Today, I’m hosting author Alana Lorens’ latest release Cruel Charade, a domestic thriller. Check out my interview with Alana’s main character Bet Lenard, an attorney at law.
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1. First off, tell us who you are and what role you play in the novel.
Bet: I’m Bet Lenard, attorney at law. Sounds impressive, right? Ha. Not so much. Especially now. I practice in Miami-Dade County, Florida, currently handling criminal law since my ex-husband Richard screwed me out of the family law cases when he took control of our joint law office in the divorce. Why not? He took the house and the kids too. Said it was my fault.
Well, maybe it was my fault. It’s true I was drinking. Maybe a lot. But I have this mystery pain all through my body that the doctors think is in my head. They wouldn’t give me something for it for a long time, because they couldn’t find a cause that made them happy. So, alcohol at least helps.
And now, things have gone even farther down the toilet because I found myself in the Everglades in the middle of the night with a dead body and a burned car and I don’t know who it is, or why I was there. I mean, someone tried to kill me! The worst part is, I can’t even begin to guess who it is.
2. Share with us your hobbies and interests, and why you enjoy them.
Bet: Hobbies and interests, hobbies and interests, huh. I’m not sure I have any. When I lived with the family, I tried some gardening, because some clients didn’t have cash to pay so they traded me with landscaping plants. Yeah, so they all dried up and fell over dead. Not much of a green thumb, I guess. Otherwise, working with Richard, he’s pretty intense and work-focused, so we work and we go home and that’s about it.
3. Tell us how you feel about being in a novel, and if you are happy with how your author presented you to readers.
Bet: Alana did a pretty good job, actually. I know I can be a little caustic and rough around the edges. I say what I think. I know I still have a great looking body even if it’s tearing me up on the inside, so she let me dress up in my pretties. The ones I could still wear after the burns. Blisters mean I can’t wear my designer heels, and that tees me off to no end. Now if she’d only let me know who tried to kill me–and why–maybe I could sleep at night.
4. If your author was to create another novel with you in mind, give us a quick blurb of what it would be about. And be sure to give the title.
Bet: I’d call it Revenge Is Sweet. It would be the story of how I recovered from this disaster and started life over again. Maybe it would even tell about how I got it on with a Miami-Dade detective who had the hots for me. HAHA! who am I kidding? You can’t trust the police, ever.
5. Which character in the novel do you like the most, and why?
Bet: Well, me, of course. Getting my act together could certainly make me fabulous, Although, I do have a date with the handsome doctor from the emergency room–Cuban coffee and guava pastelitas in a little out of the way bakery? Could be the stat of something good… Oh and my therapist Hyacinth is so wonderful. She really helps save me every day.
6. Which character in the novel do you dislike the most, and why?
Bet: Hmm. Some days I’d say Richard. He can be a real son of a bitch. But mostly I feel sorry for him. I probably still love him. I can sure set him off. *giggle* Yep, I still got it. But I really have absolutely no use for John Lee. He’s a high-level drug dealer. I know Richard likes to pull in the high rollers, because they pay big retainers. But they’re dangerous, and they’re known for putting hits out on people who don’t play by their rules. If there’s one thing you can say about me–I hate playing by someone else’s rules.
7. Tell us why we should read the featured novel and what we will find most intriguing about you.
Bet: Alana tells the story out of chronological order, which makes it fun and gives you clues slowly about why things are the way they are, like they did in WESTWORLD and THIS IS US. And about me? I don’t know. I feel like I lost everything, but it wasn’t really my fault, so I deserve a little cheering on to get back on my feet and discover what REALLY happened, Women help each other up, right?
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Title: Cruel Charade
Series: N/A
Author: Alana Lorens
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Heat Rating: 3 Flames (open-door sex, but no explicit language used)
Length: 74,000 words/296 pages
Release Date: July 10, 2024
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
The list of who didn’t want her dead was shorter.
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?
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“Did you tell the detectives what Rich said?”
“No. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Until he confesses. In full.”
She stayed only an hour, distracted by the creeping pain. Maybe Mela was right. I should recuperate at home. I’ve got more control over my work environment there. She gave Mela the satisfaction of knowing she’d been right, then took her laptop and a briefcase of mail and case files home with her.
At home, she marched swiftly to the door and let herself in, locking up behind her. A quick trip to change into a loose caftan necessitated washing her face and changing the bandages yet again. She stared at the angry red blisters with a mixture of disgust and rage. Who were those people and how dare they? How dare they?
Too uncomfortable and anxious to work, she debated calling Hyacinth, but settled for a thorough meditation with the Five Things. A Vicodin dialed back her pain, and a shot of Jameson’s topped it off. Instead of working, she curled up in her living room chair and watched a TV rerun of Heathers.
She’d always identified with Veronica. Part of the wrestling cheerleader squad, Bet had played the game just long enough to establish it on her high school resume, then she’d left the group. These days, I’d just rip the rug out from under those mean girls. She’d purposely chosen a small school, Muskingum College, and joined a sorority dedicated to serving others rather than being popular.
Bad enough still having to play games as an adult. At least now, I have weapons of my own.
Her first weapon for the evening was a spritz of Joy, by Jean Patou, a perfume Rich had bought her years before. The combination of jasmine and rose was once a favorite of Jackie Kennedy; it certainly was Rich’s favorite, too.
Her second weapon was a short maize-and-navy dress with wide diagonal stripes, a real eyecatcher. If Rich thought he’d shove Bet under the rug—or perhaps the bus?—he had another thing coming.
Her most valuable weapon would be the small recorder she slipped into her clutch before she left. If she had the chance to get information that could finally give her the upper hand over Rich, she intended to grab it.
Maybe I’m a Heather after all…
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Alana Lorens (aka Barbara Mountjoy) 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 she is ruled by three crotchety old cats, and six kittens of various ages.
Follow Alana: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | BookBub | Amazon
Maggie Blackbird 