Howdy! A special happy Mother’s Day Weekend to all you mothers out there. And for all you Mutha’s too! You know who you are. Is this picture not the greatest? Can’t help smiling back.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ You’ve never seen five superstar rock musicians look this uncomfortable in your whole entire life:

I love this song, but have never laughed through a video that much. Thanks, Beach Boys!

Work in Progress News ~ Well, I’ve tried a few different beginnings to the pilot story Olivia’s been working on. Unfortunately, I’m still not in love with it. I’m going to set it aside and work on something else. Instead I made a trailer for a friend of mine Gem Sivad (be watching for it!) and read a few books as a contest judge. And a few books that aren’t part of the judging, because I tried to make my WiP jealous. It didn’t work.

Backlist News ~ Speaking of awards, At Ease was nominated for a Swirl Award! It’s the first annual award for interracial romances. At Ease is in the Novella category, and it’s up against some really great books by some really great authors. Just being nominated is an honor, and I’m not just saying that.

Industry News ~ Not sure if this is news or just a rumor, but Amazon is rumored to launch a color e-book reader in the second half of this year. Just when you thought you had the latest and greatest, right? [source]

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Lots of terms made me giggle, but a good chunk weren’t repeatable! Whew, folks. This one found me, but I’m not exactly sure how: “harlequin romance nurse nolan no. 580″

What I’m reading ~ Ava March writes delicious historical m/m. So when the buy link appeared on my laptop screen (I swear I don’t know how it happened) to the third in the Brook Street trilogy I just had to have it. I didn’t read books one and two yet, but they weren’t necessary for me to enjoy this one.

Hero Quote ~ from Dean’s story, Earth Scents Book Two (untitled). This is actually a quote from Dean’s father, as he makes fun of Dean’s choices in men:

“You say you like men, son, but you keep dating immature women.”

Okay, everyone. Get outside and enjoy spring while you can! And again, happy Mother’s Day!

It’s Cinco de Mayo! To me, that means Mexican food for lunch!  Please celebrate responsibly today. Make sure whatever you beat with a stick really is a pinata.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ A few weeks ago, I shared a song (that I still love, even though many are overplaying it) by Gotye, “Somebody that I Used to Know”. Here’s Bad Lipreading with their take on Gotye’s video. Be sure to hit the captions button for the full effect.

Work in Progress News ~ Working on my pilot story. I had a few thousand words in, then decided it needed to start at a different point in the story, so I started over. This is where plotting might help. Still, now that I figured out the problem, I should be able to go full steam ahead!

Industry News ~ It looks like Target is going to stop carrying Kindles in their stores, citing “conflict of interest”. This means that likely many shoppers visit Target to see and touch a device, then purchase from Amazon anyway. Also, Microsoft and Barnes and Noble are teaming up. Imagine Windows on a Nook, folks. That could change the tablet wars as we know it, and consumers win!

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Nothing too entertaining, but this one made me smile: “beautiful saturday status”. I’ll take that as a compliment!

What I’m reading ~ The Psychic and the Sleuth by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon. I’m not sure what it is about historical m/m stories that just make me autobuy. This one is wonderful, with a great plot. Robert Court is an inspector, trying to debunk Oliver Marsh’s claims of psychic ability. He doesn’t expect Oliver to suddenly spout clues to a murder close to Robert’s heart.

Hero Quote ~ So, sorry about last week’s quote. That entire scene was cut, so it’s no longer there. I don’t have anything new for him yet either, at least nothing quote-worthy. So here’s a quote from Mario, from Flipped, by Olivia Brynn:

“Tiny Tim? A complex? The only complex that boy will ever suffer from is the Napoleon kind. From his overblown cockiness, I could tell he had more dick in his personality than he could ever have in his pants.”

I guess that’s it for me. Have a great week, everyone!

I gotta say, April 2012 was a great month for me. I’m sorry to see it go. May? Bring it on.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ I bet you never thought you’d see a Justin Bieber song on my FSotW. Well maybe you did, because my tastes are pretty eclectic. But I found myself dancing to this, and only later found out it was by the boy wonder. This certainly doesn’t sound like his other stuff. I guess there’s no official video yet. Whaddya think?

