Mark Piggott, a native of Phillipsburg, N.J., enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1982, beginning a 23-year career. He served on four aircraft carriers and various duty stations as a Navy Journalist before he attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He retired from active duty in 2006. Mark worked for the U.S. Navy as a civilian before joining the Department of Housing and Urban Development as a writer-editor. Mark and his wife, Georgiene, live in Alexandria, Virginia. They have three children. He has self-published several fantasy and steampunk novels since 2009, including the first three books of the FOREVER AVALON fantasy book series – FOREVER AVALON, THE DARK TIDES, and THE OUTLANDER WAR – and a new dystopian fantasy series, THE LAST MAGUS: A CLOCKWORK HEART, and THE MOONLIGHT BLACK CAT TAVERN, a collection of short stories. In 2021, Mark signed with Curious Corvid Publishing of Geneva, Ohio, and has published several more novels, including THE RIVER OF SOULS, CORSAIR AND THE SKY PIRATES, THE LAST MAGUS: DRAGONFIRE AND STEEL, and THE PROMETHEUS ENGINE. His 11th book, A DANCE OF DARKLINGS AND DEMONS, will be published in 2026 as he continues his journey as an independent author. Mark has won several prestigious book awards, including the Firebird Book Award, the BookFest Book Award (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards), the 2022 AMG Indie Book Awards Grand Prize for Fiction, the 2023 AMG Book Award for Steampunk, and was a finalist in several Book of the Year competitions.