Universally Yapping

Happy Hump Day! The middle of the week is always nice -- the uphill struggle to get to mid-day on Wednesday, and then the lovely downward slide towards the weekend begins. But, as always, we have a lot going on, so let's hump on over to it.

For today's stop on the Universal Alien Top 10 Blog Tour, we have something a little different. Head over to Lu's Buchgefluester where there's a new interview with yours truly. She asks some new questions, too, so don't miss it even if you've read the yap before. As with all the other stops, you can win a copy of any one of the first 9 books in the Alien series, signed and personalized, and open internationally. This is a German blog, but the interview and giveaway portions are in English, so don't give up when you hit the first paragraphs (unless you also read and speak German, which many of the Alien Collective do, in which case, enjoy it all) and keep on down to the interview and contest entry information.

There are still more Tour stops to come, and you can still get entered to win at the prior stops as well. Some of the contests end SOON, so hurry up and get entered to win so you don't miss out!

Top 10 Blog Tour Stops
11-10 Pearls Cast Before a McPig, contest ends Nov. 28th
11-11 Larissa's Bookish Life, contest ends Nov. 18th
11-11 Feeling Fictional, contest ends Nov. 30th
11-11 Gizmo's Reviews, contest OVER, winner announced
11-12 A Buckeye Girl Reads, contest ends Nov. 18th
11-13 Bibliognome, contest ends Nov. 18th
11-14 boeklogboek, contest ends Nov. 25th
11-17 Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell contest ends Nov. 30th
11-18 I Smell Sheep, contest ends Nov. 25th
11-19 Lu's Buchgefluster, contest ends Nov. 28th
11-20 Under the Covers
11-21 Word of the Nerd
12-01 Books-n-Kisses
12-01 Readaholics Anonymous
12-02 Smart Girls Love Sci Fi

Speaking of contest ending soon, today is the last day to get entered for the fantastic prizes that awesome author Caris Roane (http://www.carisroane.com/celebrate/) is giving away for her big Celebration Event. Prizes are from a host of cool authors, including moi, Erin Quinn, Erin Kellison, and Jennifer Ashley, to name only about a 1/3 of the authors who have bookie wookies up for grabs. So don't miss out, get entered to win right now!

Sensational Six is available now, for the amazingly low price of $0.99, for a limited time, anyway. Yes that means it won't stay this price forever. So don't delay, get your set today! And remember, at this price, it's a great way to give someone a Thanksgiving or early holiday present that they'll love without killing your own wallet.

What's in the set? Six great stories from seven authors -- Six Gals and a Guy -- including The Night Beat, Necropolis Enforcement Files #1, along with an extra-long excerpt of Night Music, Necropolis Enforcement Files #2. And right now, this boxed set is the only place where you can get both The Night Beat and the Night Music excerpt, and since you can get them both AND five other awesome stories for less than a dollar, there's really no reason not to race out and grab them right now! And to make it easy for you, here are all the buy links ('cause I'm a giver, me).

Kobo
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
iTunes
Barnes and Noble

Speaking of Night Music, and just to prove that it's really coming to you in early 2015, head on over to my Premieres page where you can see the worldwide unveiling of the cover! Yes, once you have a cover, you know it's real, and it's really real!

The Sensational Six Blog Tour is also in full swing. Details for all stops are here at the Blah, Blah, Blah, Blog (see posts below). Every stop has prizes and there's a gigantic grand prize, too, so definitely get entered to win. And if that's not enough, there's a big party on Facebook this Thursday, Nov. 20th, aka tomorrow, starting at 3pm EST. RSVP now so you don't miss out because, of course, there's going to be authors chatting and prizes being handed out the entire time!

Already got Sensational Six? Already read some or all of the stories in the set? Do all Six Gals and a Guy a favor and leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes, or Goodreads. Review (like pre-orders) help books and authors tremendously, and right now, Sensational Six needs reviews!

That's it for today but, as always, more's on the way. So enjoy the beginning of the downward slide to the weekend, and let's be winning and reviewing readers out there!

