Karen A. Romanko, Author, Editor, and Publisher

Karen A. Romanko writes poetry and short stories in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. A former professional librarian, Karen began her writing career in 1986 with a "My Say" column in Publishers Weekly. She has since seen over over 100 of her works published in venues such as Strange Horizons, Ideomancer, The Pedestal Magazine, and Lone Star Stories. See Karen's Bibliography for a complete listing of her publications.

When she switches literary hats, Karen edits and publishes fiction and poetry anthologies under the Raven Electrick Ink imprint. Karen's first foray into editing came with the speculative fiction and mystery e-zine Raven Electrick, which ran for nine years. In 2007, she dipped a toe into the pond of print publishing with Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic, a 42-author anthology of flash fiction and poetry about sports and games with a speculative twist. Her follow-up is Cinema Spec: Tales of Hollywood and Fantasy, another speculative anthology, this one with stories and poems about moving pictures in all their forms, slated for launch in September 2009.

When not hunched at the computer, Karen enjoys the sun of Southern California with her biologist husband, Bob Desharnais. A long-time movie buff, she loves the proximity to Tinseltown, but misses the fall foliage of her native Boston and always roots for the Red Sox. See Karen's Mini-album for personal photos and her Blog for more pix and up-to-the-minute news.