-
Fictography #22—Vivi’s Summer
* * * * * * /FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). The above photograph was taken by a dear friend of mine, Chrissie Werzinsky, in Rome at Piazza Navona. Chrissie works for the Baltimore Orioles, and has for years, which is how we met many moons ago. Chrissie and I have a lot in common; we both love the Hallmark Channel, Pinterest, baseball, our Orioles friends, and novels that make you feel good. Luckily, my husband and I traveled to Rome before we had children, so I got to spend time visiting Piazza Navona. I was excited to see the…
-
Fictography #21 — A Scene in a Bar
* * * * * * /FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). The above photograph is of the bar at The Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore. Jenny and I concocted the premise of this story together the other night as we observed some interesting behavior at the bar. Our imaginations went a little wild, and I hope I do this one justice. For those of you who ask me why I don’t write sex scenes, I just don’t have it in me to do it. However, I can lead up to the moment, and allow you to take it from there.…
-
Fictography #20—Red Light Doctor
* * * * * * /FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). The above photograph was submitted to me by one of my former students, Katie Wagner Vogel. This lovely shot is of the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Katie likes to travel, and has been to some very cool places. She was always a great addition to the classroom and was a member of our public relations club. Now, grown up and married, she is working as the Creative Director for Agora Financial in Baltimore. I appreciate her willingness to submit a photograph, and I can honestly say, I’ve never…
-
Fictography #19: Beneath The Mimosa Tree (An Excerpt)
* * * * * * /FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). As I was combing through my photographs this morning, I came upon Jennifer Bumgarner’s shots from our cover shoot for “Beneath the Mimosa Tree.” There are so many gorgeous pics she took, and they are wasting away in a file on my computer. I decided to use one of her photos for today’s FICTOGRAPHY segment—a photo that was captured as a scene from my novel—and I pulled that part of the story from the book. Therefore, today’s FICTOGRAPHY is an excerpt from “Beneath the Mimosa Tree.” To set the…
-
Fictography #18: Eat More Bananas
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). With a two-week break from writing this segment because I’ve been up to my eyeballs editing and working on preparing my novel, I’m back today with a piece of fiction. The photo above was taken by my daughter on the Baltimore Beltway. She hates bananas, so this piece of work is inspired by knowing someone who can’t stand the food. This piece of flash fiction comes in at 283 words. * * * EAT MORE BANANAS The flu. It had taken over her life for the last few days. Sick in bed and vomiting, her…
-
Fictography #17: If Rocky Can Do It…
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). You’ll have to forgive my absence last week. I attended a conference from Thursday through Sunday and didn’t have the chance to write my weekly creative FICTOGRAPHY post. I’m back now, and this week, I’m using a photograph my husband took in Philadelphia, PA. Since it’s my husband’s photo and he’s an exercise-aholic, in addition to partaking in several triathlons, I had him in mind when I wrote this (not that it’s about him necessarily). Lots of folks are fitness buffs, challenging themselves in triathlons, races, half-marathons, tough mudders, and marathons. I am not one…
-
Fictography #16 – Little French Market
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). Truthfully, this week I’m on a little bit of a hiatus. On campus, we are down to the last two weeks, and I’ve been inundated with work and grading and attending events, not to mention that it’s Easter weekend. Therefore, I had little time for creativity this week, so for this week’s Fictography, I pulled one out of the archives and dusted it off. I actually took this photograph myself. This cute little coffee shop is situated in Historic Ellicott City, and I used to frequent it all the time when I lived…
-
Fictography #15—Finding Paul
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week I’m featuring a shot from my friend, Jenny Bumgarner. Jenny and I have been friends for…we counted…over twenty years. We met when we worked at the Orioles way back when, and have remained close friends ever since. From attending Opening Days together, to sharing our Hippodrome Broadway Across America season tickets, to getting together with friends when we can, our friendship has remained strong and true. When I needed a cover shot for my novel, “Beneath the Mimosa Tree,” Jenny came armed with camera as we trespassed on a piece of property…
-
Fictography #14 — A Love Letter From Mitchell Henry of Kylemore Castle, Connemara, Ireland
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). How spectacular is this castle? Over spring break, a group of students studied abroad in Ireland. One such student was Emily Maranto, a senior at Stevenson University. Emily has taken several writing courses with me, and as well, she’s got a special place in my heart because she was fortunate, as was I years and years prior, to intern at the Orioles. The students had so much fun on their trip, and last weekend, I was told the story of Kylemore Castle and its history, once the home of Mitchell Henry who built it…
-
Fictography (Lucky) #13 — Michelle’s Adventure
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from a current student of mine Nick Mamakos. Nick is a Business Communication major who hails from New York. He agreed to share some photographs with me as he’s taken photography at Stevenson, and I thought this photo was lovely. Nick also happens to be a good writer, and I’ll be looking to see what he does down the road after May graduation. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with writing… This week’s piece of flash fiction is 504 words. * * * * * *…
-
Fictography #12 — Self-Preservation
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from a former student of mine and current Assistant Editor at the Severna Park Voice, Meredith Thompson. Meredith was a business communication major, and I got to know her well from all the classes she took with me. Meredith is a fantastic writer as well as a beautiful photographer, and many of her photographs are used in the Severna Park Voice. In fact, it was Meredith and her talents with the camera who helped me decide to purchase the Nikon I currently own. She has a way of looking at…
-
Fictography #11 — Callie’s Letter
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from another student of mine, Courtney Hastings. Courtney is a business communication major, she loves to write and has taken many courses with me. She is also a member of the public relations club, of which I serve as the advisor, and is a member of our honor society, Lambda Pi Eta. She is very involved in campus life, and performs with the marching band as well. She is multi-talented, and appears to be a pretty good photographer as well. When she posted this photo on Facebook, I asked her…