Love,
Gini

Collective Kaiju

Hey there! Hope everyone had a great week last week, a wonderful weekend, and are having a fantastic week this week. I had a fabulous time at the SDSU Writers' Conference. But before I tell you about that, there's LOTS of exciting things going on, so let's get to them!

First up, I'm super excited to share a Kaiju-Level Big Reveal: the cover for Alien Collective! Check it out over at my Premieres page! And remember, it's never too early to pre-order, either online or from your favorite bookstore!

After that, The Writer Librarian is talking about Alien Research, and Feeling Fictional, Bring on the Books, and Open Book Society all have new reviews of the bookie wookie up as well.

The SDSU Writers' Conference was great. In addition to getting to spend tons of time with the Awesome Editor, I also got to run the yap with the fantastic and talented Susan Squires, Jennifer Ashley, Erin Quinn, and Mark A. Clements, and hang out with authors Shelley Coriell, Jeff Mariotte, Henry Herz, and Lisanne Norman. All this PLUS I got to spend time with several Members of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing including Glen, Allison, Joseph, and Mariann. All while celebrating my birthday in style. It was a fantastic weekend, and if you're an aspiring author or one on the brink, I can't recommend this conference highly enough.

Of course, there was more to the trip than just the conference. For all that plus many things geeky and nerdy, check out the latest edition of More Geek Than Gay either in audio or on YouTube. Then, for a little retro (as in earlier this month) fun, check out Blogging With Badger and his brush with fame via The Dish -- read all the way to the end for the big reveal!

Speaking of reveals, the ebook version of Kaiju Rising is out to the Kickstarter backers, as is the final cover for the physical books! Head over to SF Signal to get a bigger look, and get ready to read my short story, "With Bright Shining Faces" by moi writing as J.C. Koch along with a ton of other awesome shorts soon, very soon. (Perhaps sooner than you think...)

Speaking of Kickstarter anthologies (oh, yes we were), there's still time to get in on Unidentified Funny Objects 3. And there are still a couple of tuckerizations of mine left, so if you want to be immortalized in some way in the story I'll be writing for this anthology, or just see what I and all the other awesome authors involved do with it, then head on over and fund as you're able.

Speaking of short stories (yes, we definitely were), I'm doing several for Penumbra eZine this year. And why do you care, aside from the fact that it's moi writing them? You care because each and every one of them will be set in the Alien series universe. That's right -- the Clockwork Universe anthology has sparked a trend! AND, the first one, coming out in May (just like Clockwork Universe, and Alien Collective), will be something you've all been waiting for -- how Reader met Gower. I know! It's too happy to be true! But wait! There's more!

Each month Penumbra offers you fantastic fiction on a theme. And right now, they're offering you The Gini Special -- instead of paying $3.99 an issue, you'll get a year's subscription for just $24.00; that's half price. But there's more! You'll also get the Best of Penumbra 2012 AND 2013. That's a full year's subscription for half price plus two free Best Of collections and three Alien series shorts that will only be available in Penumbra...as long as you use this coupon code (exactly as shown here) when you order: 2014Gini  
 
This offer is good only through August 1, 2014, so don't miss out and get your subscription going today!

Last but in no way least, a reminder that I'll be heading to Daytona Beach, FL and Coastal Magic Con in a week. Looking forward to seeing many of you there! If you haven't registered but still want to go, send me an email, and I'll give you the legal "back door" into registration.

That's it for today, but as always, there's more on the way. So enjoy the downward slide towards the weekend, those who watch enjoy the Superbowl and its commercials, and let's all be readers out there! Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Love,
Gini

Recap Winning

I'm ba-ack...after the awesome Tucson Festival of Books, where I got to see so many awesome Members of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing. But before the recap, we have some business to get to. The business of WINNING.

We have our winner of the Christopher Baldwin giveaway. So, the lucky winner of Spacetrawler #1 is:

Root

NOTE TO OUR WINNER: You have until Thursday, March 21st to respond via email to gini@ginikoch.com with full name and physical address. If the winner does not reply by the 21st, the Gods of Random will snatch back the prize and demand a new sacrifice.

