#WantingToMakeADifference

"Scandal ripples through entertainment industry and beyond as Harvey Weinstein's accusers grow in number" - CBC news

How the open dirty secret remained unchallenged for so long is difficult to understand. 

Time and again we have discovered that the relationship between abuser and abused is complicated and misunderstood.

Law enforcement, the justice system, corporate American, everyday men and women and the victims themselves can't navigate rationally through the behaviors that accompany and follow relationship violence and abuse.

Yet it's imperative that we do come to understand how it works. We need to know so we can avoid the trap ourselves and  teach others how. So we can quit blaming the victims. So we can raise a generation that doesn't accept or condone such violence.

"Why didn't she just....?" is a common refrain when we hear about abusive relationship. "If it was so bad, why didn't she....tell someone, report it to the police, breakup the relationship?"

"If it was so bad, why did she...keep seeing him, continue living with him, embark on a business relationship with him, speak well of him to others, text him, befriend him on facebook?"

I explore violent relationships in my recent novel, SHADOW RIDERS. It's my hope that readers will come to understand a little better the thought processes and emotional complexities that entangle women in violent relationships.

My novel is just a small start to understanding, to getting the conversation going.

As a writer, I feel compelled to at least try to understand this pressing social issue and at most, to make a positive change in my world.

#WantingToMakeADifference is brought to you by SHADOW RIDERS

"...anticipation and fear, sympathy and revulsion." SHADOW RIDERS #PsychologicalThriller










Eileen Schuh, Author
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ
Web site: http://www.eileenschuh.com
Blog: http://eileenschuh.blogspot.com

International Crime spotlighted in SHADOW RIDERS

Whose jurisdiction is it, anyways?

Off-shore, international, across borders, in the skies--criminals seek to take advantage of murky jurisdictional laws governing global crimes. International (and national) laws have not kept pace with transportation, communication, and electronic technologies that makes international crimes easy...and extremely profitable.

Prosecutors cannot win cases against criminals if the prosecuting country doesn't have jurisdictional authority to try such cases. On which side of the border did the crime originate? On which side did it take place? The citizens of which country were the victims of the crime? The laws of which country were broken...by whom, and where?


It's actually a wonder that we are able to successfully prosecute international crimes. That we often do, says a lot of good things about the cooperation between law enforcement agencies from different countries...and the intricate knowledge they all must have about each others' laws and jurisdictional boundaries.

Canada's laws regarding the prosecution of international crime plays an important role in SHADOW RIDERS. The drug-smuggling gangsters are held accountable in their native land rather than in South Korea, where they were attempting to get a foothold in the illicit drug market.

I did a lot of research to see how such international police operations pan out before the courts. I believe Allison, my hapless heroine, was very lucky indeed to be allowed to face her criminal charges in Canada. Under the rarely-used general extraterritorial jurisdiction section of Canada's Criminal Code, jurisdictional privilege can be claimed if fraudulent Canadian Passports were used to facilitate the crime and/or if the crime/s took place across several borders.

Tudor, Allie's kindly lawyer notes, however, that Canada has a history of willingly letting the country with the heftiest penalties take over the prosecution of international cases. 

All the legalese aside, the real drama in SHADOW RIDERS is exploring why women such as Allison Montgomery choose to stay in violent domestic relationships. Exactly what mental and emotional processes convince her to risk her soul, her freedom, her life in order to remain loyal to her abuser?

 SHADOW RIDERS

 
“A riveting plot & dynamic characters will leave you craving more." 

"...a horrifying, suspenseful trip.”

"Shadow Riders is a thriller with depth and weight and fully explored characters...." 





Eileen Schuh, Author
SHADOW RIDERS
DISPASSIONATE LIES
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ

The secret side of domestic violence

Canadian Author Tackles the Verboten

New thriller explores the secret side of domestic violence

ST. PAUL, AB, March 22, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- SHADOW RIDERS, a brand new thriller by Canadian author, Eileen Schuh, does not shy away from the disturbing issues of domestic violence and the incomprehensible emotional bonding that ties abused to abuser.

Dramatized for exceptionally enjoyable reading, one almost can't help falling in love right alongside Allison Montgomery with her violent, vulnerable and mesmerizing captor.

At book's end, after all the psychological counseling we receive along with Allie, we know for sure one shouldn't stay with an abusive partner, and yet....

From the moment Allie falls in love with the 'bad boy', the very core of her being is forever changed.

Allison Montgomery is wrapping up a career as a successful entrepreneur when she's brutally kidnapped and whisked to South Korea. To ensure her survival, she gradually forges a bond with Carbon, her smooth-talking but abusive captor, a bond that over time proves incredibly strong.

A criminal record, death threats, counseling--nothing can convince Allie to betray her illicit lover.

However, a team of dedicated cops, an understanding lawyer, her ex-husband-- there are those who persist in believing she can break free of Carbon's hold.

She must. Justice for six massacred men depends on it.

- An exploration of the emotional ties that trap women in violent relationships. -

A discussion section at the back of the book for use by Book Clubs, delves into a variety of social issues addressed in the novel, such as international drug trafficking, gangs, our justice system, societal views on love, and readers' views about domestic violence.

Amazon purchase link

Eileen Schuh is the author of two adult SciFi novellas (Schrodinger's Cat and Dispassionate Lies) and three novels in her ongoing BackTracker series, The Traz, Fatal Error, and Firewalls. The Traz also comes in a school edition.

Although Shadow Riders is not part of her series, several beloved BackTracker characters make appearances in the novel. "Who better than Shrug, Chad, Katrina and Sergeant Kindle to investigate the violence?" she asks.

Born Eileen Fairbrother in Tofield, Alberta Canada, Schuh now lives with her husband in the boreal forest near St. Paul in north eastern Alberta.

She invites you to visit her online:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Amazon author page
Twitter

Eileen Schuh, Author
SHADOW RIDERS
DISPASSIONATE LIES
FIREWALLS
FATAL ERROR
Schrödinger's Cat
THE TRAZ