Please welcome author Alana Lorens (AKA) Barbara Mountjoy to This Writer’s Life…
Thanks for my chance to talk a little about my writing life.
My first official story, was by Barbara, at the age of 9. I wrote a blow by blow tale of my cat Moonlight killing and eating a rabbit. The principal at my school came and read it to the class. Of course, he may just have been concerned about my sanity. 😊
But that was great preparation for my future years as a journalist in the Miami area. After that, I went to law school and practiced law in Pennsylvania for 25 years before the writing bug bit me again. In 1998, I wrote a divorce handbook, 101 Little Instructions for Surviving Your Divorce, which came with a nice advance and moderate success.
But then I turned to fiction.
I have always written the story that came to me, rather than trying to keep up with the trends. I started with a story about human-sized elves living alongside humans in the forests of Montana, which in 2009, turned into a series, the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot. Since I was still practicing law, I thought perhaps clients would take me less seriously if Barbara Mountjoy was writing urban fantasy. So, I invented Lyndi Alexander, who wrote a string of fantasy and science fiction books.
But then, I became drawn to the idea of writing romantic suspense, and I wrote three in a row, which became the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyers series, drawing on my legal experience and my long history of reading Gothic romances by Victoria Holt, Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart. Of course, these books would not fly under Lyndi’s pseudonym. As a practicing divorce attorney, I doubted I could pass myself off as an expert on romance. I needed another personality to come into being—Alana Lorens.
After that, I wrote 20 more published stories/novels, and selected the appropriate name to author each. It’s been quite the adventure. Alana’s most recent effort is CRUEL CHARADE, from the Wild Rose Press:
Miami attorney Bet Lenard has had a rough year. She’s battling an unknown illness that drives her to drink to cope with her pain. Her lawyer husband has divorced her and taken the best part of their business, their home and their children.
On the night of May 16, 1996, Bet finds herself in the Everglades in the middle of the night, drugged, lost and next to a burned car with a dead body in it. Hoping she’s hit bottom, Bet must drag herself out of her living hell and discover who tried to kill her. Was it her ex-husband, not satisfied with stealing everything that mattered? An angry client, unhappy with the outcome of their case? Her best friend’s husband, livid that Bet’s restraining order kicked him out of her life forever? Police officers fuming that Bet helped a client convict a dirty cop who was their friend? She has no idea.
As she tries to sort out the motives behind her would-be killer, even more suspects come to light. The only thing keeping Bet sane is her relationship with her therapist, who encourages her to struggle and survive, despite everything that’s gone wrong. How will Bet discover the truth and bring her enemy to justice before they strike again and, this time, succeed?
Author Bio
Alana Lorens (aka Barbara Mountjoy and Lyndi Alexander) has been a published writer for over 45 years, including seven years as a reporter/editor at the South Dade News Leader in Homestead, Florida, after working as a server, a pizza maker, and a floral designer. She writes non-fiction, romance, adventure, and suspense novels. She is the author of the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyers series, which draws on her years as a family law attorney in the state of Pennsylvania. One of the causes close to her heart came from those years as well–the fight against domestic violence. She volunteered for many years at women’s shelters and provided free legal services to women and children in need. Alana resides in North Carolina, and she loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. She lives with her daughter, who is the youngest of her seven children, and nine persnickety cats.
Author Links
Website http://Alana-lorens.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AlanaLorens/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4829967.Alana_Lorens
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alana-Lorens/e/B005GE0WBC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4gKbNOPTHw&t=2s
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alana-lorens
Twitter: @AlexanderLyndi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexander_lyndi/