blackandwhitephoto

Door to the Red Room at Hal and Mal's in Downtown Jackson, MS

Capitol Police patrol Downtown Jackson, MS

The Depot facing the William F. Winter Building in Downtown Jackson, MS

Under the Bridge in Downtown Jackson, MS

Hard to believe I took these pictures back in November, 2024. A lot of things have happened since then, but I think I got a few good pics out of Downtown Jackson that night. #mississippiphotographer #mississippiphotography #jackson #downtownjacksonms #photography #urbanphotography

YouTube video by Gary Ballard The Author Has Thoughts - Various & Sundry: The Algorithm is a Death Spiral

Check out my new Youtube video, The Algorithm is a Death Spiral. youtu.be/7_QYO-T3YGA I discuss how the usage of algorithms on social media, shopping, and search platforms is driving us down into an echo chamber in the pursuit of maximum profit for minimum effort. #cyberpunk #tech #enshittification

The columns at Windsor Ruins in Mississippi

I took a trip to Windsor Ruins (#windsorruinsmississippi ) today. Only had time to process one of the photos, but figured this had a nice vibe to it. #mississippiphotography #mississippiphotographers #photography #photographer

It will be called Lettuspeak.

The old railroad bridge across the Pearl River.

A babbling brook coming off of Mayes Lake.

Here are some more black and whites from my hike in Lefleur's Bluff. I can't believe this was only two weeks ago. Seems a lifetime already. #blackandwhitephotography⚫️⚪️ #mississippiphotography #photography #photographer

The Cover of Hiss Whistle Dead, the new Bridge Chronicles mystery novel by Gary A. Ballard

Sick of reading the depressing news? Read a depressing #cyberpunk book about grief, identity, and mental health in the cybernetic age! My latest book, Hiss Whistle Dead, is available on Amazon as a Kindle or Paperback. #kindle #eBooks #author #scifi #mystery #novel www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1MLHN7

Ostara ~ the Spring Equinox sunshine & happiness bunnies & eggs birth & new beginnings Cleaning out the old while we welcome in the new

☀️ Happy Spring Equinox 💛🧹🪺🐇

A copse of trees against a blinding sun in black and white.

A tree leans precipitously towards the water in black and white.

A hand traces the swirls of age and damage to a tree in black and white.

Had another hike at Lefleur's Bluff this weekend and got some decent shots, expressed in black and white here. #photography #mississippiphotographer #photographer #blackandwhite #mississippiphotographs #mississippiphotgraphy

Seeing as how terrible algorithms are the things that turned Twitter to a pile of Nazi shit, and makes TikTok & other social media into disinformation machines, I absolutely do not want some unelected non-citizen in charge of using them to determine fraud with my taxpayer dollars.

1600 words down on my historical novel, including some really good emotional character interactions. Twenty chapters down in a first draft, and still maybe only halfway through, after 60,000+ words. This will definitely be my epic. #amwriting #author #writing #eBook #historicalfiction #authorlife

The Stepping Stone Cycle: The Complete Season One In 2013, Gary Ballard introduced the world to Dr. Jack Carter, a forensic psychologist specializing in FBI cases involving serial killers. Returning from a fugue state, Jack learns that his wife, Sara...

Did you know I wrote a complete 6-novella series that was a modern-day reimagining of #HPLovecraft #CthulhuMythos? You didn't? You can find The Stepping Stone Cycle: Complete Season One right here - www.amazon.com/dp/B07RSLPXL1 #cosmichorror #eBook #eBookcompilation #indieauthor 💙📚 #booksky

See us at the top of the charts!!!

1700 words down was a good afternoon's output. This historical novel of mine is likely to take years, even if I were to write every day (which I don't often do). But I think it'll probably be the best thing I ever write. #amwriting #eBook #historicalfiction #author #authorlife

Finally getting back to writing the historical novel I've been working on for over 3 years now. To my pleasure, it's working at as well and I'd hoped. I took a good bit of time off of it to work on my latest #cyberpunk novel, Hiss Whistle Dead, but the story is still fresh. #amwriting #books #author