2010 INDIE Award winner for best fantasy
It should have been a cushy job: Vern, the dragon detective, and his partner, the mage Sister Grace, are given an all-expense paid trip to Florida to chaperone a group of Magicals at a Mensa convention. Then the pixies start pranking, the Valkyrie starts vamping and a dwarf goes to Billy Beaver's Fantasyland hoping to be "discovered." Environmentalists protest Vern's "disrupting the ecosystem," while clueless tourists think he's animatronic. When the elves get high on artificial flavorings and declare war on Florida, it turns into the toughest case they aren't getting paid for. Based loosely on the award-winning serial mystery, Magic, Mensa and Mayhem will keep you laughing wherever you rank on the IQ scale. ...."Wisdom of the Ages, Knowledge of Eternity, and I end up a babysitter at the Smart Humans' Convention."-Vern
Short Bio
After being a straight-A student, Karina now cultivates Fs: Family, Faith, Fiction and Fun. From and order of nuns working in space to a down-and-out faerie dragon working off a geas from St. George, her stories surprise with their twists of clichés and incorporation of modern day foibles in an otherworld setting. Her quirky twists and crazy characters have won awards, including the INDIE book award for best fantasy (Magic, Mensa and Mayhem), an EPPIE award for best sci-fi (Infinite Space, Infinite God) and a Mensa Owl for best fiction (World Gathering), and top placer in the Preditor and Editor polls. In May 2010, her writing took a right turn with a devotional, Why God Matters, which she co-wrote with her father. Mrs. Fabian is former President of the Catholic Writer's Guild and also teaches writing and book marketing seminars online.
Her personal marketing efforts have built her a reputation for writing faith-filled fiction and gotten her writing contracts as well as book sales. She recently started a business mentoring authors in marking. You can find her business, Kickstart Marketing, at http://karinafabian.com/index.php?name=Content&pid=24.
Long Bio
"Zaphod--he's just this guy, you know?" Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
You'd think a writer who not only does fiction but also monthly personality features on total strangers would be able to write her own biography. What subject would she know better, right? But frankly, I don't enjoy writing my bio. My books speak for themselves, and as far as my family life, we're pretty ordinary. Karina--she's just this gal, you know?
I was what seems to be one of those unusually blessed kids who had a stable home with parents who obviously loved each other and my sister and me. We had dogs, cats, hamsters, and fish (never cared much for the fish). We took long family vacations in the camper, where we got to lay on the bed part that hangs over the cab and watch the road go by as my father's wanderlust meant our "Colorado vacation" ended up in Disneyland. I was the class brain, had some but not a lot of friends and a couple of boyfriends. It bothered me in high school; now I know better.
I applied for Harvard, but despite a 4.3 gpa and a dozen extra-curriculars that I was often a leader in, I didn't get accepted. I'm kind of glad for that now. I attended Colorado State University, majored in math, minored in history, joined ROTC, had lots of boyfriends and some friends and graduated with honors and a commission in the Air Force. I loved college. I also wrote my first novel in college, mainly out of spite because the honors SF teacher misunderstood an essay I wrote and gave me a B.
I met the love of my life, Rob, while in Signals Intelligence Officer training in San Angelo, TX. Rob was a space operations officer at the tenant base. Ten days later, I knew I was in love. A month later, we were engaged. A month after that, I got orders to Italy. I decided I would not lose the opportunity of a lifetime (and a dream of living overseas). Rob completely agreed. In June, six months after we met, I boarded a plane to San Vito, Italy. In November, I came back to the US, married Rob, then went back to Italy. We call the first two years of our marriage the "extended honeymoon."
We finagled to get stationed together in Japan. There we had our first two kids, Steven and Amber. When Steven was born, I got out of active duty Air Force and joined the Reserves. I loved the Reserves. I also started writing again.
When we returned to the US, I began writing more seriously, mostly nonfiction, but some fiction. We had two more kids, Alex and Liam. I quit the Reserves while pregnant with Alex because I didn't want to risk getting sent on deployment with little kids at home. It was the right decision, though I kind of miss the work. In 2000, I decided to homeschool the kids. We had some wonderful years doing projects, going places and learning together.
Writing-wise, during that time, I wrote for local newspapers, diocese magazines, national "slicks." I wrote story treatments for the radio. However, right about the time Rob made Lieutenant Colonel, I was getting burned out. My articles were getting sloppy and I wasn't motivated to do them. (I was also trying to balance deadlines with homeschooling.) I decided to quit and concentrate on fiction. I found that old college novel, re-read it, gagged, and re-wrote it into a trilogy. (I should have a contract for that one coming soon.)
I also started Rescue Sisters stories. (Back when the first kids were toddlers, Rob and I decided we didn't want to spend date nights hashing out family and finances. We knew each others' dreams, so we started crafting stories. Together, we created a near-future world in which Man had colonized the solar system, and a group of nuns performed search and rescue operations--the Order of Our Lady of the Rescue, or Rescue Sisters.) The Rescue Sisters stories led to our editing three anthologies: Infinite Space, Infinite God I and II and Leaps of Faith. I'm writing their first novel, Discovery, now.
I learned about a fun anthology called Firestorm of Dragons, and with the help of my family (and the comedy show Whose Line Is It, Anyway?), I dreamed up a cynical noir-style dragon detective. Vern is still my favorite character to write about. I not only have stories in anthologies and for sale on www.dragoneyepi.net, but also have one novel out (Magic, Mensa and Mayhem) and another I'm shopping around.
Although homeschooling was a great experience and helped our family grow closer, it also made me want to tear my hair out. The kids are now attending public school and while I miss all the hours together studying and learning, I also think we're less stressed. It also gives me time for writing and marketing.
Kids get older, lifestyles change and I find we're in need of a little extra spending cash, so I teach classes on marketing books. I also have a newsletter of marketing tasks. You can learn about those by clicking on the Marketing Mentor in the main menu.
Last, but by no means least: Around 2004, I became involved with a group of Catholic authors who wanted to band together and make a group to support to each other, not only in crafting our work, but getting it published and selling it. We created the Catholic Writers' Guild, and somehow I ended up President. I don't know, maybe my high school club leadership days got the best of me. Anyway, I keep getting re-elected. Go figure.
On a more serious note, I am incredibly proud of the Guild and what it has accomplished. In five years, we've incorporated and will be a non-profit soon. We have an active forum where we share news, advice, crits, etc. We have a member newsletter and a marketing newsletter for stores. We attend the Catholic Marketing Network trade show. AND we have two conferences a year: the online conference which is free and the live conference (in conjunction with the CMN trade show.) We have so many ideas for the future--only money and volunteers are slowing us down. It's pretty exciting!
