And On To The Next

Happy Thursday! Hope everyone's weeks have been going great and we're all ready for the weekend. I know I am!

First up, I'm excited for tomorrow, actually, because I'll be presenting "Make ‘Em Laugh – How to Put Humor Into Your Writing" at Dog-Eared Pages' Friday Night Writes event, 5:30-7:00, 16428 N. 32nd St., Suite 111, Phoenix, AZ 85032, 602-283-5423. $5 entry fee. Come on down and see the me!

Next up, the winner of the edited galley of Alien in the House is:

Gef Fox

Many congrats! 

Winner has until until October 7th to claim their prize. After that time, the Gods of Random will snatch back the prize and demand a new sacrifice, I mean, winner.
 

Now, I know what all y'all are thinking: is there another contest coming? Why yes, there is. But first, we have other business to attend to.


Because it's time for some reviews! Check out what Alien Romances thought of Alien Separation and the Alien series as a whole.

Then, see what Chica Reader thought of Touched by an Alien and Alien Tango, what Tiana Lagrone and Once Upon a Chapter thought of Touched by an Alien, and what Books in Brogan thought of Alien in the Family, Universal Alien, and Alien Separation.

Then see what Tangent has to say about Unidentified Funny Objects 4 -- hint: it's even better than UFO3, and they loved UFO3.

 Another reminder that A Bug's Life, A Study in Starlets, The X-Files: Trust No One anthology featuring my story, "Sewers", and the Temporally Out of Order anthology featuring "Alien Time Warp", which takes place during Alien Separation, are all available now for purchase. (Want to know what was going on with the All Seeing Mountain? Find out in Temporally Out of Order.) Don't miss out having these great reads as you head into the weekend! BTW, Temporally Out of Order hit in the Amazon Top 25. So don't miss out on what's clearly one of the best anthologies going right now!

Next, check out what science fiction romances cool author Darlene Reilley recommends over at Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal. And catch up on a late San Diego Comic-Con update (and mine was late, so no judging going on here!) from the Autograph Hound.

This Friday isn't the only chance to see the me coming up. In fact, you have plenty of chances in the next few months. Check out the Datebook for details, including my appearances at Comic Media Expo in Mesa, AZ (Oct. 16-18), AZ Consortium of the Arts' Fall Festival of the Arts (Oct. 25), Tucson Comic Con (Nov. 6-8), Free Fall Writer's Workshop (Nov. 14). And December is, of course, book tour for Alien in Chief, and more details and stops will be announced soon.

But now, what you've been patiently reading to get to has arrived. Look, it's another contest! 

That's right, we're continuing to clean my office and this time the edited galley for Alien Collective is what's up for grabs! The Rafflecopter is below the signature line. This contest is for Hook Me Up! subscribers only. If you're not on yet, get on now, because this is just one of many contests coming down for the rest of this year. Send an email to gini@ginikoch.com with "Hook Me Up!" in the subject line and you'll be in and able to win, win, win.

Contest will run from today, October 1, 2015 through Thursday, October 15, 2015. Winner will be announced by October 20th and will have until October 26th to claim their prize. After that time, the Gods of Random will snatch back the prize and demand a new sacrifice, I mean, winner. Contest is open internationally. And yes, if you've won in recent contests you can still enter this one. The Gods of Random enjoy being generous sometimes, and you never know when it'll be your time to score more than once!

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. So enjoy the slide into the weekend and let's be winning readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Love,
Gini

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winner, Cover, and Contest, Oh My!

Hey there! Have a couple of cool, quick announcements to head you off into your weekends, so let's get right to them, shall we? We shall!

First up, the official cover reveal for Alien in Chief is over at my Premieres page. Check it out -- I think it's made of awesome!

Next up, the winner of the edited galley of Alien in the House is:

WickedzKuruni 

Many congrats! 

Winner has until until September 25th to claim their prize. After that time, the Gods of Random will snatch back the prize and demand a new sacrifice, I mean, winner.

A quick reminder that A Bug's Life, A Study in Starlets, and the Temporally Out of Order anthology featuring "Alien Time Warp", which takes place during Alien Separation, are all available now for purchase. Don't miss out having these great reads as you head into the weekend! (BTW, Temporally Out of Order is in the Amazon Top 50 right now. So don't miss out on what's clearly one of the best anthologies going right now!)

Oh...and lookee there...what's this coming? Why, it's another contest! 

That's right, we're continuing to clean my office and this time the edited galley for Alien Research is what's up for grabs! The Rafflecopter is below the signature line. This contest is for Hook Me Up! subscribers only. If you're not on yet, get on now, because this is just one of many contests coming down for the rest of this year. Send an email to gini@ginikoch.com with "Hook Me Up!" in the subject line and you'll be in and able to win, win, win.

