The READ THIS! BotM Announced, A New Cover Reveal, and More!

Happy July! Summer's here in this hemisphere, and so are 4 major cons for me. Later this month it's the Grandaddy of Them All, San Diego Comic-Con. This will be my 15th year and I'm looking forward to it and I hope to see many of you guys there, too! The next READ THIS! Book of the Month is also here, along with a new cover reveal, my LibertyCon recap, and more! So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

It's Alive! Book 6, aka Alien vs. Alien, is available now from Ginger Blue Publishing! As per usual, it'll be easiest to go to Ginger Blue's website and choose your own adventure to get to the right version for you. Neither the Amazon nor the B&N reviews stuck on this one, so please remember that reviews (just stars without comment is enough, brief comments are fine, long comments are fine, whatever suits you) really matter to moi and to every other author you like, so please leave reviews for all the bookie wookies, particularly those whose reviews are few or, in this case, whose reviews are no longer there. Reviews or not, get you copy today from your distributor of choice!

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!

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!

July 2025 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for July 2025 is:  AJ Torres and the Treasure of Captain Grayshark by Jose Pablo Iriarte Gini's Take: Another fun and charming Middle Grade adventure from an author quickly becoming a real force in this age category. About the Author: José Pablo Iriarte is a fantasy and science fiction author. Their fiction has been finalist for the Nebula, Hugo, Locus and Sturgeon Awards and reprinted in various Year's Best compilations. Their debut novel, Benny Ramirez and the Nearly Departed, was published in April 2024 by Knopf Books for Young Readers and was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award. The follow up, AJ Torres and the Treasure of Captain Grayshark, is available now.

July 2025 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.)

July's READ THIS! author Q&A  featuring Author Jose Pablo Iriarte will be on Thursday, July 17, 2024 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for August 2025 is:  Magica: Rise of the Cult By E.S. Magill

Three Card Monte is Live! Thanks to everyone who preordered this release! If you didn't get your copy, don't delay, order from your preferred retailer via Ginger Blue Publishing today!

And don't forget to pre-order the next book in the series!

Is the cost of a few innocent lives worth risking everything? When the crew of the Hummingbird discovers Pilla Colony recently destroyed by the Diamante Families, they’re faced with the smart choice of leaving or the dangerous one of searching for survivors – and Roy and DeeDee aren’t in agreement about their course of action. But the real question is: why would anyone be going out of their way to destroy the most helpless, fragile, and noncombative race in the galaxy? Preorder from your preferred retailer via Ginger Blue Publishing.

In case you missed it, Touched by an Alien, Alien Tango, Alien in the Family, Alien Proliferation, Alien Diplomacy, and Alien vs. Alien are now available from Ginger Blue Publishing in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback!

Ginger Blue is trucking along and getting the Alien Series re-released just as fast as they can. The situation with how the hardbacks go out is still the same - you can get the new versions in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback complete with a snazzy dust cover! The trophy hardback is from B&N.com only, as a reminder, and the regular hardback is from Amazon only. The searching via Amazon and B&N.com remains spotty, in no small part because those two distributors still have some mass market copies they're determined to sell. So, as suggested for Touched and Tango, and as recommended for every book coming through 16/Aliens Abroad, go to the Ginger Blue Releases page, click on the cover of your choosing, and choose which option or options you want. The links on GBP's website will take you to the right spots at B&N and Amazon to get the version you want. Confusing? Yes. Ultimately manageable? Sure. It's only adding a step to what you'd normally do. Now for the old reviews status. On B&N and now Amazon all the reviews seem to have stuck for Books 1-5, but NOT for Book 6. No, we have no idea why. Yes, they may connect at a later date, we have no idea if that will or won't happen. SO, please review early and often on either site, since, as we well know, reviews matter, especially at Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads. So, officially, now the first six books are live everywhere! Huzzah!

And now it's time for A Cover Reveal!

The Belters Volume 1 A mosaic novel set in my Belters universe, by moi writing as Anita Ensal.  In the far future, humanity has colonized the solar system, but only because the Belt - and those who live and do the dangerous work there - always provides... Preorder coming soon from Ginger Blue Publishing. Releasing on August 5th.

It's time for my LibertyCon recap. Which is short. I had a great time, got to see several Members of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing (waves madly to Paul, Shari, and Matt in particular), ate well, plain had fun, and can't wait for next year. What I didn't do was take a lot of (any) pictures, because I was too busy actually doing all the things, eating all the good food, and relaxing. I know, my bad LOL. Anyway, I shall try to have more for you for the next cons, but I make no promises because one never knows when I'll take a pic and when I won't, do one?

Con Season Continues My con season is in full swing. Keep checking this space for where I'll be and all the different ways and places where you can see the me! San Diego Comic-Con July 23-27 San Diego, CA Gen Con Writers Symposium July 31-August 3 Indianapolis, IN DragonCon August 28-September 1 Atlanta, GA Bouchercon September 3-7 New Orleans, LA

So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for The Alien Collection, Aliens Like Us, Aliens Like Them, 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 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