Insert Witty Catching Up Title Here

Happy Monday! I know it's been a while (okay, like, um, about 2-3 weeks), but I'm back from Phoenix Comicon AND Universal Alien is done and turned in to the Awesome Editor! Meaning, I get to catch up on all the things, like updating all of you, that I had to let slide to get the bookie wookie in on time. And there's a LOT to catch you up on, so let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

First up, check out the great Table of Contents for Unidentified Funny Objects 3, courtesy of SF Signal featuring "Live at the Scene" by yours truly, moi. It's coming in October, but you can pre-order UFO3 right now! Hint, hint.

Speaking of pre-orders (we always are, trust me), it's never too late or too early to pre-order Universal Alien, coming to your bookstores December 2, 2014. You can also pre-order Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens at the Zombies Need Brains website (scroll down to find the book pre-order), featuring short story that started my writing short stories set in the Kittyverse.Yes, pre-orders matter, a lot, to publishers of all sizes, so pre-order often and early!

Next up, let's check out some reviews! See what Another Castle thought of Kaiju Rising (featuring "With Bright Shining Faces" from moi writing as J.C. Koch). Then see what Zwartraafje thought of Alien in the House. Check out what Gizmo's Reviews thinks are the 10 best books she's read so far in 2014. And last but not least, see what A Succubi's Tale thought of Hotter Than Hell by moi writing as Jemma Chase.

And now it's time for some science! Check out the news about a gigantic underground ocean, or, as I put it, see how Jules Verne was a reporter, not a novelist. Then watch the amazing time lapse video of a Stellar Explosion or, as I put it, see Sandy up close and personal. Then, once again proving my hard science fiction and Star Trek loving grandma right in that what man can imagine, man can create, check out the real life Enterprise that's set to take us where, um, no man has gone before (ACE allowing).

My San Diego Comic-Con schedule will be finalized soon, so keep the eyeballs peeled. See as many of you as possible there!

Have you made your plans to hit CopperConFANtasm August 22-24? You should, 'cause I'm an author guest and it's going to be a fun, intimate con. This is the con where you get to hang out with all the authors, artists, and scientists because that's just how it rolls.

Chicago Area Peeps -- I will be there at the end of September (25th-30th); book signing dates are (hopefully) getting set up, but if you're there, let me know so you can see the me and I can see the you! I am NOT in this part of the country very often (um, this would be the first time in at least 10 years), so if you're in the Greater Chicago Metro and Outlying Areas, this will likely be your only chance, so let's be sure to make it happen! And yes, if you have a local bookstore that wants me to do a signing during this time, let me know and we'll do what we can to make that happen.

More in-person announcements are coming, as well, so stay tuned!

And now, finally, it's time for my extremely belated Phoenix Comicon wrap-up. The con was wonderful and it was great to see so many of the Alien Collective out in force! I'd list everyone here, but there were a LOT of you, so just know that I loved seeing (and hugging) you all and cannot wait for the next time!

And speaking of "out in force"...we had almost 79,000 people attend. So, yeah, it was big, and it was great, too. But don't just take my word for it. See what Rissa Watkins thought of it, too. I got to have breakfast in the con's guest suite with two very nice guys who happened to be Billy Tucci and Mark Evanier. Mark in particular was extremely gracious and we had an interesting chat about editors and deadlines. He even stopped by my booth to tell me he'd enjoyed meeting me, and wrote about his con experiences as well at News From Me.

I got to panel and hang out with and at least say hi and give hugs to a ton of cool authors and some artists, and because this is already scary long I'm just going to do the roll call here: L.E. Modesitt, Jr.; Seanan McGuire; Jim Butcher; John Scalzi; Wesley Chu; Marsheila Rockwell; Jordan Summers; T.L. Smith; Patrick Rothfuss; Myke Cole; Amber Benson; Tom Leveen; Weston Ochse; Yvonne Navarro; David Lee Summers; Joe Nacisse; Leanne Renee Hieber; Kris Neri; Robert Elrod; Mike MacLean; Zachary Jernigan; Gilead; Ed Erdelac; Jaye Wells; and many more besides who I am forgetting because I have had to sleep, and had to write a lot, since then.

