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ANNA IN TUSCANY: Something new I’ve published
The story I’m sharing with you was written back in May and was intended to be a part of a Valentine’s Day Anthology. As things sometimes happen, the Anthology was nixed, and I was left with a short story without a home. Taking the lead from many of my friends who are writers, I decided to publish it as a stand-alone story in the form of a novelette. It’s called ANNA IN TUSCANY, and is available via Kindle for .99 or Book Funnel for FREE. The links are below. The premise of the story is this: Travel writer Arianna (Anna) Ricci relocates from the United States to Italy for a…
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Well, it’s been a while…
Hello, there! I’ve been absent here for quite some time, and you may notice some changes. After 10 years of blogging, I have changed the name of the blog to reflect my author name. I thought it was about time. Nevertheless, taking a step away from blogging these past few months has been very good for me. I’ve revamped and recalibrated and have been able to focus on writing my books, as I’ve just finished writing and am now editing my fifth novel, tentatively called The Letters in the Books. Probably my most challenging story to tell thus far, it focuses on four main characters who are down on their…
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Franco and The Blonde: Fiction Friday
Today, I’m trying my hand at a bit of short fiction. This piece of flash fiction is under 600 words at 595 words. This scene popped into my head last night, perhaps because at dinner, our family was talking about our Italian heritage and the legacies we leave behind (I know…a little heavy for a dinner conversation during a coronavirus crisis). Nonetheless, I knew I was going to write this scene when I went to bed last night, and I banged it out this morning, just to touch base with my creativity. I’m so immersed in teaching 4 online courses right now, that I have little time for something like…
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Friday Fiction: A Short About Reincarnation & Love (and in need of feedback)
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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The Water Wheel: A Short Story
I promised myself I’d write ONE thing during this year’s 2019 NaNoWriMo, and today I hunkered down and did it. It’s not a novel or the 50,000 words required to “win” at NaNoWriMo, or even the 43,000 words of Little Milestones I wrote during last year’s NaNoWriMo. It’s just a short story about grief with a little bit of a twist. I’m not sure what, if anything, I will do with this piece of writing, but for some reason, I needed to write it. Today was the day, and here is the story. The Water Wheel by Stephanie Verni There were many ways he could show his appreciation for her.…
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Nobody Has Ever Loved Me As Much As I Loved Him—Friday Fiction
NOBODY HAS EVER LOVED ME AS MUCH AS I HAVE LOVED HIM The light grows dim. I have been sitting in the dark for nearly four hours with only a flickering candle on the table. The storm has quelled a bit, but the winds rattled the house until midnight, the trees and bushes bending as the snow accumulated and the winds whistled. It’s four in the morning now, and I realize I’ve been sitting in this chair in the kitchen motionless practically all night long. There is an eerie stillness inside the house that mirrors the uncomfortable quiet of nature outside—serene and undisturbed . Upstairs, he sleeps. He has…
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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. * * * * * *…
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A Piece of Short Fiction For Fiction Friday: “Time”
It’s been a while since I’ve posted any short creative fiction that I’m working on, and that’s primarily because I haven’t been working on any short fiction. I’ve been working on writing a novel, but all this talk about creativity in the classroom this week caused this story to pop into my head. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I seize the opportunity to make it work. I hope you enjoy it. TIME: A Short Story It was my idea to go. I needed to clear my head and take a break from the mundane, toxic, sad life that had enveloped us both and made us strangers…
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Fiction Friday: The Beginning of a Short Story
For this week’s Fiction Friday, I’m sharing a short story that’s in progress. It’s the story of a woman who starts over, in another country, after several tragedies strike. While it may seem a little dark, I guarantee you it will have a happy ending. Part One of my Unnamed Short Story…(truly a work in progress…) In the span of six months, I had lost the three people I loved most in the world: my mother, my father, and my husband. My father had been battling lung cancer for two years. My mother had been in perfect health. There was an ice storm and my mother decided to leave work…
