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Thank You For the Journey
A Maker of Magic follows an Enchanter whose inability to cast magic conventionally pushes him to think outside the box and discover a new way to build magic into weapons and armor. What first inspired Levi Richter and the idea of an Enchanter who struggles to cast magic conventionally?
The idea behind the book came to me during a difficult time. My father died on Christmas Eve in 2023. In the months that followed, I traveled between my home in Virginia and my family home in NJ to help with funeral planning, care for my mom, and handle other issues. Sitting in that empty house, my mind started to turn with grief and love. This story just flowed out of me. I wrote the entire book in those three months. I think Levi came from my own feelings of inadequacy. Since both my father and I served in the military, I created a similar connection between Levi and his father. The villains of the story, the undead horde of the Ebon Abyss, came from my childhood love of Universal movie monsters, like Dracula, the Wolfman, etc. I even had glow-in-the-dark models in my bedroom. I wrote it with family love in mind during a time of grief.
How does Levi’s identity change as he moves from student to inventor, soldier, nobleman, and leader?
Levi always knew he had to step up because of his unique ability. He was different from the others, who deemed him weak. He never thought of himself as a leader or even a true noble son, since he was the third-born. He only wanted to make an impression on Danielle, someone he’d loved since childhood, but soon his crazy ideas began to garner attention. I think that’s when Levi knew he needed to step it up even more. He wasn’t just experimenting for the fun of it. He was finally making an impression and an impact on the kingdom. He soon realized that he had to grow up rather quickly.
How do faith, prophecy, and personal choice interact throughout the story?
I like to think faith is at the heart of all my stories. I put my faith in God to carry me through my journey as an author, and that shows up in the pages of my books. The fact that they’re fighting against an undead horde of the Ebon Abyss brings their faith to the forefront. They’re fighting for the people in this life and the ones who fought and died before them. As a veteran, that’s part of my own history and heritage right there. The Richter family puts their faith in God and each other to get them through this. It’s Levi who has a moment of doubt. Some believe in him, his abilities, and the prophecy, but he isn’t sure. It takes life-and-death situations that threaten his family and friends to make him take it seriously finally.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
Honestly, I wrote this as a standalone as a nod to my parents. My mother passed away eight months after my father, so I lost both within a year. This was my way of saying thank you for the journey. I might do more, but right now it is a standalone.
I am currently working on sequels to my other book series, Corsair and the Sky Pirates and Gwen Iver and Pendragon’s Puzzle. I hope to release the sequels next year. I am also getting ready to publish the fifth and final book in my Forever Avalon series. Forever Avalon was my first published book, so this is the final chapter in that series.
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In the kingdom of Engressia, every gifted child is tested and assigned a path in service to the crown. Levi Richter, youngest son of the Duke of Stormwind, is named an Enchanter at the Dawnstar Academy. Yet unlike the mages around him, Levi cannot cast spells through ordinary means. What others see as a limitation drives him toward a different kind of power: forging magic into devices, weapons, and armor.
Years later, Levi discovers Mysterium, a rare ore threaded with Violet Amerlyte and capable of transforming the way magic is made. His breakthrough could give Engressia a decisive advantage in its endless war against the undead legions of the Ebon Abyss. It also places Stormwind, Levi’s family, and everyone he loves in the path of enemies who will murder, manipulate, and betray to control it.
As an undead incursion threatens Fortress Drakmire and a conspiracy closes around his home, Levi must unite his talents as an Enchanter, swordsman, inventor, and reluctant heir. Alongside the formidable Blademancer Danielle Greyson, he faces vampires, dark mages, political rivals, and the devastating consequences of a feud generations in the making.
To protect Stormwind and end the forever war, Levi must become more than the mage his teachers expected. He must fulfill an old prophecy and prove himself a true Maker of Magic.
A Maker of Magic
A Maker of Magic by Mark Piggott is an expansive military fantasy built around Levi Richter, a rare Enchanter who can create spells and magical weapons but struggles to cast magic conventionally. Alongside Danielle Nichols, the formidable Blademancer known as the Sword of the Lawgiver, Levi grows from a gifted student into an inventor, soldier, nobleman, and possible fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. The long war between Engressia and the undead Ebon Abyss gives the story its scale, while Levi’s loyalty to his family gives it a clear emotional center. At heart, it’s a heroic adventure about turning an unusual talent into a source of strength.
The book’s most enjoyable material involves magical engineering. Levi’s rune dial, Mysterium armor, repeating ballistae, specialized weapons, and Violet Amerlyte explosives make invention part of the action instead of background decoration. That approach recalls Brandon Sanderson, particularly Mistborn, in the way established magical properties become tools for solving tactical problems. Piggott’s version has the atmosphere of a forge and an armory, with considerable attention paid to how each weapon is constructed, tested, and used. Readers who enjoy watching a protagonist think through a problem before smashing through it will find plenty to appreciate.
