Catching Up...and So Much More!

Hey there! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a good start to the week. I know, I know, I've been silent since Tucson Festival of Books. It was awesome, and I'll tell you all about it, but the chicklet was home for Spring Break and writing and family stuff took the wheel. But she's back carrying on the family tradition of causing havoc in SoCal and I'm back with lots going on. So let's get to it, shall we? We shall!

First up, there's a big giveaway going on tonight on Facebook, and you're all invited! Ragnarok, the publisher responsible for Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, is throwing a party -- It's a Dead West Party to be exact! Running today/Tuesday, March 25th, from 8-11pm Eastern, there are prizes being awarded every 15 minutes or so, plus a ton of authors hanging out and chatting, including moi. So, carve out some time and get in on the winning, which includes a copy of my latest, Random Musings from the Funny Girl.

Speaking of Random Musings, check out the nice little piece Operation Awesome did on the book. Then get your own copy at Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords.

Now, it's time for some reviews. See why Night Owl Reviews made Alien Research a top pick! Then see what Bitten By Books thought of The Royal Scam, part one of my Martian Alliance series.

Next up, head over and see what Larissa's Bookish Life thinks are the top covers of 2014 so far. Then see who she says are Auto-Buy Authors.

Have you seen Divergent yet? I have, and my review is up at Slice of SciFi. Agree or disagree? Join the conversation at Slice!

Moi & many of the Bookie Wookies

Now for the fast Tucson Festival of Books update. It was totally awesome. Weather was great, and it was fantastic to get to see so many of the Alien Collective in attendance. Including but not limited to Andrea & Duncan, Adrian & Lisa, Matt & Sasha, Koren (bearing yummy gifts!), Jan (bearing emergency sustenance), Sarah & Lacy, Danielle, Diane, Dan & Emily, and many more.

My panels were awesome -- got to panel twice with MaryJanice Davidson and she is made of hilarious awesome! One panel was just me and MaryJanice cracking wise about how to write a lot and that quickly, and the other included Brandon Sanderson, who was fun and gracious, and Issac Marion who was very sweet for a guy writing about zombie apocalypses, wherein we all shared how to write the funny. I also had a fun panel with Frankie Robertson wherein we ate the yummies provided by Koren (and did not share, because we are EVIL) and yapped about many things paranormal.

Marcy & Moi

I also got to spend some time with my BFFs Marcy Rockwell, and

Dianne & Moi

Terry Smith, as well as get a quick catch-up with my NOLA BFF Dianne de Las Casas. Huge thanks to my PA, Joseph, in part because without whom I would still be setting up and/or tearing down my part of the booth, and also without whom there would be little to no photographic proof. Had a fun signing at the Poisoned Pen's tent, and generally got sunburned despite The Hat and had a rollicking good time all weekend. And took a week to recover. I'm a party animal, me.

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. See you on Facebook for many giveaways, peace out, my li'l gangstas, and let's be winning readers out there!

Love,
Gini

Funny Fest

Happy Friday!

Well, I'm about to head to Tucson Festival of Books but before I go, there's been a lot going on, so I'm going to catch all y'all up before I hit the road. 'Cause I'm just that nice a girl.

First up, it's been Gini Week over at Word of the Nerd. Check out a cool interview with yours truly combined with their review of the Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters anthology, which includes "With Bright Shining Faces" by moi writing as J.C. Koch. Then check out their reviews of Touched by an Alien, Alien Tango, and my newest release, Random Musings from the Funny Girl, which is my first ever humor collection, available now!

Then, still on reviews, see what Daydreams of a Cluttered Mind thought of Alien Tango, what Swept Away Again thought of The Night Beat and several other January reads, and which 5 books Bitten By Books honored for Flashback Thursday. And check out the latest bestsellers from Locus Online where Alien Research is making a move up!

