This Just In!

Happy Hump Day!

Before I roll into the rest of the News of the World, I have a special announcement. I was just pegged as the Local Author Guest of Honor for CopperCon Revolution which is happening THIS weekend, August 8-11. SO, if you're in or around the Greater Phoenix Metro Area (extra humidity during monsoon season, so you get to really experience all the different ways you can sweat), come on by! Oh, and if you're there, don't miss my reading -- it'll be from Alien Research. ;-D

For those attending, here's my current CopperCon schedule:
Opening Ceremonies - Aug 08, 2013 - 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Grrl Power - Women Writing SF/F/H - Aug 09, 2013 - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Gini Koch Autograph Session - Aug 09, 2013 - 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
VIP Comedy Special Guest Dinner - Aug 09, 2013 - 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt Series - Aug 10, 2013 - 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Issues in E-publishing from the writers perspective - Aug 10, 2013 - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Writing a Successful Long-Running SF/F Series - Aug 10, 2013 - 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Gini Koch Autograph Session - Aug 10, 2013 - 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Zombies -- Fast vs. Slow - Aug 11, 2013 - 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Reading with Gini Koch Alien/Katherine "Kitty" Katt series - Aug 11, 2013 - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Crossing the Streams: How to Weave in Multiple Genres - Aug 11, 2013 - 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Who Am I? Branding, Pen Names, and Other Identity Issues - Aug 11, 2013 - 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

And now, on with the countdown...

Hope everyone had a great week-plus while I was gone enjoying Sin City with the chicklet. If you're in Vegas or going, don't miss the George Wallace show at the Flamingo -- not only is it funny, but he gives prizes out to random members of the audience and I was one of them! Winning a free meal at the Hash House A Go Go in the Quad was pretty much the whipped cream and cherry on top of an already awesome sundae of a week. I could go on and on about Vegas (which, as anyone who knows me knows, is one of my fave cities of all time), but there's much going on, so it's back into the swing of things for me, and therefore, for all of you. Lucky, lucky, lucky. ;-D (Though not as lucky as those of us at the George Wallace show. But I digress...)

First off, the yap's running again over at The Writer Librarian so go check out the latest ponderings from the dark recesses of my mind.

Then, check out the Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens Kickstarter! We're funded! Yay! Only there's a lot more coolness to get to if we meet our stretch goals! Double yay! In fact, if we hit $13K, in addition to other stretch prizes -- like a free ecopy of Bradley P Beaulieu's novelette "To the Towers of Tulandan", bookmarks, postcards, and more -- every backer will receive a free ecopy of "A Cup of Joe" written by Anita Ensal (yes, that's moi). And if we can hit $20K then we can bring the book out in hardcover, which would be cool for more reasons than I can list here. So, if you haven't already joined the Clockwork Universe, please go over and do so today! Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday, August 16th.

After visiting the Kickstarter campaign, head on over to Larissa's Bookish Life and see what titles she things are the best of the best.

That's it for today, and since CopperCon starts tomorrow, that's it for me for this week. But never fear, as always, more's on the way. So enjoy the downward slide towards the weekend, see some of you at CopperCon Revolution, and I'll catch you on the flip side! Peace out my li'l gangstas, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini

My Fab Weekend

I had a great weekend planned. Truly I did. Parties and such. Fun. Relaxation.

Of course, as with so many things I plan, this went awry. And that quickly.

Before we went off to Las Vegas and SoCal the other week, the hubs and I noticed we had a leak. It was in the front of the house, outside, clearly related to the irrigation system. I called a plumber. They took my credit card and said they'd be by the next Monday (when we were recovering from our night out at the Vegas bars that didn't allow loud talk or foul language).

The plumbers did arrive and did call -- at an awful time in the morning, especially since we were still asleep in the nice, comfy hotel bed -- to share that they couldn't work on this because it was indeed irrigation related. So, they and the hubs conferred, and he felt competent to handle the situation once we were home.

Which he was, only the ma-ROON who owned this house before us fancied himself a contractor and handyman and did a lot of remodeling work. Himself. All of it wrong.

I won't get into all the wrong here, but suffice to say, if it's not working right, it's because this genius monkey had a hand in it.

So, the hubs turned off the water to the house, and pulled off the bad piece, which, because our water is so hard, broke off in his hands. And then, because the ma-ROON set up the irrigation and sprinkler system at the wrong point in the water system, instead of an easy fix, the hubs had created our very own Old Faithful.

One hysterical call to the City and fifteen wet minutes later, the water was shut off. Completely. By the City. Of course, in order to turn it back on, the City must come out again.

No worries, right? (Oh, stop that snickering in the back of the room.) The hubs fixed the pipes and we had to wait 2 hours for the glue to set. Then he called the City. To discover that there were 4 water mains broken all over the place, and while we were on their list, they weren't coming by any time soon.

