Erik Gordon Bainbridge

(aka Apollo Manga)

novelist - virtual worlds journalist - photographer

Life for me is richest when I have one foot planted firmly in ancient traditions and the other foot navigating the ever shifting sands of advanced technologies inexorably moving us into the future. I spend much time in the metaverse Second Life, yet I also build traditional California Indian village structures and I love going out into the wild and beautiful places of the American West.

My virtual world interest goes back at least to 1994, when I wrote a screenplay examining issues that could arise in future virtual worlds. In 2003 I became a beta tester of the virtual world There and in 2004 I joined Second Life (as Hawk Lightcloud). More recently I've been writing about virtual worlds under my other avatar name of Apollo Manga for examiner.com and avatarplanet.com.

My fiction writing roots go deeper. I've published one novel, Warrior Brothers, and have completed my second novel. My Master's degree concentration was in screenwriting and I received two student screenwriting awards, including one that was presented at the Northern California Emmy Awards for my screenplay about a half-Indian youth raised on the frontier during the California Gold Rush.

In 1993, Kashia-Pomo Indian elder Bun Lucas invited me to his tribe's roundhouse; I've been involved in the California Indian world ever since. I'm on the board of directors of the Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin and I'm a volunteer and webmaster at the replica Coast Miwok Indian village Kule Loklo.

I'm on the board of trustees of the literary nonprofit SilverPen.org and I direct community television programs at the Community Media Center of Marin in San Rafael, California. Several shows I've directed and/or produced have won awards. I'm currently directing two series, Jill Lublin's Messages of Hope and Nick Moorhatch's Recovery Station.

The photographs on this page were all taken in Second Life between 2009 and 2011. Roll your mouse over or click any picture for more information.