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| Karina Fabian |
I started the book, I Left My Brains in San Francisco. It had it all—romance, intrigue,
environmentalism…Zombies! All I needed
was to plot the attack on the refinery.
However, suddenly, my brother-in-law took a trip to Kansas (or so they said). Months of not returning my phone calls—had
someone silenced him?
My book in peril, I nonetheless made the journey to
WorldCon-Renovations, where I met the mysterious Figment. Figment had knowledge of chemical plants and emergency procedures, and was only
too glad to share it just for the fun of planning a zombie attack. Like Deep Throat, Figment shall remain
anonymous, possibly until after my or his/her/its death.
Thus armed, I returned home to write—but visualizing the
locale stalled me. My brother-in-law,
meanwhile had been promoted (or had he?) and they moved to Los Angeles, so I
sought a local source for some information about refinery set-up and
logistics. Greg Hardy, manager of State
Government Affaris, Rocky Mountain Region, of Chevron, spent a wonderful and
informative hour or so with me on the phone giving me ideas on layout and
operations…which I totally reworked to fit my refinery. Naturally, I also tossed in some cliché’s of
every cop show that ever had a fight in a refinery—it’s that kind of book.
The book is out—I Left My Brains in San Francisco. The final attack on the refinery is awesome
fun—but I just know, if zombies ever do rise up and attack Richmond, Homeland
Security will come knocking on my door.
I
Left My Brains in San Francisco
The
second Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator book
Author
Karina Fabian
Special
Favor to Ask:
Could you please let your readers know about the “Are You
the Next Zombie Idol” singing contest?
Damnation Books and I are looking for someone to sing the theme song I
wrote for I Left My Brains in San Francisco.
I have the words and the tune; but we need a singer. We are offering prizes for the best singer,
the most creative audition video, and are giving one in ten entries a copy of
the e-book. The details are at http://fabianspace.blogspot.com/p/are-you-next-zombie-idol.html
TagLines:
Zombies in San Francisco?
Call an exterminator! What’s worse than zombies? Radical environmental terrorists! I Left My Brains in San Francisco. http://tinyurl.com/ilmbisf
Blurb: Zombie problem? Call Neeta Lyffe, Zombie
Exterminator--but not this weekend.
On vacation at an exterminator’s convention,
she's looking to relax, have fun, and enjoy a little romance. Too bad the
zombies have a different idea. When they rise from their watery graves to take
over the City by the Bay, it looks like it'll be a working vacation after all.
Enjoy the thrill of re-kill with Neeta Lyffe,
Zombie Exterminator.
BIO:
Karina Fabian is an award-winning fantasy,
science fiction and horror author, whose
books make people laugh, cry or think—sometimes all three. Winner of the 2010 INDIE for best Fantasy (Magic, Mensa and Mayhem) and a Global eBook Award for Best Horror (Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator), Karina Fabian’s writing takes quirky twists that keep her--and her fans--amused. Check out her latest at http://fabianspace.com
If there’s such a thing as ADD of the imagination, Karina
Fabian has it—in spades. Craft books,
devotionals, serious science fiction, comedic horror and chilling fantasy—she
follows her interests and the characters that tell her their stories.
Even before she could write, Karina strung tall tales
about everything from making human pyramids in Kindergarten to visiting alien
worlds. Her first attempt at novel
writing was in fourth grade; she completed her first novel in college. However, her first published work was an
anthology of Christian science fiction, Leaps
of Faith, an EPPIE finalist for best anthology in 2006. Her next anthology, Infinite Space, Infinite God, featured Catholic characters and
themes and won the EPPIE for science fiction.
The second Infinite Space, Infinite God anthology came out in 2010.
Watching the comedy improv show, Whose Line Is It, Anyway, inspired her noir-style dragon detective,
Vern. Vern and his partner, Sister
Grace, have solved mysteries and saved the Faerie and Mundane worlds numerous
numerous times in the DragonEye, PI stories and novels. Their serial story, World Gathering, won a
Mensa Owl; and the novel, Magic, Mensa
and Mayhem (Fabian’s first published novel), won the INDIE for best fantasy
in 2010. The second DragonEye book, Live and Let Fly, came out in April
2012.
At a friend’s request, Karina wrote a funny story about a
zombie exterminator, which grew into the Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
novels. The first, Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator, won the 2011 Global E-Book award
for best horror, and was runner-up in the eFestival of Words for best YA.
She also writes serious science fiction. Her SF novels, Discovery and The Old Man and
the Void, are currently under consideration, and she’s working on the next
DragonEye novel, a superhero spoof, Gapman.
Karina has a strong faith, which she explored in her
devotional, Why God Matters: How to
Recognize Him in Daily Life, which she wrote with her father Steve Lumbert,
and which won the 2011 Christian Small Press Publisher Award. She also writes Catholic school calendars and
has written three craft books for the Little Flowers/Blue Knights clubs.
