Category: Independent Author

Forever Avalon’s 2nd Edition is now LIVE as a paperback and ebook!

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This is going to be short and sweet today. I am happy to announce that Forever Avalon has been rereleased as a 2nd Edition via Amazon. My first publisher, James A. Rock & Company Publishers, went out of business after the death of the publisher and owner a few years ago. Since I retained the rights to my work, I did a rework on the story and published a 2nd Edition via Amazon Createspace online program (now a part of Kindle Direct Publishing) as both a paperback and an ebook. As a reminder, here’s a quick summary:

“Stephanie Drake and her three children were glad to be alive after a sudden storm slammed their boat onto an uncharted island, but it’s not where they think. They found themselves in another world, frozen in time. For more than 3,000 years, the magical island of Avalon remained hidden from the outside world. It was a place of eternal magic, where the descendants of King Arthur ruled over a land filled with magical creatures, wizards, Elves, Dwarves and dragons. On Avalon, Stephanie and her children were being hunted by bounty hunters, thieves and brigands. They found themselves caught in a power struggle between Lord Kraven Darkholm, a powerful wizard descended from the sorceress Morgana le Fay, and Lord Bryan MoonDrake, the Gil-Gamesh of Avalon. The people of this magical isle have been protected for centuries by the Gil-Gamesh, a descendant of Sir Percival Peredyr, the last Knight of the Round Table. But who is Lord MoonDrake and how does he know so much about Stephanie and her children? Now, it’s a race against time as the Gil-Gamesh must protect these Outlanders—as they are called—and get them home to the outside world. All the while, Kraven Darkholm continued his schemes against the people of Avalon, vying to achieve his ultimate goal of becoming ruler of this enchanted island.”

First off, I want to praise Createspace for being easy to use, a helpful staff, and quick action on everything from my queries and questions to shipping proofs. They are great to work with and, to be honest, a Godsend for independent authors like me.

Second, I want to thank artist Dennis Supatra. Dennis did some great character drawings to represent the characters in my first book. He followed that up with a redesign of the cover and interior artwork for the 2nd edition. Check out his work!

This is a big addition to the series, even though it’s my first book republished. It allows people to get into the series again from the beginning. And, as a writer, I’m happy to go through it and correct my mistakes from before. It’s easy to miss a spelling error here and there. Word of advice to any budding authors out there… Spellcheck is not your friend! It doesn’t catch everything and, when you don’t have the money for a professional book editor, you have to do things on your own.

When I first published Forever Avalon in 2009, I sent copies of it out to my entire family. Within a month, I received an email from my mother with two pages detailing spelling and grammer errors she found. That was quite a humbling experience. It also cost me an additional $75 to make the corrections. For a self-published author, that’s adds to the financial burden when you’re just starting out.

So, if you’re interested to start at the beginning (and I hope you are) I hope you’ll pick up a copy of Forever Avalon. And, if you do, help out an author and leave a review! That’s an independent author’s bread and butter! Thanks!

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

 

How does a married, over-50 man write a love scene between 20-somethings?

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When I was a young Sailor, deployed overseas for more than six months as a time, I wrote the occasional dirty letter to my wife. It was a release to, shall we say, “keep the home fires burning” while I was gone. Trust me, she wrote some sizzling ones back to me, which made for plenty off cold showers in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, as a 55-year-old man, I am writing fantasy stories that include love scenes between young men and women, half my age. The problem is, it’s difficult for me to put that same fire into my stories that I once wrote to my wife.

You envision your love scenes like you would see in the movies or a romance novel, but it’s not the same when you’re doing it yourself. It’s like being a voyeur or cheating on my wife with someone else. I know that sounds wierd, but true.

As a writer, you have to imagine the situation you’re writing about to make it real for the reader. To be honest, I don’t think of myself as a sexy man anymore (although my wife says I still am). That’s what makes this hard (ignore the pun) for me. Sure, I could watch porn or read a dirty magazine for inspiration, but it’s not the same. I want the romance, the seduction, the lovemaking, not graphic sex, in my stories.

