Ta Da -- Stuff is Here!

As my Hook Me Up! subscribers already know, finally, "it's" here! The "stuff" I've been hinting about. I know, the anticipation has been great! But don't worry. I don't have ONE new thing to tell you about...I have TWO. That's DOUBLE. (Yeah, I'm getting a little punchy this close to leaving for Comic-Con, why do you ask?)

First up, several of you have been asking, nay suggesting (okay, demanding) something, insinuating that you would like to have something to show your love of certain things from "Touched by an Alien". We at Team Gini thought long and hard and decided giving in to your demands was probably the way to go. (Because our motto is: The Alien Collective is Always Right.)

So...check it out! The Alien Collective Depot is here! Browse the merchandise, find your favorites, and yes, trust me, we'll be adding new things as we go along. 'Cause we at Team Gini are really distracted by all the shiny options out there and are always going, "Oooooh, GOTTA have THAT."

What could possibly top the Depot? Well, The Galaxy Express is aware that there's going to be a lot of radio silence in the next couple of weeks, and not just from me. So, running concurrently with Comic-Con and RWA Nationals will be the Parallel Universe! Authors of SFR, yours truly included, will be posting articles, doing "panels" (and, spoken modestly, I think you'll love mine), and answering questions. It's going to be an 11-day extravaganza you won't want to miss!

The Parallel Universe starts on Tuesday, July 20th. Lisa Paitz Spindler will kick it off in the morning and then...I'll be up that evening! You'll definitely want to catch my "Alien Diversity Panel", which will include and be run by...but there...don't want to tell you too much. It'll spoil the surprise. Suffice to say, members of the Alien Collective will enjoy it tremendously. And I'm hoping to drop in, certainly on the 20th, and as I can thereafter, to answer questions, etc. So a fun time should be had by all!

The full Parallel Universe schedule should be posted at The Galaxy Express this Thursday, so be sure to check it out and mark your calendars!

There's more to come, but it'll wait until tomorrow. Until then, I'm back to editing "Alien in the Family", reminding peeps to pre-order "Alien Tango", and trying desperately to decide what to pack (or, in my case, what to leave behind) for Comic-Con (where I'm going as a professional! Yeah...really...admit it...you KNEW it was coming). And y'all go on with being your own wonderful bad selves and I'll catch you on the flip side!

Love,
Gini

15 Minutes of Fame

Got to do something really fun the other night -- I got to lead a table topic at my RWA Chapter (Desert Rose) meeting. And no, it wasn’t on how to properly pick the right Aerosmith album to listen to while writing (though I could do that one in my sleep).

No, it was about networking at writing conferences.

And, before you scoff and snicker, I’m actually very good at it. It’s how I landed my most awesome agent. Well, I had good books, too, but I got in a strong position to share them with her by utilizing my networking skills.

It was great fun to share my experiences with the gals at my table. They had a lot of good questions, too, which is always great when you’re a speaker -- no one wants to present to the Silent Zombies. So, I had fun and got to impart some actual wisdom, so a good time had by all and all that.

Of course the real test isn’t how well it went with a group of writers who are already dedicated to the art and professionals in their own rights.

No, indeed. The real test is going to come next month. When I get to present to a full classroom…of high school students.

I'm sure it'll be fine. After all, to paraphrase my favorite line out of "Real Genius", the young folks love it when I get down with them verbally.

And maybe I can convince some of the nice gals who were at my table at the Desert Rose meeting to come with me as plants in the audience...hey, they were all fun and youthful, it could work...

-- Love, Gini