Tag: politics

Here’s my bi-annual call for authors not to get political in their social media

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So, I’ll make this short and sweet. It is Election Season, although I honestly hate that term. I remember when elections were just a DAY but now we have an entire season. If you watch the news, you’d think all we have in our every day lives is politics, but I digress. I want to offer a bit of advice out to the other independent authors out there. DO NOT VOICE YOUR POLITICAL OPINIONS ON YOUR AUTHOR SOCIAL MEDIA.

I realize that, for some of you, your political leanings is a part of your identity as an author, and that is all well ‘and good for you personally. However, I believe that readers come from the left and the right, especially fans of science fiction and fantasy novels. In this polarizing political environment we ae in today, saying something politically tinged, liking or commenting on a post using your author social media can lead to negative comments and criticism that have nothing to do with your books. It’s sad that we must silence ourselves, but we don’t make the money of a Stephen King or J.K. Rowling where we can afford to voice our opinion on such matters.

I try to avoid any conflict on social media. I only use it to promote my books, any events I’m attending, and “bookish” things to share with other authors, including book reviews, ARC readers, etc. My advice to you is to let the politicians fight it out and stick to storytelling. It’s in your best interest.

Check out Buy My Books to pick out your next binge read!

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 fantastic worlds as he weaves through a myriad of flights of fancy in his tales.

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, take flight in the steampunk historical fiction, Corsair and the Sky Pirates, and the saga continues in The Last Magus: Dragonfire and Steel from Curious Corvid Publishing. His first YA fantasy, Gwen Iver and Pendragon’s Puzzle, and The Prometheus Engine: Book Four of the Forever Avalon Series are coming soon from Curious Corvid. Stay tuned for new fantastic stories from the imagination of Mark Piggott.

Stop Censorship now!

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As an author, I am a firm believer in the First Amendment and Freedom of speech. Censorship of speech or news, political or otherwise, is not acceptable. I will not be posting on my blog or any of my social media accounts until this Orwellian censorship stops.

The First Amendment is clear:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The actions taken by Facebook and Twitter shows that they believe they are the arbiters of speech. This is wrong. It doesn’t matter what your political views or allegiances, the news is reported and people decide whether to believe it or not.

These past four years has been on false or misleading news and information. Such is the burden of a free society, but if we are free, then our thought and views should be open. It is not up to these social media giants to make those decisions for us.

I hope other authors will join me in standing up for Freedom of Speech.

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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.

A broken heart is the worst kind of writer’s block

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Science proves how you can actually die of a broken heart ...

Writer’s Block is something I talk about a lot, probably because in recent weeks (or months) I’ve had a serious bad case of it. The question is, how do you write when your heart is broken? The heart, to me, is the soul of the writer. It’s where the inspiration emanates and flows into the pen (or keyboard) for any writer.

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.” — Virginia Woolf

I don’t mean to get personal here, but I think that this might help me get over my own writer’s block. You see, about a year ago, my oldest daughter stopped talking to me and my wife. In fact, she has pretty much disassociated herself from us, her brother and her sister. And the sad part is, it was over something as stupid as politics and a cultural/social disagreement.

You hear a lot about that nowadays in today’s harsh political climate. Families torn apart because some are on the left and some are on the right when it comes to political and social views. My case is just one of many to see the light of day in this so-called new age of enlightenment. It has made my oldest daughter distance herself from her family because our political views are different.

I’ve had differences of opinion on politics my whole life in my family. I never really saw eye-to-eye with my parents or my sister, but I never totally dismissed them because of it. We simply agree to disagree and not talk politics whenever I visit. And yet, my daughter seems to think that because I don’t agree with her views, I don’t support who she is or her way of life, and therefore she wants nothing to do with me. This happened over a year ago, and to this day, I haven’t been able to write like before. Little bits, here and there, but the inspiration is faltering because my heart is broken.

Here is a little girl who I watched grow up into a beautiful woman. I was there when she graduated high school, college, moved into her first apartment, and got married. But now, she’s turned away from us and I don’t know what to do. Things like this weigh heavy on a parent. What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently? These questions rage within me, night and day, and its affects me more and more as the days wear on.

When my wife breaks down and cries, wishing things could go back to the way they were, it just breaks my heart. As holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays pass us by, it gets even harder. I try to understand her feelings, and even though I don’t agree with her train of thought, she’s a grown woman. She’s free to think and do as she wants. That’s what freedom of choice, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech mean in America.

I served my country in the U.S. Navy for more than 23 years, fighting to defend those freedoms. It’s the same old adage… I disagree with what you’re saying, but I will defend your right to say it with every fiber of my being. I wish it was as simple as that, but its not.

There is more to it than that, I’m sure, but in the end, it has definitely hampered my ability as a writer. I can’t focus on my stories, partly because she is a part of them. You see, in the Forever Avalon series, I channeled my children and their personalities into the children of the protagonist, Lord Bryan MoodDrake. Although this iteration is more of a homage than my actual children, it still represents how I saw them when I wrote my first book over 20 years ago. Unfortunately, there is a difference between then and now, and that is giving me a pause in my writing. It’s hard to put the words down when the person you imagine speaking them isn’t talking to you.

