Author Interview- Alana Lorens

Good Monday morning readers, just as promised, we have the first in a series of interviews from author- Alana Lorens / Lyndi Alexander. Today she's sharing a few tidbits about herself as well as a quick peek at her gripping suspense, ENCOUNTER.

Tell me three words that describe yourself starting with A, B, and C.

             Adaptable

             Busy

             Complicated

What are your three favorite things?

Good coffee, warm toes and a day without pain.

Was there any particular inspiration for your characters or story?

I traveled through New Mexico in 1999, and the landscape really grabbed me. Searching for information on the Web, I came across this ranch for sale, that was big enough to use for retreats, etc. and I started to think about using it as a setting for some story.  Then, as a lawyer myself, I knew how lawyers act and react to things, so coming up with the tumultuous cast here was fun and natural. Throwing in the Mexicans looking for American freedom was a stroke of luck—and it does snow in March periodically! But my favorite character in the story is the ranch’s caretaker, Jake Patrin. I modeled his personality on a mixture of different people I know, and his struggle for sobriety after being addicted to pain pills is a story that hits close to home.

Is there a process you stick to, or do you just write as it hits you?

I tend to start at an unknown, unplanned point, with a character or an event. But then as I get into the story, I usually have to start mapping out future sections to save myself a lot of time not going off onto tangents.

Describe your perfect day?

One where the telephone doesn’t ring all day! Seriously, in my day job as a family law attorney, I find myself distracted from the writing I’d like to be doing instead.  So definitely a day when I don’t have to attend to the legal office work, preferably one where the coffee appears as if by magic, and I can just sink into my story and live vicariously through my characters.

When not writing, what can you be found doing?

I have a huge fabric collection that takes up a whole wall-long closet in my office. My current project is sewing up patchwork quilts to donate to Project Linus (http://www.projectlinus.org/) that gives donated blankets to kids in hospitals, so they have something home-like to keep close.

As a beginning quilter and a mom, I have to say, I ABSOLUTELY love this idea. Definitely something I need to look into. Thank you for being with us today Alana and I look forward to chatting with you again next Monday.

Blurb:

Teo Haroun and the other lawyers in his firm look forward in varying degrees to the retreat at the Sherman Ranch in northern New Mexico. The boss has laid down some rules—no phones, no computers, no communication with the outside world—that makes them uneasy. But the corporate team-building exercises are necessary for this firm to survive its inner sniping and turmoil—and to protect the secrets they hold.
Inez Suela and thirty other Mexicans have paid a coyote hundreds of pesos to take them across the border into the United States, where they hope to make a better life. The crowded truck heads north into New Mexico to meet their local driver, the occupants unaware that a freak March snowstorm is waiting in its path.
Jake Patrin, the caretaker of the Ranch, fights demons of his own as he struggles daily with addiction. Working far from the city on the lonely Ranch, hosting those who rent the facility, is his protection and solace. But he’s about to lose the only peace he’s been able to grasp.
Davi Pilar needs to make some fast money to appease a couple of St. Louis loan sharks, so he agrees to pick up a truckload of illegals and take them to St. Louis. He drives to New Mexico, not knowing that Inez, the woman who rejected him years before, is one of those on that truck.

The intersection of these people, the collision of their cultures, the revelation of their secrets—all these things lead to violence, death, and even redemption in their New Mexico ENCOUNTER.

Excerpt:

Teo walked behind the van into the street, feeling the sun on his face. So long since it had been warm in Chicago. Here, March was nearly sixty degrees. After four months of bitter winter, it felt glorious. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes.

                Moments later, tires squealed. A horn blared inches from Teo’s thigh. An irritated male voice yelled, “Get out of the street! Are you crazy?”

                Teo jerked back to reality, found himself looking across the hood of a “Hello-Officer Red” Trans Am at a polo-shirted man with dark glasses and a jaunty black hat. “S-Sorry—“

                “Sorry, my ass! Are you high? Get out of the fucking street!”

                The Chicago partner squinted, studied the driver. “John?”

                The driver swung out of the vehicle, lowered the shades a moment and looked at him. “Hey…Teo? Right? Oh hey, sorry, man. Damn glasses are really dark.” The broad-shouldered man walked over, shoved a meaty hand in Teo’s direction. “You okay?”

                “Fine, fine.” Teo shook his hand, released it when it was polite. He’d barely recognized the newest Denver partner, John Kirk Nicholas, responsible for most of the firm’s West Coast clientele.

                I hadn’t realized he was such a jerk.

                But Teo’s friendly smile never wavered. He knew many men like John Kirk, confident of their own place in the world, cocky bastards who made sure they belonged to the “right” social groups and had the “right” opinions to get ahead, whether those opinions served the moral conscience or not. None of them was gay.

                John Kirk turned to the van driver. “Hey, Pedro! Where can I park my rental?”

                Teo stiffened as the driver gritted his teeth and pointed out the parking lot before turning back to his work.

                The athletic Trans Am driver grinned at Teo and clapped him on the shoulder. “See you inside, pal.” Climbing back into the car, he squealed his tires again and headed in the direction of the indicated lot.

                In an attempt to offset John Kirk’s bad impression on the driver, Teo helped Pedro unload the large suitcases and set them on the curb as a youngish man showed up with the requested car top carrier. “We’re not all like that,” Teo said apologetically.

                The driver looked at him, cocked a brow. “Gringos?”

                Surprised, Teo shook his head. “Lawyers.”

                “Ah.” Pedro chuckled as he got back to work, and Teo retreated inside, feeling he’d been put in his place.

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