Lonely, eerie echoes...The setting for my BackTracker Series

THE TRAZ and FATAL ERROR  are set in my home province of Alberta, Canada. This is where the characters dictated to me that their adventures were to happen and who was I to argue?

I’m not sure why they chose the vast Alberta prairie to pit cops vs bikers and sully the sensitivities of a 13-year old girl. As the characters originally intended their stories to be therapy for me, perhaps they thought setting them in such a familiar locale would make their messages more timely and relevant.

Or perhaps, they understood that the familiar scenes would be intensified by my knowledge of the scents and sounds permeating them. When Shrug alit from his bike, torn apart inside and seeking wisdom from beyond the far horizon, I'd know the exact slant of the September sun on the harvested wheat field over which he gazed. 

I would know how to tell the readers what it was like for Katrina on the park bench that autumn when she suddenly realized that her secrets were not safe--the red berry bushes along the banks of the North Saskatchewan river, the chuckle of migrating geese. The musty smell of poplar leaves beneath her feet. 

I know the setting in my novels intimately. The slow March melt, when Katrina hit puberty. The warm, noisy fury of a December Chinook when she almost, almost got rescued from the gang. I know the edible mushrooms Katrina might gather...and the poisonous ones. I know where she might hide and where bikers might ride. 

I’m a farm girl--I know the lonely eerie echoes that haunt metal sheds on the vast Alberta prairie.

 _______________

"Lonely, eerie echoes..." is brought to you by:

 FIREWALLS

 Book III in the BackTracker series.

 "Be prepared for a rollercoaster of emotions..."  

"Packed with humanity, crafted with insight."

"Schuh has created a character worthy of being called a hero."

"A tale of comfort and hope that we, too, can slay our own dragons."

"A gritty, fast paced thriller"

She was afraid...

It was a dark and lonely time in my life when she came to me…a tiny girl on a ridge, lying on her belly, watching danger unfold in the valley below. Listening.

Grasped tightly in her fingers were autumn grasses.

Her anticipation was so intense it hurt my lungs. She was barely breathing. Afraid to move.

I saw her there whenever I closed my eyes. She was waiting…

Each night, night after night, as I lay down to sleep, she came to me. Afraid. Excited. Alone. Always on her belly on an autumn ridge. One night I felt the  thump, thump, thump of an approaching helicopter shaking the ground beneath her belly. Once I heard the scream of sirens.

There came a night when I could stand it no longer; I needed to know who that young girl was. Why was she on that ridge? What was happening in the valley below? I flicked on the lights and made my way to my laptop.

There was no one but me in that tiny cabin in the forest that night--and it would only be me the next day…and the day after. There was no one I had to meet in the morning, nothing I had to do, no place I had to be.  There was no one to care if I stayed up all night, ate breakfast in my pyjamas, slept all day.

I snuggled down on the sofa, pulled an afghan around me, and began to write the young girl’s story.

Her name was Katrina. In the valley below was The Traz biker gang compound. Speeding in from the horizon was the police tactical team. And off in the distance was a rescue chopper… 

Katrina’s life unfolded, novel after novel after novel... 

And thus there came to be The BackTracker series.

THE TRAZ (Book I) also comes in a School Edition because that young girl had much to teach.

Also in paperback.

FATAL ERROR (Book II) soon to be released by Imajin Books.

 












Eileen Schuh,
Canadian Author http://www.eileenschuh.com

Also the author of SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT

Why I write for troubled teens

The email said, “...I love your troubled-kid books. I find them so reflective of the kids I work with. I definitely think this genre is your forte. Two thumbs up!”


THE TRAZ
to sample/buy
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005199RFE
http://smashwords.com/b/60190


That got me thinking about why I write for troubled kids. I don’t have a strong real-life connection to children-at-risk. I was a well-behaved child and never had to bail any of my own kids out of jail.

I do remember, though, that being a kid was tough. At the age of 6, I was thrown in with forty other 6-year-olds and none of us had any social skills. By the very nature of our brain development, we were self-centred, self-serving, and possessed little compassion and understanding for others.

