It's a tremendous feeling. It's a very, very good feeling. Our goal from the start was to win a championship. It was a long road back to the finals.

I had to be convinced this team could win a national championship and our leaders convinced me it was possible. Halfway through the year I began to think it was really possible.

It was a tough game. It was very fast and very exciting. They got the first goal on us, which has been a problem for us this year, but we were able to regain our composure and battle back.

I do research for every single book, regardless. For 'Double Dutch,' I learned to jump and learned the scoring system. For 'November Blues,' I interviewed pregnant teens. I like to get up close and personal with the kids involved in the situations I write about.

I worked at Sears as a salesperson when I was in college. Makes me nicer to folks to have to stand all day and be nice to picky people.

With the 'Hazelwood High' trilogy, I wasn't sure I was writing a trilogy. I would just write one book, then another, and then another, because the young adults who wrote me told me that they wanted to read more.