It's that meme again, where I asked someone (in this case Daniel Abraham) to interview me. The questions and answers are below. You, my loyal readers, are invited to ask me to interview you via my comment thread. (I'll probably only provide questions for the first three or four requests, because it's a busy week). Here's what Daniel asked:

1) What are the best and worst experiences you've had directly concerning the publication of The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl?

The best experience was the Borderlands reading in San Francisco. A great crowd, very appreciative, and it was a good reading. One of my best experiences of the past year, period. The worst experience was going to Bookshop Santa Cruz -- remember, the book is set in Santa Cruz -- and offering to sign their stock for them... only to have the first clerk I talked to tell me they didn't want me to sign the books, because then they couldn't return them to the publisher for credit when they failed to sell. Ouch. (Then I talked to another, nice clerk, who did get me to sign some, and later they twigged to the fact that it was a local-interest book and they made a nice display, so that turned out okay too.)

2) Kevin J. Anderson or Ted Chiang? (You may interpret the question in any way you see fit.)

As a writer, I am more like Kevin than Ted. Like Kevin, I write very fast, and joyfully (I suspect he writes joyfully, though I type, whereas he dictates his fiction into a recorder while climbing mountains and such). I envy Ted's brilliance, and the intricacy of his stories, and the obvious care with which his fiction is crafted. But personally I love the momentum of the big messy white-hot draft. (I should note that I'm totally just making wild guesses regarding their processes / inner states / feelings about writing based on my own subjective interpretations of their work and careers. Kevin and Ted did not approve this message, etc.) As for which one I'd rather hang out and talk to, they're both super nice guys and I've enjoyed the conversations I've had with each, so call it a draw.

3) How has marriage affected your image of yourself?

Hmm, I don't think it has. Heather and I were in a committed relationship, and lived together, and were engaged for years, and nothing much has changed for us on a day-to-day basis. I do wear a ring, now, which is the only piece of jewelry I've worn since I was a little kid. I don't even wear a wristwatch. Putting on a ring was a big step. Now, being married means we talk a bit more about our future, including the possibility of having kids, and I suspect becoming a father would rather radically change my self-image.

4) Describe the perfect day job.

Wet t-shirt contest judge and food taster at the ice cream and burger stand over by the outdoor sex pavilion. (My guiding philosophy is hedonism.) Unless writing full-time counts as a day job. If so, I'll take that one.

5) How have your passions changed in the last ten years?

I'm less interested in playing live music. I used to play mediocre bass guitar, and for a while that was very important to me. I haven't even picked up a guitar in years, though, and honestly I don't really miss it. Listening to music, yes, constantly; playing music, well, not so much. I'm about as interested in writing, books, drugs, love, and cooking as I was ten years ago, so playing music is the only change that really stands out.

Okay, your turn. Here's the memeish boilerplate:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."

2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your journal with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

I have to thank Elayne Pelz of Worldcon registration. I became worried when I didn't get anything from the convention in the mail, which prompted me to check my credit card statements, and... I discovered that my membership (and Heather's) hadn't been charged. So I e-mailed, and they told me they'd had server problems and had probably lost it, so they re-signed us up, and (here's the nice part) gave us the old membership rate instead of the current, more expensive one. I am grateful!