www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, May 7, 2015 | 44 Artscene T A K I N G A N A R T O D Y S S E Y by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff "Connected to your Community" Oakville author wins Readers' Choice Award Oakville author Emily Harper can now add winner of the Romance Writers of America New England Readers' Choice Award to her list of accomplishments. The local hairdresser, wife and mother of two recently returned from Boston where the awards were held to accept the honour for her book My Sort-of, Kind-of Hero -- her third published novel. "It is truly an honour to win such a prestigious award. When they first announced I had won, I was in complete shock," Harper said. "Writing can be such a solitary occupation. By being recognized amongst my peers and fellow book readers, I was reminded that I'm not on this journey alone. "Probably one of the greatest things about the whole experience was just sitting beside authors whom I have looked up to for years, talking about our lives and our mutual love of reading and writing." Harper won in the Short Contemporary category and was up against authors: Leigh Duncan (Second Chance Family); Jean Joachim (To Love or Not to Love); and Amanda Renee (Blame it on the Rodeo). My Sort-of, Kind-of Hero tells the story of "best-selling romance author" Etty Lawrence -- or at least she would be if she could get someone other than her mother to read her books, said Harper. When Etty is given the advice to "write what you know," she convinces her slightly unwilling and lifelong friend Travis to let her follow him around as he goes on dates and tries to find real love. Emily Harper Harper says she writes mainly women's fiction with a combination of some subgenres, such as murder mystery and action adventure. As an independently-published author, Harper released her first novel, White Lies, a little more than two years ago -- the book was a finalist for the Excellence in Romantic Fiction Award. All three of her novels have been on the Amazon best-sellers' list. Her latest book, June Jenson and the Shield of Quell, is the first in a three-part series and was released in April. That novel tells the story of June, an accomplished Oxford professor trying to get out of the shadow of her archaeologist grandfather who is infamously accused of stealing a relic during an excavation at Sutton-Hoo, U.K. For more on Harper, visit her online blog at emilyharper.ca. The Halton District School Board's Art Odyssey 2015, now in its fourth year, was recently held at Oakville's Pine Grove School and featured more than 400 pieces of art from students in Grades 4-8, representing 29 schools from across Halton. The show is held annually at the local school with winners selected for each category, division and geographical area. Above, Pine Grove's Emily Jennett, 11, finished second in the junior sculpture category with her popsicle stick lamp. The Grade 6 student used hundreds of popsicle sticks and took two days to construct the piece. For more photos, visit insidehalton.com/halton-photogallery. | photo by Graham Paine Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog) OAKVILLE'S FAVOURITE THEATRE! TRE! 171 Speers Road (at Kerr) Oakville General: $8.50 Children (3-13): $6.50 Seniors (65+): $6.50 905-338-6397 www.film.ca facebook.com/filmca @FilmCaCinemas May 1 May 15 May 22 JUNE 5 JUNE 12 Tuesdays: $5.00