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    • Beneath the Mimosa Tree: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
    • Baseball Girl: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
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    • Little Milestones: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
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  • Travel Writing: My Articles
  • About Me
  • About My Novels
  • Press Kit
  • Podcasts
  • Books I’ve Enjoyed
  • Shop My Products
    • Book Pages Wreath
    • Heart Pages Wreath
    • Small Book Pages Wreath
    • From Humbug to Humble: The Transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge – Personalized & Signed
    • The Letters in the Books – Signed, Personalized, and with a letter tucked inside it
    • Beneath the Mimosa Tree: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
    • Baseball Girl: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
    • Inn Significant: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
    • Little Milestones: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
    • The Postcard and Other Short Stories & Poetry – Personalized & Signed
  • Travel Writing: My Articles

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  • The Truth About Burnout, Steps to Rejuvenation

    July 21, 2017 /

    I know this post is coming sooner than you or I expected it to come, so let me explain. Earlier this week, I experienced something unfamiliar. It came out of nowhere and yet came from everywhere. I imagined myself in the image of an old wind-up toy that had hit a wall; I was marching along, but I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was swimming in “noise,” as we communication folks like to call it. It was filling up my head and causing me not to think clearly. Some people might call it burnout. Burn•out (noun) /ˈbərnˌout/  def. physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress. “high levels of professionalism…

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    Stephanie Verni 1 Comment

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  • 5 Guiding Principles of Creative Leadership

    June 26, 2017 /

    *** Last week, Dr. Leeanne Bell McManus, Chip Rouse, and I gave a three-hour presentation to an organization entitled, “Event Planning: A Seminar in Communication.” Centered around ideas from our textbook, Event Planning: Communicating Theory & Practice, we talked about communication theory, ideas, tips and case studies, and offered strategies for leaders in event planning. Additionally, one of the aspects we talked about was creativity, and our textbook includes a chapter dedicated to leadership. I like to talk about the combination of the two: creativity & leadership. One of my favorite articles I’ve read to date on this topic is from the Harvard Business Review and it’s entitled Creativity and…

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    Endorsements for Baseball Girl

    July 14, 2015
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    Watch Your Step, Distracted Walking Can Cause an Injury

    March 22, 2022

    Running Out of Time? You’re Not Alone.

    November 3, 2015
  • Walking Spawns Creativity

    June 4, 2017 /

    *** The ritual for me of a Sunday late afternoon walk is the perfect way to generate creativity. All you writers out there know what I’m talking about, right? The ability to unplug, listen to the birds, and regenerate from stress while burning a few calories helps us become more creative. I do some of my best creative thinking and strategizing during this time. Late afternoon is my favorite time of day…and I love walking in my neighborhood. Who else is a walker and does his or her best thinking on your feet? 👟👟 Getting in touch with nature and decompressing helps you recenter and look at things with a…

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    Hold Fast to Dreams: An Update!

    July 12, 2021

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    March 29, 2016

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  • Overwhelmed at Work? Block Out Some Time for Yourself | Book Review

    May 31, 2017 /

    *** Here’s the scenario: Your inbox is overflowing. You have tons of emails to respond to, in addition to answering social media inquiries, answering texts, and making phone calls. You arrive at work and you already feel overwhelmed with what you must accomplish. You are all set to be productive, and then your balloon slowly begins to deflate as you sit sipping your morning coffee being totally reactionary and not proactive about what you need to accomplish. You know you have things you need to get done, and hope you can squeeze that in during the day. Does this scenario sound familiar at all? If so, I’ve got some help…

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    The Colors of Autumn

    October 27, 2015

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    September 29, 2021

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    July 21, 2021
  • Answering the Question: How Many Books Have You Sold?

    March 26, 2017 /

    How many books have you sold? It’s the question people like to ask me about my recently released novel entitled Inn Significant. It seems to be the question people have on their minds as the marker that indicates how successful the book has been thus far. The funny thing is, I liken the question to someone asking me about my age, how much I make, or how robust my sex life is. Sometimes we are focused too much on the results and not on the process. At least that’s what my husband and I try to teach our kids. The most important aspect revolves around the process that helps us…

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    Why I Wrote From Humbug to Humble about Ebenezer Scrooge and Upcoming Events

    November 16, 2021

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    February 10, 2016

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    July 17, 2018
  • Writing Prompt Challenge

