- Can you, for those who don't
know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I’m a long-time Dungeon and
Dragons player. The first few games I was prepared as the Dungeon Master (DM)
came from existing modules that can be bought from most book or gaming stores.
But as I matured and gained more confidence as a DM, I preferred writing my own
games using my own ideas. Using experience gained as a technical writer in my
civilian job with the USAF, my games were extremely detail orientated,
original, and offered up adventures that were tailored around the players
themselves. My modules were standalone… but they were also built to serve as
steppingstones in a much larger storyline. It wasn’t long before my players –
my friends – were saying I should write a book. After I retired, I set out to
do just that. The genesis of The Salvation of Innocence came from a
storyline in one of my games. And every one of my D&D friends are
characters in the books (trilogy, actually). It was easy to develop their
personas because I’ve known them for decades.
- What is something unique/quirky about you?
I refuse to watch any live game on TV that one of my favorite
teams is playing in (particularly Oklahoma University football). I consider
myself a jinx. This goes back to the early eighties. My wife reports to me
during the game with scores and updates. I won’t even watch another game
because of the scores that scroll along the bottom. I’m not just quirky, I’m
weird.
- Tell us something really interesting that's happened to
you!
It was 1993 and I was a First Level Supervision at Tinker
AFB. Part of my responsibilities was the management of all the communications
records for all Air Forces bases and sites worldwide. There was a near-fatal
accident at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, when a project installation team
member went into an electrical manhole instead of a communications manhole.
Part of the accident findings referenced faulty records. I was sent to help
resolve any of the issues within my purview. While there I was able to take a
tour of “the Mountain”, a huge complex built underneath an actual mountain. It
was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
- What are some of your pet peeves?
Hypocrisy. Double standards. The phrase “At the end of the
day.” (Though I’ve caught myself saying it every once in a while.) Lying.
Messiness.
- Where were you born/grew up at?
I was born in Sioux City, Iowa. (My father was stationed
there while he was in the Air Force. It’s where he met mom.) When I was about
four, we moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where dad was from. A little while later we
moved about forty miles east to the town of Fayetteville, Ohio. We lived there
until I was about twelve, then we moved back to Cincinnati.
- If you knew you'd die tomorrow, how would you spend your
last day?
With family. I’d also smoke a few cigarettes. I quit a little
over twenty-five years ago and still miss them from time to time.
- Who is your hero and why?
The easy answer is dad. Though my family wasn’t rich, we
always had what we needed, including an example of how we should live our
lives. I also had a boss with whom I worked for many years. A lot of my ability
as a writer is due to his tutelage. Then there’s the American veteran,
especially the combat veteran. Two words sum up “Why?” Our freedom.
The
Salvation of Innocence
The
Bridge of Magic Trilogy Book 1
by
Robert E. Balsley Jr.
Genre:
Fantasy
A
young woman embarks on a harrowing journey to save her world's last
vestige of magical healing in Robert E. Balsley Jr.'s epic new
fantasy novel, The
Salvation of Innocence.
Althaya,
the goddess of healing, wishes to share her ability to help those in
need, providing "empaths," which give clerics the means to
magically heal others-a means that some people fear and wish to
destroy. In response, a dark magic known as the Purge is created to
seek out and eradicate all empaths.
But
one lone survivor remains, spirited away by Althaya and hidden in a
magical stasis field. There, the last empath must remain alive until
the time comes for rescue-but the Purge will not rest until the last
empath is found and killed.
Three
thousand years later, Kristen Rosilie Clearwater is only beginning to
realize her destiny. Having been brought to the island of InnisRos as
an orphan, she has long felt a "tug" toward something she
can't quite understand. But when she begins experiencing the dreams
of a young child, Kristen knows that the two are somehow
connected-and that the fate of the world, and the future of healing
magic, rests on.
The
Struggle For Innocence
The
Bridge of Magic Trilogy Book 2
In
this suspenseful sequel to The
Salvation of Innocence,
the war against evil rages on. This time good must fight on two
fronts to stop a great evil-one strong enough to commit genocide-or
their world will be changed forever.
After
barely escaping death at the hands of the vampire Lukas, Emmy still
faces an even greater threat. The Purge is approaching. Emmy and her
comrades' only chance is to get help from the sentient city of
Elanesse and commit the first assault.
Far
way, another conflict is brewing. Father Horatio Goram must face off
against the power-hungry First Counselor Mordecai Lannian, whose
demonic concubine pushes for war, but the odds are against him.
Emmy's fate rests on this struggle, and this determined priest will
do anything to win.
In
a realm where healing magic relies on a single emissary's ability to
commune with the gods, Emmy's death would have wide repercussions.
This sensational thriller reveals the destructive power evil will use
to achieve its dastardly ends-and the depths to which good must go to
stop it.
The Loss of
Innocence
The
Bridge of Magic Trilogy Book 3
War
has come to InnisRos!
The
Ak-Séregon Stone, stolen by the demon Nightshade, has been used to
force open a corridor between Aster and the Svartalfheim, the home
world of the Dark Elves. The Dark Elf army, led by Nightshade's
father, Aikanáro, marches on InnisRos. Only Father Goram and his
allies, with Queen Lessien's army, can close down the corridor and
break the stranglehold the Dark Elves have on the island of the Elves
of Light.
But
the Dark Elf invasion of InnisRos is only one phase of Nightshade's
design. To ensure InnisRos' human allies stay on their side of the
world, she blackmails Lord Ternborg, leader of the Draugen Pesta, the
Black Death, to invade the mainland from the east. Forced to
collaborate with the mercenary cities of HeBron and Madeira, Lord
Ternborg reluctantly leads three armies into the Forest of the Fey
and the surrounding valley to capture the sorcerer stronghold of
Havendale. Tangus, Kristen, Emmy and the humans now have their own
war to fight on the mainland.
Meanwhile,
deep below the surface, a new threat arises. The sylph are awake and
moving from the depths with one goal in mind... destroy all life on
Aster.
Robert
E. Balsley, Jr honed his fantasy writing skills as a game master in
Dungeons and Dragons over twenty-five years. During that time he
developed the thoughts and ideas that turned into the Bridge of Magic
series. The Salvation of Innocence is the first book of that trilogy
and Robert's debut novel. Robert graduated from Elder High School in
Cincinnati, Ohio. He served in the US Air Force for six years. After
his discharge, Robert started working at Tinker Air Force Base in
Central Oklahoma where he's been an engineering technician, first-level supervisor, and lead technician. Robert retired in late 2014.
He left Oklahoma and currently lives in Burlington, Kentucky. He and
his wife have three children, three grandchildren, and three dogs.
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