Press Release: 23-stop Library Tour

Press Release

Schuh Embarks on 23-stop Library Tour Across Alberta’s North East

Home town visits especially thrilling

ST. PAUL, ALBERTA  16 October 2013 - “I’m excited, nervous, and gearing up to be very busy,” St. Paul author, Eileen Schuh says. Following her second successful presentation to the children at the North Slave Young Offenders Facility in Yellowknife earlier this month, Schuh is taking a short breather before embarking on a twenty-three stop library tour of north-eastern Alberta.

Schuh’s tour, which includes writing workshops as well as general author presentations, is sponsored by the Northern Lights Library System and kicks off on Monday 21 October 2013 in Myrnam and ends in Cold Lake on November 26th. She will be travelling the length and breadth of one of Alberta’s largest library systems. 

“I’ve got my map in front of me so I can now confidently say that I go as far west as Morinville, Gibbons, Bon Accord and the Garrison library in CFB Edmonton, east to Paradise Valley, south to Wainwright and Chauvin and north to Cold Lake and many spots in between,” Schuh says.

Although she’s looking forward to all her visits, her trip to Tofield on Thursday, November 7^th  at 2pm holds a special thrill. “I was born and raised as Eileen Fairbrother in the Tofield area and returned there for a few years after I was married,” she says. “Since I was first published in 2011, I’ve wanted to go back to my home town and thank the community for nourishing my writing dreams and skills. Now it’s finally going to happen!”

She will  also be dropping in to the municipal library in her adoptive community of St. Paul at 5 pm on November 12th. “As I say about St. Paul on my dedication page of my upcoming novel, FIREWALLS, I couldn’t ask for a more supportive, generous, inspiring place to live and write.” The nearby community of Elk Point will host Schuh at 7 pm on Tuesday, November 5^th while the Two Hills’ school will be the venue for a writing workshop on Wednesday, November 6^th.

Schuh has four books published with two more in the wings. Throughout the tour, she will be promoting, selling and autographing the first two books in her young adult BackTracker series THE TRAZ (and THE TRAZ School Edition), and FATAL ERROR  as well as her adult sciFi novella, SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT.

 “I’m  hoping to have the third book in my Young Adult BackTracker Series, FIREWALLS, ready in time for Christmas, perhaps even for the latter part of my tour.” Her second SciFi, DISPASSIONATE LIES, will be released by WolfSinger Publications in the summer 2014.  Her books are available as paperbacks and in all popular ebook formats and can be bought online from Amazon and other fine online book retailers.

“If they are not on the shelves of your local bookstore or library, you can ask to have them ordered in for you,” Schuh explains.

For a complete itinerary of her tour and more information on her books and her career, visit her website at http://www.eileenschuh.com . 

For an interview:

 email: eileenschuh@yahoo.com

phone: 780-

Memorable moments...

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There are moments that ‘make it all worthwhile’ and one of those moments that I’ll never forget was the one that transpired after I received that phone call.

It was December 2011 and I was visiting my daughter up in Yellowknife, celebrating my grandson’s second birthday and still basking in the glow of seeing my first-ever novel in print. THE TRAZ had come out just a few months before. It was a self-published edition, but made me proud. It looked good and read good and the pages of the paperback made a nice whispering, tickle sound when riffled.

Prior to flying to Yellowknife, I’d corresponded with the Yellowknife library, and The Book Cellar bookstore, and the Side Door Youth Centre. I’d emailed press releases to the local media.

Yellowknife welcomed me with open arms. It’s a warm community despite being just this side of the Arctic Circle.  There were actually many memorable moments during that visit. Not the least of which was watching the two-year old open his gifts and blow out his candles.  But aside from that—

The library hosted an author presentation and advertised it. The town included the library visit in the community events calendar. The local newspaper attended my presentation and published a story on it. The radio station phoned me and I did my first-ever in-studio live radio interview.  

But the moment I remember most vividly is when I was wrapping up my presentation to the after-school kids at the Side Door Youth Centre. I had invited a few of the youngsters to pass out trinkets to their school mates while I helped others enter their names in my draw for a Kindle. My daughter was dressing up the two-year old (this takes a while when it’s -40C (or F) outside and pitch black by 3 pm) when a staff member came to tell me that there was a phone call for me and would I like to take it in the office?

I was pretty sure there was a mistake, either that or a telemarketer had tracked me down. After all, I lived a thousand or so miles to the south. The only people I knew in Yellowknife were my daughter and her family and a few of her friends. My daughter and child were with me, her husband was at work, and her friends would likely call her, not me. Right?

As you might imagine, my heart did a little flip-flop when I picked up the receiver and the caller identified herself as being with Corrections Canada. 

My memorable moment, one of those things that makes it all worthwhile, was when I finished reading from THE TRAZ and looked up at the nine youngsters  in that classroom at the North Slave Young Offenders Facility (NSYOF)—and they looked back and we began to talk. We talked about the story, about making life-altering decisions, about the danger of gangs. We talked about writing books and about making our dreams come true.

North Slave Young Offenders Facility

THE TRAZ is now in the libraries of facilities such as the NSYOF across Canada’s north, and that makes me very happy. I recently got in touch with the official that had arranged my last visit to notify her that book 2 in the series, FATAL ERROR, was now out and to ask if it would be possible to do another presentation?

She informed me all the kids I’d met with are now back in their communities and none had re-offended. 

Come spring, I just might once more be walking into the classroom in Yellowknife, prepared to discuss FATAL ERROR. Shame and blame and betrayal. Guilt and accepting responsibility. The art of forgiveness. Our sense of justice.

 I may once more experience a life-changing, fulfilling, memorable moment.

Eileen Schuh

 FATAL ERROR
 
Schrödinger's Cat
 
THE TRAZ

www.eileenschuh.com

Canadian author visits young offenders

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This article was picked up and published online by NewsBlaze

Canadian author visits young offenders

Yellowknife, NT, December 4, 2011  Canadian author, Eileen Schuh’s, trip to Yellowknife for her grandson’s second birthday turned into a surprisingly busy week as word of her debut YA novel THE TRAZ travelled like wildfire through this northern community.

“It started with a press release I sent to the northern media, announcing the book signing the Yellowknife Public Library arranged for me.  The next thing I knew I was doing my first-ever live in-studio radio interview with William Greenland on CKLB FM 101.9 FM , visiting the after-school kids at the Side Door Youth Center, and stopping in at the Young Offenders Facility to do some story-telling.  Yellowknife weather is cold and the sun is scarce this time of year, but the people are very warm--this town has embraced me and my work."

North Slave Young Offenders Facility, Yellowknife NT, Canada

THE TRAZ is a story about 13-year old Katrina’s year with the TRAZ biker gang.  It is written for both adolescents and the adults in their lives.  This fast-paced, high-action novel comes with a resource and discussion guide that address social issues touched on by the novel, such as gangs, drugs, swearing, decision-making, and depression.

“I use this novel to teach kids the vital importance of making good decisions and to educate them about ways to do that.  At the North Slave Young Offenders Facility I told the youngsters that even though Katrina makes some very poor decisions, readers find themselves cheering for her.  We all want her to be safe and escape the gang.  I told them that is exactly how I feel about them and how their community feels about them.  We want them to successfully deal with effects of their past poor decisions, get on with their lives, and contribute to their communities.  Aside from all that, I also encouraged the children to become readers and storytellers.  I know at least one of the young offenders was intrigued by the idea.”

Schuh’s other book, Schrödinger’s Cat, is an adult sci-fi novella that examines the roles that choice and fate play in our lives.  “I call it a psychological crime drama that spans two universes,” Schuh says.

Schuh wraps up her northern trip Monday evening from 7 – 8 pm at the Yellowknife Public Library.  She’ll be talking about her books and her life as an author as well as selling and signing copies of her two novels.

Schuh felt she needed to return some kindness to this community so in addition to her volunteer visit to the Side Door Youth Center, she donated several of her books to the Young Offenders Facility and one of each of her novels to the library.

Schuh heads back to St. Paul, Alberta Tuesday.  Her next scheduled speaking engagement will be at the end of January when she joins her home town in celebrating Literacy Day.

Schuh’s books can be purchased through all major online bookstores and can be ordered in by your favourite brick-and-mortar bookstore. Check with your local library on availability should you prefer to borrow them.

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For more information, contact Eileen Schuh at

eileenschuh@yahoo.com

phone: 780-645-7890

http://www.eileenschuh.com

http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

Eileen Schuh, Canadian writer www.eileenschuh.com