To quote a former TV personality and president . . . “September is going to be huge!” It’ll be busy, that’s for sure. I have three book signing events coming up this month, from the Historic Triangle to the Lehigh Valley, you can find me and my award-winning steampunk and fantasy books traveling up and down the east coast with a car full of books to kick off the fall.

I’m heading back to my alama mater, Phillipsburg High School (GO LINERS!) in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, for the Phillipsburg Comic-Con on Saturday, September 23, from 11am to 3pm. The comic-con supports after school art programs and clubs, so it’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. Plus, it gives me a chance to show this generation what the older generation is capable of. Visit www.phillipsburgcomiccon.com for more information.

Next up, I am heading back to the Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf, Maryland, for the Southern Maryland Comic-Con, on Saturday, September 30, from 10am to 4pm. This is an annual event I have been a part of for the past four years and it is always packs a punch, event for a small convention. It is centrally located in the DMV and full of fun and surprises. Visit www.mdcomiccons.com for more information.

Last but not least, on Sunday, October 8, at 2nd Sundays Williamsburg – Art and Music Festival. You will find crafters of fine art to good food with plenty of musicians to keep you entertained scattered along N Boundary Street in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, from 11am to 5pm. You can usually find me near the corner of N Boundary and Prince George Streets. Stop by and say hello while picking up a new read for your TBR list. Visit www.2ndsundayswilliamsburg.com for more information.

Check out my Events link to keep track of all my book signing events or, if you can’t make it, head over to Buy My Books link to find the best deals online. I hope to see you there! Thanks for your continued support!

Being laid up after surgery does have its benefits. I have been able to set up a Shopify store where you can buy signed and personalized copies of my fantasy and steampunk novels. You can check out the link just above or visit my new Online Book Shop to pick and choose the novels you want.

If you miss one of my various book signing events, here’s a chance for you to get one of my books AT OR BELOW the cost of most online booksellers, and you get it signed too.

Check out my new Online Book Shop or visit my Events page to check out my upcoming events.

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—are 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 a fantasy novella and the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates from Curious Corvid Publishing. 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.

I had a great time at the Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival last weekend! I met other wonderful indie authors and introduced many new fans to the Forever Avalon fantasy book series and my new fantasy read, The Last Magus. I signed many copies of all four books and, even those who didn’t buy one, I spoke to them about my novels and where to find them. A couple of people were more interested in ebooks or audiobooks (for convenience) and I was happy to accommodate them as well.

This was my first book festival EVER so I learned a lot from my experience; about what to bring, table set-up, formulating my pitch to potential readers, and even what pen to use when signing my books. My steampunk attire went over well, catching the attention of many passersby’s, just as I intended. Overall, I would chalk this up as a success and ready for my next one.

So, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be attending the Southern Maryland Comic-Con on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf, Maryland, from 10am to 4pm. The convention is operated by Nerd Street USA who says, “Our cons are a celebration of comics, toys, TV, film, art, cosplay, games, and all things nerdy. If you’re a fan of Batman, the Avengers, Doctor Who, Star Wars, LEGO, Disney, Star Trek, the Walking Dead, Power Rangers, Game of Thrones, etc., you’ll probably fit right in at our events!!” So, I’m a shoe-in for this con!

You can purchase tickets for the convention from their ticketing website, https://www.nerdstreetusa.com.

And that will be a busy weekend, because the very next day, I will be attending the 2nd Sundays Arts and Music Festival on Sunday, Nov. 14 (400 & 500 blocks of Prince George Street and 100 & 200 Blocks of N Boundary Streets) near Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchants Square from 11am to 4pm. This is a street fair of over 100 unique artisans, musicians, street performers and food vendors in 5 Blocks along N Boundary Street & Scotland Street in Williamsburg, VA on the 2nd Sunday of each Month (March- December)!

I am trying to schedule and set-up events at least once a month so please keep an eye on my Events calendar for these scheduled appearances.

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Mark Piggott is an independent author of the Forever Avalon fantasy book series and other fantasy novels and short stories. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon and as an audiobook from Audible and iTunes. 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. His latest fantasy novel, The Last Magus: A Clockwork Heart is available through Lulu and other booksellers. Get ready for The Prometheus Engine: Book 4 of the Forever Avalon Series, coming soon, and the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates.

An author lives, and dies, on book reviews. It’s how we gauge the interest of the audience, how we write and develop our stories, and what works. Its essential for authors to get reviews, both good and bad.

To give you an example, here is a review of my first novel, Forever Avalon, when it was first published in 2009.

“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.“

Yeah, that hurt a lot. It made me wonder if I even had a future as an author; but I didn’t waiver. I forged ahead, corrected my mistakes, and strived harder to be a better writer.

Did you know that reviews on Amazon determine if you get a higher placement and “pushes” by the algorithms built into the Amazon search engine. That makes reviews even more important.

To be frank, I’ve invested a lot of money in my writing career, from publicity and marketing, to art, editing, and publishing. I consider it an investment in my future career, although my wife has a different opinion. This is why reviews are more important, especially to self-published authors like me.

We are making phone calls, setting up our own book signings, sales, and other events to promote our books. Getting reviews is how we can grow as an author, good or bad. That bad review was really the worst one I ever got, but I took it to heart to make myself a better writer.

I would like all my reviews to be “5 Star” glowing reviews, praising my work, but that’s not the case. I want people to experience the world I created and enjoy it as much as I do. I’ll take the good with the bad, just please, leave a review!

In a final note, I will do exchanges for reviews… book for book… to support my fellow independent authors. Leave a comment or email me to exchange books. Thanks for your support!

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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.

I may or may not have mentioned it before, but I work as a writer-editor for a government agency. It’s what pays the bills. It also, as I’ve found out in the past year, helps my growth as a writer as a whole.

I also help friends of mine, who are also aspiring writers, edit their work. It has been an eye-opening experience all around, but it’s also part of my own personal growth.

Normally, many people rely on the ever-present and evil “spell check” to keep them on the straight and narrow. The problem with that is it doesn’t always work. When you write “he” and you meant to write “her” it won’t make that change. I also believe that spell check makes you lazy as a writer. As much as I love auto-correct, it sometimes allows me to skip spelling it right as I know it’ll do it for me. Even now, as I write this blog, it’s doing my job for me.

Some say this is the benefit of technology, but I disagree. I started my career as a Navy Journalist, learning on a manual typewriter and editing in pencil. That’s how it was done for decades, and it worked then, so why change now?

Sorry, I got off track there. Technology is a blessing in disguise for writers. It makes it easier for people to edit your manuscript and comment on why these changes are important. It helps in the overall growth of a writer.

At the same time, being a writer and editing another writer’s work has its benefits. You see how others write–a similar benefit you get from being an avid reader–but you also see things from a different perspective.

For example, how many different words are there for the word said and when is it appropriate to use them? These are things that can drive a writer crazy, but it’ll make an editor a little loopy too. I just edited a friends manuscript, and everytime his characters thought something, he wrote “he thought” or “she thought” down. I got to the point I stopped editing it and just made a comment to remind him to use other words for thought, like “wondered” or “pondered” for example. You learn as you edit.

That’s my advice to all my fellow independent and self-published authors out there… Connect with your fellow authors and offer to edit their work. Do it for reviews, exchange manuscripts for editing, what ever it takes. It’ll help you as a writer and your efforts will help someone else in the long run.

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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.