The READ THIS! BotM Announced, A New Cover Reveal, and More!

Happy July! Summer's here in this hemisphere, and so are 4 major cons for me. Later this month it's the Grandaddy of Them All, San Diego Comic-Con. This will be my 15th year and I'm looking forward to it and I hope to see many of you guys there, too! The next READ THIS! Book of the Month is also here, along with a new cover reveal, my LibertyCon recap, and more! So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

It's Alive! Book 6, aka Alien vs. Alien, is available now from Ginger Blue Publishing! As per usual, it'll be easiest to go to Ginger Blue's website and choose your own adventure to get to the right version for you. Neither the Amazon nor the B&N reviews stuck on this one, so please remember that reviews (just stars without comment is enough, brief comments are fine, long comments are fine, whatever suits you) really matter to moi and to every other author you like, so please leave reviews for all the bookie wookies, particularly those whose reviews are few or, in this case, whose reviews are no longer there. Reviews or not, get you copy today from your distributor of choice!

Read Out Loud! Do you have your copy of the Touched by an Alien audiobook yet? If not, don't wait! Grab yours today and start your year right!

Speaking of Reading Out Loud... Graphic Audio has renewed the contract for The Legend of Belladonna, Part 1: Natural Born Outlaws, by moi writing as A.E. Stanton. If you haven't grabbed this fantastic audiobook, don't delay, grab it today!

READ THIS! A Book Club by Moi for All Y'all Welcome to READ THIS! A Book Club by Gini Koch. This is my chance to introduce you to some great authors that I love and know you will, too. Every month I'll spotlight a book and, even better...every month I'll host a live discussion with the author, that all y'all can join! I know, it's too happy to be true, but true it is!

July 2025 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for July 2025 is:  AJ Torres and the Treasure of Captain Grayshark by Jose Pablo Iriarte Gini's Take: Another fun and charming Middle Grade adventure from an author quickly becoming a real force in this age category. About the Author: José Pablo Iriarte is a fantasy and science fiction author. Their fiction has been finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus and Sturgeon Awards and reprinted in various Year's Best compilations. Their debut novel, Benny Ramirez and the Nearly Departed, was published in April 2024 by Knopf Books for Young Readers and was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award. The follow up, AJ Torres and the Treasure of Captain Grayshark, is available now.

July 2025 READ THIS! Author Q&A

So, you've read the READ THIS! selection and you want to share what you thought with the author, hang out with them and Gini, and generally talk books for an hour. Well, guess what? You can! The third Thursday of every month will be READ THIS! Author Q&A time. The event will be held utilizing Discord, and the invitation to Gini's READ THIS! room will come out in the week prior to the chat. And that's not all! Near the end of each Q&A session, we'll be doing a raffle and one lucky winner will get a copy of the next month's READ THIS! selection! (You must be present in the Q&A to win. Physical book prizes will be U.S. only. Ebook prizes will be worldwide.)

July's READ THIS! author Q&A  featuring Author Jose Pablo Iriarte will be on Thursday, July 17, 2024 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

August's READ THIS! Selection   And Remember: One Lucky Q&A Participant can win it early!

The READ THIS! Selection for August 2025 is:  Magica: Rise of the Cult By E.S. Magill

Three Card Monte is Live! Thanks to everyone who preordered this release! If you didn't get your copy, don't delay, order from your preferred retailer via Ginger Blue Publishing today!

And don't forget to pre-order the next book in the series!

Is the cost of a few innocent lives worth risking everything? When the crew of the Hummingbird discovers Pilla Colony recently destroyed by the Diamante Families, they’re faced with the smart choice of leaving or the dangerous one of searching for survivors – and Roy and DeeDee aren’t in agreement about their course of action. But the real question is: why would anyone be going out of their way to destroy the most helpless, fragile, and noncombative race in the galaxy? Preorder from your preferred retailer via Ginger Blue Publishing.

In case you missed it, Touched by an Alien, Alien Tango, Alien in the Family, Alien Proliferation, Alien Diplomacy, and Alien vs. Alien are now available from Ginger Blue Publishing in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback!

