This was a tough one, we had so many entries and of such high quality that it made picking a winner a really difficult job.

Anyway after much horse trading and gnashing of teeth, here is our final list.

Winning Entry by Rachel Green

"If I knew then what I know now, I would never have fallen,” said Lucifer, running his finger over the dust on the fireplace. “It was all an ineffable plan, ordained from the beginning, you know; not so much a fall as a gradual herding towards the edge.”

Michael nodded and adjusted his visitor’s badge. “What would you have done differently?” he asked, taking the wine poured by a demon he vaguely recognised from the old days.

Lucifer considered the question. “Been a bit more circumspect, certainly,” he said. “I’d have crept about, sowing insurgence and then performed a political coup.”

“Do you think that would have worked?”

Lucifer sat, his liquid eyes brimming with tears. “It would have been worth a try,” he said, fishing in his pocket for a handkerchief. “It’s not easy being the Lord of the Damned when all you want to do is write poetry.”

Runner's Up Entry by Sally Zigmond

If I knew then what I know now, I would have had a ball
In high-heeled shoes and skimpy tops and not have cared at all
About my mother’s warning of a lechers’ free-for-all.
I would have drunk champagne from shoes – a thing I’ve never done
But would look foolish now for me - a slightly tubby mum.
And what about that trip to France in Alain’s dodgy plane
To watch the sun rise, dewy-eyed above the misted Seine?
I didn’t go. I listened to that nagging voice of reason.
But reason is for adults; youth’s another season.

So now my sons have flown the coop, spring has come again.
I’ve got my pilot’s licence and a lot of life to spare.
Bangkok beckons, Cyprus calls, Australia is waiting,
But first I’m off to Paris – to see if Alain’s there.

Runner's Up Entry by Sandra Mackness

I’d have shrugged off Sandra the moment I knew it didn’t suit me. But your name is spoon-fed by parents who coax you to scrawl its wobbly letters. It’s marshmallow soft when you’re five: crisply stitched by ten.

You hitch it to a star at thirteen, despite teachers who curdle it with sarcasm. Parents scorch it as you giggle amongst the shrubbery and gild it when you pass those exams. And once your lover enfolds it, you are who you are and your name is forever in your psyche. Though I did once try on forenames I found in a book, letting Melissa, Zillah and Rosabel ripple over my tongue. I even shrugged on Fedora, Edia and Xanthe then wrote Amity, Briana and Charis in lipstick on my mirror.

It’s too late now, but whoever heard of an old lady whose name was Sandra? I’ll probably be called … “Dear”.

Runner's Up Entry by Suzanne Barrett

I don't think one ever grows too old to learn something new. While I'm comfortable with the woman I've become, it would have been so much easier and so much more exciting if I'd listened more and paid attention earlier so I could have gained insight then instead of now. Life is actually short in the grand scheme of things, and we need to experience it fully while we can.

I'd have begun living each moment so much sooner, rather than waiting until the children were grown, until the house was paid off, until there was time. There's never a perfect time if you wait until a time is "just right." You have to seize each opportunity. Looking back, I know now I'd have done more seizing.

Runner's Up Entry by Kate Goddard

If I knew then what I know now, would I have had children at all. We all head down the path of marriage and children without giving too much thought to what it means. We all hope to have healthy children and mostly assume we will. We go through the chat with the nurse about what we would do if we found out something was wrong with the child.

Life goes on and we are fortunate to have two healthy children followed by one with a mild disability. Our worlds are shattered when we go through a miscarriage. We think again about how casual we have taken things. We cope with our grief for our lost child and we cope with the acceptance that we have a child who is a little different. We are shocked at first, tearful the next, angry and defensive too. We pull ourselves together and deal with what we have to.

People are baffled when through all of that we try for another. Happily we are blessed with a healthy child. Do we love any one child more than the other, no. Do we wish we could change anything, no. Do we think that if we new then what we know now we would do anything differently, not on your life. For ours lives are richer, deeper and more caring than they ever were before.

Runner's Up Entry by Elizabeth Pulford

If I knew then what I know now…

I would eliminate the word `should’ from my life; believe in myself a whole lot more; live daily in the realms that anything and everything was possible; and most of all I would treat my small inner voice with as much respect and love as I do my family and friends.

The winner will receive a FREE copy of every Transita book published this year and the four Runner's Up will each receive Three FREE Transita books of their choice.

Thanks again to everyone who entered - the standard was really high and we do appreciate the effort everyone made.

NOW THAT WE KNOW THERE'S SO MUCH TALENT OUT THERE WE'D LIKE TO FEATURE MORE OF YOUR WORK ON THE WEBSITE. IF YOU'VE GOT A PIECE OF WRITING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US PLEASE EMAIL US HERE.