January READ THIS! Q&A and Lots More!

We're halfway through the first month of 2022! After the last two years, getting halfway through January seems like no mean feat, and I'm glad we've made it through so far. It's my birthday month, and a little lower down I'll tell you what I'd like (though I'll bet many of y'all can guess). But before my birthday arrives, we have the READ THIS! Author Q&A which is only a couple of days away, PLUS plenty of more! So let's get right to it, shall we? We shall! January 2022 READ THIS! Author Q&A

January's READ THIS! author Q&A with Alex Shvartsman will be on Thursday, January 20, 2022 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/MnQDEKFYjU 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 February'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.)

January 2022 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for January 2022 is:  Eridani's Crown By Alex Shvartsman Gini's Take: A critically acclaimed standalone political fantasy novel of revenge, warfare, prophecy, and betrayal, featuring a great female lead and all the intrigue you could want. About the Author: Alex Shvartsman is the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani’s Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Over 120 of his short stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and elsewhere. He won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction in 2014 and was a two-time finalist (2015 & 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction. His translations from Russian have appeared in F&SF, Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, Apex, etc. Alex has edited over a dozen anthologies, including the long-running Unidentified Funny Objects series, and he is the editor-in-chief of Future Science Fiction Digest. He resides in Brooklyn, NY. His website is www.alexshvartsman.com.

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

The READ THIS! Selection for February 2022 is:  My Luck (Twisted Luck Book #1) by Mel Todd

Get the Humor to the Geeks! In honor of a new year, I have a new humor piece over at TG Geeks. Get a bit of funny from moi today and keep your new year going right!

They're here, they're FINALLY here!

Silence in the City Featuring "The Darkening" by moi writing as A.E. Stanton The prequel story to my The New West series Get your copy today!   The Physical Copies Are Here! Get your physical copies of Gunfight on Europa Station featuring "Showdown on Big Rock 27" by moi writing as Anita Ensal

The Audio Version Has Arrived! The audio version of the Superstitions: Tales From the Mountains anthology, featuring "Coyote and the Doorway Between the Worlds" by moi writing as A.E. Stanton, has dropped. Get your copy today!

It's My Birthday Month! And what I want for said birthday is simple: Reviews. Reviews don't need to be long or wordy or impressively written. They just need to say "I did/didn't like this book and here's why."  Reviews are the lifesblood for authors -- the fewer reviews of a book, the less any algorithms will pop that book up, the lower on the search list it goes, and soon no one knows that book is out there. But the more reviews, the more the algorithms push said book up, the more books are sold, the more new books the author gets to write. So, please -- review at least one of the books of mine you've read, or to give love to one of the many anthologies I'm featured in. Amazon is the #1 place, but B&N.com, Smashwords, Goodreads, and publisher's websites are all also good. It's what I want, what I really, really want.

Because I get asked this daily (often multiple times daily)... Yes, Aliens Like Us IS coming, but... No, Aliens Like Us still isn't ready for Prime Time, but... I'm on Version 5 of the rewrite process. Does every book take me this long? No. Will all the others in the series take this long? Likely no. Life has tossed a lot at me and mine and that's made some things a struggle, but... Kitty is always with me, and she's not going to let the bad things win, in any universe. So...Watch this space for more updates as I have them. And keep those digits crossed for the hope that my shouting "the end!" comes sooner as opposed to later.

That's it for today, but, never fear, another Update, including the next READ THIS! selection for 2022, 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 all y'all on the flip side! Love, Gini

January's READ THIS! BotM and a Whole Lot More!

Happy 2022!

Welcome to a new year, may it be wonderful for all of you! And here's hoping  everyone had as good an end to last year as possible. 

We kick off this year's READ THIS! line up with a great book by a new READ THIS! author, plus a whole lot more. So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

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!

January 2022 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for January 2022 is:  Eridani's Crown By Alex Shvartsman Gini's Take: A critically acclaimed standalone political fantasy novel of revenge, warfare, prophecy, and betrayal, featuring a great female lead and all the intrigue you could want. About the Author: Alex Shvartsman is the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani’s Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Over 120 of his short stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and elsewhere. He won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction in 2014 and was a two-time finalist (2015 & 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction. His translations from Russian have appeared in F&SF, Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, Apex, etc. Alex has edited over a dozen anthologies, including the long-running Unidentified Funny Objects series, and he is the editor-in-chief of Future Science Fiction Digest. He resides in Brooklyn, NY. His website is www.alexshvartsman.com.

January 2022 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.)

January's READ THIS! author Q&A with Alex Shvartsman will be on Thursday, January 20, 2022 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for February 2022 is:  My Luck (Twisted Luck Book 1) By Mel Todd

Because I get asked this daily (often multiple times daily)... Yes, Aliens Like Us IS coming, but... No, Aliens Like Us still isn't ready for Prime Time, but... I'm on Version 5 of the rewrite process. Does every book take me this long? No. Will all the others in the series take this long? Likely no. Life has tossed a lot at me and mine and that's made some things a struggle, but... Kitty is always with me, and she's not going to let the bad things win, in any universe. So...Watch this space for more updates as I have them. And keep those digits crossed for the hope that my shouting "the end!" comes sooner as opposed to later.

