One footprint in the snow

A footprint in the snow on my walk this morning, set my head abuzz. There was a story in that single print, a reminder to be concise in my own writing, to show not tell. To weave the past into the future. To build suspense.  Yes, all of that from just one print. 

The lone bear print I found in the snow

It was a fresh a print. I could tell because this was Monday and on Saturday we had received a lot of rain, which would have wiped out the print, or at the very least smudged the edges. But it was a sharp, clear print—showing no signs of having faced rain, yesterday’s melt or this morning’s bright April sun.

It was a bear print—and there my story begins.

I immediately knew three things: The resident bears had finally woken from hibernations, the bear had been heading the same direction I was—very recently, and thirdly, it was a small bear.

All bears are heavy animals but have such padded feet they seldom leave footprints. This bear had just happened to set his foot down on some soft, melting snow or his story would not have been mine to tell. 

The resident sow had bred last spring, and would have woken from the den with cubs, likely two but in the past she’d been known to have three. However, this print was too big for a spring cub, I imagined. Had a new sow and her two-year old, moved in? There is still a lot of snow on parts of my trails, so I scanned the snowy areas, looking for more prints.  Should I be concerned about a hungry, protective mother bear, fresh out of hibernation?

I could find no bigger prints, only a couple more of the same size. I began wondering about the sow. Had she not made it through the winter? I hadn’t caught her on my trail cameras since last spring when she was being wooed by several hefty males. After that, I’d only seen evidence of her black cub, which in that, its third spring, she would have chased off in order to mate again. Had she found new territory and left my neck of the woods to her cub?

The 3-year old cub caught on camera last summer

It seemed like a likely scenario. I wondered if it was a female or male cub. If it were male, I’d likely find less evidence of bears on my trails over the next few years. Males don’t have cubs around to set the cameras clicking. They are loners except during breeding season. There would be no more cubs on the cams. I wouldn’t have to be so scared of being attacked by a mother bear for inadvertently getting between her and her cubs. On the other hand, male bears can get a heck of a lot bigger than females. On the other hand, even a small bear can exert deadly force should it decide to attack, so size was perhaps irrelevant to my safety--although seeing a huge bear is scarier than seeing a bear cub.

I was thinking this as I made my way along the trails. There were no more tracks on the snowy parts of the trail, and no exposed mud yet to tell more of the story, or confirm the parts I had surmised. As I got close to the camera that oversees a favorite feeding spot for the deer and rabbits, and a travel route for coyotes, I noticed the snowy trail was all churned up.

I couldn’t make out any defined prints, though. I know my dogs like visiting this place because the coyotes usually leave ‘calling cards’, scat and urine, and the dogs like leaving their own pee-mail in return. Sometimes the neighbour’s big Mountain dog also visits and sniffs. The tracks were hard to decipher, though. Perhaps coyotes and dogs, but so many!

The camera showed there had been a coyote around, but only one.

I didn’t think the chaos was caused by deer, because deer would’ve left sharp little indents in the soft snow. Moose often churn up my trails, but they are so heavy, there’s no confusing their hoof-prints, and there weren’t any noticeable.

Then I spotted it, just one. One more bear print. That didn’t tell me what happened here, though. I mean, bears don’t churn up trails. In fact, they often put their back foot on the same place as their front foot, leaving a very narrow trail. They don’t bound about.

Rabbits might have been attracted here, as some old potato and carrot peelings I’d tossed out for the deer over the winter had melted through the snow. But rabbits tend to pack the snow down, leaving small bum-like prints.

My story had started out pretty good, I’d tied up all the loose regarding the bear. All there was to do now, was take down that trail cam and see if I’d correctly identified that one bear print to confirm my story about the resident sow giving her territory to her cub. I expected to see a small four-year old black bear on the cam.

And satisfy my curiosity about who had been partying in the snow.

Come back tomorrow to see the absolutely astounding photos regarding that soiree. 

One footprint in the snow has been brought to you by Dispassionate Lies

"It will surprise, titillate and fascinate you" 

"Kidnaps the reader and compels them to read more.” 