Whereas those in more primitive cultures socialize their youngsters within the confines of the family or tribal unit, in my culture I was abruptly torn from the family home and thrown into an institution full of total strangers—adults and children—all with different customs, expectations, manners, and life experiences.

The family home, with all whom I knew and loved, was a 90 minute bus ride away from the school. At merely 6-years old, I was the victim of culture shock and I experienced it alone and unaided.

I loved the learning part of school life, but flunked miserably in the social skills department. Perhaps if technology and communication and opportunity had been back then what it is today, perhaps I would’ve been a “child-a-risk”. As it was, I didn’t have much opportunity to do anything but cry inside and go home—only to return to the frightening classroom the next day.

Parents and guardians, please ensure you are not expecting your youngsters to face adult situations or situations that adults wouldn’t be able to handle. (Would you go to work if the guy at the next desk thumped you over the head each day and stole your lunch? If the secretary constantly told you that you stank? If nobody would sit with you at coffee break?) As adults we have many more skills and resources to call upon to deal with such awkward and demeaning social situations, yet we would wither under such daily stresses.

I share some of the background of children-at-risk. I experienced child abuse, including sexual abuse. This abuse left me scarred but strong. The betrayal, pain, and anxiety made me who I am. In fact, my quest to find the words to identify and understand what was happening to me was the catalyst behind both my desire to read and my compulsion to write.

There were many who could have stepped in to end my abuse, but nobody did. Back then there was no kids’ help line, no protocol for professionals to report suspicions, no education for either adults or children on abuse. Abuse was a secret-something that happened in dark and isolated homes—homes that society viewed as the private, unapproachable castles of the adults who lived there.

It is my hope that all cases of child abuse (which is often a precursor of risky adolescent behaviour) will be identified and stopped. I hope that adults become educated and brave enough to report it. I hope the social experts and the judicial system know enough to stop it, or better yet, prevent it. I hope abused children find their voice and cry—out loud—for help.

 It is my hope that children’s lack of social skills (another precursor of misbehaviour) is addressed at all levels of society. May parents teach their children to empathize, sympathize, understand, and accept. May educators teach children team work; respect each student’s individuality and customs; and enjoy the differences expressed by each child. May entire communities strive to be inclusive and provide activities, teams, sports, arts, music, dance, and other challenging opportunities that youngsters need to develop into caring and productive adults. Let’s give them exciting alternatives to playing hide-and-seek with the cops and their parole officers.

May everyone, in the entire world, protect our children—keep them warm and fed and far away from danger. May all adults keen on using or abusing youngsters, be barred from our communities.

A South Korean classrom and me

May we work at making all children smile.

May we strive to hear all children laugh.

That would indeed be a joyous world in which to live.


Eileen Schuh, Canadian Author
THE TRAZ
Schrödinger's Cat
http://www.eileenschuh.com/

Gearing up for Sales

While my manuscript continues to be formatted for eBook publication, I'm gearing up to promote THE TRAZ so that it will make me a rich and famous author.

Aside from becoming extra active on my social networks and my blogs, I posted an excerpt from THE TRAZ on my website.  I also began creating a pre-release press release, designed to stir advance interest in my book and net me some interviews and media coverage. 

I have a strong desire to call such publicity "media releases" or "news releases" because way back decades ago when I was a journalist,  TV and radio reporters objected to the phrase "press release" as 'press' refers only to print media.

Today, it seems "press release" is once again the phrase in vogue.  During my years as a reporter and editor, I gained lots of experience with press releases--reading them.  I quickly discovered that writing them requires an entirely new set of skills. 

Writing a press release is not at all like writing a news story.  Nor is it similar to pitching your manuscript to an editor or publisher.  It is not like tweeting or facebooking.  It's just...well, it's just it's own kind of writing.

Firstly, I needed a catchy headline, short but informative.  Accurate but alluring.  One promoting THE TRAZ but not obviously so.

Below that catchy headline I needed a sub headline--a short and sweet something to keep the reader reading.

Then I needed to remember to put in the dateline (ST. PAUL, AB 19 May 2011).  In my journalistic days, the place in the dateline was always the location from which the reporter was writing--not necessarily where the action was occurring.  I understand that not all media outlets still follow that rule.  Whatever the case, what better town to put in the dateline than my adopted home of St. Paul?  Surely that will catch the eye of the local newspaper and radio station and get me an interview or two.

