Last week we announced the winner of our first contest for book creators. We asked Andrea to share insights as to how she won the contest. This will be relevant to interested Sharing-Books authors as we will announce soon our next contest for book creators.

Tell us about yourself. When and why did you start writing?
I am a busy mom raising two young boys ages six and nine. I started writing poetry in my early teens as a creative outlet for my teenage angst. Over the years I have continued to write for fun and for friends. I usually combine humour and verse in my projects.

The Little Suitcase is an important book for you, and you had a special motivation to win this contest. Tell us why.
This story came as an answer to prayer, when I was at a loss for words. It's purpose was to comfort dear friends of mine after they lost their son, and now it can reach other families who may be grieving. Winning this contest was important because we wanted to donate the prize money to Sunny Hill Health Centre, in Dylan's memory.

What did you do to promote your book and encourage people to register, download the book and donate?
I wrote a letter explaining how The Little Suitcase and Sharing Books came to be and also about the contest. I asked everyone to read, vote and pass on the story to as many people as possible. I sent the letter by email of course, but also handed out the letter in person at every opportunity. People promoted the story on their websites and Facebook pages with a link to the Sharing Books site.

You shared an interesting anecdote that was reported to you about a business meeting and your book. Please repeat the story for our readers.
My husband sent the story out amongst his co-workers. During a fun warm-up exercise at a business meeting, when asked what was the last book they had read a colleague talked about The Little Suitcase. It reminds me to take every opportunity because something wonderfully unexpected can come from it!

What advice do you have for new authors?
If you have an idea or something you feel you need to express...just write it all down. It doesn't need to be eloquent or even make sense, but you need to get it on paper. As you keep writing, it will eventually become what you want it to be or something you never expected at all. The fun is seeing what you end up with!