Welcome to UTC! Who is Gini Koch? Please tell us five interesting things about yourself that readers wouldn’t know!

Gosh, five that are new AND interesting? Gads. I’m kind of an open book and I’m running out of meaningful secrets, but I’ll give it a try.

1. I’m the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe

2. I once convinced someone that I dumped Val Kilmer for the hubs

3. I once convinced someone that the ghosts in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion ride AND the seagull in Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride were real

4. I actually have the solution for world peace, but I’m holding onto it until I can get my own reality series

5. Sooner or later, you’ll realize some of my lies are true

 

You’ve recently released book six in the Katherine “Kitty” Katt series! Congrats! What kind of trouble can readers expect Kitty and the gang will get into?

Thank you! Hard to believe it’s only been three years since Touched by an Alien hit the scene. 😀 As for what’s coming, oh, the usual conspiracies and shadowy figures trying to cause havoc and destroy the world in general and our favorite aliens in specific. I consider Alien vs. Alien to be the War of the Worlds installment, so expect a lot of mayhem, a rockin’ soundtrack, and Kitty improvising like the fate of the world depends on it — because it does.

 

Kitty Katt-Martini is one of my new favorite heroines! I love her spunk and her sass. How would you say she has grown over the course of the series?

Kitty’s always been a ready-for-action girl, and the world’s best accidental badass, but she’s grown as both a leader and a person. You do grow up, some anyway, when you get married and have a child, let alone when you’re in charge of an entire military division and then take over a political position. However, Kitty refuses to fit herself into anyone else’s mold, and that’s never going to change.

 

As I was reading ALIEN VS. ALIEN,  I found myself laughing out loud at certain scenes, especially those involving Bellie 🙂 We all know that “Bellie loves Jeff” but why do you think readers have a profound love for Jeff?

Well, aside from the fact that he’s tall, dark, incredibly handsome, hung like a horse, and a god in bed, you mean? I think it’s because, as an empath, he’s very emotionally available and open. But he’s also a regular person, so to speak, with jealousy, self-doubt, and insecurity, though he hides the last two fairly well. He’ll risk anything to protect or save Kitty and/or their daughter, Jamie, he’s a natural leader, and he cares about others and doing the right thing. And he’s frequently a cocky flirt, which never hurts, either. It’s a men want to be him and women want to sleep with him thing.

 

What I love about your Katherine “Kitty” Katt series is that in the midst of all the action, there’s still room for a great romance. Do you find it difficult to find the perfect balance within a book?

Yes and no. The characters are fun and flirty and the ones that are paired up are very much in love with each other. In terms of Kitty and Jeff, just because they’re married, have a baby, and have important, demanding jobs, it doesn’t mean they still aren’t hot for each other. However, the act of writing a novel is dependent upon a lot of craft, and that does demand the balance be correct. The romance itself isn’t a hard balance, because I believe romance exists in everyday life, so it’s easy to have in the regular flow of action, adventure, and humor. The sex scenes are a harder part of the balance (pun only sort of intended), because they really do have to flow into the action correctly in order to work and not just “be there”. But again, that’s part of the craft of writing.

 

Here at UTC, we like to snoop around in author’s libraries. If we broke into your personal library, what title would we find there?

Every single Discworld book by Terry Pratchett, every book by P.J. O’Rourke, the Complete Sherlock Holmes, the Complete O. Henry, lots of Robert Benchley, all of Dave Barry’s humor books, all the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, anything and everything by Marsheila Rockwell, and a brand spanking new copy of SEAL Team 666 by Weston Ochse. And many, many (thousands) more, but that’s a good sampling.

 

Let’s face it, Kitty is pretty badass. If there was a showdown, which other heroine would you like to see Kitty pitted against? And would she win?

Kitty doesn’t like to fight other good guys, because she feels that’s a waste of effort when there are plenty of fuglies out there who need taking care of. However, Kitty’s got A-C attributes now, she’s become an excellent, fast shot with her Glock, she knows Kung Fu, and she carries her loaded purse. I don’t see any of the others standing a chance. Besides, if it even looked like Kitty was losing, the Poofs would simply go large and toothy and eat the offender. So, Kitty wins, every time.

 

What do you have planned next in the series?

Lots of action, new conspiracies to discover and thwart, more romance, some tragedy, lots of laughs, and Elvis. Alien in the House comes out May 7, 2013. I actually have an announcement about what’s coming after, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to announce it when this goes live, so readers will need to pay attention to their Hook Me Up! Newsletters and the Blah, Blah, Blah Blog to find out what I’m talking about.

alienvsalien

Jeff and Kitty Katt-Martini and the rest of the American Centaurion Diplomatic Corps are still recovering from their introduction to Washington D.C. politics, parties, and conspiracies. So when compromising pictures arrive, no one’s too surprised. They’re also the least of anyone’s worries.

Evil androids running amok, birds of all kinds and from all places creating havoc, a Senator trapped in an ever-tightening web of intrigue, and escalating international tensions all seem tough but manageable. But the disappearance of Jeff Martini and Charles Reynolds during the International One World Festival signals more than the usual nastiness — and it looks like even ACE can’t help them.

