Author Interview: Karina Fabian

A few months ago, I copy edited Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, by Karina Fabian. It is a unique, hilarious and engaging book, and Karina was super fun to work with! I highly recommend the book. Learn more about it and her at http://www.dragoneyepi.net/. Also, read my interview with her about my job as a copy editor at http://fabianspace.blogspot.com/2009/04/magic-mensa-and-mayhem-interview-with.html.

Today, an interview with Karina about her life as an author!

Jennifer Walker: Tell me about your published books.

Karina Fabian: In reverse order:

Magic, Mensa & Mayhem
(Swimming Kangaroo, 2009): 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.

Leaps of Faith
(The Writers Café Press, 2008): Believe in a future where science and faith live side-by-side? Leaps of Faith contains 15 stories exploring space, time and faith. Can an ancient religion bring hope to first-line explorers for whom each trip is potential suicide? What does it mean when a physicist finds God's face in the stars? Is there a "saint gene" and can it be reproduced to create miracles? What happens to your soul when your body is shattered into quantum elements and reassembled on another world? How will the Christian faith transform alien thoughts and traditions? Read as time travelers seeking to change Biblical history and space travelers harvesting "angels" are brought to faith by their experiences. Experience tender romance and heart-pounding adventure. Laugh at the foibles of man. A 2004 EPPIE finalist for Best Electronic Anthology, Leaps of Faith promises the best in Christian sci-fi.


Infinite Space, Infinite God
(Twilight Times, 2007): Come explore the worlds of “Infinite Space, Infinite God.” Meet genetically engineered chimeras and aliens who wonder what a human religion holds for them. Share the doubts, trials and triumphs of humans who find their journeys in time and space are also journeys in faith. Experience spine-tingling adventure. Marvel at technological miracles—and miracles that transcend technology—and meet the writers who made a leap of faith and dared to incorporate familiar religion with fantastic universes. Entertaining and thought-provoking, Infinite Space, Infinite God represents the best in SF tradition. Faith-filled fiction for readers that think.


Jennifer Walker: Did you have a writing career before you published your first book?

Karina Fabian: I wrote mostly non-fiction about pregnancy, parenting and faith issues. I also wrote a lot of profiles--artists, authors, local businesspeople. When Rob made Lt. Col, I was starting to get burned out on non-fiction, so we decided we could afford to let me concentrate on my stories, instead.

Jennifer Walker: How did you get your books published?

Karina Fabian: Infinite Space, Infinite God was done in the traditional way: Write it up, send it out, rack up the rejections until TTB picked it up. Leaps of Faith also has its share of rejections, but I had the pleasure of making acquaintance with Cynthia MacKinnon, publisher of The Writers Café Press, before sending it to her.

Magic, Mensa and Mayhem was a totally different story. Dindy Robinson, the publisher, liked my writing and asked if I had anything to offer. I'd already written most of the story as a serial mystery, and it didn't take much to novelize it.

I have two other books I'm working on for publishers whom I know. However, knowing the publisher does not guarantee acceptance. The first is a manuscript I've worked on for years which has had its rejections and near-acceptances more than once. The other, I'm sending out as a proposal.

Jennifer Walker: What is writing accomplishment are you most proud of?

Karina Fabian: Whichever is the latest. I continue to grow as a writer, and I'm tickled at every occasion I get published. Right now, of course, I'm riding high on Magic, Mensa and Mayhem. I adore the cover art and the story--and it got a review by Publisher's Weekly, which thrills me to no end. Of course, I've been blessed with some pretty terrific cover artists and great publishers who are very concerned about the books.

Jennifer Walker: Do you have a "day job"? Or are you a full-time writer?

Karina Fabian: I'm a full-time mom and a full-time writer. It's all I can handle at this point, though I do have a small side-business mentoring other authors in marketing their books. I offer one-on-one mentoring, classes and a task-driven newsletter. Folks can learn more about it at http://karinafabian.com/index.php?name=Content&pid=24.

Jennifer Walker: When and how did you decide you wanted to become a writer?

Karina Fabian: I've always wanted to write, but I really dedicated to it during Lent of 1996. I was the mother of two toddlers, an Air Force Reservist, and homemaker. I was going nuts, though, with just the house and the kids and the weekend-a-month drill. I remember reading a Harry Turtledove book and getting very angry because I knew I could write but wasn't. So I decided to give up fiction and take up writing. Soon afterward, I got my first job with the diocese paper.