A story of intrigue, love, and lust" 

Eileen Schuh, Author 
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ
Web site: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

TOP 5 Reasons I like my Snoring Machine

I recently acquired what I fondly refer to as my "snoring machine". Officially, it is a CPAP (Constant Positive Air Pressure) device to treat sleep apnea--which is a condition where one doesn't get enough oxygen while sleeping--for various reasons such as parts of one's tongue and throat relax and block one's airway--which is also the cause of one's snoring and/or frequent awakenings at night.

It took me a couple of weeks to get used to the trial machine, despite the fact modern CPAPs are nothing like the noisy, full-face masked monsters that once ruled the nighttime. It's so quiet that if you're over 60 you likely won't even hear it working. And it's computerized so one doesn't have a full hurricane-force wind blowing in one's face all night--one only has enough pressure to keep that airway open and it even automatically reduces the pressure when one's trying to breathe out. And it humidifies the air, which makes it an ideal machine for absolutely everyone who lives on or in the vicinity of Alberta's prairies during the winter. However, let it be known that for now anyway, one does need a doctor's prescription to buy a CPAP.

My entire relationship with the CPAP started when blood pressure monitoring uncovered that my pressure was ultra-high upon first awakening and pretty well normal by the time 2:00 pm rolled around. This led to suspicions of sleep apnea, a condition which further testing confirmed.

Experimental trials proved that using a CPAP, combined with altering the time of my mild blood pressure pill could completely eradicate that high blood pressure.  Several studies have noted that early morning high blood pressure is the most dangerous kind of high blood pressure to have so, from there it was off to buying a snoring machine of my very own.

Better sleep is not the only advantage of these devices. Here are my TOP FIVE Reasons to Use a CPAP:

5. It lowers my blood pressure without medication or side effects
4. It humidifies the air I breathe, resulting in fewer nose bleeds and less troublesome post-nasal drip
3. I can sleep facing my hubby without breathing in his face or having his breath in mine.
2. If the room is too light...or too cold...or too noisy I can bury my entire self under the covers and still breathe...
and the TOP reason I like my CPAP
1. If the dog (or anyone else in the room) passes wind, I do not smell it.

TOP 5 Reasons is brought to you by DISPASSIONATE LIES

Set in Colorado and Montreal, DISPASSIONATE LIES follows Ladesque's adventuresome futuristic trials as she battles the collapse of the internet, the emergence of quantum computing and the medical mystery haunting her past.

 “After the first few chapters...became hooked"

"It will surprise, titillate and fascinate you"  

"Kidnaps the reader and compels them to read more.”

5.0 out of 5 stars - "A story of intrigue, love, and lust" 

Eileen Schuh, Author 
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ
Web site: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

Harvest Poetry

Combines at night 

with their lights

working beneath a harvest moon.

Bright spell.

Dusty, musty new-mown smells

of harvest. 

Cold thick haze

born of warmer days 

lays

over the lower fields.

I feel. 

Surreal.

Harvest Poetry is brought to you by DISPASSIONATE LIES

"...drama, intrigue, and asks some really interesting questions." 

"It will surprise, titillate and fascinate you."

"..kidnaps the reader and compels them to read more.” 

"A story of intrigue, love, and lust" 

Eileen Schuh, Author 
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ
Web site: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

Three Things I didn't know until today

"You're never too old to learn" vs "You can't teach old dogs new tricks"

I think I'm pretty clever and have lived a long time, done much, and learned just about everything until days like today strike.

It seems one mindlessly accepts the world as it is until something, for reasons not understood, piques one's interest. "Have you ever seen a chickadee's nest?" Hubby asked as we watched the cheery, plentiful birds flit about our campsite.

I realized I didn't know if I had because I had no idea what a chickadee's nest looks like.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, our get-away campsite has no internet or cell phone service, so googling chickadee nests had to wait for the weekend to be over.

