You know how some people are really quick witted and clever things seem to just float right off their tongues, like they've got a tiny speechwriter living inside their brains or something?

Well, I'm totally not like that. I'm a little slow on the comeback, sometimes. It's one of the reasons I love to write. I can always go back and add things later.

For me, being a teen was hard work. My teen years overflowed with angst. Good material for books I guess. Character building as it were. I think I love YA books for that reason. I want teens to emerge from the turmoil victorious.

Books have always been special to me, and as much as I loved reading, I loved writing. Mostly journals and bad short stories. After high school I went to college and took a journalism/advertising diploma. I wrote advertising for a radio station and then a TV station in a tiny town. To be honest, it sucked so I went back to school and eventually started working in sales.

For a while I sold Kraft stuff to grocery stores, like KD and Peanut Butter. Once I dressed up as the Sugar Crisp Bear at an NHL hockey game. Next, I became a Liquor Rep and got lots of free stuff including a free trip to Ireland where I met cows raised only to provide Bailey's Irish Cream with milk. Good job for a cow I thought. I've had other cool jobs, too. While in college, I was a DJ. I even had groupies.

I stayed in sales for years but I missed writing. When I realized how much I looked forward to composing the annual Christmas letter, a light bulb went off. You know, an imaginary one. Over the head- thing. I started writing again. I started small with magazine articles and then I wrote my first book. Something I'd always wanted to do.

I kept writing and collecting rejections as I learned the craft. But the writing bug had bitten me. Last year to offset all the time spent on my butt typing, I began training and finished my first Sprint Triathlon. Swimming, cycling, running. It probably sounds more impressive than it is. Luckily. I didn't come in last.

Like writing, I'll keep going. More books, more races. Slow, but sure. That's me.

How come you wrote about a hockey player? Why a boy POV?
Zack came to me exactly as the story starts. There he was, in the dressing room. The new guy. Again. Zack evolved over time. He got naughtier. I think he was the boy I was supposed to date in high school. Also, I have two brothers who played hockey and my dad coached, so I kind of grew up in a hockey rink. I guess it rubbed off.

What kind of research did you do for this story?
Well. I talked to my younger brother, Kyle and got some hockey stuff from him. The passing and scoring feelings. He was one of my first readers. I also had to find out what bruised ribs would be like. My Mom's an x-ray tech so I talked to her. Mostly I made stuff up.

What is the hardest part of writing for you?
It changes as I write. I used to hate revising, but now I like it. Sometimes. Mostly, I'm impatient. I have to let my work brew sometimes. Plus, the Internet easily sidetracks me.

Did you struggle with any parts of the story?
In the earlier versions of the story, Zack was too nice. I found it hard to make him do some of the not so nice things he ended up doing. I felt bad for poor troubled Mona and angry, misunderstood Jane. It's weird how much writers love their characters.

What do you hope the reader will gain from your book?
I hope boys can see some of themselves in Zack. Teen years can be really tough for boys and for girls, and I hope I addressed some of those issues. It's not okay to let other people get mistreated and abused. Or to do it to yourself. I wanted to show that you can go through “stuff” and make out okay. Mona would have been okay if she'd kept going. I know that. A person in pain maybe needs a little understanding and friendship. Things aren't always as they seem. Labels suck.

How does it feel to be a debut author?
It feels amazing. Weird, scary, but amazing. It feels like I've sent one of my children out into the world to be judged by others. I hope people like Waiting To Score. I'm kind of needy.

What are you working on now?
I'm working on other YA's. I have a couple of YA stories. Another boy story I think is different but worth reading. I'm always writing. It keeps me sane. Well. Relatively speaking.