The READ THIS! Author Q&A is THIS Thursday, Last Days of Bundles, & More!

San Diego Comic-Con Looms!

We're halfway through the month, and there's lots going on. The Yap is Back, I head for San Diego Comic-Con, and then Gen Con immediately after, but before then we have the READ THIS! Author Q&A THIS Thursday, and there's more besides, so let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

IT'S TIME FOR A SUPER DEAL!

The Seriously Funny Bundle - Curated by Alex Shvartsman: Comedy may be hard, but finding good funny books to read should be easy.

Check out these awesome books (including the book that made all y'all join this newsletter in the first place) you can get for a fantastic deal! Do NOT miss out on this offer, it ends THIS Thursday July 16!

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!

It’s not easy being a Woman of the Multiverse, but Kitty’s definitely the Megalomaniac Girl for the job.

After a mad dash around the galaxy, saving the day in various important ways and expanding the Annocusal Empire left and right, all Kitty & Company want to do is go home. But that’s not in the particular hand they’ve been dealt...


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 - any review is a good review, seriously) the bookie wookie (and any of the others) a review is the best way to show it!

July's READ THIS! Q&A

featuring

Author Mel Todd

will be on

Thursday, July 16, 2026

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 August'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.)

The READ THIS! Selection for July 2026 is: 

Exile's Refrain 

by Mel Todd

Gini's Take: Epic fantasy set in a new world with amazing powers and dangerous, and dangerously active, gods.

About the Author: Tired of stories that didn't fill her needs, Mel Todd decided to share the weird worlds that occupy her mind. Action, magic, sci-fi, and more, her stories have it all. You can follow her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/badashbooks/. You can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her blog at https://www.badashpublishing.com. 

August's READ THIS! Selection

And Remember: One Lucky Q&A Participant can win it early!

The Lady Dragon of Chinatown

By Noel Plaugher

THE YAP IN CHARGE!

 
We've got some new yapping over at ConTinual!

Check out Hot off the Press #153, Hot off the Press #154, and Hot off the Press #155, wherein I and my fellow authors talk about our latest releases and things of that nature!

And don't miss the other Yaps over at The Yap In Charge.

My Big Con Season is in full swing, so check out where you can come see the me and get your hugs and bookie wookies signed!

San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego, CA July 22-26
Table D-09 in the Dealer's Hall, 9am-7pm, when not on panels

Friday, July 24
2:00PM - 3:00PM - The Scribe Awards and Media Tie-in Panel
Room 32AB
3:30PM-4:30PM - Signing for the Scribe Awards and Media Tie-In Panel
AA04 Under the Sails

Sunday, July 26
2:00PM-3:00PM - Streaming Has Changed Media Forever
Room 29AB

At table D-09 in the Dealer's Hall at all other times

Gen Con Writers Symposium
Indianapolis, IN July 30-August 2
Thursday, July 30
10:00-11:00am: Writers Symposium Opening Ceremonies
Marriott Ballroom 4
11:00am-12pm: The Mushy Midpoint
Marriott Ballroom 3
3:00-4:00pm: Story 101 - Character Voice
Marriott Boston

Friday, July 31
1:00-2:00pm: The Art & Practice of Humor
Marriott Boston

Saturday, August 1
4:00-5:00pm: Signing
Back of the Exhibit Hall, behind Author's Alley

Sunday, August 2
1:00-2:00pm: Writers Symposium Closing Ceremonies
Marriott Ballroom 4

DragonCon
Atlanta, GA September 3-7
Panels to come

Audio Books Are Here and Coming!

In addition to the audiobooks from Skyboat and Graphic Audio, Ginger Blue has begun getting other books into audio. Check out all the selections and see what you want to hear!

Read Out Loud!

Do you have your copy of the Touched by an Alien audiobook yet? If not, don't wait! Grab yours today!

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!

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 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 continues to give all of you much joy and goodness, and let's be readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, aka my Rabid Raccoons, and I'll catch all y'all on the flip side! 

Love, Gini

The READ THIS! BotM, the 1st Review for Aliens Like Us, a New Release, & More!

Happy March! Hope the end of February treated all y'all well. It was...tough for me and my publisher. Amazon, in its "wisdom," decided that GBP was stealing Alien Education from DAW. I'm the rights holder, so I'm the one who has to, over and over again, send my reversion and rights contracts to them. For the first 14 books this was annoying, but workable.  For the 15th, however, it was madness, and Amazon shut GBP down for 3 (very long) days. They're back up now, with the sorta apology Amazon gives when they screw up and screw you over (not much of one, in case you were wondering).  BUT...the preorders were not reinstated. SO, if you preordered from Amazon, you will have received a cancellation last week and...that's it. No notice of availability, no notice that the book is again available for preorder, no preorder reinstatement. Just...nada.  Meaning you will need to preorder your ebook from them again. (Or, order from B&N.com, Kobo, or Apple Books, who never pull these shenanigans.) Extra work business over, let's get to the fun stuff. And we have a LOT of fun stuff! Our READ THIS! Book of the Month is a lovely Middle Grade book that all horse lovers (like moi) will enjoy, we have the first review of Aliens Like Us, my Spring Con Schedule, and lots more, so let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

