C. M. Skiera's Blog

Epic fantasy, the time-honored struggle between good and evil, flawed characters trying to make sense of an unfair, chaotic world--all this and more in my fantasy novels (e-book format), now on sale for the holiday season; 99 cents each. Great for gifts or a much-needed escape. Starting today, Saturday December 13, all digital novels are on sale for a limited time. My latest stand-alone novel Plea to a Frozen God An adventure-quest fantasy novel with a science-fictional twist, which will appeal to folks who love a good tale of a ragtag group thrown together on a desperate journey to survive - and maybe save the kingdom, to boot! Prince Ligo’s had a rough engagement. Betrothed to an outsider to fix a kingdom whose patron god has abandoned the family line, tossed in a seizure to the icy sea while hunting for his betrothal feast, and waking up just in time for his fiancée’s family to seize the volcano-menaced kingdom. Oh yes, Prince Ligo’s seen better days, for sure. But when the beguilin...

Plea to a Frozen God made the semi-finals of the  Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award 2025 . Making the semifinals is a nice honor, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed. My delusions of grandeur run deep.  To celebrate this achievement, the eBook novel will be on sale for 99 cents for a week, starting today (September 24, 2025). " I loved this book , couldn't put it down. I loved the characters -- each flawed but each with great talents and gifts - and loved how creative they were to come up with surprising solutions to overcome challenges. Mingled in it were themes of trust and betrayal and love, and I especially enjoyed that several of the strong characters were women. The ending was very satisfactory but left open the possibility of a sequel and I hope he's working on that because I'm going to be first in line to get it!"

Sun, stories, and a summer packed with adventure—what more could you ask for? The EPIC Indie Summer Book Promotion is officially live, bringing you over 200 of the best indie fantasy and sci-fi reads around. Whether you're after dragons, starships, magic, mechs, or something in between, you’re guaranteed to find your next favorite book. From hidden gems to chart-topping indie authors, this is your chance to discover thrilling new worlds—and fill up your reading list without emptying your wallet. Many titles are heavily discounted or even free, but only for a limited time. The sale runs from July 7th to 11th, so don’t wait. Browse the collection, meet your next favorite author, and dive into the kind of imaginative storytelling only indie books can deliver. 👉 https://www.epicindie.net/summerpromo2025 Of course, my fantasy novels will be on sale as well. Grab  Plea to a Frozen God  and the complete  Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy  for only 99 cents each. 

EPIC INDIE is a website where indie fantasy and sci-fi book fans gather and share their favorite reads, interact with authors, and discover the latest indie fantasy and sci-fi releases. Perfect for fans of Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Heroic Fantasy, Grimdark, Sci-fi and much more. The EPIC Spring Sale starts today , April 5th, and runs through through April 12, 2025 and brings together over 140 discounted books from the most exciting independent authors in the genres. Whether you’re into epic fantasy, space opera, dystopian thrillers, magical realism, or alien invasions – you’ll find something at a fraction of the usual price. Every title has been handpicked to showcase the best of indie fantasy and science fiction – fresh voices, bold ideas, and unforgettable stories that deserve a place on your bookshelf (or Kindle!). With so many incredible reads in one place, it’s the perfect chance to load up your e-reader for spring, discover new favorite authors, and support the indie writ...

My four fantasy novels are now available in audiobook , on Amazon and Audible, for the lowest price allowed ($3.99 each). Plea to a Frozen God Crimson & Cream   Mirrors & Mist Warlock & Wyrm Plea to a Frozen God Prince Ligo endured a troubled engagement. Betrothed to a foreigner to save a realm abandoned by their god, the prince suffers a seizure during a sacred hunt, and awakens to see his fiancée’s family usurp the volcano-menaced realm. Indeed, Prince Ligo has seen better days. When the enigmatic Mystic Riggan rescues Prince Ligo from the deadly coup, she leads him on a pilgrimage to the cryptic God of Death’s secret sanctum. Fugitives in the frigid wilds, the beleaguered duo conscripts a badly wounded soldier to help them survive. Pursuing answers to what truly ails the realm, the misfit trio discovers more ancient mysteries at their journey’s end. They also find the beginnings of a home and family like none they’d ever known. "PLEA TO A FROZEN GOD unfolds to confl...

