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What kind of a world do we live in today?
The news this weekend was very upsetting. During the holiday season, I try to avoid paying attention to the news at all costs. I have no need to be angry, upset, frustrated, or sad during this time of year. But the news of this weekend got me down—so much unnecessary killing and bloodshed thrust upon innocent people. It makes one want to hide away and never turn on the news, open a laptop, or visit social media again. What kind of a world do we live in today? It’s a question that has haunted me before, and it haunts me now. When I spoke to my dad about it this…
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Letters & Bakeries & Updates
The Reason for the Lack of Blogging… If it feels like I haven’t been blogging as much, you are correct. It makes me a little sad, but there’s a reason for it. While I don’t have a full-time job, I have many part-time endeavors that keep me extremely busy (and I love it this way). These part-time roles consist of the following: —Teaching in Stevenson University’s graduate program part-time. —Helping to revise the graduate school curriculum at Stevenson with Dr. Leeanne Bell McManus. —Co-coordinating Walking with Purpose at St. John the Evangelist Church (152 women! It’s wow!). —Writing books, promoting books, getting out in the community, and connecting with the…
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The Ones Closest to You promo
I was just scheduled for a book talk with the Italian Book Club of Annapolis, not for this book, but for Beneath the Mimosa Tree, because it’s set in Annapolis. This book also features Italian American characters, and is probably my best work to date. It was the most intricate story to weave together, and all the characters were fun to write. I liked that this story had more mystery to it than my others. If you like character-driven stories with a hopeful resolution, you might like THE ONES CLOSEST TO YOU. Xx,Stephanie About the book: It’s 1956, and rumors begin to swirl: the Brooklyn Dodgers may leave New York…
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Nostalgia & New Beginnings
It seems all I’ve done lately is feel deeply nostalgic. I suppose that happens when you reach a certain age. You tend to reminisce a lot. I taught my first class in the fall of 1993. I was working at the Orioles and got a last-minute opportunity to teach a public speaking class at Anne Arundel Community College. I was able to make teaching work with my Orioles responsibilities. That’s when it all changed. I loved, loved, loved my job at the Orioles. But after I taught my first class, a different type of passion was ignited. I loved being in the classroom with the students. I taught at several…
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The Annual Birthday Post: A Lament with Gratitude
I freaked out when I turned forty. Forty was not good for me. I loved my thirties and all they entailed. I had enjoyed a tremendous career in sports; became engaged, then married; traveled to Aruba and Europe twice; bought our first home; threw parties; had our two children; watched them grow; became a part-time professor at a four-year university; took exciting vacations with the kids; and spent lots and lots of quality time with family. In my thirties, I had no: hip pain back pain neck pain knee pain. Minus the migraine headaches I endured monthly as part of being a woman, it was, by far, the greatest decade…
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Rebooting Your Writing Journey: Embracing Your Gift
True story: Yesterday, I told someone that I may be done with writing books. I told her the marketing is hard and that it’s killing me. The marketing requires so much, I told her. You’re supposed to be writing your next thing, but you’re too busy marketing that you can’t write anything new. It takes its toll. You feel exhausted. You feel like what you write is not being seen, so…why bother? She listened intently, and then said. No. No. You’re too talented not to write. That is a waste, she said. You just need to reboot. Find another avenue. But don’t waste your stories. There are people who need…
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A Catch-Up Letter
Dear Friends, Yes, I’ve been gone for a while. And while I’ve missed posting, taking a break from blogging was healthy. We’ve had a lot of things going on recently. Namely, my husband and I have spent a lot of time traveling. As he was in-between jobs, we took the time to get away, which was good for both of us mentally. It allowed us to recharge our batteries, especially after some unforeseen challenges. To recap what we’ve been up to as of late, I’ll try to keep it on the shorter side. Here’s the latest of where we’ve been… Since we’ve been back home, my husband has started a…
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Happy World Book Day!
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We Are All Hopeless Romantics at Heart
Last night, we watched an episode of All Creatures Great and Small. I found myself rooting for Mrs. Hall and Siegfried to get together (my husband doing the same). I also realized that we are all hopeless romantics at heart. We want love to win. For good to beat evil. For love to conquer all. And for hope to triumph. This is why I write fiction and love reading stories centered around the notion of hope. Hope is the nugget that helps carry us both in good times and in bad. God has always offered us hope through Him, and that’s the most comforting truth of all. Yet, as I’m…
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Last Night During Church
This February weather has certainly kept us all on our toes. Last night, my husband and I went to mass as the winds began to pick up after a heavy downpour of rain. The wind was whipping, and as we made our way into mass, people were holding on to their hats. The priest for our 5:15 p.m. service, Father Erik, warned us that the lights had been flickering in the building we are currently using as our church, while our actual church is under renovation. Situated in the gym on the campus of our school, yet turned into a temporary holy place of worship, the lights flickered. Father Erik…
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Reflections
Each year, I like to reflect on some of the things I’ve learned. It’s great to set goals for 2025, but I believe it’s also important to glean lessons from what has already passed. Not that we need to dwell in the past—that’s certainly NOT healthy. But we can learn from it. Here are my 5 takeaways from 2024. I’d love to hear some of your own lessons & discoveries. 1. CELEBRATE THE BIG MOMENTS AND THE LITTLE ONES. In 2024, we celebrated my father-in-law’s 90th birthday, my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday, my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary, a college graduation, a confirmation, and a sacramental marriage. These were the “big things”…
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A Resolution for 2025
Happy holidays, my dear readers. This morning I received the “renewal” notice for my blog, and it made me realize how much I’ve let blogging go over the last couple of years. One of my 2025 resolutions will be to reinvigorate my writing here on this platform. It’s a funny thing…when I stepped back from full-time teaching and returned to a part-time role at my university, I did so with the intention of writing more. And while I’ve kept that promise to myself with novel writing, I’ve let blog writing fade. In my new-found “free time,” I found myself volunteering more and becoming more involved with my church, Bible study,…
