My days did not pass through, but stayed, filling the shelves of my memory. They became the library where today I do my research. I also get material from my own kids. Along the way I married another children's writer, Eileen Spinelli, and from our six kids have come a number of stories. Jeffrey and Molly, who are always fighting, have been especially helpful.
Ideas also come from everyday life.
And from the newspapers. One day, for example, I read a story about a girl who competed on her high school wrestling team. So there you are. I never became a cowboy or baseball player, and now I'm beginning to wonder if I ever really became a writer. I find that I hesitate to put that label on myself, to define myself by what I do for a living.