Writerly Wednesday Welcomes Karina Fabian – Blog Tour Extra
Writerly Wednesday welcomes Karina Fabian.
I am trying out some new codes and such, I hope I don’t break the page. Karina is on a Blog Tour if you keep reading this longer than usual post you will see where she has been and where she will go next. Or just click on the banner below.
Greater Treasures Blog Tour
Karina has been here before and she always entertains. She has multiple books and does some really nice fundraisers as well. So, let’s see what Karina has to say…
Interview Questions
1. What is your favorite marketing task that has resulted in a sale?
Begging? I wish Vern would tag along on book signings so he could loom over the cashiers and examine what people are buying. “Uh…didn’t you forget one? Yes, yes, you forgot Karina Fabian’s.” I think a three-quarter ton dragon with a talent for light-hearted menace would be a great sales aid.
2. What do you like about your publisher or why did you decide to Self Publish?
I have loved all my publishers and for different reasons, although they all have in common great editors and warm and supportive personalities. Most are friends as well as publishers. However, I chose to self-publish Greater Treasures because it’s a novella. Even with a handful of sales, I think I’d make more than if I got one of my publishers to accept it. (And I know I could have.) I have other reasons, too, which I discuss on my blog, http://fabianspace.blogspot.com
3. What do you have under your bed?
An underdresser. We still have our waterbed frame, though with a regular mattress. I love the underdresser because it’s the perfect use of space and I don’t have to vacuum under the bed.
4. Are you a plotter or a pantser when you are writing?
It depends on the story. Sometimes, I need to plot it out, at least sparsely. Other times, I just let ‘er rip! Even when I outline, though, I don’t stick to it if the characters have different ideas. It’s their story, not mine.
5. Do you write in a bubble or do you prefer critique groups, writing buddies or other companionship during the process?
Bubble, I guess. I don’t go to critiquers/first readers until I’ve finished. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a great support group. I’m part of the Catholic Writers’ Guild, The Writers’ Chat Room, and several online groups, plus I have friends online. If I get stuck on a scene or just need someone to be accountable to until I get moving, I can always find someone willing to help me out.
6. When do ideas come to you and how do you capture them?
The question should be, “How do I stop the flow, or how do I write faster?”
7. What is your favorite word processing program and what other tools do you use, pen, notebooks, white board, index cards, finger on fogged bathroom mirrors?
I use Word for writing, or if I am tired of the computer, I will go to pen and paper. For keeping track of story ideas, I use Anthemion Storylines, which keeps them in a 3×5-on-corkboard manner. When I’m really stuck on a novel, I will put the main scenes on stickie notes and put them on the wall, or I will do thought webs on paper.
Karina Fabian
Bio: Winner of the 2010 INDIE for best Fantasy (Magic, Mensa and Mayhem), Karina Fabian has imagination that takes quirky twists that keep her–and her fans–amused. Nuns working in space, a down-and-out Faerie dragon working off a geas from St. George, zombie exterminators—there’s always a surprise in Fabian’s worlds. Mrs. Fabian teaches writing and book marketing seminars, but mostly is concerned with supporting her husband, Rob Fabian as he makes the exciting leap from military officer to civilian executive, getting her kids through high school and college, and surviving daily circuit torture…er, circuit training. Read about her adventures at http://fabianspace.com.
Blurb: Being a private detective in the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern. Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous. When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers to find an artifact in exchange for a cure. However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could control all of mankind. Can Vern find the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his best friend?
Click the Image to see all of Karina’s Stops on the Blog Tour.
Book tour link with all the stops: http://dragoneyepi.blogspot.com/2013/04/greater-treasures-book-tour.html
Tour Information
Greater Treasures by Karina Fabian
Part of the DragonEye series of novels and stories
Book information:
Tag line: When Grace’s life is in danger, Vern will do just about anything to find a cure—but will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for her life?
#dragoneye
http://tinyurl.com/greatertreasureskindle
Blurb: Being a private detective in the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern. Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous. When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers to find an artifact in exchange for a cure. However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could control all of mankind. Can Vern find the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his best friend?
Categories: fantasy, fantasy mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, noir
Trailers:
Video Trailer Link: http://youtu.be/tnv4Tp3JUcw
Excerpt:
Greater-Treasures-Ebook
Given the day I was having, it came as no surprise that when I got home, I found the dogs sprawled in a drugged sleep and the sounds of things being overturned from within the warehouse. I decided not to bother with subtlety, but I did resist the urge to burst in with flames going full-blast. I had questions first.
Naturally, I walked straight in to find an automatic weapon—yep, a bona fide black-market AK-47—and I thought only Faerie lived their clichés—and six other weapons of various types pointed at me. I didn’t stop, just closed the door with my tail while I strolled in slow and placid-like. My visitors had shaved heads, faces painted white with clown paint, and black t-shirts with swastikas in white circles.
