First READ THIS! BotM of the Year Announced, The Yap's in Charge, My Bday's on the Horizon , & More!

Welcome to 2026! Hope everyone had safe, fun, and happy new year's celebrations, including those who chose to stay home, stay in, and go to bed early.  We're starting this year off with a great READ THIS! Book of the Month, and there's lots more going on, too (like my birthday later in the month), as well as some new Yapping, so let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

Pre-Order Time Is Now!

Spread the word: Aliens Like Use -- aka the book EVERYONE has been waiting for -- is releasing on April 7, 2026 from Ginger Blue Publishing, and it's available for pre-order right now! So, now's the time to get your copy reserved from your distributor of choice:  Amazon -- ebook (trade paperback and hardback editions will be available on release day) B&N.com -- ebook, trade paperback, and Trophy Hardback Kobo -- ebook Apple Books -- ebook An Important Note #1: If you pre-ordered this book back when it was with DAW your preorder WILL NOT reactivate. The ISBN numbers are different, and that publisher will not advise the various outlets that they should look for the new ISBN number coming from this publisher (it's not their job to do that), and there's no way for the new publisher to get those pre-orders transferred, either. SO, if you pre-ordered before, please do so again, via the links at the Ginger Blue website. An Important Note #2: You cannot go into a Barnes & Noble store to pre-order. The in-store systems and the online systems don't actually work all that well together (I know, it's the same company...a battle for another day with a different army). So if you're planning to get your copies from B&N, please go to the Ginger Blue website and choose your links from there.

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!

January 2026 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for January 2026 is:  The Powers That Be by Temple Hart Gini's Take: An alternative present day satirical take on the superhero genre, with a great hero/villain pair, fun sidekicks, and a meaty conspiracy plot.  About the Author: Temple Hart traveled across the United States in her youth, from New York to Florida and from Maryland to Utah, trying to find herself. It took a while, but she succeeded. And she also found out a few other important things. She was very very lesbian, she ate up geek fiction, she loved to write, she had a somewhat skewed and sarcastic worldview, and she really loved love, and romance, and all that red hearts and Cupid's arrows stuff. And she refused to be ashamed about any of it, the love of love in particular. Now settled in Georgia (well, you know, for now), Temple works to combine those loves into her own brand of satirical sapphic superhero superfiction. Which she loves. https://www.jbgarnerwrites.com/abouttemplehart

January 2026 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  featuring author Temple Hart will be on Thursday, January 15, 2026 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for February 2026 is:  Media & Me My Love/Hate Relationship With Hollywood By Gini Koch

THE YAP IN CHARGE!   We've got some new yapping over at ConTinual!   Check out Hot Off The Press #147, Hot Off The Press #148, Hot Off The Press #149, Hot Off The Press 150, and Holiday Mysteries, wherein my fellow panelists and I have a lot of fun while sharing a lot of learning, our wild and varied opinions, and yapping about our new bookie wookies! And don't miss the other Yaps over at The Yap In Charge.

In case you missed it, the first 13 books in the Alien Series AND The Alien Collection are now available from Ginger Blue Publishing in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback! Books 14-16 are coming soon!

Ginger Blue is trucking along and getting the Alien Series re-released just as fast as they can. And we're so close now - just 3 books to go to be all caught up! 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. It had seemed like all the old reviews had stuck at B&N, but not so any more. And the same for Amazon - they were there for all and, suddenly, they were not. SO, several of the books do not have all their reviews connected to the new versions. We have no idea why. Yes, they may connect at a later date, we have no idea if that will or won't happen, and if they do connect, if they'll actually remain. SO, please review early and often on either site, but particularly on Amazon, since, as we well know, reviews matter, especially at Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads. So, officially, now the first thirteen books are live everywhere! And fourteen through sixteen are coming soon! Huzzah!

Spare a review for your author. I know that I, and other authors, harp on it all the time, but that's because reviews truly MATTER. So please, for my birthday present, leave some reviews at Amazon, B&N.com, Kobo, Apple Books, and Goodreads. Every bookie wookie needs some stars and some love, and you're just the gang to do it!

So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for Aliens Like Us and 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 PDQ because of the way the first of the year hit. 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