It’s especially difficult when you have daughters the same age as the characters your writing about. It makes me feel like a dirty old man watching girls at the beach behind mirrored sunglasses. So how do you do it?

For someone like me, it involves lots of sleepless nights. When I’m writing, the story I’m working on occupies my dreams. I’ve been working on this love scene for more than a week now. I replay it in my head at night, re-read it on my computer screen several times to make sure it feels right. Like I said, sleepless nights.

Unless romance is the backbone of your writing style, it’s not easy to pick up on. The best advice I can give is to trust your instincts and give into your own feelings of love, passion, and romance. You can’t go wrong.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

It’s no wonder I can’t sleep with the constant storytelling running in my head

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“Writing is literally transformative. When we read, we are changed. When we write, we are changed. Its neurological. To me, this is a kind of magic.” — Francesca Lia

Some people find it hard to write. It’s called “writer’s block” for a good reason. I seem to have a different problem. I have multiple storylines running in my head, like a Broadway play on steroids.

These storylines are for two different books I’m currently working on. I see them in my sleep, when I’m walking my dog, waiting in the elevator, or riding on the metro. It’s a constant barrage of ideas and they won’t stop.

At times, it can be maddening. Paul Goldman said, “Closing my eyes, the scene within unfolds as it has for thousands upon thousands of years.” That’s what it feels like inside my head at times. Even when I’m doing the simplest of things, like eating dinner or watching TV, I still find my mind wandering into my stories.

I think that’s the curse of being a writer. Maybe ‘curse’ is too strong of a word, but it’s accurate. I am a storyteller. My job is to tell people the wild and wierd stories, flights of fantasy, that stirs the imagination of my readers. It’s what drives me to be a writer. I love it, no matter how much it bugs me, I absolutely love it.

This kind of inspiration is what drives me to be a writer. It fills my pasion, forges my imagination, and makes my life worth doing. I need to be driven to write even better. Whenever I speak to groups about writing, there’s a story I tell about where the Forver Avalon series comes from. I’d like to share that with you.

I joined the U.S. Navy in 1983. Back then, we didn’t have the internet, video games, or satellite TV. Many Sailors spent their off duty time playing board or card games. Me… I played Dungeons & Dragons. My friends and I would seal ourselves away in the #4 aircraft elevator mechanical room late at night and spend our off duty time playing D&D. It helped pass the time when you’re deployed for more than six months from your wife and kids.

dnd5For me, these late night D&D sessions fueled an already active imagination. Combine that with missing your wife and newborn baby daughter and it can lead to some rather strange dreams. During my first deployment, I started having a recurring dream of being with my wife and daughter on an island of fantasy and magic, lost in time and space. That dream evolved and grew with each of my deployments and subsequent birth of my other children.

In 2001, I was deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (yes, lucky me to have served on my favorite starship’s namesake!). Although I wasn’t playing D&D at this time, the dream stuck with me. However, it was more detailed and elaborate than ever before, so I decided to start writing it down. I spent my off-duty time writing my story, putting it together in a cohesive story. By the time my deployment was done, Forever Avalon was born. My story was complete.

The funny thing is, after I finished writing the book, I stopped having the dream. It disappeared completely. It served its purpose, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. D&D helped me develop my imagination and writing has given me an avenue to use it. Its who I am, in my heart and in my soul. I am a writer. So let the band play on. It just fuels my passion.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

The Dark Tides is heading to Germany!

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This past week, I received a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to have my second novel, THE DARK TIDES, displayed and marketed at the 2018 Frankfurt International Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, Oct. 10-14. This is an incredible honor for an independent author like me.

The Frankfurt International Book Fair is a major cultural event: around 7,300 exhibitors from over 100 countries, more than 275,000 visitors, over 4,000 events, around 10,000 journalists and around 2,400 bloggers make Frankfurter Buchmesse the world’s largest trade fair for publishing every year – and Frankfurt, the metropolis on the Main, the centre of the international media world.

Just thinking about the thousands of people who will get a glimpse of my book gives me hope that someone like me has a chance to make it as an author. I’ve been writing stories since high school–the early eighties, yes I’m old–but I didn’t become published until 2009.

