Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. In fact, Alcott's main character, Jo March, inspired me to write a book of short stories when I was nine-years-old titled Story Lands. I cherished Jo's nonconformity and boldness to confront the status-quo gender roles in nineteenth-century New England.

Growing up in a traditional household where my father was "the boss," at an early age, I began to resent being female as Jo did. I remember being confused as to why girls are treated differently, not taken as seriously and given less freedoms and opportunities than boys, such as my brother. The character, Jo, helped me to understand how ridiculous the expectations of what it meant to be female were in her time, as well as mine.

Most importantly, what I took from the book was Alcott's purpose - in my opinion - to express the different personalities, aspirations, desires, and talents of females through Jo and her sisters. I admired Alcott's desire to portray the unique characteristics of individual human beings whether they be male or female.

And so Little Women helped me to embrace both my femininity and my own unique characteristics as a human being, while at the same time, confirming my belief as to how ridiculous it really is for society to expect women to conform to one accepted role and way to act.

1. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell:

If I were asked to recommend one book that every human being should read before they die, it is Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces. If everyone read Campbell's monomyth theory - that all stories throughout oral and written history share the same basic structural form to essentially teach the same fundamental self-discovery that the hero/protagonist of the story must learn while at the same time realizing that the heroes of these stories are simply portraying ourselves in our own lives, and so each of us is the hero of our own story/life - people would finally understand how powerful and amazing they truly are. Instead of fighting against the hard, dark times in our lives, we can embrace them and face our fears as a symbol of something amazing to come.

As every hero knows, there are always monsters/obstacles to conquer and slay on a journey, and once you see them for what they really are and recognize their weakness, they can be beat, and then the hero receives his reward. As Campbell says, "it's by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure."

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott:

Without seeming redundant, as I went in depth about this book with your first question, I will just say that this book changed my life, how I see myself as both a woman and a human being, and it is the book that inspired me to become a writer.

3. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James:

I don't think there has ever been an author that could paint a living picture with words as James could. James' description of setting and character becomes so real to the reader, it is very difficult to get sucked out of his story. Although in today's fast-paced world, some might feel it is almost too much description, I absolutely adore a book that can take me away like The Portrait does. James' portrait of his main character, Isabel, will make you happy, sad, hopeful, and above all, make you realize how utterly stupid, hurtful, and selfish conformity and patriarchal rules really are.

4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo:

Campbell's philosophical theory in The Hero with a Thousand Faces can be best understood by reading Coehlo's The Alchemist. It is the perfect example of going through hard times in order to receive your reward; and oftentimes, after the journey is over, the reward or pot of gold has always been right under our noses, we just had to take the difficult hero's journey to discover it. That is what Coehlo's hero, Santiago, truly discovers, while at the same time, he also discovers himself and who he truly is. It is a heartwarming story, and I believe it can speak to each and everyone of us.

5. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch:

Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Randy Pausch literally gives his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University entitled, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." He teaches the importance of overcoming obstacles and how to actually do it. He also expresses the importance of allowing others to be themselves and letting them follow their own dreams, and most important of all, to make sure that each of us lives in and cherishes the present moment. I think that this book is a must-read for every school in America today.

Symbolically.

For instance, in my children's chapter book, Alex and the Attack of the Brain People, Alex is running across a fallen tree that acts as a bridge. The bridge symbolizes crossing the threshold of his journey from the outer world to the inner world of the Brain People whom he must confront.

The bridge itself represents separation from what is familiar to a new and different experience. Change is always scary and so insinuates danger; yet, Alex literally runs to the unfamiliar, dangerous world because he realizes that the way things are in his ordinary world are not working for him and so he needs to explore other worlds to create a better one for himself and others, or forever be unhappy.

In my nonfiction book listed for pre-order, Meditation Turns Back the Clock, the journey into timelessness, I use an old-fashioned pocket watch lying in the sand to represent time. The old-fashioned watch expresses the theme of the book of turning back the clock to a time that was much slower. The symbolism of sand is two-fold, as time can either be endless like the sand on a beach, or represent an hourglass where time is limited.

So the clock and sand express the dichotomy of time as one's worst enemy - as it is running out because we are always counting and watching it - and the deeper philosophical knowing that there really is no time because it is endless, just like the grains of sand; and once we learn the process of making time stand still, we truly can turn back the clock.

Symbolism resonates with people, however, because symbolism often stems from the collective unconscious, people don't even recognize why they are attracted to the cover, they just are.

I adore poetry. Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" is one of my all-time favorites. William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, and both Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning are also some of my very favorites. Reading children's books and poetry together with my seven-year-old twins is an ineffable joy, and our often-read favorite is Shel Silverstein.

When it comes to fiction, I love historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, speculative fiction, thrillers, and great epics. I'm also a lover of the classics and go back to them time and again, especially the Romantics.

Reading world literature and religious texts from different cultures around the globe is something I really enjoy because I have found, in essence, they are all saying the exact same thing. I have delved deeply into the Bible that contains some of the greatest storytelling in historical literature. I also enjoy reading Buddhist texts such as the Pali Canon, the Path of Purification - a phenomenal ancient work - the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, which I would consider one of the most beautiful - while at the same time - mystical and philosophical epics ever written. I've also read the Kuran, the Tao te Ching, and many, many other esoteric books.

Although I enjoy the Kindle app on my phone, I still love my old Nook. It just feels more like a regular book when I'm reading.

Well, the desk is a natural maple shaped like a kidney bean. I have a statue of a Tibetan Buddha meditating that reminds me to take a moment to go within when my mind goes blank or starts wandering too much. In writer's parlance you would say I'm simply checking in with the muses.

I also have a tiny statue of the Hindu Goddess Ganesha, who is symbolized as the god of writing and prosperity. There are lots and lots of pictures of my children, reference books, and a collection of The Writer's Chronicle Magazine in Peacock bookends. The room is half playroom, half office overlooking our pool.

I grew up in Miami, Florida. I would have to say my writing is most influenced by Miami due to it being a melting pot. Since I was exposed to religion, cultures, and people from all walks of life around the globe, it gave me an open mind and a deeper understanding that although we as human beings seem different from the outside, at the fundamental level, we are all one big family and much more alike than we are different. This is a huge theme within my work.

When I was nine-years-old.

Innovation, in other words, new, fun, and different.

When inspiration kicks in and the words are just shooting out of my fingertips like an Uzi, and then days later read what I had written and wonder where the heck that came from. I am a firm believer in "the muses," and am often awestruck by the concept. I also enjoy expressing myself and sharing my own unique knowledge in creative form.

The interconnectedness of people and life. Let me explain:

Through my meditation practice and philosophical beliefs, there is one very important fundamental understanding I have about myself and all other people with whom I share this planet, that what we all really, really want is to simply just be happy. And if in some way I have made someone happy, delighted their senses and their mind, and in some way given them a deeper sense of interconnectedness with all sentient beings through either/or both my fiction and nonfiction, I have achieved my purpose for writing.