Compulsive creative and guy who knows stuff about swords. Check out my sword-and-sorcery fantasy novels 'Dueling Wizards' and 'Mercenary Measures'.
Sheridan, WY
Joined November 2022
- Tweets2.2K
- Following650
- Followers336
- Likes9.3K
Dustin Ballard retweeted
I’ve been dreaming about the enterprise and training side of #Spectacles. This is an experience I built that teaches you #welding. It connects to a BLE controller (StickS3) for push button activation of the torch.
@specsfordevs @LensStudioDev
Dustin Ballard retweeted
I’m doing a really bad job promoting my second novel in the #Neversleep saga. I may have to hire this floppy cat to get people’s attention.
If you’re looking for your next fun read, give my book a shot!
amzn.to/4wFLNL0
#books #fantasynovel
Dustin Ballard retweeted
I managed to forget my book was out today 🙈.
In my defence, I'm on a different continent in the middle of a military training exercise, so have been somewhat distracted.
Anyway, managed to publish it on Amazon, and it's now live. Check it out: mybook.to/flzt4V
Dustin Ballard retweeted
Incident on a Back Road - a psychological horror @Snapchat experience. Original artwork by me. Built with @playeasylens.
Dustin Ballard retweeted
Projected release date: June 20th.
[Audiobook Trailer]
Mercenary Measures (Sellsword Saga, Book 2)
Written by Dustin Ballard @AllForger
Narrated by Son of Sonnet
Featuring Sourgrapeva @SourGrapeVA
Releasing in June, 2026
Synopsis
In the decaying Pileusian Empire, the weathered mercenary Cas and his ragtag band of sellswords cross paths with a group of earnest young knights, led by the resolute Erhan, who is locked in a perilous campaign against a corrupt governor. When the governor kidnaps Erhan's mother and sisters, the knights hire Cas to get them back alive - but the straightforward rescue fails and every new attempt brings greater danger. With time and money running out, Cas and his company must resort to mercenary measures— unorthodox, bloody, and risky tactics—to infiltrate the governor's palace and rescue the women.
But even if Cas succeeds, the threat is far from over– the governor has hired one of Cas' deadliest enemies to crush the challenge to his authority and will stop at nothing to keep his grip on power. Can a battered sellsword take on such brutal power and prevail, or will the mercenaries be crushed by the ponderous might of the Empire?
Text available now at: us.amazon.com/Mercenary-Meas…
Song: "Home: a Song of the Blacksteel Rangers," performed by Rowan the Bard.
Dustin Ballard retweeted
[Audiobook Trailer]
Mercenary Measures (Sellsword Saga, Book 2)
Written by Dustin Ballard @AllForger
Narrated by Son of Sonnet
Featuring Sourgrapeva @SourGrapeVA
Releasing in June, 2026
Synopsis
In the decaying Pileusian Empire, the weathered mercenary Cas and his ragtag band of sellswords cross paths with a group of earnest young knights, led by the resolute Erhan, who is locked in a perilous campaign against a corrupt governor. When the governor kidnaps Erhan's mother and sisters, the knights hire Cas to get them back alive - but the straightforward rescue fails and every new attempt brings greater danger. With time and money running out, Cas and his company must resort to mercenary measures— unorthodox, bloody, and risky tactics—to infiltrate the governor's palace and rescue the women.
But even if Cas succeeds, the threat is far from over– the governor has hired one of Cas' deadliest enemies to crush the challenge to his authority and will stop at nothing to keep his grip on power. Can a battered sellsword take on such brutal power and prevail, or will the mercenaries be crushed by the ponderous might of the Empire?
Text available now at: us.amazon.com/Mercenary-Meas…
Song: "Home: a Song of the Blacksteel Rangers," performed by Rowan the Bard.
Dustin Ballard retweeted
The "Dueling Wizards" audiobook is now live!
Written by @AllForger
Featuring @SourGrapeVA as four separate characters
Narrated by Son of Sonnet
(link in comment)
Synopsis
In the gritty fantasy world of Galhadria, a down on his luck mercenary limps into a dangerous border town.Sellsword Cas is broke and battered, but he senses opportunity.Three rival wizards vie for control of town and are paying good coin for mercenaries. Cas plays one faction against another, meaning to gather enough gold to escape - but as blood is shed and employers betrayed, he finds himself with fewer and fewer options to get out of this town alive.