I’ve struggled, as I’m sure many independent authors have, with the cost of artwork, editing, publishing and marketing. This is a huge event, but it’s also a risk that one book like mine could stand out among millions.

I want to thank LitFire Publishing for seeking me out and believing in my novel for this event. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be heading to Germany.

For those who may be unfamiliar with my novel, here’s an excerpt from THE DARK TIDES, explaining a bit of the background of the story in a conversation between Sir Percival, the first Gil-Gamesh, and Bryan Drake, the new Gil-Gamesh.

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Bryan’s dream were jumbled, filled with pain. He watched Donegal fall into an endless black void. His deathly screams caused Bryan pain. He also saw others floating in the darkness; a variety of men, women and creatures he’d never seen before. They writhed in anguish, as if their souls were being tortured by the darkness within sword.

Then his dream shifted; he saw a knight standing on a hillside surrounded by an eerie mist. The early morning sun began to rise in the distance. The man wore the two swords Bryan had used earlier around his waist. He turned around as Bryan walked up to him. He was an older man, dressed in plate mail armor, with brown hair and a beard, flecked with gray. He smiled at Bryan, putting him at ease.

“Greetings Bryan Drake, we have been expecting you,” he proclaimed.

Bryan was confused. “We?” he asked. “What do you mean?”

Appearing out of the mist were other knights like him, each wearing a different type of armor, clothing and hairstyles, as if he were looking at a timeline of history. The only thing similar about them was that they all looked very much alike, as if they were related in some way.

“Where am I?”

“I am Sir Percival Peredyr, first Gil-Gamesh of Avalon. We …” he exclaimed, motioning to the others, “… have been the protectors of sacred Avalon for thousands of years.”

“Gil-Gamesh? What is that?”

Percival placed his hand on Bryan’s shoulder and walked him through the ranks of knights. “It is a name I heard on my quest for the Holy Grail for good King Arthur. It was the name of a great hero in ancient Persia. It is the name I took as the champion of Avalon.”

“Avalon? You mean the mythical island from the King Arthur legend?” Bryan questioned him. Percival grinned with a devilish smirk, something he does from time-to-time.

“Yes, Bryan Drake, this is Avalon. But my story doesn’t begin here. It begins nearly 3,000 years ago. I was witness to the death of King Arthur at the hands of his son Mordred at the battle of Camlann. I retrieved his sword Excalibur and was about to return it to the Lady of the Lake when Merlin stopped me.”

“Merlin the Magician? The wizard who advised King Arthur?” Bryan asked. “He’s real too?”

“The one and the same … Merlin told me that with King Arthur’s death, the age of magic was coming to an end. He thought the only way to preserve the magic and all magical beings was to bring them here to Avalon.” Percival explained how Merlin combined his magic with that of Excalibur and opened up a mystic portal. Anyone touched by magic was whisked away to Avalon.

“Touched by magic? You mean like the dragon I saw earlier and the Dwarf too?” Bryan implied.

Percival nodded his head. “Dragons and Dwarves, unicorns and Elves, goblins and trolls … All things created by magic, as well as humans imbued with magic themselves. A new age had begun, but at a great cost.

“Excalibur was shattered, the Knights of the Round Table were decimated and the forces of evil began to gather themselves together. They wanted to wipe us from the face of Avalon forever. To aid in the coming battle, the Elves of Alfheimer and the Dwarves of the Gilded Halls took the broken pieces and forged them into the Twin Swords of the Dragon Moon … Twilight and Dusk.”

Percival drew the swords and showed them to Bryan. “Twilight is the light of Avalon, a shining blade of pure starlight that can cut through anything. Dusk is the darkness within Avalon, a soul reaper that feeds on the souls of its victims to power the ungodly blade. I took up these swords, but not as a king, a champion for justice. I was the first Gil-Gamesh and that honor has been passed on from generation to generation.”

“I still don’t understand what any of this has to do with me?”

“Because, Bryan Drake, you are of my blood … my kin,” Percival told him, “And now you are the new Gil-Gamesh of Avalon.

