C. M. Skiera's Blog

I'll admit, I've been slow to adapt to Twitter, and even now that I've been tweeting for over two years, I still feel out of my element and without focus when using the social media giant. I've been guilty of using Twitter to spam my book promos and haven't been a very interactive participant thus far. So I've decided to educate myself on using Twitter effectively and engaging with people, instead of just broadcasting lonely little tweets into cyberspace. I'm going to share my lesson plan with you here. These are not my ideas, rather a collection of tips I've picked up from all over the Internet, with a specific focus on Twitter for indie authors. My ultimate goal is to build followers through interaction  on Twitter. Ideally, some of these followers will be interested in my books. The directions below will be the road map I use to try and become a better Twit: The Do List (some are painfully obvious, but I've been know to miss the forest for the...

I was deep into my routine of Greco-Roman grappling with my inner daemons when nature called and I retreated from the mat with the latest issue of Interview (which, according to the front cover, retails for $12.00 an issue, yet I somehow manage to get for free). Inside, on page 142, much to my surprise, I came upon an interview with Ursula K. Le Guin . As I had only moments before been mentally assembling reasons why I couldn't sit down to write this evening, I found it serendipitous to stumble across a wonderful article on a much-admired fantasy author that snapped me from my writerly doldrums. As I devoured the interview and succumbed to nostalgic yearnings to return to the land of Earthsea, one exchange in particular resonated with me. In response to the interviewer's (Choire Sicha) statement that "It's very important to have good counsel in this world." Le Guin responded by saying "It sure is, and that is where I sometimes tremble for the self-publishe...

September 7 through 9, 2015,  Mirrors & Mist, Book II of The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy  will be available for Free on Amazon via KDP Select. Get your copy  HERE !  And as a special to anyone who reads this, you can also get  Crimson & Cream, Book I of The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy   free at Smashwords  with this code:  FF63B. Here are some details that may help you decide if these books are 'in your wheelhouse.' The main character is a 13-year-old orphan boy who's coming-of-age story is revealed throughout the trilogy. The story is epic fantasy in the traditional style, set in a nostalgically-familiar Medieval European-style mountainous world. The books currently have 30 reviews on Amazon, with ratings of 4.4 and 4.6. respectively. The fantasy writers who I love to read, and who inspire me, and certainly influence my story-telling in subtle ways are, in no particular order, Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, and J.R...