Karen Pavlicin-Fragnito is an award-winning writer known for her practicality, inspirational insight, and sense of humor. An accomplished business leader, hall of fame athlete, and singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after keynote speaker on a variety of topics.Karen's challenging yet positive experiences during her Marine husband's many deployments, and her volunteer work with military families, inspired her to write Surviving Deployment: A Guide for Military Families and lead military family workshops. She wrote Life After Deployment: Military Families Share Reunion Stories and Advice to help with the many challenges military families face during their reunions. Her poem "Love Letters" in Military Life: Stories and Poems for Children was inspired by her son's love note on the pantry door and the more than 800 handwritten letters she exchanged with her husband during his deployments. Her newest book for military families is Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life; she has two essays in the collection, "Star Light, Star Bright" and "Buy More Underwear." Karen regularly consults with family organizations, counselors, and schools to support military families. Karen's personal experience raising her young son following the death of her husband, as well as her wonderful childhood memories at her Grandma's house inspired her multiple-award-winning children's novel Perch, Mrs. Sackets, and Crow's Nest, now available in paperback as Summer of Courage.Karen created the Circle of Catholic Women journal series in response to the desire of women in her church community to reflect on their faith in their daily lives and share their faith journey with other women.Karen's independent record label, Andermax Records, donates 100% of the profits from her music CD, Little Bit of Faith, to cancer research.As the publisher of the online magazine BooksMakeADifference.com, she shares how books make a difference in people's lives.She loves photography, a colorful sky, and the challenge and blessings of her blended family life in Minnesota.