Everyone was awesome and I loved all my panels, but one of my favorite things was doing my impromptu Food with Fans event which I plan to make a "thing" and have happen every year, because it was so much fun this year and last year, too.

Sadly, I did NOT get to hang out with either Nathan Fillion, Stephen Amell, John Barrowman, Michael Rooker, or Carey Elwes. Because I was hella busy, that's why. Yes, all my friends have pics with Nathan or John or Stephen. I have pics with my fans, and I'm happy about that :-D. I DID, however, get to share an elevator with Danny Glover (that man is TALL) and walked by and spoke to John Rhys Davies (that man is TALL and HANDSOMER in person than on screen). I may have had other celebrity sightings or moments, but if I did, they're just moon dust now. Next year the con is May 28-31 -- don't miss it!

Finally...that's it for today. But, as always, more's on the way. So stay tuned, have a fantastic week, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini

Heating it Up

Hey there! I know, I've been fairly quiet, but that's 'cause I've been very busy. Doing what, you ask? Finalizing edits on Alien Research, starting Alien Collective, and hitting some movie premieres, because it's good to be a reviewer for Slice of SciFi. But, things have been going on, so let's get to them, shall we? We shall!

 First up, if you've been waiting for the physical copy of The Happy Acres Haunted Hotel for Active Seniors wait no more. It's now available at Amazon, and will be at some independent bookstores soon.

Next, and speaking of movie reviews, check out my latest review, of Star Trek: Into Darkness, over at Slice of SciFi.

Then, see what Bring on the Books thought of Alien in the House.

I also saw The Heat, and because I'm a giver, here's the review, hot off the presses, no waiting!

The Heat stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in a buddy cop movie. I really enjoyed this movie, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being I love Sandra Bullock and I think Melissa McCarthy's hilarious. But I also enjoyed it for the very reasons it was made -- because there aren't enough buddy comedies for and about women out there.

Sandra's the straitlaced, really good FBI agent who isn't liked by her male coworkers because she's smarter and better at the job than they are. Melissa's the sloppy, break the rules detective who doesn't want the FBI on her turf. They have to team up, of course, in part because Sandra's bucking for a big promotion and her boss is telling her that if she teams up with the local detective and if she solves the case, she may get the promotion. But since she's not well liked, it's an iffy subject.

Melissa, on the other hand, has her precinct under her very effective control. They're afraid of her, but she's the best cop there, and they all know it. It's following the standard buddy cop formula you've seen, and loved, in countless other movies, and it works here because a) the formula DOES work, b) the script is good, and c) the leads have good chemistry on the screen and with each other.

One of the most interesting things for me about this movie is that if you put two men into the leading roles, the movie would work exactly the same way as it does now -- it'd be really funny with a lot of action, a tiny bit of romance, and your typical Odd Couple pairing. Right up until the ending.

I'm not going to spoil the ending, because it's a right on ending. But I think it's an ending you wouldn't get if the two leads were male. You'd get half of the ending, Melissa's ending, for certain. But Sandra's? That ending would be different. Sadly, Sandra's ending is the real world ending. I realize this is vague, but I don't want to ruin a fun movie by giving away its ending. But when you get there, think about how Sandra's ending would have been if, say, her character had been played by Mark Wahlberg or The Rock.

The one thing I hated, and I do mean HATED, about this movie? It's opening and closing credits. They're literally like something out of the 1970's, and there's no real reason for it (other than the production team feels this is a kind of throwback film to that era of moviemaking). However, it sets up the moving badly, and ends it badly. I can't think of another movie where the opening and closing credits have turned me off so much that they caused me to lower my grade on the film, but there's a first time for everything, and this is that time.

There's some gross humor, and this movie earns its R rating, mostly for language and violence. I enjoyed it, I laughed pretty much all the way through it, and give it a very solid B+. It missed an A- due to those awful credits. I'm a tough grader, what can I say?

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. So, enjoy the downward slide to 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