1. Are you a panster or a
plotter or perhaps a bit of both?
I’m definitely a bit of both—especially if I’m writing romance.
After all, we know what the ending will be.
😊 Just a matter of finding
the twists and turns appropriate with the characters and setting. But I also write suspense and sci-fi, and in
these I need more idea of what the plot will be and how to get to whatever end
I anticipate. I’ll start out with a sketchy outline and then fill in the
farther I get along.
2. Which comes first - characters or plot for you?
I’ve done both. For example in my Clan Elves books, the
glass slipper appearing on my modern Montana sidewalk twisted the Cinderella
story—so, plot.
In the current book I’m working on now, the lawyer heroine came to
me first. She is tall, thin and has long, thick, wavy red hair, a criminal defense
attorney in 1990s Miami. Just because she is also found in the Everglades next
to a burned car with a body in it… I mean, redheads are naturally trouble,
right?
3. What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series
or something totally new?
My lawyer Bet that I mentioned above is in a standalone book that
is a pretty straight up domestic thriller. I had an agent ask for it at a
recent conference, and I’ve got my fingers crossed it’ll go far!
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.
My elf clan series and my romantic suspense TENDER
MISDEMEANORS are all set outside Missoula, Montana in the Bitterroot Forest and
Mountains. It is a beautiful setting, and I loved living there in the late
1970s. Missoula definitely has a hippie vibe, just like Asheville, NC, where I
live now.
5. Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?
I do something related to my writing every day. Back at the beginning,
I could indulge myself and write all the time, but now I find myself promoting
both my work and other writer’s works weekly, checking social media and setting
up teaching gigs. So being an author is more than a full-time job, as you know.
6. Where can we find you?
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
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alana-lorens
Twitter: @AlexanderLyndi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexander_lyndi/
Alana Lorens (aka Lyndi Alexander or Barbara Mountjoy) has been a
published writer for over 45 years, including seven years as a reporter and
editor at the South Dade News Leader in Homestead, Florida. 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 on the autism spectrum,
who is the youngest of her seven children, and five crotchety cats.
7. Who are your
favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?
Stephen King,
although I confess I haven’t kept up with his most recent books. I also grew up
on Anne McCaffrey’s dragon books, gothic romance by Victoria Holt, Dorothy Eden
and Mary Stewart. Oh, and Robert Heinlein’s later work—you know, the wild ones
like Stranger in a Strange Land. And also… well. So. Many. Books.