For my first sentence, I needed an exciting summary of the press release and I had to keep in mind my target readership.  Although THE TRAZ is being marketed as YA, it won't be young adults receiving my press release. 

This introduction needed to excite media people, educators, librarians, child support people, and book reviewers. 

Following all that, I found it fairly easy to complete the body of the press release--describe the book (I used the back cover text that I'd  already prepared), include wonderful blurbs from famous Canadian authors (which I already had solicited and received), inform people how to buy the book (which they can't do yet, but contact me and I'll set you up), and paste in my already-prepared author bio.

I highlighted my contact information for those wanting to request interviews or further information.

I polished it all off with some visual and auditory stimulation: my video trailer, the picture of my book cover, and my author picture.

Now the press release sits on my hard drive, its tab on my tool bar.  Every hour or so, I open it and proof it again.  I email it to a few friends for comments and corrections.

While it ages and improves, I research the big WWW for press release outfits to which I can email this promotional masterpiece.  I learn how to format according to each company's guidelines.   I collect the contact information for media outlets in all my past and present home communities.  I play Bubble Shooter, check my email, and bemoan the facts that it's Friday the 13th and Twitter has disappeared from cyberspace.

I set the release date for Tuesday May 17th (as Mondays are generally the busiest news days of the week and my press release may be overlooked) and hope that by then I can Tweet about the latest step in my seemingly endless journey to eBook publication.

Eileen Schuh, Canadian writer
THE TRAZ
SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT
 http://www.eileenschuh.com/

Sooooo Close!

THE TRAZ manuscript is now in the able hands of Cheryl Kaye Tardif to format for ebook publication.  As can be expected, there were a few last-minute snags.  One beta reader disappeared from cyberspace before remitting her feedback.  One famous author from whom I'd requested a blurb advised me to get rid of 1,959.02 exclamation points in the ms and to delete almost as many dialogue tags. ("he said", "she said", etc.) 

After deleting so many cuss words, exclamation marks, and dialogue tags my story is probably 10 pages shorter than when I started.

It will take about week to get the book formatted then, depending on my technical skill, patience, intelligence, and perseverance THE TRAZ will be uploaded to Amazon and Smashwords.  I'm making no promises about the time frame that will involve.

In the meantime, I will begin to actively promote THE TRAZ.  I'll put a sneak peek preview somewhere on line (watch for it).  I'll blog about my bikers for National Crime Writers Month (tomorrow) http://nationalcrimewritingmonth.blogspot.com and also on my website http://www.eileenschuh.com/did-you-know

I'll compose a media release to coincide with the publication date of THE TRAZ .  As the next school term approaches, I'll also be publicizing the Discussion and Teaching Guide included with THE TRAZ.

Once THE TRAZ is on the market, I'll be hinting around to my cyberspace pals to interview me and/or let me guest blog and I'll be asking readers and reviewers to post comments on Amazon, Smashwords, blog sites, Twitter, Facebook...everywhere.

The draggiest part of this experience so far was getting the editing done.  It took a long time to find an editor that operated on my plane of reality.  The editing process itself took much longer than I anticipated, mostly because I did it twice--something  that was unexpectedly required because the first editor recommended substantial changes.  This draggiest part of self-publishing was also the most expensive part.

The most difficult part of this experience was adapting my writing, my story, my characters to make THE TRAZ marketable.

The most confusing part of this experience was ascertaining the target readership for THE TRAZ.  (I want EVERYONE to read THE TRAZ, not just young teens!)

The most exciting part of this experience was seeing the front cover done.  The trailer (a short video ad) which is still under construction, has me very excited, too.

The most uplifting part of this experience was getting positive, wonderful blurbs and feedback from accomplished authors after I'd nervously sent them advanced reading copies.  (Thanks, Lou, Garry, and Cheryl!)

The very best part is yet to come though--selling my first book, followed by a wonderful review from that very first reader.

Then there's the possibility of bring THE TRAZ out in print--and holding my very own book in my own hot little hands....

Dreams. 




Eileen Schuh, Canadian writer www.eileenschuh.com