I hope and pray that we can come together again in the near future. The problem is that, the longer this stretches out, the more the heart goes numb to the whole situation. Numb is not a good feeling, even worse being a writer. That feeling stretches across me, body and soul, and I don’t like it one bit. Sylvia Plath said, “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” I can honestly attest to that.

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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 available from Austin Macauley Publishing.

Politics makes for inspiration, both good and bad, for writers

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6360551632829623031253354665_political-partiesElection Day has come and gone and many people are still scratching their heads over what we witnessed. As a rule, I normally don’t like to discuss politics because it’s too explosive of an issue. However, I’m not trying to take sides here but rather look at the benefits that elections like these have on writers like me.

Whether you voted for Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton, the next four years will be dominated by a Trump presidency. That’s a fact. That being said, it has already fueled protests, riots and comedy gold for the late night comics. In any case, we should all try to keep a level head and move forward as a nation. However, let’s consider what we can learn from this election and where do we go from here.

First and foremost, let’s put aside the “end of the world” scenarios being generated. People were saying the same thing eight years ago when President Obama was elected. President Trump does not mean the world is coming to an end, though I do imagine that many political thriller writers have already started on their first drafts. I think that it’s times like these that bring out the best in writers.

When I think about classics like “All the Presidents Men” and “The Manchurian Candidate” you really see what a changing political climate can do for a writer. I mean, Tom Clancy made a living at it. There are premonitions and scenarios that will play out from both sides of the aisle. How the writer adapts those concepts remains to be seen.

I think another big change to come out of this election is the role journalists have in our nation. I spent more than 30 years as a military journalist and public affairs officer for the U.S. Navy. During that time, I had a lot of one-on-one contact with the mainstream media. I think they were exposed by this election and many want to see them shift back to the traditional role of the media in U.S. politics. They should keep our politicians honest by reporting the facts, not cheerleading for one side or the other. I think many journalists lost their credibility with the American people. They need to build it back.

Lastly, I think an election like we experienced in 2016 can be a source of inspiration for writers. In my third book of the Forever Avalon series, The Outlander War, I bridged the gap between fantasy and reality by bringing the magical island of Avalon back into the real world. (You can read more about this in The Dark Tides: Book Two of the Forever Avalon series). I looked to politics and world leaders for inspiration for the characters I used to represent similar characters in my novel. It’s part of the ongoing research we, as writers,  have to do on a daily basis.

So don’t get discourage if your candidate didn’t win, embrace the change and let it influence you as a writer. You may be surprised by what benefits you can expect from this experience.

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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 at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. The Outlander War can be previewed at Inkitt.

Bad time for politics, great time for comic book fans

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I am a bit of a political junkie. I watch the news a lot, read all the online news sites and keep tabs on Facebook and Twitter about what’s being said in this year’s election. That being said, I have been ready to take a long walk off a steep cliff since June. If you don’t know who you’re voting for by now, you’re either too stupid, not paying attention or don’t care one way or the other.

I have to say that I don’t want to hear movie stars or other celebrities gloss over about who they think we should vote for. It turns me off, especially if my views are different from theirs. I think back to the whole Dixie Chicks debacle during the Bush Administration. I loved their music and when they decided to put their politics in the forefront, it made them unappealing to listen to. By the fact that they are no longer a group demonstrates my point exactly.

2015-12-03-arrow-headerSo where am I going with all this? I don’t want to see political correctness in my favorite comic book characters. I don’t want to see them changed or updated for the purpose of political correctness. I want to see the ’70s “Blaxploitation” version of Luke Cage, the X-Men that stand up the bigotry and bias of humanity, and the dark, brooding Batman that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. Why can’t we have comic book characters be comic book characters?

We are losing our grip on what it means to be a comic book character. Everyone is trying to be edgier, darker, more shocking than the next one and it’s getting out of hand. We have a new generation being introduced to comic books through great series being put out on Netflix and the CW, and yet, they’re getting skewed. Luke Cage is being panned for being “too black” and people are criticizing the casting of a “white guy” as Iron Fist? These are people who clearly don’t know who these characters truly are.

At the same time, some of the producers are going “over dramatic” on some series. Arrow and The Flash have both gotten poor ratings for relying on too much drama and not enough action. Agents of Shield has also been guilty of this. Yes, we want to see character development but at the same time, the thing that brings them to life for fans like me is the action and adventure that goes with it.

Maybe it is this “politically correct” environment we live in that tries to make these shows something for more than just the average comic book fan. I understand that but if you change the essence of the character to fit a narrative that meets the criteria of PC, it dilutes the story into a mess.

This is something we, as writers, deal with all the time. Times change and, yes, people need to change with them. Captain America went from World War II hero to fighting the Cold War to fighting terrorism today, and through all that, he never changed who he was. The essence of Steve Rogers was always there, except when they made him a double agent for Hydra but we won’t open that can of worms.

I know that most of the people who write the storylines for TV are themselves fans, but even they have to change things to make them fit into an hour show. Stories yes, but not the characters themselves. Let’s be true to how they were originally written.