Work in Progress News ~ I’ve been slowly working on my pilot story. I usually name my WiPs my hero’s name until I can come up with a good one, but I haven’t even named my hero yet! I like to wait until his personality shows through. Know any good pilot names?

Backlist News ~ After the release of Flipped last Saturday, I’ve been hopping from blog to blog promoting. I also got some really good reviews from Brief Encounters (B-) Hearts on Fire Reviews (4 Hearts) MM Good Reviews (5 Hearts) and QMO Books (No rating given) Not bad, eh?

Industry News ~ The Sci-Fi publisher Tor (Also Forge, Orb, Starscape, and Tor Teen) announced this week that “by early July 2012, their entire list of e-books will be available DRM-free.” That’s great news! I honestly don’t think DRM does anything but punish honest readers, so I’d like to see DRM go the way of the 8-Track.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ I hope I was on page fifty or so on this one, because I don’t see myself in this at all. “what is a romance novel that the character is a matador” What do you guys think?

What I’m reading ~ I’ve read two great books this week. I’ll tell you about one of them, and save the other for a week where I don’t read anything new. I read With the Band by L.A. Witt. I actually purchased this during the RT Conference earlier this month. I sat next to the author as we imbibed in some blackberry brandy. She started telling me about this book, and I whipped out my Kindle and bought it on the spot. That’s called “Bar Marketing.” Look it up. I just invented it. With the Band is about the lead singer and bass player in a rock band. Lots of tension in this one, including the fact that both heroes are still in the closet.

Hero Quote ~ One of my unnamed pilot hero’s early lines:

“We’ll be in the air soon, and you can catch another power nap.” He grinned, showing off a set of straight white teeth. “That’s when I catch mine.”

He’s joking! Of course he’s joking. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Welcome!! Busy weekend for me. Right now I’m neck-deep in the JustRomance.Me blog hop! Just scroll down for my post, and click the link to join in the fun. We’re giving away a Nook Simple Touch Glow ereader! Also today is Release Day for my book Flipped! *throws confetti*

Favorite Song of the Week ~ Mario, one of the main characters in Flipped loves Whitesnake. I thought I’d give him a treat by posting this song:

Nothing says “80′s Hair Band” like a woman in a dress doing front walkovers on classic muscle cars, right?

Work in Progress News ~ I haven’t written in any of my wips, I’ve been busily preparing for my Book Release Blog Tour, which begins today at Kerrianne Coombes’ blog. Come and visit me, where I’ll be drawing a winner from the comments to receive one of the first digital copies of Flipped! The rest of my blog tour stops are posted HERE or right here on my sidebar–>

Backlist News ~ Well Last Call has slipped to the lower rungs of the top 100 list at Barnes & Noble. It was a fun ride while it lasted, and Last Call peaked at #2 on their list! Now with all my new readers, I’m getting some wonderful reviews. Otherwise not much going on in my backlist this week.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Nothing but the usual this week. People looking for my books for free, and people looking for satin backgrounds. Come on, folks! Let’s get creative, here!

What I’m reading ~ This isn’t the first book in the series, but I’ve been wanting to read it for a while. This one is on my Kindle, though, and I was too lazy to put book one on there, so I started reading this, and each chapter in, I thought, “This is the last chapter before I read book one.”  Well yeah. KZ Snow has such an engaging voice. I just picture her smiling as she writes each word.

Hero Quote ~ From Flipped, my friends-to-lovers book. Meet Carter:

“Your personality quirks were too much to handle years ago, and I still like you.”

That’s it for me today. Don’t forget to join me on the JustRomance.Me blog hop, and at on my Flipped Release Blog Tour this week!

