GtPGKogPYT4p61R1biicqBXsUzo" /> Google+ Interview with author Gini Koch. Take 2 | I Smell Sheep

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Interview with author Gini Koch. Take 2

***Today the ladies of I Smell Sheep bring you another hit from author and friend Gini Koch. We love her books and spunky outgoing personality. If you missed the first interview make sure to check that out below or in the Interviews tab at the top. As always Gini holds nothing back, the laughs start now. One last thing. You may notice in the Rapid Fire round we don't ask the Coke or Pepsi question. This is because Gini is a COKE fan (the right drink) choosing good over evil. Enjoy!***

Florida. Kennedy Space Center. 2 Sheep and 1 Gator meet…..again

Katie:
I LOVED Alien Tango, loved it. LOVED IT. Have I said that yet?

Yes. And yet, hearing that never gets old for some reason…
Katie: lol Anyway tell me a little bit about how you came up with the concept for the second story.

Wow, you know, I don’t remember now. LOL. I basically thought about where the characters would be in 5-6 months from when Kitty joined the A-Cs and rolled it from there. I can say that the major plot point I thought Alien Tango was going to turn on didn’t materialize at all. I’m saving it for a later book. I’m glad it didn’t, by the way -- the way the books have progressed is a lot better without that original “big deal” I’d come up with and it’ll work a lot better in the book I now have it planned for. And, no, not saying what it is, or what book I plan to use it in. ‘Cause that’s how I roll.

Amber: How does it feel to have two major books out, (besides the short stories)? Is it more hectic than just the one or have you gotten the swing of all this fame?

LOL, I don’t know that I’m all that famous. I don’t FEEL famous. Though, I have to admit, having fans, especially the awesome ones that are my fans, is a pretty wonderful thing. It’s definitely hectic. Right now, I’m promoting Alien Tango, still promoting Touched by an Alien, promoting pre-orders for Alien in the Family (pre-orders MATTER tremendously these days -- please, please, pre-order the books you’re eagerly looking forward to), promoting both anthologies my Anita Ensal stories are in (Boondocks Fantasy and Love and Rockets), writing Alien Diplomacy, thinking about Alien vs. Alien, and working on The Creation Agent (my online, serialized novel). That’s a lot of “stuff” going on, and yeah, it requires a lot. I do think I’m getting better at it all, especially balancing the promo stuff with the writing of new books. It’s all a learning process, and the journey is usually most of the fun, so I don’t mind. Who needs sleep, right?

Amber:
Ummm… I do. Lol. You should see me when I go too long without sleep. Loopy is a good description. Haha. You handle this fabulously

Aw, thanks! It helps that I’m a night owl.


Katie:
I need to find a storage closet asap! lol. I am seeing a common theme here Gini and I am starting to think someone in this room has a little bit of real life experience with romance in random places.

*cough* No idea why you’d think that. No idea at all. Next question, please?
Katie: Uh huh….alright we can move on….for now….

Amber:
With your Alien series becoming such a hit, are you going to start focusing more on them and cutting back on writing the short stories under your pen name?

No. I’m a writer. It’s what I do. I also have more than one pen name. LOL. I’m never joking when I say it’s a party in my mind. I never want to say no to a short story -- you never know who will want to publish it, what other ideas it might spark, and so on. It’s all time planning and scheduling and self-discipline. Sometimes I do better with those than others, but I worked from home for over a decade when I was in Corporate America, and I learned how to be a steward of my time and get everything done, right and on time. It’s no different now, it’s just ALL me, which is rather cool.

Katie:
Kitty's making more friends in Alien Tango but I have a feeling betrayal is on the horizon. Any hints?

Which characters were you thinking of as potential betrayers, or is this just a betrayal in general question? I mean, betrayal is always on the horizon for Centaurion Division, but I’m willing to share on some of the characters. (But only some. LOL)
Katie: ACE stands out as the number one suspect…not sure why but I could see him flipping the script on everyone. It never ceases to amaze me, how people interpret what you write. I know it happens all the time, to every author out there, but I find it interesting. I’m saying that because of all the characters that readers have asked or suggested might be betrayers down the line, NONE of them are lined up on that side of the house for me. That’s not to say that down the road things couldn’t change, but no one suggested as a double agent is, in fact, a bad guy, at least to my current plan or knowledge. :-D In terms of ACE specifically, ACE would never willingly do anything to harm Kitty or Gower.