Half the time these days, things I want to google go in one side of my brain and then disappear into the ether before I get anywhere near a computer or smartphone. It was halfway through the  next week before I remembered to look up the nesting habits of chickadees. I discovered no, I likely have never seen a chickadee's nest because they build them inside tree holes and hollows. But, as always happens when one surfs the net, another curiosity arose. Along with the chickadee nest article were instructions on how to build a 'bird house' that chickadees would nest in. Included in those instructions were tips on how to keep the squirrels out of the house as they might raid the nest and eat the eggs.

Squirrels eat eggs? I thought squirrels ate nuts, and pine cones, and judging by the mess they once made in our abandoned outhouse, tissues, mushrooms, corncobs, and carpet strings. I was pretty sure this was an example of 'internet misinformation.'

Further research on my trusted nature sites revealed, yes, both chipmunks and squirrels will raid birds' nests and not only eat the eggs, but eat the hatchlings, too. Some, in fact, have been known to catch and kill adult birds. (They've also been known to scavenge dead birds.)

Okay, so there went my impressions of kind and cute vegetarian squirrels, but also therein lay the answer to my burning question about where the unhatched robin's egg on my deck went after the fledglings fledged.

I was pondering these newfound facts of nature as I hiked through my forest this afternoon when I came across a fresh pile of bear scat. I pondered that for a while, trying to decipher what it was the bear was eating since the spring infestation of tent caterpillars had severely stunted the saskatoon berry crop. There were seeds of some sort in the scat, perhaps raspberry and strawberry as due to the caterpillars destroying the forest canopy, extra sunlight reached these plants.

When I came across the second pile of bear scat an observation struck me.  Most people would not be prone to thinking deeply when encountering bear scat, either about food sources of Ursa or wood frogs, but authors are known to be unlike most people in their view of the world and their thought processes. I surmise, because about then I realized both times as I neared the scat pile, five or six frogs hopped away from it.  When the same thing happened at the third pile, I realized frogs eat bear scat, something even google doesn't seem to know.

About then, I pulled my canister of bear spray from my holster...

The three things I learned today:
1. Chickadees build their nests inside trees
2. Chipmunks and squirrels eat birds
3. Wood frogs eat bear scat

Brought to you by DISPASSIONATE LIES. One more step and the most powerful computer in the world will be hers, and hers alone.

Eileen Schuh, Author 
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ
Web site: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

We're someone's computer game, they say

Suppose I notice that in the morning after a good night’s sleep, I often successfully pass a level in Candy Crush that I had spent hours the day before unsuccessfully trying to complete. Suppose I wonder if sleep somehow has helped me decipher the pattern needed to complete the level. Suppose to test this theory I do an experiment with subjects in a lab where sleep is monitored and with researchers not knowing which test subjects have ‘slept on’ the problem and which one’s haven’t. Suppose that experiment shows that who have slept have a competitive advantage over those who have not—all else being equal.

I therefore decide that sleep does indeed help with learning.

What if I was I was later to find out that those who wrote the Candy Crush game programmed in an algorithm that stipulates if a gamer does not actively play the game for eight or more hours, the game will be made easier once the gamer returns to action and that morning abilities are not dependent on sleep?

What if nothing is as it seems, even when scientifically tested? What if I were to find out the entire cosmos runs on algorithms and that my sense of self-determination is an illusion and that my ability to make choices, plan my life, pursue success rests more on programmed abilities and limitations than on what I perceive as my personal choice and work ethic?

There is a new theory floating around the physics’ world that suggests such might be the case, the Simulation Theory. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-we-living-in-a-computer-simulation/

Of course we know that much of our physical identity is programmed by our genes--the colour of our eyes, our gender, our propensity for cancer--but what if our mental and spiritual identities are also programmed in a similar way? In fact, what if the entire cosmos is?

Suppose a bi-racial American woman’s life is programmed so if she does everything correctly, she will marry a British prince?

Or, say a woman’s life is programmed so that if she writes a single book about a Mr. Grey, she will become a popular author, no matter how well or not-so-well that book is written. Whereas another woman is programmed so that no matter how many books she writes, well-written or not, she never will achieve fame or fortune?

