Overdue Recapping with a Bonus

Hey there! I know, I know, I've been MIA. Had a lot to do the moment I got back from Coastal Magic Con, and then many other things were going on. How many? Let's find out! Oh, and read on until the end, because you'll be glad you did.

First up, I can't remember if I've mentioned this before or not, but the nominees for the RT Book Lover's Reviewer's Choice Awards are in, and Alien in the House is up for Best Futuristic Romance! As always, I'm thrilled that one of my books has made the cut into the finalists. Go check out all the books nominated -- there are some fantastic reads in this year's nominees!

Next up, let's check out some reviews! See what Shiny Book Review thought of Kaiju Rising, which features a short story by moi writing as J.C. Koch. Then see what Wicked Little Pixie, Fresh Fiction, Mixed Book Bag, and Bitten By Books thought of Alien Research. 

Speaking of Kaiju Rising, the ebook version is available now! So get your copy today, you'll be glad you did!

Then see what new covers have Addicted 2 Heroines excited. And check out the article in the Arizona Daily Star about the upcoming Tucson Festival of Books including information on one of my three panels.

Now, head over to Southwest Magazine where Alien Collective Member in Very Good Standing and Lego Builder Extraordinaire Mariann Asanuma is one of many cool folks interviewed about, what else, Building Lego. And after that, see what cool author Amy Lane had to say about and coming home from Coastal Magic.

Speaking of Coastal Magic, it was made of awesome. I had so much fun with Members of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing Michele, Joe, Lisa, Jo, Bill, and more! And I got to speed date and catch up with Shannon K. Butcher, hang out with the amazing Queen of SFR Linnea Sinclair, the wickedly cool James R. Tuck, the lovely and talented Janice Hardy, the wild and wooly T.C. Blue, and the aforementioned cool Amy Lane.

And, because I had such a good time, I'm going to share some of that fun with all of you. Yes, that's right...I'm talking contest time, baby! And for this one, there will be 2 big winners. One U.S., one International.

The U.S. winner will receive signed copies of the following:
The first 3 books of the Deacon Chalk Occult Bounty Hunter Series by James R. Tuck -- Blood and Bullets, Blood and Silver, and Blood and Magick
The first 2 books of the Shifter Series by Janice Hardy -- The Shifter, and Blue Fire
3 books from Linnea Sinclair -- An Accidental Goddess, Shades of Dark, and Hope's Folly
1 book from Amy Lane -- A Solid Core of Alpha
Plus some swag, mostly courtesy of Ms. Cool, Amy Lane
That's 9 signed books plus swag!

The International Winner will receive ebook copies of the following:
Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, from J.C. Koch, aka moi
The Keeping Promise Rock Series from Amy Lane -- Keeping Promise Rock, Making Promises, Living Promises, and Forever Promised
The Talker Series from Amy Lane -- Talker, Talker's Redemption, and Talker's Graduation
The first 2 books in the FGC Spy Series from T.C. Blue -- A Game of Chances, and A Game of Skills
Trine, from T.C. Blue
Making It Up, from T.C. Blue
That's 12 ebooks!

Doesn't it sound awesome? Because it is! It's also for Hook Me Up! subscribers only. Not on? Clearly now's the time to get on! Send an email with "Hook Me Up!" in the subject line to gini@ginikoch.com and you'll be on the list and sent the contest entry rules.

So, for those on Hook Me Up! who've read and followed the entry rules and all that jazz, riddle me this: In your opinion, what's the most magical thing about reading?

Good luck to all, and let's be winning readers out there!

Love,
Gini

LEGALESE

Contest will run Thursday, February 20th through Friday, February 28th. Winners will be announced by Tuesday, March 4th, and have until Sunday, March 9th to reply -- any prize not claimed by then will be pulled back by the Gods of Random and a new winner(s) will be chosen.

This both a U.S. and an international contest -- as long as you're on Planet Earth, you can enter and win. You must have a deliverable address, though - no P.O. boxes. Prize may take 2-4 weeks to ship to the U.S. winner. International winner will be contacted by the authors providing the books to determine format, etc., within 2 weeks of the winner's claiming their prize.

Hump Day Comes Early/TusCon Roundup Comes Late

I know, I know, it's only Tuesday, but here in the States, with Thanksgiving on Thursday, many of us are only working a 3-day week. (Not me, of course. I work a 24/7 day week, but that's 'cause I'm crazy.) So, even though it's Tuesday, it's really the middle of this shorter week, so today is the REAL Hump Day of Beverly Hills. Or something like that.

But don't let that rambling opener fool you -- as my Hook Me Up! subscribers already know, we have lots going on today. First up, check out June "Bug" Kramin and what she's busy pimping. It's a double pimp, too, which should earn her some extra Alien Collective points.

Next up, my somewhat belated TusCon Roundup. It was a great con, and I had a blast. Some of the Alien Collective were in attendance (waves madly to all who were there) and attended my "Alien Tango" reading, kept me company at the mass book signing, and hit my panels, too. Always awesome to see you guys!

Speaking of panels, I was on a lot, and had a blast with them. I didn't get to panel with the awesome Marsheila Rockwell but we audienced for each other.

I did have the pleasure, in no particular order of pleasure 'cause they're all awesome, of getting to be on panels with Jeff Mariotte, Adam Niswander, Shannon Butcher (who is a lovely, gracious lady whether on a panel or at breakfast), Janni Lee Simner, John Vornholt, Jordan Summers, Larry Hammer, Lee Whiteside, Ed Bryant, Jill Knowles, and Sam Sykes. Yeah, that's a lot of folks, I know. And that's not everyone who was there. TusCon draws a LOT of authors.

I was supposed to be on a panel with Jim Butcher, but he had the nerve to bow out because he still had a line of people waiting for him to sign their books, and he chose his fans over the panel. The nerve! LOL From what I saw and heard, he's a great guy, and we all know he writes great books. (Access Hollywood-ish type fact: Jim's cut his hair, very short -- it looks good, but made it hard to recognize him unless he was with Shannon.)

Got to hang with Yvonne Navarro and pet two of her awesome rescued Great Danes, Goblin and Ghost. Weston Ochse was supposed to be there but was in Romania instead (don't ask me, that's what his blog and Facebook page are for). And the ever awesome Mysterious Galaxy and the lovely Maryelizabeth Hart were on site, selling books, which is what they do so very well. And I got to catch up with one of my writing mentors, Stephen Mertz and have that rare but wonderful pleasure of having a mentor tell me he's proud of what I've achieved. That was truly a con highlight for me.

That's all for today. Will there be more tomorrow? Well, there IS that contest I've been talking about. Might want to let y'all know what it's about...

Oh, and 13 days until "Alien Tango" releases. Have you pre-ordered YOUR copy yet?

Love,
Gini