Hi there, I'm Deborah Morris. Welcome to my office! It's a lot messier than my Virtual Office. If you just came from there, did you find all the things hidden away on my desk and around the room?

If you're a kid, you probably have a million questions. I'll try to guess some of them and answer them for you below. If you're an adult, you might prefer to skip to the Boring Adult Version of my bio.

Kids often ask how I got started as a writer. You'll find that whole story posted in our Young Writer's Clubhouse, under the "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)" section. While you're wandering around, you might also pick up some tips about how you can get started as a writer! It's a lot easier and more fun than you might think.

My hobbies? When I'm not writing, I love to read. My favorite authors are C.S. Lewis, Alistair McClain, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Dick Francis, Gary Paulsen, Elizabeth Peters and about 50 others. I also volunteer once a month as a Red Cross Disaster Action Team Leader, which means that I get called out to help people who lose their houses or possessions when disasters strike: apartment fires, tornadoes, flash floods, and things like that. We find places for them to stay, give them clothes, food, beds, and other things they need to get their lives back together again -- even teddy bears for the kids! -- all for free. If you're a kid, click here to find out some cool things YOU can do with the Red Cross!

In my "spare" time, I ride around on a Harley-Davidson 883 XLH (that's a motorcycle, in case you don't know), and I'm a certified First Responder. I might be too old to be a "Real Kid", but I figure I can still help people in an emergency!

Okay, let's see. Other questions...

• My Strangest Job?
  ...buying and transporting dynamite while working as a partner in an Arizona gold-mining venture

• My Funniest Practical Joke?
  ...mailing a live tarantula to my friend, Cheryl, in an unmarked gift box

• My Most Embarrassing Moment?
  ...when I found out I had accidentally called a family's dog a bad name in Spanish because I couldn't roll my r's to say perro (Spanish for "dog")

• My Most Stupid Moment?
  ...when I followed a 12-year-old boy I was interviewing out into the wilderness near his home--supposedly to find the spot where he fell into a flooded creek--and we ended up lost. As it was getting dark. In the middle of a hunting area. On the opening day of deer season. With guns popping all around us. Duh. (Fortunately, some nice hunters found us and gave us a ride back to civilization.)

And then, of course, there are those personal questions you're never supposed to ask, but kids ask me all the time anyway:

• Hold old are you? I was born on August 23, 1956. So I guess that makes me... EEK!! Really old!

• Are you rich? Sure! In kids and pets and friends, that is. In money? I don't think Donald Trump would consider me rich, but my kids apparently do. My husband says they act like we're Walking Wallets. (But you probably do that to your parents, too.)

• How much do you weigh? Okay, forget it. You're out of luck on that one. I weigh more than a breadbox (whatever that is) and less than a garbage truck. Don't you have any manners??

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