![Congrats to Mike Doodson for winning our Christmas Writing Competition.jpg](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/3f83fe2/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1680x1120+0+1/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F6e%2Fdc%2F12d7c5a24c21945ac29c3a5ec3e9%2Fcongrats-to-mike-doodson-for-winning-our-christmas-writing-competition.jpg)

# Winning squirrel takes the prize

*Winning the Amazon A (New) Christmas Carol writing competition offered Mike Doodson the chance to fulfil his dream of becoming a published author.*

First time’s a charm: Before entering Amazon’s *A (New) Christmas Carol* competition, digital marketing manager Mike Doodson had never participated in a writing contest. Nevertheless, his fresh take on *A Christmas Carol* was selected as the winner. As a part of the reward, his book was illustrated by children’s artist Ian Beck and made available through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) for everyone to read.

> There’s an enduring quality to children’s stories which I love. The subject matter and the characters undoubtedly change with the times, but there is a magical and playful quality to them which remains undiminished. I wanted to recreate that sort of magic.
> — Mike Doodson

In the following interview, Doodson describes his personal journey from avid reader to author:

“My mum sold books, so there were always boxes and boxes around the house and I would work my way through them, often returning to the best ones for second and third helpings. I remember spending numerous evenings re-reading Roald Dahl’s *Matilda* by the chink of light coming into my bedroom from the landing, inspired by the lead character’s prodigious reading habits. 

This soon expanded into a love of writing. In a bid to create my own places to escape to - *The Magic Faraway Tree* has a lot to answer for – I wrote of amazing imaginary realms and, closer to home, the adventures of the animals in the woods I could see from my bedroom window.

I shared my writing with my family and friends. I have written poems and stories for wedding readings, to commemorate milestones and, most successfully, to propose to my wife. I started to get serious about turning a passion into action around a year ago, finally putting pen to paper with a view to writing a children’s book. 

![squirrel 1](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/c80b49a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1348x894+0+0/resize/767x509!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F4a%2F7a%2F8849cfc5450c8dec403d800bd9c7%2Fscreen-shot-2018-04-02-at-5.43.48%2520PM.png)

Traditional children’s books still take up most of the space on my bookshelf: when I write, I try to tap into the things that gave me pleasure as a young reader. There’s an enduring quality to children’s stories which I love. The subject matter and the characters undoubtedly change with the times, but there is a magical and playful quality to them which remains undiminished. I wanted to recreate that sort of magic.

The arrival of my first child six months ago gave some added impetus to my dream of becoming a published author. I told myself, how great would it be to read my own stories to her? It was a chance encounter with the magazine aisle of a supermarket that sparked my interest in writing competitions. I noticed a magazine cover which boasted a list of competitions inside. Within a couple of minutes, I was reading the criteria for Amazon’s festive writing competition *A (New) Christmas Carol*.

The idea of a greedy red squirrel hoarding away nuts for himself developed quickly, and on the way home I was already jotting down the key points of the story on my phone. I wanted to keep the message of the story close to the original, with redemption, repentance and forgiveness as key aspects: *[A Christmas Squirrel](http://amzn.to/2iOBcuy)* is really a story of transformation and Christmas spirit. I wanted to create something that we could read every Christmas Eve as part of our family’s own tradition. Christmas is such a special time, and with it being my daughter’s first Christmas I thought writing her this book would be the perfect present, whether it won or not!

I was shocked to find out I had won. I really liked how the story had turned out, but I really had no idea whether my opinion would be shared by the judging panel and, ultimately, readers! The best thing about a competition like this is the chance for aspiring writers have to have their work read and published. If you write a good story, you’ve got a chance. Being able to work with an established and iconic illustrator like Ian Beck is also a huge draw. His ability to capture the essence of the story so succinctly and bring to life the words on the page exactly as I had imagined them is a luxury that few unpublished authors are able to entertain.

Now that I have fulfilled my dream of becoming a published author, I plan to finish off a couple of outstanding stories before trawling back through the mass of notes I’ve taken when new ideas have popped into my head. In the meanwhile, the first copy of *A Christmas Squirrel* has taken pride of place on my daughter’s small, but ever-growing, bookshelf.”