If you’ve never tried them, you haven’t lived. Also, if you’ve never tried them, don’t start. I can’t take the competition in the stores anymore. Already they sell out within hours of being stocked onto the shelves. (Mouth is watering right now!) But enough of that. Here’s what I’ve done all week:

Favorite Song of the Week ~ Okay, this is funny right here:

I know it’s not very Easterish, but it has a bunny!! Good luck getting rid of that earworm, by the way…

Work in Progress News ~ Well again, I didn’t get many words in on Dean’s story, but I’ve been getting ready for the Romance Times Booklover’s Convention, which starts on Wednesday! I’ll be flying out of the windier city to the Windy City on Tuesday. I simply cannot wait.  I made some nifty magnets with my logo on them. I’m pretty proud of me, and my crafty self! I can’t take credit for the idea tho, I got a magnet just like this from a Scentsy lady.  Then I put my free reads on a CD (and added a bonus novel on random discs) and burned my logo on the front. Pretty cool looking, yeah? Thanks to booknibbles.com for the way awesome and useful logo

Industry News ~ Back in 2010, Google put its feelers out into the indy book market, selling ebooks via a beta program. Unfortunately, Google is pulling the plug on that program as it introduced the new Google Play format. I guess the revenue just wasn’t there.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ This one has popped up in various forms over the weeks, and I thought I should address it. “retreat by alanna coca detailed review” I’ve also seen “Alanna Coca Retreat detailed synopsis” and “Retreat spoilers”. It seems that the fact that the hero Jake is married in the book Retreat is giving some readers the willies. I won’t post a detailed review or spoilers anywhere online, lest I spoil it for others, but I am more than happy to answer your questions about Retreat via email. I can be reached at alanna@alannacoca.com. I love to hear from my readers!

What I’m reading ~ I follow Cat Grant and Rachel Haimowitz on Twitter. I heard a discussion about their jointly authored book. Power Play: Resistance. I went to the publisher’s site and read the excerpt, and I was hooked. It’s book one in a series, and I already checked for book two (June, 2012) so at least they aren’t making me wait! I fell for Bran, especially his internal dialogue. This book is not for the faint of heart.

Hero Quote ~ from Treat, the free read prequel to Retreat.

“City folk have a strange sense of civilization.”

That’s all for me. Don’t expect an update next week, unless I find some time in between the RT workshops. I’ll be tweeting pictures as I go, so follow me!

Woot! What a great week! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of words in on my WiPs. I don’t really have an excuse either.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ I never watched this video until just now. I’m not really sure how I feel about it. But still, take a rap/hip hop artist, pair him with a country music singer, and what do you get?

Work in Progress News ~ I’ve had Dean’s story open all week. Not a whole lot of words yet, but I already love these guys. I realized that none of the first chapter is in Dean’s point of view. Probably since this book is a sequel of Falling Star, the returning character should start the next book, huh? So I started another chapter one. Not in love with it, so we’ll see. The joys of pantsing!

Backlist News ~ Last Call came out last week, which means I’m getting reviews as it climbs the charts! Writing a book with humor is always sketchy. One woman’s funny is another’s eye roll. So far, I haven’t had any eye-rolling reviews.

Industry News ~  You’ve heard the 50 Shades talk. I won’t rehash. Except to say that this book did not invent the erotic romance genre. Mainstream media needs to get that figured out before my Twitter feed blows up.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Nothing too exciting here, but I got this one: ”western heat by alanna coca”, which reminded me that I didn’t show you all the wonderful banner that booknibbles.com made for me for the Romance Times conference on April 9th! Both Western Heat and City Heat have been written quite yet. They’ll be free reads, and I’ll be using these banners at RT to find the heroine to star in the book.

Nice, huh? I can’t wait for the conference. I hope to see a ton of familiar online faces!

Hero Quote ~ from Fine Print, this is Derek:

“Bullshit. I think I got a total of two smiles out of you in the last two hours. You don’t exactly strike me as the June Cleaver type.”

Okay folks. That’s it for me. Have a great week!

