December's READ THIS! Book of the Month & More!

It's The Start of the Holidays! There are so many holidays in December (more than there are days in December), that it's definitely time for celebrations of all kinds.  So, for those who celebrate, happy start of Kwanzaa (and the myriad other "early in the month" holidays too numerous to list here). And happy getting ready for all the other holidays to everyone else. It's also time to get ready for this month's READ THIS! as well as lots more, so, before everyone starts wrapping, shipping, caroling, lighting, and more, 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 if you do have your copy, please remember that books and audio books make great gifts! (As to reviews - those make great gifts to authors.)

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!

December 2022 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for December 2022 is:  Alliance Rising The Martian Alliance Chronicles 1-3 By Gini Koch Gini's Take: The galaxy hasn't been the same since the Diamante Families took over... The Martian Alliance works in secret. Led by beings with very personal grudges against the Diamante Families, the Alliance strike force scams, cons, steals, and fights its way throughout the planets, gathering credits and allies under cover and in a ship whose real name is only know to its crew. About the Author: It's me! But in case you haven't read my most recent bio, here you go! 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, all with 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, and more – if it’s genre, she writes it.  She’s an avid follower of pop culture, comics, and anything and everything animated. Reach her via: www.ginikoch.com

November 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.)

December's READ THIS! author Q&A with author Gini Koch featuring Guest Host Hal Bodner will be on Thursday, December 15, 2022 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for January 2023 is:  The Middling Affliction The Conradverse Chronicles Book 1 By Alex Shvartsman

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.

More Yapping!   That's right, more yapping from me and other awesome authors over at ConTinual. The latest offerings are Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction and, for a real 180 degree change, A Fantastic Fantasy Holiday. 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 How To Write Animals Hot off the Press #72 Unicorns And Other Fantastic Creatures Tinkerers and Inventors A ConTinual Special Mystery Event: The Game is Afoot - Sherlockian Universes Hot off the Press #76 Space Opera Technology in Your Tales Building the Story and Scares Things That Go Bump in the Night -- Monster Hunters Mythological Tropes in SF and Fantasy Bad Places - Evil Locations that Set the Scary Scene We Love You, Scooby-Doo! Magic, Monsters, and True Love Ghost and Monster Hunters Haunted Places Creature Feature - Monsters and Hunters Hot Off the Press #81 Demons Galore There's a whole lot more over at the ConTinual YouTube page, so browse around and get your panel fixes in!

A quick reminder that the two best gifts you can give the authors in your lives are buying their books and leaving a review of those books on Amazon, B&N.com, Goodreads, Smashwords, and more (though Amazon impacts us the most). So, please buy books for the holidays and please leave reviews, for older books as well as newer books, good or bad, because even the bad ones are good for us. Promise.

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