Happy Everythings

Happy Hump Day!

For those of us in the US, and those who are from the US but are elsewhere, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Other countries do this, too, and something that's great about this holiday is that we try to stop and remember what we're thankful for. I'll get to my list in a bit, but before that, there's some things to catch all y'all up on, so let's get to those!

First up, the first review of Alien Research is in! See what Larissa's Bookish Life thought of it. (And it's still not too late to pre-order your copy, either online or from your local bookstore, including any bookstore I'm going to be visiting in the next few weeks.)

Next up, In Medias Res is doing a big, month-long giveaway that includes a lot of authors, including yours truly. Check it out and, good news, there are plenty of prizes that are open to international winners! Check every Friday in December for new authors (my giveaways will be on Dec. 20th) and more chances to win!

Speaking of winning, you still have time to enter to win an Alien Research two-fer from Project Paranormal. Don't miss out on this great contest!

Speaking again of winning, more winners were announced (in the blog entries below), so if you even think you've entered something, scroll down and check them out. And while you're wandering, the website has had some more things done to it (that's the technical term, per what Team Gini tells me), so check it out, too!

My ePublisher, Musa Publishing, is doing some huge deals over this coming week, so check early and often to see what great books you can get for even greater prices!

Alert Member of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing Shawn spotted these two articles at Tor.com that I thought were quite interesting -- Sleeps With Monsters and Can We Stop Sorting Ourselves.

On to some things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful my house didn't burn down with everything I own, including everything I was writing, in it. But my friend, and Member of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing, Beth Bartlett wasn't so lucky. She and her husband, and their pets, are all okay, but they have nothing left. If you are able to make any monetary donations to help, a fund has been set up for the family at Community First Bank through Karen Halper (479.253.0566), or directly to Beth via Paypal to egbartlett@earthlink.net.

What else am I thankful for? Many things, most of the usual -- family, friends, health, career. But I'm also very thankful for all of you. You're all, hands down, the best fans in the world, and I'm thankful every day that you all chose to come along on the wild rides that Kitty & Company, and all my other characters, like to take you on. Sure, I'd still do it without you, but it just wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

Peace out and Happy Thanksgiving to all my li'l gangstas who celebrate, happy rest of the week and weekend to everyone else, those who indulge in Black Friday madness enjoy yourselves, thanks to those who are working at whatever jobs tomorrow and this weekend, and let's all have a safe and wonderful end to November. Be happy readers out there, and I'll catch you on the flip side! And I leave you with this...a picture of Kitty's cat... ;-D

Love,
Gini

P.S. Happy Hanukkah! Yeah, yeah, I'm a bad Jew. I forgot. BUT I remembered BEFORE it started. So that's something, right? Right? Happy 8 Crazy Nights to all, from Sol, Angela, and Kitty & Company!

Researching Winners

Happy Thursday! Well, the Gods of Random have spoken and the winners of the advanced final copies of Alien Research have been chosen. If you entered, read on and see if you were one of the lucky ones.

If you didn't enter, read on anyway, because, as my Hook Me Up! subscribers already know, there's going to be a reason for you to continue on. Trust me. (Think: Lightning Round... ;-D)

But before then, we have a few other things going on. Head over to Slice of SciFi and see what I think of Season 2 of the Legend of Korra. 

Then remember to get entered to win an Alien Research two-fer over at
Project Paranormal.

Speaking of Alien Research, check out Deathless Prose where an excerpt (the opener and first chapter) is up to whet your appetite for the bookie wookie. (Releases Dec. 3rd -- and it's still not too late to do your girl a solid and pre-order your copy, either online or directly from your bookstore of choice!)

Speaking of the website, we have updates on Free Stuff and Sightings in the Wild -- yes, it's true, Team Gini got Sightings revised BEFORE the End of Days (don't faint). There's more coming on both those pages, and others on the website, so keep the eyeballs peeled.

We're down to the last few days to fund the Winter in the City Kickstarter anthology. If you haven't added in yet, take a look -- lots of cool authors are slated for this one!

And, because this just really resonated with me for some strange reason ;-D, check out 14 Ways to Tick off a Writer over at The Penguin Press.

And now, for what you're all really waiting for, Part 1. The winners of an advanced final copy of Alien Research, as chosen by the Gods of Random:

Beth Blanchard
Marybelle Gann
Chelene Ho
MandyMe
Barbara Elness

I loved all the comments all y'all sent in your emails and in the Blog comments, and it was really hard to choose who was going to score the extra prize. However, the Special Winner prize is going to the person who went above and beyond and assigned names and full on descriptions to Christopher's Patented Glares -- Melissa Katano

NOTE FOR WINNERS: You MUST send me an email with your first & last name, full mailing address including country, and how/who you want the book personalized (name, nickname, someone else, etc.) to by Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. If I haven't heard from you by the end of the day on the 24th, the Gods of Random will demand a new sacrifice, the prize will be pulled back, and given to another entrant.

But wait...there's more. That's right, and this one's open to anyone OTHER than the 6 who just won today. Anyone, on Hook Me Up! or not, who answers this next question here, at this Blog post, is entered. There's one more copy of Alien Research, and it'll go to the person who gives the reply the Gods of Random like best to this question:

There were lots of really good ideas for which characters should get more in-depth stories about them in some way. So, you all get to vote. Pick who you'd most like to get a back, side, or extra story about (this is not a guarantee, btw, but we all know I write short stories and novellas all the time so...) from these options:

A) How Reader Met Gower
B) Angela Fiore, Teen SuperSpy
C) A Week in the Life of Malcolm Buchanan

This contest addendum is live through Sunday, Nov. 24th and the winner will be picked and announced on Monday, Nov. 25th. Be SURE that I have a way to contact you (leave your email address in your comment if at all possible), or else you'll need to monitor the Blog every day. As with the rest, yes this is open internationally, and same rules and restrictions apply, so check out the main contest post (below) for all that info.

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

Love,
Gini

Extra Winning!

Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that this week's started off well for all. We have a bunch going on, much of it related to winning things, so let's get to it!

First off, a reminder that the current contest to win a signed, early copy of Alien Research is going on now, but it ends TOMORROW (Wed., Nov. 20th) so get your entries in TODAY. But it's for Hook Me Up! subscribers only. Not on? Now's the time to fix that. Send an email to gini@ginikoch.com with "Hook Me Up!" in the subject line and you'll be in with the cool kids and get a copy of the rules sent right to you.

Speaking of winning Alien Research, Project Paranormal also has a contest going! So get entered over there, too! And theirs is a two-fer, so get entered to win today! 

Next up, see what Larissa's Bookish Life thinks are the best books to read on vacation. Then, see what Bibliognome and Gizmo's Reviews got in their mail.
 
After that, head over to Slice of SciFi and see what I think of Sleepy Hollow, 5 Episodes In. Agree or disagree? Join the conversation over at Slice!

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way! So enjoy the rest of the week ahead, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini