As a Canadian author interested in breaking into the European market, I was intrigued to discover that Suzy Turner’s novel RAVEN takes place in Canada yet Suzy was born in the U.K. and lives in Portugal.
As silly as it may seem to those overseas, Canadians seldom think of their country as exotic and interesting. Although our authors and artists often use Canada as their canvas, we usually don’t promote our work beyond the North American market.
However, when creating the location for my novel THE TRAZ, I kept in mind the astounding beauty of my home province of Alberta—the prairies, the Rockies, the autumn colours, the long, long summer days. Chinooks and blizzards and harvested fields. This unique Canadian geography is the stage for my characters as they live out their adventure.
Sharing my country with others, however, is only a small part of why I wrote THE TRAZ. What really drove me, was that bleak, helpless feeling that overcame me each time I heard about the very young ruining their lives. When I finally could no longer sit idly by, I called on both my compulsion to write and my talent with words, to do what I could to help prevent such tragedies.
THE TRAZ highlights that it’s usually not an innate evilness driving teens into risky lifestyles, but rather a lack of information, support, and experience. Alone, afraid, and (many times) angry they make decisions that will leave them scarred for life.
As I was readying THE TRAZ for publication, Canadian law enforcement officials and youth workers issued several public pleas for community help in stemming the increasing incidents of criminal gangs recruiting youngsters into their ranks.
THE TRAZ became my literary response to those pleas for help, a gift to both at-risk-teens and the adults in their lives.
Rather than weaving life lessons into the plot, I wrote a Discussion Guide to encourage readers to take a close look at the decisions, actions, and motives of the characters. By separating the moral issues from the story this way, the plot unfolds quickly and forcefully without didactic interruption, while the appended Guide dampens the allure of the criminal adventure.
I intend THE TRAZ to influence readers of all ages and both genres, long after they finish the book; that will likely happen. THE TRAZ is only the first of many novels in The BackTracker series.
Eileen Schuh Author of THE TRAZ, Schrödinger's Cat
Sample/purchase THE TRAZ:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/THE-TRAZ-BackTracker-Series-ebook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005199RFE
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60190
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-traz
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/the-traz/id443187987?mt=11
Web site:
http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog:
http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com
Sample/purchase Schrödinger's Cat:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/80124
http://www.amazon.com/Schr%C3%B6dingers-Cat-ebook/dp/B005GLJET6/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1312927682&sr=1-6
