June's READ THIS! BotM & Con Season Begins!

Happy June!

We're at the start of summer in these parts which means a lot of heat and humidity but, hey, it keeps things green, right? RIGHT? *sobs the sob of one who prefers dry heat*

I'm also at the start of my main con season, so lots of goings ons for moi, and therefore, all y'all, including the next READ THIS! selection! So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

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!

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!

June 2023 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for June 2023 is:  Starcrossed Bride By Meg Lead Gini's Take: A fun and sexy SFR with a spunky heroine, a brooding and sexy hero, and some of the most excellent world building you'll find. About the Author: Meg Leader has been a published writer of nonfiction and fiction with major New York publishers for more than 30 years in a variety of genres and using various pen names. Her fiction is primarily in romance, science fiction, and urban fantasy. n nonfiction, she’s written everything from technical articles and textbooks on neural networks to memoir to popular science books for publishers like MIT Press and Oxford University Press. She has a new series of writing books available on Amazon, the Page-Turner Fiction books on topics including how to set up your novel, how to write great scenes, story tropes for any genre, and a comprehensive book on world-building for any genre. megleader.com

June 2023 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.)

June's READ THIS! author Q&A with author Meg Leader will be on Thursday, June 15, 2022 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for July 2023 is:  “The Substance of My Lives, The Accidents of Our Birth” By José Pablo Iriarte

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. P.S. I am definitely heading towards the end game. I realize that's vague, but it means that I think we'll be shouting "hurrah" somewhere in the nearish term. Digits crossed, at any rate... P.P.S. Watch this space, I'm hoping to share happy news soon.

SEE THE ME! It's my current con schedule for the rest of this year. This list is definitely subject to change, with schedules to come and other events added on. So make your plans to come see the me! LibertyCon 35 Chattanooga, TN June 23-25, 2023     Friday, June 23 2:00pm, CC - Mtg Rms 9 & 10 -- What is the better genre: Traditional Romance or Paranormal Romance? 4:00pm, M - Plaza Ballroom B -- Weird Wild Westerns 5:00pm, CC - Ballroom E -- Opening Ceremonies 6:00pm, M - Plaza Ballroom C -- Arrgh! There Be Pirates! 8:00-11:00pm, Plaza Ballroom Mezzanine - Authors/Artists Alley -- Sellin' the Bookie Wookies and handing out hugs Saturday, June 24 11:00am, CC - Ballroom F/G -- Autograph Session: Gini Koch, David B. Coe, Les Johnson 10:00pm, CC - Mtg Rms 9 & 10 -- Writing Humor and Satire in Modern Science Fiction and Fantasy Sunday, June 25 1:00pm, M - Signal Mountain Room -- Reading: Gini Koch and Kelle Z. Riley   San Diego Comic-Con 2023 San Diego, CA July 19-23, 2023 I'll be doing signings and panels and will be at Booth C-03 in the dealers hall most of the time, so be sure to come get your signed bookie wookies and hugs! DragonCon 2023 Atlanta, GA August 31 - September 4, 2023 I'm an Author Guest this year AND we'll be back in the booth, so lots of ways to see the me! GenCon 2023 Indianapolis, IN August 3-6, 2023 I'm a Symposium Author again this year, so make your plans to make it to this fun con now! All Symposium activities other than signings will be at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.   Thursday, August 3 12-2pm, Atlanta - Finding Your Voice Workshop, Part 1, Atlanta Room Friday, August 4 12-2pm, Atlanta - Finding Your Voice Workshop, Part 2 5-6pm, Ballroom 4 - Writing Comprehensive Intimate Scenes Panel 7-11pm, Ballroom 1 - Special Event: D&D With Writers Saturday, August 5 11am-12pm, Boston - Humor in Speculative Fiction 1-2pm, ICC, Back Wall by Artists Alley - Signing Gini Koch & Bradley P. Beaulieu Sunday, August 7 9-10am, Ballroom 3 - Worldbuilding: Entertainment at the End of the World Panel World Fantasy Con Kansas City, MO October 26-29, 2023

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 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

READ THIS! Q&A Deets and Lots More!

Spring Is In The Air!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and are enjoying this month as it goes along. For me, May is normally a pleasant, relatively quiet month which is nice to have once in a while.

PLUS, this May, we have the READ THIS! Author Q&A coming this Thursday featuring moi talking about one of my favorites that I've written. So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

May 2023 READ THIS! Author Q&A

May's READ THIS! author Q&A with moi featuring Guest Host Hal Bodner will be on Thursday, May 18, 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/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 June'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.)

