SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Alana Lorens!

Joining me today in The Loft is author and fellow attorney Alana Lorens. She writes romance and suspense as Alana Lorens, and sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal mystery as Lyndi Alexander. A published writer for more than 40 years, Alana has worked as a pizza maker, a floral designer, a journalist, and a family law attorney. Currently a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, the self-described aging hippie loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. She lives with her daughter on the autism spectrum, who is the youngest of her seven children, and she is ruled by three crotchety old cats, and six kittens of various ages.

Author Alana Lorens

S: Welcome back, Alana.

Book banning is back in the news and even some very popular romance authors' books are being removed from school libraries. How do you feel about this trend? How do we fight it?

A: It’s ridiculous, in my opinion. Banning something was always the surest way to get me to read it, back in the day. Taking it off the shelf at the library doesn’t even touch the content the young people or even adults can see online. Or create online, with new AI apps. So, what is the point, other than to gain some murky political advantage? We certainly have to stand up for the right to have our books printed and distributed. It’s only one of the fronts on which our long-held rights are being challenged. Let’s dig in for the fight, brothers and sisters.

S: Are you self-published or traditionally published? Why did you choose that path?

A: Traditionally published by small press. I wish I had some noble reason why, but the simple truth is I don’t know how to do all the publication things, and I’m happy to have a publisher do it for me at a cost.

S: Do you write in other genres?

A: I do. I write romance and suspense/thriller as Alana Lorens and sci-fi/fantasy as Lyndi Alexander. As I go on, I’m doing more and more cross-genre writing. I’ve got a couple of science-fiction romances under my belt, and my 2023 book was a supernatural-thriller. Nearly everything I write, whether thriller, historical, paranormal or otherwise, has some hint of romance in it. Love is something that is universally understood, whether a reader is lucky enough to have it for their very own, or enjoys it by proxy through reading.

S: Do you think romance books have become “too spicy?”

A: I don’t think too spicy. I believe there is a spice level available for any reader, whether they like mild or erotic. I don’t read or write the super erotic books because often they don’t make sense to me. Personally, I would not jump into bed with someone I met within the last half hour, no matter how hot they are. When this happens repeatedly in a story without any need for real connection, then I feel like the “relationship” is wasted. I’d rather read a slow burn story where you see how the pairing comes along and believe it is a true connection. But that’s just me.

S: After the publication of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, it was reported that some readers ventured into the BDSM world seeking their own Christian Grey. Some were scammed, sexually assaulted, or otherwise harmed. Does an author bear any responsibility for those types of consequences?

A: Legally? No. I practiced law for 30 years before becoming a full-time author. Obviously, someone’s choice to pursue that lifestyle was a choice they made. It’s unfortunate that those people did not fully understand what they were getting into, or didn’t research the entire topic. Morally? I’m not sure. Those books certainly made that lifestyle appear desirable and romantic. Which oftentimes it is certainly not.

S: Do you remember your first kiss? What was memorable about it?

A: Ha! Yes. David Miller at the top of the slide in the playground behind our house in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. We were five years old. It was slimy.

S: If you had to do it all over again, would you still choose to write books?

A: I’m not sure I chose to write books. I write books like I breathe. Stories come to me when I’m sitting, when I’m driving, when I’m falling asleep. I wish I could have a pair of extra hands that was just available to type what I was daydreaming about—then I could go back later and edit/write new stuff. That being said, considering how hard it is to get noticed in the huge field of books that are out there, it is discouraging sometimes. The new developments in AI overtaking biological-generated stories are disheartening as well. But so far, I have not been persuaded to quit.

S: Have you ever shelved or thrown out a manuscript? Why?

A: Yes. I wrote a Star Trek book once, and submitted it to the publishers of the other Star Trek books. This is the first time I discovered the term “Mary Sue,” and indeed I had created a character who interacted with the other ST:TNG characters, but was the heroine of the story. The editor praised my portrayal of the canon characters, but obviously they didn’t accept it. I debated re-writing it as a general sci-fi story but never made it. Better to move on to more profitable works.

S: What’s the best advice you have ever been given?

A: Write. Write and learn. Attend classes on writing and read, of course, but so much of the instinct of writing well only comes after you do it for a long time. When I am typing now, and I write the words “it was” or “she saw,” it pings me right out of the line and I take out the filter or define the “it.” So, let’s see, next year I will have 50 years as a paid, published writer. Yeah, it takes a long time.

S: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

A: It’s not the writing, actually. I raised three natural children, four step-children, three adopted children, a handful of exchange student children, and a whole bunch of others that adopted our family over the years. I put a lot into making those kids feel loved and special. I hope that I have in some way contributed to the betterment of society as a whole by making these kids better, one at a time.

S: What inspired "Cruel Charade?"

A: Oddly, my daughter Bethany sent me a thought about using the “Five Things” that she learned during the pandemic as part of a story—you know, the five things you can see, four things you can hear, three you can touch, smell, taste, and so on, in order to center yourself and calm down. Well, I used them to open "Cruel Charade" as a Miami lawyer finds herself in the Everglades in the middle of the night, next to a burned car with a dead body in it. My daughter’s comment? “That got dark fast.” And unfortunately for heroine Bet Lenard, it gets worse even faster.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "Cruel Charade?"

A: It has the most gorgeous cover, and will be coming out soon from The Wild Rose Press. As I practiced in Miami for several years, I must confess there is a part of the story that happens to Bet, when she goes into labor in court and has to get a continuance for her case. This actually happened to me, and I’ve been waiting ages to fit it into a book I wrote.

Here’s the blurb:

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?