2018 ONTARIO ARTS COUNCIL WRITERS GRANT AWARD

THANK YOU, ONTARIO ARTS COUNCIL, for your relentless support of Canadian authors and artists. Without your help, authors today would have a much harder time writing the novels of tomorrow. Thank you, thank you, thank you. A special shout out to Chi Zine Publications as well, who recommended me for this grant. I won't let you down. I'm hard at work, writing No Apology For Being. Let the fun begin! 

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WINNER OF KOBO'S 2017 BEST EMERGING AUTHOR AWARD!

AH!  I can't believe I won the Kobo award!  What an incredible honor. I won for BEST GENRE AUTHOR, along with the author of In-Between and the author of The Translation of Love for non-fiction. The celebration was so cool. I was Belle at the ball!  Other than my pathetic speech (I never thought to write one since I never thought I'd win!) which had the crowd in awe and laughing, the night was an absolute dream. Thank you, Kobo, for making me feel like a princess.

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Feeding The Masses

What an honor, to participate in such a worthy cause. My family and I spent the day packing and distributing Thanksgiving dinner to families in need of a little help over the holidays. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend my time. A gracious thanks to all who organized this amazing event.

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Book Club Time!

What an awesome group of ladies!  I can't imagine this journey without each and every one.  We sipped wine, munched on goodies, and talked books, specifically A Keeper's Truth. While I am open to chat about almost anything, books in particular, I can't imagine a better discussion topic than A Keeper's Truth, the book closest to my heart. Thank you, all, for making me feel so welcome and appreciated!  Big hugs.

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Who owns the rights to your online photos/images?

Author Dee Willson  joins Wits and Pieces TV Host Jody Matheson and Social Media Expert, Trevor Cherewka in a discussion of copyright and ownership issues

Recently, the visual artist Richard Prince launched an art show composed entirely of blown-up photos taken from his Instagram feed. The photos, mostly of young women in seductive poses, come from multiple sources. The installation, New Portraits, launched in a New York art allery in 2014, but resurfaced in the public sphere when the photos started selling for as much as $100,000. What Prince is doing isn't new. He's a hugely successful artist who has built his entire career on appropriation. 


Five books to nurture the writer in you

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DIT MFA, Online

I was invited to guest post on DIY MFA, a wonderful site for writers at all levels. 

I came up with a list of my top five reads and rereads, my go-to books, the ones I cling to when searching for inspiration and craft reminders. Not one lives within the genres I write, but each has taught me something valuable about my voice, my style, my craft. Each, along with many others, have taught me to be a better writer.