Today's Catholic Techie is someone who I always imagine with introductory music, pump-you-up music like they do while the basketball team is warming up on the floor. I also imagine that Karina Fabian has an alternate identity as a superhero: not only is she a military wife, a mom, author of many books, blogger extraordinaire, and marketing whiz, but she's also a techie.

Does she have different coffee than I do?

Turns out, no. She's just using the gifts God gave her and sharing them with all of us. Anyone who's heard of the Catholic Writers Guild has heard of it in large part because of the effort Karina put into it as a founding member (and an ongoing force behind it). (And if you haven't heard of it and you're an aspiring writer, check it out. I credit that organization for teaching me many things that led to my writing career.)

Karina's in about a million places: her latest venture is writing reviews for TopTenREVIEWS.com where she writes about everything from business software and services to fitness software  services, as well as all kinds of monitoring devices from baby monitors to spycams.

She's also a primary writer for SaintConnection.com, which puts together packages about the saints aimed at Confirmation-age kids, particularly for religious education programs. It’s launching this year, so be sure to stay tuned for more about that.

At her SFF website, FabianSpace.com, you'll find links to her books (which are delightful) and the other work she does (which is plentiful).

Catholic Techie Karina Fabian

Tell us about yourself in five words or less.

Family, faith, fiction, fun…fatique? Fitness? Fooey!

Of your pursuits, what's your favorite?

Writing humorous stories, but I need to be in the mood for it, and that’s not happened much lately. Not that I’m depressed or anything, but my stories have just taken a more serious turn, even the DragonEye stories, which run the gamut from noir to slapstick.

When you think of the New Evangelization from your approach as a "Catholic Techie," what excites you? What makes you want to continue?

In my nonfiction work, Saint Connection really drives me, both for the mission and the work itself. 

On the work side, I’m getting to learn about these incredible men and women who are true examples of our Catholic faith, and then I get to share about them in interesting ways: a short first-person biography, a flash fiction about a pivotal event in their lives, and a series of six blogs written “by” them. I enjoy the challenge of getting into the mind and personality of a different saint every week or two.

On the mission side, I love the idea of bringing the saints to life in these short, modern formats for teens, and think it’s a great educational resource. I hope one day, we’ll have a whole online library of saints that kids can browse when looking for a patron saint, and that the format will get them excited to learn more.

In the mean time, the goal is to post a few saints each month in a subscription process for diocese RE programs. (Incidentally, if anyone is interested in subscribing, they can contact me and I’ll get them to the right people.)

In my fiction, I enjoy portraying the faith as something alive and integral to people’s lives, whether it’s in a big way, like with the Order of Our Lady of the Rescue – nuns who do search and rescue in outer space – or incidental ways, like with my character Joshua, who is a Catholic and an psychiatric intern who happens to get assigned to a guy who isn’t crazy but psychic.

What's the most rewarding aspect of your work?

I get to stretch my imagination, and I’m always doing something new. Even my work at TopTenREVIEWS means I’m delving into some new topic every 3-4 weeks.

In your spare time, what are we likely to find you doing? Do you have a gadget in hand or do you go native and screenless?

Spare time?  Spare time… spaaaare time…  wait, don’t tell me. I know I’ve heard of that. That’s not when you do laundry, right? Spare time…

Seriously, I play Dungeons and Dragons with my husband and boys. (They have to coach me on the rules and what dice to throw, but I hold my own in character and tactics.) I also watch TV with Rob (December and January we went on a FRINGE binge.) I volunteer with the Catholic Writers Guild, which is an awesome organization where I’ve made so many good friends. I used to waste a lot of time on Facebook, but now that I’m working full time plus writing, I don’t have that kind of leisure.

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Copyright 2014 Sarah Reinhard