September's READ THIS! Author Q&A, My DragonCon Recap, New Books, and More!

Hey There! It's mid-September and we really should be back in school... Sorry, just had to toss out an interpreted Rod Stewart lyric, just 'cause it fits. Happy fully back to school everywhere to all! DragonCon was awesome (see my recap below) and now I get a short break before my last con of the year, World Fantasy Con, and I'm reveling in writing! I have a lot going on writing-wise (as you'll see below) as well as, yes, I promise, getting the book all y'all care about the most super close to finished. PLUS we have this month's READ THIS! Author Q&A this Thursdsay and, as always, it's gonna be a good one you don't want to miss! So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

September 2023 READ THIS! Author Q&A

September's READ THIS! author Q&A with author Sharon Skinner will be on Thursday, September 21, 2023 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/GYpzD25JvW 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 October'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.)

September 2023 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for September 2023 is:  Blood from a Rose By Sharon Skinner Gini's Take: A cool collection that takes you on a ride through a wide variety of genres and into some spaces you might not have visited before. About the Author: Sharon Skinner holds a BA in English, an MA in Creative Writing and is a Certified Book Coach and freelance editor, who helps writers weave their words into stories that shine. She mainly writes fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, and the occasional steampunk, for audiences of all ages. Skinner is an active member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and serves as the Regional Advisor for SCBWI AZ. She also served aboard the USS Jason, the first US Navy vessel to take women to sea (WestPac cruise). But that’s another story. To learn more, visit sharonskinner.com or bookcoachingbysharon.com

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

The READ THIS! Selection for October 2023 is:      Farpoint Awakened By Vincent Bek

There's a new small press out there, and I'm their first author! (Though I doubt I'll be their last.) Ginger Blue Publishing has launched and has taken three of my books! All are available for pre-order right now, and will be on sale soon. You can pre-order all the books on the Coming Soon page, so get them pre-ordered today so you don't miss out! And yes, all the books will be available in both electronic and physical formats.

The Dawning of the New West is a mosaic novel collecting the first three stories of The New West (The Darkening, When Josie Comes Home, and Deacon's Ark). Pre-orders are live, and it releases next week, on September 26!   The Happy Acres Haunted Hotel for Active Seniors is one of my best-loved stories. But now, it's not in a volume all alone. NOW it's combined with every other humorous SF/F short I've written that aren't a part of the Alien Series (and yes, I promise, that's still coming). Get all of the fun in one place! Pre-orders are live and the book releases on October 10!

The Disciple and Other Stories of the Paranormal, by moi writing as Jemma Chase, has indeed been available elsewhere. But now it has additional never-before-seen stories and a lovely forward from author Hal Bodner (Bite Club) and I'm super excited it's getting a new lease on life, so to speak. Pre-orders are live and the book releases just in time for Halloween fun on October 24!

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. Really, I mean it. :-D

More Yapping!   That's right, more yapping from me and other awesome authors over at ConTinual. The latest offerings are Fandom: British Mysteries, where we talk about what British mysteries we love, Comics Lair: Shang Chi's Journey, where we discuss the Marvel hero in his various forms, Writing Spies and Secret Agents, wherein I talk a LOT about Chuckie and Siler and others, and  Monster Motivations, where we talk about what makes villains and monsters scary and sympathetic. 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 Banned Books 2023 When Technology Goes Awry Sci-Fi and Alien Romance Daring to Write Fantasy Books That Formed Us There's a whole lot more over at the ConTinual YouTube page, so browse around and get your panel fixes in!

DragonCon Was Once Again Excellent! Thee con was great, the cosplay was amazing, and the times were fun. Can't wait to do it again next year! And mega thanks to Member of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing Chrysta Stuckless who came down from Canada to help me in the booth and with shenanigans. We did very well with both. Probably best with shenanigans. But there...I mustn't kiss and tell...

We'll start with the cosplay. I am a HUGE Chitty Chitty Bang Bang fan. And this cosplayer made me believe I was watching the movie. Amazing doesn't even begin to cover it, and yes, she was turning around on that music box lip syncing perfectly. She really was Truly Scrumptious. -->   The Sisters. Three amazing and adorable women who cosplay together, every day --> in different outfits. They were at one of my panels and we all went down to lunch together, and fate made it better to have 6 at a table than wait for 2 tables of 3, so we got to enjoy a meal with the Queen Dragons of Fire, Earth, and Water.

The Sisters again, this time as Cinderella and her stepsisters. I didn't recognize them at first, because, frankly, they're all too pretty to pass as the stepsisters, but we do make allowances for excellent cosplay choices. --> At the Alternate & Historical Fiction track pre-party. With awesome authors J.B. Garner, moi, an author who is excellent whose name escapes me (utter meeting fail), and David B. Coe (who is also one of my Zombie Needs Brains editors). A very fun time! --> And, lest we forget, there were plenty of panels.                      vv

^^ And of course there was the Booth...   ^^ ...And hanging out at the Westin bar after hours...

And also lest we forget there was the Fantasy Gather (and this was my fave pic)!                                                 vv

And, of course, there was the food and the eating and the eating of the food. We ended up spending most of our nice meal times at Pacific Rim Sushi, where you can probably safely find me next year as well. (Though the Hyatt's restaurant was super for lunches.)                                                              vv

Last but in NO way least, it was my yearly meeting with Patty Briggs. Yes, she really and truly is the greatest. --> Yes, I have (a lot) more pics, but a girl has to keep some things held back to keep that air of mystery. And all that...

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!

Speaking of Reading Out Loud... Graphic Audio has renewed the contract for The Legend of Belladonna, Part 1: Natural Born Outlaws, by moi writing as A.E. Stanton. If you haven't grabbed this fantastic audiobook, don't delay, grab it today!

SEE THE ME! My last con on the schedule for the rest of this year awaits. This list is no longer likely to change, but my last schedule and such is still to come. So make your plans to come see the me for the last chance this year!   World Fantasy Con Kansas City, MO October 26-29, 2023

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 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