Write about the first book you read that made you want to become a writer.

For a long time, I believed that that book (or in this case, series) was Warriors by Erin Hunter. It was not.

The first book I stole- er, I mean "borrowed" from my school library- was a book by Daniel Ehrenhaft, The Last Dog On Earth.

It was the first book that made me cry.

My first short story was inspired by it, three years after I first read it. It was a Grade 8 English short story- a "thriller" by my choice, and even now it is the work I am most proud of.

That book was what gave me the courage to push for change in my troubled childhood, and with good results.

It was a key to my prison cell.

Of course I still had to get out of the actual prison, but it was the first step, and I think that small bit of freedom made me understand the importance of literature, and the important messages expressed within.

Upon that understanding grew my need to express my own truths and secrets, my own anguish and triumphs; my own spirit, which had been confined for so long.

It made me strong as a young teen, and gave me the strength I needed to face the coming challenges as a youth.

While I can't say that it made me successful in my endeavors, I can say that it helped me survive them, and at the time that was the greatest achievement I could attain.

Writing and reading is important to me as an individual, as is that book that showed me this creative world and shone a light on that hidden part of my personality.

Who knows, maybe I wouldn't have even developed that part of my personality without it.