Paula Eykelhof, Executive Editor, MIRA Books

I hope you all slept well last night. Here on the island things were quiet. Peaceful. I'm expecting more activity tonight. It's Friday night! And we're going in search of a Pina Colada.

In the meantime, my editor, Paula Eykelhof landed here on the island late yesterday. I'm turning today over to her. She'll be reading all comments so please give her a nice welcome! Paula and I have been working together since my fifth book. We just finished number fifty four. The books would not be nearly as good as they are without her half of the contribution. So, everyone, this is Paula...

Tara and I have worked together, on and off, since the early 90s, so you could say we know each other well.

I feel I know her characters well, too. If you’re familiar with Tara’s work, you’ll see what I mean. She has the ability to go deep into their psychologies and emotions—no clichéd, generic or shallow characterizations here. Their motivations and reactions are complex. Real. And they believably generate the plot. Tara doesn’t give in to the all-too-easy temptation of imposing plot on characters or creating characters to fit the action.

These people stay with you, and that’s exactly why. The stories stem from their individual histories and personalities. And of course—connected to that, an important part of that—from the work they do.

Take Kelly Chapman, for instance. She’s the character who links the stories in “The Chapman Files.” Kelly’s a psychologist, which leads her to look at people closely, to get involved in their lives—and yet…to keep her distance from them. But in the course of these four books we see her change and grow, much as her clients do. And the chief way that happens is through her relationships—her increasingly strong personal friendships with cop Samantha and lawyer Erin, her growing romantic relationship with FBI agent Clay Thatcher. And of course the most difficult but in many ways most rewarding relationship of all—as the adoptive mother of young Maggie Winston.

While the stories have emotional intensity and depth, don’t think they’re about a bunch of people sitting around exploring their angst. Far from it! There’s lots of excitement, fast-paced action, mystery, twists and turns. The point is you care about what happens—it’s more than just adrenaline—because you care about these people who are caught up in sometimes terrifying events. You can clearly see (at least by the end of the story) how they themselves, knowingly or not, contributed to those events. Even if it isn’t through any action or response of their own, you can see how their personal histories played a role…

If you’re new to Tara’s books, these four—The First Wife (a Superromance), The Second Lie, The Third Secret and The Fourth Victim (all MIRA titles)—which make up “The Chapman Files” are a great place to start. They’re all available as ebooks and audio books as well as print. And if you’ve read her in the past, you won’t want to miss this series!

This post is brought to you as part of The Chapman Files International Blog Tour. Please join us in our fight against domestic abuse. We’re hosting a charity skate/walkathon on December 4th in Phoenix, Arizona. If you can join us, we’d love to have you. Tim and I are skating and we’re going to have a blast. If you aren’t going to be in the area, you can still sponsor us. Please. In our downed economy domestic abuse has risen and the monies to help have dwindled. To register for the skate, or to donate any amount to the cause, click here: http://www.predatorspeed.org/, or go to www.tarataylorquinn.com and click donate.

There’s an item from our new book, The Third Secret, hidden on the tour with us. Guess the item to enter the drawing to win it! Today’s clue: They're all the same basic size. Send all guesses to staff@tarataylorquinn.com. To see previous clues visit blog sites listed at http://www.tarataylorquinn.com/. Guess as many times as you’d like!

Don’t miss The Chapman File tour party on December 4th at http://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 at amzn.to/bmJzp4.

Next tour stop: Saturday, November 6, 2010. Desert Isle Keepers : http://dikladiesrule.blogspot.com/ . We hope to see you back here! 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 http://www.tarataylorquinn.com/. Or to have the weekly schedule sent directly to your email, send request to staff@tarataylorquinn.com.

The Third Secret by Tara Taylor Quinn. MIRA, ©2010. ISBN 9780778328346 (paperback), 400p. http://www.amazon.com/Third-Secret-Tara-Taylor-Quinn/dp/0778328341/ref=sr_1_1/183-1358540-3401557?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276118382&sr=1-1.