Whole Lotta Lotta Goin' On

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a wonderful week! I've been hugely busy -- how the heck IS it Friday already, anyway -- and, as you'll soon see, we have an absolute tonnage going on, so let's get to it already!

First up, the Yap is large and in charge over at KickAss Chicks. Then, check out what Heroes and Heartbreakers has to say about Comedic Sci-Fi Romance. Um, yeah, they may have mentioned Touched by an Alien.

Next, I have some good news and some bad news. Bad news first. It's now March and, as I'm sure all y'all are aware, Night Music is not in your hot little hands. All I can say is that concussions are not a writer's friend, and that I am still beavering away on it, and many other things that are also due (and, sadly, also late), and you shall have it soon, VERY soon, I swears it! *sobs* Victoria's chomping at the hambone to take you on her next wild adventure, so never fear, it'll be here as fast as I can manage. (Hey, you've been waiting a long time for it already, what's another month, right? Right? *runs*)

Now, for the good news.  What I do have coming this month is a collection of paranormal stories I've written as Jemma Chase to give you a paranormal fix until Night Music is ready -- The Disciple and Other Stories of the Paranormal. That's right, Strange Protection, Hotter Than Hell, Waiting, Amazing, and The Disciple are all together in one volume! And you can pre-order that puppy right now, too, over at Amazon. The book will be available on Friday, March 20th, and will be up at all the other retailers at that point. And yes, for those of you who only want physical books, it will be available in physical format as well. I got ya covered!

Speaking of which, according to an article at the Huffington Post, there are 9 reasons why print books are better than ebooks. I'm all for however you want to read the bookie wookies, but I found the article interesting all the same.

Speaking of found things, alert Member of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing Bibliognome has spotted that, for the first time ever, one of my books is up at NetGalley. Yes indeedy dee, if you're a reviewer, you can get to read Alien Separation ages before everyone else!

And speaking of pre-orders (we were, trust me, we were), you can pre-order Alien Separation from your favorite bookstore or Amazon or any other online retailer. Pre-orders help more than you realize, so do your girl a solid and pre-order Book 11 (and beyond, if they let you, LOL) because the publishers CARE about pre-order numbers. And so do I.

AND you can also pre-order the X-Files anthology my story, "Sewers" will be in, X-Files: Trust No One, at good ol' Amazon as well. Pre-orders for everyone!

Now for some reviews. See why Night Owl Reviews made Universal Alien a top pick!

And, while I'm still waiting to give you that news I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, in the meantime, see what the San Francisco Book Review said about the Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets anthology, which has my story, "All the Single Ladies" in it.

Then see what boeklogboek had to say about my humor collection, Random Musings from the Funny Girl.

Speaking of funny, check out SB Nation's take on Reviewing the Terrifying Dogs in Westminster's "Working Group". It's a hilarious look at the various breeds. The Big Fella was a Komondor, and quite frankly, this article got him right.

And now for some science! Frankly, lots and lots and LOTS of science. Hey, it's been a busy week for science (and it's damn fine butt), what can I say?

First off, the Red Velvet Oreos Member of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing Michael Shelton sent to me were AWESOME. So, if you like red velvet anything, these are a total winner in Oreos' growing bid to literally be put into every marketing textbook ever written under the heading "company most dedicated to brand extension in the history of the world".

Next up, things are looking up for Pluto, at least according Discover. Then Space.com has an awesomely cool series going about what it would be like to live on the other celestial bodies in our solar system.

Then we have just a tonnage of articles doing their best to prove that I'm actually an investigative reporter writing non-fiction pieces. Check out Higher Perspective's article about the possibility of aliens having "seeded" the Earth; possible water (or life forms signalling us with mirrors) on Ceres over at Mashable; NASA's findings about black hole families (Algar says hi); and, according to Yahoo Finance -- yes, you read that right, this was in the Finance section, go figure -- apparently we have a "second moon" and it orbits in a *cough* kind of figure-8 patter or similar.

A big reminder for my upcoming in-person schedule of events, because most of them are happening NEXT WEEK!

Monday, March 9, 5-6pm PST/8-9 EST - I and the rest of the Paranormal Romance Dream Team will be be participating in another Night Owl Reviews live chat. Last time we gave out lots of prezzies, and I'm sure this time will be no different. The chat will run from 5-6 pm PST/8-9 EST. Don't miss out, it's sure to be a blast and a half! 

Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15 - I'll be at the Tucson Festival of Books. It's the fourth largest Book Fair in the country, so you don't want to miss out. When I'm not doing panels or signings, you can find me at The Dreams Booth, Booth #106.  

My current TFoB schedule: 
--Saturday, March 14, 4-5pm - Making Magic Real: Suspending Reader Disbelief, Integrated Learning Center Room 130; signing immediately after Sales and Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center  
--Sunday, March 15, 11:30am-12:30 pm - I Got Nuthin' – Battling Writer's Block, Integrated Learning Center Room 141; signing immediately after Sales and Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center  
--Sunday, March 15, 2:30-3:30pm - Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, and Sci-Fi, Koffler Room 216; signing immediately after Sales and Signing Area - Koffler Patio 

Saturday, March 28, 12-4 pm - mass author signing at the Book Vault, 2055 S. Power Road, Entrance #3 in Mesa AZ, featuring moi along with awesome authors Alan Black, Kris Tualla, Deena Remiel, and Melanie Tighe.  

Speaking of the Tucson Festival of Books, if you missed the interview they did with me, check out their Festival Blog where you'll find my interview and a ton more. Also speaking of TFoB and the University of Arizona, I may miss seeing the wonderful Eric Penner Haury (grandson of The Real Most Interesting Man in the World, nephew of The Silver Fox, aka Ted Danson, and a wonderful author in his own right) at the Festival. Why? Because he's going to be in Tucson the week before, for a ceremony for his step-grandmother, Agnese Nelms Haury who's donated a tremendous amount to various institutions and bequeathed some wonderful things to UofA. She was an amazing woman, and her legacy will live on, which is fantastic.

New Sightings in the Wild are up at the website. Have pics to send in? Send 'em to our SuperSightingsGirl, Kelsey, at kelsey@ginikoch.com. She LIVES to get your pics, yes she does!

Last but in no way least, the Spectrum 22 award nominations are in, and many congrats to my fantabulous cover artist, Dan Dos Santos, and Dave Palumbo (who worked with Dan on the Alien Diplomacy cover), since they're both nominated! Check out the artwork from the nominees -- it's gorgeous. I don't envy whoever has to choose the winners (though, OBVIOUSLY Dan should win) (not that I'm biased) (maybe a little), because each piece is amazing.

Well, don't faint, but that's it for today. But never fear, as always, more's on the way. So, enjoy your weekends, chat with some of you on Monday, see some of you next weekend, and all of you let's be science-loving, art-enjoying, book pre-ordering, coolest of the cool readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Love,
Gini