The emotional side is equally earnest. Levi and Danielle’s lifelong romance anchors the story, while his relationships with his parents, siblings, Lapis, and the people of Stormwind reinforce its interest in family, service, faith, and inherited responsibility. The dialogue is direct and often playful, especially when Levi trades insults with his brothers or corrects Lapis’s mangled expressions. Characters regularly state their motives and feelings plainly, giving the novel a broad, accessible storytelling style. Its villains are vividly cruel, its heroes openly principled, and its battles carry the moral clarity of classic quest fantasy.
A Maker of Magic is a bighearted and action-heavy fantasy for readers who like detailed combat, magical craftsmanship, loyal companions, bold romance, and heroes willing to carry enormous responsibilities. Levi’s progression from underestimated Enchanter to genuine force of change is satisfying because his victories grow from curiosity, preparation, and devotion to others. The final revelation also casts the apparent triumph in a more complicated light and opens an intriguing path beyond this volume. It’s an energetic tale with the confident sweep of a saga that has more story left to tell.
Pages: 309 | ASIN : B0HC9TSPZ7
Corsair and the Sky Pirates
From the first page, Corsair and the Sky Pirates drops you straight into a swirl of history, imagination, and high-flying adventure. It starts with Jules Verne and Nikola Tesla in a café in France, dreaming up impossible machines and strange new power sources. That meeting sparks a chain of events that explodes into a world of airships, sky pirates, secret plots, and the dangerous lure of comet fragments with world-changing energy. At the center of it all is Corsair, a rogue pirate who’s as much a freedom fighter as he is a thief, and his diverse crew of outcasts who take on empires, corporations, and tyrants in an age where science blurs into fantasy.
I found myself grinning at how much fun the writing is. The prose is quick, like a stage play mixed with pulp adventure, and it leans hard into spectacle. The characters are bold and colorful, each with their quirks, backstories, and weapons that are almost as wild as their personalities. There were moments where I rolled my eyes at how dramatic some scenes were, but I also loved it. It felt like the book knew it was larger than life and leaned all the way into that spirit. I kept turning pages because I wanted to see what trick or twist would come next.
At the same time, the ideas underneath the adventure stuck with me. There’s a real push and pull between invention for progress and invention for profit. The way the story frames Edison, Tesla, and ERP as forces shaping the world gave me something to chew on between the swashbuckling fights. I felt frustrated at the greed and cruelty shown by the corporate powers, and I rooted for Corsair even when his choices were brutal. The story isn’t subtle, but sometimes that’s the point. It makes its villains nasty, its heroes daring, and its stakes almost absurdly high, and that gave me the freedom to just sink into the ride.
When I closed the book, I thought about who would enjoy it most. If you like steampunk worlds, if you enjoy a good pirate tale with a twist of history and a lot of flair, or if you just want to escape into something that’s fun, fast, and fearless, this book will be right up your alley. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants adventure with heart and a lot of imagination.
Pages: 303 | ASIN : B0BRX8SBVM
A Recurring Dream
The Prometheus Engine follows three siblings who band together to fight an evil tyrant who has taken over the land and join forces with Elven warriors to restore the rightful ruler to the throne.
I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?
I have always loved the King Arthur legend. I think it is the first true fantasy story written. It was the inspiration behind the FOREVER AVALON Series. The series came from my time as a sailor in the U.S. Navy playing Dungeons and Dragons in my off duty time while deployed. In the 80s, we didn’t have the internet, video game consoles, or satellite TV. So, I played a lot of D&D. Add to that missing my wife and newborn baby, I started having a recurring dream about being with them on an island of fantasy. That dream stuck with me whenever I deployed. Finally, during my last deployment in 2001, I decided to turn my dream into a novel and in that deployment, I wrote my first draft of FOREVER AVALON. After I finished writing it, I stopped having the dream.
