Guest Author: Tara Taylor Quinn

Tara Taylor Quinn is here today as part of her Chapman File International Blog Tour. This is an amazing post written by an amazing author. I’m still at the beginning of this series and I can’t wait to finish it up.

First off, thank you to Casee, Holly, and Rowena for hosting a stop on The Chapman File International Blog Tour. I love this site! I’ve been all over it and I hope that those of you on tour with us will take the time to do the same. I have a feeling you’ll have a new site to bookmark and re-visit!

Blog Tour Note: We’re off this weekend, but we’ll be back on Monday for a very special stop in with Romantic Times Magazine!! And on Tuesday we’re with HCI books. Rest up for a big week!

I can’t hold out any longer. Expert witness psychologist Kelly Chapman has been nagging me for a week now to start talking about The Fourth Victim. (For those of you who don’t know, she’s my alter ego.) She wants this one done and over with. I can understand. The Fourth Victim isn’t just a book to her. It isn’t just another case. It’s her life. Her story. She’s worried sick people aren’t going to like her story. And then what does that say about her?

I keep telling her it means nothing about her. It only means I didn’t tell the story well. She’s not buying that one. At least not to my face. But while we’re here, on a site that is all about reviews, I figured I’d review my own book. The Fourth Victim. To begin with, it’s release date is a little confusing. Officially – according to the marketing report I have and the on-sale book cover flat – it’s due out December 1. Some people have it as being available November 31. I just saw that Amazon says it’s available now. And another on-line bookstore claims that it goes on sale November 23. I have nothing to do with the sale of the book. I’m just the author who wrote it.

Second, the book is…different. But then, so is Kelly. She’s unlike any woman I’ve ever known. She’s a woman I will never, ever forget. She gives me this story to write, and bless her heart, she thinks I can write it, but…come on. I’ve got a heroine, the star of the show, mind you, who’s been abducted. She could very likely be dead. And if she’s not, she’s probably going to die soon. The facts are the facts. I can’t bring her back to life. And I can’t have her survive something that’s humanly impossible to survive. I’ve only got so much to work with here.

And then there’s the hero, the FBI special agent who’s been assigned to find her, who’s never met her. He’s supposed to grow fond of a woman he’s never met. The job I’ve been given is to find a way to convince the reader that this modern day, hard assed guy is really falling for a picture.

I did my best. That’s what I can tell you. And that’s just the beginning of the story. Then you have to figure in the point of view choices. Those weren’t normal, either. I don’t know why I made them. I just did. They told me to. Kelly and Clay and the points of view – they demanded their way. So this book is a mixture of first and third point of view. Actually, all four of The Chapman Files are a mixture of first/third, but in The Fourth Victim, we aren’t just talking a few scenes in first person. Half the book is one, half the book is the other. It worked for Kelly and Clay. I think it worked for me, too.

Beyond that, I think the book is really good. Kelly’s story is unique and suspenseful and deeply emotional, too. Her story fits this blog because Kelly is one thing through and through and that’s honest. She’s self-honest to the point that Clay sometimes finds the result hard to watch. And even harder to avoid. He doesn’t want any of that introspective honesty crap in his life.

So I give this book a five out of five because I have to. It’s my book and I really think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever written. But I give a lot of the credit to Kelly. She drove me for two long years as I wrote this series. She’s given me the ride of my life. And I hope this is just the beginning of our journey.

By the way, professional reviews have been coming in on The Fourth Victim as well. So far, the professionals think even more highly of the book than I do. Thank goodness.

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 ttq 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 or go to http://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: If you shot them they’d break. 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: Monday, November 22, 2010. Romantic Times Magazine! 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.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of The Fourth Victim! Ends 11/25 @ 11:59pm.

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