Alanna Coca: Passionate Romance with a Tender Touch » Nothing Important

Guest Blogged Today…

Alanna — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:41:53 +0000

at the Liquid Silver Books Silver Expressions blog. I’ve attached a short little survey about body hair. You know, stuff a romance author sits and ponders when it’s raining outside.

Please stop by! I’ll share the results once I get a good number of responses. Go Now!

Bald Faced Liar

Alanna — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:51:39 +0000

Thanks a lot Gem Sivad! Are you saying I’m a liar? Well okay, I guess it comes with the territory. I call it “creative license”. This should be easy for any of you who follow me on various social networking sites. It’s not like I have a problem talking about myself. There are seven statements about me below. Only TWO are true.

The rest are bald faced lies er…fiction.

1) I’ve played the violin, viola, alto saxophone and flute since age 6

2) Where I live, it has been known to snow every month of the year.

3) I wrote my first novel Wyoming Solace in two weeks.

4) I have five cats, two birds, a dog and two turtles.

5) I must have complete silence when I work.

6) I am fluent in three languages.

7) I am an only child.

Leave a comment, and tell me which two statements you think are true, and which five are “creative writing”. When you’re done, you can visit the following bloggers who I’ve tagged as Bald Faced Liars:

Serena Shay * Christa Paige * Paige Tyler

The Last Day, And The First Day

Alanna — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:49:00 +0000

Today is the last day of 2009. What a year! Although I should lament about the state of the economy, or the fact that I’m not getting any younger, I have to say that I’ll always remember 2009 as being a great year for me.

My first book Wyoming Solace came out two weeks before 2008 ended. Since then, I’ve written and sold another six books. I’ve learned a lot, grown a lot, met some great authors, editors, publishers, cover artists, and twitter friends (you know who you are). I’ve learned more than I ever thought I wanted to know about the internet, blogging, website upkeep, (I now know what CSS stands for, but HTML is still a mystery), and social networking, and I’ve learned a fraction of what I want to know about writing and publishing.

There’s always next decade, right?

I hope that all of you had a great 2009, and will have an even better 2010.

So what’s on tap? I’ve got several stories in the works, a few for me, a few for Olivia. I’m sure that my recent slump of writing angst is over (right?!) and I’ll be kicking out at least another six novels this year. I also have a trip coming up in April to the RT Convention in Columbus OH. I hope I get to meet a plethora of romance geniuses, and if I rub up on them, their greatness will soak in by osmosis.

Tis The Season

Alanna — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:18:03 +0000

I admit it. I love Christmas music. You’d think that 20 years in retail would have milked all of that out of me, but usually around Halloween, I get the itch. To get you all in the mood for the Holidays, I’m going to share with you some of my favorites. First up is Jingle Bells. Not the everyday version that your kindergardener sings, but this version is by Canadian band The Barenaked Ladies. Their Holiday album is filled with humor. You gotta love a band that makes you smile, right? This starts out slow, but stick with it…you’ll love it.

Another favorite, I could listen to this one all year. (I’ve been known to pop this CD in mid July) I couldn’t find a video, but you can listen to it here. It starts out quiet, so if it sounds like it isn’t playing, just give it a few seconds.

And then there’s Josh Groban. His entire Christmas album Noel is beautiful, but this particular song won’t be found on Noel, it’s on his live album. *sigh* Love his voice.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0C5ZDi1rs

Last but not least, Mannheim Steamroller, a Christmas favorite since 1980 (ish). I love all of their Christmas albums, and it would be very hard to pick a favorite, so I just plucked the first one that I found on YouTube. Enjoy:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meu_uczBEqM

Now, to decorate my tree, and plug in all my lights. Enjoy the season!

The Waiting Game

Alanna — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:27:00 +0000

When I first looked into the publishing process, most of the advice revolved around the word “wait”.

Submit your query, then wait. An answer could be months in coming. Submit your manuscript, then wait. Sell your book? Yay! Now wait for editing to start. Editing done? Yay! Now wait for a release date.

This is even more difficult for people like me who are so impatient. By the time I get to the editing process, I have to reread the thing to remember which book it is I’m editing!

So what do I do while I wait? I write. Wait, write, wait, write, wait. (Say that five times fast.) Okay, I guess that’s all I have to say. I’ve got some waiting to do, so I’d better hurry up.

The worst way to spend $1,000

Alanna — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:36:00 +0000

Dental work. I think something that hurts so bad should be free. Better yet, the dentist should have to pay us. I’d rather go through seventy pelvic exams than one dental exam.

Okay, maybe not.

I never had good teeth to begin with. I’ve had the same dentist since I was four, and my file there is six inches thick. There isn’t a tooth in my head that hasn’t had some kind of intervention. It sure didn’t help when my first child (while in utero) forced me to eat lemons.

Who says dentures are a bad idea?

Springtime in the Rockies

Alanna — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Spring is here! Wyoming got some rain this weekend. It turned to snow for just a little bit, and then back to rain, so in my educated opinion, that means only one or two more snowstorms until summer!

YAY!

I’m a summer girl. I love the heat. I love the sun. I could spend sunrise to sunset on a beach in sunny Cancun Mexico (if someone would just buy me plane tickets and luxury hotel room–email me). I’m one of those people who leaves her windows up in the car on a hot summer day, and wallows in the 150 degree heat. I don’t even crack the window until I break out in a sweat.

Why do I live in sub-arctic/high-altitude Wyoming you ask?

Yeah. I don’t know either.

I haven't had a week this crappy since I left my job in Retail Management

Alanna — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:15:00 +0000

You see I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve had a rough week. When my laptop died in my arms, I thought that was bad enough. I hadn’t backed up my works in progress for six days, and I knew that I had lost about seventy hours worth of work. That wasn’t bad enough, so let’s throw in a 102.6 degree fever due to a strange hiccup in dental work. Took the laptop to the geeks, went to the dentist, got some meds….promptly dropped the bottle in a sinkful of soapy dishwater. Well…I was shaking! Can’t sleep at night, can’t work during the day…I was like a zombie pacing my house looking for a purpose.

Then I broke two very expensive fingernails.

But I’m back. I had to rewrite what I lost, and I hate to admit it, but it came out even better the second time. Fever’s gone, so I can get my four hours’ sleep at night. I still haven’t been to the salon to fix my two fingernails, but I think I’ll live.

IMDB Reject

Alanna — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:29:00 +0000

I’m a horrible movie-goer. I judge by the previews and trailers whether I want to see the movie, and then I make the decision of seeing the flick either in the theater or wait for the DVD. The problem is, there are so many films that I haven’t seen, and then I forget about them when it’s time to rent one! Maybe it’s because I have small children, because we NEVER miss a Pixar release….

I’m going to confess something right now…here on the web for everyone to see and make fun of me.

I haven’t seen any of the Lord Of The Rings movies. I know, I know! I also haven’t seen any of the Jurassic Park movies. Go ahead, lay in…I’m ready.

I have seen the movie The Princess Bride at least a thousand times…

Gift Ideas

Alanna — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:26:00 +0000

Too bad this is too late for Valentine’s Day. Maybe you and your significant other are celebrating an anniversary, or perhaps wait until next February 14th, because this is just classic.

This is a cookbook. Yes, you’re reading the title correctly. You can read more about it here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/4956212

and even see a few of the recipies. I’d like to challenge all you bloggers…whoever buys this book and bakes a treat for their sweety….PLEASE come and share the experience with the rest of us. I’m DYING to know!