May 2023 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for May 2023 is:  Alexander Outland: Space Pirate By Moi writing as G.J. Koch Gini's Take: All Alexander Napoleon Outland, Nap to his friends, wants to do is steal and smuggle from the haves and give to the have-nots, aka him and his crew. What a pity that the galaxy has other plans and in order to save his skin, his ship, and said crew, he's going to have to do the worst thing ever: be a hero. About the Author: It's me! Well, me as one of my many pen names. But in case you want the updated snazzy bio, here 'tis. Gini Koch started writing in the American Southwest as something to do in between staring at pictures of good-looking leading men, but now sweats out the words, both literally and figuratively, in Hotlanta and dreams of dry heat. She’s best known for her award-winning Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt series from DAW Books, which started with Touched by an Alien and has sixteen books out currently, with seventeen through twenty on the way. Gini’s made the most of multiple personality disorder by writing under a variety of other pen names as well, including G.J. Koch (the Alexander Outland series), Anita Ensal, Jemma Chase, A.E. Stanton (the New West Series and the Legend of Belladonna series), and J.C. Koch, and all her various personas have stories featured in excellent anthologies, available now and upcoming. No matter what length – from science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, space opera, urban fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller, dystopian, westerns, romantic suspense, weird west, and more – if it’s genre, she writes it. Prior to becoming a full-time author, Gini spent over 25 years in marketing and advertising, first in small- to mid-sized direct marketing firms in Los Angeles, and then within the Fortune 50, and she was a social media maven before it was cool. She’s an avid follower of pop culture, comics, and anything and everything animated. She guests, exhibits, and panels frequently at cons across the U.S., large and small, because if there’s one thing that she likes (and you can be sure that there is) it’s getting to run her yap and interact with fans. She’s still has the most wonderful and patient husband in the world, a remarkably supportive family who don’t mind that she spends most of her time in other worlds, and she remains inspired mainly by good-looking leading men. She’s also inspired by the need to keep her Canine Death Squad and Killer Kitties in kibble and treats because they’re both her cheering squad and one of her main distractions (and all the furred beasts say sorry not sorry about that).

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

The READ THIS! Selection for June 2023 is:      Starcrossed Bride By Meg Leader

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. P.S. I am definitely heading towards the end game. I realize that's vague, but it means that I think we'll be shouting "hurrah" somewhere in the nearish term. Digits crossed, at any rate... P.P.S. Watch this space, I'm hoping to share happy news soon.

Remember to Preorder! Dragonesque, featuring "A King Arthur Dragon in Space Station 23's Court" by moi and co-writer Bebe Bayliss, is now available for preorder from everywhere! Don't wait, get your copy ordered today!

Is anything more terrifying than a dragon? Bat-winged nightmares swooping down from the sky to breathe fire and ice on the wretched humans below, kidnapping princesses, hoarding treasure, swallowing cows. Or not. In DRAGONESQUE, the latest fantastic anthology from Zombies Need Brains, you finally get to experience all that awfulness from the dragon’s point of view. And what if it isn’t necessarily that awful? What if the princess wants to be kidnapped, or the dragon is tired of being made fun of week after week at the Renaissance Faire? Or maybe a dragonet just really, really wants to be a unicorn? Perhaps they’re happiest collecting art, or enjoy being tattooed? Or maybe some dragons like putting out fires more than starting them…unless they absolutely have to? DRAGONESQUE features sixteen original stories from such fiery authors as Esther M. Friesner, Madeline Dau, Niall Spain, Russell Hugh McConnell, Grace Eliza, Mike Jack Stoumbos, Paul D. Smith, Jean Marie Ward, Gerald Brandt, Gini Koch & Bebe Bayliss, Larry Ivkovich, Barbara Campbell, Journey Sloane, Em McDermott, Auston Habershaw, and David B. Coe.  See the world as the dragons see it, from the delightfully delicious to the tastefully transactional. Welcome to DRAGONESQUE.

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

SEE THE ME! It's my current con schedule for the rest of this year. This list is definitely subject to change, with schedules to come and other events added on. So make your plans to come see the me! LibertyCon 35 Chattanooga, TN June 23-25, 2023 San Diego Comic-Con 2023 San Diego, CA July 19-23, 2023 I'll be doing signings and panels and will be at Booth C-03 in the dealers hall most of the time, so be sure to come get your signed bookie wookies and hugs! DragonCon 2023 Atlanta, GA August 31 - September 4, 2023 I'm an Author Guest this year AND we'll be back in the booth, so lots of ways to see the me! GenCon 2023 Indianapolis, IN August 3-6, 2023 I'm a Symposium Author again this year, so make your plans to make it to this fun con now! All Symposium activities other than signings will be at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.   Thursday, August 3 12-2pm, Atlanta - Finding Your Voice Workshop, Part 1, Atlanta Room Friday, August 4 12-2pm, Atlanta - Finding Your Voice Workshop, Part 2 5-6pm, Ballroom 4 - Writing Comprehensive Intimate Scenes Panel 7-11pm, Ballroom 1 - Special Event: D&D With Writers Saturday, August 5 11am-12pm, Boston - Humor in Speculative Fiction 1-2pm, ICC, Back Wall by Artists Alley - Signing Gini Koch & Bradley P. Beaulieu Sunday, August 7 9-10am, Ballroom 3 - Worldbuilding: Entertainment at the End of the World Panel   World Fantasy Con Kansas City, MO October 26-29, 2023

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 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 starts wonderfully for all of you, 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