Wednesday, December 23, 2015

There's no room at the inn....



“There’s no room at the inn...”

 

My advent booklet suggests that if we get hurried and harried and blue as we struggle to meet our holiday season obligations, we should pause and reflect on the difficult journey the biblical characters undertook leading up to Christmas day--and take heart. For despite the grueling trek, it all ended rather nicely.

It certainly could not have been an easy trip for a very pregnant Mary. And the shepherds risked their livelihoods to go visit the new born Prince. The Magi travelled far with no GPS or smart phones. No twitter to guide them.

I liked the advice so much I began to think of other journeys I am on and how rough the route sometimes is, how distant the goal....

“There is no room..." the rejection letters from every major publishing house said. "No room on the publisher’s desk."

"No room on my client list," said every major agent. "No room."

Yet there I was, my labor of love waiting to be delivered. I’d traveled far, through writing and revisions and beta readers and manuscript evaluation services. Contests. Editors. Research.

"Here, look what I have," I said.

“There’s no room. No space for your kind. Go now."

About then, I settled on the stable, the humble manger, the smallest of publishers--myself publisher. Surrounded by lowly shepherds and a few friends. Family perhaps. At times receiving welcomed rich gifts of encouragement, suggestions and reviews from my Magi mentors.

No room, yet that debut novel is born, given life, set out in the world... (Could it have been any other way?)

It humbly influenced six people at the library, fifty in a high school auditorium, five juveniles at a young offenders facility. Thirty at-risk teens in the alternate education classroom. A northern radio station audience, blog followers, virtual social network buddies.

Few. Just a few followers, a small influence...for what more can one expect from something that was born in a manger because there was no room at the inn?

Yes, indeed. We do know what kind of influence is possible from the weariest of journeys and the humblest of beginnings. What influence our books may have is unknown and if we don’t tell our stories, they will never, ever get told. Never influence a soul.

Follow that star....

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M S !

viewBook.at/B007JW8RMABrought to you by THE TRAZ – my debut novel that was originally self-published and subsequently picked up by Imajin Books, along with the sequel FATAL ERROR. Imajin Books also published a School Edition of THE TRAZ.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Chill with a Book!: CRIME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS

Chill with a Book!: CRIME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS: FATAL ERROR Katrina Buckhold, protagonist of the BackTracker series. Femme Fatale. Beautiful. Brilliant. Wealthy. In constant danger...

Eileen Schuh,Canadian writer www.eileenschuh.com

Friday, December 4, 2015

Chill with a Book!: CRIME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS with Eileen Schuh

Chill with a Book!: CRIME IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS with Eileen Schuh: Cops versus bikers on the Alberta prairie…oh, and throw in a thirteen-year old girl.   THE TRAZ. She’s beautiful, wealthy and has no g...

Eileen Schuh,Canadian writerwww.eileenschuh.com

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

All my news and a Holiday Wish

Every month or so I email a newsletter to those of my fans, friends and family who are not social network junkies.
Since this recent newsletter contains a lot of information about me, my career, and great deals for you--I've decided to share it online as well.

HOLIDAY GREETINGS!

I haven’t touched base with fans for some time. 2015 has been a very busy year for me outside of writing. No apologies are being offered as I think I needed the break to rejuvenate my creativity. Publishing and promoting six books in five years was a daunting task!

I know that those of you following my BackTracker series are eager to learn what happens next to Katrina and Chad and Shrug and the rest of the gang. Book IV in that series is currently at the editor’s. I am still looking for a great title for it. After Christmas I will work on a cover design and then have it formatted and uploaded. I hope to have Book IV of the BACTRACKER Series on the market by spring 2016

I will likely be publishing two novels in 2016. The second, SHADOW RIDERS, has been edited and proofed and is awaiting a cover and formatting. BackTracker fans will be pleased to know that although SHADOW RIDERS is not a part of the series, the BackTracker characters do make an appearance in this gritty adult crime novel that is partially set in South Korea. 

What's next?
I drafted the entire BackTracker series along with Shadow Riders years ago, so the extensive work I put into getting these novels ready for publication doesn’t totally satisfy my creative muses. I must always have some ‘new’ work on the go.

Right now I am working on a trilogy of SciFi novelettes, about a man implanted with the wolf’s olfactory gene. Can you imagine the difference it would make to your life to be able to smell as well as a wolf? I have a couple of potential publishers in mind, once the books are ready for submission.

I like to have a splash of traditional publishing (along with self-publishing) in my repertoire.  When traditionally published, the publisher arranges and pays for the editing, cover design, formatting, etc. That is an immense help with the upfront costs and time demands of publishing. An experienced publisher also provides much-needed professional marketing skills.  I would not have been able to publish six books in five years without the help of my two publishers! 

SALE!    SALE!    SALE! 

I do want to advise you all to watch for Christmas specials throughout December. Starting right now, Imajin Books is offering a 15% discount on all paperbacks through the CreateSpace store. Use discount code VN8SJ9RL for THE TRAZ School Edition and FATAL ERROR.
For THE TRAZ first edition and FIREWALLS use discount code CMUQ66P6
You can get 25% off my SciFi paperbacks with WolfSinger’s Christmas special. Use CreateSpace coupon code 3XFTQXKK for DISPASSIONATE LIES and SCHRṎDINGER’S CAT

WolfSinger is also offering my eBooks on sale via Smashwords. For DISPASSIONATE LIES use code VF22W and for SCHRṎDINGER’S CAT use code TG76B

Follow my tweets and facebook posts for other discount news. I know Imajin Books will be promoting ebook discounts sometime in December. As well, my two scifi’s will be down to 99cents from December 19 – 31 as my group of Fantasy SciFi Network authors collaborates to bring great bargains to fans of those two genres. 

PARTY!    PARTY! 

Mark your calendar for the evening of Tuesday December 15, 2015. Imajin Books will be hosting a facebook party from 6 – 8 on MT https://www.facebook.com/events/436148039913807/  Virtual eggnog and gingersnaps provided! (We’ll also offer virtual taxi service home!) I’ll be there along with other authors, the publisher, and fans. Drop by and say hi. Imajin Books' publisher, Cheryl Tardif, usually awards door prizes throughout the evening. 

INVITE ME TO YOUR SCHOOL!

I have put my name in for the Canadian Authors Association’s Writers in Schools Program (WISP), sponsored by the TD bank.

I invite all schools in Northeastern Alberta to request an author visit from me. It’s win, win, win as the program pays me for the visit and the schools and students get to connect with local authors. http://www.canauthorsalberta.ca/writers-in-schools

All the best to you and yours this holiday season!

And don’t forget, a review is the best gift to give an author.



 
Eileen Schuh, Author
DISPASSIONATE LIES
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR

Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