Howdy! Sorry I missed last week. I spent a long (very long) weekend in Denver. This Tyrannosaurus stands inside the entrance to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where I could have spent three full days, but only had time for a couple hours of exploring. I hope you all had a wonderful St Pats without me.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ True Romance by Citizens! This is a bit of ABBA meets elementary school talent show. I got such a kick out of it, I had to share:

Work in Progress News ~ Well I finally finished the free read. It really shouldn’t have taken me that long, but I’m pretty good at procrastinating. And procrasticleaning, procrasteating etc. You can find the new freebie HERE. It’s not free at Amazon yet, I have to wait for them to price match the other sites (if you feel like reporting it as free elsewhere, I’d be much obliged). So now I’ve got the WiP known as Dean open. This is the second book in the Earth Scents series which follows Adam and Jade’s story in Falling Star. I already love both heroes, so I have high hopes that I won’t clean the garage during this one.

Industry News ~ I wasn’t here last week to give the wonderful news about PayPal. After seeing that Visa wasn’t going to take the blame for disallowing “questionable content” PayPal execs backed down. Great news! Though I still don’t trust that PP won’t pull another stunt when the mood strikes. We’ll see.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ I deleted the post from 2010 that mentioned two specific 1980s movie stars in the buff. I didn’t even have pictures of said men, but I constantly get visits. Other than that, my favorite this week was “trip chastity”. I have no idea, folks.

What I’m reading ~ First Time Forever by KC Burn. An established couple dealing with empty nest. Although these two don’t fall in love in the book, they reconnect in a beautiful way. A very character driven book with plenty of emotion. I really liked it.

Hero Quote ~ from Last Call, which releases MONDAY! *throws confetti* Eric is a hunky firefighter…

“Turnout gear? That’s not sexy, it’s bulky as hell.” He inched lower.“If you’re good, I’ll model for you.”

Okay, that’s it for me. Have a great week!

Welcome! Another week gone, and I really don’t have much to show for it wip-wise. One week away from St. Patrick’s Day! I’d better get my corned beef roast before the town runs out (and they always do).

Favorite Song of the Week ~ More Irish music!  This week I’m sharing a song by the lovely group Celtic Woman (I still think they should be called Celtic Women, but what do I know. This song, Danny Boy brings tears to my eyes, especially when performed so beautifully:

Work in Progress News ~ Soooo close to finishing this free read. I truly wished to have it done by now, so I’m very disappointed in myself.  I do have a beautiful cover for it though. Thanks Booknibbles.com!

Industry News ~ It seems that Dorchester Publishing has apparently closed its doors. After years of somewhat shady deals and withholding author royalties, this isn’t much of a surprise, but there it is. My thoughts are with the authors who will ultimately be pawns in the big sell-off game. Good luck to you all!

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~  I couldn’t figure this one out. “coca solca”.  Turns out Solca is a town in Romania. Maybe someone is writing a Seussian story about Alanna Coca in Eastern Solca.

What I’m reading ~ This might be why I didn’t finish my freebie. I’m so sorry, but I saw this book and couldn’t help myself! So I helped myself and bought Rule of Three by Kelly Jamieson.  It’s a menage about an established couple adding a third.

“If you follow the rules, you miss all the fun… Kassidy is a good girl who wants to be bad. Dag is a bad boy who is very, very good. And Chris? He likes to watch…”

Hero Quote ~ Another from this freebie that I WILL FINISH!!

“Either you admit that our kiss felt as damn good to you as it did to me, or you say it didn’t affect you, and we can do it again.”

Okay, that’s it for me. I work at 5am tomorrow, and with the whole springing forward thing, I’m gonna be one grumpy girl at 4:00 I think they should offer nap time on Spring Forward Sunday. That’s going in the suggestion box. Have a great week, everyone!

Yay! It’s March! June is just around the corner! I can’t wait for flip flop season.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ March means Irish music until you puke! I’m sure you were wondering where you’d get your reel and jig fix. Well, I’m here for you. I was raised in a big Irish family, where we learned all the lyrics to drinking songs before we knew they were drinking songs.  Enjoy Johnny Jump Up by Gaelic Storm, the band that gained fame from the belly of the Titanic.

Work in Progress News ~ I went through three rounds of edits on Wyoming Solace, two last week alone. I’m ready for some contemporary lovin! So I’m kicking some major butt on my free read. It’s at 10K right now, but some of that is part of PreView that I tossed in there to tie it in. I really like the chemistry between these two. If you recall, this story was inspired by a blog hop post I did for Valentine’s Day last month. With luck by next Saturday you’ll have a link to download!