Amber: I know that there are still a few more books to come out in this series, but when you have finished this series do you know what new series you want to start? Have you had any dreams lately for new ideas?
I’m hoping there are a lot more books to come. DAW has bought through Book 6, but I have through Book 12 mapped out (as much as I map) and I have at least 4-8 more storylines in my head after that. Which is pretty much how I think, series-wise -- I write one, and the next several sort of line up for me, so I can see where things are likely to go. Again, I’m a writer. I already have other novels/series starts that my agent’s shopping. I don’t talk about anything until it’s sold, because I think it’s both bad luck and stupid, since written and sold are not the same thing. And, I always have dreams that spark new ideas. Or new ideas that come to me in the shower, while I’m driving, while I’m watching TV or movies. The ideas never stop. It’s choosing where to put them that’s the issue for me, not the getting of the ideas. It’s a good problem to have.

Katie: Where can fans find you in the coming months? What tours or signings do you have coming up?

Here’s the list as it stands today: Signing in the Mysterious Galaxy booth and doing panels at the Tucson Festival of Books in Tucson, AZ March 12 & 13 In the PA/NJ/NY area from April 9-21 (more deets on that trip will be finalized soon, but I don’t have exact dates for signings and such while I’m Back East yet) LepreCon in Tempe, AZ May 6-8 The Queen Creek Writer’s Group on June 14 Comic-Con San Diego July 20-27 World Fantasy Con, San Diego, October 27-30 I think I’m forgetting some. LOL More things are coming but I’m waiting for some to finalize before I announce.

Amber: I know that you are already getting a huge following from the Alien series, me being the #1 fan lol, how has all this popularity changed your life? Are the paparazzi knocking down your door yet? Lol. But in all seriousness, is it what you expected or different?
I’m honestly nowhere big enough to have any kind of “fame” issues, including paparazzi, LOL. But I never really expected to get fans so fast, and that’s still the best part of all of this. To have people who love my books as much as I do and who are not related to me or my agent or editor is a gift. So I’d say that any changes are all positive ones.

Katie:
Have you checked out Steven Tyler on American Idol yet?
LOL. No, but I plan to. I’m not into reality shows all that much, but with one of my main men on, I’m going to have to break down and watch. Right now, though, deadlines are more demanding than anything else, so they get first dibs on all my time (other than 1 hour a week for Castle, and potentially a 2nd hour a week for White Collar).
Katie:
I LOVE Castle too. Did you know he was the actor in Firefly?! I am just getting into that series so it was news to me. lol

LOL, girl, where have you BEEN? Of course I knew that! He was also the big bad Caleb in the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was also in Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. I could keep on listing Nathan’s credits, but I think you get the idea. I’m a huge Firefly/Serenity fan, too.


Amber:
What are you looking forward to most with the new books?
Putting the characters into new and interesting situations and seeing how they handle, adapt and change to them. I like forcing the characters to keep on growing, to not allow them, or myself, to get complacent. Fortunately, evil’s always willing to rear its fugly head.

Katie: If you could have a dinner with anyone in the world who would it be and why?
I’d like to have a dinner party with Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Nathan Fillion, Ben Affleck, Billy Zane, Dennis Quaid, Matt Bomer, Chris Evans, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Wesley Snipes and Kurt Russell. And seriously, does ANYone need to ask why? LOL Okay, other than that I think all of them are totally hot, I also think all of them are very interesting. I love their work, but I also think they’ve made interesting (and sometimes bad) choices in their lives, and I think they’d all be fascinating to dine with. To me, that line up would be the dinner party of the century. If I could only be one on one, though, I’d pick Kevin Smith.
Katie: WOW I am going to meet him at WonderCon in San Fran this April. I say "going to" because it WILL happen. lol. But why Smith?
I missed his panels at Comic-Con last year and was really disappointed. Hoping to catch at least one this year. As for why Kevin Smith, I really love his movies. Dogma is one of my all time favorite movies, I like the majority of the Smith oeuvre, and he routinely features Ben Affleck, so, really, what’s not to love? I’d like time with him because I think I’d learn a lot from him and it would just be very cool.

