Sending out the warmest of holiday wishes to all my friends and fans alike from the world of the FOREVER AVALON fantasy book series! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed Happy New Year 2021!
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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon fantasy book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides: Book 2 of the Forever Avalon Series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from iUniverse Publishing and at Amazon, and other booksellers. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from Austin Macauley Publishing, and at Amazon and other booksellers.
I really miss the innocent, timeless classics associated with Christmas. We use to watch these specials every year on TV, when I was a kid and even with my own children. We would all sit in front of the television as a family, almost like a tradition. These are the shows, and the stories, that made Christmas such a magical time.
Rankin/Bass was, and always will be, the best ones made. They had clever characters, great songs, and memorable stories that drew you in. From legends like Santa, Frosty, and Rudolph to religious stories like the Little Drummer Boy and Nestor the Long-Eared Donkey, these specials brightened the eyes of kids everywhere.
You can’t help but dance when you hear the Heat Miser/Snow Miser songs from “Year Without a Santa Claus” or find yourself in the Christmas Spirit when you hear Burl Ives sing “Holly Jolly Christmas” from “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” My favorite song, and to me the ultimate Christ song, is “I Believe in Santa Claus” from “Year Without a Santa Claus”… If you haven’t seen the special or heard the song, Google it and you’ll understand why. Everyone knows the songs and when you hear the tune, or even the voices, you begin to quote lines from them religiously.
“I want to be… A dentist!” — Hermey, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
“Driving a Vixen on the wrong side of the street, and wearing funny clothes on Sunday!” — Policeman, Year Without a Santa Claus
“A yoyo? I love yo-yo’s!” — Burgermeister Meisterburger, Santa Claus is Coming to Town
“Ears, Nestor!” — Nestor’s Mother, Nestor the Long-Eared Donkey
There are so many more that stick in your mind and you can recollect every Christmas, even before the specials begin to air. That’s what makes them timeless classics, even though the old stop motion animation is nothing compared to today’s CGI. My kids use to laugh at these specials, never understanding why I loved them so much. I have to admit, they are a little cheesy and somewhat corny, but I love them. And, as my kids grew older, they began to appreciate the uniqueness of them too.
The other memorable thing about these specials were the stories they told. Before I ever watched “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” I never realized the L. Frank Baum (of “The Wizard of Oz” fame) wrote a book about a more mythological origin of Santa Claus. A council of immortals debates whether or not to grant Santa immortality as they examine his life story, which is quite unique. Santa was raised by a lioness, befriends magical creatures, and staves off what are essentially goblins and demons responsible for making good children do bad things. Crazy, right? It is a wonderful story and to watch it and the many unique characters within it. That’s what made it so memorable, even though its barely shown anymore.
“Jack Frost” is another special that’s both fascinating and not really about Christmas. It’s more of a winter special with Christmas thrown in for good measure, and this version of Jack Frost is nothing like the ones seen in other holiday specials and movies (i.e. “Santa Clause 3” or “Rise of the Guardians”). Jack falls in love with a human girl, Elisa, and petitions Father Winter for humanity. Father Winter suggests a rather long list of things for Jack to prove that he can cut it as a human: A horse, a house, a bag of gold, and his wife by spring. This is all complicated by an evil king with a clockwork army and the fact that Elisa already loves someone else. This has a slightly more complicated plot and action that other specials, and it’s definitely bittersweet in the love story department.
So, whether it’s on television, dvd, blueray, or steaming somewhere, these specials will touch your heart and maybe, just maybe, bring a little joy into your holidays in the midst of a pandemic. Trust me when I say, they are worth the trouble of tracking them down and watching. So, please, have a Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season, for you and your families!
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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon fantasy book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides: Book 2 of the Forever Avalon Series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from iUniverse Publishing and at Amazon, and other booksellers. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from Austin Macauley Publishing, and at Amazon and other booksellers.
This is a great way to start off the holidays! I would love to receive more Christmas presents like this (if you’re listening out the Santa Claus!) The three books in the FOREVER AVALON fantasy book series–Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War–were reviewed by Instagram book reviewer, avid reader, and supporter of independent authors everywhere Nerdybibliophilee! Here’s a snippet of the reviews:
“It has been a great fantasy week. Ever happened to you that after reading a book it took some time to get back into reality. Was in such wonderful wizard world created by Mark Piggott. The fantasy book is called Forever Avalon. Starting with the title of the book, I feel its a relevant one for such an amazing storyline. Taking about the cover on the other hand, as you all see is a very creative one. It gives a very comic like vibe and I feel it’s a fun read for both children and adults who are looking for a soothing, adventurous and a fun read.
