I'm Home, I'm Late, But We Have A Great READ THIS! Selection & More!

Happy August!

Honeys, I'm Ho-ome!

San Diego Comic-Con was awesome as always and Gen Con was as well. However, this newsletter is late because two giant cons back-to-back exhausted your girl in a big way and I'm just crawling back to normal (well, as normal as I get).

BUT, late or not, there's a lot going on! The READ THIS! Book of the Month is announced, the Aliens Like Them preorder is still live and wants YOU to pay attention to it (thanks to the many who have already preordered!), my (tentative) Dragon Con schedule has appeared, and more, so let's get to it all, shall we? We shall! 

It's Preorder Time!   Meet your doubles? Check. Terrify the bad guys with your rage? Done and dusted. Save the day and stop the intergalactic war? Well…Kitty’s working on it…

Being tossed into an alternate universe can be hard. Being tossed into one that’s drastically different from your own can be harder. Kitty & Company are handling it…so far. But they’re about to face the toughest tests yet… Aliens Like Them releases December 8, 2026 and is now available for preorder! As a mention, publishers love to see preorders -- it shows them that they made the right choice to take on a book or a series. Yes, that's a hint to preorder early and often. You can preorder from these fine distributors: Amazon: ebook, (trade paperback and hardback will be available on release day) B&N.com: ebook, trade paperback, and trophy hardback Kobo: ebook Apple Books: ebook A reminder: You cannot preorder physical books from Barnes & Noble's physical stores (different back end systems, why ask why), only via B&N.com.

IT'S ALIVE! Spread the word: Aliens Like Us -- aka the book EVERYONE has been waiting for -- is large and in charge from Ginger Blue Publishing, as in, if you've somehow missed it, it's available right now! So, now's the time to get your copy from your distributor of choice:  Amazon -- ebook, trade paperback, and Hardback B&N.com -- ebook, trade paperback, and Trophy Hardback Kobo -- ebook Apple Books -- ebook  A reminder that reviews are hugely vital and if you enjoyed (or didn't) the bookie wookie (and any of the others) a review is the best way to show it!

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!

New Aloud Reading!

Behold! The first Ginger Blue audiobook is A Cup of Joe by moi writing as Anita Ensal!

More New Aloud Reading!

The second audiobook from Ginger Blue is The Disciple and Other Stories of the Paranormal by moi writing as Jemma Chase!

New Funny Aloud Reading!

Random Musings from the Funny Girl is now available in audio! Listen while laughing!

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!

The READ THIS! Selection for August 2026 is: 

The Lady Dragon of Chinatown
by Noel Plaugher

Gini's Take: A taught period piece about one woman's determination to learn what's forbidden to her -- and to take what should be hers.

About the Author: Noel writes martial arts-oriented fiction and nonfiction. He has studied martial arts and Qigong for over 35 years. Noel's first book was the nonfiction, Standing Qigong for Health and Martial Arts. Noel wrote for Black Belt Magazine (digital and print) for three years, and he currently writes The Lady Dragon of Chinatown series. The most recent book in the series, Revenge, is out now!

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.)

August's READ THIS! author Q&A 

featuring author Noel Plaugher

will be on

Thursday, August 20, 2026

from 9pm-10pm Eastern.

Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

The READ THIS! Selection for September 2026 (and remember, one Q&A participant wins a copy) is: 

The Flayer

By D.C Phillips

My Big Con Season is almost over, so check out where you can come see the me and get your hugs and bookie wookies signed! DragonCon Atlanta, GA September 3-7 This is my TENTATIVE schedule. Things are shifting as they always do a the bigger cons, and there are some other things that I'll be adding to this list soon, so find me in the app or online, just in case! Booth 2125 on the 2nd floor of the America's Mart is my "home base" so if you're looking for me, or my bookie wookies, at times that aren't listed, head there. Thursday, September 3 Stay tuned! Friday, September 4 4:00pm-5:00pm Muddling Through the Mushy Middle panel Embassy EF Hyatt Hotel 5:30pm-6:30pm Romance in the Time of Aliens panel Embassy AB Hyatt Hotel 8:30pm-Midnight The Fantasy Gather selling event  International Ballroom, Hyatt Hotel Come for the bookie wookies, stay for the signatures! Saturday, September 5 8:30pm-9:30pm Delphic Oracle audience participation panel Help your High Priestess (moi) get answers to your most vital, weird, or confusing questions! Embassy CD Hyatt Hotel 10:00pm-11:00pm The Return of Zombies vs Aliens: Beam Us Up or Eat Us Raw? interactive panel Chastain G Westin Hotel Sunday, September 6 1:00pm-2:00pm Weird Wild West: The Mysteries of the Frontierland panel Augusta Courtland Grand Hotel 2:30pm-3:30pm Religions in Fantasy: Where do they Come From? panel Regency VI-VII Hyatt Hotel 5:30pm-6:30pm Harry Houdini: Man, Magician, & Mythbuster panel Macon Courtland Grand Hotel 10:00pm-11:00pm So, Three Nurses and an Engineer Walk into The Apocalypse... interactive panel Chastain H-I-J Westin Hotel Monday, September 7 10:00am-11:00am AI and the Future of Writing panel Embassy EF Hyatt Hotel So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for Aliens Like Them, Deck the Falls, 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 READ THIS! Author Q&A chat invitation, will be arriving mid-month. 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, aka my Rabid Raccoons, and I'll catch you on the flip side! Love, Gini