09/27/2026
Ok I'm too tired to take off my name tag and I might not move from this couch for a day or two, but people made me promise to post about whether I won even though I told them there was a zero-point-zero-zero-repeating chance I'd win.
That's not self-depreciation. Just look at these incredible finalists in YA: Big 5 published, school founding, national bestselling, multi giant award winning, established agented authors well into their careers. The fact that my debut novel somehow squished itself between these two on a Finalists slide for the actual Colorado Humanities Center for the Book Colorado Book Awards is astounding and baffling and such an honor.
For this reason, I flew home from FanX, drove home from Denver, changed, and drove back to Denver. I wanted to experience the event and get to say I was there. Also I heard there'd be a dessert bar. :)
I was not disappointed by the desserts or any other aspect. Yes, I got shy and kind of ran away right when it ended (and my daughter had a fever). Beautiful evening, congrats to all, and I will cherish my finalist badge!
