Introduction (from Amazon):
Christopher was born in Kansas, the son of an Army Ranger and Black Hawk pilot. He grew up in Kentucky and Germany, and graduated from Murray State University in 2002 with a degree in Organizational Communication. He spent the next three years laboring over his first book, Past Lives, while getting married to his college sweetheart, having a beautiful daughter, and more or less finding his stride in life.
He currently lives in Southern Indiana and works in Louisville, Kentucky as a national trainer. He has presented at local and national conferences on a wide spectrum of topics including communication, body language, cultural sensitivity and influence. Other notable activities include writing articles, short stories, novels and training materials for national and international audiences.
Christopher continues his passion and dedication to writing by working on additional novels, including a sequel to the Past Lives series, and a standalone paranormal thriller, Dark Halo. His most recent project is a short story, Drown, as part of the multi-author collection, Man-Made Troubles: The 5 Minute Frankenstein.
Stay up to date on the latest news and information by checking out the following sites:
http://www.facebook.com/Ckauthor.com Twitter: @Eric_Shooter
*What tips can you offer new writers—as far as building their social media audience goes?
I’m no expert, but here are some tips I’ve picked up along the way. 1) Sign up with the major players (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as of now) and wherever your readers are. 2) Have a strategy. Find out when (days of week and time of day) the majority of your audience are engaged. Post at those peak times to maximize your message. 3) Be real. Converse, comment, ask questions, share yourself. Promote rarely, but do promote. Avoid constant ads. People get tired of being marketed to, but love to connect with real people. 4) Upcycle and recycle your content. I post and tweet the same content, create blogs and videos from my tweets, and Pinterest Pins from my blogs/posts/tweets. No need to create new content for every site. Reuse, reuse, reuse. 5) Keep your posts short, use images and ask questions to engage. Mix things up. Post different content. 6) Don’t forget to focus on your writing!
*Are you still a big proponent of Facebook—even after its going public last year?
Yes, Facebook continues to be one of my major social media tools. If my audience is using it, I want to be involved. If the majority of readers and potential readers shifts, I’ll shift with them.
*What do you think of Google + these days, as far as its being a place for authors to network successfully?
I’m on Google + but am still learning how to best leverage it as an effective networking site. My current strategy is to recycle content from other social media sites with an added emphasis on including photos since pics look great on Google+.
*You’re the author of two well-received novels: “Past Lives” and “Dark Halo.” What inspired you to write these books?
“Past Lives” resulted from a collision of my fascination with hypnosis and my love of mysteries/thrillers. The question that sparked the series is, “What if a man discovered under hypnosis that he is a reincarnated serial killer?”
“Dark Halo” started as a writing exercise. I was writing first lines of novels when one struck me as unique and riveting. After a page, I knew I had a story on my hands that I wanted to tell. It took a while to figure out that “Dark Halo” focused on a grief-stricken father trying to keep his family alive in a 3-day Armageddon in a small, Southern Indiana town.
*What can you tell us about the sequel in your Past Lives series?
I can tell you that the sequel was a blast to write, and that it takes place a year after the first book. I can also share that several new characters are introduced that will feature largely in the series. Finally, Detective James Wolfe discovers the identity of his pregnant wife’s murderer. You’ll have to read the novel for the rest!
*Did you attend the Vampire Diaries Convention this year? If so, then what were the highpoints of the experience for you?
Yes, I attended this year. The event turned out to be highly productive. I credit the increased book sales to zero competition from other authors (I was the only author) and a great target market of paranormal fans. In the non-book world, the highlight was taking a picture with a few of the stars from the Vampire Diaries show.
🙂
*What’s in the pipeline for the rest of 2013?
Other than the release of the sequel of Past Lives, I’m working on another novel and starting a nonfiction book. When I get those finished, I’ll likely wrote the third book in the Past Lives series and another nonfiction book. I have a list of book projects waiting in the wings!
Here’s how you can stay up to date with my latest book projects:
Facebook: http://bit.ly/16BDof7
Thanks for the questions. I really appreciate the opportunity!
Christopher
You’re certainly welcome!
GL
The G.L. Giles Files 