Under his mother's assertive guidance, Skyhorse did things such as refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance to protest the treatment of Native Americans.

He continued to claim a Native American identity until her death in 1998, including on his application to Stanford University.

Skyhorse was a professional book editor prior to the success of Madonnas, which he wrote under the title Amexicans.

[9] He has been awarded fellowships at Ucross Foundation, the Breadloaf Writers’ Conference, and was the 2014-2015 Jenny McKean Moore Writer-In-Washington at George Washington University.

Skyhorse is an Associate Professor of English at Indiana University Bloomington where he lives with his partner and three cats.