All my eBooks , including my new fantasy novel Plea to a Frozen God , are on sale for only 99 cents starting today; Black Friday, November 29, 2024, for a limited time. With a 4.3 star rating on Goodreads , find out why readers are saying this about Plea to a Frozen God :  “Smart, clever” “Intense escape into fantasy” “Full of soul” “Strong character arcs” “Thought-provoking themes” “Fresh and entertaining” “A must-read for fantasy lovers”

With the launch of my fourth fantasy novel, I tried a variety of promotional tactics, and am documenting my experiences with them. You may have already noticed my posts regarding Voracious Readers Only and Booksprout . As you can probably guess, I've yet to find the perfect sales technique to launch Plea to a Frozen God to the top of the charts, and I seriously doubt such a unicorn exists, but I'm still trying to make the best of what's available. Today, I review another book promotion service I tried; BookSirens . BookSirens' pitch is "Get more Amazon, Goodreads, & BookBub reviews from your ARC readers and our community of 50,000+ book reviewers & influencers."  BookSirens delivers your ARCs securely, sends review reminders, and tracks whether your readers leave a review.  BookSirens bills you a one-time fee of $10 per book and $2 for each potential reader who downloads your book. BookSirens claims that typically, approximately 3/4 of readers who do...

LibraryThing is a website for maintaining your own professional-quality online book catalog. Similar to Goodreads, LibraryThing has its own independent personality, without mega-corporate influence. LibraryThing also connects people with similar reading tastes, recommends books based on your catalog and ratings, showcases local events, hosts groups and discussion boards, features book giveaways, and more.   I'm going to focus on LibraryThing Member Giveaways. These giveaways allow members (authors, publishers, and agents) to list books (paper, ebook, or audio book) for free giveaways. The giver pays shipping or provides ebooks via downloads or e-mail. The giveaway winners are randomly chosen by LibraryThing, and the book giver is provided information on how to contact the winners with their free books. A feature of the giveaway allows you to ask for reviews in exchange for the free book, and although there are no guarantees reviews will be posted, it's still a h...

I'm obviously not a prolific writer, so I've always doubted the importance of a mailing list. I rarely blog, and have no idea what I would fill a newsletter with, other than book releases and sales. But, who knows, maybe there's value in that? So I've revived my mailing list (some of you may have found yourselves on it), and will be sending the occasional e-mail when I run an eBook sale, or publish another novel--nothing more than this. And I promise never to use AI-generated auto-mailings! I'm using the free version of Mailchimp, and there is an unsubscribe button on the bottom of every e-mail. I hate spam, and certainly don't want to annoy people with unwanted notifications, so if by some reason, the unsubscribe button doesn't work, let me know, and I'll personally remove you from the list.  Anyhow, I appreciate all the support I receive from readers and fellow authors, and if you are interested in staying in touch via an occasional newsletter, the sig...

Booksprout is a website that offers to get you book reviews by exposing your work to their community of over 80,000 active reviewers. The gist of Booksprout is that you pay them for access to their reviewers, to whom you provide a free copy of your work in exchange for an honest review. They have several pricing plans, and I chose $9.00 USD per month, which was the cheapest option. This was my first mistake. I found their directions and user interface unintuitive, and set up what I thought was a two-month campaign for July and August 2024, to garner advance reading copy (ARC) reviews for my fantasy novel Plea to a Frozen God . I didn't pay enough attention to Booksprout's billing details, and I paid for my carelessness. My bad, but I'm here to help you not make the same mistake. I didn't actually sign up for a two-month campaign, rather a monthly fee that would be charged until I cancelled my account. Needless to say, after my campaign ended and I was still invoiced by...