Contest will run from today, September 17, 2015 through Wednesday, September 30, 2015. Winner will be announced by October 2nd and will have until October 9th to claim their prize. After that time, the Gods of Random will snatch back the prize and demand a new sacrifice, I mean, winner. Contest is open internationally. And yes, if you've won in recent contests you can still enter this one. The Gods of Random enjoy being generous sometimes, and you never know when it'll be your time to score more than once!

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. So enjoy the slide into the weekend and let's be winning readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Love,
Gini

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Workin' for the Weekend

I'm ba-ack! From the first two thirds of book tour and for less than a week before Phoenix Comicon starts, but back I am. And boy, do we have a LOT that's been going on. So let's get right to it, shall we? We shall!

First up, book tour has been great so far. But I know many of you couldn't make it. So, here's a listing of ALL the places where you can currently find the bookie wookies all signed and waiting for you.

Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, CA where they will also ship to you anywhere in the world. I got to sign with new author Steve Pantazis, who also joined us for Food With Fans and who is a totally cool dude.

Barnes and Noble in Henderson, NV (567 North Stephanie, Henderson, NV 89014, 702-434-1533). All three Barnes and Noble bookstores in Henderson (Rainbow Promenade, 2191 N Rainbow Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89108, 702-631-1775 and Crossroads Commons, 8915 W. Charleston, Las Vegas, NV 89117, 702-242-1987 ) will have signed copies of the Alien series, BTW. However, only this main one will have signed copies of all the other bookie wookies (including Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets, and read on for why that matters a lot) as well as signed books from awesome authors T.L. Smith, Alan Black, Sharon Skinner, Marsheila Rockwell, and Jeff Mariotte.

But those aren't all. My awesome Personal Assistant and moi stopped at a variety of Barnes and Noble bookstores along the way. So, in no particular order, you can also find the bookie wookies signed at:

Bookstar/Barnes and Noble Point Loma (Loma Theater, 3150 Rosecrans Place, San Diego, CA 92110, 619-225-0465). This bookstore is a converted movie theater and it is da BOMB in terms of both its staff and it's architectural design both inside and out. You HAVE to check it out if you're anywhere close to Point Loma, signed bookie wookies or no signed bookie wookies. This was, hands down, the coolest bookstore we saw on the trip. Tell the staff Gini sent you, BTW -- they were totes excited to have me drop by and are incredibly nice folks.

Barnes and Noble Hazard Center (7610 Hazard Center Dr Ste 315, San Diego, CA 92108, 619-220-0175).

Barnes and Noble Yuma (819 W 32nd St, Yuma, AZ 85364, 928-317-1466).

Barnes and Noble Oceanside (El Camino North Shopping Center, 2615 Vista Way, Oceanside, CA 92054, 760-529-0106 ). Say hi to Rachel if you go in there and ask her how she liked Touched by an Alien.

Barnes and Noble Irvine Spectrum (Irvine Spectrum Center, 728 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine, CA 92618, 949-585-0233).

Barnes and Noble at the Grove at Farmer's Market (189 The Grove Drive Suite K 30, Los Angeles, CA 90036, 323-525-0270). By far the most "Celebrity" of all the bookstores, but staffed with truly nice and competent folks. It was the largest bookstore we saw (three gigantic stories) and it still managed to be welcoming.

Barnes and Noble Canyon Country/Valencia (Creekside Place, 23630 Valencia Blvd., Santa Clarita, CA 91355, 661-254-6604).

Barnes and Noble Palm Desert (Westfield Shoppingtown Palm Desert, 72-840 Highway 111, Suite 425, Palm Desert, CA 92260, 760-346-0725). Best food at a Food With Fans event was at this mall, which looks underwhelming from the outside but is fantabulous on the inside. Bobby Mao's is utterly fantastic, and our waitress turned out to be a fan! (Waves to Juley.)

I'll be hitting stores in the Greater Phoenix Metro Area over the next few weeks, but if you're here, you know you need to see the me live, up close, and in person at Phoenix Comicon, May 28-31, Table 14133, and/or at The Poisoned Pen on Monday, June 8 at 7pm. Prizes and goodies will be provided at the Pen, and we'll be broadcasting the event live via LiveStream so this is the way all of you who aren't nearby can see the me and join in the fun and prize winning! BTW, you can register for the LiveStream event now, so that you get a reminder alert and such and don't miss it. Hey, I'm a giver, me.

For those who always come to the annual Phoenix Comicon Food With Fans event, that will be on Friday, May 29th (outside the con, no PCC badge needed), and the Evening Erotica event will be on Saturday, May 30th (con badge required). We will most likely be sending out FWF updates via Facebook and Twitter so follow moi (@GiniKoch), Joseph (@jag4a), and/or Team Gini (@RealTeamGini) for Twitter updates, and friend moi, Joseph Gaxiola, and/or Kelsey Rowe on Facebook to stay abreast of all the deets.

