What movies and books inspire you?

I don't know about you, but I grew up watching a lot of movies that involved the hero/heroine having to overcome several obstacles and life issues in order to win at some sort of sport. My favourites, which I watched again and again, were Chariots of Fire, The Karate Kid, Rocky, A League of Their Own, and then later on, Million Dollar Baby, Bend It Like Beckham and Step Up.

I don't know - there was just something I loved about the underdog coming good, about chasing a dream and finally getting it, and about that moment of victory. They're feel good movies - and in some cases they have books that go with them too - and that's always something I'm looking for in movies or books.

Is it perhaps to remind me to keep pursuing my dreams, or to inspire me to never give up? Maybe that's why I wrote a novel like The Harper Effect - after all, it's set in the world of professional tennis and there's a dream to be lost and then won.

Maybe it's just that I love sport. As a teen my brother played at Wimbledon and I trained for the Olympics (400m track). It kept us focused on the right things, it boosted our self-esteem, it provided some of the biggest lows and highs we've ever experienced in our lives and we learned to deal with both. It also taught us to be independent, to be a team player but take responsibility for our part in that team, and to never expect results without hard work.

I guess they're good lessons for life. Do you have a particular movie or book topic you tend to look out for? What life lessons have come out of them for you?