One of our most prolific (20 books) and popular writers, Valerie Byron, aka Gooduklady, recently shared some of her thoughts on writing with us:

I never considered writing until I found my late mother’s auto-biographical stories, which I transcribed and uploaded to Bookrix. My friends had asked me for years to write about my "interesting" life, but it was not until I found this site that I was inspired to start telling my story.

When I discovered the wonderful contests on Bookrix, I was spurred on to try writing more than an autobiography. I regret not having the imagination to make up wonderful stories of fiction, but do have lots of real tales to tell. I have suffered no writer’s block in spilling them out in a matter of hours ("The Lover," "Mr. Wrong," etc.). My pets have also been a source of inspiration, so I am now dabbling in short, funny children’s stories with a surprise ending ("The Bickersons," "A Morning with Tessa").

Since I was a very small child, I have always loved to write poetry. I never thought anyone would be interested, so I saved my poems for birthday cards and special occasions. Bookrix has encouraged me to shyly put forth my funny poems, and I have enjoyed writing in that vein for the smaller Battle of Words contests.

Now that I am older and have more time on my hands, writing has become more important to me, and there is even a sense of urgency in getting my story finished before I “check out”. I hope to complete "Valerie" (my memoirs) very soon and am already feeling a huge sense of accomplishment at having nearly completed my very first (and probably only) full-length book.

Valerie has been very successful in our writing contests. Check out some of her contest winners below:

1st Place, Poet’s Week:

3rd place, Worst Summer Jobs – Battle of Words X:

3rd place, Summer Nights:

4th place, My Best Fiction:

We had an astounding 113 entries in the Poet’s Week contest. After all the dust settled, Valerie Byron, aka gooduklady, emerged as the winner of $200 for her entry:

Congrats, Valerie!

My wife discovered this gem in an old box last week. My oldest stepson wrote this as a school project when he was about 9 (20 years ago). These days, a book like this would have him talking to the principal, a counselor, a psychologist, etc. — if not expelled! In retrospect, though, considering he survived and turned out to be a pretty great grown-up, it’s really, really funny.

Do you have any gems like this from your kids? Or even perhaps your own childhood? Turn them into a BookRix book to make it easy to share with your friends online.

We received some great news from BookRix author Michael M. Pacheco recently:

Because of your support, I have good news to share. Nayeli’s Nightmare has been accepted for publication by an anthology sponsored by the University of Houston. After 828 reads, 81 stars and 61 comments on Bookrix, I’m thoroughly thrilled.

Congratulations, Michael!

Unfortunately, to protect the publisher’s rights, Michael had to pull Nayeli’s Nightmare from BookRix, but you can stop by his profile to congratulate him and check out his other books:

Ever wondered how to effectively promote your book on BookRix? Our resident marketing genius Tim “maicherinho” Maicher has put together a great collection of tips and tricks to help.

Don’t sweat it that it’s on the German site – the book’s in English (promise!).

If you’re looking for more ideas on marketing your book, be sure to check out these groups in our community:

• Marketing Tips For Writers
• Marketing for writers

Have you ever had the feeling the phrase
"Iambic pentameter"
Really ought to have three more syllables?

If you get that joke, then be sure to check out Poet’s Week, starting August 13. You could win $200 and bragging rights.

We had some great entries in Battle of Words X – truly some horrific summer jobs!

Congratulations to Matthew D. Smith on his second Battle of Words win! He receives a $100 Amazon gift certificate.

1st Place

Easy Money? by smithmatthewd

2nd Place

The Deckhand by ankitaverma19

3rd Place
The Entertainer by gooduklady

Congrats to all the winners. You can also check out the judges’ comments and all the entries.

Check out the winner of our Cowboy Week free writing contest:

Kat and Sable
by Wardha Jawdat

Congratulations! The prize is a $100 gift card to a Western wear store.

Thanks to all those who participated in this spirited contest! Be sure to read some of the other entries, as well – there were some great Western-themed stories.

Need help coming up with ideas for our Drabbles Extremely Short Story Contest? Check out the Drabble-Matic automated drabble writer. Here’s the masterpiece it cranked out for me:

The Panther Princess

Romeo was walking through a serene meadow, laughing at the butterflies flitting around his head when he spied an enthusiastic little panther lying under a tree.
Romeo skipped over to see the dear thing and was ripe to find that she was hurt! A waterbed had pierced her scintillating little ear and she whimpered quickly with the pain.

"My overjoyed little friend," Romeo said. "Let me help you!" He took out his Leatherman Multi-Purpose tool and pulled out the waterbed, as dangerously as he could. The panther cried out and Romeo’s heart ached, like a horse that’s been rode hard and put up wet. "You’ll be all right," Romeo whispered. "I’ll take care of you. I’ll call you Juliet and you can live with me forever!"

Scooping Juliet up in his arms, Romeo carried her home and made a bed for her beside his own. For seven days and seven nights, Romeo nursed Juliet, cleaning her ear and feeding her Diamond-brand panther chow.

On the eighth night, Juliet climbed into bed with Romeo. She burrowed under the covers and willingly kissed Romeo’s nose. It made Romeo giggle and he cuddled close to Juliet, stroking her toes and singing thoughtfully to her.

They continued that way for a long time. Every day, Romeo hurried home so he could curl up with Juliet. It gave him a ready feeling whenever Juliet kissed his nose.

Then one night, Juliet looked up at Romeo and said, "If you kiss me, I will become a fantabulous princess."

Romeo screamed thoroughly, he was so surprised. How could a panther talk? He must have dropped off and dreamed it.

"You’re not dreaming," Juliet said. "Kiss me."

"Don’t tell anyone I screamed like that," Romeo said and kissed Juliet on her toes. The air swirled and suddenly, there stood a fantabulous princess! With a crown and everything!

"I’m Princess Juliet," she said. "I was cursed. It’s a long story."

"Is it really you?" Romeo said.

"See?" Juliet said and showed Romeo the scar from the waterbed on her ear.

Then she kissed Romeo and they tumbled in a pinch and did a lot of very radiant things, some of them involving a luscious wine glass.

"I love you," Juliet said when they were done. Romeo clasped her close and they lived together happily ever after on all the princess treasure Juliet had stashed away.

And if Juliet didn’t know about Romeo’s visits to the panther sanctuary, well, it wouldn’t hurt her.

OK, you might not be winning 1st place with the results, but it’s kind of fun and who knows? It might just provide you a creative spark or two.

Image credit: Cory Doctorow