Last Days of Winning Disco

Happy Friday! Well, the weekend is upon us, but before we get to go relax, party, and run a zillion errands, let's do a short and sweet catch up on some things going on all over.

First up, check out a love letter from Martini to Kitty, as envisioned by Julie from My 5 Monkeys over at Vampire Book Club. So cute!

Remember that the Erin Kellison Spotlight interview along with a book giveaway is live right here at the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog (click the link or just scroll down). If you haven't read Erin yet, get entered to win and find a new author. If you have, get entered to win a book of hers you might not have yet. It's a win-win all the way and open to anyone, international included!

Speaking of winning, we're in the last days of the Tidy My Office contest. But, as most of my contests are, this is for Hook Me Up! subscribers only. Not on? Send an email with "Hook Me Up!" in the subject line to gini@ginikoch.com and you'll be added on and get the rules sent right out to you so you can get in on the win!

Speaking of fun, you know I've been talking about Arizona Dreamin'. Well, someone else is talking about it today over at StephsBookRetreat. My half-price tickets are gone, but even at full price of $79 for the weekend, this is a great deal. You'll get to hang with moi, our Spotlight author Erin Kellison, Erin Quinn, Amber Scott, Caris Roane, and 15 other amazing authors. Lots of access, lots of fun, so make your plans to join us now!

For those wanting to see the me before May and June, you're in luck, because Tucson Festival of Books is next weekend (how did it get here so quickly?). Come to the 4th largest book fair in the country and see me, a lot of those Arizona Dreamin' authors, and a ton of other cool and famous authors for a weekend at a book lover's Disneyland.

Well, that's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. So everyone have a wonderful 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

Comical Monday

Happy Monday! It's the last day to enter to win the marked up galley of Alien in the Family, so if you haven't entered yet, now's the time. It's for Hook Me Up! only, of course, so if you're not on, get on now. Send an email with "Hook Me Up!" in the subject line to gini@ginikoch.com and you'll get the deets for how to get your win on. But there's more going on than just winning a galley with my scribbles on it, so let's roll!

First off, head over to It's Comic Book Day where my latest set of pop culture reviews are large and in charge. Remember that the folks there and at Slice of SciFi love to get comments on the posts at their site, so don't be shy, share your thoughts!

Check out who My 5 Monkeys lists as her favorite bloggers and authors. Speaking of My 5 Monkeys, she's taking part in Vampire Book Club's Character Love Letters 2013 and penning her take on a letter that Martini would send to Kitty, going live on Feb. 28. Sounds like a fun month over there, so check out all the entries! Then see what Into the Dreaming thought of Alien Tango and Alien in the Family.

Alert Member of the Alien Collective in Very Good Standing Shawn pointed out a cool article over at Tor.com, where Sleeps With Monsters asks Where Are the Older Women? Chime in with your fave older heroines. (Shawn picked Angela Katt...and I do, too. LOL)

I'm excited to announce that The Royal Scam won a SFR Galaxy Award for Best Misdirection by a Shapeshifter.

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. So enjoy a happy start to the week, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini

Christopher Yaps it Up

Welcome to December! I warned you -- it's Busy Busy Week in Cyber Lande. So, let's keep it rolling, shall we?

First up, as the subject line shares and my Hook Me Up! subscribers already know, check out an exclusive interview with Christopher over at Bibliophilic Book Blog and find out what three things he'd want to have on a desert island.

Next, head over to see what My 5 Monkeys thought of "Alien Proliferation". (There are some great pics of some A-Cs there, too. ;-D)

Then see what great releases are coming from DAW Books over at the DAW Books Community and check out another good listing of upcoming releases at the Vampire Book Club.

Last days to enter the Alien Proliferation Extravaganza over at the Alien Collective Virtual HQ. Don't miss out on 5 (that's right, FIVE) chances to win!

Early registration for the Desert Dreams Writer's Conference ends at the end of this month. If you're an aspiring author, or know someone who is, this is a great conference to attend. Tons of successful published authors, along with great agents and editors, combine to make it a weekend that will positively impact your writing career.

That's all for today, other than the standard request to pre-order "Alien Proliferation" (yes, yes, even though it releases on Tuesday...pre-orders still matter...oh, and pre-order "Alien Diplomacy" while you're there ;-D). Enjoy the reading and have a great day!

Love,
Gini

Honies, I'm Ho-ome!

Happy Monday! I know, I know, it's been ages. But hey, Comic-Con takes a lot of time and focus because it's hard to get all the swag without a plan. And, as my Hook Me Up! subscribers already know, boy, did I come home with swag. Loads of swag, bags of swag, cascades of swag. So much swag that I can't launch the Comic-Con Swag Packs contest today...because I'm still trying to figure out how many packs, what's going where, and how much awesome in one box will cause bodacious combustion.

So, until later this week (and yes, my Swag Hounds, the contest WILL launch this week - for Hook Me Up! only, so if you're not on, now's the time!), let's get caught up on all that's been missed while I was in San Diego.

