I saved her {pet bulldog Noelle's) life -- and she changed mine. [Noelle is the title character of The Magically Mysterious Adventures of Noelle the … - Gloria Estefan

I dreamed of becoming a writer. And . . . this dream is about to become a reality with the publication of my first, and hopefully not my last, children's book . . .

Gloria Estefan was a huge influence for me. Of course, she was one of the few Latina women around who had this major international success. She sang in Spanish and English, and she was very much the sort of woman I recognised from my culture. I go to her home, and I think that she is a woman who has got it just right. She has her music, she has her family, she has her relationship. I admire her so much because she has always put her family before everything. All her priorities are in place and she is still an amazingly creative artist.

"Noelle's Treasure Tale" [Estefan's second children's book] comes out October 10