Words are magic - every little kid knows this. And when your parents read to you, and pictures and feelings and ideas bloom inside your mind in response to the words Dad takes off the printed page, well, that's when you have your first experience of a power that you too can use, even when you're still just a half-pint brat. My father was an illustrator of children's books, and by the time I was six he was always asking where the heck his dummies were (not his kids, but blank booklets for his initial sketches), because I stole them so I could put in my own pictures and stories (mainly about horses and cowboys in those days).

So, no big surprise, I ended up making my living selling my imagination in the form of printed words. I'm a writer of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror (well, a little), with over a dozen books in print (if you're interested, check my website, www.suzymckeecharnas.com, and you'll find it all there complete with book covers from great to ghastly). I was interested in other worlds and cultures from the beginning: since no grad school would have me after college, I went into the Peace Corps which sent me to West Africa as a teacher. Back home I taught high school in New York until I married my lawyer husband and we relocated to New Mexico, where we've lived ever since. I began writing full-time out here, but I still teach and lecture on and off, often about writers and writing.

And, naturally, I write a lot - non-fiction too, plus outraged letters to the editor: I have strong opinions, and have been living in a constant tornado of pride, amazement, and outrage over the politics and general craziness of my beloved country for too many years not to have it spill over into - printed words, of course!

So I'm happy to be here, with lots of other people with strong opinions, and I look forward to a lot of good conversation.

Relationships & Family > Romance & Sexuality A study says students with higher IQs are less likely to be sexually active

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The outcome of this study should not come as a surprise. As an intelligent kid you soon work it out that testing well means a better chance to get into Harvard or Stanford rather than end up at Podunk U; and that means a better chance at interesting work that pays well and makes for an increased possibility for a rewarding and interesting life. America is a society that places enormous value on upward mobility, and recognized high intelligence is a prime tool for social advancement.\

By contrast, youngsters who test poorly and have low self-esteem are more likely to go looking for what...

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