Please help me welcome Alana Lorens and her fabulous book, Cruel Charade…
Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?
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.
Tell us a little about how your book came about
I was excited to use a technique I had been seeing on television, that of time jumps to tell a story, like THIS IS US and WESTWORLD. I’d never done it before, and I know it has been jarring for some readers, even though the times are clearly marked. It works in this story, to really let us soak in the emotion and impact of the older scenes—much better than a couple-paragraph flashback.
Being a Lawyer Means Never Having to Say “I’m Your Friend”
Being a lawyer, like being a doctor or other professional, means it’s important to draw an invisible line around yourself and keep all clients at arms’ length. No matter how much you might like or admire your client, it is often a mistake to become friends.
After practicing family law for thirty years, I’ve got to say that is a tough rule to follow. Not every client wants to be more than that, of course. Many come to you for a job, like hiring a plumber, and after you have filled out the right papers, passed them across the right desks, and delivered the results as expected (or dreaded), then your association is done. I expect with estate or tax attorneys that is much easier. When those cases are done, they’re really done.
In family law, however, the case is never done, specially if there are children involved. Co-parenting can be a nightmare, as our heroine Bet finds out, and it lasts way past the majority of the children, because there are weddings and other events, and grandchildren… So you get to know people pretty well over the years. I’ve personally had several divorces of my own, so I sympathize with some of the crap that gets pulled on clients, particularly women. As a child of divorce, I can also share insights that parents might not have considered. Talking about these things brings people closer, and yes, now several of them are my friends, whether in person or on social media, now that I’ve moved away. The job? Sometimes I’ve loved it, others I’ve hated it, but what I remember from the years are the certain people who I became attached to.
But it’s often like surgeons operating on a family member. If you get too close, emotions will affect your judgment. Can you really remain totally objective dealing with that person’s life thereafter?
In CRUEL CHARADE, Bet helps a random battered woman one day in court, and before long, their lives become entwined in a number of ways. By keeping this woman in her life as her secretary, gal Friday and best friend, Bet is also exposing herself to the continuing wrath of the batterer, who has been shut out of his wife’s life by the restraining order against him.
But this isn’t her only problem. She’s made enough enemies to populate a phone book. (That’s an ancient form of a contacts list, for you younguns). Is it an enemy who leaves her for dead in a swamp in the Everglades? Or is it a friend? Or a complete stranger? That’s the thing: she just doesn’t know.
GIVEAWAY!!!: I’d be happy to give away an e-copy of one of my Pittsburgh Lady Lawyer books to someone who leaves a comment on the blog today. Thanks for stopping by!
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?
Excerpt:
Bet and the kids were lucky enough to see some of the exotic birds for which the park was named, one male peacock in particular strutting and fanning out his tail as photographers gathered around. Into the second hour of their excursion, though, the kids were dragging their feet and whining.
Aren’t they supposed to grow out of that after they’re toddlers?
“All right,” she said. “Enough culture for one day. Let’s head over to the burger place. “
Both Jane and Jeremy perked up as they headed back to the lot.
“I’m getting the biggest veggie burger they have,” Jane said. “With provolone. And no tomatoes or onions.”
“Rag says the fries come in a huge basket. And you can have all the sauce you want.” Jeremy pumped his arm. “Honey mustard, right?”
“Ugh. No. Korean barbecue.” Jane shot him a sidewise look.
Bet dug for her keys as they came around the corner to the lot where the Jag was parked.
“Mom, there’s people by our car,” Jane said. She frowned and stopped.
Bet looked up. Several men were indeed standing along the right front fender. None looked Hispanic— more like suburban soccer dads and trade investors. “Huh. That’s odd.”
Jeremy marched up to confront the men. “Hey! What are you doing—oh my God.”
The distress in his voice made Bet break into a run. As she came up beside him, she saw what he had seen. In the center of the driver’s side of the windshield were three bullet holes, evenly spaced. The glass around them had splintered into spiderweb cracks.
Jane caught up and grabbed her mother’s arm. “If you’d been sitting in the car…”
Bet nodded slowly. “If I’d been sitting in the car, I’d be dead.”
The men murmured sympathetic platitudes.
“Were you here? Did you see what happened?” Bet demanded. “How long ago did this happen?”
One man, in a peach-colored polo shirt, said, “Was just walking along and saw this. I mean this is a fine car, ma’am. What a shame.”
“Yeah,” another man said. “Your husband is gonna be mad as hell.”
Bet shot him a look that could kill. He just smiled, oblivious.
One asked if he should call the police.
“You didn’t see anyone else hanging around? No one with a gun?”
Peach shirt chuckled. “Ma’am, this is Miami. Pretty much everyone carries here.”
The shame of a public scene clashed with a personal sense of deep loss inside her, and she fought back tears. She’d lusted after just this car, a green Jag with tan interior, since her first day of law school. How dare anyone desecrate it?
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Find Alana here:
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/
Author Alicia Dean 
This is a great read. Will Bet Lenard be a returning character in another book?
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Wow, thanks! Do you think she’s brave enough to try again?? 🙂
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Thanks, Alicia, for having me!!! A great project!
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