What inspired you to write a book about basketball?
I have always been a big fan of basketball. To my knowledge there are not many books on the market about the actual lives of the brothers and sisters of professional basketball players. I came up with the idea for My Brother Is A Baller several years ago. There are so many NBA players now a days and a lot of the players are young. I decided to write a book from the perspective of a sister of a professional basketball player. I thought about the changes that her life goes through after her brother joins the NBA.

What was the inspiration behind the character of Sheri Carmichael?
Sheri Carmichael is a 17 year old girl. She lives on the South Side of Chicago. She is happy with her life. Her older brother Todd loves to play basketball. Sheri lives much of her is life in Todd's shadow. When Todd is drafted as the #2 pick in the NBA draft Sheri is thrust into the limelight. Her every mistake is scrutinized. She feels like her whole entire life is lived in the shadow of NBA player Todd Carmichael. Her friends all want to know about Todd and his new life. Sheri works extra hard to find herself and to enjoy her life in the midst of Todd's new career. The money doesn't hurt but Sheri mismanages the money she is given access to and uses her new car to get into trouble. It's an exciting book.

Are any of your family members in the NBA?
Not at this time. Retired Utah Jazz player Bryon Russell is a distant cousin. I've met him a few times at family reunions. I don't have any immediate family members who are professional basketball players. More than anything I wanted to write about the life of a teenager whose brother's instant fame brings her instant money and the natural problems that arise from newfound money and fame. Family strain comes naturally not to mention Sheri Carmichael is 17 years old. She has her fair share of growing pains.

Do you think NBA sisters get enough media attention?
I don't think so. I mean if their brothers are instant millionaires I wonder what kind of pressure they are placed under. Do their brothers automatically give them a cool million to live their dreams or start a business? Or are they still under the pressure to go to college or find their own career? Sometimes do they immerse themselves into their brothers career with jobs such a personal assistant or operating their foundation.

A lot of people remember back in 1999 you operated the Marcus Camby fan site Cambyism. How did you get into that?
I was a fan of Marcus Camby's when he played college ball at the University of Massachusetts. When he joined the league Allen Iverson and a lot of the other recent draft picks like Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant were really popular. I decided to focus my attention on Marcus Camby because I wanted him to have a really positive and long career. He started off playing for the Toronto Raptors. He spent two seasons in Toronto. When Marcus came to the United States in late 1998 after the strike to play for the New York Knicks it was a really exciting time in my life and exciting for the NBA.

The NBA saw that they had so many fans that missed basketball when it wasn't there and the thought of canceling the season had a lot of fans shook. I was really happy that Marcus was playing for the New Yorks Knicks. I decided to make a Marcus Camby fan site. It was a lot of fun. I followed every game of the season and wrote about it and posted pictures on my website. It was named Cambyism. I had the chance to see the Knicks play the Bulls back at the United Center and I went to a Knicks game at the then named Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The Knicks had a really good season. They made it to the NBA Finals where they faced the San Antonio Spurs.

In the off season I was invited by The CambyLand Foundation to chronicle their Labor Day Back to School Events. They had a lot of nice things that they did including giving out water bottles and stuff in the park for a Ja Rule concert and Marcus walked back to school with the kids on the first day of school. Of course I got a chance to meet Marcus and his family that weekend. We went to the Vin Baker Celebrity Cruise and had a nice time. We had a nice time. Marcus plays for the Denver Nuggets now and more than anything I'm glad that he had a really nice long NBA career. He's been in the league now 12 years and I never thought he would make it that long cause I used to worry about him every time he got hurt and stuff, so now I mean more than anything I'm glad that he had a nice career.

You also had a Kim Perrot (deceased Houston Comets player) memorial website. What led you to create that website?
I saw a segment on television about Kim Perrot. She was a really good basketball player and she was suffering from cancer of the brain. I believe she had just had a brain tumor removed and she returned to the WNBA. I really rallied for her complete recovery. She was a very important member of the Houston Comets WNBA family. In 1999, she died from the cancer. NBA.Com and the WNBA official website featured a news story about her passing. I wanted to create a lasting tribute on the Internet. I created a website titled the Kim Perrot Memorial Website. It was nice. I kept it online till about 2003 or so. A lot of her family members and fans had the opportunity to sign the guestbook and visit the site. I felt good about creating that website.

Can you tell readers what the WNBA was like in the very beginning? A lot of women's basketball fans today don't remember a world without the WNBA.
I remember the WNBA started in the late 90's. The first season that I faithfully followed the WNBA was about 1997 or 1998. I'm not quite sure but it was the year that Chamique Holdsclaw was drafted by the Washington Mystics. It was a really new and big time for the WNBA. I remember Carolyn Peck was the coach of the Orlando Miracle. I was a fan of her's when she coached the women's basketball team at Purdue University. The WNBA was great because a lot of the female basketball players that we had seen in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics were now becoming celebrities. Some of my all-time favorite players are Lisa Leslie, Theresa Weatherspoon, Kym Hampton, Rebecca Lobo, Coquese Washington and Mistie Williams. I met the WNBA player Nykesha Sales once. She was real nice.

Do you think that My Brother Is A Baller will be well received?
I hope so. I worked really hard on this book. The instant money and the instant celebrity tore Sheri Carmichael from her ordinary life. I think it is an exciting story that people of all ages will enjoy.

Do you still have time for your celebrity interview website Thabiz.com?
I try to keep the site updated as much as possible. I had a few great interviews the past year. I interviewed British singer Craig David who is one of my favorite artists. It was a great album. I interviewed R&B singer Eric Benet. That was a great interview. I have been reviewing albums and DVD's mostly. I hope to land some good interviews in 2009.

Do you plan to write a sequel to My Brother Is a Baller?
Yes. I plan to write a sequel. The sequel will be titled My Brother Is A Baller Part 2-Hollywood Life. I can't wait. Hopefully, that book will be released in 2010.