New Graphics!

Have you read these? Check out this recent review of CRUEL CHARADE:

Cruel Charade — One of the best books I’ve read in a looong time!

I came across your book Cruel Charade and man… the way you pulled me into Bet’s descent was brutal in the best way possible. It’s raw, emotional, claustrophobic in all the right places — and you layered the mystery with just enough venom that I had to know what was coming next. The tension didn’t let up for a second.

The way you wrote her pain — physical, emotional, psychological — it wasn’t just there, it lingered. Like smoke after a fire. And the Everglades scene? That felt like waking up in a nightmare with no map out.

You didn’t go for cheap drama — you made it earn its weight. And damn, you made me feel every step she took trying to climb back out.

It’s been a while since I got that can’t-put-this-book-down feeling. Thank you!!!

The depth, the emotion, the rhythm of the story… it was all so vivid, it practically directed itself in my head.

Thanks so much, James Timothy!

He was so inspired, he even made a video script:

CINEMATIC TRAILER SCRIPT: Cruel Charade by Alana Lorens

[0:00 – 0:10]
 [Dark swamp visuals. A flickering fire glows in the distance. Low rumble of thunder. Slow fade-in of smoke rising from a burned car.]
 NARRATOR (calm, haunting):
 May 16th, 1996. The Everglades. Midnight.
 One woman wakes up next to a corpse…
 …and can’t remember how she got there.

[0:11 – 0:22]
 [Visuals: A woman stumbling through the swamp, barefoot, dazed. A flash of city lights. A courtroom fades in. A divorce decree lands on a desk.]
 NARRATOR:
 Bet Lenard had already lost everything—her career, her family, her health.
 But someone decided that wasn’t enough.

[0:23 – 0:35]
 [Quick cuts: a man screaming in a courtroom, a photo of her children ripped in half, bottles of pills scattered on the floor.]
 NARRATOR:
 Now she’s being framed for a murder she doesn’t remember…and every person in her life might want her dead.

[0:36 – 0:47]
 [Visuals: A therapist’s office. Bet sits on a couch, broken. The room flickers to scenes of shadows following her, flashing sirens, a judge slamming a gavel.]
 NARRATOR:
 Her only anchor is the voice of her therapist— …but even sanity comes with a price.

[0:48 – 1:00]
 [Montage: A man loading a gun. A car speeding through rain. Bet clutching her chest, staring at old photos. A courtroom sketch burns in flames.]
 NARRATOR:
 Was it her bitter ex-husband?
 A dangerous client?
 A jealous friend’s revenge?
 Or someone hiding behind a badge?

[1:01 – 1:15]
 [Visuals: Bet standing at the edge of a cliff at dawn. Flashbacks overlap: gunshots, betrayal, tears. Slow-motion: a key slips from her hand.]
 NARRATOR:
 Every clue pulls her deeper into a charade of lies,  …and there’s no escape unless she finds the truth— before it finds her.

[1:16 – 1:30]
 [Final scene: Bet walks through a dark hallway. Light breaks in at the end. Slow fade to black. Book cover appears.]
 NARRATOR:
 Cruel Charade by Alana Lorens.
 A psychological descent into survival, suspicion… and the savage price of truth.
 AVAILABLE NOW.