June's READ THIS! Book of the Month and a Whole Lot More (Yapping)!

Welcome to Summer! Well, Hotlanta is living up to its reputation and it's gotten warm at the Manse. And humid. And, because it's the Southeast and not the Southwest, wet. But still, there's a lot to be said for summer fun, so let's ensure we all have some! We've got another great READ THIS! selection for this month plus more fun stuff, including lots of the Yap, so let's get right 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!

June 2022 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for June 2022 is:  Mind of the Man-Child By G. Russell Gaynor Gini's Take: With a few exceptions, William's always seen himself as a normal high school kid. Only...he's not. Wow, is he not. A great first novel that asks a big question: What if the Tower of Babel had been an act of man and not an act of God? About the Author: A US Navy Brat turned screenwriter and novelist, G. Russell Gaynor's been in an unending pursuit of one thing: a good story. To that end, he's explored strange new worlds... far, far away... coming across a ring here, an horcux there, spinning round a wheel, and using stars as steppingstones and waystations. https://grussellgaynor.com/

June 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.)

June's READ THIS! author Q&A with G. Russell Gaynor will be on Thursday, June 16, 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 2022 is:  The Healer's Legacy The Healer's Trilogy, Book 1 By Sharon Skinner

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...

More Yapping!   That's right, more yapping from me and other awesome authors over at ConTinual. The latest offering is How To Write Animals, a topic of which I think we all know I know a lot about. So head over and watch 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 Holiday Action-Adventure Hot Off the Press #64 Weird Westerns Pets and Familiars Intellectual Property for Creatives Separating Problematic Creators from Their Work Selling At Conventions Scarred For Life There's a whole lot more over at the ConTinual YouTube page, so browse around and get your panel fixes in!

See The Me! The Hermitage Is Over! Here are the cons I am confirmed to be going to this year. Panels, readings, signings, and such will be updated as I have the info, but I will definitely be at these places and hope to see some of or all y'all there!  LibertyCon Chattanooga, TN June 17-19, 2022 San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA July 20-24 GenCon Indianapolis, IN August 4-7, 2022 Thursday, August 4 10-11am, Workshop: Finding Your Voice 1-2pm, Panel: Blurbs 2-3pm, Panel: Writing Sex Scenes 3-4pm, Panel: POV Pandemonium 4-5 pm, Panel: Trouble...Or Paradise? 5-6pm, Panel: Empathy for Your Other Friday, August 5 10-11am, Workshop: Writing the Dreaded Synopsis 11am-12pm, Panel: Picking Your Path as a Creator 1-2pm, Signing 2-3pm, Panel: My Book Has a Soundtrack 4-5pm, Panel: Writing in 3D Saturday, August 6 1-2pm, Signing 2-3pm, Panel: Quiet Fantasy 4-5pm, Panel: Imagining Alternate Futures   DragonCon Atlanta, GA September 1-5, 2022 World Fantasy Con New Orleans, LA November 3-6, 2022

The Yap is Large and In Charge! Check out my interview with Long Lost Friends wherein we yap about a lot of things, including my tips for beginning writers.

Quotable Yap! Apparently I'm quotable. Who knew? The Short Quotes Blog did, it seems. So check it out and see if you agree with their choices!

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