The READ THIS! BotM Announced, Yap in Charge, & More!

Happy Loooove Month! Hope everyone had a great latter part of January. I definitely did - the cruise was wonderful and it was so nice to get to be with the hubs, just us, for longer than a long weekend. But of course I missed all y'all. And, just in case you aren't spending the 14th with some special someone, I'm your huckleberry, 'cause I love all y'all. The blog's out a little late because I'm still feeling jetlagged from the cruise (we drove to Miami and flew nowhere, but it's the only descriptor that feels correct), but I've still got good stuff for you. Our READ THIS! Book of the Month is from someone you all know and presumably love (me, it's from me), and there's lots more going on, too, as well as some new Yapping, so let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

Pre-Order Time Is Still Now!

Spread the word: Aliens Like Use -- aka the book EVERYONE has been waiting for -- is releasing on April 7, 2026 from Ginger Blue Publishing, and it's available for pre-order right now! So, now's the time to get your copy reserved from your distributor of choice:  Amazon -- ebook (trade paperback and hardback editions will be available on release day) B&N.com -- ebook, trade paperback, and Trophy Hardback Kobo -- ebook Apple Books -- ebook An Important Note #1: If you pre-ordered this book back when it was with DAW your preorder WILL NOT reactivate. The ISBN numbers are different, and that publisher will not advise the various outlets that they should look for the new ISBN number coming from this publisher (it's not their job to do that), and there's no way for the new publisher to get those pre-orders transferred, either. SO, if you pre-ordered before, please do so again, via the links at the Ginger Blue website. An Important Note #2: You cannot go into a Barnes & Noble store to pre-order. The in-store systems and the online systems don't actually work all that well together (I know, it's the same company...a battle for another day with a different army). So if you're planning to get your copies from B&N, please go to the Ginger Blue website and choose your links from there.

Read Out Loud! Do you have your copy of the Touched by an Alien audiobook yet? If not, don't wait! Grab yours today and start your year right!

Speaking of Reading Out Loud... Graphic Audio has renewed the contract for The Legend of Belladonna, Part 1: Natural Born Outlaws, by moi writing as A.E. Stanton. If you haven't grabbed this fantastic audiobook, don't delay, grab it today!

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!

February 2026 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for February 2026 is:  Media & Me My Love/Hate Relationship With Hollywood by Gini Koch Gini's Take: It's my first book of reviews (that hit #1 in 3 categories at Amazon before it even released!) and I promise that I do not hold back. You WILL know what I really think. About the Author: It's me! But in case you've somehow missed the full monty bio, here it is. Gini Koch started writing in the American Southwest as something to do in between staring at pictures of good-looking leading men, but now sweats out the words, both literally and figuratively, in Hotlanta and dreams of dry heat.  She’s best known for her award-winning Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt series formerly from DAW Books and now with Ginger Blue Publishing, which started with Touched by an Alien and has sixteen books and one collection out currently, with seventeen through twenty-two on the way.  Gini’s made the most of multiple personality disorder by writing under a variety of other pen names as well, including G.J. Koch (the Alexander Outland series), Anita Ensal (The Belters Series, A Cup of Joe), Jemma Chase (The Disciple and Other Stories of the Paranormal), A.E. Stanton (the New West Series and the Legend of Belladonna series), and J.C. Koch, all with stories featured in excellent anthologies, available now and upcoming. She’s expanded the fun by writing mysteries with co-writer Bebe Bayliss (the Fall’s Girl Mysteries and the Santa Paloma Mysteries).  No matter what length – from science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, space opera, urban fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller, dystopian, Westerns, romantic suspense, and more – if it’s genre, she writes it.  She’s an avid follower of pop culture, comics, and anything and everything animated. She’s still inspired mostly by good-looking leading men (particularly her husband) and driven to keep her Canine Death Squad and Killer Kitties in kibble and treats.

February 2026 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.)

February's READ THIS! author Q&A  with Guest Host J.B. Garner featuring author Gini Koch will be on Thursday, February 19, 2026 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for March 2026 is:  One-Eyed Jack By Teresa Cutler-Broyles

THE YAP IN CHARGE!   We've got some new yapping over at ConTinual!   Check out Hot Off The Press #151 and Hot Off The Press #152, wherein my fellow panelists and I have a lot of fun while yapping about our new bookie wookies! And don't miss the other Yaps over at The Yap In Charge.

In case you missed it, the first 14 books in the Alien Series AND The Alien Collection are now available from Ginger Blue Publishing in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback! Book15 will be out within days and 16 is coming soon!