“Talking about the plot of the book, the plot is very well designed and written. I would like to talk about narration of the book first, the way book starts gives a hype to the upcoming story. Stephanie with three of her children end up on a mysterious land after hit by a storm. Now as the story proceeds we get to know about the mystery land which is full of very different creatures and wizards. Trust me if I was a child I would have gone crazy while reading the story because I feel children have a great power of imagination. If not books like these give them a great way of expanding their imagination. I being an adult could film the story in my mind while reading it. Now as the pages turn we get to know more about the island and the creatures living there, Avalon has been a sacred place for 3000 years and now Stephanie and her children ended up here. Being from the outside world they are unaware about all of this and that’s the same for the life of Avalon. Now they are struggling to find their way out.
“To be very honest, I personally love reading about such islands and sacred places even if it’s a fantasy because as the pages turn the story takes a different way revealing more about the Avalon. Trust me if you are a fantasy lover you are definitely going to thank me for recommending it to you. I would highly recommend it to all the readers out there.”
“Just as I told you before I am going to complete the Forever Avalon series and after a very positive response from you guys I got a lot of requests regarding the review of the Book 2 and if it’s worth reading. So let’s start my way. Starting with the title of the book The Dark Tides the story being in continuation of the last book that is Forever Avalon. After reading it I feel the title was a perfect fit. The cover on the other hand is as creative as the first one. Overall the other appearance of the book was not compromised just for the sake of response from the book 1.
“Talking about the content of the book, The Drake family is travelling by sea to lay a wreath in honor of the patriarch of the family, Bryan. Unfortunately, they run into a big storm and soon find themselves trapped on a desolate island. Fortunately, that’s where Bryan and his new life on the island of Avalon find themselves. It’s an island full of characters and places that you would usually find in a mediaeval version of a fairy tale. It’s known to Bryan as Lord Bryan MoonDrake. Now the storyline has been amazing as we all know but at this point I felt like the characters created by the author were pretty amazing. I was really wondering what if how beautiful and creative the mindset of author would be while writing the book. The story line did really hook me up but in the middle somewhere I felt I was a little off but that too was compensate with the story ahead. I feel the book 2 slows down a bit. While the book 1 was really an amazing and stormy read, book 2 is more of a steady read. It has a page turner. I totally liked it and I would definitely recommend it to all the readers who are looking for a series with an amazing storyline. For the storyline I would rate this book as 2.8/3.
“Talking about the words and the language used in the book in terms of difficulty, personally I didn’t face any difficulty while reading the book. Also the editing was on point so if you are the one waiting to start you have a green signal.”
“Forever Avalon series, after such a wonderful response to both the books, I didn’t want to skip the book 3 of the series, while reading the book I had some experiences that I would like to share with you all. Starting with the title of the book, The Outlanders War. For the people who are have read the book 1 and 2 it was easy to guess what’s going to happen next, however it was just a hint but a relevant one. So the title is totally on point. Cover on the other had has a very different vibe from both other books, I liked the thought of changing it in 3rd book. Overall the outer appearance is really appealing for a viewer who sees the book for the first time so I would like to give it a 2/2 for it.
“Talking about the content of the book, for those who haven’t read the book, basically the story is about a mysterious Island, where mysterious creatures exists, where there is no such thing as time, which is ruled by King Arthur. There a thing about the book I would like to mention that it gives a very different vibe when something in real world is connected to the fantasy world just as this one the concept of Bermuda Triangle gave that spice. Now what happens next is suddenly the Avalon reappeared in middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
“The U.S. Navy, circling the mysterious island right now needs answers. On Avalon, they fear that Outlanders will invade their home; and Lord Bryan Moon Drake, the Gil-Gamesh of Avalon, Knight Eternal and champion of the magical realm, is caught in the center of it all. Now here while reading it I was really hooked to the story because after reading book 1 and 2 there was no point in building the story line like the characters were set and everything was turning out to be in favor of reader, I mean being an avid reader all I want is flow and then I am just reading to experience what author wants me to and it happened while reading the book. I loved the experience this book gave me, not just this book but this series. I am a fan of the author and looking forward to read more from author, if you haven’t tried it yet what are you waiting for. I am sure the series would not disappoint at all. So for the content and plot I would like to give it a 1.8/2.
“Talking about the words and the language used in the book in terms of difficulty, I personally didn’t face any difficulty while reading the book also the choice of words was amazing, which helped mention the feel and the flow. I would highly recommend it to all the readers out there. So yeah!
“Happy reading!”
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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon fantasy book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides: Book 2 of the Forever Avalon Series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from iUniverse Publishing and at Amazon, and other booksellers. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook from Austin Macauley Publishing, and at Amazon and other booksellers.
Mark Piggott | Fantasy and Steampunk Author 