Month: January 2023

The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart in Times Square

Leave a comment

Something amazing happened on January 20, 2023! My steampunk fantasy novel The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart appeared on the Nasdaq billboard in Times Square as one of the 2022 The BookFest award-winning independent books! I am humbled and thrilled to be up there with the other award winners!

The BookFest Awards honors authors who create outstanding works of fiction and nonfiction. Books are judged in categories based on genre, theme, and aesthetics.  Entries will be vetted by an initial team, then the final places will be determined by an elite team of experts in the literary and entertainment world.

To put this in perspective, at 9,300 square feet, this larger than life digital billboard located in the heart of the Times Square commands attention. I mean, to use a Donald Trump-ism, it’s HUGE!!!!

This is the third award for The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart and I am so humbled by the honor. My novel won 3rd place for Fantasy-Magic, Myths, and Legends with The BookFest, 2022 AMG Indie Book Awards Grand Prize for Fiction, and 1st place for Steampunk, 2021 Firebird Book Awards.

I’m not trying to make an Oscar-like speech, but I want to thank a few people for helping me earn this achievement. First, Anna-Lena Spies for designing a spectacular book cover. Second, my editor Ali Soleil, who did a great job refining my manuscript. And last, but definitely not least, my wife Georgiene who also read and edited my book but she has supported me throughout my writing journey. I wouldn’t have accomplished this if not for her.

Mark your calendar to pick up a SIGNED copy of The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart or any of my other books at my first events of 2023 . . . The Williamsburg Book Festival in Williamsburg, VA, on February 4 and the Tell-Tale Steampunk Convention in Baltimore, MD, on April 1-2. I hope you’ll joining me on this adventure into steampunk and fantasy!

Mark Piggott is an award-winning independent author of several fantasy/steampunk novels and short stories. A 23-year U.S. Navy veteran, his stories will take you from the shores of eternal Avalon to a dystopian steampunk future and other worlds.

The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—is available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.

Cross over The River of Souls in my first fantasy novella from Curious Corvid Publishing and the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates, coming in January 2023. The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel and The Prometheus Engine: Book Four of the Forever Avalon Series, are coming soon. Stay tuned for more new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.

Corsair and the Sky Pirates takes to the skies January 31 from Curious Corvid Publishing

Leave a comment
Corsair and the Sky Pirates is available for preorder on Amazon before its January 31 release.

It’s official! Corsair and the Sky Pirates, a steampunk historical fiction from award-winning author Mark Piggott and Curious Corvid Publishing, launches January 31! You can preorder your copy NOW at Amazon and reserve your spot in this amazing adventure! Plus, check out the AMAZING book cover by Mark Alexander McClish! Talk about steampunk pirate airship, he nailed my vision! Not only is he a talented artist but an award-winning author too!

What if history took a detour and our industrial revolution had a few more gears and steam powered machines? A few more alternative contraptions? A few more . . . pirates?

A brilliant inventor . . . A prolific writer. . . A chance meeting between Nikola Tesla and Jules Verne created a world powered by steam generated, not from any fuel, but a meteor fragment. A comet named Uriel rained pieces of these powerful meteorites across the globe. That led to an industrial revolution years ahead of its time—a steampunk revolution. 

While Tesla made his inventions to ease people’s day-to-day burden, Thomas Edison’s ERP Corporation used their power and influence to ensure people paid for their modern miracles. 

One man brought hope to the people as he pursued Tesla’s dream. His exploits were legendary, his crew infamous, and his airship a vision of the future . . . Corsair and the Sky Pirates!

If you enjoy a historical fantasy novel that addresses hard topics in a fresh and interesting way, this might just be the read for you. Award winning author Mark Piggott takes on corporate greed, racism, and climate change while highlighting lesser known African American historical figures like Bessie Coleman, a brilliant woman pilot who dominated the skies prior to Amelia Earhart!

Ravven White, Founder, Curious Corvid Publishing

And the reviews from early readers are already adding to the buzz surrounding Corsair and the Sky Pirates!

“What I found most interesting was the way a corporation had such major control over so many people and the aspects of their lives. It had a direct connection to what is currently happening in our world. Piggott’s minor characters are just as well developed and essential to the story as the main characters and make for an incredible 4-D environment for the reader. The blending of historical facts with modern ideas from the characters was seamless.”

Jennie Rosenblum, Jennie Reads

Mark your calendar to be the first to pick up a SIGNED copy of Corsair and the Sky Pirates at my first events of 2023 . . . The Williamsburg Book Festival in Williamsburg, VA, on February 4 and the Tell-Tale Steampunk Convention in Baltimore, MD, on April 1-2. I’m excited for this book release and I hope you’ll joining me on this steampunk adventure!

Mark Piggott is an award-winning independent author of several fantasy/steampunk novels and short stories. A 23-year U.S. Navy veteran, his stories will take you from the shores of eternal Avalon to a dystopian steampunk future and other worlds.

The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—is available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.

Cross over The River of Souls in my first fantasy novella from Curious Corvid Publishing and the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates, coming in January 2023. The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel and The Prometheus Engine: Book Four of the Forever Avalon Series, are coming soon. Stay tuned for more new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.