VoraciousReadersOnly.com is a website service that states it  "is dedicated to helping readers discover new authors and to help authors find readers who will love their work, write reviews, and help them build word of mouth." I tried out VoraciousReadersOnly.com with my new fantasy novel Plea to a Frozen God , and I'll provide you some data and feedback on how the experience was. VoraciousReadersOnly.com offers a free introductory book giveaway (one per author), which attempts to find you 20 new readers. The author provides an electronic copy of their book either directly to readers who sign up to read your book, or to an upload site where readers can download your eBook at their convenience. After the free 20-reader introductory offer, Voracious Readers Only provides an ongoing promotion to continue to offer your book to new readers starting at $30 USD a month. In return for offering readers your book for free, the Voracious Readers Only agreement allows authors to add ...

Why are Amazon book reviews important to writers selling on the global marketplace leader's website? Beyond the obvious answer of helping prospective buyers decide if the novel is right for them, there are several other lesser-know critical reasons. For example, many of the online promotional sites where authors advertise their books (like BookBub, etc.) require a minimum number of Amazon reviews (or star ratings) before they will accept the book. This is a tough hurdle for new releases that don’t have many (or any) Amazon reviews. This Catch-22 means you need Amazon reviews to market your books, but how do you get Amazon reviews before you are able promote your novel? In addition, Amazon’s algorithm factors in customer reviews when deciding to include a product in search results and recommendation lists. Books with more reviews are more likely to be promoted by Amazon’s algorithm, which can help the book reach a wider audience.  More reviews (even negative ones) provide the book w...

 Please enjoy this excerpt from my new fantasy novel Plea to a Frozen God : The infirmary door slammed shut and Riggan pulled off the prince’s two-layered boots. Sweat beaded on her brow as the roaring fireplace warmed the sterile room. She continued to remove Prince Ligo’s clothing. Urine soaked his trousers. Could have been worse. With a warm, damp cloth, she cleaned and inspected each part of his body. “No external injuries, thank Fieg.” She imagined a scowling King Kolf breathing down her neck. Riggan covered the naked prince with a blanket, then hurried to her apothecary cabinet and began grabbing ingredients. He’ll have a headache, for sure, and I’ll need to warm his blood and get it flowing. “Willow bark, betony, verbena,” she mumbled as she worked. “Some cumin and mint.” Riggan added the ingredients to a ceramic mortar and began grinding the grassland herbs and flowering plants into a powder. She added the pain-relieving concoction to a simmering alembic solution an...

With a 5-star rating on Goodreads , the fourth fantasy novel from C. M. Skiera, Plea to a Frozen God , is now available in eBook and paperback on Amazon . Prince Ligo endured a troubled engagement. Betrothed to a foreigner to save a realm abandoned by their god, the prince suffers a seizure during a sacred hunt, and awakens to see his fiancée’s family usurp the volcano-menaced realm. Indeed, Prince Ligo has seen better days. When the enigmatic Mystic Riggan rescues Prince Ligo from the deadly coup, she leads him on a pilgrimage to the cryptic God of Death’s secret sanctum. Fugitives in the frigid wilds, the beleaguered duo conscripts a badly wounded soldier to help them survive. Pursuing answers to what truly ails the realm, the misfit trio discovers more ancient mysteries at their journey’s end. They also find the beginnings of a home and family like none they’d ever known. What advanced reviewers are saying about  Plea to a Frozen God: "C.M. Skiera is back with more fabulous fan...

More 5-Star Advance Reader Copy (ARC) reviews of  Plea to a Frozen God  are coming in: Amazon Top 500 Reviewer Dianne gives Plea to a Frozen God 5 stars: " C.M. Skiera is back with more fabulous fantasy reading with heart, unlikely heroes and a quest for a truth that could save their realm from the treachery all around them. PLEA TO A FROZEN GOD unfolds to conflict and intrigue with characters that are so well-rounded, they come to life off the pages and the story never lets up once it’s out of the gate." Read the complete review here. Author Sandra Kerns rates Plea to a Frozen God 5 stars: "There is a perfect blend of intensity and calm. I was never overwhelmed with the action (intense and exciting), dialogue (pulls you in as if you're part of the discussion), scene description (I tend to skip these in many books, but his were never too long or overly 'technical' but give a real feel of the space), or anything. I truly enjoyed it." Read the complete re...