Speaking of which, the first winner of the Erin Kellison giveaway did NOT check in (shame, shame, the Gods of Random withdrew your name). So the newly minted winner is:

Betty Hamilton
  
NOTE TO OUR WINNER: You have until Thursday, March 21st to respond via email to gini@ginikoch.com with full name, email address, book selected, and requested e-format. If the winner does not reply by the 21st, the Gods of Random will snatch back the prize and demand a new sacrifice.

One of the Members of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing, the velvet-voiced Bob Mutascio gave me a lovely shout-out during his last At The Show show on Killradio. Check it out and guess which song he dedicated to moi! Then check out what KD Did It thought of Alien Tango.

And now, back to the Tucson Festival of Books. It was cold, rainy, and windy, but it was still a fantastic weekend. I got to hang with awesome authors like Marsheila Rockwell, Christopher Baldwin, Erin Quinn, Erin Kellison, Jeff Mariotte, Kris Tualla, Jennifer Ashley, and tons more! I got to panel with the ever-wonderful Nancy Holder -- twice! -- as well as the excellent Jennifer Roberson, Ed Hoornaert, and Chris Marie Green. And, thanks to the wonderful Eric Penney Haury, I got to meet Ted Danson in person. And, let me just say that not only is he gracious, he's even more handsome in person than he looks onscreen. (As in, I've recast Richard White in my mind. For reals. FOR REALS.)

Many thanks to all the Alien Collective who came by the Arizona Dreamin' booth, to my signings at the Mysterious Galaxy and Poisoned Pen booths, to Nicole from The Book Pushers () for the goody bag, and especially Hal and Dee Astell who brought me the newest cool addition to my awesome sparkly pink hat collection! Pics are on Facebook for those who want to see the hat as modeled by the Travel Poof.

And now, it's time to get Alien Research done. Because it's due, um, soon. Really soon. Scary soon. SO, if you don't hear from me too much for the rest of the month, it's because, well, the Awesome Editor would like to actually get this book in hand, and I have a long, long way to go before I sleep.

So, enjoy the coming weekend, beware the Ides of March, and let's be readers out there! Peace out, my li'l gangstas and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Love,
Gini

Urban Revolt

Happy Hump Day! I know you're all shocked that you didn't hear from me yesterday, what with the Necropolis Blog Tour still going strong and all. I had Effectiveness Fail on Tuesday, caused in no small part by Writing Inspiration. So, hopefully you'll all forgive me.

So, let's get right to it. First off, head over to The Peasants Revolt where Excerpt #10 of The Night Beat, and it's accompanying chance to win a copy of the bookie wookie, are large and in charge. It's a very nicely laid out site, so take a moment to check it all out. Contest ends Sept. 27.

Then head to Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog where Excerpt #11 and yet another chance to win a copy of The Night Beat await you. Contest ends Sept. 29.

Remember to hit all the prior stops -- collect 'em all and you'll have gotten to read the first 10 chapters of The Night Beat. Enter everywhere and get that many more chances to win your own copy. So, check out Invasion of the Blog Tour for any stops you've missed, including: Stop 5/Ex Libris, contest ends Sept. 21; Stop 6/Pearls Cast Before a McPig, contest ends Sept. 29; Stop 7/Bibliognome, contest ends TODAY Sept. 19; Stop 8/A Buckeye Girl Reads, contest ends Sept. 28; and Stop 9/Hanging with Bells, contest ends Sept. 25.

Next, check out the cool, fun, and funny interview with my BFF Marsheila Rockwell over at Civilian Reader.

After all that, check out The Nameless Zine where there's a nice listing of my upcoming October personal appearances. There's also a cool interview with awesome author James A. Owen (part of which I got to hear live at CopperCon), so check the Zine out and enjoy the reading.

A note for those who normally see me at TusCon in November -- I have a conflicting event and will NOT be at TusCon this year. So, if you were planning to come see me there (and I know several of you who were), please come see me in October in Douglas, Queen Creek, Sedona, or Phoenix.

