An Upcoming Book Birthday, the READ THIS! BotM, New Con Schedule, & More!

It's Almost Time For A Book Birthday!

Hope everyone had a great May and welcome to June, the official Start of Summer around the Manse. Father's Day is on the horizon and I want to wish all the dads, stepdads, grandpas, uncles, cousins, brothers, and anyone else doing the dad role, including the gals out there who've stepped up, for all you do. We need the dads just like we need the moms, and every one of you is special, so rock on and enjoy your day!

Before we celebrate all the dads, though, I have a book birthday that I'm very excited about and hope all y'all will be, too. The book that made me a writer will finally be in print, ebook and hardback, June 11th, and I cannot wait.

Con season is now officially here, and you'll find my schedules for some of the cons I'll be at below. And, happily, there's still more things to preorder and read, plus the Yap is large and in charge again!

Plus we've got a great book for this month's READ THIS! selection, so let's get to it all, shall we? We shall!

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!

June 2024 READ THIS! Selection

The READ THIS! Selection for June 2024 is:  Star Chaser: The Traveler by Reiter (aka G. Russell Gaynor) Gini's Take: Science-Fantasy with depth and breadth, this prelude story will remind you of every science fiction and fantasy story you've ever loved. About the Author: A US Navy Brat turned screenwriter and novelist, G. Russell Gaynor's been in an unending pursuit of one thing: a good story. To that end, he's explored strange new worlds... far, far away... coming across a ring here, an horcux there, spinning round a wheel, and using stars as steppingstones and waystations. https://grussellgaynor.com/

June 2024 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.)

June's READ THIS! author Q&A  featuring Guest Host Hal Bodner and Author Reiter (aka G. Russell Gaynor) will be on Thursday, June 20, 2024 from 9pm-10pm Eastern. Access to Discord is available worldwide, and everyone is invited to attend!

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

The READ THIS! Selection for July 2024 is:  The Opening Bell By J.B. Garner

Speaking of Books...

IT'S ALMOST BOOK BIRTHDAY TIME! There is no Kitty without Belle. Want to read the book that is, truly, the reason I started writing? Well, now you can, because Natural Born Outlaws: The Legend of Belladonna Book 1 by moi writing as A.E. Stanton, is coming soon from Ginger Blue Publishing! Get your preorders in NOW from Amazon, B&N, and all the other usual suspects, because the book will be live on June 11th! (And yes, for you audiobook lovers, scroll back up because the excellent audiodrama has been available from Graphic Audio for a while and is waiting for you to enjoy it.)

It's Preorder Time! Ginger Blue Publishing is re-releasing my humor collection, Random Musings from the Funny Girl, with new pieces (!), coming October 22nd. If you don't have this collection yet, now's the time to preorder from Amazon, B&N, and all the usual suspects. And if you have the original, but want those new pieces in their snazzy new format, well, I'm not gonna tell you no. ;-D

HAVE YOU MET STACEY YET?   FALL'S GIRL, book 1 in the Fall's Girl Mysteries series, cowritten by moi and Bebe Bayliss, is alive and doing well! So well that Ginger Blue Publishing has contracted for Book 2! So if you haven't gotten your copy yet, don't delay, grab it today from Amazon, B&N, and all the other usual suspects! Don't miss out on a new heroine you're going to love -- possibly almost as much as you love Kitty.

Come See The Me!   My 2024 con schedule for this year is below. Schedules will be updated as they're confirmed, but I WILL be at these cons and hoping to see as many of all y'all as possible!   LibertyCon, June 21-23 Chattanooga, TN Friday, June 21  5:00pm, CC - Ballroom E: Opening Ceremonies 7:00pm, M - Plaza Ballroom A: What's New in Humorous Science Fiction & Fantasy 8:00-11:00pm, M - Plaza Ballroom Mezzanine: Signing the Bookie Wookies & Handing Out Hugs in Author's Alley Saturday, June 22 5:00pm, CC - Ballroom F/G (Dealer's Room): Autograph Session 6:00pm, M - Carter Room (Readings 1): Reading 10:00pm, M - Plaza Ballroom A/B: What's New in Paranormal Romance Sunday, June 23 2:00pm, CC - Mtg Rm 5 (Workshop Track): Godzilla Mythos and it's influence on the Kaiju Genre San Diego Comic-Con, July 24-28 San Diego, CA Gen Con, August 1-4 Indianapolis, IN Thursday, August 1 12:00pm, Ballroom 3: New Books! New Games! New Love! (Session A) 3:00pm, Exhibit Hall - Author Signing Tables: Book Signing and Meet & Greet Friday, August 2 11:00am, Boston: Pulp Fiction for Contemporary Audiences 1:00pm, Exhibit Hall - Author Signing Tables: Book Signing and Meet & Greet DragonCon, August 9- September 2 Atlanta, GA

More Yapping! That's right, more yapping from me and other awesome authors over at ConTinual. The latest offerings are Favorite Origin Stories, where we discuss our favorite, and least favorite, comics origin stories, The Terminator Universe, where we discuss what we loved and loathed, The Pulp Era, where we discuss various influences and masters of the form, Writing True Crime, where we talk about the do's and don't's of this genre, Magic in the Comics, where we talk about some old time magicians, and Favorite Comic Book Couples, where we all have "views" and then some. So head over and watch and have some fun along with the rest of us at ConTinual! Don't miss these other cool panels I've run the yap on recently: Hot Off the Press 122 Action and Adventure Creators and Fan Girls Inspired by Victorian Gothic Favorite Comic Book Couples A Star Trek Rogues Gallery And check out all the other cool ConTinual panels I've run the yap this year and over the past years -- you can find them over on The Yap In Charge! Plus there's a whole lot more over at the ConTinual YouTube page, so browse around and get your panel fixes in!

It's a new year and a new "I'm not quite done" message. BUT, I'm so close to done that I'm willing to say that all y'all can start expecting the Official News Of Goodness much sooner than later. (And now I wince and duck, waiting for what 2024 will throw at me for my hubris in sharing that I'm excited to be this close to turning the book in.) So, watch this space, I have all the digits crossed that the information here is going to be new and different soon, quite soon...

So many bookie wookies, so much time to catch up on all of them while waiting for Aliens Like Us 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 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