Goodbye, Mr. Old Year

Happy New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and 2011! While we bid farewell to Mr. Old Year of 2010 and say Hey Sailor to Mr. New Year of 2011, as my Hook Me Up! subscribers already know, I have some reflections going on. (Don't faint. I do, occasionally, reflect, and not just in mirrors or shiny surfaced.)

But first, head over to RT Book Reviews and check out the Women of Urban Fantasy article, featuring our girl Kitty and Jace of the Bloodhound Files series by DD Barant!

Then, let's check out others' 2010 Best Of reviews. Head over to The Book Pushers, Tigris Eden, Nice Girls Don't Read Naughty Books, Mark of the Stars, Birdstar, Yolanda Sfetsos, Opinions of a Wolf, and Love To Read For Fun to see what they liked best in this last year.

Now, it's my turn. 2010 has been quite the year for me, almost all of it chronicled through Hook Me Up! emails and the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog. So, what were the highlights?

Well, obviously, having "Touched by an Alien" debut, and debut well, was awesome. That "Alien Tango" has gotten the same kind of love was a double win. Short stories sold into anthologies, conferences, Comic-Con, speaking engagements, contests, new friends, DAW buying Books 3-6, even Catfest 2010...all of that was great in its own way.

But what I'm most appreciative of, and what I'll really remember 2010 for, is all of you.

From the first fans to ever send me an email praising "Touched by an Alien" (*waves madly to Carien and Erin*) to the folks who listed "Touched by an Alien" and/or "Alien Tango" on their Best Of lists; from the first folks who loyally read the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog when I mostly had nothing of too much import to report (*waves madly to Willie and Adrian*) to those who stumbled upon it today; from the first people to join Hook Me Up! I didn't know personally (*waves madly to Tessa, Wendy, Pam, and Jo*) to the folks who just joined five minutes before I started writing this; from all of those on Hook Me Up!, to all my Twitter followers and Facebook friends -- you guys have been both the biggest surprise and the most joyous part of this roller coaster ride.

To the book review bloggers who've told the world they loved my books and encouraged so many to read them; to those who've interviewed me or had me do guest blogs, have given my books away in contests, as gifts, as "you gotta read this" pass-alongs; to those who've told me my books made you laugh, made you happy, made a difference in your lives; to the fans who came, many times more than once, to see me at a con or a signing; to the other authors who helped, encouraged, pimped my books as much as their own, and supported me -- to all of you I say thank you, for making such a huge, positive impact in my career and my life. You've made all of these things sparkling diamonds in my memories of this year.

Yes, I'd write without all of you. I'm a writer, it's what I do. I've said it before and I know I'll say it again, but that's because it's true -- I'd do it without you all, sure, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without my beloved Alien Collective. You, truly, complete me. You bring the process of writing and publishing full circle and make me want to write even more than I thought I did already.

So to you and yours I wish that 2011 will bring you joy, strength, health, contentment, success, and especially love. You absolutely have all of mine.

Love,
Gini

Merry Monday

Happy Monday After Christmas! Hoping all who celebrated had a wonderful and very merry, and book-filled, Christmas. While we gear up for New Year's Eve, it's still the full week away, so here's some things to keep you busy and your minds off work and/or party prep. Hey, they're helping me avoid BOTH!

First up, catch some new reviews of "Alien Tango"! Hit Reading Amidst the Chaos, Opinions of a Wolf, and Qualified eBooks for Kindle which has a set of reviews.

Then check out the new Best Of 2010 lists where either "Touched by an Alien", "Alien Tango", or both made the grade. Hit ALPHA Reader, Pearls Cast Before a McPig, Read My Mind, and Alien Romances where you can also enter to win a signed copy of "Enemy Within" by Marcella Burnard. And check out Larissa's Bookish Life where she's listing her top covers of 2010, and then hit Vampire Wire to see what other books author Marta Acosta enjoyed this year.

For a change of pace, check out the alien artwork made especially for moi at Moonwolf's Lair . Nope, I'm not convinced to love the fuglies yet, and neither is Kitty, but it's still a really cool picture.

For another change of pace, check out the interview with the Captain of The Galaxy Express, Heather Massey, over at The Book Smugglers, which has a great and interesting roundup of all the key SFR from 2010.

Winners are announced at Sara's Urban Fantasy Blog for a copy of "Touched by an Alien" and at Larissa's Bookish Life for a copy of "Alien Tango".

For those keeping score at home, Catfest 2010 continues on. The Interlopers are being somewhat accepted by the Killer Kitties, mostly because The Interlopers are extremely food and play driven, and the Killer Kitties are near the food and bigger things to play with. Big Baby continues his so far futile bid to be a kitten playmate -- he's a cat plaything, but not a playmate. He's spent this past week deeply confused and more than a little neurotic. The Spotted Fiend has done the math and realized she's even further down on Treat Giver's personal totem pole, so she's been a tad depressed...for her. And Li'l Leader hasn't decided if extra cats is a good thing or not, and so has chosen to pretend nothing's different, ergo, she's the only one acting normal.

And so it goes...

Love,
Gini