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QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Please note that the question and answer containing an * next to our advance reader's name in red contain spoilers. We suggest you skip that section if you prefer to discover the story on your own.

Ann from West Henrietta, NY: Do you have any plans to write another book with these main characters? I'd like to know what happens to Jan and Simon and especially with Hailey.

Tara Taylor Quinn: Ann, there are two more books following IN PLAIN SIGHT. The next one, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, is out in October of '07. Readers will see Simon and Jan and Hailey in the following books, but they are not the main characters. The Ivory Nation continues to be a challenge. IN PLAIN SIGHT was a prosecutor's story; BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is a victim's story; the third book, AT CLOSE RANGE, is a judge's story.

Grace from Rowland Heights, CA: Did you make up the Ivory Nation? Is the red laces in hiking boots a real sign of a white supremacist? What is your opinion of white supremacists?

Tara Taylor Quinn: Grace, I did make up the Ivory Nation, however, it is fashioned after several real and existing organizations. The red shoe laces --- as well as all other white supremacy facts --- are completely true. I'm working with a superior court judge and a gang detective, as well as sitting in on actual white supremacist trials, as sources for the three Ivory Nation books.

* Jana from Cambria, CA: This is part question, part observation --- In the confrontation between Jan and her brother Johnny, when it is revealed that Johnny is a killer, I was a bit uncertain regarding the specifics of the mother's death. At first glance, I wondered whether Johnny had actually killed her or whether his threats had pushed her into suicide. A closer reading indicated the latter, but --- for me --- the suicide "solution" is tricky. I have trouble being convinced that upon hearing Johnny threaten to tell Jan the truth about the death of their father, the mother would kill herself rather than try to help her daughter. To my way of thinking, that doesn't quite ring true; it would've seemed more plausible, and more in character, if Johnny had murdered the mother. (Yikes! That sounds terrible.)

Tara Taylor Quinn: Jana, I believe the mother committed suicide. Johnny was twisted in knots, and capable of killing Jan, but I don't think he could have killed his mother. However, the mother had been suicidal for years --- and on medication --- because of the lie she'd been covering up all those years. She just wasn't strong enough to face her daughter with the lie, especially when Jan had been coming to her for years for help with the nightmares. She couldn't face the idea of her daughter's anger --- or her angst, either. Guilt makes people feel helpless, and when certain people feel helpless enough, they see their deaths as a gift to the world --- the last great act they can do to help.

Patricia from West Liberty, KY: I would like to know if you do a lot of research before you start a new book. Do you base your characters on people you know, or are they just figments of your imagination?

Tara Taylor Quinn: Patricia, I do a ton of research before and during the writing of my books --- down to checking projected weather reports for a certain area on a given day. My characters, however, are completely fictional.

Rita from Coppell, TX: I noticed that you have several books coming out this year. I find that truly intriguing. How is that done?

Tara Taylor Quinn: Rita, I'm doing four books a year right now and that's done by doing little else! My only child left for college two years ago, and my writing is my solace. I'm in my office from morning until night --- and when necessary to meet a deadline, on weekends, too.

I'm also lucky enough to have a publisher who wants to buy four books a year from me!

Sheila from Schoolcraft, MI: Will you use Jan and Simon in another novel? Maybe something related to her new career?

Tara Taylor Quinn: Sheila, Jan and Simon will appear in the two books following IN PLAIN SIGHT. While they won't be main characters, they do play somewhat of a large part in the third book, AT CLOSE RANGE, which is the story of a judge taking on the Ivory Nation.