Jennifer Walker: What is your education background?

Karina Fabian: I graduated with University Honors from Colorado State University with a degree in mathematics and a minor in history. I love school.

Jennifer Walker: What are the most important priorities in your life?

Karina Fabian: Faith, Family, Fiction (or writing in general). From there, supporting my fellow writers--I'm President in the Catholic Writers Guild and am active in many groups, plus I have a blog where I tour books for other authors. Sleep fits in there somewhere, as does housekeeping, but probably not nearly well enough.

Jennifer Walker: Does your family support your writing?

Karina Fabian: Yes! I'm very blessed. Rob is my provider and my idea man, editor, and first critic. The kids love for me to read them stories, especially DragonEye, PI, stories.

Jennifer Walker: What is your next project?

Karina Fabian: Next published will be Live and Let Fly: From the Case Files of DragonEye, PI. Super-spy spoofing at its best when a simple mugging turns into a case of Interdimensional intrigue. Vern and Grace are pushed to the limit as they go against advanced technologies with limited magics. Still, none of that compares to the greatest challenge of all--Vern goes undercover in human form!

I'm also writing a science fiction novel , Discovery, based in my Rescue Sisters Universe. Sister Rita has joined the Order of Our Lady of the Rescue in the asteroid belt in order to avoid having to choose between her vows as a nun and her love for James. When they end up on a historic, long-term, mission together, can she discover God's true path for her?

Thank you so much to Karina Fabian, and best of luck with Magic, Mensa and Mayhem!

Book Review: Axe of Iron/The Settlers by J.A. Hunsinger

Axe of Iron: The Settlers
by J.A. Hunsinger

Paperback: 356 pages
Publisher: Vinland Publishing Llc (August 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0980160103
Rating (1 to 5 stars): *****



Review

A thousand years ago, North America was still wild and largely unexplored. Nearly 500 years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, Lief Ericson discovered North America, followed by other Northmen who tried to make a go of it in the new land with varying degrees of success. Records of this time are scarce, but historians have pieced together some of the events that transpired.

J.A. Hunsinger is one such historian. In Axe of Iron: The Settlers, he begins the saga of a group of Northmen who strike out from Greenland in search of a new home in the west. It is a fictional tale based on what we know of the era and what life was like at the time.

The settlers are led by Halfdan, an able and fierce captain, and he is aided by his good friend and lieutenant, Gudbjartur. While the story centers on them, it wanders from character to character, giving the reader a panoramic view of the party while at the same time allowing you to get to know the characters intimately. The party had been preceded to the new land, referred to as Vinland, by other Northmen, but none had succeeded in maintaining their settlements due to problems with the natives. Halfdan is determined to do things differently.

Life during this period was harsh and wild, with a different form of civility than we know now. Hunsinger shows this cruel reality vividly, drawing the reader in with brilliant descriptions and plenty of action. It becomes at times very graphic, both violently and sexually, but all of the scenes weave together to form a tapestry that is the perfect depiction of the story and people. The book includes helpful resources for getting the most out of the story, including a pronunciation guide, glossary, and brief history lesson.

Although I do not normally reach for historical fiction, Axe of Iron: The Settlers gripped me and kept me intrigued through every moment. I feel as though I know the characters and am rooting for them to succeed. I can’t wait for the next installment in the series to come out so I can see what happens!

As usual, make a comment on this review to get a chance to win my review copy of Axe of Iron: The Settlers, by J.A. Hunsinger!

March Winners!

I have two winners to announce:

Winner of The Dead Guy, by Doug Hewitt is Linda St. Cyr!

Winner of Shadow: The Curious Morgan Horse, by Ellen Feld, is Beth!

Congratulations, and please email me at jennifer @ autherjennwalker . com with your address for me to ship your book.

Book Review: Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

Everyone Is Beautiful: A Novel by Katherine Center


Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 17, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1400066433
Rating (1 to 5 stars): *****



Review

After living all her life in the same Texas town where her parents lived, Lanie Coates is uprooted to follow her husband Peter’s music career to Cambridge, Massachusetts. They pile everything they own, including their three small boys, into the car and drive across the country—leaving behind everything Lanie has ever known. Then, to add further insult to misery, Lanie’s parents decide to sell the family home—the one they’d owned since before Lanie was born—and move to Dubai.