The role of chance and choice raises havoc with our understanding of the universe, prompting even Einstein to once declare that certain scientific understandings of the universe could not be true because “God does not play dice with the universe.” (Scientists like to be very rational.)

Take statistics on car accidents, for example. With each accident happening supposedly independently of all others, in an unplanned way, miles apart, how is that the number of accidents forecast to happen over a long weekend, is inevitably close to the number that actually occurs?

Is it because of an algorithm?

Why is it that we can predict that over the long haul, when flipping a coin, 50% of the time it will be heads, and the other 50% it will be tails? Does each flip know what happened before so it can work to even things out? Can each flip see the future and know what it has to be?

Or, is it because some superior being has written an algorithm dictating that with two equally possible outcomes of a repetitive action, half the time the outcome must be one and half the time the other?

Are people who feel content with life, who have found their ‘calling’, simply those who are tuned into the algorithm that is their life?

Are those with difficult lives, who find success hard, who end up homeless, addicted perhaps and on the street, simply those who are programmed to do so? Or are they people who have not yet done what the cosmos has algorithmically determined they must do to attain happiness and/or success?

Do we as people and we as civilizations repeat our past mistakes because that’s what we’re programmed to do? Are those who keep repeating an action hoping for a different result doing so because that’s how they’re designed?

Many physicists, mathematicians and computer programmers think we might be more virtual than we believe.

Exactly how that truth would make a difference in our daily lives or in our understanding of ourselves and our universe, or in our culpability or heroism, is up for discussion.

If we could learn to decipher our personal algorithm as we have deciphered our DNA, could we lead more successful lives? Could we be happier because we’d be doing what we were designed to do, just as we as children may give up efforts and dreams to play in the MBA if we were to discover by DNA analysis that we'll be under 6' tall as adults?

If we knew that according to our programming, we had to first become an actress and move to Toronto, Canada before meeting and marrying our prince, we could do that—or not do it because the alternative is more to our liking. Or, is there an alternative, or are we just destined to be where we are doing what we're doing, moving through what appears to be time toward an inevitable fate?

What we all want to know, though, is exactly who is it that’s doing the programming? And are/were these algorithmic creator/s, programmed by someone else?

Or is it just that today's computer programmers are super self-centered and egotistical along with the physicists they’ve dragged into their Simulation circle? i.e. “We created the Cosmos!!! It was us!!!”

* * *

"We're someone's computer game" is brought to you by DISPASSIONATE LIES, my scifi novella wherein Ladesque is set to unleash a quantum computer on the world. And she will control the power!

Writing for our leaders

I was going to get some seasoned authors and critics to help me blog about the literary genre, but it turns out we all got too busy.  So I’ll go it on my own.

Literary novels are the novels taught in schools and universities. They are the classics or are on the path to becoming classics. They may or may not make the New York Times best sellers list, but they generally win all the prominent book awards. They are often selected to be read by book clubs.

They are sometimes not all that entertaining, because entertainment is not their prime purpose.

My novels, so far, have been written to entertain the masses. It is my hope that almost anyone who picks up one of the BackTracker novels, or one of my science fiction novellas will read it and enjoy it. I want the main characters to be likable, the plot to be exciting, the beginning to be compelling and the ending to be satisfying.

I want people to learn a bit about themselves, about their world, about science, drugs, gangs...the police. I want people to ponder the plot, talk about the social issues exposed in the stories. Yes, I want to make a difference in people’s lives, in the world, but I want to do that through appealing to many, keeping my message simple, and gently prodding people to consider new ways of thinking and living.

None of that applies to books in the literary genre.

Literary novels are written to appeal to societal leaders. Characters are multidimensional and are often liked by some readers and not others. As in real life, the plot or action is often not very exciting, the major changes and challenges are often occurring within the characters rather than within the plot.

Over and above all that, a literary novel takes liberty with all rules of writing. The climax might come at the beginning of the literary novel, the ending may be in the middle, the prologue at the end.  The setting may become a character in itself, a character may in essence, be the plot. Setting, may upon close examination actually be pure emotion while a description of the insignificant might portray the universe.

