A Different Kind of News & Other Things

Hey there! First off, I'm trying something new to save time -- yes, it's the old copy/paste ploy. I'm not really sure how it's going to translate to the Blog from the Hook Me Up! newsletter, but if it's not heinous, wow, does it save me a ton of time. So, if you love it or hate it (or don't care either way LOL), I'd appreciate you letting me know in comments so I know whether this is good for all y'all or not. Now...I have some news. News that is not the normal news that I normally share. Some of you are going to hate this news, some are going to love this news, some are not going to care about this news. (What a build up, huh?) Due to the fact that the hubs works, as I used to, for Corporate America, and due to the fact that this means that Corporate America has a lot of control over our lives, it seems that though we are both lifelong and happy Southwesterners, we're about to discover what it's like to be...Southeasterners. We are being moved to Atlanta, GA. When we're going is somewhat up in the air, but by the start of January the hubs will be walking into an office in Atlanta that is not in our home (for the first time in over 15 years) and we will be fully moved by first quarter 2018, if not before. So, what does this mean?  Well, not too much for 2017, at least for all y'all. Deacon's Ark releases next week, The Deacon of Desert Springs is coming in the next month or two, the audiobook of The Legend of Belladonna Part 1: Natural Born Outlaws will be out by, they tell me, the end of summer, Aliens Abroad will be coming out in December, and all the anthologies I'm in are headed for publication in the next few months as well, plus hopefully more things as I can get them done. (We will NOT discuss my current track record for the whereabouts of Night Music or the next installment of the Martian Alliance, no we will not. They're coming. I swear. Just as Alexander Outland: Space Avenger is. Soon, they will be here. Cross my heart and hope to write like the wind.) But the move means that 2018 will only see one Alien Series release -- Book 17, Aliens Like Us -- and it's likely coming out in August 2018. I plan to have my short story collection, The Alien Collection -- which will have all the Alien Series shorts that are in print, out of print, and not yet printed in it -- release in May 2018. (Yes, I said it was coming this year. I've chosen to ensure that there's a May Alien release of SOME kind in 2018, plus I really need to take the time to, you know, move.) And I plan to have other releases coming out during the rest of this year and next year as well. For those of you who saw me all the time in the Southwest, or who have planned to see me but just haven't gotten around to it yet, your last easy chances for the foreseeable future are Westercon, San Diego Comic-Con, the High Desert Book Fair (and related signing events in Victorville, CA), and my December book tour (still being set up, but it will be the usual suspects and probably nothing extra). For those of you who live in the Southeast, or within a reasonable distance from Atlanta, when I get my bearings, I do plan on being active in that region as I was in the one I've called home for all of my life, and I'm looking forward to all the new experiences and, hopefully, getting to see a lot of you in person for the very first time. (If it's a second time or more, I can't wait to see you again and now it will be easier!) And, you know, for those of you who are too far away, um, well, you're probably still too far away. But, hey, hope likes to spring eternal, right? So, start looking at things like DragonCon (yes, I am hoping to be there in 2018) and other Atlanta-adjacent things. But, speaking of seeing the me...

CHECK OUT ALL THE WAYS TO SEE THE ME THIS SUMMER!

July 1-4 I'm the Local Author Guest of Honor at Westercon70 Tempe Mission Palms Hotel Tempe, AZ If you can only make it to one con this year, make this the one! Find me at my tables in the Dealers Room and all over the con! Click HERE for my Panel Schedule AND DON'T MISS THE LAST EVENING EROTICA EVENT OF THE YEAR! Haven't been to an Evening Erotica event and aren't sure what you're missing? Then check out The Two Gay Geeks' podcast from the event at Phoenix Comicon! Trust me, it's even funnier and more fun in person, and if you're there, you get to be the one winning the prizes! July 19-23 San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Convention Center San Diego, CA Full Schedule to Come    Don't miss seeing me this Summer -  make your plans today! Fall and Winter Dates are coming, so stay tuned!

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Need Things to Keep You Occupied Until Aliens Abroad Releases?   We've got you covered.

Deacon's Ark, Book 2 of the New West (by moi writing as A.E. Stanton) is available for pre-order right now from Amazon or Smashwords. It goes on sale everywhere June 27 (and yes, you can get it from me directly at Westercon). Head over to the Premieres page to check out the cover! And don't forget to pre-order!

Speaking of The New West series, have you gotten Book 1, When Josie Comes Home (by moi writing as A.E. Stanton) yet? If not, why not? Head over to Amazon, B&N.com, Smashwords, orCreateSpace to order. Mysterious Galaxy has signed copies, and The Poisoned Pen can get personalized copies to you, too! And you can always get copies directly from me at Westercon, too!

