Each year, I enjoy entering several spring writing contests for children’s authors. One of my favorites is author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Valentiny Contest. This year, all entries are required to have no more than 214 words, incorporate the idea of superstitions, and, of course, have a Valentine’s Day theme.
Susanna always arranges for the greatest prizes, like critiques, books, and ask-me-anything sessions with other authors. But whether I win or lose doesn’t matter. Participating in these contests challenges me to select words carefully to get my story across, teaching me about the economy of words. I also enjoy reading the stories of other authors and all the variations on a theme that we can come up with. But more than that, I find that making time to write about the holiday heightens my enjoyment for it — to be in a love-minded moment. You too can enjoy these heart-filled stories by visiting Susanna’s website at: https://susannahill.com/2026/02/13/cross-your-heart-the-11th-annual-valentiny-contest-is-here/
This year, I chose to have my main character be a shelter dog in need of adoption, as my husband and I most recently adopted our lively little Yorkie, Harley. Below is my entry.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Lucky’s Star
By Julie Lerczak
(213 words)
Lucky was a gray-faced mutt stuck in a noisy shelter, surrounded by bouncing, barking dogs. For weeks, people passed her, picking puppies and purebreds instead. “If only I were lucky like my name.”
Word spread through the kennel about an annual Valentine’s Day Adoption Event. Hopeful, but superstitious, Lucky hatched a plan. She’d knock on wood, thumping door frames with her tail and cross her toes, nearly impossible for dogs to do. Surely that would help her find a fur-ever home.
On Valentine’s Day, Lucky smiled, sat tall, and even did her “lucky” dance, hopping in a circle on her hind legs.
But everyone crowded around a litter of kittens.
A little girl held a trembling black kitty with a white star mark on its forehead. Suddenly, the kitten leaped from her arms, darting for Lucky’s cage.
“Stop!” Lucky barked. A black cat could ruin her chances!
The kitten slipped through Lucky’s gate, curled at her feet, and began to purr.
The kennel attendant laughed. “Poor Lucky found a friend!”
“Why ‘poor Lucky’?” the girl asked.
“It’s hard for old dogs to find new homes.”
The girl whispered to her parents.
“We’ll take them both!” said her father.
As luck would have it, the little kitten, soon named “Star,” became Lucky’s brightest one.
Little Seeds Read 