Sunday, April 29, 2012

Guest Author Karina Fabian Live and Let Die

When a dragon and a nun play secret agent, all Hel breaks loose! 
It is my pleasure to welcome the zany, creative author Karina Fabian to the blog today. Karina is an award-winning fantasy, science fiction and horror author, whose  books make people laugh, cry or think—sometimes all three.  Check out her latest at her website, Fabianspace


Her newest book in the Dragon Eye P.I. series, Live and Let Fly, was released on April 20 from Muse It Up Publishing. I'm excited she is stopping here on her blog tour so you can get to know her and get a taste of her entertaining writing. After Karina's piece on Writing and the Twisted Mind, enjoy an excerpt from Live and Let Fly, watch the book trailer, and check out the links for more info about Karina and where to find her book. A special treat from this author is a clever video of slides with Karina reading from her story.



Writing and the Twisted Mind
by
Karina Fabian

When I was a Sophomore in high school, I played the creative writer in Up the Down Staircase.  I can’t even remember her name, but I remember the lines she read to the class about the thing she saw skulking across her kitchen.  “How fearful were his eyes!  Should I kill him?... Is it obvious I’m talking about a cockroach?”

To get into the part, I kept a notebook with me, where I wrote flash fiction with bizarre twists.  The one I remember most was the frog in the blender—from the frog’s POV.  Who knew that part was going to prepare me for my career as a fantasy/sci-fi and parody writer?

Live and Let Fly is full of crazy scenes, but I think my favorite when it comes to the twisted mind category is attack of the Munchy, Munchy Moles.   Alas, I must withhold the scene at the request of my children who think it’s the funniest scene in the book, but…

Have you ever played Hungry, Hungry, Hippos?  Well imagine how the ball must feel:  Towering jaws of death opening and closing, opening and closing, as you scramble and bang against your fellow balls, trying frantically to keep your distance.  If you should accidentally roll into those gaping mouths, you enter oblivion—but if you don’t quite make it, you’ll be smashed upon its plastic teeth.

Now…
* Make the board life-sized
* Make the board tilt
*  Instead of being the ball, you have to avoid the balls—six-foot-in-diameter heavy balls of rolling destruction!

Then, just for fun, I had the animatronics section of the museum come to life and attack as well.
It was one of the most fun scenes to write: scrambling people, rolling balls, vicious animated machines in the shapes of all kinds of nasty creatures.  Bullets flying, people yelling…and one dragon doing his best to save them all.

It doesn’t end well—though not fatally—of course, which means I had plenty of opportunity to get my characters in and out of new fixes.

Unlike the character I played in Up the Down Staircase, I do not take my fiction too seriously, which just makes it all the more fun!

Karina certainly does have fun with fiction. Take a peek at the book trailer.


Excerpt:
Charlie started to close the door behind us, his other hand gripping the handle of his dagger so tightly I could hear the leather wrap on the handle strain, as we listened to the footsteps coming our way, slow, bored. My predator's instincts rose; then I had a great idea. I shook my head at Charlie and winked, and he shuffled out of my way, leaving the door ajar. I settled myself with my back to the door, just inside the shadows and let the script play itself out:

CLUELESS MINION enters Stage Left. He pauses, hearing a noise, but does not report it. Instead, he fondles the stars on his nametag and moves toward the empty hallway, his mind on adding another. (Probably saying, "I was proactive today!")
CLUELESS pauses at door, hesitating. He stands and, back to the door, reaches for his walkie-talkie.
Suddenly, a well-muscled and gorgeously scaled tail whips out from the crack in the door and wraps itself around his neck. He only has time to grab ineffectively at the tail before he's drawn into the darkness. The door shuts behind him.
Pan shot of the empty hallway.
FADE TO BLACK

I slammed my victim on the floor and pinned him with my forelegs, then I leaned my face in nice and slow, making sure he got a good look at my fangs before he saw my eyes. "Where's the girl?" I growled low and menacingly.
"Wh-What g-g-girl?"
Charlie crouched down by Stutterboy and glanced at his nametag. "Look, Philip, we're in a bit of a hurry. We know Rhoda Dakota's being held captive somewhere nearby. Now you can be a good survivor and tell us where…or you can be dinner."
"I-I don't—"                 
"Phil A. Minion." I mused and drooled a bit for effect. I live for these moments, I really do. I licked his cheek and asked Charlie, "Can I have fries with that?"
"Why not? This is Idaho."

For information about Karina and her books:





Live and Let Fly is available at Muse It Up Publishing, amazon.com, bn.com, and major online booksellers.


For a real treat, watch this trailer with Karina reading an excerpt from Live and Let Fly.











7 comments:

J.Q. Rose said...

Good morning, Karina, and readers! Beautiful day to have Karina as a guest. Thanks so much for stopping in today, Karina.

Earl Staggs said...

Karina, I've always suspected you were a bright and interesting person and an independent thinker. After reading this post and checking your website, I'm convinced of it. Best wishes, my friend, for continued success.

Gail Roughton said...

Vern is such a hoot! He was so much fun when Karina and Vern came over to Flowers on the Fence to visit!

Karina Fabian said...

Thanks for hosting me today. It is a beautiful day, more so because you are in it!

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. Karina is very good at putting her book trailers together. Was fun listening to her read an excerpt from Live and Let Fly.

J.Q. Rose said...

Thanks for stopping in today. Karina is giving away a free Kindle copy today to some one who LIKES her DragonEye, PI page today: https://www.facebook.com/DragonEyePI#

Good luck!

Unknown said...

Hello Karina

What interesting characters you throw into pot and mix for a great story.

I wish for you great success with your books.

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