Camp Alien

Rave reviews for the
Alien
novels:

“From alternate realities to alternate galaxies, Koch takes us on the wildest adventures. But it is the camaraderie between the characters that keeps the over-the-top tale grounded and compelling.”

—
RT Book Reviews
(top pick)

“Koch still pulls the neat trick of quietly weaving in plot threads that go unrecognized until they start tying together—or snapping. This is a hyperspeed-paced addition to a series that shows no signs of slowing down.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Aliens, danger, and romance make this a fast-paced, wittily written sf romantic comedy.”

—
Library Journal

“Gini Koch's Kitty Katt series is a great example of the lighter side of science fiction. Told with clever wit and non-stop pacing
 . . .
it blends diplomacy, action and sense of humor into a memorable reading experience.”

—
Kirkus

“The action is nonstop, the snark flies fast and furious. . . . Another fantastic addition to an imaginative series!”

—Night Owl Sci-Fi (top pick)

“Ms. Koch has carved a unique niche for herself in the sci-fi-romance category with this series. My only hope is that it lasts for a very long time.”

—
Fresh Fiction

“This delightful romp has many interesting twists and turns as it glances at racism, politics, and religion en route
 . . .
will have fanciers of cinematic sf parodies referencing
Men in Black
,
Ghost Busters
, and
X-Men
.”

—
Booklist
(starred review)

“I am a huge fan of Gini Koch, and this series. I adore the world building. I love the sarcasm, banter, romance, mystery, action, and a slew of superhero-like characters that stand up against evil wherever they go.”

—Gizmo's Reviews

DAW Books Presents GINI KOCH's
Alien
Novels:

TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN

ALIEN TANGO

ALIEN IN THE FAMILY

ALIEN PROLIFERATION

ALIEN DIPLOMACY

ALIEN VS. ALIEN

ALIEN IN THE HOUSE

ALIEN RESEARCH

ALIEN COLLECTIVE

UNIVERSAL ALIEN

ALIEN SEPARATION

ALIEN IN CHIEF

CAMP ALIEN

ALIEN NATION

(coming soon from DAW)

Copyright © 2016 by Jeanne Cook.

All Rights Reserved.

Cover art by Daniel Dos Santos.

Cover design by G-Force Design.

DAW Book Collectors No. 1724.

Published by DAW Books, Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious.

Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

Nearly all the designs and trade names in this book are registered trademarks. All that are still in commercial use are protected by United States and international trademark law.

eBook ISBN 9780698161726

 

DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED

U.S. PAT. AND TM. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

—MARCA REGISTRADA

HECHO EN U.S.A.

To my editor, Sheila Gilbert, who knows how to get the best out of everyone, me especially, and who has never said “oh, that's a bad idea” to any of the crazy ideas I've tossed at her over the years.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, so many to thank and so little page space. But, as you can see by the size of this particular book, I'm going to go for it anyway.

Thanks again for both the patience of Job and amazing editorial direction to the fantastic Sheila Gilbert. Bows and cries of “I am not worthy” to my awesome agent, Cherry Weiner, my amazing crit partner, Lisa Dovichi, and the best and fastest beta reader in the West, Mary Fiore. As always, wouldn't have made it through this book with any shreds of sanity left without you four ladies and I love all of you for putting up with me in all the various ways you put up with me.

Love and thanks as always to all the good folks at DAW Books and Penguin Random House, to all my fans around the globe, my Hook Me Up! Gang, members of Team Gini new and old, all Alien Collective Members in Very Good Standing, Members of the Stampeding Herd, Twitter followers, Facebook fans and friends, Pinterest followers, the fabulous bookstores that support me, and all the wonderful fans who come to my various book signings and conference panels—you're all the best and I wouldn't want to do this without each and every one of you along for the ride.