Ginger Blue is trucking along and getting the Alien Series re-released just as fast as they can. And we're so close now - just 2 books to go to be all caught up! The situation with how the hardbacks go out is still the same - you can get the new versions in ebook, trade paperback, hardback, and trophy hardback complete with a snazzy dust cover! The trophy hardback is from B&N.com only, as a reminder, and the regular hardback is from Amazon only. The searching via Amazon and B&N.com remains spotty, in no small part because those two distributors still have some mass market copies they're determined to sell. So, as suggested for Touched and Tango, and as recommended for every book coming through 16/Aliens Abroad, go to the Ginger Blue Releases page, click on the cover of your choosing, and choose which option or options you want. The links on GBP's website will take you to the right spots at B&N and Amazon to get the version you want. Confusing? Yes. Ultimately manageable? Sure. It's only adding a step to what you'd normally do. Now for the old reviews status. It had seemed like all the old reviews had stuck at B&N, but not so any more. And the same for Amazon - they were there for all and, suddenly, they were not. SO, several of the books do not have all their reviews connected to the new versions. We have no idea why. Yes, they may connect at a later date, we have no idea if that will or won't happen, and if they do connect, if they'll actually remain. SO, please review early and often on either site, but particularly on Amazon, since, as we well know, reviews matter, especially at Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads. So, officially, now the first fourteen books are live everywhere! And fifteen is almost here and  sixteen is coming soon! Huzzah!

So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for Aliens Like Us and Aliens Like Them, and the next READ THIS! selection. Check out my Bookstore for all the things!

That's it for today but, never fear, another Update, including the Discord Q&A chat invitation, will be arriving PDQ because of the way the first of the year hit. 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

The First READ THIS! Q&A of the Year is THIS Thursday (aka Tomorrow), a New Release, and More!

I'm Headed to My Birthday and More, Hook Me Up! Gang! As I mentioned in the last newsletter, it's my birthday on the 25th. And my request remains the same -- reviews for the bookie wookies are the best gift all y'all can give me, and every other author out there. The hubs, however, has to try harder. And he's succeeded. We're taking a long overdue real vacation: A 10 night, 7 island Caribbean cruise! I'm hugely excited, in no small part because Cruise the Falls (Book 3 in the Fall's Girl mysteries) is going to take place on a cruise ship, in the Caribbean, so I can't wait to soak in all the things! But, before then, we have the first READ THIS! Author Q&A of the year on THIS Thursday (aka tomorrow), and it's gonna be a great one, so let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

It's Alive! When the Galaxy's Invading & It Doesn't Look Good, Who You Gonna Call? Kitty. It's a typical day of bureaucracy and stress for President and First Lady Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini, made more stressful when alien spacecraft are spotted making a beeline for Earth, none of them from the Alpha Centauri system...or, what Kitty calls Thursday. Well, the ebooks are alive everywhere, and the physical books should be live by the end of the week -- they take longer to go through processing. BUT, ebooks are live right now! For the physical books, hit the Ginger Blue Publishing website, click on the cover, and link to your preferred format and distributor from there. Amazon -- ebook, trade paperback, and hardback  B&N.com -- ebook, trade paperback, and Trophy Hardback Kobo -- ebook Apple Books -- ebook

A Reminder About Bookie Wookies... All of these are available now from Ginger Blue Publishing and available at your preferred retailer. If you haven't grabbed these yet, now's the time!

Fem-Bots & Androids & Superbeings Oh My. It's Kitty vs. the End of the World. Origin stories, side quests, alternative universes, and more!

Mastermind vs. Kitty & Company. Place Your Bets. Planets, Power Plays, and Pets. Kitty's Got This.

Double the Kitty. Double the Fun...and Mayhem. Kitty, and Nightcrawler, and Prince. Oh My!

Watch as it all gets real... What's the worth of one life?

You're invited to a party to die for! Welcome to the Belt...proceed with caution

The Jumping Game is on! Come for the scandal, stay for the explosions.

Welcome to Washington, check your Poofs at the door... The future looks utopian...until you look just a bit closer...

And baby makes...the bad guys rue the day they made Mama Kitty angry... Love, engagement, Poofs...and intergalactic war. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas...

More Kitty, and don't miss the gators! The Book That Started It All is alive again! Meet Kitty...all over again!

My first book of movie and TV reviews, and, as I may have mentioned a few times, it's an Amazon #1 bestseller, too! (Hey, a girl likes to share the coolness when she can!) The re-release of the first book in The Martian Alliance Chronicles. Things aren't what they seem when Princess Olivia of Andromeda jumps aboard a spaceship to escape a loveless marriage.

