Alana Quintana Albertson
Alana Quintana Albertson has written thirty romance novels, rescued five-hundred death-row shelter dogs, and danced one thousand rumbas. A graduate of Stanford (B.A.) and Harvard (M.Ed.), she lives with her husband in sunny San Diego with her two sons and too many pets. Most days, she can be found writing her next heart book in a beachfront café while sipping an oat-milk Mexican mocha or gardening with her children in their backyard orchard and snacking on a juicy blood orange.
Twitter: @AlanaAlbertson
Instagram: @AuthorAlanaAlbertson
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?
Yes, I absolutely make a playlist for each book. For Ramón and Julieta, I listened to Spanish love ballads. Here was my playlist.
Abrázame by Julio Iglesias
Y Cómo Es Él by Marc Anthony
Me Estoy Enamorando by Alejandro Fernández
Nothing Else Matters by Metallica
El Rey Tiburón by Maná
Cats in the Cradle by Ugly Kid Joe
Mi Vida Sin Tu Amor by Cristian Castro
Tiempo de Vals by Chayanne
A Dios Le Pido by Juanes
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
All the time. This is my 30th book and I still always doubt myself. This industry is tough and you have to push truly believe in yourself.
What’s the difference (at least for you!) between being a writer and an author? How do you shift gears between the two?
Writing is beautiful and freeing and there are no restrictions on it. I often just free write weird unpublishable stories. Being an author means knowing the business and market and writing something that is viable.
Do you have another artistic outlet in addition to your writing? Do you sew? Paint? Draw? Knit? Dance?
I used to be a competitive ballroom dancer. It was an all-encompassing passion for me. I may start back up. Currently though, I needlepoint and play drums and piano.
What brings you great joy?
My family and my pets. I’m married and have 2 beautiful sons. I also run a dog rescue, Pugs N Roses, where we save dogs from high kill shelters.
