I flew back to Dallas after the conference and began my research...and discovered a NEW kind of cheerleading - All-Star! These girls didn't cheer at games. They cheered in competitions, and they had them all over Dallas. So I went and took LOTS of notes. Who knew you could do so many fun moves in two-and-a-half minutes? It's cheerleading, gymnastics and dance, all in one.

After several drafts I decided to write about the minis - the 6-8 year old girls. I went to more competitions and took more notes and created the world of the Big D Elite Gym. "Big D" is what they call Dallas, but to my surprise and delight, no one was using that name for their gym, so it was mine!

The older girls have larger squads, but the minis usually have smaller ones. It was just right for a book for young readers. I named the squad Glitter, because each squad has its own name, too. I chose eight girls in first, second, and third grade for this series for readers the very same age.

The first All-Star Cheerleaders book, Tick Tock, Taylor, is out now. Two more books come out in January, and a fourth book is in the works. As the Glitter girls say, "Big D Elite can't be beat! We're the ones you want to meet!"  

Go Big D!