“You wielded Twilight and Dusk in your battle with Donegal. The swords represent the balance between order and chaos, a balance needed to maintain the peace in our troubled lands. Only a true heir of Percival can wield the swords and become the Gil-Gamesh.”

“But why me and why now? I have a family that needs me. I need to get back to them,” he declared.

“Fate has brought you to Avalon, Bryan Drake” Percival chimed in. “It has always been your destiny to be the Gil-Gamesh. It is up to you to accept your destiny and determine the future of Avalon.”

Percival held out the swords to Bryan, as if to pass on the legacy of the Gil-Gamesh to him. Bryan seemed unsure to take them and Percival sensed his apprehension. “Avalon has been without a Gil-Gamesh for more than 500 years Bryan. The people need you.”

His words rang true—duty, honor and commitment—the same things that made Bryan join the Navy all those years ago. Somehow, someway, he was brought here for a reason. He didn’t like it but it was his only chance to live. Perhaps someday he could find a way home, but now he had to accept his destiny.

Bryan took the swords from Percival. “I don’t know what the future holds for me, but for now, I will do what is right.” The dream began to fade and the last thing Bryan saw before he floated back into darkness was the proud look on Percival’s face.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

Book written… Check! Publisher found… Check! And now, onto the next

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So, the good news is I have a publisher for the third book in the Forever Avalon series, The Outlander War. My manuscript and author’s package has been submitted. They are currently editing the manuscript, creating the cover and interior artwork, etc. Now the fun begins.

I’ve been told by my publisher that the process can take up to ten months. I hope to use this time to talk about the publishing process here in my blog. First and foremost, I went with Austin Macauley Publishing. I know I’m going to get some backlash because of all the negativity surrounding them on the internet, but I read through all of that and saw a growing publisher with worldwide outreach.

Yes, I am paying them to publish my book, but I would be paying a cover artist, interior artist, editor, and marketing service to do all the things my publisher is doing for my book. To me, it even’s itself out. We’ll have to wait and see if my expectations pan out.

I tried to submit as “clean” of a manuscript as possible. I went through it a dozen times myself, with spell check, and I had a co-worker edit it as well. I’m hoping it will make a difference. I’ve had some good and bad experience with my previous publishers.

My first publisher, which is now defunct, barely edited my first book, Forever Avalon. They were only looking for punctuation, repeat words, and paragraph edits for layout. After my book was published, my mother gave me two pages of edits that I had to pay $75 to update the print. Harsh!

I had better luck with my second book, The Dark Tides. The publisher, iUniverse, gave me constructive criticism on my writing style, story line, story length, as well as grammar and punctuation. They would have done more, but that costs more money.

That’s the problem with being and independent author, self-published. You are paying out money to get published, editing, artwork, etc., until you get that big publishing contract we all dream about. It’s the old adage politicians and entrepreneurs love… “You have to spend money to make money.”

But writing isn’t about making money. Oh, dont get me wrong, I would love to spend my days writing my stories, and I hope it’ll come to that one day. I’m a storyteller and I love to tell you my stories. In the end, that’s enough for me.

As my journey progresses, I’ll keep you updated on the publishing process, through marketing and book events. Wish me luck!

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Monsters, myths, and legends are on my pages and in my dreams

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You know how your dreams can seem real, even though you know it’s just a dream? For a fantasy writer, it’s like living with an entire world inside your head. When I played Dungeons & Dragons, it was even more vivid when you played. It was like living in that world, even though you know its not real.

That’s what I love about being a writer, especially a fantasy writer. No matter how bad things are in the real world, all I have to do is sit at my computer and step into my fantasy world. You have to wonder if this is how it was in centuries past. When people sat around and listened to the storytellers spinning their yarns about giants, dragons, and Gods, did they feel the same as me?

I’ve been talking with other writers via social media and we all have the same ideas behind our stories. It’s like there’s a genetic quirk for fantasy writers, or if you like, geeks in general. We all have that same built-in mechanism that lets us close our eyes and open them into a whole new world (no, do not start singing the song from Aladdin!)