A literary novel is not told with action and dialogue but with an unremitting stirring of emotions. To meet that end, it is rife with literary devices, hidden from the conscious view of the reader. Rhythm and rhyme, allusion, anaphora and alliteration. Metaphor.

A literary novel manipulates emotion and thought without the readers’ awareness and often without their consent.

A reader who puts down a literary novel, remains emotionally trapped for hours in the warp where the novel has led them...and doesn’t know why.

Literary novels don’t necessarily instigate social change, they just as often rob readers of their will to make changes, because after all, life inevitably leads to death—a common theme in literary novels. There always is a message, though. Often poignant, sometimes futile.

Readers who live the emotional experience of reading a novel in the literary genre are ultimately responsible for how effective the story will be at making things better. 

The importance of the literary novel rests not so much on what’s between its covers, but what’s between the ears of the readers who deign to read it.

Writing for our leaders has been brought to you by SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT 

I loved it from the first word." #SciFi 

"And the ending I never expected" #QuantumPhysics

"thoroughly rocked my socks..." #SciFi #multiverse 

To make a short story long...

My work in progress is not going well. I set out to write a novel and ended up with short story. Everything I wanted to say and all that the characters wanted to do has taken far fewer words than planned.

It’s especially distressing as this was to be my first attempt at writing a literary novel, and literary novels are noted for being wordy and detailed. How my literary attempt came up so short, I’m not sure.  I am not a short story writer. In fact, I have so much to say and my characters insist on so many adventures, I write not only novels but entire series.

I’m not giving up on my quest to be literary, though. Short stories can become novels. I was introduced to my first one in high school. Flowers for Algernon is an award-winning science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes.

I did not find Keyes short story lacking in any way, yet the author very cleverly and not at all redundantly, wove his initial ideas into a wonderful book-length story.

That said, unlike Keyes who published his short story first, I don’t intend on letting this short story escape my hard drive. I want to take my amazing short-story characters and develop them. I want to detail their stories, deepen their emotions, make their problems more convoluted.  I want the settings to become powerfully symbolic and the novel’s social message much more profound.

We’ll keep at it!

Next time, I’ll explore what that this novel-in-progress needs in order to be elevated to the “literary” genre.

To make a short story long...has been brought to you by DISPASSIONATE LIES

“after the first few chapters, I became hooked” #Romance #thriller #SciFi

"has drama, intrigue, and asks some really interesting questions." 

"it will surprise, titillate and fascinate you" 

Ancestry--from whence one came

I’m not really a nut over family trees; to me the significance of my ancestors has rested mostly in the stories told to me by my parents. Faces and names and branches on trees mean little to me without a story.

Some people are obsessed with their ancestry, believing perhaps that by remembering and honoring those who have gone before, they will find a measure of immortality in their descendants’ pursuit of the same passion.

I pursue my immortality by publishing novels.

But curiosity is what it is—as is Holiday advertising. So when my son and his family gifted hubby and myself ancestry.ca DNA testing kits for Christmas—after a month of research and contemplation I spit in the vial and mailed it off over the pond to be processed in the Ancestry DNA lab in Ireland.

One doesn’t get a lot of information back with the results. In fact, one gets about ten times as much information and email litter inviting one to cough up one’s Ancestry.ca membership dues and search out ones relatives and build one’s family tree on their website.

Be that as it is, I found the data I received interesting.

Here are my ancestry.ca DNA results for my Ethnicity Estimate:

Great Britain 51%
Ireland/Scotland/Wales 24%
Europe West 11%

Scandinavia 9%
Finland/Northwest Russia 4%
Africa North < 1%

Unlike those in the Ancestry TV ads, the results did not surprise me. They’re a close match to the oral family history passed down.

The only surprise is that smidgen of North African. It is, I’ve come to say, my token attempt at diversity, otherwise I'm kinda like almost pure WASP.

Using my imagination, I filled in a bit more of my history.

