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    • Baseball Girl: A Novel – Personalized & Signed
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  • 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
  • Freelance Writing

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  • The Cicadas Are Coming! The Cicadas Are Coming!

    May 16, 2021 /

    To mimic Paul Revere, we all know the following: “The cicadas are coming! The cicadas are coming!” In Maryland, they’re already here. Who remembers the 2004 onslaught of the cicadas? We were living in Ellicott City at the time, and I remember my toddler and four-year-old playing in the back yard and being terrified of the insects. The Brood X type, with their menacing red eyes, had crawled out of the soil. My friends, it’s been 17 years, and they are crawling out again. Apparently, billions of these things have fed underground all this time, primarily on tree roots, only to emerge now. This particular Brood X type is found…

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  • Launching LITTLE MILESTONES Today, my newest novel…

    October 22, 2019 /

    *** Okay, my friends, today, my newest novel, LITTLE MILESTONES is official and is on the market through Amazon (coming in days to Barnes & Noble). While this is not a true sequel to Inn Significant, it does tap into those characters as they become a part of Little Milestones and the lives of Olivia and Nan. The new book is set in beautiful St. Michaels, Maryland, and as you may have surmised, I have a slight obsession with the Eastern Shore. There are also some scenes in Annapolis because I love my home state so much. * I think of all the books I’ve written, this one has made…

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  • Twilight and Twinkles and Travel

    July 11, 2019 /

    * As I tell my students in the special topics in travel writing course I teach, travel happens as soon as you step outside your door. Day trips, afternoon trips, and evening trips can all be wonderful experiences, especially when you’re sharing the time with someone you love. It can also be great to go exploring by yourself. In our local travel writing class, students often pick Annapolis as their spot. I love to read about my hometown from their perspective, some of them only visiting Annapolis for their first or second time. As I’ve grown up in this area and have spent lots of time cavorting and entertaining in…

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  • Road Trip & Book Signing in Oxford, MD

    July 13, 2017 /

    *** As P.T. Barnum used to say, “Let’s get this show on the road.” This Sunday, July 16, I’ll be doing that thing I love to do–driving over the Bay Bridge to reach the “other side.” The Eastern Shore of Maryland is beckoning me to come for a visit, and I cannot wait. I’ll be joining in the fun and festivities of Plein Air Paint Day in Oxford, Maryland, and will be signing my books at Mystery Loves Company on S. Morris Street from 1-3 p.m. Owner Kathy Harig has invited me to be a part of the event, and I enthusiastically accepted. Being able to spend the day in…

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  • “Beautiful. Brilliant. A Work of Literary Art.” – Summer Book Giveaway on Amazon

    June 8, 2017 /

    *** A couple of good things have happened over the last two weeks. First, Inn Significant received a Finalist Award from the National Indie Excellence Awards. Second, Inn Significant received a 5-Star review from Readers’ Favorite. I think those two honors warrant another giveaway for the book, don’t you? To enter to win a book in my Amazon giveaway, just click this link and it will take you there. https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/7bf380fda4adadf1 And then, let me take you to Oxford, Maryland (click here to see an lovely overview of the town form Only in Your State), where one reader said, “Brilliant. Beautiful. A work of literary art. The vivid imagery of Oxford,…

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    November 13, 2017

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  • My Third Novel, Inn Significant, Is Now Available !!!

    February 20, 2017 /

    B I G   N E W S   T O D A Y ! ! ! INN SIGNIFICANT IS NOW AVAILABLE ! *** A few weeks ago I likened birthing a novel to birthing a baby, except without the physical pain and need for drugs. I still think it’s true. I’m happy to report that my third novel, Inn Significant, is now available via Amazon and Barnes & Noble in both paperback and for the e-readers. As those of us who are independent authors know, this is when the marketing work begins, and it ain’t easy. Plus, it requires me to do something that I’m not used to doing, and that’s…

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  • Annapolis Sparkles For The Holidays

    December 11, 2016 /

    *** Apparently, my hometown knows how to do Christmas right, and I’m here to tell you that I think the judges from two of my favorite publications have gotten it right. Country Living magazine ranked Annapolis at No. 10 in its list of America’s 20 Best Small Towns for Christmas. Additionally, Travel and Leisure magazine ranked Annapolis No. 15 on its list of America’s Best Towns for the Holidays. We’ll take it. With wonderful events such as last night’s Parade of Lights sponsored by the Eastport Yacht Club, residents and visitors can stroll the streets of Annapolis, shop, eat, and watch the boats parade into the Harbor. Families, friends, and…

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    January 27, 2016

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  • An Eastern Shore Treasure: Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay

