Joseph Picard

Following Lifehack's nanotech disasters, new laws restrict the development of nanites... ...forcing the hand of dangerous people... Cassidy needed a fresh start, and the offer of a guard posting for a historic temple in the middle of the desert sounded like a good way to clear her head. She didn't expect to find a new girlfriend- maybe even a soul mate. In the years after Lifehack and the Erebus incident, the world settles into relative quiet under strict nanite bans, but underground activity keeps dangerous nano-tech alive and well. Cassidy didn't expect to be in the crossfire of a terrorist, a cowardly scientist, and a fleet of microscopic invaders. She didn't expect to lose. (Although Watching Yute is a complete tale within the Lifehack series, it chronologically takes place between Lifehack and Echoes of Erebus.)

Regan has her ups and downs. - Dumping her girlfriend: Down.- Moving in with her loving brother: Up.- Waking up to a plague of undead: REALLY down. After the undead began roaming the neighborhood, Regan lost track of her brother. She's spent the last two years searching for him. In the meantime, she's fallen in love, only to be told, "Sorry, I'm straight. And you're a lunatic." There's a psycho out there somewhere who caused the outbreak, using nanotechnology, just for the fun of it, and Regan intends to hunt him down.

Lenth grew up in a lie. Apparently there's more than five people in the world. Four Brothers live their lives in an enclosed habitat as directed by the silent Rubberman above them. When they disobey, they get shocked. This is normal. It always has been. but when a Brother dies, they learn of death. When he is replaced by someone new, they learn they are replaceable. When the ceiling above the ceiling cracks open, Lenth plans a journey beyond the known universe: A third floor. Up.

133 years. Time is up. Lead Engineer Tara and her partner Sasha face the coming end of the facility generator. For generations It has served thousands of people who have been hiding underground from the ravages of the war, and the lingering Enemy above. Up and down the Grand Elevator, though the entire facility, every resident's life will be shaken when the generator sparks its last amp. The Great Actual, the anarchistic Citizens, and all of the regressed sub-societies in between will have to face the unknowns of the surface. Old fears will pale against new circumstances beyond their imagination, and new attention brings judgment upon all.

Loss. Recovery. Love. Five years ago, Cassidy's fiancee Cheryl was killed. With the murder resolved, Cheryl was still dead, and Cassdiy died a little with her. She had no interest in moving on. She knows without dear friends, she would be long dead... and she's not sure it wouldn't be the better option. And time went on... Some loves are loyal. Some are patient. Some harbour passion. Some loves can remind you who you really are.-----This short story is a follow-up to the novel Watching Yute. Watching Yute has science-fiction and action elements, though this story does not, and is readable without having read Watching Yute.

Joseph Picard's second book inspired by the packing slips on meals he received while hospitalized. I TOLD you not to buy the last book. You only had to wait two years for me to get tossed into the hospital again. Now it's more than twice as big......get your mind out of the gutter. This book is 98% family-friendly. 95%. Find your firm sausage and tea-bagging jokes elsewhere, you depraved fiend. The One Grapes was kind of short, as books go, and the whole thing is a part of this book. Then, a second, longer stay in the hospital spawned more inane doodles and ramblings to more than double the size. Join in as Joseph survives the slings and arrows of bland and boring, longing for such exotic things as salt. Facing practically the same selection of foods as last time, Joseph was well prepared mentally for the onslaught, but didn't think to bring along a salt shaker from home. Or a bottle of hot sauce. Or vodka. The nurses never came through with vodka, despite being asked multiple times a day for over three months. And they call it a hospital.#sad

Sarah's got daddy issues. He lives in her head, built her out of fish, and killed millions of people. But he's really sorry. Honest. Sarah gets by with her advanced abilities, and some good friends... who have no idea that she's the product of a genocidal killer, or that he lives on in her head. At least it's comforting to know that he didn't murder the fishes used to create her body. Or the seagull. At least she can trust that he's turned into a good... entity now. Right? She can trust him. Right? Sarah hides her illegal nanite origins in an effort to build an ordinary life, but the legacy of dad's horrors makes it difficult. Especially when new but familiar zombie-like abominations begin to appear in the city.(Echoes of Erebus is a complete story unto itself, readers interested in its world may also wish to consider the two preceding books, Lifehack and Watching Yute.)