New Release~ Woohoo! Company Ink was released on leap day! Blurb:  Sidney has crushed on her boss Grant for over two years. When she finally pushes him to his breaking point, they both end up winning. The fraternization policy their company holds dear means they’ve got to keep their new relationship deep under wraps. Grant knows this could end very badly. He could be charged with sexual harassment, accused of favoritism, or worse–they could both be unemployed. Grant is willing to risk it all to dip his pen in the company ink. Excerpt and buy links can be found HERE.

Backlist News ~ Both Fine Print and Preview got reviews at Scorching Book Reviews last week. The reviewer’s thoughts on  Fine Print: “Once again this is a fantastically written story where the relationships aren’t rushed and the story flows at just the right pace.” And her thoughts on PreView: “With the suspense building storyline and the huge twist I found this difficult to put down.”

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Someone found me by searching for “Retreat Movie”. Now, I do own the film rights to Retreat, so if there’s a producer out there that’s interested, just know this: It’s Johnny Depp or no deal.

What I’m reading ~ Another week to reread some old favorites. This week it was Cameron Dane’s ReneCade. A contemporary western-ish m/m. There is a whole lot of emotion in this one, and one of the big plot points is a “mistake” that Ren makes that really sends both men reeling. I won’t give it away, but Cameron does a great job by not glossing it over, or making Cade so quick to forgive.

Hero Quote ~ From the free read I’m working on. I really need a title for this…

“I have one question Mac can’t answer. Do you taste as delicious as you smell?”

Okay, I’m back to work on this free read. It won’t write itself! (I tried that. It really won’t) Have a great week.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ This week I want to share a parody of a cover. If you’d like to check out last week’s post for the original, this might make more sense, but maybe not.

 Work in Progress News ~ I really got moving on my free read. I love the way it’s turning out. Then my editor sent me the first round of edits for Wyoming Solace. I knew this would be a tough one. Send my editor your best wishes. Or chocolate. Or both. Poor lady.

Backlist News ~ A new review for PreView! I love how that sounds hehe.  Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind had this to say: “Coca’s writing is strong and I did enjoy her ability to draw you into a story. She lets you get into the characters heads and you never feel like you’re an outsider looking in. It feels as if you are there. ”  Long time blog readers will remember how I struggled to make Trevor nice, and it seems he’s still on the gruff side for some tastes. I should have tried whips and chains.

Industry News ~ One of my publishers Samhain Publishing is dipping its toe into the POD pool with the Espresso Book Machine! This is like a POD vending machine, where you order a book and it prints it while you wait! I would love to see one in action. The closest machine to me is almost a three hour drive. Some day though.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~  How about this: “why is jake married retreat alanna coca” Kinda sounds like my mother giving me the third degree. All I can say, dear Googler, is that you’ll have to read the book Retreat to find out, but I promise there’s nothing fishy going on at the V-Bar Guest Ranch. Well, not too fishy.

What I’m reading ~ An anthology called THREE, featuring stories by Lisa Andel, Bonnie Dee, and T.A. Chase. This features three different stories about trios. Three totally different stories.  One is a m/m/f shifter, the next a m/m/m contemporary, and the last a f/f/m contemporary. This was the first taste of Ms. Andel’s writing, but Bonnie Dee and T.A. Chase are autobuy for me, so it’s nice to see some works I hadn’t read. I like short stories, especially when I’m supposed to be doing other things…

Hero Quote ~ Just because I’m lazy, I like to pull a quote out of whatever manuscript I have open as I write this status update. Unfortunately, Cody in Wyoming Solace isn’t very talkative. I think I’ll be loosening his lips as I edit this puppy. So until then, how about a quote from Marcus from Olivia’s Position Secured. This cop has just used Mariana’s window as a vantage point. Now the standoff is over, and he wants something else…

“…I need one thing from you first.” He didn’t continue until she lifted heavy lids to meet that electric blue stare. “Tell me your name.”

That’s when the fun starts.

Okay, that’s it for me this week. Back to edits! Right after I check Twitter….