Book Three of The Chapman Files, released today!

The Third Secret, Book Three of The Chapman Files, MIRA Books, enters the world today!  A stand alone thriller featuring expert witness psychologist, Kelly Chapman, The Third Secret is my editor’s favorite of all four stories.  It’s not nice to pick favorites – like it’s not nice for a parent to favor one child over another.  And so I guess maybe to say this book is a favorite isn’t quite accurate.  The Third Secret just seemed to gel with her personal reading preferences more.  For a chance to Win A Copy Of The Third Secret, leave a comment here today!


I was invited to tell you all about the series here today.  I’ve never been that good about talking up my own stuff.  Kind of like telling all the mothers at the park that your kid is the cutest, most talented one there.  I could no more do that, then shoot not be bothered by hitting a bird with my windshield.  (My kid really was the cutest most talented one there, of course, but I didn’t tell anybody!)


And so, instead of me stopping in to tell you how great I think my book is and why you’ll like it, I’m just going to tell you what others are saying about it:  


Romantic Times Magazine
It's back to small-town life and the files of psychologist Kelly Chapman as Quinn introduces another criss-crossing plot and a shadowy world where nothing is as it seems. All the evidence is unfurled in that twisting line Quinn lays down so well. Readers will be turning the pages far into the night to get to the climax.


Rick Thomas stole evidence from a government facility and served three years in a federal prison. Now he's free and holding down a job, until he gets charged with a murder and winds up back in a cell.


As a rule, attorney Erin Morgan doesn't defend bad guys, but her instincts tell her that Rick isn't guilty and the charges won't stick. When evidence turns up that proves Rick is lying about something, Erin's not sure if she's working with the devil or falling hard for a dangerous man. (MIRA, Nov., 400 pp., $7.99)  


The Reading Frenzy
Ms Quinn kept me enthralled throughout this whole novel, I couldn’t turn pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. I loved that she included some of Kelly Chapman’s personal challenges that we learned of in the last novel as well as introducing us to our new protagonists for her third in the series. Her plot was inventive and realistic enough to entice even the staunchest crime drama fan and yet gives us a romantic suspense to keep all those fans well satisfied as well. She accomplishes this with a dialogue that enhances all the characters portrayed in the novel. Her characters are exceptionally skilled in who they depict and they are all very important to the story, you will especially hate the villain when he/she is revealed and love all the kind hearted souls who litter the rest of the pages. Her hero Rick and heroine Erin are a couple that her readers will feel compassion for while we’ll also wonder if there will ever be hope for them. The romance is fraught with second guesses, danger and peril in between moments of tenderness and longings. The love scenes are tame by today’s standards but even die hard hot romance fans like me won’t feel let down by them because it just leaves our imaginations to fill in the blanks.


This is an automatic must read for all fans of dramatic romantic suspense, fans of crime drama and mystery fans as well. Those of you who enjoy Carla Neggers, J T Ellison or Brenda Novak will love Tara Taylor Quinn. This novel stands very well alone but I would suggest reading the whole series to get all the details you’d miss otherwise.


Romance Reviews Today
Another fascinating story from the Chapman Files, THE THIRD SECRET is well written with a lot of suspense and a fresh plot.  

What a frightening tale!  The story is sure to keep readers interested...THE THIRD SECRET is an excellent romantic suspense from the pen of Tara Taylor Quinn. Marilyn Heyman


Genre Go Round
The third Chapman Files thriller (see The 1st Wife and the 2nd Lie) is a fabulous tale with two prime subplots. Action packed, readers will want to know what the three secrets that Rock conceals are. Whereas the Thomas-Morgan arc is a fast-paced romantic suspense, the Chapman-Maggie segue is a poignant human interest drama; they blend smoothly together. With a strong cast, Tara Taylor Quinn writes a terrific Rust Belt thriller. Harriet Klausner


The Chapman Files:  The First Wife, Harlequin Superromance,  September 2010; The Second Lie, MIRA Books, October, 2010; The Third Secret, MIRA Books, November, 2010; The Fourth Victim, MIRA Books, December, 2010.


