This is Ink & Intrigue—the blog where romance ignites, secrets simmer, and every love story hides a twist. I’m your blog host, Sheila Kell, romance author and lover of plot twists, slow burns, and morally questionable book boyfriends.
Today, I’m thrilled to introduce you to an author whose stories warm your heart as you sit on the edge of your seat —ALANA LORENS! If you love romances with a taste of danger, you’re in for a treat.
Alana Lorens is known for writing stories that don’t just fit whatever trend is on market at the time, but instead take great characters in unusual settings and bring them together in unexpected ways. Her book, SECRETS IN THE SAND, is a story of a pair of unlikely lovers, torn from today’s headlines, splashed across the hot Southwestern desert.
In this spotlight, Alana Lorens shares the inspiration for this story, something special about the characters that will intrigue you, and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at SECRETS IN THE SAND.
Whether you write love stories, devour them, or dream of doing both, you’re in the right place. Let’s get into it and give a warm welcome to Alana Lorens! 💖
Let’s get right into the interview:
What part of writing romance do you enjoy most—the meet-cute, the conflict, or the happily ever after?
When I was a teen, I read gothic romances by Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Dorothy Eden—if you are of a certain age, you’ll remember all the names. These stores instilled in me the concept of a requirement of danger, of conflict and betrayal paired with a slowly-blooming romance. This has become my favorite part of writing these stories, dropping the hero and heroine into a boiling pot of trouble, and then letting them claw their way back out, learning that they need each other to survive. In this particular story, the “dropping” is literal; Doctor Gene Nicholas ends up on the doorstep of Lily Pearl Evans’ New Mexico bordello, running for his life.
Let’s talk books and themes.
The story actually has a very different history. My former husband and I were members of an online Role-Playing Game (RPG) where we would develop characters and play them for fun. There, the characters lived in space, as it was a sci-fi RPG. The doctor was on the run from a vicious woman space pirate, and Lily Pearl’s cathouse catered to all, from the fabulously wealthy to the lowest scruffy nerfherder down on his luck.
Somehow these two from opposite ends of the social structure managed to connect, and their relationship, including their extended “families,” grew and prospered. When I transformed it into a more modern book, I needed to give it more Earthly roots. So Lily Pearl became a woman obsessed with controlling her own future, along with her compatriots in the business, and Gene became a physician working with Doctors without Borders across the line in Mexico, who takes on a dangerous drug lord for the sake of his young patients.
Both have a history that follows them into the tale, bringing hidden secrets to light at the worst possible moment.
I really enjoyed creating the additional cast of characters in the bordello, revealing parts of both Gene’s and Lily’s characters as their interaction occurs. All in all, the reader definitely has plenty of folks to root for before the story comes to an end.
How has your writing evolved since your first book?
I’ve taken advantage of all the education I can, whether reading books like Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer or K.M. Weiland’s many guides, or attending writer’s conferences like those from Pennwriters. One highlight was a week I spent high atop a Colorado mountain taking an immersion master seminar from Margie Lawson—a wonderful class that has informed my writing for 20 years.
This would be my advice as well to aspiring writers. #1, you need to WRITE. Just keep on putting words down over and over until you can perfect it. #2, find a solid critique group, and be prepared to listen to what they have to say, even f you don’t always like it. And #3, get all the education you can—it does not have to be an M.F.A., ladies and gents. Other writers sharing their time at conferences and meetings have plenty to teach you as well. Keep learning; keep writing.
Which books or authors have influenced you the most?
I’ve read most of Stephen King’s early works, and I find The Stand in particular provides just a cavalcade of wonderful characters with morality questions a plenty, Is there true black evil? Pearly white good? Or are we all built of shades of gray? I think you know. In my mind, character development is the only thing that will bring readers along on the journey you want them to take. The most intricate plot in the universe will have a book flying into the wall if no one cares about the people in it.
What do you like to read in your free time?
Free time? Hahaha.
What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
Hmm. For the last nine years, I have been a cat foster mom. Here in Asheville, there are many cat rescues, and each farms out kitties to members for socialization and sweet care. This is also how I ended up with nine cats. I wrote about this in one local rescue newsletter— a definitely happily ever after story.
How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life?
It’s much easier since I retired from my 30 year career as a divorce attorney, From a divorce attorney to a romance novelist?? Now there’s a switch. 😊 Unfortunately, as often comes with age, arthritis, both osteo and rheumatoid, is taking a toll on my flexibility, and typing is much more difficult. (I wrote a heroine with RA last year in CRUEL CHARADE, an off-the-rails suspense novel set in the late 1990s before good treatments were discovered. It was freeing to release my symptoms onto poor Bet Lenard.)
What are you working on next?
I am currently drafting two novellas to be included in an urban fantasy anthology, part of my Clan Elves of the Bitterroot series (written as Lyndi Alexander), one a coming of age story for one of my young wood elves, and another a later in life romance. This will become my 25th book, along with stories in half a dozen anthologies, give or take. Seeing as my first wasn’t published until I was 53, I’ve overachieved in the last 17 years.
But I suppose, like many writers, there’s no assurance that some wild hair won’t come along and throw plot bunnies in my path to distract me. 😊 It is the Way.
Book Blurb:
After a run of bad relationships, Lily Pearl Evans has finally become an independent woman. In the New Mexico desert town of Chaparral, she works for herself, sets her own rules, and is determined no man will hold her back again.
Gene Nicholas worked for more than a decade to achieve his dream to be a doctor. Wanting to share his gifts with those less fortunate, he leaves south Florida to volunteer for Doctors Without Borders in Mexico.
When Gene provokes a showdown with the local Mexican drug cartel, he becomes a man with a price on his head. On the run, he ends up on Lily’s doorstep–a mystery man forced to conceal his past to protect them both. With the cartel’s dangerous web drawing tight around them, can Lily and Gene survive a drug lord’s revenge? (approx. 35,000 words)
Alana’s Bio:
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.
I hope you loved getting to know Alana Lorens and hearing about her journey, her inspirations, and her latest swoon-worthy release, SECRETS IN THE SAND. If you haven’t added this to your TBR yet, now’s the time—trust me, you won’t want to miss it. 💖
You can connect with Alana Lorens here:
📚 Website: http://Alana-lorens.com
📱 Socials: 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
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/alanalorens.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexander_lyndi/
🛒 Grab her books: Amazon Barnes and Noble
Thank you for joining me in spotlighting a fellow romance lover who’s giving us all the feels. Stay tuned for more author features, book talk, and behind-the-scenes romance goodness.
Until next time—keep reading, keep swooning! ✨📚