First up, this went live while I was in the midst of the Comic-Con madness, so it's too late to enter for the Birthday Bash giveaway, but still, check out the interview with Kitty over at On a Book Bender. Be sure and wish OaBB a happy belated birthday while you're there!

Next, see what Vampire Book Club thinks of "Touched by an Alien". Then check out what Mama Kitty Reviews has to say about "Alien in the Family". Last but in no way least, check out the which covers Bibliognome deems Swoon-Worthy.

I'm sure I missed a plethora of other things going on these past two weeks, but here's why. Comic-Con. 'Nuff said, right? No? You want more? Okay, here goes...

First, if you haven't checked out the majority of my pics from the event, hit the Alien Collective Virtual HQ. If you're not a member of the official fan site yet, well, why not sign up and start yapping on the Forum?

In brief, this was my schedule:

Wednesday: We hit Preview Night and scored some cool stuff from Penguin. Got more stuff from and cased the Exhibit Hall.

Thursday: We made it into the Covert Affairs, Psych and Ringer panels in Room 20, and scored some cool swag. Hit more of the exhibit floor, and got much in the way of swag, including signed things. Lunch with excellent authors S.G. Browne and Savannah Kline (buy their awesome books!) and the rest of what I've dubbed The Cool Crew (*waves to Dan, Tim, Antonio, Casey & Rose*). Toured Conan O'Brien's art show dedicated to...himself. (This was essentially for Coco fans only. Those of us who swing Leno, Letterman, Kimmel, Fallon, McHale, Handler, or Tosh 2.0 were left a little, um, nauseated.) Back to the exhibit hall for, yes, more swag.

Friday: Screwed up and missed Blue Blazes, which I'd been looking forward to seeing; but did make it into Kung Fu Panda where James "Lo Pan" Hong stole the show and the entire audience's hearts. Then saw the launch episodes of the new Thundercats which was, in a word, AWESOME and which had, hands down THE most excited, invested audience of anything we saw. More exhibit hall then off to the Penguin party which was very cool. Then Ghiradelli's with The Cool Crew.

Saturday: We scored Hall H! Which was awesome, but derailed any plans to see anything else, in part because, thanks to AC Member in VERY Good Standing Shelly, we got 2nd row seats, front and center. So we saw Francis Ford Coppola and Val Kilmer showing Twixt; gazed upon the full gorgeous cast of The Immortals (Kellan Lutz should never speak his own lines, seriously, and it really seemed that Stephen Dorff was on very close terms with a lot of pot, but Freida Pinto was lovely, Luke Evans was both hot and bright, and Henry Cavill will make an awesome Superman as long as he can manage an American accent) and, yes, it's true -- for some reason, I took no pics during this panel, and I can't tell you why, but they were all picture-worthy, so you'll have to see The Immortals to make up for my lack. We then saw the awesome cast of The Knights of Badassdom which included Ryan Kwanten, Summer Glau, and (my fave!) Peter Dinklage -- this movie is my "must see" from the Con, because it looks hilarious and speaks to my D&D, LARP, fangirl soul. We also saw the full cast of Snow White and the Huntsmen which included Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth (who, sadly, kept his shirt on), and Sam Claflin; Charlize is hilarious and this movie looks very interesting. Next was Dorothy of Oz which boasted Patrick "Capt. Picard" Stewart's first visit to Comic-Con AND we got to sing Happy Birthday to him, led by Megan "Wicked" Hilty (this panel also featured the most inappropriate "question" of the Con, which I won't repeat, but I guarantee the asker was bodily removed and potentially beaten). Last, but not least, we got to end our Hall H time with Kevin Smith, who is hilarious and thoughtful and incredibly, undeniably cool without trying to be cool (and yes, I was, and still am, in total fangirl mode).

Sunday: We visited the exhibit hall because we didn't have enough swag to choke a herd of elephants yet; caught the Allen Gregory panel that included Jonah Hill and French Stewart (everyone was hilarious so I recommend giving the show a try); then it was time for my panel, and I got to sit in between Vernor Vinge and Timothy Zahn -- our panel was packed, and it was great fun, PLUS I got to sit between Greg Bear and Michael Cassutt for the signing! (All of them are lovely, awesome gentlemen and I heartily recommend their books.) Major love to all who came by to say hi and/or get books signed, including Sasha, Kai, and Dan, with a special shout-out to Corey, whose luggage was lost and who not only bought new clothes, but a new set of my books to be signed (Corey -- you...complete me :-D). Then it was back to the exhibit hall yet again. And then...it was over, done, kaput, so long until next year.

I realize upon reading this over that it seems like we were nonstop. We were. But the sad part is, I KNOW I'm forgetting things we did, stuff we saw, and people we ran into. But that's how it goes when you're hanging with 125-160K of your nearest and dearest. Was it awesome? It was. Is it nice to be home? It is. Can I hardly wait for next year? You even have to ask?

So, until I can get the Swag Packs of Awesomeness in order, peace out, my li'l gangstas and remember, let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini