Portland-based writer Karen Vitt always is up for an adventure, especially when it makes a good story. Whether it’s learning to kayak the Columbia River, parading her Bengal cat down a fashion runway or riding a horse through high desert country, she's eager for new experiences to share with readers.

The native Portlander has covered Northwest style, shopping, culture and travel for more than a decade, and her byline has appeared in local and national publications, in print and online. In addition to writing feature articles, Karen has worked in marketing, advertising and public relations for several well-known Oregon companies. "My experience writing creative Web content, feature articles, advertisements, marketing materials, press releases and internal communications has taught me to use words effectively for multiple purposes, whether it's to inform, to entertain or to drive sales," she said.

Until spring of 2009, Karen split her time as a creative marketing copywriter and special projects manager for The Oregonian newspaper in Portland; and as the Portland correspondent for national shopping bible Lucky magazine. Now she is writing as a style freelancer and advice columnist for Oregon Bride magazine. Karen recently launched a new Web site called The Neat Sheet, a life+style site covering fashion, shopping, culture and travel in Portland and beyond. Editors interested in hiring Karen for freelance projects, please e-mail karenvitt@gmail.com.