It appears my ancestors were not very adventurous. They did not travel far, did not mingle with outsiders—didn’t sow their wild oats around the world so to speak. I've inherited this homebody tendency, staying close to where I was born and traveling afar only for short stints. When my ancestors immigrated to North American, they did so en masse, (according to the Ancestry Immigration maps provided) to New York and then the Eastern US. Family to them, as it is to me, was obviously important.

The tiny bit of North African in my past is interesting. My maiden name is Fairbrother. Perhaps that is because there was dark skin and hair somewhere in my past, with me descending from the fairer of the brothers. Perhaps, too, the North African ancestry explains the kinky (albeit blond) hair that sprouts up once or twice in each generation.

So all in all it’s kind of cool to have had my DNA tested.  My children now wait with great anticipation for my husband’s results to come in. Maybe he will have bigger surprises.

Ancestry--from whence one came has been brought to you by DISPASSIONATE LIES, a tale of conspiracy--and  a powerful woman.

Eileen Schuh, Author 

FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ
Web site: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

FOCUS!

"I found the tree!" my friend shouted. She was behind me as we skiied the trails on my acreage. These are not groomed trails and definitely not engineered and safety-approved ones. They are rough and ragged, 'as-the-coyote-meanders'-type trails, up and down hills and through the forest.

I knew exactly which 'tree' my friend had found. I'd 'found' it myself many times--kissed it hello with a ski on each side and my arms around its middle.

Then I learned a vital lesson and never hit it again. When cross country skiing you must, above all else, focus on where you want to go. For if you lift your eyes from the trail for so much as a quick glance at that tree, you'll ski right into it.

It's strange, but true, how expertly the eye leads the body. I learned I did not have to concentrate on leaning or braking or putting my pole down, in order to navigate that winding downhill slope. I simply have to keep my eyes on the trail.

This blog of course, is not a cross-country ski lesson. It's a driving lesson.

I remember when teaching my kids to drive, their difficulty mastering a series of highway curves on the way to our lake lot. They wobbled across the centre line, the shoulder line, hit the brakes...totally panicked if a vehicle came the other way.

"Just keep your eyes on where you want to go," I told them. "Look at your lane as far ahead as you can see. Don't look at the lines, or the ditch, or the pond. And for heaven's sake don't look at that car coming towards us!" Sure enough, not only can one's eyes direct one's body through ski trails in a forest, they can also direct a car around curves.

This is an important fact to remember if you're ever faced with a sudden obstacle while driving. Don't look at the obstacle, you'll hit it--whether it be a box, a deer or a child. Look at the path you need to take to avoid it.

Of course, this blog isn't a ski lesson or a driving lesson.

This blog is a life lesson.

What are you focused on?

* * * *

FOCUS has been brought to you by:

 DISPASSIONATE LIES

“Such amazing writing”

“after the first few chapters...became hooked”

" drama, intrigue..."

"it will surprise, titillate and fascinate you" 

Eileen Schuh, Author
DISPASSIONATE LIES
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ

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

       

Open for submissions....

She's the driving force behind WolfSinger Publications, the woman who offered me my very first traditional publishing contract, the publisher of both of my SciFi novellas (SCHRṎDINGER'S CAT and DISPASSIONATE LIES), and a successful author in her own right. I'd like you to meet Carol Hightshoe, all the way from Colorado, U.S.A.

Welcome, Carol, to Magic of the Muses!

Carol Hightshoe, author/publisher

Briefly describe WolfSinger Publications and what makes it unique. 
WolfSinger Publications is a micro press that focuses on novellas and smaller novels – although I am not adverse to publishing longer fiction. I recently released a wonderful novel titled Seventh Daughter by Ronnie Seagren that was over 110k words. Unlike many other small/micro-presses, I offer my authors an initial advance of $50.00 for their book. I do focus primarily on Science Fiction and Fantasy, but I am willing to consider most genres with the exception of Erotica and Children’s books. 

What does WolfSinger Publications offer book-lovers? 
We offer a pretty diverse catalog – from an award winning anthology collection in WolfSongs II, several charity anthologies (proceeds going to various charities) to Mystery, SF, Fantasy and Horror Novels. 