Fabian is married to Colonel Robert A. Fabian of the USAF,
and they are currently enjoying a long distance relationship while he’s
stationed in Iraq. They have four
children, an overgrown pup, and a harried cat.
When not writing, teaching writing, or chatting about writing, she’s
hanging out with her kids or swinging a sword in haidong gumbdo.
Excerpts:
"Hi!
Welcome to Zomblog! It's ‘Time to
Re-kill!’ This is Kelsey Gardenberger,
and we are reporting to you live from Fisherman's Wharf, where zombie
exterminators Rii and Hi Lee of Bay Exterminations have been called in to take
out a zombie."
Police
held back spectators who had cell phones to film the event. On the ground lay a man in a black-and-white
striped shirt, black pants with suspenders and gold makeup on his rotting
skin. He pounded on the air with
imaginary fists, and then felt along imaginary walls with his hands. Where he should have had fingers, only
mangled skin and bare bones showed. Rii and Hi, both in protective gear,
watched the prone figure and spoke among themselves. The zombie continued his act unconcerned,
except to pause now and again and make drinking motions before pointing to the
top hat waiting beside him.
"It
looks like Rii Lee and Hi Lee have decided on their strategy. Despite the fact that the zombie appears so
docile, it could turn violent at the slightest provocation--and if you don't
believe me, check out 'Don't wave that thing at me!' on the Zomblog
archives. They're starting!"
While
Rii stood by with a power blaster of anti-zombie foam, Hi ambled up to the
prone zombie, sword relaxed but ready in his left hand. He watched the undead mime its struggle
against the imaginary coffin, nodded appreciatively, and tossed a twenty into
the hat. The Wasted Mime started clawing
with fervor, dug himself up, and brushed himself off.
Some
of the crowd in the front stepped back.
It picked
up the hat, checked the money.
The
crowd took in a breath.
It
faced Hi.
Hi
bowed.
The
crowd gasped. Cameras flashed.
The
zombie bowed back, deeply and theatrically.
Hi
lashed out with his sword, its blade cutting deeply and theatrically into the zombie's
neck.
The
re-killed corpse folded over.
The
crowd broke into wild cheers.
Kelsey
smiled big for the camera. "And
there you have it! Looks like a mime
isn't such a terrible thing to waste after all."
AND
Survival Hardware hadn’t seen such a rush of
customers since the last Armageddon prediction coincided with Black
Friday.
Manager Clint Sanders rubbed his hands with
glee. Oh, Marley, if only you hadn’t gotten drunk and decided to go zombie
hunting. Was it only last
Christmas?
He hurried to Customer Service, crafting an
announcement in his mind. “You want to
live! We want to live! That’s why you are going to file calmly to
the back if you need a suit.”
Yeah.
Sense of urgency, plus that “We’re in this together” crap.
He got to the counter and nodded at Bitsy, who
had rung up a chainsaw and a half-crate of bleach.
God
bless survivors. Clint continued to the back. Out of habit, he checked the exit door, even
though it was always locked from the outside.
He needed to delete Marley's old code from it.
He cleared his throat. “Listen up!
You want to live! We want to
live!”
The exit door clicked.
“That’s impossible!” he declared. The store fell silent.
“Boss?” Bitsy’s voice ended in a squeak.
“That’s not what I meant! Security team to customer service!”
He reached under the counter for a
shotgun. Bitsy grabbed the
chainsaw. They had filled them that
morning—another example of the excellent service at Survival Hardware.
The door swung open, and the zombiefied
remains of his late business partner, Marley, staggered through.
Clint to blasted him with the shotgun. The impact knocked the Marley out the door.
Clint used the gunsight to scan the parking
lot. “He brought friends! Call Nine-One-One. I’m putting this place on shutdown.”
“Screw that!
I’ve been prepping all my life for this!” With a howl of challenge, Bitsy dashed out
the door. She swung low and decapitated
her former boss before moving on.
Thundering footsteps signaled the customers
following in her wake.
He gaped at the carnage while Dirk called
9-1-1. It’d be too late by the time they
got there. All that’d be left was to
clean up the zombie parts and get the customers back in to pay.
God bless survivors.
Find
Karina at:
Find
I Left My Brains in San Francisco at:
Thanks for hosting me today. Hopefully, the government still has a sense of humor...somewhere...
ReplyDeleteAgh! Watch out for Homeland S - (I dare not type its full name lest it come knocking on MY door. And I'm not even a US citizen...) Thanks for some fun on this Tuesday morning.
ReplyDeleteSally, thanks for stopping by. I'm forwarding your comment to Karina.
ReplyDeleteKarina: Great to have you here. I love your subtle (or not so subtle) sense of humor!