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