Stephanie Verni

Author of Contemporary Fiction

  • About Me
  • PRESS KIT
  • Podcasts from Steph’s Scribe 2020
  • Books I’ve Enjoyed
  • Books I’ve Written
  • About Me
  • PRESS KIT
  • Podcasts from Steph’s Scribe 2020
  • Books I’ve Enjoyed
  • Books I’ve Written

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  • Friday Fiction: A Short About Reincarnation & Love (and in need of feedback)

    April 3, 2020 /

    I’ve been researching the idea of reincarnation lately. I’m not exactly sure why this particular concept has been stuck in my brain for several weeks, but it has. I’m in between books right now, having begun a new manuscript, but not sure where that one’s going, and the idea of reincarnation—a love story about reincarnation—keeps popping into my mind. Last week, I posted a poll on my Instagram story to see how many of my connections actually believe in reincarnation, and the result was a resounding 50/50. I’m not sure what I believe myself, but the concept sure is interesting. I’ve met people in my life that I have felt…

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    body of water with people rowring on boat beside tall building

    Remembering Venice Through Poetry

    May 14, 2018

    Some Updates on Some things

    September 8, 2020

    For the Love of Postcards (and other written correspondence)

    January 14, 2019
  • Podcast 9 – Building Your Story

    March 10, 2020 /

    Good afternoon! Storytelling and putting it all together—that’s the topic of today’s quick podcast. How do you begin to construct your story? Do you write in a linear fashion? Do you write the ending before you begin? Do you write out-of-order and then piece it all together? That’s the chat we’re having today on the podcast. And I’m sure I’ve left things out as I try to keep these recordings short and sweet. If I’ve neglected a way in which you write, please post in the comments and share with others. As we continue to build this community of writers, it’s important to share and boost others up. As a…

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    For Valentine’s Day: Text Messages Are Not Substitutes For Cards

    February 11, 2014

    Life Philosophies, Not Resolutions This Year

    December 31, 2018

    Recipe of the Week: The 3-Ingredient Ice Cream Cake

    June 17, 2019
  • New: Monday Podcasts on Steph’s Scribe to Kick Off Our Writing for 2020

    January 6, 2020 /

    Hello there, writers, readers, and friends! I hope everyone is having a good start to 2020. As life is busy and hectic and crazy, and as sometimes we just want to listen to something instead of read something, I thought I’d add a new feature to Steph’s Scribe with a weekly Monday podcast. Whether it’s about writing or books we are reading or things that just inspire us, I’ll be doing short podcasts that are showcased here on the blog. As most of you know, I have been teaching since 1993. First and foremost, I consider myself a teacher, and I get so much joy from helping others work toward…

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    Early This Morning

    June 1, 2020

    Writing Can’t Be ‘Thin Love’

    January 21, 2016

    FROCKTOBER Fashions Meet Literacy Support for Kids

    October 13, 2020
  • Book Marketing & An Infographic

    January 11, 2018 /

    One of the things we independent authors have to continually do is market ourselves, our books, and what we are working on presently. THIS IS THE HARDEST PART OF THIS PROCESS — TRUST ME. I am no pro at it, believe me, but I strive each day to work on it and learn something new. Therefore, this morning I told myself I would design a marketing piece—take a new tactic—and that piece is the infographic below that showcases each of my fiction novels with a brief description of what they are about. I’m posting it below for feedback and to hear from other indie authors about what you do. What…

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    Meeting People at Baltimore Book Festival

    September 28, 2015

    Love and The Orioles

    March 11, 2020

    BOOKISH — Sunday Book Festival and Monday Book Talk on the Docket

    September 25, 2015
  • Writing Tip: Making Your Characters and Dialogue Realistic

    May 11, 2017 /

    *** Yesterday on Instagram, a fellow writer I follow who follows me back asked for input from other writers. Her question was this: How do you write authentic characters, and then how do you make them sound convincing in dialogue? As someone who has written three fiction books and teaches the subject of writing, I have some advice I can offer. I may not be perfect, and I may be an indie author, but I think I have some ideas to share that may be helpful. I enjoy offering tips to beginning writers because we’ve all been there. These tips are from experience and encompass the best advice I can…

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    There’s Something You Should Do During Quarantine and Social Distancing

    May 17, 2020

    Fiction Friday | A Not-So-Happy Story of Love

    October 22, 2015

    Writing Can’t Be ‘Thin Love’

    January 21, 2016
  • 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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    An Easter Contemplation About Grandparents

    April 11, 2020

    Breathing in the Air and Tasting The Wines in Napa Valley

    April 27, 2016

    The Annual Birthday Post Turned Poem

    August 16, 2020
  • Book Promotion for Inn Significant

    February 9, 2017 /

    It’s looking like my new novel will be available in two weeks. I am down to the last few changes, and soon, my friends, it will be in your hands. I wish the process could be a quicker one (for all of us, believe me!), but producing a novel takes time, especially when you write, edit, design, and market it yourself. That’s why it’s called independent or/or self-publishing. We are jack of all trades when it comes to this hobby. So today, I’m sharing a promo piece I put together for the book that I’ll be using to help promote it. I got the idea from an advertisement for a…

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    The Beginning of a New Novel…or Not. What I’m Working On????