THE PROMETHEUS ENGINE is the fourth book in the series. It tells the story of the reign of Mordred the Immortal. After years of suffering and torment, Mordred finally ascended the throne of Avalon through deceit and a coup in the face of despair. The resistance against Mordred is led by the MoonDrake family, a modern family from the outside world stranded on Avalon. They discover Mordred is building a mysterious device called the Prometheus Engine to secure his reign. Hunter MoonDrake, the Gil-Gamesh and Eternal Champion of Avalon, searches for clues to this magical machine while a traitor lurks within their ranks.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The most important themes of THE PROMETHEUS ENGINE are family bonds and good vs. evil. The MoonDrake family is the heart of the entire FOREVER AVALON series. This family is based on the traits and characteristics of my own wife and children, so I feel very close to these characters. The determination and sacrifice this family has made for their adopted home is evident throughout the novel. Lastly, I am a big proponent of good vs. evil. There is no gray zone here. You are either on the side of life or death. Mordred is a villain with no morals, a selfish bastard who only cares for the power he wields. He will do whatever it takes to hang onto that power, even if it means killing anyone and everyone around him. On the other side, the MoonDrake family fight for life, liberty, and love. They have suffered tremendous loss in Mordred’s ascension to the throne, but they fight on for the people of Avalon. Their drive and passion are the polar opposite of Mordred.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
The fifth and final book of the FOREVER AVALON Series is called ARCADIA DAWN. This will bring the entire saga to a conclusion as the resistance against the reign of Mordred fights the war on two fronts. The Gil-Gamesh and his siblings invade Purgatory to rescue the Lady of the Lake from the clutches of Abdel ben Faust while King Bowen and the Army of Avalon fend off Mordred and his forces in the ancient elven city of Alfheimer until their return with the sainted lady. This book will end twenty years of work in the first book series I’ve written. As sad as it is to end this story, it is time to move on to some new ideas.
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Standing in his way are the children of the Gil-Gamesh: Hunter, Rose, and Ashley. Since their father’s death during Avalon’s Reclamation, these three have resisted Mordred’s reign at every turn from their new home in the ruined Elven city of Alfheimer. Along with the Holy Order of Shield Maidens and the Hîldrägo Boquè, an elite corps of Elven warriors, they fight back to reclaim the throne for the rightful heir, King Bowen, and to restore Avalon to the people.
But even now, Mordred schemes to bring down the resistance by constructing an ancient magical artifact…The Prometheus Engine. Only the immortal king knows its secrets and the power it will bring him, no matter the cost. Hunter and his siblings must race across the archipelago to uncover the engine’s secrets and discover the truth behind Avalon’s
Reclamation.
The story continues in THE PROMETHEUS ENGINE: Book 4 of the FOREVER AVALON
Series!
The Prometheus Engine
Mark Piggott’s The Prometheus Engine is an epic fantasy filled with magic, war, and alchemical mystery, all wrapped in Arthurian legend. The novel is set in Avalon, where Mordred, the immortal son of King Arthur, rules with an iron fist. At the heart of the story is the Prometheus Engine, a legendary machine capable of harnessing magical elements to create an all-powerful substance called Promethium. The rebellion against Mordred is led by the children of the late Gil-Gamesh, Lord Bryan MoonDrake, as they struggle to prevent the tyrant from using the engine’s destructive power. With high-stakes action, deep lore, and a blend of myth and steampunk-esque technology, the novel spins a fast-paced and immersive tale.
One of the strongest aspects of The Prometheus Engine is its world-building. Piggott paints a rich, layered Avalon filled with history, political intrigue, and magic-infused technology. The descriptions of places like New Camelot and Alfheimer evoke a grand, war-torn kingdom, and the concept of Promethium as a magical element adds an interesting twist to the traditional fantasy setting. The attention to detail in the engineering of the Prometheus Engine itself is fascinating, it’s not just a MacGuffin but an actual machine with lore tied to ancient alchemists and the fall of Atlantis. That depth makes the stakes feel real, not just another cliché “magical artifact” plot device.
The book masterfully weaves together battle sequences, political intrigue, and moments of introspection, creating a dynamic and multifaceted narrative. The final act, when the Prometheus Engine reaches critical mass, is absolutely gripping, delivering an intense and satisfying payoff. Along the way, the story takes time to explore various subplots, enriching the world and adding depth to the lore. The character development shines brightest with figures like Mordred and the rebellion’s leaders, who bring complexity and emotional weight to the tale. Meanwhile, the supporting characters serve as vital threads in the grand tapestry, helping to drive the action forward and keep the momentum strong.
Piggott’s writing style is cinematic and energetic, pulling readers into a world of high-stakes drama and adventure. Mordred embodies the ultimate classic villain arrogant, ruthless, and larger than life bringing a commanding presence to every scene he’s in. Meanwhile, characters like Hunter MoonDrake and Eileanora add a layer of emotional depth, balancing the grand spectacle with genuine, heartfelt moments. The descriptions of battle and magic are vivid and immersive, making the action sequences some of the book’s most exhilarating highlights.
The Prometheus Engine is a thrilling fantasy read that blends mythology, alchemy, and steampunk elements into an exciting tale of war and rebellion. Fans of Arthurian retellings, intricate worldbuilding, and high-action fantasy will find a lot to love here. If you enjoy immersive fantasy worlds with a mix of history and magic, this one is worth picking up.
Pages: 313 | ASIN : B0DP85RNK2