Now, check out the io9 feature on the "One Way" web comic, created by my good friend and all around awesome guy Christopher Baldwin. And check out his comics -- they're subversively funny and wickedly cool. 

For those of you making the trek to one of the largest book fairs in the country, aka the Tucson Festival of Books, be sure to come see the me while you're there!

My schedule:
Saturday
9:30 am - 12:30 pm Valley of the Sun Booth #s 107, 108, 109, 118, 119, and 120
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm How Do You Do It? Writing Fast and Writing Well, Koffler Room 216
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm Signing area: Sales & Signing Area #6 - Koffler Patio
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm A Knight, a Zombie and a Klingon Walk into a Bar: Writing Genre Comedy, Integrated Learning Center Room 150
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm Sales & Signing Area #4 - Integrated Learning Center 
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Werewolves, Witches and Aliens: Putting the Magic in Romance, Integrated Learning Center Room 141
5:00 pm - 5:30 pm Sales & Signing Area #4 - Integrated Learning Center
5:30 pm - 6:00 pm Valley of the Sun Booth #s 107, 108, 109, 118, 119, and 120

Sunday
9:30 am - 11:30 am Valley of the Sun Booth #s 107, 108, 109, 118, 119, and 120
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Poisoned Pen Bookstore, Booth #270, 271, 272
1:30 pm - 6:00 pm Valley of the Sun Booth #s 107, 108, 109, 118, 119, and 120

That's it for today, but more's on the way! See some of you at the Festival this weekend, all of you enjoy the slide into 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

It's Funny Time

Hey there! Well, as promised, we have a lot going on today. Including but not limited to the winners of my Coastal Magic Con contest. But more on that later. (Oh, not much later. Stop whining.)

First up, a big announcement happened over at Amy Lane's Yarning to Write blog yesterday, discussing a lot of new March releases. But because some of you may be impatient to know why I'm caring about March releases, it's because I have one. My first humor collection, Random Musings from the Funny Girl, is now available in both trade paperback and ebook! Yes, it's true, and if you've ever wanted to know the inner workings of my mind, or just what I find funny, this book is for you.

Now, it's live interview time! Head over to More Geek Than Gay, where you can listen to or watch their 50th and 51st video podcasts. Why should you tune in? Both feature a two-part exclusive live and in person interview with moi, that's why! Check out Episode 50 audio, Episode 50 YouTube, Episode 51 audio, and Episode 51 YouTube for all the fun!

Next up, it's the Writing Process Blog Tour. If you missed last week's entry from T.C. Blue go check it out now. Then hit yesterday's post here at the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog for information on my so-called process. You'll also find the links to next week's entrants, authors Marsheila Rockwell, T.L. Smith, and T.M. Williams

After that, see which series Larissa's Bookish Life doesn't want to end. Then see who Gizmo's Reviews picks as the top 10 female characters in all genres. 

Now it's time for some reviews and such of Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, which includes my story, "With Bright Shining Faces", written as J.C. Koch. See what Fantasy Book Review and Mass Movement Magazine think of the anthology. Then head over to Delirium Tremens where you can get a sample of Ed Erdelac's story.

Now for something a little different. My critique partner's husband (Andrew Dovichi) is a cool game designer, and he, along with other hotshots in the gaming industry, was interviewed by Polygon in a really interesting article about checkpoints and why they're good, bad, and many times ugly.

Big reminder that I'll be at the Tucson Festival of Books March 15 and 16. It looks like all my panels will be on Saturday the 15th but that could change. I'll be signing at the Poisoned Pen's booth on Sunday (I believe), times to come. And you can find me all the rest of the time at the gigantic Valley of the Sun booth, #s 107, 108, 109, 118, 119, and 120. If you're anywhere near Tucson next weekend, don't miss this Festival or your chance to see the me!