Check out the Q&A I did over at Unbound Worlds about Alien Education and a whole lot more, and read about the biggest WTH moment (so far) of my book signing career! Then, did you miss out on the Livestream event for Alien Education's book signing at The Poisoned Pen Bookstore? While I can't say that it had the same "zip" as the event described in the interview, it was still pretty darned fun. So, rectify and check it out!

Don't forget, the mass market re-release of Alexander Outland: Space Pirate (by moi writing as G.J. Koch) is available NOW, so get your copy from your favorite bookstore (Mysterious Galaxy and Barnes & Noble Victorville both have signed copies available, and you can get personalized copies via MG or The Poisoned Pen as well) or online retailer (such as Amazon or B&N.com). And you can always get copies directly from me at Westercon, too!

And now for some science! Per SyFy Wire, a pair of black holes sent ripples of time to Earth. I think we all know that probably indicated when Algar came to town, so to speak. Then, per HuffPost, an Aerospace executive is convinced that aliens are living on Earth. I think he's about to lose his security clearance and spend some time hanging out in the Dulce Science Center chatting with Christopher and Chuckie about why being a blabbermouth is a bad idea. Per Yahoo News, cold spot discoveries could mean there are parallel universes out there. Which Kitty finds hilarious and all y'all already know about, but it's nice to see everyone else catching up. And last but not least, per AIRS, NASA has discovered that we've created an artificial barrier around the Earth that protects it. ACE says hi and that ACE might be ready for ACE's closeup, but that ACE would prefer that Kitty do all the real talking.

And now, a little more about the whole moving thing. The hubs and I grew up in Southern California, and we loved it. All our friends and family were there and we never planned to live anywhere else. But then I got that job with Corporate America and the first thing they said was, "You're moving to Phoenix." So we did. We moved to Phoenix 22 years ago, and though I was leaving the home I loved with all my heart, I was excited, because Phoenix was also a place I loved. I had no idea that it would, essentially, give me my second career and show me the way to my "one thing" that I would do no matter what, which is writing. We made friends that became family, found our tribe, got a home we love, and created a new life in the Valley of the Sun. I love everything about Phoenix and Arizona, including the heat. (And yes, that's being tested this week. LOL)  But now we're going to leave that. And, just as we did when we left Los Angeles, we're looking at Atlanta in the same way as we did with Phoenix -- we have no idea what this city will bring to us, but we know that wherever we go, we will find new friends, new family, and a new home we'll love. We're choosing to live by the Girl Scout Motto -- make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver, and the other gold. So, soon I'll be saying "goodbye my love" to Hell's Orientation Area and "hel-looo sailor!" to Hotlanta. I won't say that it's not bittersweet to do this, but I also won't say that it's not a cool adventure awaiting us. And, after all, cool adventures are my business. Well, that's it for today but, as always, more's on the way. Enjoy the rest of your weeks, stay as cool as you can, and regardless of where you are, let's be readers out there! Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side! Love, Gini

Catching Up...and So Much More!

Hey there! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a good start to the week. I know, I know, I've been silent since Tucson Festival of Books. It was awesome, and I'll tell you all about it, but the chicklet was home for Spring Break and writing and family stuff took the wheel. But she's back carrying on the family tradition of causing havoc in SoCal and I'm back with lots going on. So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

First up, there's a big giveaway going on tonight on Facebook, and you're all invited! Ragnarok, the publisher responsible for Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, is throwing a party -- It's a Dead West Party to be exact! Running today/Tuesday, March 25th, from 8-11pm Eastern, there are prizes being awarded every 15 minutes or so, plus a ton of authors hanging out and chatting, including moi. So, carve out some time and get in on the winning, which includes a copy of my latest, Random Musings from the Funny Girl.

Speaking of Random Musings, check out the nice little piece Operation Awesome did on the book. Then get your own copy at Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords.

Now, it's time for some reviews. See why Night Owl Reviews made Alien Research a top pick! Then see what Bitten By Books thought of The Royal Scam, part one of my Martian Alliance series.

Next up, head over and see what Larissa's Bookish Life thinks are the top covers of 2014 so far. Then see who she says are Auto-Buy Authors.

Have you seen Divergent yet? I have, and my review is up at Slice of SciFi. Agree or disagree? Join the conversation at Slice!

Moi & many of the Bookie Wookies

Now for the fast Tucson Festival of Books update. It was totally awesome. Weather was great, and it was fantastic to get to see so many of the Alien Collective in attendance. Including but not limited to Andrea & Duncan, Adrian & Lisa, Matt & Sasha, Koren (bearing yummy gifts!), Jan (bearing emergency sustenance), Sarah & Lacy, Danielle, Diane, Dan & Emily, and many more.

