Her poem The Antique Shop has been on the web for over five years. This poem was written after going to her hometown on vacation many years ago. She entered one of the local antique shops and was inspired to write a poem that brought back vivid memories of yesterday. In March 2004, Valerie competed in the International Society of Poets Convention and Symposium in Orlando, Florida, where she won a prize for The Antique Shop.There she met poets from around the world Africa, Canada, South America, London, India. Since then, her passion has grown deeper for poetry and celebrating other poets. This first book of poetry is preciously titled The Antique Shop, and many more poems are inside, just waiting to be entered and read.