Support your indie author by leaving a book review

Leave a comment
The River of Souls, Forever Avalon, and The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart by award-winning author Mark Piggott.

Book reviews are the “bread and butter” for any independent or self-published author. Good or bad, book reviews are great feedback for an author to work on their craft and make them a better author. I can remember the first “honest” review I received on Forever Avalon shortly after it was published in 2009. It’s my one and only 2 STAR review.

“Nice try, but the book seems to be the effort of someone truly not gifted in the art of writing. Skip this one and save your money.”

Carl W. Alvers (Verified Purchase)

Ouch! I can honestly say this one hurt, but it also made me take a closer look at my writing and editing. The “vanity” publisher I worked with pushed my book out with no real edit or comments. I think they just wanted to get my money (lesson learned) and I just wanted to be able to call myself published. When they went out of business and I republished Forever Avalon on Amazon, I did a good edit on my manuscript. In the time between my first publication and this one, I took the criticism to heart and worked to improve my writing style, grammar, point-of-view, tense, etc.

That’s what I like about book reviews. Most reviewers love my storytelling, its the mechanics of my writing that they criticize, and I understand that completely. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started working with professional editors to clean up my work. Their insight has made me a better writer.

Book reviews also help with promoting your book with Amazon. The more reviews a book has, the more Amazon will promote it in searches. Book reviews are important for all books, but especially for self-published books, because most of their sales are online. When it comes to selling books online, Amazon customer reviews can make or break a shoppers interest in a book.

“Authors rely on reviews to build credibility and word of mouth marketing, while readers rely on them to decide whether or not to purchase a book. The more positive reviews an author has, the more books he or she is likely to sell.”

Author Learning Center

The problem is that people are not very reliable in leaving reviews. That leads to other problems, as in how to get reviews. I will admit that I have paid for some of my book reviews, but I no longer do that. It leads to spam email and unwanted followers offering reviews for cash. I prefer working with my fellow indie authors. We swap books and provide reviews for each other. Feedback from my peers is priceless.

I get a lot of my reviews that way, but also from people I meet at book fairs and festivals I attend. I like the honest reviews I get from them. They’re not always frequent and not always positive, but it helps me grow. By reading these reviews, I know what my faults are and what I need to work on as I continue in my career as an author.

So, my one piece of advice to everyone out there . . . Help and Author and LEAVE A REVIEW! We can take the criticism and we need the attention, so please help out. It may sound like I’m begging (well, maybe just a little) but its a few minutes out of your day and it helps more than you know.

Mark Piggott is an award-winning independent author of several fantasy/steampunk novels and short stories. A 23-year U.S. Navy veteran, his stories will take you from the shores of eternal Avalon to a dystopian steampunk future and other worlds.

The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—is available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.

Cross over The River of Souls in my first fantasy novella from Curious Corvid Publishing. Coming in 2023 from Curious Corvid—the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates, and The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel. Stay tuned for more new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.

Happy New Year! Start your 2023 TBR with a novella

Leave a comment

Happy 2023 everyone! I’ll make this short and sweet as I know many are still recovering from their New Year’s Eve festivities and today is actually MONDAY for many people. To celebrate the upcoming release of my steampunk novel Corsair and the Sky Pirates, Curious Corvid Publishing is having a sale. Download an ebook for only .99 cents, through January 7!

Malcolm Seger, a human Magi-Gunner, and his wife Alyssa, a dragonkin of the Oracles of Delphis Kai, moved to the parish of Fairhaven to begin a new life together. But just when they settled in, Malcolm succumbs to deadly “dragon dust” and lies near death. Grief-stricken, Alyssa uses her magic to save her true love through the spell of restoration, powerful magic combining two souls into one.

Across the river of souls, the boundless cosmic lifestream that connects all worlds, a young man lay dying underneath a crumpled automobile. He hears a voice crying out for help, begging not to be left alone. Desperate to make something of his life, he offers himself to God to cross the river of souls to be there for her.

Now their new life together begins in a world filled with distrust, bigotry, and hatred between humans and the dragonkin races. Can two people from different worlds find love and peace to show what lies beyond The River of Souls? From award-winning author Mark Piggott with original poetry by Ashley Valitutto and Curious Corvid Publishing!

Visit the Curious Corvid Shop to get your copy of The River of Souls today! Be sure to check out all the great swag at CCP as well as flights of fancy into scifi, horror, the paranormal, and fantasy from all the great authors that are part of the “murder of crows” at Curious Corvid Publishing.

Mark Piggott is an award-winning independent author of several fantasy/steampunk novels and short stories. A 23-year U.S. Navy veteran, his stories will take you from the shores of eternal Avalon to a dystopian steampunk future and other worlds.

The Forever Avalon fantasy book series—including Forever Avalon, The Dark Tides, and The Outlander War—is available online at Amazon and other booksellers. His fantasy steampunk novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart, is available through Lulu and other booksellers.

Cross over The River of Souls in my first fantasy novella from Curious Corvid Publishing. Coming in 2023 from Curious Corvid—the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates, and The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel. Stay tuned for more new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.