“If you’re the housekeeping service, you’re fired.”
“You stay right there, or we gonna fire you!” said one guy from the sidelines as he held his nunchucks at the ready.
What’d he think he would do—whack me on the nose? I turned to the one holding the assault rifle. “Scraping the bottom of the barrel with that one, weren’t you?”
“He’s right. You just stay still while we search the place.”
“The place” was a ten-thousand square foot warehouse with offices on the upper floor. Boxes I still hadn’t opened line the walls and made a maze in the second warehouse room. I settled myself on the floor and rested my head on my crossed arms. “Go ahead. I get half of anything you find.”
They stared at me, unbelieving. I smiled back. Mr. Cooperation, that’s me. Finally, Big Gun snarled for the others to get to work. As he turned his back on me, Nunchucks muttered, “I got your half. Don’t think I don’t.” Guess he learned such witty repartee in Hitler Youth Summer Camp.
I watched and listened and waited. With eight teenage skinheads trashing my place, it was only a matter of time.
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” I suggested as Nunchucks made a grab for the doorknob to Grace’s workshop.
“You gonna stop me?” He turned the knob.
“Nope,” I said as I closed my ears and my eyes. Even so, I saw the otherworldly light and heard the harmonious roar of Divine Vengeance followed by Mundane screams.
“The Heavenly Host on the other hand…”
I waited until the screams died down to whimpers before opening my eyes and rising.
Four of the skinheads were unconscious. Three may as well have been; they were curled up in the fetal position, whimpering. Nunchucks was actually crying for his mommy. Big Guns had collapsed to the floor as well, the gun thrown away from him. He was sitting and rocking and making high-pitched keening through the roof of his mouth.
I’d tell Grace to tone down her wards some, except that the effect is directly proportional to the evilness of the intent. Suddenly, I was feeling a little shaky about my earlier entrance.
Knights out of the armor now. I went around, collecting weapons in the office trash can and poking through pockets. I found the usual stuff—driver’s licenses, credit cards, petty cash… One kid had a condom; wishful thinking on his part, I knew. Another had a report card. MLK High. Wonder if he was the one beating up Faerie kids? Honor roll grades, too. Of all the years I’ve battled evil, there were still some things I didn’t understand.
As I was returning Big Guns’ (aka Rick Matherston’s) wallet back into his jacket pocket, he blinked and focused on me.
“What was that?”
“Angels, kid.” Actually a kind of magical shadow of the real thing, but close enough.
“But I thought angels were—”
“There’s a reason why their first words are usually ‘Fear not!’ whenever they meet a human.”
His eyes returned to their unfocused stare. I almost felt sorry for him. Then I noticed the letters FARISLAR tattooed on his knuckles. Faerie slayer.
About Greater Treasures: Most people associate the DragonEye stories with high humor ranging from puns to slapstick, and in fact, the first stories and the novels have certainly been crazy fun. But the life of a cynical dragon PI isn’t all laughs, and Vern has had a few chilling stories to tell me. Some of these, I’ve sold to anthologies, but some are too long for that. Thus, I’ve decided to start publishing them on my own.
One thing I like to do for DragonEye stories is watch old noir films. Greater Treasures came to me while watching the Maltese Falcon. If you’ve never seen it, I recommend it. (Then, reread the story to see if you catch the in jokes.) I needed something with more “oomph” than a bird statue, and since Vern has some history with the Lance of Longinus, it made a good fit. I enjoyed looking up all the conspiracy theories about the use of the Lance by Hitler, which is where the neo-Nazi angle came in. To say more would be spoilers, so please, enjoy the story.
And if you do, be sure to check out Vern’s other tales at http://dragoneyepi.net
Live and Let Fly: http://dragoneyepi.blogspot.com/p/live-and-let-fly.html
Magic, Mensa and Mayhem: http://dragoneyepi.blogspot.com/p/magic-mensa-and-mayhem.html
Book tour link with all the stops: http://dragoneyepi.blogspot.com/2013/04/greater-treasures-book-tour.html
Twitter hashtags: #dragoneye, #noirfantasy
Give-Away
E-book: Here’s your chance to win a free electronic copy of Greater Treasures. Leave a comment or question for Karina, Vern, or Sister Grace.
Grab bag: Vern gripes about the junk in his warehouse in Greater Treasures, but he and Grace have started going through boxes, and they’ve agreed to send something to one of my readers. Leave a comment or question for Karina, Vern, or Sister Grace.
Thanks Karina for coming by this week and I hope you or Vern or Sister Grace will visit again, soon.
To my readers, thanks for coming back and don’t touch anything sharp.
Comments
2 responses to “Writerly Wednesday Welcomes Karina Fabian – Blog Tour Extra”
Outstanding blurb and interview! I will definitely pick this this novella up.
I sincerely wish you the best of success.
Yours,
Steve Soderquist
stevesoderquist.com
Author-Damnation Books
Thanks for hosting me today!