READ THIS! Author Q&A, Spicy Things, Con Schedule, & More!

It's A Fast Month, Isn't It? Valentine's Day is upon us (tomorrow) and then this month's READ THIS! Author Q&A, then President's Day, then Ash Wednesday for those who partake, and then blink and the month is gone.  But before the month is over we have the READ THIS! Author Q&A ahead of us. So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

February 2023 READ THIS! Author Q&A

February's READ THIS! author Q&A with author Elle E. Ire will be on Thursday, February 16, 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/MnQDEKFYjU 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 March'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.)

February 2023 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for February 2023 is:  Harsh Reality By Elle E. Ire Gini's Take: A cool time travel story that takes on reality TV, the Old West, and mythology, with a steamy F/F romance and a bang-up ending. About the Author: Elle Ire is the author of nine published novels from DSP Publications in the genres of sapphic paranormal and science fiction. THREADBARE is the recipient of two gold Royal Palm Literary Awards from the Florida Writers Association. DEAD WOMAN'S POND earned a Goldie Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society, a gold Royal Palm Literary Award, and was first runner-up for Florida Writers Association's Book of the Year. REEL TO REAL LOVE was a Goldie Award finalist and a Stonewall Award nominee.

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

The READ THIS! Selection for March 2023 is:      Even Villains Fall in Love By Liana Brooks

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.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, Astra Publishing House has a DAW Spicy SFF Sampler going, featuring Touched by an Alien along with other cool books. Check out all the excerpts and snuggle up with your true love -- reading.

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! Con Season is starting early for me this year, so here's the list of the cons I'm guaranteed to be at in 2023. This list is definitely subject to change, with schedules to come and other events added on. CoastCon 45 Biloxi, MS March 3-5, 2023 I'm super excited to announce that I'm the Author Guest of Honor at Mississippi's longest running science fiction, fantasy, and gaming con! Come on down to the Gulf Coast and hang out with moi for a super fun weekend! LibertyCon 35 Chattanooga, TN June 23-25, 2023 San Diego Comic-Con 2023 San Diego, CA July 19-23, 2023 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!

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

It's Time for February's READ THIS! BotM and More!

Happy February! The shortest month of the year is here, but it's chock full of things. It's Black History Month, Valentine's Day/Singles Appreciation Day, President's Day, and more. So we pack a lot into our littlest month. And among all the things, we have the next READ THIS! selection for you and more. 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!   February 2023 READ THIS! Selection The READ THIS! Selection for February 2023 is:  Harsh Reality By Elle E. Ire Gini's Take: A cool time travel story that takes on reality TV, the Old West, and mythology, with a steamy F/F romance and a bang-up ending. About the Author: Elle Ire is the author of nine published novels from DSP Publications in the genres of sapphic paranormal and science fiction. THREADBARE is the recipient of two gold Royal Palm Literary Awards from the Florida Writers Association. DEAD WOMAN'S POND earned a Goldie Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society, a gold Royal Palm Literary Award, and was first runner-up for Florida Writers Association's Book of the Year. REEL TO REAL LOVE was a Goldie Award finalist and a Stonewall Award nominee.   February 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.) February's READ THIS! author Q&A with author Elle E. Ire will be on Thursday, February 16, 2022 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend! March's READ THIS! Selection   And Remember: One Lucky Q&A Participant can win it early! The READ THIS! Selection for March 2023 is:  Even Villains Fall in Love By Liana Brooks 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 Banned Books 2023 and When Technology Goes Awry, wherein we talk about why no books should be banned and what happens when things go very wrong. 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 Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction A Fantastic Fantasy Holiday Hot Off the Press #87 There's a whole lot more over at the ConTinual YouTube page, so browse around and get your panel fixes in! Random Randomness There's lots to look forward to in 2023, space-wise, and Astronomy.com has all the deets! Space, the Moon, and Bennu, oh my! It's starting to look like my Belters series is going to be coming true! 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