Ginger Blue is trucking along and getting the Alien Series re-released just as fast as they can. The situation with how the hardbacks go out is still the same - you can get the new versions in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback complete with a snazzy dust cover! The trophy hardback is from B&N.com only, as a reminder, and the regular hardback is from Amazon only. The searching via Amazon and B&N.com remains spotty, in no small part because those two distributors still have some mass market copies they're determined to sell. So, as suggested for Touched and Tango, and as recommended for every book coming through 16/Aliens Abroad, go to the Ginger Blue Releases page, click on the cover of your choosing, and choose which option or options you want. The links on GBP's website will take you to the right spots at B&N and Amazon to get the version you want. Confusing? Yes. Ultimately manageable? Sure. It's only adding a step to what you'd normally do. Now for the old reviews status. On B&N and now Amazon all the reviews seem to have stuck for Books 1-5, but NOT for Book 6. No, we have no idea why. Yes, they may connect at a later date, we have no idea if that will or won't happen. SO, please review early and often on either site, since, as we well know, reviews matter, especially at Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads. So, officially, now the first six books are live everywhere! Huzzah!

And now it's time for A Cover Reveal!

The Belters Volume 1 A mosaic novel set in my Belters universe, by moi writing as Anita Ensal.  In the far future, humanity has colonized the solar system, but only because the Belt - and those who live and do the dangerous work there - always provides... Preorder coming soon from Ginger Blue Publishing. Releasing on August 5th.

It's time for my LibertyCon recap. Which is short. I had a great time, got to see several Members of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing (waves madly to Paul, Shari, and Matt in particular), ate well, plain had fun, and can't wait for next year. What I didn't do was take a lot of (any) pictures, because I was too busy actually doing all the things, eating all the good food, and relaxing. I know, my bad LOL. Anyway, I shall try to have more for you for the next cons, but I make no promises because one never knows when I'll take a pic and when I won't, do one?

Con Season Continues My con season is in full swing. Keep checking this space for where I'll be and all the different ways and places where you can see the me! San Diego Comic-Con July 23-27 San Diego, CA Gen Con Writers Symposium July 31-August 3 Indianapolis, IN DragonCon August 28-September 1 Atlanta, GA Bouchercon September 3-7 New Orleans, LA

So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for The Alien Collection, Aliens Like Us, Aliens Like Them, and the next READ THIS! selection. Check out my Bookstore for all the things!

That's it for today but, never fear, another Update, including the Discord Q&A chat invitation, will be arriving in a couple of weeks! In the meantime, stay safe and healthy, remember we're all in this together, be kind to one another, give love and support to all those who are on the front lines in any capacity, and let's be readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side! Love, Gini

Cover Reveals, Con Season, the READ THIS! Author Q&A, the Yap in Charge, & More!

It's Almost LibertyCon Time! My main con season officially starts in Chattanooga these days, and I'm really looking forward to another fun LibertyCon. This month, due to LibertyCon, the READ THIS! Q&A will be run by longtime Guest Host Hal Bodner, which ensures hilarity, plus the book's another good one you don't want to miss, so I expect all y'all to have a blast while I'm gone. The Summer Solstice is also upon us, I have yet MORE cover reveals, a reminder of an upcoming release later this month, the Yap is once again in charge, PLUS the READ THIS! Author Q&A is happening THIS Thursday, and it's going to be another fun one you don't want to miss. Now, let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

It's Alive! Alien Diplomacy is alive and out in the world! Get your copies from your preferred retailer via Ginger Blue Publishing now!

THE YAP IN CHARGE! It's been a minute, but we've got some new yapping over at ConTinual! Check out Hot Off the Press #132, Hot Off the Press #133, Hot Off the Press #134, Hot Off the Press #135, and Hot Off the Press #138 wherein I yap about Natural Born Outlaws, The Royal Scam/The Martian Alliance Chronicles, Touched by an Alien/Alien Tango and what's all gone and going on with the Alien/Katherine "Kitty" Katt series, Media & Me, and A Cup of Joe, and the other authors (Layla Dorine, J.B. Garner, Ken Lange, Russ Colchamiro, Melissa Olthoff, Ariel Dawn, Elektra Hammond, and Jim Nettles) and I have a lot of fun. And don't miss the other Yaps over at The Yap In Charge.

