No Fooling, it's time for April's READ THIS! BotM and More!

Happy April Fool's Day!

I could be cruel and play the worst kind of April Fools joke on all y'all (and you ALL know what joke that would be and how much it would stink when I said "Fooled Ya!"), but I don't roll that way. So instead I'll just say a big Happy Easter to all who celebrate and send belated Passover wishes to those who celebrated that. And a happy everything else to everyone else!

We have fun and cool things for you to read and watch, including April's READ THIS! Book of the Month by an author you know quite well, so read on for all the deets!

READ THIS! A Book Club by Moi for All Y'all Welcome to READ THIS! A Book Club by Gini Koch. This is my chance to introduce you to some great authors that I love and know you will, too. Every month I'll spotlight a book and, even better...every month I'll host a live discussion with the author, that all y'all can join! I know, it's too happy to be true, but true it is!

April 2021 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for April 2021 is:  Random Musings from the Funny Girl: Or How to Make the Most of Multiple Personality Disorder By Gini Koch Gini's Take: This is my first (but probably not last) humor collection. Despite what you might think, all the stories really are true... About the Author: It's me! But just in case all y'all have never had the thrill of reading my "short bio", here 'tis in all it's glory Gini Koch writes the fast, fresh, and funny Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt series for DAW Books, as well as many other novels, novellas, novelettes, and short stories, and she’s made the most of multiple personality disorder by writing under a variety of other pen names as well, including G.J. Koch, Anita Ensal, Jemma Chase, A.E. Stanton, and J.C. Koch, all with novels, novellas, and/or stories featured in excellent anthologies, available now and upcoming. www.ginikoch.com

April 2021 READ THIS! Author Q&A

So, you've read the READ THIS! selection and you want to share what you thought with the author, hang out with them and Gini, and generally talk books for an hour. Well, guess what? You can! The third Thursday of every month will be READ THIS! Author Q&A time. The event will be held utilizing Discord, and the invitation to Gini's READ THIS! room will come out in the week prior to the chat. And that's not all! Near the end of each Q&A session, we'll be doing a raffle and one lucky winner will get a copy of the next month's READ THIS! selection! (You must be present in the Q&A to win. Physical book prizes will be U.S. only. Ebook prizes will be worldwide.)

April's READ THIS! author Q&A with Moi, featuring Guest Host Hal Bodner, will be on Thursday, April 15, 2021 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

May's READ THIS! Selection   And Remember: One Lucky Q&A Participant can win it early!

The READ THIS! Selection for May 2021 is:  Shattering the Ley By Joshua Palmatier

I did yet another panel for ConTinual, Economics in Worldbuilding, with several totally awesome other authors. Check it out over at the ConTinual Panel Room on Facebook or at the ConTinual YouTube Channel (where you can also find my earlier panel, Breaking Down the Genres).

Because I get asked this daily (often multiple times daily)... Yes, Aliens Like Us IS coming, but... No, Aliens Like Us still isn't ready for Prime Time, but... I'm using the Virus Troubles to git 'er dun, so... Fear not, Kitty & Company will be back sooner than you think... I promise. P.S. Despite what you'd think, pre-orders are still mattering a whole lot, so even though it SAYS it's coming in 2050 or 3000 or something, do your girl a solid and pre-order this book as soon as the various retailers allow it, please and thank you! P.P.S. The book isn't available for pre-order in most places at the moment, because it's not back on DAW's schedule yet (because, well, see above). This is the (constant) reminder that, when it IS available, it'll help a LOT if you pre-order it.  P.P.P.S. I think I'm in the last quarter of the book, which is exciting in many ways. It's not a promise, but I have hopes of gitten 'er dun very soon now.

Ever Wondered What It's Like to Eat With Authors? Author Lawrence M. Schoen has, and he's spent the past few years interviewing authors about their most memorable meals. I'm one of those authors, and he's now created Eating Authors, an anthology of what he considers the 100 most memorable meals and interviews. I cannot speak for the other authors' meals, but I can guarantee that mine will leave you laughing. Guaranteed. Proceeds go to charity: Cancer Research and the SFWA Emergency Medical Fund.

