Title: Conviction of the Heart
Author: Alana Lorens
Genre: Romantic suspense
Book Blurb:
Romantic suspense novel CONVICTION OF THE HEART features attorney Suzanne Taylor, who raised her children as a single mother while building a successful legal practice. She’s managed to keep herself untangled from romance for many years, putting her kids and their financial security first.
But the case of a city councilman’s battered wife brings her complications in the form of police lieutenant Nick Sansone, whose interest in her comes right when she needs a little help from outside sources. The councilman strikes out at Suzanne, Nick, and eventually, anyone he can think of who might make Suzanne back off. Will they be able to stave off the danger long enough for their love to blossom?
Excerpt:
Suzanne washed her hands and began chopping broccoli and onions as she put on her other “hat,” that of single mother to dark-haired Hope, age fifteen, and blonde Riviera, two years younger. She had raised the girls alone for thirteen years.
She’d met John Taylor in law school and finished her last year pregnant with Hope. They married only when they’d both passed the bar. He lived with her until it became clear, to him anyway, that he was not cut out for living with a small child. When she told him she was pregnant again, he left. He moved from Pittsburgh to Nevada, lived there long enough to file for divorce and proceeded without even sending notice to her. She received a copy of the final decree. He probably thought she should be grateful. He then moved from his legal Nevada address, and the Taylor family had never had contact again.
John Taylor’s exit, and the subsequent behavior she’d seen by men in many of her divorce cases had convinced her she was doing the right thing by remaining single. One betrayal had been enough. She didn’t intend to let herself fall in love again.
Particularly with a cop.
She chopped zucchini and snow peas, thinking about her dinner with Nick Sansone. She’d truly enjoyed the chance to kick back and talk about something that wasn’t business. Just pleasure. She’d almost decided he was that rare beast, a nice guy, when he’d pulled the switch on her with that kiss.
“Just dinner,” he’d promised.
Yeah, so much for that.
Sure, she’d kissed him, too, but that was something under her control. Her will. Because she’d wanted to, by then. And she’d even said she’d see him again. What had she been thinking?
The girls carried the laundry down the back hall, and Suzanne sighed with relief. They’d turned out well—healthy, happy, normal siblings, responsible and anything but self-centered.
Riviera was the more outgoing, working backstage at the local community theater, twirling flags for the marching band, and singing in the City Chorus. She’d always liked performing for others. Hope, more cerebral, was a long-time Girl Scout, and a member of the National Honor Society. She also worked Sundays at a local church in the nursery for some spending money.
The reminders a warm ball of pride inside her, she scraped the vegetables off the wooden cutting board into the wok. They sizzled and danced in the olive oil as she stirred them. She hunted in the refrigerator, discovering leftover beef, which she tossed into the pan with some cooked rice, soy sauce and several cloves of garlic.
As the aromas blended and filled the small kitchen, Suzanne gathered the peels and tops to discard. In the wastebasket, she found a cookie wrapper, an empty potato chip bag, a cereal box and three apple cores. She threw the garbage away and called the girls to come eat, shaking her head.
At least they had apples, she thought.
****
They ate at the dinner table, an unusual event in light of their busy schedules. Riviera laid out the plates, while Hope poured each a glass of milk. Suzanne served the main course, and the three dug in.
Settling back into her chair, Suzanne asked, “Anything I should know about happen at school?” She never believed, of course, that either girl would confess to a transgression. Asking a general question was the best way to find out from one girl what the other had done.
“No,” Hope said promptly. With her long dark hair delicately French-braided, and her face scrubbed clean, she looked as angelic as she wanted her mother to believe.
“Steve Jones got the flu at lunch and puked on Mr. Racine,” Riviera said, taking a huge bite of rice and vegetables. She was shorter and rounder than long-stemmed Hope, strawberry blonde hair straight to her shoulder blades, parted on the side. “It was so sick!”
“How was the geography quiz?” Suzanne asked her.
Riviera's fork hit the plate as she dropped it. “Mom, Mrs. Batt is such a jerk! She tested us on all this stuff that's in our next unit, and no one knew what she was talking about.”
“Did you ask her why?”
“After she collected the papers, she walked out of class before the bell rang. You couldn't ask her anything.”
“Would you like me to speak to her?”
Hope burst out laughing. “Good plan, Mom.” Sarcasm coated every word.
Simultaneously, Riviera blushed and cried out, “No way!”
Suzanne looked from one to the other. “What's wrong with your mother talking to the teacher if there's a problem?”
Hope asked, “Do you remember last year, when you talked to Mrs. Batt about her math?”
Riviera covered her face with her hands, her response muffled and unintelligible.
“What about it?”
“The teachers carried on afterward for a week. They're all afraid you're going to sue them about something. Mona Rheinfeld just eats it up. She even reminds them about you all the time so she can be class suck-up.”
“Fine,” Suzanne said, swallowing her frustration along with her rice, preparing for a good digestive mess later. “I just thought communication might be a good thing.”
“Mom, this is Mrs. Batt we're talking about. Remember my seventh grade year? She locked herself in the teacher's lounge and wouldn't come out until after school when the police came?”
Suzanne smiled. “Sounds reasonable to me. You couldn't pay me enough to do her job anyway.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conviction-of-the-heart-alana-lorens/1111476692?ean=2940014792394
Wild Rose Press https://wildrosepress.com/product/conviction-of-the-heart/
What makes your featured book a must-read?
Alana Lorens is a pseudonym for an author who practiced family law for 30 years, dealing with issues of domestic violence in Pennsylvania. She was also a single mother for much of her adult life, so she knows what it’s like raising kids on her own. Suzanne Taylor is just the right amount of bravado hiding some deep-felt insecurities. The story rings true for many reasons, and the antagonist city councilman is plenty scary, being an entitled guy who feels he has the right to control everyone else’s life. Hero Nick Sansone is the kind of guy any woman could love—even if he is a Pittsburgh detective. You want to root for him to break through Suzanne’s walls, wishing them both the happiness they deserve. If they live long enough.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs May 7 – May 14, 2024.
Winner will be drawn on May 15, 2024.
Author Biography:
Alana Lorens (aka Barbara Mountjoy) has been a published writer for over 45 years, including seven years as a reporter and editor at the South Dade News Leader in Homestead, Florida. 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 five crotchety cats.
Social Media Links:
Website http://Alana-lorens.com
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alana-Lorens/e/B005GE0WBC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Book trailer:
Twitter: @AlexanderLyndi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexander_lyndi/