It's Cover Reveal Time Again!

Fem-Bots & Androids & Superbeings Oh My. It's Kitty vs. the End of the World. The Mastermind may be outed, but Kitty & Company don't get any downtime. In addition to having to recover from Operation Epidemic quickly, the sudden reappearance of a minor adversary long-forgotten turns out to only be the tip of a deadly iceberg that could end up causing World War Three... Coming soon from Ginger Blue Publishing.

When the Galaxy's Invading & It Doesn't Look Good, Who You Gonna Call? Kitty. It's a typical day of bureaucracy and stress for President and First Lady Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini, made more stressful when alien spacecraft are spotted making a beeline for Earth, none of them from the Alpha Centauri system...or, what Kitty calls Wednesday. Coming soon from Ginger Blue Publishing.

Reminder About Preorders... The next two installments of The Martian Alliance Chronicles are available for preorder now! Order your copies so you can fly with the crew of the Hummingbird while they take on the galaxy's most awful crime family, one con, caper, and rescue at a time! Preorder from your preferred retailer via Ginger Blue Publishing.

A risky gamble turns deadly when the galaxy's most feared terrorist arrives to up the ante. When their favorite bookie pulls up stakes from Roulette and moves to Polliworld, the crew of the Hummingbird go to find out why, and hopefully get a cut of the action, but they end up caught in a high stakes game of chance that could destroy them. Coming THIS MONTH on June 24, 2025.

Is the cost of a few innocent lives worth risking everything? When the crew of the Hummingbird discovers a Pilla Colony recently destroyed by the Diamante Families, they’re faced with the smart choice of leaving or the dangerous one of searching for survivors – and Roy and DeeDee aren’t in agreement about their course of action. But the real question is – why would anyone be going out of their way to destroy the most helpless, fragile, and noncombative race in the galaxy? Coming August 12, 2025.

Speaking of Getting Bookie Wookies... All of these are available now from Ginger Blue Publishing and available at your preferred retailer. If you haven't grabbed these yet, now's the time! Welcome to Washington, check your Poofs at the door... The future looks utopian...until you look just a bit closer... And baby makes...the bad guys rue the day they made Mama Kitty angry... Love, engagement, Poofs...and intergalactic war. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas...

More Kitty, and don't miss the gators! The Book That Started It All is alive again! Meet Kitty...all over again!

My first book of movie and TV reviews, and, as I may have mentioned a few times, it's an Amazon #1 bestseller, too! (Hey, a girl likes to share the coolness when she can!) The re-release of the first book in The Martian Alliance Chronicles. Things aren't what they seem when Princess Olivia of Andromeda jumps aboard a spaceship to escape a loveless marriage.

A group of mystery-solving grandmothers, a daring granddaughter, a surf bum, homeless men, and a mysterious stranger all involved in a series of brutal murders in a sleepy seaside town... The re-release of my first humor collection, now with bonus funny! Despite what you may have heard or believe, all the stories are true...well, almost all...

The story of the Old West's most notorious female outlaw, the infamous Belladonna. Available in Hardback, trade paperback, and ebook. Read the story that started it all... Stacey Weir didn't mean to become an amateur sleuth. But when her adoptive father's accused of murder, there was only one thing for her to do...

Friends to lovers romantic suspense set in and around New Orleans, now with an (extended) epilogue! (Re-release.) Mosaic post-apocalyptic novel set in the far future that's reverted to Old West ways, where love, friends, and family are what get you through.

A collection of paranormal tales, with new bonus stories and an introduction from the author of BITE CLUB. (Re-release.) A collection of all my humorous SF/F/P (non-Alien series) stories, together in one place for the first time!