Last but in no way least, the Gods of Random have chosen the winners of the Coastal Magic Con Contest. So, without further delay, but with a nice drum roll, a big whoo hoo of congrats, and some tossing of confetti, here they are:

U.S. Winner: Brenda Hyde

International Winner: Dawn Murphy

Winners, you have until this Sunday, March 9th, to send me an email confirming your win, with the US winner providing their full mailing address and the international winner providing both their email address and what eformat they would like to get their books in. If the prizes are not claimed by the due date, the Gods of Random will demand a sacrifice and choose another winner. Meaning you will be sad and someone else will be very happy.

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way. Peace out my li'l gangstas, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini

My Writing Process Blog Tour

Thanks to awesome author T.C. Blue who I met at Coastal Magic Con and bonded with over a wide variety of alcohols, I've been tagged into a gigantic Writing Process Blog Tour. As I've learned, T.C. can usually be found sitting in front of her computer, trying to wrangle rabid and numerous plot bunnies, though her muses insist that she not be too hard on the poor little fluffy things. (Poor little fluffy things with sharp teeth and claws, but whatever. Muses don’t seem to care much about the possible bloodshed if the bunnies think T.C.'s not writing quickly enough.) Clearly she's my kind of gal.

But, enough stalling, right? Of course right. So, here you go -- the questions and my answers.

1) What am I working on?
So many things at the same time. But mostly Book 10 of my Alien/Katherine "Kitty" Katt series, Universal Alien. And a variety of short stories for a variety of awesome anthologies & eZines, including 221 B Baker Streets, Penumbra eZine, Kaiju Rising II, UFO3, and more. And yes, yes, yes, Night Music and Alexander Outland: Space Avenger. (No, I never sleep.) And I'm prepping for Tucson Festival of Books, and the releases of Penumbra's May issue, Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens, and Alien Collective.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? 
They're the best books ever written and a deal at twice the price!

No? Okay then. Mostly I differ from most science fiction because my books are funny, have a ton of action, and a lot of romance, and some of them (but not all) have extremely steamy sex.

3) Why do I write what I do? 
Because I have no choice. I try to write in all the genres -- and I do -- but at least 85% of the time it comes out as science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, or horror. I try to write seriously -- and I do -- but at least 75% of the time it comes out funny. So, I gave up and just accepted that I'm science fiction's funny girl and rolled on with the writing.

4) How does your writing process work?
Ah ha. Ahahaha. Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Um, I have no real process. I put on the right music (right now, as I write this, it's Panic! At the Disco, for example), I figure out my title, I write the first line...and when I get to the end...I stop. That's pretty much it. I edit as I go along. I'm an extreme linear writer and while I'll kind of outline short stories, I never outline novels. And I don't think that's ever going to change. Because if I know what happens, as in, I wrote down what happens, I don't care anymore. And I'm sure we don't want that, now, do we?

Up next week you'll get a dose of the same from these three awesome authors -- Marsheila Rockwell, T.M. Williams, and T.L. Smith. A little bit about the gals following me:  

Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell is the author of The Shard Axe series, the only official novels that tie into the popular MMORPG, Dungeons & Dragons Online. She also had two original short story/poetry collections published in 2013 and is currently hard at work on the second book in a trilogy based on an exciting comic book property created by one of the biggest names in fantasy today.  

T.M. Williams was born, 30 some odd years later she started writing and hasn't stopped since. She is the author of the Bohemian Grove trilogy; an ancient alien adventure, Undead Winter, and the Moonlight series. She is also a freelance business journalist, blogger extraordinaire, copywriter, and lover of cupcakes.

T.L. Smith writes Science Fiction, often from a military perspective, but with a touch of romance. Her insight into military culture came after a stint in the U.S. Air Force but the only vacuum her characters live in, is on the other side of the airlock. Come visit her vision of future worlds as we throw ourselves out into the universe.Their posts will go live on Monday, March 10th. So don't miss out on their answers to these questions!

That's it for today, but as always, more's on the way! Peace out, my li'l gangstas, and let's be readers out there!

Love,
Gini