    March 14, 2017 /

    So, last night I posed a writing challenge to see who wanted to try and write a short piece of flash fiction (300-400 words) around a prompt. I posted three. I got no takers. But I did it. I chose the third. I love writing prompts because they force you to immerse yourself in a scene, setting, or situation right away. They force you to be creative, and to use your creative juices in the best possible way. The challenge was to write approximately 300-400 words. Here’s my result of Prompt #3. The Young King The young King’s hair was a rumpled mess, his clothes strewn across the floor, his…

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    All The Books We Want to Read | Building Your Summer Reading List

    March 18, 2016

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    January 19, 2016

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    February 13, 2019
  • Handling the Insecurities of Publishing A Novel

    January 26, 2017 /

    *** It’s a challenging endeavor. I’ve done it twice now with fiction, and twice with nonfiction books. And I’m about to do it again when I release my latest, third fictional novel. There will always be anxieties that manifest themselves into insecurities about putting our work out there. The tendency to feel nervous about it is normal. We’ve invested a lot of time and energy into our stories, and we hope people will appreciate that time and energy regarding our work, too. But there are no guarantees. Some people will love it, some will think it’s just okay, and some will downright dislike it. It’s the way of the world,…

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  • Yes, You Are Creative

    January 10, 2017 /

    I can’t tell you how many times in my advertising and writing classes I teach at the university that I hear students tell me that they are not creative, or that they just don’t have a lot of creativity in their bones. As someone who has been teaching for over 25 years, I think I can safely say at this point that people underestimate their power to be creative, and that more often than not, they are quite capable of creating something that is better than they expected. All they need is a push and someone to convincingly tell them that they’ve got creativity brewing inside them. I’m currently reading…

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    Getting My Books in Order

    May 12, 2020

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    December 24, 2015

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  • A Little Fairy Magic … and Imagination

    August 3, 2016 /

    * Mystical fairies looking after us, guiding us, keeping watch over us—it’s not a bad idea, really. We could all use a fairy godmother or godfather every once in a while. Think about how many of us wish Harry was real and there was a place called Hogwarts; why not want to cling to the idea of fantasy? Sometimes the fantastical life is far more interesting and engaging than real life. At least, I think so sometimes, which is why I make up characters and stories and plot lines and write fiction. It’s just so much more fun to believe, I think. My husband and father think the idea of…

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    Podcast 16: Taking a Gander of What’s Out There Before You Write

    May 21, 2020

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    December 27, 2021

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    October 18, 2018
  • Walking for Mind, Body, Spirit…AND To Improve Creativity

    June 10, 2016 /

    *** It’s 1:35 p.m. on a sunny, gorgeous Friday here in Maryland where the temps are a stunning 79 degrees, and I’ve just returned from an hour-long walk. There are no excuses when the weather is this spectacular. As someone who admittedly has not taken very good care of herself over the last few years and has put other things and other people first, I’ve committed the summer to my overall physical and mental well-being. From reading to writing to exercising daily and eating better, it’s time for me to get serious about my lifestyle. I’m not hear to preach about your health; Weight Watchers, your doctor, and your own…

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    Frocktober begins tomorrow & I’ve picked my charity

    September 30, 2020

    Escape to Italy and Meet Anna, Matteo, and Nicolo

    January 28, 2022

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    July 28, 2021
  • 5 Sure-Fire Ways To Boost Creativity

    March 16, 2016 /

    *** In the textbook I co-authored with Dr. Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse about Event Planning, we have an entire chapter dedicated to creativity. This is one of my absolute favorite topics to discuss—with friends, with fellow writers, with students, with my children, and with colleagues. Maintaining a sense of creativity is important in so many careers; in fact, there are very few careers that do not value some sort of creativity and innovation. However, the tricky part comes in when we, as people who can often be stretched balancing work and family/friends life, find ourselves zapped of creative impulses and notions. If this describes you right now, don’t…

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    Five Inexpensive Ways to Make This Valentine’s Day Special

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    March 22, 2022

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  • That Magic Moment When It All Clicks—Writing A New Novel

    March 9, 2016 /

    *** Here’s how this story goes… I published Beneath the Mimosa Tree in 2012. Baseball Girl followed three years later, and this week I am celebrating it’s one-year anniversary as it launched last March 6. At the time I began writing my first novel, I had simultaneously started writing another bit of fiction. When I had to make the choice between the two in which to fully invest my time, I picked Beneath the Mimosa Tree because it had been a story that had lodged itself in my brain for 20 years. I have no regrets about publishing it, and I always feel a sort of sentimental sweetness about that…

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    The Smell of Coffee in the Morning

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Welcome to my website! I'm Stephanie Verni, author of 8 works of fiction, adjunct professor of communication, and part-time travel writer. I love sharing my work, travels, and experiences with you. Thanks for stopping by!

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