A group of mystery-solving grandmothers, a daring granddaughter, a surf bum, homeless men, and a mysterious stranger all involved in a series of brutal murders in a sleepy seaside town... The re-release of my first humor collection, now with bonus funny! Despite what you may have heard or believe, all the stories are true...well, almost all...

The story of the Old West's most notorious female outlaw, the infamous Belladonna. Available in Hardback, trade paperback, and ebook. Read the story that started it all... Stacey Weir didn't mean to become an amateur sleuth. But when her adoptive father's accused of murder, there was only one thing for her to do...

Friends to lovers romantic suspense set in and around New Orleans, now with an (extended) epilogue! (Re-release.) Mosaic post-apocalyptic novel set in the far future that's reverted to Old West ways, where love, friends, and family are what get you through.

A collection of paranormal tales, with new bonus stories and an introduction from the author of BITE CLUB. (Re-release.) A collection of all my humorous SF/F/P (non-Alien series) stories, together in one place for the first time!

January 2026 READ THIS! Author Q&A

January's READ THIS! Q&A featuring Author Temple Hart will be on Thursday, January 15, 2025 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend! You do not need to be a Discord member/user to attend: Use this link https://discord.gg/GYpzD25JvW to go directly to the chat room! (You also don't need to have finished the book to join in the fun. We authors know that everyone reads at their own pace and we just want to hang out with you guys and have some good times!) Once in, you'll get to join in the fun of asking authors about their "process" and more. PLUS, one lucky winner will get February's READ THIS! selection for FREE! I know! It's too happy to be true! But true it is, so don't miss out! (You must be present in the chat to win. Physical copies U.S. only; ebook copies worldwide.)

January 2026 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for January 2026 is:  The Powers That Be by Temple Hart Gini's Take: An alternative present day satirical take on the superhero genre, with a great hero/villain pair, fun sidekicks, and a meaty conspiracy plot. About the Author: Temple Hart traveled across the United States in her youth, from New York to Florida and from Maryland to Utah, trying to find herself. It took a while, but she succeeded. And she also found out a few other important things. She was very very lesbian, she ate up geek fiction, she loved to write, she had a somewhat skewed and sarcastic worldview, and she really loved love, and romance, and all that red hearts and Cupid's arrows stuff. And she refused to be ashamed about any of it, the love of love in particular. Now settled in Georgia (well, you know, for now), Temple works to combine those loves into her own brand of satirical sapphic superhero superfiction. Which she loves. https://www.jbgarnerwrites.com/abouttemplehart

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

The READ THIS! Selection for February 2026 is:        Media & Me My Love/Hate Relationship With Hollywood By Gini Koch

It's Still Pre-Order Time!

Spread the word: Aliens Like Use -- aka the book EVERYONE has been waiting for -- is releasing on April 7, 2026 from Ginger Blue Publishing, and it's available for pre-order right now! So, now's the time to get your copy reserved from your distributor of choice:  Amazon -- ebook (trade paperback and hardback editions will be available on release day) B&N.com -- ebook, trade paperback, and Trophy Hardback Kobo -- ebook Apple Books -- ebook An Important Note #1: If you pre-ordered this book back when it was with DAW your preorder WILL NOT reactivate. The ISBN numbers are different, and that publisher will not advise the various outlets that they should look for the new ISBN number coming from this publisher (it's not their job to do that), and there's no way for the new publisher to get those pre-orders transferred, either. SO, if you pre-ordered before, please do so again, via the links at the Ginger Blue website. An Important Note #2: You cannot go into a Barnes & Noble store to pre-order. The in-store systems and the online systems don't actually work all that well together (I know, it's the same company...a battle for another day with a different army). So if you're planning to get your copies from B&N, please go to the Ginger Blue website and choose your links from there.

Read Out Loud! Do you have your copy of the Touched by an Alien audiobook yet? If not, don't wait! Grab yours today and start your year right!

Speaking of Reading Out Loud... Graphic Audio has renewed the contract for The Legend of Belladonna, Part 1: Natural Born Outlaws, by moi writing as A.E. Stanton. If you haven't grabbed this fantastic audiobook, don't delay, grab it today!

So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for Aliens Like Us and Aliens Like Them, and the next READ THIS! selection. Check out my Bookstore for all the things!

That's it for today, but, never fear, another Update, including details for the next READ THIS! selection, 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, hope this year continues to give all of you much joy and goodness, and let's be readers out there. Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and I'll catch all y'all on the flip side! Love, Gini