This post is brought to you as part of The Chapman Files International Blog Tour. Over the next three months, as we celebrate The Chapman Files, expert witness psychologist Kelly Chapman and I are going to be asking for help. If you can, join us in our fight against Domestic Abuse. If you’d like to help, go to www.tarataylorquinn.com and click donate.  Or just comment here to show your support.


There’s an item from our new book, The Second Lie, hidden on the tour with us. Guess the item to enter the drawing to win it! Today’s clue: People Take Them Camping.  Send all guesses to staff@tarataylorquinn.com. To see previous clues visit blog sites listed at www.tarataylorquinn.com. Guess as many times as you’d like!


Don’t miss The Chapman File tour party on December 4th at www.eharlequin.com! We’re giving away a KOBO e-reader and many other cool prizes! All you have to do to be entered to win is leave comments on the tour!  


E-books of all of The Chapman File Stories are available for pre-order at amzn.to/bmJzp4.    
Next tour stop: Monday, November 1,  2010. Lesa Book Critiques http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com.  We hope to see you there! The more blogs you visit with us, the more chances you have to win! Every time you comment your name is dropped in the bag for the prize drawings.    


For weekly blog tour dates, visit www.tarataylorquinn.com. Or to have the weekly schedule sent directly to your email, send request to staff@tarataylorquinn.com. 

Guest Blogger: Tara Taylor Quinn, from her international blog tour!

A couple of years ago I was asked by my publisher, Harlequin Books, to write a story based on the life and work of Sandra Ramos.  Sandra had been chosen as one of Harlequin’s recipient to receive monies from their More Than Words anthology program.  As part of the More Than Words Program, Harlequin pairs bestselling authors up with worthy charities.  The authors write fictional stories based on the charity.  And the charity receives the proceeds from the sale of the books.

I was thrilled to be asked to participate in the program.  And most particularly thrilled to be paired up with Sandra.  Sandra’s ‘cause’ is one of my own.  Personally my own.  Sandra founded the first battered women’s shelter in the United States.  She started out housing women in her living room.  Thirty years later she has ten houses filled to capacity with battered women and their children.  Sandra is filled with the energy and drive and determination of ten ordinary people.  And through her work, hundreds of lives have been saved.  Hundreds of women have been inspired to reach higher.  To hope.  To Believe.
I wrote the story.  (The Mechanics of Love, More Than Words Volume 5, Harlequin Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0373-83669-7)  And I took Sandra’s hope with me as I walked through my own fires.  


This fall, as I celebrate the release of a new four book suspense series from Harlequin and MIRA Books, The Chapman Files, I am again partnering with Sandra.  In the past year, in a downed economy, Sandra’s women’s shelter, Strengthen Our Sister’s, lost $400,000.00 in donations.   She has staff members working without pay as they struggle to pay the mortgages on their homes to keep roofs over the heads of the battered women and children – many of whom will feel forced to return to their batterers if they don’t have housing.

So I’m doing what I can to help.  I’ve embarked on a three month blog tour to celebrate the release of The Chapman Files and to raise money for Sandra.  (See below for a secure paypal donation link.)  We’re hosting a mystery game each month for a prize from each book.  We’re giving book giveaways at stops along the tour and we’re collecting names of all commenters for drawings for prizes at the tours end.    I’m donating a percentage of my personal proceeds from the sale of The Fourth Victim, Mira Books, December 2010, during the month of December to SOS.  We’re hosting book signings in October and November with donation baskets, we’re giving books away for donations.  And we’re hosting a skate-a-thon, ,to be held in Phoenix, Arizona on December, 4^th, 2010, and also on December 4^th, in partnership with the city of Phoenix, we’re hosting a The Fourth Victim launch party bash that’s going to be broadcast live on-line at e-harlequin.  