My panels were awesome -- got to panel twice with MaryJanice Davidson and she is made of hilarious awesome! One panel was just me and MaryJanice cracking wise about how to write a lot and that quickly, and the other included Brandon Sanderson, who was fun and gracious, and Issac Marion who was very sweet for a guy writing about zombie apocalypses, wherein we all shared how to write the funny. I also had a fun panel with Frankie Robertson wherein we ate the yummies provided by Koren (and did not share, because we are EVIL) and yapped about many things paranormal.

Marcy & Moi

I also got to spend some time with my BFFs Marcy Rockwell, and

Dianne & Moi

Terry Smith, as well as get a quick catch-up with my NOLA BFF Dianne de Las Casas. Huge thanks to my PA, Joseph, in part because without whom I would still be setting up and/or tearing down my part of the booth, and also without whom there would be little to no photographic proof. Had a fun signing at the Poisoned Pen's tent, and generally got sunburned despite The Hat and had a rollicking good time all weekend. And took a week to recover. I'm a party animal, me.

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. See you on Facebook for many giveaways, peace out, my li'l gangstas, and let's be winning readers out there!

Love,
Gini

Winners and Other Lovers

Happy Hump Day! Well, the votes are in and the Gods of Random have made their selection. But, of course, I'm gonna make you wait for it. Just a little bit, though.

So, first off, we have a couple of reviews. Check out what boeklogboek thought of the first installment of The Martian Alliance, The Royal Scam, then see what A Buckeye Girl Reads thought of installment number two, Three Card Monte.

Then check out who My Five Monkeys is dressing up as for Halloween. And if you recently asked me a question via email (or even if you didn't), check out Ask Gini in Extra Me! for the latest Q&A additions.

I was going to fill you in on my haunting experience at the Hotel Gadsden, but then it occurred to me that Halloween is just around the corner. So, I'm gonna trick you a little longer and make you wait for the treat, so to speak. (And my being in the throes of writing Alien in the House had absolutely nothing to do with this decision. The major power spike that caused a lot of electronics to go kaput and an emergency run to Best Buy? Now that might have had a hand in the decision. But I'm not saying for sure.)

The Mysterious Galaxy Eat! Read! Party! Holiday Event date's been set -- Saturday, Dec. 1st -- but the time wasn't. And now it is! Come see the me from 3pm-6pm (give or take on the end time). It's also been confirmed that MG will have Alien vs. Alien in stock and able to be sold! (So you can get your copy a few days early and lord it over those who have to wait for Dec. 4th.) San Diego (and SoCal in general) Area Alien Collective Members in Very Good Standing: let me know if you also want to meet up before or hang out after.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...the winners of the Alien vs. Alien ARCs!

In no particular order of luckiness, they are:
Jessica Whitfield
rissatoo
Michelle Watson
bejeweledcat

Special winner of the Snort Coke Through My Nose Award goes to our ancient, but hilarious, oldster:
ratkin638 (rumor has it the numbers represent his real age)

NOTE FOR THE WINNERS: You have until Sunday, October 28th to check in by sending an email to gini@ginikoch.com with your full name and physical mailing address; any ARC not claimed by then will be pulled back by the Gods of Random and a new winner(s) will be chosen.

Well, that's it for today. But as always, more's on the way. Congrats to the winners, everyone enjoy the downward slide to the week, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini

Psst...Release Day

Happy Friday! Yeah, I know, I know. Yesterday I said I wouldn't be yapping at you until next week. But...um...I sort of forgot...a couple things. *cough* Hey! I was busy! Working on Alien in the House and all that! *ahem* Anyway...

Today is the release day for The Martian Alliance #2: Three Card Monte! (Yes, that's right...I forgot about my own release day. I mentioned I was busy and writing and all, right?)

And, in honor OF said release, there are interviews with moi over at Pearls Cast Before a McPig and A Buckeye Girl Reads.

VVB Reads would like to remind you that her contest stop on the Necropolis Blog Tour ends today, so enter today to win a copy of The Night Beat! And speaking of winning, you have until the end of Sunday, October 7, to enter to win the huge Grand Prize prize pack (which includes an ARC of Alien vs. Alien) right here at the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog -- click this Prize Post link or scroll down a bit.

Okay, that's really it for this week (well, other than reminding you that I'll be in Sedona, AZ tomorrow, doing a workshop and book signing at The Well Red Coyote -- but you already knew that, right?), so have FAB weekends, and I'll really catch you on the real flip side this time! Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini