My experiences always influence my writing, but usually only on an emotional level. I have experienced death of a family member and it's easy to dredge up those feelings and get them on the page.

The editing process is a necessary evil. I can write until the cows come home but it is all garbage until it gets edited.

A good edit process turns rocks into diamonds, and every author should love that part as much as the creative phase. I do love it. It's a different side to writing. It's like the fine-tuning.

I think in most sports sometimes you need a little luck for the ball or calls to roll your way.

Dialogue saves me. I love writing the conversations between my paper people. For some reason, that is the easiest thing for me. It's like I am a transcriptionist for the voices in my head. I can hear them talking (mentally) and have a gift for getting it on the page.

The best part of being a pro is being able to travel around the world. I have met so many incredible people and experienced different cultures all through sport.

I'm still reading some scripts and I model as well, so I'm still doing that. But I don't want to do like just anything so we're being really selective about the stuff I'll do.

I love meeting new people I think everyone has a story to tell. We should all listen sometimes.

Setting can be something that is a major player in a scene, something that makes the mood leap from the page. But if an author doesn't handle it right, it falls flat or seems overdone. It is a challenge getting it just right.

I hope that in 5 years from now I'll be working and doing what makes me happy. Whatever that may be.