REMINDER!!! ***THIS SATURDAY*** IS START-TIME FOR THE SPRING, 2026 24-HOUR SHORT STORY CONTEST!!

1st Place: $300 + a free book publishing package from BookLocker valued at $975; 2nd Place: $250; 3rd Place: $200; + 100 Honorable Mentions! Those writers receive a free ebook of their choice from BookLocker.com. 

Read all past winning topics and story, and sign up, RIGHT HERE!

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In Episode 10 of The WritersWeekly Podcast (one of our most popular ones!), you heard the story of how Angela Hoy started WritersWeekly.com as a young, single mother, with MANY challenges along the way. Those included skipping meals early on to ensure her children were well-fed (her ex wasn’t paying court-ordered child support), and later suing Amazon.com for federal anti-trust violations, and winning! She turned a fledgling hobby website into an internationally known publishing powerhouse and, 28 years later, it’s still going strong!

Now we present Brian Whiddon’s story. Brian is the Managing Editor at WritersWeekly.com, and the Operations Manager at BookLocker.com, a full-service book publishing company. He is also the author of Blue Lives Matter: The Heart Behind the Badge.

Brian grew up rough (to put it mildly!), had run away three times by the age of 14, and then moved back home with the help of a friendly police officer. That gentleman was Brian’s inspiration to later serve vulnerable members of the population himself. Listen to this episode to find out what happened to the amazing police officer who literally changed Brian’s life.

Brian was kicked out of his home by his parents at 17 but was determined to finish high school, because a diploma was required to become a police officer. He then served in the United States Army for five years, which included a combat deployment in Somalia. (Wait until you hear the camel dust story, and about the time Brian and his two soldier buddies mooned a Colonel!)

After leaving the Army, Brian finally got to live his dream career as a police officer. In this episode, you’ll hear first-hand Brian’s story of how he and another officer got repeatedly burned while pulling a man from a burning airplane. He shares other stressful, exciting, and even hilarious stories as well.

Tragically, after 15 years, the career he had dreamed about since the age of 14 was tragically stolen away from him, simply because he did the right thing. After witnessing police misconduct, and reporting it, Brian prevented an innocent young man from going to prison…and got fired for doing so.

How does a former law enforcement officer later become the Managing Editor for one of the first writing websites on the Internet, and the Operations Manager for one of the most well-known book publishing companies?

This episode is packed with emotion, humor, inspiration, and lots of human interest! (Did you know “beef sticks” in Korea are actually dog meat? No, Brian didn’t eat those!).

If you have ever wondered about the man behind the voice here on the WritersWeekly Podcast, you DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!

Repeat: GRAPHIC WARNING AT 1 HOUR, 3 MINUTES! (1:03)

Contact Brian directly for a free copy of the ebook edition of Blue Lives Matter: The Heart Behind the Badge!

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LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• BookLocker’s Publishing Packages
• WritersWeekly’s Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest
• Author Testimonials!
• All Episodes of The WritersWeekly Podcast
• Book Trailers!
• Do you think you might be the victim of a publishing scam? CONTACT ANGELA AND BRIAN.
• If you need legal assistance at a very affordable rate, contact JAMES M. WALSH, ESQ. 
• Clayton Jones’ Editing, Website Design, Author/Book Coach, and Book Marketing Services.

HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!