    October 5, 2016 /

    * As a Marylander who sometimes enjoys a quick getaway to the Eastern Shore, I recently had the privilege of once again staying at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina. Situated on the banks of the Choptank River, the resort boasts 342 acres in Cambridge, Maryland. As this was my third visit as a guest—having gone once before with my husband and then again for a girls’ getaway weekend—I always forget just how large, well-maintained, and picturesque it is. Unlike some resorts, it does not have an air of superiority to it; instead, it welcomes guests with open arms and invites them to walk the trails,…

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  • St. Michaels, Maryland: A Photo Essay & Setting For My New Novel

    September 27, 2016 /

    I love the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Whenever I can steal away and spend time in one of the many adorable towns across the Chesapeake Bay, I jump at the opportunity. Saturday was just such a time. Additionally, I have a vested interest in getting a good “feel” for the place as my new novel is set primarily in Oxford, Maryland, with jaunts to St. Michaels and Easton as well. I’ve done my homework—this summer, I spent time in Oxford. I made two trips there to walk around and get a feel for the place and the people. On Saturday, I took a stroll…it was just my camera and me…

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  • 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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  • Springtime in Annapolis

    March 17, 2016 /

    This morning I decided to do a little research for the novel I’m working on—yes, I’m writing again, and I’ve got two chapters under my belt thus far. However, despite the fact that I’ve lived in the Annapolis area for quite a while, I wanted to take a stroll along some of the streets I don’t normally walk around when my daughter and I shop down there. We typically hit Main Street and the Annapolis Dock, get an ice cream or coffee, and wander around the shops. Today, I stayed up by St. John’s College and Maryland Avenue, popping in and out of Prince George Street, King George Street, East…

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  • #Annapolis with #nofilter

    July 20, 2015 /

    Today’s blog post is a photo essay of the afternoon spent with my daughter in Annapolis. Even in this near 100 degree weather, the photos—all taken with my iPhone and with no filter—represent this city well…one of my favorite places on the planet. Annapolis is so near and dear to my heart, and my first novel entitled Beneath the Mimosa Tree, pays homage to my hometown. Many readers of the novel have told me that they felt as if Annapolis was another character in the novel, which is quite flattering, I have to say. My goal was to make you fall it love with it on the written page as…

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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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I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s book called BIG MAGIC when it debuted years ago. I remember feeling like we were soul sisters when it came out because of how I value creativity—both in myself and in my students. I never wanted to be that teacher who put the brakes on creativity. In fact, it was (and continues to be) a driving force in the way I teach my students. I am always amazed by students who believe they are not creative. Yet when you switch on the light and tell them they are, you see the proof of it in the work they produce. They ARE creative. We all have big magic in us; sometimes it just takes a little push to open the door to it. Don’t you agree that half the battle of writing a good story is believing in it? It takes a certain amount of faith and belief in your story— that it is worth telling—to keep you going. You need this faith in order to pursue all the things that go into the arduous task of writing and publishing a novel. I don’t know about you, but the satisfaction of hearing that people enjoyed it makes having that faith so worthwhile. This is my ode to being near the water. My soul always feels refreshed when I’m on the water. Most of my novels take place in a setting that involves water and boating. I love setting stories in places that reflect the love I have for small towns with water access. To me, it always feels like a place where you can escape to when you need that time to rejuvenate. Most of my characters feel the same way. I guess it’s true – write what you know. Which do you think I love more? The book is called Inn Significant for a reason. 💕 Two years after receiving the horrifying news of her husband Gil’s death, Milly Foster continues to struggle to find her way out of a state of depression. As a last-ditch effort and means of intervention, Milly’s parents convince her to run their successful Inn during their absence as they help a friend establish a new bed and breakfast in Ireland. Milly reluctantly agrees; when she arrives at the picturesque, waterfront Inn Significant, her colleague, John, discovers a journal written by her late grandmother that contains a secret her grandmother kept from the family. Reading her grandmother’s words, and being able to identify with her Nana’s own feelings of loss, sparks the beginning of Milly’s climb out of the darkness and back to the land of the living. The porch is open for the season. Thank you to @leeverni and @hector_herbert for all the help today. Couldn’t have done it without you! XxOo Another Blue Angels fly in Annapolis is in the books. Here’s a glimpse for those who love them as we do. 💙 Blue Angels Day here in Annapolis, but I’m sad to be without my husband, who’s in New York with the Orioles and clients. Wearing orange in their honor. Looking forward to seeing the planes fly shortly! I heard this and knew I wanted to make a reel with this audio. It’s so good & true & on 🔥. We are all of our experiences, both the good and the bad, the heartache and the happy times. You are better off with a woman who has grown from her experiences, including the mistakes, misjudgments, and bad decisions. We are a force to be reckoned with.

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