It’s crazy, but lately my mind has been totally focused on a new story I’m writing, The Last Magus. Don’t worry, I’m not stopping the Forever Avalon series. I’ve already written Book 4 and I just sent Book 3 to the publisher to begin editing and layout. It’s just an idea that came to me and I’ve been running with it for the past few months. It’s been dominating my mind when I’m walking my dog, sleeping, and writing. The story plays out over and over again in my head, from wherever I’m at in writing it to the end. It’s like it’s on a frickn’ loop.

As its playing out, I’m writing dialogue, creating background imagry, character development, the works. It’s like I’m a movie director and the set is inside my head. I don’t know whether to love it or hate, mainly because it can be all consuming. When you’re at your job, and you’re trying to get work done, and all you can do is think about the next chapter in your story, it can be frustrating. It’s times like this that I wish I could be a fantasy writer full time.

It’s hard being a part-time writer, which I’m sure many others can relate too. You want to spend every waking moment writing, but there’s just not enough time in the day. I think that’s why I spend my nights dreaming about my story. Even when I’m asleep, I’m writing my novel.

I think for some people, this can lead to sheer and utter madness. But for a writer, it’s just another day at the office. We’re already a little mad anyway.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

To publish or self-publish, that is the question?

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As most of you know, I’ve finished writing the third book in the Forever Avalon series, The Outlander War. After almost six months of editing, I started sending it out to various publishers, trying to see if someone will take a chance on me. One rejection, and one offer, of sorts. Austin Macauley, a hybrid publisher from London, England, liked my story, my characters, and was interested in having me as one of their authors. However, since I don’t have a great track record of sales with my first two books, they offered me a “contributor contract” to pay for my novel to be published. The cost is about $3000.

I’ve spoken with many other authors I associate with online and they warned me against this. They said you shouldn’t pay to be published, it’s a scam, etc. They all say there are plenty of ways to publish for free, and that’s true. Amazon has a great site called CreateSpace that will let you put together a book as a paperback and ebook for free; but in the realm of “freebies” you’ll find that everything is not free.

You must pay an artist to design a cover, and that cost can range from $200-$400 and as high as $1,000 for an eye-catching cover. Then there’s inventory… You need to buy copies of your book to sell at book signings, etc. Then there’s marketing for your book. That costs money too. All in all, you may publish your book for free, but there are so many other costs associated with it, then why not pay someone to do it all for you.

There’s also time management issue. I have a full-time job which I must do, until my writing takes off (at least that’s what I want). I would love to be able to stay home, write, and do everything myself; but that’s not possible right now. I must work to support my family, so that means paying someone to do it all for me.

There are many negative things being said about Austin Macauley, but some positive things too. Publisher’s Weekly named them one of the fastest growing publishers in 2018. This is not something to ignore. I know that the Science Fiction Writers of America have them on their

There are too many variables to consider and, maybe I’m making the right choice, maybe not. It’s a decision that many self-published, independent authors must make each and every day. The one thing that keeps popping into my mind is that old saying:  “You have to spend money to make money.”

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Don’t worry if your wife (or husband) calls you childish! Watching anime is a good thing, especially for writers!

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I saw a question from an online article that intrigued me. The questions was, “Does watching anime make you a better writer?” Personally, and professionally, I’d have to say YES! I watched anime as a kid, and with my own kids growing up. Today, I watch it for inspiration and, well, just because it’s totally awesome.

Stephen King said, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” That is most definitely true. I read books, comic books, graphic novels and manga my whole life, but I would add to that to watch movies and videos as well. We live in an age of growing technology, and anime is a popular form of vivid storytelling. All you need do is watch any of Hayao Miazaki’s movies and you’ll understand.

The stories within anime are so fanciful and cross so many genres within fantasy, from medival magical fantasy to steampunk and science fiction to time travel, you never know what you’re getting into. The thing I love about anime is not just the graphic art, the beauty of sight and sound that brings the stories to life, but also the detailed storytelling that goes into every episode.

