Interview with Tara Taylor Quinn
... featuring Behind Closed Doors

(Book 2 in the Ivory Nation Series)
interviewed by Authors After Dark

Behind Closed Doors is a thrilling suspense and the 2^nd book in your Ivory Nation Series. Can you briefly tell us what readers can expect from this story?

According to one review, they can expect to have the pages turn themselves.  And from Booklist, they can expect an “exceptionally powerful book.”  I think that they can expect to be entertained at the same time that they have their beliefs challenged.  And if they’re anything like me, if their emotions tend to get wrapped up in the story, they’re probably going to want new locks on their doors.

The topic of white supremacy is a hard one to tackle. Why did you decide to write on this topic?

I didn’t choose it.  It chose me.  I was sitting in court one day, waiting to see a case as part of research I was doing on another book I was writing, and a prisoner on the chain caught my eye and froze my heart.  I followed his case from that point on, knowing that I had to do something with the information.  He was one of the leaders of a large white supremacist organization.

How did you come up with the Ivory Nation, the fictional Arizona-based white supremacist organization, and how did you research and put it together?

I not only followed the case mentioned above, but interviewed an undercover white supremacist detective, and read everything I could find on white supremacy and current known organizations across the nation.  I also visited the web site of one of the nation’s leading supremacist musicians (or a musician that many supremacists listen to) and read lyrics from his songs, listened to his music, and read fan blogs.  After the first book, In Plain Sight, was out, I started to receive fan mail from around the country from former supremacists and incorporated some of that information into Behind Closed Doors.

Why did you select Arizona as the state where this crime takes place? Was it important to the storyline?

I chose Arizona for several reasons.  One, I lived there and had many contacts within the judicial/law community, so I had sources and resources for information at sometimes a moment’s notice.  But I also chose Arizona because white supremacy is a growing concern in the state.  (I think, partially, because of all the border/illegal immigrant concerns.)  There is a large white supremacy population and it has been said that white supremacy has begun to filter into Arizona politics.

African-American history professor Harry Kendall and his white wife, botanist Laura Clark, are victims of a horrible crime.  What elements of their character were important to create and accentuate to the reader as they struggle through this assault and their recovery.

Laura is a peacemaker who is forced to live a peace-less existence.  Harry is a lover who must become a fighter.

Laura Clark is pregnant and unsure of who the father is. How was being pregnant an important component to this storyline and to Laura’s character?

The pregnancy is important on many levels.  Harry and Laura had been trying for years to have a child and had found out that Harry was probably the cause of their infertility.  The pregnancy further challenges a love that has already been challenged beyond what the lovers can endure.  The pregnancy also fuels Harry’s fire to get the men who did this to them.  And it further scares Laura into wanting to do nothing to further antagonize her attackers.  The pregnancy also shows that evil might win—i.e., if the supremacists were successful in impregnating Laura with a white baby.

The pregnancy also brought up some moral issues, as Laura, who comes from a strong church background and has been seeking to free herself from mental manipulation, has to decide whose child she really carries—hers or a madman’s?  And she has to ask herself if she decides to carry the child to term, will she be strong enough to do so, knowing, with every kick, that the child inside her is part of an evil man.

And, of course, the pregnancy, a possible direct result of the attack, makes it harder for Laura to recover and heal from the incident.  It makes it harder for her to understand or find a measure of peace with a world, a God, that would allow such an atrocious thing to happen to her when she’s lived her whole life lovingly.

How would you describe Harry Kendall to readers, both as a husband and how he handles the aftermath of the assault?

Harry Kendall is a great man, a loving man, who cares more for his wife than he does for himself.  He’s positive, upbeat and full of energy, refusing to carry chips on his shoulders as a black man living in a white world.  He’s confident.  Happy with himself and life.  He believes any good thing is possible if he works hard enough and wants it badlenough.  After the attack, Harry feels like a victim for the first time in his life.  And he hates his black skin, knowing that his wife paid the ultimate price for the color of his skin.  All of his energy is put into an almost maniacal vengeance to find the men who broke into their home.  His positive thinking twists a bit, and he becomes positive that he will find these men and stops at nothing, risks everything, to do so.

Harry Kendall is convinced the crime upon him and his wife is racially motivated, however the police believe it to be a random act. From your research, do you find the police in certain regions of the country to be unsympathetic or disbelieving these crimes take place?

No.  I have not found that to be the case at all.

Behind Closed Doors is an eerie title. Can you tell readers how you selected the title and what it signifies in regards to the story?

Two things. One is literal. The crime takes place behind closed doors. Harry and Laura assumed they were safe behind the closed door of their home. They were not.

The second signifying factor is that we tend sometimes to live our lives believing that what we see is all that there is, when, in fact, there is a world of things going on behind closed doors.

When can readers expect the third book in this trilogy to be released?

The third book, tentatively titled At Close Range, will be out in 2008.

Has your readership changed since writing this trilogy, which started with Behind Closed Doors?

I received letters from a lot of my regular readers, but, yes, I did get a lot of new readers with this trilogy.  I received many letters from people who said they’d never read me before, but after reading In Plain Sight, were going to pick up other of my books.

Who are your favorite suspense authors and why?

Patricia Potter, because she writes fiction based on fact.  Lisa Jackson because her “voice” grabs me.

What advice do you have for aspiring romantic suspense authors?

Keep writing.  Just always keep writing.  And as soon as something is done, market it.  This is a popular genre right now, so now’s the time.

Do you believe that any topic is taboo in writing romantic suspense? If so, what and why?

This question kind of made me chuckle.  I’ve become known as an author who takes risks, partially because I don’t believe in taboos, period.  Whether I’m writing a Superromance for Harlequin, or a thriller for MIRA, I tell the story that the people inside my head dictate to me.  Somewhere in my 45 novels, I’ve probably broken every rule there is. I started out on my own, with no mentoring, writing books or organizational memberships. I had only a tip sheet from Harlequin (gained by looking up their address in the front of one of my books, getting the phone number from information, and calling the switchboard to ask how I could write for them).  And I had a burning need to tell my stories.  Now that I know there are rules, I make certain that I don’t hear them.  I don’t want them to stifle my voices.

Will you be making any personal appearances to promote this book? 

Yes.  There are many things in the works, including some Wal-Mart appearances.

Where can readers find out about your upcoming appearances and learn about any new books?

Everything will be posted/updated at www.tarataylorquinn.com.

Do you have a blog or do you participate in a blog where readers can find you?

Yes!  Thanks for asking.  My five blog sisters and I have a great time at www.storybroads.com.  Come visit us and chat with Maggie Shayne, Anne Stuart, Patricia Potter, Lynn Kerstan and Suzanne Forster.  You have a chance to win free books simply by posting a comment! And I’ll guest blog for Sherryl Woods’ on her www.justbetweenfriendsblog.com in late September or early October, with a message connected to the storyline of Behind Closed Doors.

To learn more about this author be sure to visit Tara's website at: http://www.tarataylorquinn.com/