Availability Update Update That headline isn't a typo. Those of you who e-read may already have Gunfight on Europa Station in your hot little hands. Those who want a phyical copy, however, are currently still waiting. Why? Supply chain issues. The physical copies ARE coming, we just don't know when. So, if you haven't pre-ordered this cool anthology featuring "Showdown on Big Rock 27" by moi writing as Anita Ensal, get it today in ebook, or pre-order today for a physical copy that, we now sincerely hope, arrives by my birthday this month. (Yes, that's another month's delay. It is what it is...Le Sigh.)

More Yapping! That's right, more yapping from me and other awesome authors over at ConTinual. The latest offering is Holiday Action-Adventure, wherein I am very likely to be talking passionately about certain movie favorites. So head over and watch, see if you agree with our choices, and have some fun along with the rest of us at ConTinual! And don't miss these other cool panels I've run the yap on: Breaking Down the Genres Economics in World Building Horror and Romance Sherlockian Mystery Sherlock Returns Christmas in July Holiday Short Reads Hot off the Press #54 Characters in the Public Domain Zombies! Holiday Special Event 2021 Christmas & New Years in Film Holidays Real and Imagined Favorite Holiday Episodes in SciFi and Fantasy Series There's a whole lot more over at the ConTinual YouTube page, so browse around and get your panel fixes in!

Check out this cool article from Black Nerd Problems about last year's Multiverse con (and see an elongated pic of moi on a panel) and if you look closely you'll spot an upcoming READ THIS! author in the swag pics.

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

December's READ THIS! Q&A and More!

Happy Last Blog O' the Year!

Hanukah is over, Christmas, Winter Solstice, and Kwanzaa are coming, not to mention New Year's Eve, and December is in full swing. 

But before the rest of the December holidays hit, we have the READ THIS! Author Q&A featuring moi on the hot seat, which is only a few days away, PLUS an abundance of more! So let's get right to it, shall we? We shall!

December 2021 READ THIS! Author Q&A

December's READ THIS! author Q&A with moi featuring guest host Hal Bodner will be on Thursday, December 16, 2021 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/MnQDEKFYjU 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 January'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.)

December 2021 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for December 2021 is:  A Cup of Joe By Gini Koch writing as Anita Ensal Gini's Take: This novella is science fiction romance, in a setting I'm gonna force all y'all to discover for yourselves. David thinks his world is perfect, but when he meets Emily he discovers that things aren't what he believes. About the Author: It's me! But just in case all y'all have never had the thrill of reading my "short bio," here 'tis in all it's glory Gini Koch writes the fast, fresh, and funny Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt series for DAW Books, as well as many other novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories, and she’s made the most of multiple personality disorder by writing under a variety of other pen names as well, including G.J. Koch, Anita Ensal, Jemma Chase, A.E. Stanton, and J.C. Koch, all with novels, novellas, and/or stories featured in excellent anthologies, available now and upcoming. www.ginikoch.com

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

The READ THIS! Selection for January 2022 is:  Eridani's Crown by Alex Shvartsman

Yappin' 'B-B-Bout My Spa-ace Western Hope you sang along with me on that one. The Yap is large and in charge over at the Baen Free Radio Podcast, talking with the editor and a selection of awesome authors who are in Gunfight on Europa Station along with moi. So come see and hear about the fun stories in this cool anthology! Yes, we're still in pre-order status for the physical book, but the ebook is available now, and currently the supply chain insists the physical books will ship before Christmas, so if you're a hold the bookie wookie in your hands person, pre-order today! Featuring "Showdown on Big Rock 27" by moi writing as Anita Ensal Get your copy today!

The Yap is also running over at TG Geeks with my yearly review of one of my all-time favorite seasonal movies which is also the most accurate example of what it's like to be a writer ever filmed, The Man Who Invented Christmas. Amazingly enough, there are those who haven't seen it yet. If you're among them, or if you want to see if you agree with moi, check out my review!

Get the Humor to the Geeks! Speaking of TG Geeks, I have a new humor piece premiering there later today (Tuesday, December 14th). Get a bit of funny from moi today and check it out after 3pm Mountain! (Fair warning: the links won't be live until then.)

Because I get asked this daily (often multiple times daily)... Yes, Aliens Like Us IS coming, but... No, Aliens Like Us still isn't ready for Prime Time, but... I'm writing like a crazed wolverine (and yes, all the other projects aren't distractions, they KEEP me writing) so... Fear not, Kitty & Company will be back later than you want but sooner than you think... I promise. P.S. I'm expecting to have some good news on this front sooner as opposed to later, so continue to watch this space for updates!

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

That's it for today, and this year, but, never fear, another Blog, including the first READ THIS! selection for 2022, 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 all y'all on the flip side! Love, Gini