Has WolfSinger Publications evolved as you initially envisioned? Where do you dream it will be in five years? 
 Actually it’s grown a little faster than I envisioned – but I’m keeping up. I hope that in five years, we’ll be at a point where I can increase the advances paid to authors and I can also start a more comprehensive advertising program. 

How can authors become a partner in WolfSinger Publications’ success? 
Like most small and micro presses – much of the success of a book is driven by the author’s own marketing. For my authors that is a key component in our mutual success. I’ve recently started using boosted posts to increase WolfSinger Publications advertising on facebook, and hopefully in the future I’ll be able to start looking at advertising in genre magazines online to boost exposure for our books. No timeline at this time – but it is something I want to do as soon as feasible.

Behind every great organization there is a driving force. You, Carol Hightshoe, are the name and face behind WolfSinger Publications. Tell us about what motivated you to create your publishing company. 

When I left the Sheriff’s Office back in 2006, I decided I wanted to try publishing an online magazine. At the end of that first year, I decided I would see what it took to publish a ‘Best Of’ Anthology.

Instead of releasing it as a self-published book, I took the time to set up a name, have a second copy editor review the text and one of the authors volunteered to do the typesetting. I did the same the next year with both of the online magazines.

I let several of my friends who were published know that I was looking at expanding away from the ‘Best of’ anthologies and they put the word out and I received several submissions for publication. I reviewed those stories and accepted a few of them – then got started with editing and layout.

A recent WolfSinger release

I contacted the artists that illustrate both of the online magazines and they were agreeable with the idea of doing cover art occasionally. Things sorta took off from there. This past year (and I have 3 or 4 more to release) I’ve released 17 books – three of those are a release of books of mine that were originally published by Double Dragon Books.

In addition to running WolfSinger Publications, you are an author. Of which personal accomplishment in your literary career (book or otherwise), are you most proud?

Being named as an alternate for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds contest several years ago. I was disappointing to not make the actual table of contents, but finding out my story was good enough to be part of the group sent to Pocket and Paramount for consideration for the collection was an amazing feeling. 

What personal literary achievement/s are you striving to reach within the next five years? 
To finish my Chaos Reigns series, to have at least one more ‘pro’ sale, and to finish at least one of the several other novels I have in the planning stages that are clamoring for attention. 

Please offer authors and aspiring authors some sage advice. 
Develop a thick skin. Remember even if one editor rejects you work – that is not a rejection of YOU. If they gave you any kind of critique – look it over, if it makes sense, consider a rewrite – then send that story out to the next editor. Much of publishing is based on personal preference (especially at the small or micro press level) so  it may be just a matter of finding the right editor for your work. 

Also NEVER do the editors' work for them. By that I mean – don’t decide that your work isn’t right for the market. It’s a big pro market, so if your story meets the guidelines, send it. It may be just what the editor is looking for. My first professional publication came about because of that.

I had met Denise Little at a writer’s conference and I asked her about sending her something sometime, she said sure-so I did. The day my story landed on her desk was the same day she sold an anthology to DAW books, a collection for which my story was a fit. Normally she does invite-only anthologies, but with my story reaching her that very day, and being such a good fit, she decided it had to be part of the collection.
 

I know you’re itching to mention something I’ve neglected to ask about. Tell us what that is. 
WolfSinger is currently open for submissions (until 31 December) Authors can find the guidelines here: http://wolfsingerpubs.com/Guidelines.html

We also have calls out for several anthologies – links can be found here: http://wolfsingerpubs.com/OpenCalls.html 

Touch base with WolfSinger Publications online at 
www.wolfsingerpubs.com 

Learn more about Carol Hightshoe, author: 
www.carolhightshoe.com 

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"Open for submissions" has been brought to you by:

CALL OF CHAOS ~Carol Hightshoe

"...hard to put down."

"Very enjoyable book..."

"sweeps the reader into a world filled with magic, friends, and adventure"

"can't wait for the next in the series."

"The story line is action-packed..."

"A must read for fantasy fans !!!!!"

Eileen Schuh, Author
DISPASSIONATE LIES
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