These are five questions from Kij Johnson.

1. If you had to get a really big tattoo where everyone could see it, what would it be?
It would be a Chinese dragon. That's my Chinese astrology symbol (1976), and I find it very symbolically pleasing. I had one hennaed on my forearm in Hawaii once and loved the reactions I got to it very much; if I didn't have to work a dayjob I'd probably have a permanent version already.

2. Do you want to live anywhere other than the South, and why or why not?
This is a tough question, because I want to live all sorts of other places. Too many to name, and I'd love to live in Paris or London, or any number of other European places I haven't been to or been to long enough to fall in love with, would love to live at least part time in the Hawaiian Islands or on some other island, and, inevitably, probably will someday live for whatever amount of time in New York or Los Angeles. I find most places fascinating, and wonderful. (This excludes Gary, Indiana.) The South, capital S, is home though, and I love it. I love it because it's a secret, that people think they understand but don't--and that includes me. It's one of the last places left in the United States that's truly misunderstood by people who haven't spent much time in it, and that still clings desperately to what makes it unique rather than try and be better understood. I'll probably always come back to the South, but, paradoxically, I've also always felt that home was wherever I was.

3. Which is better, kids or pets?
I'm not all that sure there's as big a difference as we want to think, but: pets. Absolutely. Or, to hedge a bit, my pets and other people's kids are equally wonderful.

4. How did you meet Christopher, and what made you realize he was the one?
Christopher and I met at ICFA (and I think you were there that year, actually), introduced by mutual friend Kelly Link, and teased each other mercilessly. Then we met again at Wiscon, and about two weeks after that, we started dating. Really, there were two things that made me decide. One was "Force Acting on a Displaced Body," Christopher's story in Trampoline -- he'd just finished when we started going out and gave it to me to read. I thought it was so beautiful, how could I not fall for the person who had it inside them? And also, I was in a pretty disenchanted, through-with-it place with romance. The fact that I was seriously agonizing over whether to date him or not pretty much meant he was it. And we made each other laugh, and always felt so comfortable together.

5. What's the hardest New Year's resolution you can think of?
To ensure George Bush's defeat in the fall elections. Or, to win an Oscar, as opposed to winning the Oscar pool.

RULES:
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.