Sandra Ramos will be there with us.  Blog tour winners will be announced.  Skate winners will be announced.  And we’re giving away two hundred free copies of books from The Chapman Files.

Today I need to share with you the story of one of Sandra’s women, as written to me in her own words…

I came to Strengthen Our Sisters with my four small children in 1991 as a victim of domestic abuse.  We lived in the shelter for six months. My husband was an alcoholic and a terrible abuser and began stalking me after I left him. Not only did he stalk me in my travels; he was also spotted hiding in the woods behind the shelter grounds on many occasions. Not only was living with him terrifying, being away from him was even more terrifying since I was never  sure if he would one day surface and fulfill his promise of killing me because I left. The stalking law was not in effect back in the early nineties, so unless he did something the police could not act. 

FYI- Stalking Law


-In 1992, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation which required the U.S. Attorney General, through the National Institute of Justice, to conduct research on the issue of stalking and to develop and distribute among the states a "constitutional and enforceable" model anti-stalking code.

-As of September 1993, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have some form of stalking (anti-stalking) law. 


-In October 1993, the final summary report of the Project to Develop a Model Anti-Stalking Code for States was presented to the National Institute of Justice. This was the end product of the 1992 legislation.

-In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the federal stalking law. (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, Public Law 104-201, § 1069.) 

With the support of the shelter, I was able to get a restraining order, and gain the strength to enforce the restraining order. In the two years after I left him there were a minimum of 10 separate violations filed because he violated the restraining order many times. With each violation he served months in the county jail. During the months he was jailed my household was calm, my children were happy and I was able to feel like I didn’t have to look over my shoulder each day. But upon each release my heart would again be on edge, my nerves would rattle and my energy would shift. “What is he going to do next?”

I have to say, I would not have been able to survive without the help and support of the shelter. Sandra has been a true inspiration to me. She is unlike many other shelter directors. She accompanied me many times to court and her messages of strength truly inspired me. I began working for the shelter immediately after I moved out. I believe this was my intended path and a way for me to keep connected to the support and empowering messages of the women at the shelter. Through the many years of working with SOS I raised my four children as a single mom, obtained by Bachelors Degree in Social Work and a Masters Degree in Administrative Science. I am currently the Chief of Staff at Strengthen Our Sisters and work in handling many areas of the shelters day to day operations. 

Ironically two years after I left my husband he was struck and killed by a drunk driver while crossing the highway intoxicated himself. I have to say I had never felt such a load lifted from my shoulders upon finding out he was dead. He was found dead on the highway with several pictures of me in his wallet, various biblical messages of marriage being forever and how a wife should obey her husband, etc...

Anyway my story goes on …like so many of the other women who have come through our doors.

I can’t say it any better than that.

This post is brought to you as part of The Chapman Files International Blog Tour. Over the next three months, as we celebrate The Chapman Files, expert witness psychologist, Kelly Chapman and I are going to be asking for help. If you can, join us in our fight against Domestic Abuse. If you’d like to help, click here to go directly to a secure paypal sight. www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=VR7WPWDHR6KFS. Or just comment here to show your support.

There’s an item from our new book, The First Wife, hidden on the tour with us. Guess the item to enter the drawing to win it! Today’s clue: You can see it at a grocery store check out. Send all guesses to staff@tarataylorquinn.com. To see previous clues visit blog sites listed at www.tarataylorquinn.com. We have correct guesses!!! Keep them coming! 


Don’t miss The Chapman File tour party on December 4th at www.eharlequin.com! Tour prize winners will be announced!    E-books of all of The Chapman File Stories are available for pre-order at amzn.to/bmJzp4.    Next tour stop: Wednesday, September 29, 2010. Storybroads http://www.storybroads.com. We hope to see you there! The more blogs you visit with us, the more chances you have to win! Every time you comment your name is dropped in the bag for the prize drawings.    For weekly blog tour dates, visit www.tarataylorquinn.com. Or to have the weekly schedule sent directly to your email, send request to staff@tarataylorquinn.com.