Karen A. Romanko is editor of five speculative fiction and poetry anthologies, Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic (2007), Cinema Spec: Tales of Hollywood and Fantasy (2009), Retro Spec: Tales of Fantasy and Nostalgia (2010), Jack-o'-Spec: Tales of Halloween and Fantasy (2011), and Spec-tacular: Fantasy Favorites from Raven Electrick Ink (2012). A former professional librarian, she began her writing career in 1986 with a "My Say" column in Publishers Weekly. She has since seen over 100 of her poems and short stories published in venues such as Strange Horizons, Ideomancer, and The Pedestal Magazine. When not hunched at the computer, Romanko 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.