Lanie has never felt so alone, even with the spectacularly daunting task of caring for her young and precocious children while unpacking the apartment and getting used to a new city. However, she runs into an old high school acquaintance, Amanda, who throws herself into their new friendship.

Something happens to Lanie in Cambridge: she decides it is time to find herself again. She joins the gym to finally start getting rid of the baby fat she had been carrying around for four years. Her mother sent her some cameras, so she decides to take a photography class to channel her long-ignored artistic talent. Things have never been better—until her new approach to life threatens to destroy her marriage.

Kathereine Center has a wonderful voice, telling the story with a mixture of humour and regret. Not only mothers, but many women will be able to relate to Lanie in her struggles to find the person she used to be. When I approached the end of the book, I was reading in the bath…and I was a complete prune by the time I got out, because I HAD to finish!

What truly impressed me about Everyone is Beautiful is that it inspired me to want to look at my own life to see if I am doing everything I want to be. By the end, Lanie’s musings on how we view ourselves and our relationships were so poignant that I was knocked off my feet. It truly made me look at things differently. Chick lit? Yes (and this genre is my guilty pleasure), but Everyone is Beautiful is definitely not fluff.

While my normal practice is to give away my copy after I review it, I'm sorry to say that I cannot with this one. It is a pre-release review copy and not eligible for giveaways.

Winners!

I'm a little late in announcing a couple of the winners, but I'm here now!

The winner of my review copy of Across the Pond is Jo Brielyn!

The winner of my review copy of Blackjack: Dreaming of a Morgan Horse is Tanya Katerina!

Congratulations! Please email me at jennifer@authorjennwalker.com with your mailing address so I can send you your books.

Still hoping to win? You still have time to win The Dead Guy or Shadow: The Curious Morgan Horse. Just make a comment on the review before the end of March!

More reviews to come, with more chances to win!

Book Review: Shadow : The Curious Morgan Horse, by Ellen Feld

Shadow: The Curious Morgan Horse (Morgan Horse Series)
by Ellen Feld

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Willow Bend Publishing; 1 edition (December 1, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0970900260
Rating (1 to 5 stars): *****



Review

Shadow, a young Morgan foal, enjoys living in the pasture with her mother. However, when the rooster tells her all about his adventures in the woods, beyond the fence, Shadow longs to explore and meet the wild animals and see the magic pond for herself. She gets her chance when a storm causes a tree to fall on the fence, but she soon finds out that things are not exactly as the rooster described. In addition, the excitement in the woods is not as great as she thought it would be, and home becomes a much more attractive place to live.

Shadow: The Curious Morgan Horse is a delightful tale for young readers. The story is an exciting lesson about the dangers and disappointments of wandering away from home, and Jeanne Mellin’s beautiful illustrations bring the characters to life. This is an excellent introduction for children to Ellen Feld’s Morgan Horse series, which is written for a slightly older audience.

As always, comment on this post for the chance to win my review copy of Shadow: The Curious Morgan Horse for FREE! I will make my decision at the end of March.

Book Review: The Dead Guy, by Doug Hewitt

Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for a FREE OFFER!

The Dead Guy by Doug Hewitt

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Aberdeen Bay (December 15, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0981472575
Rating: *****



Review

Jack Thigpen is not your typical protagonist: he is an insurance fraud investigator, an ex-professional tennis player, and he is dying. He is hired to investigate a repair shop that has an unusual number of claims, and within a day he is shot at and his best friend is killed.

Through the course of investigating who shot at him, Jack is soon embroiled in something even bigger than he ever thought possible. While shaking down the various people he comes across who may or may not know who took out the hit on him, Jack finds that the disease that will eventually kill him is at the same time hindering and helping him in different ways. He also has the unique perspective of knowing he is dying to help him see what the really important things in life truly are.

The Dead Guy is a fantastic tale in every sense of the word. Jack is subjected to incredible things by people you just don’t meet in everyday life. However, it is all so well presented and written that you believe every word. The characters are rich, with all the little foibles that make them real and human.

Doug Hewitt spins a raucous tale that is entertaining from the first page to the last. It is witty, poignant and exciting by turns, making you want to think a little about what you would do if you knew you would die within a year…or just forget real life for a short time while you enjoy his adventure. I highly recommend it!

And now for the requisite free offer: leave a comment on this post or the one with the interview when it is posted, and receive my review copy of The Dead Guy for FREE! I will make my selection at the end of March.