I am one lucky writer! Young adult and children's author Miriam Forster Wiedeback is a member of my critique group and an occasional lunch partner. Her work has been published in Stories for Children and her first novel, The Flute and the Dagger, is scheduled for release later this year. Below, I've asked Miriam a random smattering of questions that have basically nothing to do with writing.

Fries or Tots? Fries, but only if they're curly fries. Mmm... curly fries...

Chinese or Italian food? Italian all the way. I have a mild *cough* pasta obsession, and an abiding love of cheese.

See or be seen? See, probably. Being seen makes me very nervous. I prefer the sort of fame where people don't rush up to you in the store and start fainting. That's why I'm a writer. :-)

Go to the theater or be in a play? I was in a play once. I enjoyed it, but I'm not a very good actor. I do love going to the theater, especially Shakespeare.

Play soccer with friends or go see a game? (or, stay home and read a book?) Ha! Books win every time. Books aside, I haven't played soccer in a long time, but I think I would if it were with friends who don't care that I'm about as athletic as a manatee.

Countries you've been to? Mexico and Canada. I'm a pretty poorly traveled person. But I love airplane rides, oddly enough.

Stone house in the country or slick condo downtown?
I'd prefer either to the suburbs. :-) In the city you have shops and public transport and museums and live music.... It would be crazy, but interesting. In the country you'd have lovely scenery, with peace and quiet, very restful. I'd probably pick the country if I had to, because then I could have a huge dog.

If you suddenly found yourself with an hour with nothing to do, what would you do? Probably read. Or write. Or dink around on the computer looking at silly pictures.

How about an evening? Put in a movie, pop some popcorn and chill on the couch. Or read.

How about a weekend, if money were no object? Go somewhere, like Seattle with my husband. Walk around town, go to the Experience Music Project, the bookstores. And of course, read. :) (I would say go on an Alaskan Cruise, but those take longer than a weekend.)

One thing that keeps you up at night?
My ultra-vivid imagination. Sometimes it's hard to shut off. Mostly it plays random stories and scenarios, but every now and then it decides to dwell on awful and improbable things like: What if a crazy gunman came into my workplace? Or.. what if I was stuck out in the middle of the ocean by myself on a raft, and there were sharks and giant squid and huge crocodiles swimming underneath me and... That sort of thing.

To learn more about Miriam and her writing, visit her blog at:
http://msforster.blogspot.com/