Pre-Order Time Is Still 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. An Important Note #3: REMINDER in case you didn't read the intro to the newsletter: Amazon basically took GBP down for no good, or legal, reason, and it's all fixed, supposedly, and everything is back, EXCEPT any preorders for Aliens Like Us. So, if you preordered your copy through Amazon, you will need to preorder that AGAIN or you won't get it. (Or preorder from B&N.com, Kobo, or Apple Books who never do this kind of shenanigans.)

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!

I'm heading to CoastCon 48, from March 6-8, 2026, in Biloxi, MS! Friday, March 6 6-7PM: Opening Ceremonies 8-9PM: To Edit or Not to Edit Saturday, March 7 3-4PM: A Writer's Workshop 7-8PM: The Writers Panel Sunday, March 8 12-1PM: Writing a Long-Running Story When not on panels, I'll be in the Dealers Room, selling bookie wookies and handing out hugs!   It's time for the Second Official Mini Gini Con, April 24-26, in Phoenix, AZ! Friday, April 24, 7-9pm: Reading from Aliens Like Us, Q&A, and autographing your bookie wookies.  Saturday, April 25, 4-7pm: Meet & Greet, aka hang out and yap with moi, a Reading from Aliens Like Us, Q&A, and autographing your bookie wookies!  Sunday, April 26, 4-6pm: Meet & Greet, aka hang out and yap with moi. I'll also autograph your bookie wookies! Space is extremely limited, so you have to register for what days you want to attend prior to the event. There is a deal for all 3 days, as well! I'll be giving away a copy of a book for each paid attendee (not copies of the Alien series, though, sorry), while supplies last. I'll also have some copies of Aliens Like Us to sell, too, but if you have your copies already, bring 'em, because my supplies will be limited.

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!

March 2026 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for March 2026 is:  One-Eyed Jack by Teresa Cutler-Broyles Gini's Take: A fun Middle Grade novel that anyone who's ever wanted to ride or have a horse will love...and the horse non-lovers will still enjoy. About the Author: Teresa Cutler-Broyles writes historical fiction/romance, edgy kinky murder mysteries, articles about travel, wine, culture and architecture, and chapters on film, TV and culture. She teaches film (Zombies, Vampires, Post-Apocalypse, Cult) at the U of New Mexico, and food history and culture, and Italian film, at the Umbra Institute in Perugia (Italy). Her research interests include sci-fi, vampires, circuses and carnivals, pop culture, wine, architecture, gardens and garden history—basically everything. She lives in Italy and the US, and plays board games weekly with a group of women who can’t stop laughing. Find her books at: www.amazon.com/author/teresacutler-broyles

March 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.)

March's READ THIS! author Q&A  featuring author Teresa Cutler-Broyles will be on Thursday, March 19, 2026 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for April 2026 is:  Cyrstal Rebel By Joshua Palmatier

THE YAP IN CHARGE!   We've got some new yapping over at ConTinual!   Check out Holiday Mysteries, wherein my fellow panelists and I have a lot of fun yapping about bookie wookies and more! And don't miss the other Yaps over at The Yap In Charge.

The First Official Review Is In! And here it is, the first review of Aliens Like Us, from longtime reviewer Welcome to Larissa's Life. Check it out!

Aaaand, they're off! The Kickstarters are LIVE!

A New Kickstarter I'm In Needs Your Love! WERE- 2 has launched, meaning there will be another outing for Beth and Missy the Were-Pomeranian. You know WERE- was fantastic, and the second round of were-stories will be topnotch. The Kickstarter is live -- and is almost to the first funding goal! -- so head over and support this Kickstarter today! BTW, I still have tuckerizations left should you want your, or someone else's, name in lights. PLUS there are other rewards with my name on them, so check it all out!   The Kickstarter I'm Not In Needs Your Love! My great UFO editor, Alex Shvartsman, is also a great author, and the Kickstarter for a really funny book, The Best of All Possible Planets, is live, and almost 50% funded. Head over and back this cool Kickstarter today! BTW, if you love audiobooks, Lewis Black is doing the pre-chapter narration. ;-D Don't miss out on this really good book.

In case you missed it, the first 15 books in the Alien Series AND The Alien Collection are now available from Ginger Blue Publishing in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback! And Book16 will be out within days!

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 1 book to go to be all caught up! (And it might be live by the time you read this!) 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 fifteen books are live everywhere! And sixteen is almost here! Huzzah!

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 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