Speaking of said conflicting November event, if you're an aspiring author, you don't want to miss the 7th Annual FREE Fall Writers Workshop. You'll get 12 multi-published authors, including moi, all teaching on different aspects of the writing world and the publishing business. PLUS the amazing Jennifer Ashley (aka Allison James and Ashley Gardner) will be the keynote speaker. Truly, if you want to learn to write or learn how to get published, don't miss this event. And, yes, no joke -- it's completely FREE. Why do we do it? 'Cause we're givers, that's why. And, you don't have to be a writer to attend. If you just want to come to meet some awesome authors and get to hang out with them...well, you can do that, too. All are welcome!

Speaking of CopperCon, I realized yesterday, during Writing Inspiration time, that I haven't actually done my recap. So, that'll be coming up this week. I know, how can you stand the suspense of it? Hey, it was a great little con and deserves the update. But today was plenty full, so the recap will be coming on a less full, but no less exciting, day.

So until next time, peace out, my li'l gangstas, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini

Whole Lotta Informin' Going On!

As my Hook Me Up! subscribers already know, there's more going on at Team Gini Central. First off, there's a new question, and, therefore, a new answer, in the Ask Gini! section of the Extra Me! page.

There's also a new Playlist up (I know, don't faint -- the soundtrack doesn't stop, but I sometimes forget to let y'all know I've changed the channel), and for those of you who may have missed it, the Cool Links page has been revised, improved, and added to. And, as I'm sure you've noticed, the Blog Roll on Blah, Blah, Blah... keeps expanding 'cause, well, there's a lot of cool blogs out there.

I know I promised a Desert Dreams Conference update, and you shall finally have it.

It was awesome.

Okay, okay, I'll toss out some details. It's always a great conference -- lots of great authors and aspiring authors, great speakers, lots of learning, networking and fun. I got to hang with several members of the Alien Collective, even though I didn't get to hang with them as much as I'd thought I would, because we were all so busy racing around being individually awesome. (It's a tough job, being as awesome as we all are, I know, but that's just the cross the Alien Collective has to bear. You all do it so well, though, that you make it look easy.) I didn't get a full count, but it seemed like we had between 200-250 people there.

Got to moderate informative and fun sessions for Tina Gerow, Jennifer Ashley, and Deborah LeBlanc and learn a lot in the process. Got to sign books sitting between Deborah and Kathryne Kennedy. Since Deborah and I know each other, but get to see each other like once every two years, we might have been a tad raucous. But the rumors are totally untrue and unfounded and not based in any kind of fact at all! Got to have dinner with Eileen Rendahl who is even cooler and more fun in person than you already expect from her books. Had Cat Brown ASK if she could have Romance Junkies review "Touched by an Alien", even before we realized we're both total NCIS nerds. Got to hang at the bar with Erin Quinn and Calista Fox. Again, the rumors are SO not true! Well, okay, maybe a little true.

Hmmm, this sounds like all I did was party. Well, I was also left in charge of a large sum of money, which somehow only struck a few of us as potentially dangerous. It struck ME as foolhardy, but the folks in charge seemed to think the money was safe and secure in my paws. Amazing, really. All's well that ends well and all that -- Erin came to her senses and took the cash before I could get into trouble with it. And no, we were NOT spending it in the bar! That was different cash.

But enough about that! As I said earlier, I had my first book signing, which was both totally beyond awesome and very successful. Many thanks and much love to the non-conference-attending Alien Collective folks who showed up, "Touched by an Alien" in hand, for the signing, as well as to all those who bought the book from me and will hopefully be joining the rest of us in the Collective. And...drum roll, please...Diana Gabaldon bought my book! Many thanks to Little Bit, the youngest member of the Collective, for her awesome and precocious salesgirlship in the brokering of that deal.

I'm sure there's more, there always is. But that's going to have to do for now. I mean, I have to save SOMEthing for tomorrow.

Love,
Gini