With the highly anticipated  Plea to a Frozen God releasing next week on August 22, 2024, I've put the entire 4.6-star eBook compilation of The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy on sale for only 99 cents (August 15 through the 22). Get ALL THREE eBooks for only a buck. Read the epic fantasy trilogy people have been talking about for years: "The tension created by Mr. Skiera’s words is thick, the energy, heady and the loyalty of allies simply amazing! High adventure, dimensional scenes, sounds, smells and inner turmoil, it’s all here, all riveting, all addictive and an epic fantasy that will engage anyone with an eye for great storytelling." "Once in a while an author creates a world that combines humor, action, danger and the grit of a desperate battle for survival, transporting readers out of their reading chair and into the heart of the unfolding tale. C.M. Skiera has done that with his Oxbow Trilogy, building a world of fantasy that is filled with characters that will ste...

Advance Reader Copy (ARC) reviews of Plea to a Frozen God are coming in: Author Brenda Perlin gives Plea to a Frozen God 5 stars. "There’s so much heart behind the message that had me falling in love with Plea to a Frozen God right away. The author has a special talent of making the reader feel something. This tale is full of soul. . . This novel is such an intense escape into fantasy but also has one thinking about life and the future of humanity. Frozen God is a smart, clever way of sharing an alternative reality. A place and time that feels different and yet familiar." Read the full review here . Author Shyler Tibbs at Almost Anything gives Plea to a Frozen God 4.5 stars. "The strong character arcs, particularly for Prince Ligo and Riggan, coupled with the thought-provoking themes and satisfying conclusion, make this a standout entry in the fantasy genre. The blend of familiar fantasy elements with more original concepts results in a fresh and entertaining read that...

From the author of The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy comes a new fantasy adventure:  Plea to a Frozen God . Pre-order the e-book on Amazon today : Praise for Plea to a Frozen God: “There’s so much heart behind the message that had me falling in love with Plea to a Frozen God right away. The author has a special talent of making the reader feel something. This tale is full of soul. This is a reminder how human nature is so flawed but also resilient. This novel is such an intense escape into fantasy but also has one thinking about life and the future of humanity. Plea to a Frozen God is a smart, clever way of sharing an alternative reality. A place and time that feels different and yet familiar.”  “Ursula K. Le Guin set us all a wonderful standard when she blended sci-fi and fantasy, and this work is a generous homage to that wonderful fusion genre. In its RPG-narrative sensibilities, it also serves quite splendidly for a different audience altogether." * * * Prince Ligo endured a trou...

 Coming Soon - Late Summer 2024 Plea to a Frozen God The Fourth Fantasy Novel from C. M. Skiera      Prince Ligo endured a troubled engagement. Betrothed to a foreigner to save a realm abandoned by their god, the prince suffers a seizure during a sacred hunt, and awakens to see his fiancée’s family usurp the volcano-menaced realm. Indeed, Prince Ligo has seen better days.      When the enigmatic Mystic Riggan rescues Prince Ligo from the deadly coup, they undertake a pilgrimage to the cryptic God of Death’s secret sanctum. Fugitives in the frigid wilds, the beleaguered duo conscripts a badly wounded soldier to survive. Pursuing answers to what truly ails the realm, the misfit trio discovers more ancient mysteries at their journey’s end. They also find the beginnings of a home and family like none they’d ever known.

I'm in the beta reader phase of my next (fourth) fantasy novel. Set in a different world than The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy, this new book features some science fiction elements interwoven with the fantasy setting. So far, I've received valuable (and encouraging) feedback from two beta readers, who happen to be authors themselves. I'm hoping to get all the beta reader comments back by spring, and targeting this summer for sending the manuscript to an editor. After that, a fall publication is my goal. Here's a little teaser: Volcanoes threaten to transform Fiegardia into a frozen wasteland. When foreign treachery upends the bedeviled realm, the fragile monarchy succumbs. A prince, a mystic, and a soldier escape the usurper's clutches under threat of death. The exiled trio undertakes a desperate pilgrimage to the fickle God of Death. Will their arduous journey end in salvation, or damnation?  And for the old , the 4.6-star epic fantasy adventure The Oxbow Kingdom Trilogy ...