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Booking Remote Book Club Visits
*** As many of us are still in the “working remotely” phase of this pandemic, I’ve decided to promote virtual book club visits to help promote reading and our sanity! I’m currently booked for a book club in July and have a lot of openings for book clubs who might want to read my books and discuss them. As an author, one of my favorite things to do is to meet new people through book club discussions. As I have five books on the market, I’m happy to visit your book club virtually. I’m getting good at this, especially since the back half of the semester I just taught was…
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Meeting Mitch Albom Was A Dream Come True For This Indie Author
My Bucket List of Writers I Would Like To Meet (in no particular order) Elizabeth Gilbert (heard her talk; did not meet) Jeannette Walls (heard her talk; did meet) Mitch Albom (heard him talk; did meet) Charles Dickens (impossible; dead) Jane Austen (impossible; dead) Rosamunde Pilcher (elderly, no longer writing or traveling) Steve Martin (still working on it) Andrew McCarthy (actor now Editor-at-Large and writer for National Geographic Traveler; bumped into him in NYC, but didn’t talk to because I was too scared to). *** This is a partial list of writers I would like to meet. Some I have met; some I’m still working on, and others may be added…
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Book Vlog (I prefer to call it a chat) About My Books—Available for Book Clubs
When you have friends ask you what your books are about, you realize you have some work to do to better promote and explain the novels you’ve written. In this video, I give a short overview of my four published fiction books, including my most recent release, published just three weeks ago. (Sorry about the loud bang when I talk about the first one…still new at this thing…) I’m also available for book clubs, whether I come in person or call or Skype in–I’ve done both, so whatever works for your book club works for me. Thanks for taking a peek.
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Book Launch – Day Two Promo
It’s been over 24 hours since the book launch, and since then, I’ve heard words of congratulations, encouragement, and a few people who say I inspire them to tackle their own writing projects. These sentiments couldn’t make me happier. I hope I’ve inspired others to write and publish. That makes my day! Because there are 22 stories in the collection, and because I want to showcase them each in their own way, I’m going to share each story’s promo from The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry. I’m also busy setting up my press room on the site which will contain information about me and my books. Here’s today’s…
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Book Club Visits Benefit Authors – Truly.
** Last week I had the pleasure of attending a local book club meeting, and I had the opportunity to mingle with readers of my novel, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, the first of three novels I have written and published. From the book club side, the benefits of having an author attend your book talk is that you get some “behind the scenes” information about the book, its inception, back story, and inspirations from the author. Authors are typically willing to answer questions and provide additional insight into their books. I enjoyed meeting the women in last week’s book club, and had a great time interacting with them. They asked…
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Book Giveaways for Inn Significant
There’s a first time for everything, ladies and gentleman. I’m still learning all the ropes for succeeding as an independent author, and it’s a constant learning curve. That said, I’ve set up my first BOOK GIVEAWAY ON AMAZON. If you follow the link below, you can enter to win by the 28th of February; I’m giving away 3 copies of my newest novel entitled Inn Significant. Good luck, you guys! Follow the link below to enter to win a copy of Inn Significant! https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/aa533a36d37b846b *** Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along…
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Happy 99 Cent Anniversary!
Good morning, friends! Today marks the two-year anniversary of the publication of “Beneath the Mimosa Tree.” I know, I know…this is OLD news. Yes, that may be true. But for me, it never will be old news. I won’t ever forget the way may hand shook as I hit the “publish” button and sent it off to Kindle. It was 5 o’clock in the afternoon, and off it went for Kindle to review my files for publication. At approximately 11 p.m., I received an email from Amazon saying, “Congratulations! Your book is now available for download.” I was the book’s first customer. I downloaded it immediately to my Kindle because…
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Book Club Babes & The Night Circus
Back in November, I attended a book club meeting in Severna Park, my new-old hometown, where I was the guest author. These women were so wonderful and supportive of “Beneath the Mimosa Tree,” and our hostess that evening, Molly, along with her cousin, Liane (who grew up in the same neighborhood I grew up in and knew my brother), couldn’t have been more welcoming. Sure, I love to talk about writing and being an independent author, but I made some friends that night, and they very graciously invited me to permanently join their book club entitled The Book Club Babes. These women are serious readers . . . I couldn’t…
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Odds & Ends, Updates, Books & Joe Flacco
There was a lot of excitement this week… It all started Monday night, when ABC2’s THE LIST featured BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE on the show. It was a thrill to see the piece come together. Many thanks go to Steven, Nicki, Suzette, and my husband for helping this come to fruition. This week also marked the beginning of the spring semester. I hope my student are busy reading FRANK SINATRA HAS A COLD by Gay Talese, one of the greatest profile pieces ever written. We’ll be talking about that in magazine class this upcoming week. Originally written for Esquire in April 1966, it’s a classic snapshot that delves into Sinatra…
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Book Clubs & BookFest
Last night I spent a delightful evening with a group of women in Clarksville who’d read “Beneath the Mimosa Tree” as its book club choice. They couldn’t have been more lovely, supportive, and inviting. We talked a little about the plot, but mostly about what it takes to be a self-published, independent author. I told them the truth: It’s much easier to write it than it is to market it. I enjoy spending time meeting women around the area at book club talks. It’s such a great way to share a common thread: that we like stories and we like to read. Thanks for having me, ladies. * * *…
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Trifecta
I have three quick words of thanks in today’s very short, but humble, blog post. First, thank you to last night’s book club. What a welcoming group they were, and my one thought when I walked out the door was, they are lucky to have each other. What a supportive, kind, and sweet group of friends. I enjoyed every minute I spent speaking with them. There was a lot of laughter in the room, and I’m glad everyone thought Michael was “hot.” Thank you, Karen, for hosting, and ladies, I do hope to see you soon. Second, thank you to the MetaVivor organization for having me at its Author’s Luncheon…
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Book ‘Em Danno: Making New Friends Through Book Club Visits
The support I’ve received for “Beneath the Mimosa Tree” has been overwhelming. From former students writing and publishing articles about the novel in local newspapers, to friends emailing me about how much they enjoyed it, to people recommending the book on Facebook or Goodreads, to book clubs asking me to attend their meetings, it’s been heartwarming. Truly. Then, add on top of it that “Beneath the Mimosa Tree” has been awarded a Finalist Award for Contemporary Fiction in Readers Favorite’s annual contest, and I’ve got a whole lot of warm and fuzziness going on right now. The Annapolis Book Bag Ladies and Cover Girls meetings, along with my colleague Leeanne’s…
