Guest post: Life-altering Decisions with Author Eileen Schuh, plus a Kindle Giveaway

Today I welcome author Eileen Schuh to my blog to discuss her YA novel THE TRAZ, which deals with societal issues like gangs and drugs. Eileen also has a School Edition available, plus a readers' guide available on her website. Read her post to find out how you can win a Kindle! Welcome, Eileen! :-)

I thought I was being original when I included a Teaching/Discussion guide with THE TRAZ. I quickly discovered that many authors and/or their publishers do that. In fact, many of the novels that the book club at my local library chooses have readers’ guides appended.

What sets THE TRAZ guide apart, however, is the fact that not only does it ask the questions, it also provides points of discussion and possible answers. Perhaps because I several of my cousins and close friends are teachers, I realized the importance of this. If teachers need to come up with their own answers, they might as well ask their own questions, in my humble opinion.

There are specific ideas and concepts addressed in THE TRAZ that I think are important, and the only way to ensure my readers pick up them, is for me to note them.

For example, one of the questions in the Teaching Guide is “What life-changing decisions do you anticipate making in the near future?” I want my at-risk young readers to think about making empowering decisions such as reporting abuse at home—something that may not be on the tip of the tongue of either teachers or students. So I included it—along with more obvious answers such as life-style choices and academic decisions.

I hope that my suggested answers might spark additional ideas in teachers and students—serve as a thought-stimulant, so to speak. If my readers begin thinking outside the box—beyond basic decisions such as whether or not to stay in school, drink, or do drugs, THE TRAZ will become much more relevant a story to them…and, more helpful.

So…what life-altering decisions do you see in your future?
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THE TRAZ eBook is FREE on Amazon Kindle for THREE DAYS ONLY-- April 14, 15 and 16. Don’t have a Kindle? No problem—you can easily download Amazon’s free KINDLE FOR PCs software to read eBooks on your computer.

THE TRAZ is available in paperback and ebook formats and in a special School Edition that includes a Teaching Guide. Click on the following links to purchase or sample THE TRAZ

Amazon eBook

Amazon Paperback

School Edition Paperback

School Edition eBook

Also available from other fine online bookstores.

If THE TRAZ is not on your local bookstore or library shelves, ask for it to be ordered in for you.

“LEAVE A COMMENT, WIN A KINDLE” Virtual Book Tour. Follow me through cyberspace as I promote THE TRAZ on blogs around the world. Each time you leave a comment beneath my guest blogs, I’ll enter your name in my draw for a Kindle. For more details visit my Facebook Fan Appreciation Page or follow me on Twitter.

Eileen Schuh is also the author of the adult Sci-Fi novella SCHRÖDINGER’S CAT

For more information on Schuh and her books visit her at:

http://www.eileenschuh.com

http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

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