For example, I just started watching an anime called Granblue Fantasy: The Animation. I only discovered this series because of an ad on Facebook from Animelab. The anime is a story involving magic, floating islands, primal beasts (dragons), and airships. It is a magical, steampunk adventure that enthralled me so much, I just had to watch it. I binge-watched the first five episodes last night. It has all the elements you expect from a good anime: Ruthless villains, powerful magic, steampunk technology, and light humor. Besides the fact that the anime is based on a video game makes it even more intriguing.

As a writer, I live for inspiration like this. It’s like an IV drip of imagination, slowly feeding me the inspiration for my writing. I get the same charge from watching 80’s sword and sorcery movies (Krull, The Beastmaster, Conan the Barbarian), Game of Thrones or even the original animated Thundercats for that matter.

The difference with anime is the vivid graphics. The images are so colorful, so beautiful, that they imprint on the mind of a fantasy writer like me. It allows me to see things in a whole new perspective, a different way to think about magic, magical creatures, or even how to combine them with technology. This is an inspiration that is unparalleled in many other genres.

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I can name so many other anime’s that provide the same inspiration:  Is it Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon, Knights & Magic, The Ancient Magus Bride, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, Lord Marksman and Vanadis, In Another World with my Smartphone, and Full Metal Alchemist to name a few. And to be honest, that’s only “a drop in the bucket” when it comes to fantasy anime. There are more choices that can fit anyone’s fancy.

The other great thing is that you can find a variety of anime, both English subbed and English dubbed, on so many apps, websites, and channels. It makes it easy for someone like me to binge on as many different anime as I want to. I know it seems silly for a 55-year-old to sit and enjoy “cartoons” (as my wife calls them) but they’re more than that to me. Anime is an essential part of my writing, and I don’t intend to stop watching anytime soon.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Poetry opens the minds of writers to new possibilities

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1-street-art-poetry-recapBelieve it or not, I started writing by writing poetry. In high school, I was part of the Poetry Club and helped edit and printed out our annual poetry magazine. I must admit, though, I am a terrible poet. My rhymes were more nonsensical than practical or what most would seem acceptable prose. Though I haven’t written any since then, I still have an appreciation for it.

Recently, I’ve done some “book review exchanges” with some wonderful poets and it has reignited my passion for poetry. It is exciting to find a passion inside me that I thought was long gone.

NOTE: It is a great option for independent authors to do “book review exchanges” to not only expand their library but get additional reviews from their peers.

I want to first give a shout out to the poets that have inspired me to write this blog. Universal Colloquies Inside of Me by Veronica Thornton is a wonderful book of poetry that will expand your mind through poems about the world today as well as poems that take a new view on the universe. Whispers of Death by Ronald Kihali was a diverse book of poems, that made me laugh and made me cry. Finally, I just started reading Her Crowning Frenzy by Robin Chappell. So far, this book reminds me of a walk through someone’s life, with chapters entitled “Love”, “Heartache”, and “Life” to show you the way.

These three books have really begun to inspire me, opening my mind to new possibilities. Poet Dylan Thomas said, “Poetry is what in a poem makes you laugh, cry, prickle, be silent, makes your toe nails twinkle, makes you want to do this or that or nothing, makes you know that you are alone in the unknown world, that your bliss and suffering is forever shared and forever all your own.”

For the most part, we associate poetry with the well-known names… Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, Emily Dickenson, etc. But you need to look further. There are some many wonderful poets, just starting out. They are brilliant in their own respects and inspire us as both humans and, for me, as a writer. As Vanna Bonta said, “The true poem rests between the words.”

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.

Dragons, ogres, and trolls, oh my!

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dragonThe creatures of fantasy, myth, and legend are as versatile as they are mysterious to a fantasy/sci-fi writer. They can be good or evil, strong or weak. intelligent or half-witted, magical or mutation. The possibilities are endless, and that’s so exciting.

As a fantasy writer, I love to research the monsters I use in my stories. It makes you wonder how much is myth and how much is fact. There are so many stories about these creatures from different countries and cultures that there must be some semblance of truth behind them… And that’s freakin’ awesome.

