Pantser or Plotter
Day 1
1. Are you a pantser or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?
Both, actually. I begin as a pantser—starting with whatever “what if” has caught my attention. For this book, SECOND CHANCES, it was “what if an associate in a law office gets kicked out at 42 with no prospects?” I knew she’d meet her future office mate—and more—but not the details, after that. About halfway through, when I see the character arc coming together, then I put together a chapter by chapter map of what has to happen as we’re moving forward.
2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?
Definitely characters. In my opinion, people and their wants and choices and emotions drive any story forward, real or fictional, for better or worse.
3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?
I’m editing a manuscript that’s totally different for me. It’s a straight thriller, not a romance, and it jumps around in time (the way THIS IS US has been) building in the backstory in alternating chapters. Of course, in beginning the story with Bet, our protagonist, stumbling out of a burnt out car in the Everglades, with no recollection of how she got there, there’s a lot of mystery about to be revealed!
4. Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.
I don’t, actually. 😊
5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?\
I do SOMETHING every day. Many days, it’s working on the current new work in progress. Otherwise, it’s editing manuscripts that have yet to be submitted, or doing press for the book about to be released, or writing blog posts for myself or someone else, or hanging with my critique groups, or updating social media or… seems like the writer’s life is never a dull moment!
6. Where can we find you?
Author Bio
Alana Lorens has been a published writer for more than forty years, after working as a pizza maker, a floral designer, a journalist and a family law attorney. Currently a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, the aging hippie loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. She writes romance and suspense as Alana Lorens, and sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal mystery as Lyndi Alexander. 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. She lives with her daughter, who is the youngest of her seven children, three crotchety old cats and six others who are in various degrees of insanity.
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:
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alana-lorens
Twitter: @AlexanderLyndi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexander_lyndi/
7. Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?
I grew up on the gothic romance circuit, so Victoria Holt, Dorothy Eden, Barbara Michaels, Mary Stewart, et al. But the other half of me is sci-fi oriented, so I also love Anne McCaffery’s books as well as Stephen King. The Stand is probably one of my all time faves—love the characters in that one.
No comments:
Post a Comment