I was so excited to be invited to participate in the Cut & Paste art show coming up at Cellar 55 in Vancouver, Washington. I’ve always loved cutting up paper and making collages for zines and mail art, but this is my first time making a collage piece for a show. I got a little bit intimidated by translating my scappy aesthetic to Fine Art, but I’m really proud of the piece that I ended up putting together.

The opening reception for Cut & Paste is this Friday, February 1 at 5:00 p.m. at Cellar 55 (1812 Washington St. in Vancouver). If you can't make it to the opening, the show will be up all month. Cellar 55 Tasting Room is open for viewing and wine tasting Tue-Thu 12-6pm, Fri 12-9pm, Sat 12-8pm, Sun 12-6pm. Other artists featured in the show include Kelly Keigwin, Sam MacKenzie, Greg Bee, Christopher Luna, Shannon Yoffe, and Lisa Laser.

I found out this weekend that my debut novel, Book Smarts and Tender Hearts, has been chosen as a finalist for the 2019 Oregon Book Award in Young Adult Literature!

When I submitted my book for the Oregon Book Award, I thought there was no way I'd be chosen as a finalist. I thought maybe I would be lucky enough to get feedback from the authors who were judging. So it just goes to show that you should try for the things you want! Even if you think there's no way, just go for it! Now my book will be read by three more authors, including Donna Freitas, whose book Gold Medal Winter (a sweet story about a teenage Olympic figure skater) I once won in a giveaway. Yay!

Suzette Smith from The Portland Mercury shared the list of finalists and said: "THERE ARE COUPLE WEIRD THINGS with this year's list of finalists. There aren't as many small press or self-published titles this year as there have been in years past." I guess that means that I'm lucky to make the cut! I'm glad that the Oregon Book Award judges are open to independently published books, and I'm super excited to be among the other finalists. I can't wait for the awards ceremony in April.