Amber:
What is your favorite Angelina Jolie movie?? Me and Angie are pretty tight so I gotta throw a little publicity her way… lol. Oooh, that’s tough. I don’t know that I can pick just one. I love both Tomb Raider movies, and I also love Wanted. And, I know, poor Angie just doesn’t get enough press, does she?
Amber: Lol. You can never have enough publicity. Plus she’s brilliant. I mean seriously, who doesn’t want to talk about Angie?? LOL

Katie:
In the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" how the heck did a dish and spoon grow legs and run away?
They were actually aliens from the Cloud Nebula.
Katie:…well then. That explains everything!


*Bonanza theme music plays* And now on to our famous Rapid fire round of questions. Gini as always will choose her own answers, lol, so let's see how she does this time. Ready??? Go!


Katie:
vacation in Australia or India
Australia

Amber:
70’s or 80’s
Both, the 90’s, the 00’s, and right now. The other decades have good stuff in them, too. I’m an equal opportunity girl, but honestly, I like to move forward more than hang back.

Katie:
Swiss or Cheddar
Brie
Katie: AND this is why I love you. Marry me now Gini! *gets down on one knee* Leave the husband and take my hand Gini! lol
Gosh, this is so sudden. Lemme ponder.


Amber:
Roller skating or Ice skating

Ice skating

Katie:
Angelina or Jennifer

Team Jolie all the way, baby!
Katie: AND now I take it back! The wedding is off! lol Kidding.
Amber:
Katie, you are seriously lacking in good taste. Angie is awesome! Lol.

Amber: French fries or Onion Rings
Hush puppies

Katie: Transformers or Smurfs
Transformers (and Voltron)
Katie: Okay. Wedding back on baby!

Amber:
Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms

Hot Tamales


Katie:
Close Encounters of the Third Kind or Signs

Galaxy Quest

Katie:
"Look! I have one job on this ship! It's stupid but I'm going to do it, Okay?!" lol love that movie
“What are you grinning about?” “I’m just jazzed about being on the show, man.” I LOVE that movie.

Amber: Starbucks or Seattle’s Best
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf


Katie:
Elephant or Kangaroo
Lion



Thank you so much Gini! We have had a blast doing this interview with you, as per usual. Lol.
Me too! It’s always a blast hanging with my Sheep Gang!
Amber: We can’t wait to get our hands on the next book and see what new adventures Kitty will take us on! Next time we decide to do a girls night we should probably forego the strippers…. I don’t know about you but I got a little distracted. Lol.
Geez, you bring in a whole complement of A-Cs to do a strip tease and they complain…

And now on to the PRIZES!!! One lucky winner is going to walk away with the fabulous Sheepish Tango t-shirt our love muffin Richard created. So make sure to get in a valid entry to be counted! In the comments below enter these two things:

1. Your Email address
2. What one thing should every good alligator wrestler have on them at all times?

Contest ends March 6th at Midnight. Good luck and let the sheep go wild!

19 comments:

  1. Um, I don't normally give out my email address, but this is a good cause!
    brandyj1181@yahoo.com

    As for the one thing any good alligator wrestler should have? DUCT TAPE! *G*

    Loved the interview, glad to know my favorite author is also a hot tamales fan, not to mention the uber irresistible Nathan Fillion.

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  2. Oooohhh, duct tape was good. Since that's gone, a dead chicken cause they prefer their diner to be slightly decayed.

    acm05atjuno.com

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  3. Hi, great interview :)

    One thing that any good alligator wrestler should have is alligator pheramones to distract the gator.

    geckyboz[at]gmail[dot]com

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  4. Great interview!!

    And you should always bring a notebook, because those gators have very interesting stories to tell.

    sullivanmcpig(at)gmail(dot)com

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  5. Really enjoyed the interview!

    Well everybody knows any alligator wrestler worth his salt has a little extree roadkill on hand for just this occasion; think I saw possum on the way into town today (need directions just call) and seriously folks we need some zip ties here just in-case old alli still has his hungry on!