“There was a nice brown egg, lightly boiled, for each of them, and then sardines on toast, and then buttered toast, and then toast with honey, and then a sugar-topped cake. And when Lucy was tired of eating, the Faun began to talk. He had wonderful tales to tell of life in the forest. He told about the midnight dances and how the Nymphs who lived in the wells and the Dryads who lived in the trees came out to dance with the Fauns; about long hunting parties after the milk-white stag who could give you wishes if you caught him; about feasting and treasure-seeking with the wild Red Dwarfs in deep mines and caverns far beneath the forest floor; and then about summer when the woods were green and old Silenus on his fat donkey would come to visit them, and sometimes Bacchus himself, and then the streams would run with wine instead of water and the whole forest would give itself up to jollification for weeks on end.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Look at the sea monsters that mariners have seen for thousands of years. No one believed that a giant squid could exist, and yet through modern technology, we’ve found them lurking in the depths of the ocean. This proves that there are some facts behind the ancient legends.

I know most people would be scared of a dragon, and it probably would be, but it would also be amazing to see. To me, dragons are creatures of pure magic, living to be guardians of humanity, not enemies. They are such majestic creatures that seeing one would send chills down my spine. It’s like that scene in the original Jurassic Park when they see the dinosaur for the first time. It would be that kind of feeling.

Writing about these monsters is even better, because as the writer, I can create their origins, abilities, and appearance. You always want to stay true to the characters, but adjusted to the world you create. For example, the goblins of Avalon from my novel series, Forever Avalon. Here is a deleted excerpt from my second novel, The Dark Tides, which describes the goblin hierarchy on the island of Avalon. I cut this from my edited novel, but I think it demonstrates how versatile creatures of fantasy can be.

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The cavern seemed to encompass the entire center of Idlehorn Mountain… A huge pocket, like a magma dome, underneath the mountain, as lava flowed like water from the walls. It fell and circulated in streams and pools throughout the cave interior. Not only did the lava provide light and warmth for the goblins, it made it easier for them to forge a constant supply of weapons for their massive army. Goblins had nowhere to call home, except for the cave itself. They climbed along the walls like spiders in a web, able to move anywhere and everywhere throughout the cavern. They ate, slept and worked wherever they could find a rock to lean against or a piece of meat to gnaw on.

As Ragnar took them deeper into the voluminous cavern, Bryan got a sense of the social structure of the goblins. It was a society based on “survival of the fittest” mantra:  The stronger, more powerful goblins bullied the smaller, weaker ones, as an inbred form of slave labor. They were forced to carry heavy loads in the belief that it would make them stronger. The intense labor culled out the weaker goblins from the rest. Those that survived either continued their toll as slaves or they volunteered for experiments conducted by goblin warlocks and alchemists as they strive to make a goblin warrior that was unbeatable. They were a collective, striving for the betterment of the goblins and the defeat of their enemies.

At the heart of the cavern sat a throne of iron and stone. It was a monument to the machine that is the goblin empire. The twisted metal frame and jagged rock reminded all who stood before it of the pain and suffering that is the life of a goblin.

In the throne sat a brute of a beast… The Goblin King P’tah Mnenok. His skin was black and scarred, ripped and torn by battle. His face was long and twisted, with yellow eyes piercing out from dark slits. His fangs were so long that they pierced from beneath his lower lip, giving him a constant scowl, even with his mouth closed. On his head sat a crown of braided iron, a cold reminder of his black heart.

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Author Gabrielle Massman said, “So deliberate writers should be careful of how they portray fantasy creatures (ahem– I am looking at all of you, dragon writers) and how they make new fantasy creatures. If there is already a mythological creature that embodies the idea that you want, then there may be no need to create something “new.” The centuries of the mythology of a creature can add depth to fantasy and are fun to explore in a more modern way.”

It’s simple… The best advice I can give you is to research your subjects carefully, but make them unique to your world. Mythology has given us all these wonderful, magical creatures to chose from. It’s how you use them that will make them your own, a part of your world, a part of your stories.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.