[Audiobook Trailer]
Dueling Wizards
(A Novel of Galhadria, The Sellsword Saga #1)
by Dustin Ballard @AllForger
Narrated by Son of Sonnet
Featuring @SourGrapeVA in select female roles
Coming End of February, 2026
Synopsis
"In the gritty fantasy world of Galhadria, a down on his luck mercenary limps into a dangerous border town.Sellsword Cas is broke and battered, but he senses opportunity.Three rival wizards vie for control of town and are paying good coin for mercenaries. Cas plays one faction against another, meaning to gather enough gold to escape - but as blood is shed and employers betrayed, he finds himself with fewer and fewer options to get out of this town alive."
*Background music is "Built to Last," performed by Rowan the Bard, commissioned for Dueling Wizards.
Dustin Ballard retweeted
I just hit 1k active members on my Patreon! Thank you to everyone who is supporting me on this journey! Your success is my success! It’s a new era for streamers with #ARavatars.
Patreon.com/philwalton
@Patreon
Dustin Ballard retweeted
Inside of you are two wolves… one is a swaggy pickle, the other is a Chihuahua.
Dustin Ballard retweeted
fab.com/listings/3f7cd8f1-56…
These animations were created with our collaborator Paul from MoCap Central as part of Knight’s Path’s core development. From the beginning, we wanted this work to reach beyond a single project. By releasing the longsword packs on Fab, we aim to support other indie developers who value credible medieval combat and to challenge the idea that longswords are slow or clumsy weapons.
Longsword Volume 2 represents the intermediate stage of a fighter’s progression, introducing more structured techniques, better control, and disciplined movement, while leaving room for future volumes focused on advanced techniques. The animations are fully game ready, HEMA inspired, and work well with both Motion Matching and traditional animation setups.
Whether you are building a progression driven RPG or refining a combat system that needs believable weight and structure, these animations are designed to be a practical and valuable tool for any indie project.
In Knight’s Path, our goal is to create authentic feeling historical combat — not 100% realistic, since fun and gameplay come first — but plausible and grounded, using real HEMA stances, techniques, and moves.
We could only achieve this thanks to our fantastic collaborator Paul from MoCap Central. From the beginning, we shared the idea that these animations should be available to all indie devs who want to bring authentic longsword combat to their games and to help dispel the myth that a longsword is heavy, slow and crude weapon.
Today, Paul released the first Longsword pack: animations for a Novice, someone picking up a sword for the very first tim, slow, hesitant, and unskilled. It’s perfect for immersive RPG progression systems like the one at the heart of Knight’s Path.
Future packs will cover Adept, Expert, and Master levels, showing the longsword’s true speed and finesse.
For Knight’s Path fans, this might serve as a look behind the scenes.
For other indie devs, these game ready animations are now available for your own medieval projects.
fab.com/listings/20ccf969-6c…
Dustin Ballard retweeted
[Audiobook Excerpt]
This is a sample of the next audiobook I'm working on, "Dueling Wizards," by Justin Ballard (@AllForger). It's an a cappella performance of a song in the audiobook, as it appears in Ch. 16, followed by the Rowan the Bard version.
Dustin Ballard retweeted
After years of grinding, doubt, and pure passion… I’ve done it.
No more side hustles, I’m now living fully off my art.
Just lil old me, the craft and the freedom to create every day.
This is the ultimate artist’s dream, and it’s real now.
Still pinching myself.
Massive THANK YOU to everyone who believed in me, bought my work, shared it, or cheered me on. You made this possible.
This is a huge moment, and I had to celebrate with you all.
Here’s to the journey ahead, more art, more growth, more magic.
Thank you for being part of this wild ride. 🖤🎨
Dustin Ballard retweeted
Did y’all catch me yapping about how much I love #ar and #lensstudio? 😊 instagram.com/reel/DSa7tl8jg…