Let me mention that no water means NO WATER. No washing of the hands. No cleaning of the dishes. No flushing of the toilet. Yes, exactly...and no outhouse, either.

The nice man from the City managed to reach us at 9pm. By then, we'd given up all hope of the parties -- the hubs was still covered in pipe glue and crud and I was in no mood. We threw a party for the man when he turned the water back on.

But, you know, at this time of the year, it's good to remember all that we have and can and should be thankful for, right? Me, I'm beyond thankful that we have friends who let us come by merely to use their bathroom, that the nice man showed up before midnight, and that we have indoor plumbing.

It's the little things you treasure...

Love,
Gini

"Sin" City -- Yeah...RIGHT

So, you wouldn't think that anything wouldn't go in Vegas, would you? You know their big slogan -- what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Gives the impression that this place is WILD, baby! Well, I'm here to tell you that you'd be wrong.

The hubs and I got to Vegas in record time...I think it may have taken us longer than anyone else this year. But, we got in, and raced right off to a bar. Because that's how we roll, okay?

So, there we are, in Red Square in the Mandalay Bay complex, having some kick-butt and scary expensive martinis. A couple of fun guys sit down next to us, and soon, it's a party for four -- sharing booze and jokes and generally having fun.

It's a Sunday night in Las Vegas -- the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I must mention -- in the middle of a scary crappy economic situation, so you'd FIGURE that they'd be thrilled we were there, drinking and laughing and generally showing their place to be a hip, happening spot. And you would be wrong.

One of the guys -- who I'll call John, since that's his name -- was telling ribald jokes in a loud and ribald manner. And he was told to keep it down. And to stop cursing. (This just in: Loud voices no longer allowed in Vegas.)

So, he tried. But we were drinking a LOT of vodka, and, well, fun folks get loud, okay? So, he got told, again, to stop talking loudly and, above all, to stop using "foul language". (This just in: Dirty words no longer allowed in Vegas.)

He tried. As God is my witness, he tried. But, you know, the jokes were good dirty jokes and, as will happen when a man is drinking $350 a bottle vodka (no freaking lie), he got loud again. And we were told, in no uncertain terms, to stifle John or get the hell out.

Yes, it's true. The hubs and I were kicked out of a bar in Vegas for being too loud and ribald. And the bar in Vegas kicked out two men who were -- up until our group shunning by the apparently Amish folks running this particular bar -- planning to try each and every vodka in the place. And the place has hundreds of vodkas. (This just in: Making money on the overpriced sale of alcohol no longer as important as decorum in Vegas.)

So, we went to another bar, where the DJ was rolling hot 70's tunes and John and I disco danced and were loud and obnoxious because no one could hear us while the other guy (name protected so his wife doesn't think he was doing anything untoward -- which he wasn't, since he wasn't being loud or using dirty words) and the hubs chatted business (sorta) and the other guy convinced the hubs that dancing with one's own wife is a good way to keep said wife happy.

I had a great time. I loved these two guys...at least, what I can remember of them. We all had a LOT of vodka. My only regret is that our new friends live in Texas and so I can't party with them on a regular basis. (This just in: It's apparently more fun in Texas than in Las Vegas.)

And remember if you're going to Vegas, you behave yourselves and keep the noise, and especially the dirty words, down. Decorum, that's the new Vegas slogan. And above all, do NOT, under any circumstances, order the $350 a bottle vodka and expect to be treated well by the bar staff.

Love,
Gini

Holiday Tip #2: If you buy Gini a bottle of $350 a bottle vodka, she will love you no matter what else you do.

Off...to Las Vegas...

...go north, the hunt is on. (A little something for you Johnny Horton fans out there. You know who you are.)

It's on. The man and I are heading for the City of Lights, the City That Never Sleeps, the City That Takes Your Money -- we're going to Vegas, baby!

I don't expect to win (much), but I do expect to eat, drink and be merry. And then go to SoCal and visit the 'rents and cook the turkey (yes, it's true, they leave the bird to me...why ask why?). And then come merrily home to collapse. And, possibly, write about it.

Conveniently, I need to go location scouting for books, and in both cities, too. So I'm sure this will all be tax deductible, right? Right? ESPECIALLY if we win big. Then that MUST be tax deductible, right? Right? (Of course, the chances of us winning big are in direct proportion to the likelihood that we will gamble enough to make winning a possibility. And we won't. So, for all you CPAs out there, no worries, we're cool.)

So, on the (likely) chance I don't 'see' all of you until after the big day, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

I leave you with Gini's Holiday Tip #1: If you put in enough wine, everything -- the turkey, the vacation, that boring relative who won't leave you alone, driving all over creation with your spouse, visiting your parents, boredom, the dessert -- comes out great. So, live by the motto of, "More wine!"

Love,
Gini