Then new trouble arrives in old packages and even with the best hackers in the world, beings from near and far, the full might of Earth’s military, and the Wonder Twins on their side, Centaurion Division’s outmanned and outgunned.

Now Kitty’s racing against the clock to find not only Jeff and Chuckie, but to keep the peace between Middle Eastern countries, all while searching for the bases of super-soldier operations — to stop them or die trying.

READ OUR REVIEW

Author Bio

Gini Koch lives in Hell’s Orientation Area (aka Phoenix, AZ), works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. She writes the fast, fresh and funny Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt series for DAW Books, the Necropolis Enforcement Files series, and the Martian Alliance Chronicles series for Musa Publishing. As G.J. Koch she writes the Alexander Outland series. She also writes under a variety of other pen names (including Anita Ensal, Jemma Chase, A.E. Stanton, and J.C. Koch), listens to all kinds of music 24/7, and is a proud comics geek-girl willing to discuss at any time why Wolverine is the best superhero ever (even if Deadpool does get all the best lines). She speaks frequently on what it takes to become a successful author and other aspects of writing and the publishing business. She can be reached through her website at www.ginikoch.com.

 

A lucky maiden will get….winner’s choice of one of the first 4 books in the Alien series (Touched by an Alien, Alien Tango, Alien in the Family, or Alien Proliferation), signed and personalized, open internationally.
How AWESOME is that?

 

Avatar photo

Books have the power to unite people and that is exactly what happened with us! Our love for books have brought us together and we’ve become good friends in a short amount of time. We “met” online through Goodreads and decided to share our passion of books with fellow book lovers. And that is how Under the Covers came to be.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

72 Comments

  1. Alien vs. Alien sounds like Spy vs. Spy from the Mad magazine. It makes me wonder if Mad Magazine is still around. If Alien is anything like Spy vs. Spy, it would be hilarious.

    Reply

  3. Can’t wait to read this! And if the Val Kilmer you “dumped” was the more recent one and not the Top Gun one, I’m all for that, lol!

    Reply

    1. LOL, no, it was young and beautiful Val, not old, rode hard and put away wet Val. (The hubs gets mistaken for Tom Cruise — it was actually an easy sell, all things considered…)

      Reply

  4. I do enjoy this series. Love to hear what authors are reading. I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Seanan McGuire’s Ashes of Honor and I just requested SEAL Team 666. Sounds great.

    Reply

  6. Loved the “five interesting things” answers- anyone that entertaining has to be an interesting writer. More for my TBR list!

    Reply

  7. Thanks for such a fun interview! I’m a huuuuge fangrrrl of Ms. Koch and I get every book the second it’s released 🙂 Loved this last book and I’m chomping at the bit for Alien in the House!

    Reply

  11. Thank you for the great interview and giveaway. I find these books very entertaining :).
    vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  13. I have loved this series; love the main character AND author personalities! Kitty has become one of my top 3 literary [I can’t say fictional, I still think that she’s actually the author who is writing a biography posing as fiction] character! Looking forward to Alien in the House!

    Reply

  14. Hi Gini,
    Being the cheapest fan in the Universe I intend to enter every single giveaway that is attached to your books. Eventually I WILL own a complete autographed set. Mwa Haa Haaaa

    Reply

  18. I enjoyed the interview. Gini’s humor shines through.
    This sounds like a fun series and I hope to get to read it. Winning a book would be a great way to start. Thanks for the chance.
    Martha

    Reply

  20. LOL! If the tone of the books are anything like this interview, I look forward to trying this series. Thanks for visiting and for the giveaway opportunity.

    Reply

  23. Love this series. I just finished Alien Diplomacy. I am hesitant to start Alien vs Alien right away because May is too far away for the next book.

    Reply

      1. I am not going to hold off too long. I am reading a book that has been on my tbr list for a long time and my reward is to read Alien vs Alien. Question if you can answer: Will Kitty and Jeff have more kids?

        Reply

        1. Oooh, it’s always nice to be the reward book! 😀 And, that’s a spoiler question, and you know I live spoiler free.

          But not teaser free. 😀

          My answer is — you gotta wait to find out. (Heh)

          Reply

  25. Sounds interesting, Alien vs Alien,….can’t wait to read this book!!
    Thanks for sharing this post, Gini was new author for me. I enjoyed this interview 🙂

    Reply

  27. I have heard wonderful things about this series. It is one of those I know I need a bit of free time before I start since I am like to read all available books when I start a new series.

    Soon, very soon!

    Reply

  28. I totally agree about the sex scenes having to fit the flow of the story. I love it when the sex scenes actually add something to the story.

    Reply

  30. Love the interview and can´t wait for my chance to start reading, =) i´ve got it on my TBR list.
    Happy Thursday!
    //Linda
    fr_larsson at hotmail dot com

    Reply

  31. Love the interview and review of the book, this is not what I normally read but it looks so interesting I’m going to have to give it a shot! Thanks for the chance to win 🙂

    Reply