    January 30, 2020

    Show recommendations to binge-watch

    January 7, 2021

    Podcast 10 – A Little About My Books & Storytelling to Help You Write Your Stories

    March 18, 2020
  • 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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    The Thing That Connects Us

    December 14, 2019

    Reflections on 2131 after ESPN Aired the Game Last Night

    April 8, 2020

    5 Sure-Fire Ways To Boost Creativity

    March 16, 2016
  • Friday Fiction | She Said, I Know What It’s Like To Be Dead

    December 9, 2016 /

    If you love the classic story of A Christmas Carol featuring Ebenezer Scrooge like I do, I hope you’ll be amused by today’s Friday Fiction. I honestly can’t remember the last time I posted a short piece of fiction. I haven’t written flash fiction is so long. Today, I’ve attempted to write a short fictional story using a prompt from Brian Kiteley’s book, The 3 A.M. Epiphany. If you are a writer, and you don’t have Brian’s book, you should get it along with the sequel, The 4 A.M. Epiphany; they both contain writing prompts to get you thinking—and writing. I worked hard this summer to finish my third novel,…

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    7 Tips for Working From Home During This Unusual Time

    March 20, 2020

    The Annual Birthday Post Turned Poem

    August 16, 2020

    The Madness of Writing a Novel (in my own words)

    July 8, 2020
  • Day Trip to Oxford and Easton, Maryland (where my new novel is set)

    June 8, 2016 /

    My mom and I typically spend a day together before my kids get out of school for the summer, and today, our day trip took us to Oxford, Maryland. This trip was for fun, but it was also for another reason: we had to do a little research because my new novel takes place there. I like to use the names of real places in my settings to make the fiction feel as real as possible. Therefore, it was up to us to do some legwork so I can finish writing this novel and keep it as true to the setting and feel of Oxford as possible. As I have…

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    Dealing with Disappointment

    March 1, 2020

    For the Love of Postcards (and other written correspondence)

    January 14, 2019

    Writing About Women + Friendship in Little Milestones

    June 9, 2019
  • 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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    Travel, Interrupted

    January 2, 2019

    Love and The Orioles

    March 11, 2020
    body of water with people rowring on boat beside tall building

    Remembering Venice Through Poetry

    May 14, 2018
  • What Writers Owe To Themselves

    January 21, 2015 /

    Writers—Do you do some of your best thinking in the shower? Typically, my best ideas come to me at the most inopportune moments when I do not have paper and pencil handy, like when I’m commuting or observing something with a cart full of groceries or taking a walk through the neighborhood. Sometimes the creative juices flow when I’m not prepared to greet them, much in the same way a hostess of a party who is still in sweats and inappropriately dressed as her first guest rings the doorbell is not ready. These creative juices are important, and if we are lucky, they flow directly and consistently into our writing,…

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Stephanie Parrillo Verni, Author

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I remember telling my travel writing students to “travel like a travel writer” to get the best story. Getting to do a little bit of that for a local magazine, and as well, I do it when writing my novels. There’s nothing better than exploring and taking it all in.
Ok...who out there still loves to hold the printed pages in your hands? Bookstores are the best—especially this one in Boonsboro, Maryland, owned by famed author Nora Roberts and her husband (swipe to see all the photos). 😍 We loved perusing the store, checking out Boonsboro, and spending some quality time together this past weekend.
Yesterday was #nationalhusbandday, so I have to thank my husband for coming with me to author Nora Roberts’ lovely inn called @innboonsboro !
Happy Friday, everyone! Make it a good one!
Bittersweet today...presented my last workshop as a Faculty Fellow as my two-year fellowship ends in May. It has been an honor to be a part of the cohort that kicked off this new initiative as part of the Center for Teaching and Learning on campus. From the second I saw the call to apply, I was invigorated and wanted to be a part of it.
Throwing it back to Naples, Florida, and a quick getaway when our kids were younger.
When you see the words “market house” and get a glimpse of how charming it is, you immediately identify with this place. On a beautiful, sunny day, it calls for you to sit, grab a coffee and a pastry, and watch the boats go by across the street.
If Mondays are the pits, then this hat is, to use a 1940s term, a peach. 🍑 I’m not sure about my other friends out there in your forties, fifties, and sixties +, but I’ve already done some damage to my skin over the years, and I’d like to preserve my skin as I age.
Teachers look forward to summer break, too, right teachers????
If you haven’t been to #Annapolis in a while, it’s worth the trip. Merchants and restaurants have gone to great lengths to make the experience a good one for you. From decorating their outside windows, to setting up outside seating in the streets for diners, the city awaits your arrival.
Fashion Friday: Yesterday’s weather was spectacular. Wore my new Orioles orange dress in honor of opening day at Camden Yards. Despite not going to the game, I still support!
This is Eva’s house. Her partner/boyfriend of 10 years has left her for his high school sweetheart—a woman he reconnected with after many years on FB. Eva feels her life has been a fraud, and after throwing a bottle across the room and packing up all his crap to give to the Salvation Army, she has to find a way to pick up the pieces.

Recent Blog Posts

  • Well, it’s been a while… April 20, 2021
  • Show recommendations to binge-watch January 7, 2021
  • Here’s Hoping for a Brighter 2021 December 31, 2020
  • Ending 2020 with a Manuscript and Some Thoughts December 30, 2020
  • A Writer’s Muse: Annapolis December 18, 2020
  • Give the Gift of Books December 15, 2020
  • One of My Favorite Scenes November 22, 2020
  • My 5th Novel Has a Name (at least for now) November 15, 2020
  • Capturing Moments November 12, 2020
  • The 6 a.m Pledge for My Health November 4, 2020

Steph’s Scribe is the blog of Stephanie Parrillo Verni, professor, author and blogger. Copyright 2021.

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