I'm delighted to welcome Alana Lorens to my blog and to learn more about her and her latest book. Be sure to view the book trailer and read the tantalizing excerpt. Enjoy!
What inspired you to write Prophecies and Promises?
I’ve been in love with the Keys and Key West since our time living in South Florida in the 70s and 80s. We traveled them many times, and I adore all the little creatures living in the tidal waters, the sun, the sand, the trees, birds and so much more, just as heroine Tamsyn does in P&P. I wanted her to have plenty of wildlife to explore, too, so I moved the story back before the condos and timeshares to give her the space/ And, well—PIRATES! Am I right?
What are you reading?
I’m currently reading WHEN RABBIT HOWLS, about a woman with Dissociative identity disorder. She was horrifically abused as a child. What I find fascinating is the split personalities themselves—do we all have potential identities inside? I know I can react very differently to one person than I do to someone else. Are the different facets of ourselves just separate selves never pushed to the limit?
Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing?
I’ve been descending for several years into a dungeon of chronic pain. As it has limited the outside activities I can enjoy and partake in, I have definitely centered on my writing and writing groups to help keep me interacting with the world and distracted from what I can’t avoid.
About the book
Prophecies and Promises
by Alana Lorens
Genre: Historical romance
Tags: #sweetromance, #pirates, #KeyWest,
#SpanishAmericanWar, #badboy
When the ‘good’ man is bad, and the ‘bad’ man is good, how’s a young woman to choose?
Blurb
Tamsyn McKiernan thinks her dreams have come true. She’s engaged to a dashing Key West bachelor and finally in her widowed father’s good graces. But in her heart, she knows something’s wrong. She loves the ocean and the quiet pleasures of nature—so what does the aristocratic life she’ll lead truly hold for her?
Mercenary captain Drake Ashton is neck deep in preparations for the Spanish-American War, running guns and other supplies to Cuban natives who want out from under their Spanish masters. He and his brother Freddie risk their lives daily, focused on saving his friends on the island. Nothing else matters but his mission.
A chance encounter with a spiny sea urchin brings the two together, and neither of their lives will ever be the same again.
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Peek between the pages...
The wine would go straight to her head soon, she knew from previous, infrequent consumption, so she must sip it slowly. One of them had to keep their wits.
She felt the curious eyes of the crew, some shy, others bolder in their observation. Tamsyn smiled at them all. One broad, bullish man came forward with a blanket, which he spread on the deck. Drake clapped the man on the shoulder.
“Good thinking, Chaney. A picnic it will be!” He gestured to Tamsyn that she should seat herself, which she did without hesitation.
Within a few minutes, trays of food came up from belowdecks, chicken spit broiled with crispy skins, fruits and cheeses, Bahamian bread with a thick slab of butter. The men vied for the opportunity to serve her until Drake finally dismissed them with a laugh.
“Cook has enough for all below. Go take your supper. We may have some business awaiting us yet tonight.”
The men cheered and noisily went down to eat. The skinny cabin boy remained to serve his captain. Drake saw that the boy got a plate of food, then sent him away. “A few moments alone,” he whispered conspiratorially.
“Just a few,” she said with a sad smile. “Then I must—”
Drake held up a finger, silencing her. “Not a word of that now.”
Tamsyn started to argue, then realized he would just cut her off again. It was right. What might happen in a minute, in an hour, would not be changed if she took the time to immerse herself in the joy and comfort of this time with Drake.
The food smelled so good in the fresh night air, and Drake urged her to taste everything, from sweet melons to spicy chicken. It was simple fare, but it satisfied her more than any of the expensive delicacies that had been served at the Pickhams’ buffet. Surely it is the company which has improved my appetite. Drake’s dark eyes danced in the moonlight, and he often turned to her with a smile, perhaps wanting to say something but reluctant to break the spell they seemed to be under.
But not yet, Mamma, not yet…Can you see me, Mamma? Tamsyn wondered silently. Can you see how happy I am?
About the author: Alana Lorens has been a published writer for more than forty years, after working as a pizza maker, a floral designer, a journalist and a family law attorney. Currently a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, the aging hippie loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. She writes romance and suspense as Alana Lorens, and sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal mystery as Lyndi Alexander. One of her novellas, THAT GIRL’S THE ONE I LOVE, is set in the city of Asheville during the old Bele Chere festival. She lives with her daughter on the autism spectrum, who is the youngest of her seven children, and she is ruled by three crotchety old cats, and six kittens of various ages.
Hi, from one old hippie to another. Your story sounds very good!
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