Mark Piggott
Alexandria, Virginia
USA
Welcome to Vision and Verse, Mark! Can you tell us a little about what you’ve written?
I have written and published ten steampunk and fantasy novels since 2009. My first book, Forever Avalon, was published in 2009. I self-published my first five books,
and then, in 2021, I signed with Curious Corvid Publishing, a small-press publisher based in Geneva, Ohio. They have published all my books since then. My 11th fantasy novel, A Dance with Darkling and Demons, is scheduled for release in 2026.
What is your favorite genre to write?
I mostly write fantasy, but I have started to delve into the steampunk historical fiction genre, and I am really starting to enjoy that. I love combining modern technology with steam power, mixing historical characters like Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison with my own. I’ve also developed a steampunk fantasy where magic powers machines in a dystopian world. It gives you a chance to create something new and different.
Favorite food.
I have an Italian stomach, so lasagna, spaghetti carbonara, and tiramisu are my favorites.
I, too, have the Italian Stomach. Tea or coffee? I am a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. I lived on coffee at sea. It’s how I start my day.
Pizza or ice cream?
Tough choice. I’d have to say ice cream. I have an insatiable sweet tooth, especially for Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Ice Cream this time of the year.
Wine or beer or soda or what?
Whiskey, actually. I love a good single malt scotch. I just came back from Scotland, where I had a taste of heaven every day.
There is nothing like a good single malt scotch. Where would you like to visit?
As I said, I’m retired from the U.S. Navy, so I’ve been all around Europe and the Middle East. The one place I haven’t been to that I want to visit is Japan. I am a huge anime fan, so visiting Japan would be a bucket list dream come true.
Favorite musical artist. I am a child of the 80s. One of the first bands I saw live in concert was the 80s supergroup Asia. I have been a fan of them ever since. A close second would be Kiss, the gods of heavy metal.
Do you listen to music when you write?
Not music, but I usually have some background noise playing when I write. An old movie on the TV, an anime in Japanese just to hear the music and sword fighting, something like that. I attribute it to my time in the Navy. I worked under the flight deck, so I’m used to working with loud noises around me.
What makes you laugh?
My wife’s dad jokes. Gets me every time.
Favorite work of art or sculpture.
Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. I could stare at that forever.
How old were you when you started writing?
I was in high school when I wrote my first stories. I originally wanted to be a comic book writer and artist. I started creating my own characters and stories, but I lacked the artistic skills, so I stayed with writing. I joined the Navy as a Navy Journalist and continued writing for my 23-year career. I wrote my first book during my last deployment.
Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write? When I wrote my first book, I just wrote it flat out. After that, I realized I needed to outline and plan my books before I began writing them. Especially with fantasy books, I needed names, races, languages, city and country names, all laid out before I even wrote my first word.
Describe your perfect evening.
As weird as it sounds, it’s drinking hot chocolate while watching a Christmas movie with my wife. It’s something we both like to do year-round, strangely enough.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I believe my first inspiration for stories stemmed from my years of playing Dungeons & Dragons. The characters and stories of some of my earliest campaigns became the inspiration behind my first novel. In fact, I had recurring dreams while deployed, of being with my family on a magical fantasy island. I think it was my way of coping with being away from them while spending my off-duty hours playing D&D. On my last deployment, I decided to start writing this dream down and developing it into a story. The funny thing is, when I finished writing my book, I stopped having the dream.
What do you do when you get writer's block? I push through it. I write one paragraph, one page, then go back and edit what I previously wrote, and I find what’s missing to help me move forward.
Who is your favorite author?
I would have to say Harry Turtledove. His ability to take one event in history, change it, and create a whole new historical fiction is mind-boggling. I love how his mind navigates the complexities of history to create entirely new worlds.
Best book you ever read.
Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock. His idea of “fantasy” was like nothing I’d ever read before. It was beyond Tolkien and Lewis. It was gritty and downright diabolical. It made me want to read more and more of his books, and I did. I have read everything by Michael Moorcock.
Last book you read.
The Girl from Nastrond by Denis M Brown (I read a lot of indie author books. I support other indie authors).
What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
I served as a sailor in the U.S. Navy for 23 years, retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. Now, I work for the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a writer-editor. My job is to review documents before they are published online for spelling, punctuation, grammar, readability, and other aspects. Believe me when I say, government writing is not the best for the everyday person. I hope to retire in a few years, allowing me to focus on my career as an author. However, if I weren’t an author, I would love to run my own used bookshop.
Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why? It has to be my wife, Georgiene. She has supported me every step of the way, both physically, mentally, financially, and in other ways. I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without her love and support. She took care of our family and home when I was deployed, and she continues to take care of me now, after forty years of marriage. She is my rock, my anchor, my everything.
If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
The Doctor from Doctor Who. I want to be his biographer and write down all the stories and experiences from his thousands of lifetimes. To hear the stories of the people he’s met, the many worlds he’s seen, and the lives he’s touched, what a book that would make.
What advice would you give someone who aspires to be a writer?
Be prepared financially to take on this challenge. The desire to write is not enough. The inspiration and the story lingering in your head are not enough. There is a cost to your dream, and you must be prepared to pay it. I have spent more than $20,000 over the past 20 years, and I have not nearly recouped a quarter of that in royalties. There is a price to pay, and if you are willing to pay it, start your journey as a writer, but be smart. Listen to others and follow their advice, or you may pay the pitfalls.
Do you have some links for us to follow you?
https://authormarkpiggott.com/
https://authormarkpiggott.com/buy-my-books/
https://www.facebook.com/authormpiggott/
https://www.instagram.com/author.markpiggott
https://www.tiktok.com/authormarkpiggott
https://www.youtube.com/authormarkpiggott
Amazon.com: Mark Piggott: books, biography, latest update
Thank you, Mark, for taking the time out of your busy schedule
to interview with us this morning. We at Vision and Verse wish
you continued success in all your writing endeavors. Come
back and see us when you release A Dance with Darkling and Demons.
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