Guest author Eileen Schuh talks about intensifying suspense with secret codes

Today I'd like to welcome my good friend, author Eileen Schuh to my blog. Be sure to read to the end and enter her contest--you might win some fabulous prizes. Take it away, Eileen...

There’s nothing that intensifies suspense like a good secret code.

In my new release, DISPASSIONATE LIES, my heroine, Ladesque, is living that suspense. The mysterious markings that are stymieing her are splashed across the DISPASSIONATE LIES book cover—squiggles and lines that conceal the secrets to her past.

It’s no secret why codes are intriguing. Shrug, one of my beloved characters in the BackTracker series, tells those who listen that knowledge is power and at some deep level we all agree. Since a code implies someone is keeping knowledge from us, we can’t help but believe that if we decipher the code, special powers will be ours.

I’ve used codes in past novels; there are several in FATAL ERROR that Katrina, my genius young BackTracker series protagonist, capably solves. One involves an encrypted message between gang members and another, a password.

The most memorable fictional code for me is in the movie Close Encounters when the aliens begin their communication with humans using colours and music. In fact, I liked that code so much I mention it in DISPASSIONATE LIES.

Codes come in many shapes and sizes. Encryption is what supposedly keeps our secure internet transactions secure. Yes, I know, it doesn’t work too well and works even less effectively in 2035 which is why in DISPASSIONATE LIES Ladesque is battling to give the world an internet system that can’t be breached.

Although they say easily deciphering codes is one of the main benefit mankind would receive from a quantum computer (and there is a futuristic quantum computer in DISPASSIONATE LIES), the mysterious language Ladesque is trying to decode is unrelated to that. She’s trying to uncover the truth about the intrigue, conspiracies and perhaps even murder blemishing her past. Without that knowledge, she’s not prepared to face her future, even if it might hold the massive power of a quantum computer.

It would not just be human codes that a quantum computer could decipher, it might make short work of uncovering the history of the universe as encoded in the stars. It might reveal to us the true nature of gravity, time and space and perhaps even time-travel. It might be able to translate into English, the songs of whales and relics of the past.

Whoever is the master of that first quantum computer will possess unfathomable knowledge—a power that can all be Ladesque’s, should she choose. However, first she must decode the diary that contains the facts about her past.

DISPASSIONATE LIES - Official Launch price ONLY $1.99 July 13 -26, 2014 on Amazon and Smashwords (Use coupon code GS42H on Smashwords for the eFormat of your choice.)

SCHRÖDINGER’S CAT joins the celebration at only 99₵ on Amazon and Smashwords! Smashwords coupon JU57W

About Eileen:

Eileen Schuh has published two adult Science Fiction novellas, SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT and her new near-future release, DISPASSIONATE LIES. She also has authored three novels in her young adult BackTracker series, THE TRAZ, FATAL ERROR and FIREWALLS. THE TRAZ is also available in a School Edition.

Her new near-future release, DISPASSIONATE LIES explores female sexuality against a backdrop of high-tech science, governmental and pharmaceutical conspiracies, espionage, and perhaps even murder.

SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT, with its tangled relationships, weaves intense emotion into the science of multi-universes.

Schuh, born Eileen Fairbrother in Tofield, Alberta, lives in Canada’s northern boreal forests and draws her inspiration from the wilderness, her grandchildren, family and friends, and her adopted community of St. Paul, Alberta.

Visit her online:
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EileenSchuhAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eileenschuh

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Guest Author: Eileen Schuh, author of FIREWALLS, talks suspense

"Sergeant Kindle wants us in his office," Syd said. The tension inside her coiled tighter. She glued her eyes to her computer monitor and slipped the black Jack onto the red Queen. Syd’s announcement ended her doubt; she was just moments away from losing her job. “Katrina?”

So begins my newest release, FIREWALLS – Book 3 in the BackTracker Series. It’s an opening that reflects what I’ve learned over the years from my mentor, publisher and best-selling author, Cheryl Kaye Tardif.

Thank you, Cheryl, for inviting me to guest on “The Suspense is Killing Me”, an appropriate title for your blog since you’re the master of the Suspense novel.

Although my books aren’t in the Suspense genre, every good book must have suspense—that ‘what-will-happen-next?’ feeling that drives readers to turn the page, read one more chapter, put dinner on hold, stay up until the sun rises in order to finish the novel.