Took pics of moi or the bookie wookies during book tour or just whenever? Taking pics of moi or the bookie wookies at PCC or whenever? Send 'em to our Super Sightings Girl Kelsey (kelsey@ginikoch.com) so she can get the up onto Sightings in the Wild!

And now it's time for that big announcement I've been mentioning that you've all been waiting for. (You have, I promise, you have.) Check out what Abaddon Books has just announced -- that's right, more Holmes stories, including a new one from moi! Get ready for the Two Hundred and Twenty One Baker Streets B series! My novella, "A Study in Starlets", is coming later this year!

Speaking of announcements, check out one of the two awesome covers for the MECH: Age of Steel anthology coming soon to Kickstarter from Ragnarok Publications. This cover image could be for my story, "Jaegermeister", writing as J.C. Koch, though it isn't (my story gets a two page illustration spread, though!) and there will be tuckerizarions available and, trust me, you WANT to be in this story of mine (or in any of the others that will be available). So, keep the eyeballs peeled for when this Kickstarter will go live (later in the year) and start saving up now!

Not sure about getting in on a Kickstarter? See what SFF Audio thought of the audio version of Ragnarok's first book, Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, which includes my short story, "With Bright Shining Faces", written as J.C. Koch.

Speaking of announcements, the Table of Contents is up for the Temporally Out of Order anthology! You can also click through from the TOC announcement to get to the Zombies Need Brains page, where you can still pre-order this puppy! This is the anthology that has "Alien Time Warp" in it, which takes place during Alien Separation. So you know you need it.

The DAW Books Review has all the new DAW releases for May listed -- gotta get 'em all! --and they also has a discussion about Alien Separation started as well. Have comments, theories, or just want to share what you think? Do it here!

Speaking of Alien Separation, we have a lot of reviews in. So, check out what, in no particular order, these reviewers all thought of it: Under the Covers, Just Talking Books, Feeling Fictional, Word of the Nerd, Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Books in Brogan, Literary Addicts Book Community, Musings and Ramblings, La Crimson Femme, Alternative Worlds II, and Gizmo's Reviews.

Books 'n' Kisses features the Alien series for its SINsational Saturday Series, About Entertainment lists Little Known Keeper Shelf Books which includes a certain series ;-D, and Fresh Fiction talks about Genre Blending, highlighting the Alien series as well.

On a very personal note, we lost two of the Members of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing while I was on tour. Janet Rhudy lost her fight with ALS/Lou Gehrig's Disease, and Robert Palsma's mother, Mary, lost her battle with leukemia due to a variety of complications. Please send good thoughts out to their families -- both were wonderful ladies and will be sorely missed.

Amazingly enough, that's all for today. And the past two and a half weeks. But, as always, more's on the way. You have a few hours to get entered for the contests going on -- one here at the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog (just look at the post below this one) and one for Hook Me Up! subscribers only. (Not on Hook Me Up! yet? Rectify fast by sending an email with "Hook Me Up!" in the subject line to gini@ginikoch.com.) Both contests end at midnight tonight. Winners will be announced next week. Prizes will go out after Phoenix Comicon, so sometime in June.

So, everyone have fantastic weekends and let's be readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Love,
Gini

Psst, Wanna Be In One of My Stories?

Happy Tuesday! Well, it's another short and sweet one today! So hang onto your hats and away we go!

First up, the Kickstarter anthology, Unidentified Funny Objects 4 is live and in less than 24 hours two out of my 3 tuckerizations are gone! My story, "Support Your Local Alien", will be an Alien series short, set in my steampunk world, giving you the next adventures of the characters you met in my story in the Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens anthology, "A Clockwork Alien". So, if you want to get in on this and be a character in one of my stories (and unlike many, I tend to not kill off my tuckers but turn them into long-term supporting characters), now's the time!

The UFO4 anthology will also have stories from Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Jody Lynn Nye, Piers Anthony, and more. So don't miss out, get in on this one today! (Also authors, aspiring and otherwise -- UFO4 is accepting submissions for this antho, too, so scroll down to see what they're offering and looking for.)

After you check out this new fun anthology, take a look at what The Bookie Monster thought of one of the first Kickstarter anthos I've been in -- Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, featuring "With Bright Shining Faces" by moi writing as J.C. Koch.

And last but not least, since we're yapping anthologies, you can still get a pre-order in for the Temporally Out of Order anthology, featuring my Alien series short, "Alien Time Warp", which takes place during Alien Separation. Pre-orders are from Zombies Need Brains -- scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to find the TOoO pre-order info.

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. So let's be anthology and Alien series short story reading readers out there!

Love,
Gini