Spring Fling: Author Interview with Alannah Lynne

Today I have Alannah Lynne, author of the Heat Wave series, joining me to celebrate Spring Fling week. I hope you all have enjoyed learning more about your favorite authors and getting introduced to some who may be newer to you. 

Tomorrow we will be moving Spring Fling over to Facebook and will be partying from 10-5 Eastern time. We have some great authors popping in throughout the day so trust me when I say you do not want to miss this!

Now without further ado I bring to you Miss Alannah Lynne....

1. Hi Alannah! Thank you for joining us at Bottles & Books Reviews today. Can you share a little bit about yourself with readers?

Hi Jessica, thanks for letting me participate in your spring fling! I write the sexy, and sometimes erotic, contemporary romance Heat Wave series. All of my stories are set along the North and South Carolina coasts, because that's where I live, and my favorite get-away spot is Myrtle Beach. I'm married to my real-life hero and have two adult sons.

2. Up to date, what have you written?

I have an erotic BDSM Novella out with Samhain ("Reaction Time" - released in December 2008), and there are currently four books in the Heat Wave series. "Savin' Me" (A Heat Wave Novel), "Last Call" (Heat Wave Series Book 2), "Crossing Lines" (Heat Wave Series Book 3), and "A Christmas Heat Wave." I'm currently writing "Going All In" (Heat Wave Series Book 4). I had scheduled the release date for May, but due to a rewrite, I might have to push that back.

3. When you are not writing, what do you enjoying doing?

I joke about this a lot, but sadly, it's true. I love napping. I excel at napping! LOL I also like working in my yard and container gardening. I'm a NASCAR fan, although, the last few years I've kind of lost interest. Changes to the cars have made racing a little more competitive this year, so I'm paying more attention than I have the past couple of years. I'm a huge college football fan - Go Buckeyes - and I also enjoy college basketball - Go Arizona Wildcats! :D

4. Do you have a writing schedule? 

No, not really. But I should. I don't have a lot of self-discipline, so a set schedule gets me at the computer better than anything. However, I'm also ADD, so keeping myself at the computer is another battle entirely.

5. When writing is there a special trinket, certain music, or a ritual you have to have or do? 

I can't have music with words playing, but I do like listening to New Age music. A lot of times, I'll have the race or a football/basketball game playing, just for company, but I don't really watch them when I'm writing. I also leave The Weather Channel playing a lot of times (thank God Directv brought back the REAL Weather Channel!), or sometimes I'll play old episodes of NCIS. I've seen them all so many times I know them by heart, so I'm not really distracted by them. It's more like hanging out with old friends. 

6. What has been your favorite book to write so far?

Hmmm... this is like asking me to pick a favorite child. I think "Last Call" is my favorite over-all book, but Kevin Mazze (Crossing Lines) is my favorite hero. Please don't tell Erik (Saivn' Me), I'll never hear the end of it! <g>

7. When you were growing up what did you want to be?

A race car driver, or to one day take over my dad's construction company. Yeah, there's a lot of Sam (Crossing Lines) in me. LOL 

8. When did you decide you wanted to be a writer? Why?

All of my life, I've thought it would be cool to write books, because I've always loved to read! But I thought I needed to have a special degree in order to do that. It wasn't until I met a wonderful group of women called The Plotmonkeys (Janelle Denison, Carly Phillips, Leslie Kelly, Julie Leto) that I discovered a passion for romance. I always say I owe Janelle everything, but it's true! Her books were the first romances I read, and after reading the introduction to "Too Wilde To Tame," I became fascinated with the process of writing and decided to give it a go. All four of them have been incredibly kind and supportive over the years, but Janelle has really taken me under her wing and been an amazing mentor and friend. 

9. Do you have any upcoming books being released this year?

We recently bought back our old house (we were gone 8 years). I promised my husband if we bought it back, I'd release at least 3 new books each year to help pay for it. So yes, I have three coming out! LOL I just don't have solid release dates yet. Your followers can sign up for my newsletter - http://alannahlynne.com/contact.html#newsletter - and they'll be notified when I have new releases coming out. I rarely send out newsletters, only with new releases, so don't be worried about getting spammed. :-)

10. What is your favorite motivational phrase or favorite quote? 

I have 2. The first is by Henry David Thoreau. "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hour." 

The second is by Deepak Chopra - "You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible."

11. If you could tell the you of 12 years ago anything, what would it be?

Have more faith and belief in yourself. Listen to your inner voice and follow it! Always!

12. What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Just keep writing. Even when you don't want to, even when you feel like the story is crap, or inspiration seems to have taken a permanent vacation, sit down and write. You can edit crap, you can't edit a blank page. I need to follow this advice more myself! 

13. Where can readers find out more about you and your work? 

My website is alannahlynne.com. I have two facebook pages: facebook.com/alannahlynne or facebook.com/authoralannahlynne. I'm also on twitter, but not very often. LOL twitter.com/alannahlynne

WOULD YOU RATHER?

Would you rather speak everything that is on your mind or never speak again? Oh, just try to hold me back! LOL

Would you rather take a freezing cold shower or sleep an hour less? An hour less sleep! I love sleep, but I despise the cold.

Would you rather be 3 feet tall or 8 feet tall? Eight feet tall

Would you rather be a tree or live in a tree? Live in a tree... have you seen some of the cool tree houses they can make these days?

Would you rather have a kangaroo or a koala as a pet? koala bear, they're so cute!

Would you rather not be able to use your phone or your email? *gasp* Seriously? I've broken out in hives just thinking about this question! I can't possibly answer this. LOL

Would you rather live without music or TV? Live without TV... gotta have my music. :-)

Would you rather have x-ray vision or bionic hearing? Tehe... X-ray vision... 

GIVEAWAY

Alannah Lynne is giving away two ecopies of Last Call, book #2 in the Heat Wave series. If you haven't read Savin' Me, book #1 in the series, you can get it for free on Amazon. To enter to win, leave Alannah a big thank you for joining me today and share with us your favorite quote. Don't forget to leave your email address! Winner will be chosen via Random on Monday.

You have another chance to win an ecopy of Last Call tomorrow at the Spring Fling Facebook party. Hope to see you all there ;)