For FIREWALLS, it’s my hope that Katrina’s coiling tension immediately becomes my readers’, that they will want to walk down the hall with her to Sergeant Kindle’s office—eager to find out what the heck she did that got her fired...if she gets fired.

I hope that by the end of the first page, my readers’ pulses and breathing have quickened, their jaws have tightened and their blood pressures have risen (only to safe levels, though, please).

In this opening chapter of FIREWALLS “What happens next?” is closely related to “What happened before?”—a very useful type of suspense when beginning a tale that requires background information. In writing a series like BackTracker, there’s a lot of back story from THE TRAZ and FATAL ERROR that has to get relayed in an entertaining manner.

Although what Katrina did to put her in danger of losing her job isn’t part of the preceding novels, Sergeant Kindle’s interrogation in the opening chapters of FIREWALLS reveals important details about her past that were. These details will hopefully help those who read previous novels remember the important stuff and make those who haven’t read them, want to.

It’s not just the suspense, though, that is important to a story; the resolution is, too. When the novel ends, the readers must feel satisfied. There has to be a wonderful, glorious, “Ah ha!” feeling when one finds out the past—“Now I know why that happened! Understand why she did that, why he said that, why he didn’t do what she wanted him to...”

And when all the ‘what happens next’s?’ are answered, readers should be left with a sense of fulfillment, of accomplishment and satisfaction—a feeling that reading this book was not a waste of time. That everything makes sense, even the surprises.

It’s not just at the beginning of FIREWALLS that I use the “What happened before?” suspense-building technique, I use it throughout the book, throughout the series. Several of my main characters, most notably Katrina and Shrug, have dark secrets, concealed motives, painful hidden pasts that readers want them to share. Some of those secrets remained veiled for many books to come.

In the BackTracker series, although each novel is a complete story, there are always lingering questions, that arise not from the plot (those questions are all answered) but from the characters themselves. We love them so much we just have to know what happened to them before we met them in THE TRAZ and what happens to them next?

What kind of kid were they? What kind of mother, husband, wife, boss will each of them become? Will the romance last forever? Will lost loves be reignited? Will Katrina ever be safe from the bikers? Will Shrug ever (please!) reveal his past?

Tell me more. Keep telling me more...

FIREWALLS http://mybook.to/firewalls

"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"

* * * * * 

Eileen Schuh, author

http://www.eileenschuh.com

http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

THE TRAZ viewBook.at/B007JW8RMA

THE TRAZ School Edition viewBook.at/B007JWGHZE

FATAL ERROR viewBook.at/B009P593YU

SCHRODINGER’S CAT http://bookShow.me/B005GLJET6

Special guest: Author Eileen Schuh talks about how special her Traz books are to her

THE TRAZ is special to me in so many ways, not the least of which is the fact that’s it’s my debut novel—the very first book with my name on the cover. Yup, that’s special!

THE TRAZ is special because although it was originally self-published, it sparked the attention of a publisher and netted me a two-book deal with Imajin Books.

THE TRAZ is special because Imajin Books also released a School Edition, in both eBook and paperback formats. And that edition is special because it contains a Teaching/Discussion Guide at the back and it includes a list of international resources for those seeking help with, or information on, the social issues touched on in THE TRAZ—such as gangs, drugs, and depression.

THE TRAZ is extra special because it has found its way into the libraries of Canada’s northern young offenders facilities, onto the shelves of the St. Paul Alternate Education Centre’s out-reach libraries, and onto the recommended reading list of a college criminology course.

THE TRAZ is exactly where it needs to be to help at-risk youth and the adults in their lives.

ON SALE for a limited time on AMAZON sites around the world.

THE TRAZ School Edition eBook is only 99₵ / £0.77  until 10 May 2013.

THE TRAZ 1^st edition paperback is only $8.99 / £5.86 and qualifies for Amazon’s free shipping where applicable.

viewBook.at/B007JWGHZE School edition

viewBook.at/0986938823 First edition paperback

“...can't wait to read the sequel...”

"... they draw her into the dark world of drugs, murder and lawlessness..."

"Exciting, powerful, and tragic...young adult book for all ages"

"Excellent characterizations, dialogue, interaction, descriptive settings..." 

"Every parent should read this book and discuss it with their kids."

"...for ‘tweens and teens to help those in trouble...in these emotionally- and physically cruel years."

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

Visit me on facebook http://www.facebook.com/EileenSchuhAuthor

Follow me on twitter @EileenSchuh

Meet me on Magic of the Muses: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com 

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?
______________________________________________

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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