    Thanks for sharing your blog with us readers out here in I'm always hungry for new books land!

    zaky@charter.net

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  6. Another fabulous interview!
    Every good alligator wrestler should have their thigh-hi boots on!

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  7. Come one! This one's easy! A stack of papers (a ream would do nicely). OR, even better, pre-made paper wad balls. However you want to roll...

    Fun interview, although I was just as disappointed as Gini was that Katie just figured out Nathan was Captain Mal! Gotta love Weedon-verse!! More than made up for it with the Gini "love" (and Angie "love") :-)

    kclifton69@gmail.com

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  8. a rope to tie the darn gator to a tree lol
    scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com

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  9. @Kristin yes yes I know! I just watched Firefly last weekend. :( I kept putting it off. MY BAD! I LOVE it great show. So sad it got canceled.

    Great comments, keep'em comin! :)

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  10. Lion Voltron or Vehicle Voltron??

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  11. @Brandy - I'm your fave author? *sniff* Sending a virtual case of Hot Tamales. :-D And I agree -- duct tape is essential for anything and everything!

    @Anne - dead chickens, good call. Live ones are more fun for them to chase, though...

    @Becky - look at you, going all sex-ay on the 'gators. They like it, of course...

    @Sully - Al & G say hey to their fave pig!

    @Denise - I like where your head's at. Roadkill AND zip ties...great combo!

    @Amber - I see you're joining Becky in the sex-ay seduce the 'gators with your feminine whiles plan. It's a good plan!

    @Kristin - someone who approves of Kitty's methods! And yeah, can you BELIEVE how late Katie's come to the Captain Tightpants love?

    @Pam - simple, yet effective. We need your skills on the team.

    @Katie - Firefly's been gone at least 5 years, maybe more now. *sigh* But we'll always have the DVDs...and Castle!

    @rl337 (who I'm pretty sure is Richard) - I actually like both Voltrons. There are aspects of Lion Voltron that were more fun to watch, but I think Vehicle Voltron makes more sense. Scientifically. Vehicle Voltron also, if memory serves, had more than one girl involved. Lion Voltron was a lot like the Power Rangers, at least in some ways. (Yeah, I can ramble on about any kind of animation for hours.) But Robotech was, honestly, the best of the bunch.

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  12. Great interview, it cracked me up!

    As for what I'd bring to wrestle an alligator... a stunt double.

    teiwazfinal[AT]gmail[DOT]com

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  13. @William - now that's some forward thinking, that is! Yes, we need you on the team, too!

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  14. Fun interview.

    If I was going to go toe to toe with an alligator, I would want a strong rubber band to hold its mouth shut once I put it in its place.

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  15. @fadedsteps - interesting, non-lethal approach. Nice to see an animal lover in the group!

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  16. I would have to carry with me a top hat and cane. This way I could dance for gator till it got annoyed with me and left. :)

    *does crazy wanna be tap dance*

    eh. Good right?! ;)

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  17. Hi my name is Nathan.

    I just want to say that I love your interviews and you have the best book choices. I'm looking forward to getting this book based solely on your recomendation, also its good to know the dish and spoon are really cloud nebula aliens, I hope thats not a plot spoiler.

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  18. @Nathan - thank you! Glad you enjoy the Running of the Yap! And, no, the beings from the Cloud Nebula don't come in until...but there, I've said too much...

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  19. Each interview of Gini is a feast! Gini dear, can I please be invited to that dinner party? There are so many guests, you wouldn't be able to entertain everyone ;-) lol

    Anyway, if I went to battle the 'gators I would definitely take with me some cotton candy flavoured body powder and those long gummy worms. Why? Well if one gets within throw-distance of a 'gator one should immediately start the "powdering": cotton candy tames 'gators, they only need some soft tunes and they fall in a peaceful baby-sleep, then when they are calmed and harmless, one has to get closer and twine the long gummy worms around their muzzle. It won't hurt them, but they won't be able to bite a chunk out of my leg. And nothing's stronger and more animal friendly than Haribos :-D lol

    stella.exlibris (at) gmail (dot) com

    ps: I just took a 2 mins break from reading Alien Tango, because me would lie, beg and kill for that amazing T-shirt! :-)

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