12 Days Day 7: Interview and Giveaway with GINI KOCH

    Welcome to Day 7 of 12 DAYS. Day 7 of the 12 days of X-mas was Traditionally celebrated on January 1st, also called The Kalends of January. Kalends were wild celebrations of hope and happiness at the prospect of a new year and a new beginning.


 Today I'm so excited to have an interview with Author  Gini Koch! I've had a lot of "New" and "Celebratory"  things happen to me centered around Gini. It all began when I saw a magnet with this lovely image at San Diego Comic-Con:  

 I kept the magnet on my fridge and the title on my Tbr pile. Then last month  I saw a twitter link to a contest Gini hosted on her WEBSITE and I won 2nd place!  Gini sent me a wonderful prize pack including a signed copy of Touched by an Alien! Gini is so wonderful and accessible on her site and in her e-mail correspondence I  asked her if she would do an interview with me, so now I have another first with her : My first Author Interview =) Today is the release day of the second Alien novels:  

                                     Isn't this cover

                                     GORGEOUS ?

     This is the second book in marketing manager, Katherine "Kitty" Katt's adventures among the Aliens. Ill have a full review of the first two books in this wonderful series later this month. Now here is the interview:

                                                            




   Your newsletter is quite unique and fun. Can you tell me a little about your social media experiences? Were you a part of the community before your first novel was published?



Thanks! I’m glad you enjoy being part of the Hook Me Up! community. Prior to being an author, my career was in marketing. I’m also an early adopter, so I was using social media well before it was cool. LOL And, yes, I was on Facebook and Twitter before Touched by an Alien came out. I never liked MySpace so while I was on it, I did nothing there. In my opinion, part of what makes social media work is all about being where you’re most comfortable.

I like Facebook, but it takes too much time and I find it hard to keep up with what people are doing on FB for whatever reason. I didn’t like Twitter at the start but now I love it -- it’s my social media addiction of choice.
 Those covers! I received a magnet of Touched by An Alien and knew I had to check out the book. Did you have any input in Daniel Dos Santos covers?Cover To Book 3

The covers are da bomb, aren’t they? But as for input, no, not really. Most authors have no input whatsoever for their covers. I’ve had a little but really, not very much and that’s a very good thing. Creating good covers is an amazing skill and takes some serious artistic talent, which Dan has in abundance and I do not. I do love my covers -- Dan captures the essence of each book in one picture which, to me, is beyond amazing.

 Katherine and Martini have a wonderful chemistry from the start -- they remind me of classic movie couples. Can you tell me a little about any influences that went into their character development?



That’s how they are in my head. Though I’m quite pleased that you see them that way, because I do love the classic movie, and TV, couples that have that bantering wit and snarkiness going back and forth.

I know that’s probably not a good enough answer, but we’re the sum total of all our experiences so pretty much everything that I’ve ever done, read, seen, heard, and so on goes into my writing. In terms of Kitty and Martini in the specific, I’m sure there was a lot of influence from a variety of sources, but I can’t really point to one and say, “Oh, that’s where they come from.”

I’m a very linear writer and this series is very organic for me. I just sit down, turn on the right music, and write down what Kitty tells me happened. Which, while not as easy as it sounds, is definitely a lot of fun. I find out what’s going on when the characters find out what’s going on. Yeah, it’s a party in my mind, but I make it work for me.

 I loved how Kitty referenced comic books. What about you personally, what are some of your favorite books, comics and movies?
Never piss off the comics-geek girl, that’s our watchword! Hey, they do say to write what you know and all that…

As for the actual question, I have a LOT of favorites. So, I’m going to keep the lists sort of simple.

Books: Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett, The Complete Sherlock Holmes by A. Conan Doyle, The Complete Works of O. Henry, Holidays in Hell by P.J. O’Rourke


Movies: Lady and the Tramp (I swear to God), Dogma, Undercover Blues, Mystery Men, Galaxy Quest, Demon Knight, Men in Black, Big Trouble in Little China, Mortal Kombat


Comics: All the X-Men titles, the Tick, Deadpool


I could literally go on and on for all of these categories, but I won’t ‘cause we all need to get on with our lives. But trust me, the lists are much longer than this would give you to believe.


Oh, and you didn’t ask, but, again shocking no one who knows me at all, my favorite TV show is Castle.

 Happy Release DAY!
Tell me in 5 words or less what's in store for us in Alien Tango?
It’s all about the ‘gators! Or, if you prefer: Action, romance, humor, alligators, fun.


 I've been asking some of my favorite bloggers about their favorite Holiday Traditions -- what are some of yours?

My maternal grandmother died on Thanksgiving. Based on the kind of person she was and how she lived her life, I knew she wouldn’t want us spending that day mourning, but rather celebrating. So, we host the feast and have anyone and everyone over. Sometimes the gatherings are small, sometimes huge, but always relaxed and fun and we make sure there’s a party atmosphere.


We throw a standing New Year’s Eve party that’s a bring anyone and everyone, even the kids, bash. And we always do a Super Bowl party. So far, I’ve chosen the losing team for the past 5 years, so I’m really not liking that particular tradition. LOL

When our daughter was young, we used to hide her eggs and her Easter basket and she had to search for them. That was really fun but, shockingly, she outgrew that phase. Of all the traditions we stopped because our daughter got too old, that’s probably the one I miss the most.Thanks, so much Gini :) :) :) VISIT GINI ON  HER SITE HERE Now for the CONTEST!! ONE WINNER WILL GET THEIR CHOICE OF  TOUCHED BY AN ALIENOR ALIEN TANGO FROM :  

RULES:

YOU MUST BE 13 YEARS OLD TO ENTER

CONTEST IS INTERNATIONAL IF BD SHIPS TO YOU (PLEASE CHECK)

CONTEST ENDS 12/14/10