June 2025 READ THIS! Author Q&A

June's READ THIS! author Q&A with Guest Host Hal Bodner featuring  Author Dawn Major will be on Thursday, June 19, 2025 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend! You do not need to be a Discord member/user to attend: Use this link https://discord.gg/GYpzD25JvW to go directly to the chat room! (You also don't need to have finished the book to join in the fun. We authors know that everyone reads at their own pace and we just want to hang out with you guys and have some good times!) Once in, you'll get to join in the fun of asking authors about their "process" and more. PLUS, one lucky winner will get July's READ THIS! selection for FREE! I know! It's too happy to be true! But true it is, so don't miss out! (You must be present in the chat to win. Physical copies U.S. only; ebook copies worldwide.)

June 2025 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for June 2025 is:  The Bystanders by Dawn Major Gini's Take: Retro-Modern Southern Gothic at its finest in this ambiance-drenched mosaic novel. About the Author: Dawn Major’s novel, The Bystanders, was the finalist for 2024 Georgia Author of the Year for Best First Novel. Major is an associate editor at Southern Literary Review and a co-editor at WELL READ Magazine where she writes a column called “TripLit with D. Major.” She lives in Atlanta, GA with her family and is currently working on a horror novella called Chronicles in Dandy Land. For publications and more visit: www.dawnmajor.com

July's READ THIS! Selection   And Remember: One Lucky Q&A Participant can win it early!

The READ THIS! Selection for July 2025 is:        AJ Torres and the Treasure of Captain Grayshark By Jose Pablo Iriarte

Con Season Continues Somehow, my con season is already literally here. Keep checking this space for where I'll be and all the different ways and places where you can see the me! LibertyCon June 20-22 Chattanooga, TN Friday, June 20 5:00-6:00pm - Opening Ceremonies, CC Ballroom E (Main Event Programming) 8:00-11:00pm - Selling the Bookie Wookies and handing out Hugs in Artists/Authors Alley, M Plaza Ballroom Mezzanine Saturday, June 21 3:00-4:00pm - Westerns vs. Science Fiction: Is Weird Wild West the Best of Both Worlds?, M - Plaza Ballroom C 5:00-6:00pm - Ohhhh, the Life of a Pirate for Me!, CC - Mtg Room 3 (Workshop Track) 6:00-7:00pm - What's New in Paranormal Romance?, M - Plaza Ballroom C 8:00-9:00pm - Reading: Gini Koch and Michael LaVoice, M - Signal Mountain Room (Readings 3) Sunday, June 22 1:00-2:00pm - Autograph Session: Charles E. Gannon, Daniel Allen Butler, Gini Koch, CC - Ballroom F/G (Dealer's Room) - Autographs in Hall Outside San Diego Comic-Con July 23-27 San Diego, CA Gen Con Writers Symposium July 31-August 3 Indianapolis, IN I'm featured at the Gen Con Blog! Take a look and read my interview and check out the other awesome authors who were also interviewed! DragonCon August 28-September 1 Atlanta, GA Bouchercon September 3-7 New Orleans, LA

A Big-Little FYI... Due to all the things happening with the Alien Series, Deck the Falls is going to be a little late. Not too terribly late (I hope and pray) but it's probably going to slip into later this month, or early July, for release. But Book 3 (Cruise the Falls) should be right back on schedule for March 2026. And, as soon as Deck the Falls is finalized, all y'all will, as always, be the first to know!

Read Out Loud! Do you have your copy of the Touched by an Alien audiobook yet? If not, don't wait! Grab yours today and start your year right!

Speaking of Reading Out Loud... Graphic Audio has renewed the contract for The Legend of Belladonna, Part 1: Natural Born Outlaws, by moi writing as A.E. Stanton. If you haven't grabbed this fantastic audiobook, don't delay, grab it today!

So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for The Alien Collection, Aliens Like Us, Aliens Like Them, and the next READ THIS! selection. Check out my Bookstore for all the things!

That's it for today, but, never fear, another Update, including details for the next READ THIS! selection, will be arriving in a couple of weeks! In the meantime, stay safe and healthy, remember we're all in this together, be kind to one another, give love and support to all those who are on the front lines in any capacity, hope this year continues to give all of you much joy and goodness, and let's be readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch all y'all on the flip side! Love, Gini