Special love and extra shout-outs to: my awesome assistants, Colette Chmiel and Joseph Gaxiola for continuing to fight the good fight of keeping me on schedule and somewhat coherent; Edward Pulley for allowing me to steal Joseph away all the time with good grace; Edward Pulley again for amazing and inventive Poof creations; Museum of Robots for giving me the excitement of a licensing deal made better because it's with such an awesome company; Scott Johnson for continuing to allow me to stay at the nicest bed & breakfast spot in San Diego that's also the oasis of calm in my book tours; Doug & Gen Cook for the opportunity to be “home” while on book tour; Beth Bartlett, Jan Robinson, Lisa Dovichi, Patience Fones, Kay Johnson, Andrea Hippauf, Kevin Bowman, Koleta Parsley, Mariann Asanuma, Vicki & Richard Kung, Stephanie and Craig Dyer, Chrysta Stuckless, Kelly Mueller, Anne Taylor, Michael & Mandi Shelton, Terry Smith, Christina Callahan, Lynn Crain for bestowing beautiful, supportive, wonderful, and delicious things upon me; Robert Palsma for continuously liking everything I do; Michele Sharik, Brian Pituly, and Brianne Lucinda for going long distances to see me; for a ton of physical labor and emotional support, special love to Duncan & Andrea Rittschof; Adrian & Lisa Payne, Duncan & Andrea Rittschof, and Hal & Dee Astell for always showing up and making every event all the better for your presence; and especially to the Authors of the Stampeding Herd—Barb Tyler, Lisa Dovichi, Hal Astell, Sue Martin, Teresa Cutler-Broyles, Phyllis Hemann, Terry Smith, Marsheila Rockwell, and Lynn Crain—I literally would not have finished this book without the competition with and support from all of you, and I'm proud to pound hooves with all y'all.

Always last in the listings but first in my heart, thanks to my husband, Steve, who learned a lot of new drink recipes for me in order to ensure that I kept on writing, and our daughter, Veronica, who both encouraged me and kept me grounded. You both truly complete me and give me all the inspiration anyone could ever need.

T
HERE'S AN OLD ADAGE
—be careful what you wish for. I've already learned that it's true—wonder for one moment if your life could be more interesting and “Whoomp! (There It Is)”, you're killing a newly formed superbeing and discovering aliens are real, on the planet, and total hotties.

Of course, that was so Twelve Operations Ago. I've gotten used to the excitement that is now my daily life, sorta, and the fact that, when push comes to shove, my brand of outside-the-box thinking and ability to just go with the crazy will save the day. It never ceases to amaze me, but at the same time, I know not to complain about things working out the way I've hoped they would. Well, mostly the way I've hoped they would.

Of course, many times what I've hoped would happen has, but with catastrophic side effects no one had predicted. Okay, almost all the time. But sometimes, it's kind of nice to see that little cosmic joke explode into someone else's face.

The Mastermind has been unmasked on national and international television, and our side stopped his latest bid to end the world. Go team.

Oh, sure, he killed a lot of people we cared about and many innocents along the way, but that's just par for the old Course O' Evil. All things considered, and if we ignore that we hate even losing one person on the Side Of Right, we've kept the body count pretty low. At least for our side. It's not nearly high enough on the evil side, but we do persevere.

However, as our luck would seem to constantly have it, the Mastermind and seven of his cronies escaped. Always the way, am I right?

On the supposedly plus side, this has left my alien husband the new President of the United States, which makes me the First Lady. The fact that I keep on being shoved into these public-facing positions where everyone knows I'm going to blow it and yet still acts totally surprised when I do is just the way the cosmos amuses itself, at least insofar as I can tell.

Of course, if you're going to inherit a position after the former owner of said position and half of his staff were murdered by your most dedicated enemy, there's no one better than Jeff to take control and keep the populace calm and functioning. And we can but hope that my role will be small and not televised. Again and again and again. You know, just to mix it up and be different from all the other times.

Oh, who am I kidding? We all know it's going to be the Kitty Messes Up Again Show for the foreseeable future. But no worries, I have a plan.

What is that plan, you ask? I'm going to channel The Cars and let the “Good Times Roll” while at the same time accepting that when Aerosmith sings about someone being “Crazy,” they're singing about their Number One Fan. Who is me. In case you, like so many others, haven't been paying attention.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, I'll wait while everyone stops rolling around the floor laughing and catches their breath. Because Murphy and his Law are pretty much my copilots.