That's it for today but, never fear, another Update, including the Discord Q&A chat invitation, will be arriving in a couple of weeks! In the meantime, stay safe and healthy, remember we're all in this together, be kind to one another, give love and support to all those who are on the front lines in any capacity, and let's be readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side! Love, Gini

Yaps, Kickstarters, and Books, Oh My!

 Hey there!

Well, the dog (and cat, Poof, Peregrine, ocellar, chocho...you get the idea) days of summer are upon us. And even though we can't do all the stuff we're used to being able to do at this time of year, things are still going on, oh yes they are! 

Including figuring out why there's a tiny cover icon at the start of this post. It's because, for whatever reason, I cannot find the delete option in the new interface for Blogger. No mistakes allowed, that's apparently Blogger's new motto. But I digress...

It's Kickstarter Time! Zombies Need Brains is doing another set of three awesome anthologies about Dieties, Derelicts, and Clashing Cultures! And you don't want to miss out! I'm a featured author in "Derelict" and I can't wait for this one. But I know all y'all want to know what you can get in terms of reward levels. So here goes. First off, the "bad" news. My first available rewards -- tuckerizations and a signed set of all 16 books currently available in the Alien series -- were gone on the first day.  BUT, there are still great rewards now and upcoming. Have you wanted to chat with moi or another author in a one-on-one setting, but you've been too far away to ever get to meet up at a con? Fear not, we have you covered. There's a list of authors -- definitely including moi -- who you can spend 30 fun-filled Zoom minutes with (and, yes, for me, if there are technical difficulties, I'll stay on until we've gotten our full 30 in). Limited only to the number of times each author is willing to chat. (It's moi -- you KNOW I'll run the yap until the cows come home, so fear not, I'll be available.) And that's not all. As soon as we fund -- and we're close right now -- new rewards will be put up. Including...one more tuckerization in my story, and another signed set of the Alien series. I know! It's too happy to be true! But true it is. So, check out the latest ZNB Kickstarter and let's get to doing all the cool things out there! Speaking of Seeing the Me via the interwebs, check out my summer con panels for San Diego Comic-Con and CombatCon 2020! SDCC 2020 The Four Quadrants of Publishing Featuring Jonathan Maberry, Gini Koch, Nancy Holder, Andrew Mayne, and Livia Blackburne Moderated by Bryan Thomas Schmidt CombatCon 2020 Violence in our Characters Featuring Gini Koch Moderated by T.L. Smith @56:25 minutes And, speaking of ZNB and their awesome anthologies...  Zombies Need Brains has announced the release of Galactic Stew! Featuring a ton of cool stories by awesome authors, it's got "Alien Capers" by moi, which tells the tale of what happened to those "left behind" in the Apatan System while Kitty & Company go to save the galaxy during Aliens Abroad.  You know you want it, so don't delay, grab your copy today! Unidentified Funny Objects 8 is Coming! My story - "C.A.T. Squad" - is a standalone original that features, well, the cover model. You know you want to read that one! Click here for the full Table of Contents -- it's gonna be a ton of fun, so keep your eyes peeled for pre-order opportunities and such! Because I get asked this daily (often multiple times daily)... Yes, Aliens Like Us IS coming, but... No, Aliens Like Us still isn't ready for Prime Time, but... I'm using the Virus Troubles to git 'er dun, so... Fear not, Kitty & Company will be back sooner than you think... I promise. P.S. Despite what you'd think, pre-orders are still mattering a whole lot, so even though it SAYS it's coming in 2050 or 3000 or something, do your girl a solid and pre-order this book as soon as the various retailers allow it, please and thank you! Random Randomness Face Masks for a cause!  As you know, a charity near and dear to my heart is the Joshua Tree Feeding Program. As a fundraiser, they're selling really great masks for only $10 each. Check it out and get a cool mask for a great cause! I mentioned this last time, but the Maker of the Masks is taking a breather SO, there's only a short window to get yours. So, don't delay, once they're gone, they're gone! That's it for today but, never fear, another Blog will be arriving next, um, month if I can manage it, and I promise to do my best. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy, remember we're all in this together, be kind to one another, give love and support to all those who are on the front lines in any capacity, and let's be readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch you on the flip side! Love,  Gini