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My 5th Novel Has a Name (at least for now)
Today, it’s official. I have a book title. I have a copyrighted ISBN number. I have a “mood” for the cover. And while I am going to seek traditional publishing this time around and solicit an agent to represent me, I still need to go through this process to help move in the right direction and keep me motivated should I venture down the self-publishing road again. The characters in this novel are not only in my head, but in my soul. Each one is a part of me, and a part of you, and a part of everyone we have met along the way. With five main characters, a…
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Capturing Moments
*** Capturing Moments Capturing moments, instead of things—A cloudless sky, a heron’s wingsThe things we loveHave come to passDimming sunshineDarkness, alas—Winter’s moodsBefall us hereWhen days are shortAnd nights are clearThe blackest nightWe’ll soon have metBut days like theseWe’ll not forget.We’ll not forgetThe way it feltWhen bleakness leftAnd hearts did melt. *** In August, my husband totally surprised me on my birthday and bought me a boat. Our friends were selling their boat and upgrading to a new one, so he bought the one they were selling. In the COVID-19 world, I can’t even begin to tell you how much that gift has meant to me. Since August, we have used…
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The Annual Birthday Post Turned Poem
The Annual Birthday Post Turned Poem The hour has finally arrived, my friends Another birthday is here I’d love to scream with joy and glee But aging’s what I fear Growing old’s a gift, it’s true To live your life in full It should be sunshine and roses But a lot of it’s just bull Aging isn’t always bliss My back’s a pain in the ass It’s taking away from me having fun And affecting all of my sass The lines on my face do show some wear And I jiggle way more than I’d like The greys in my hair are plentiful, too So I escape when I can…
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Facing Monday
* Hello, Monday, I see we meet again. We have come face-to-face for another round. I’m not intimidated by you this week. In week’s past, I may have been. But this week will be productive. There’s a lot to accomplish, so I hope you are ready..First, we have to allow for some time to be creative and work on the new story. Something clicked last week as I was writing my characters for this novel. I realized how vested I am in the project and in Meg, Eva, Lily, Reid and Nick. I like all of them, and while they may have some struggles they’re dealing with at the beginning…
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Little Milestones Receives 5-Star Review from Readers’ Favorite
*** One of the things I won’t ever do on my blog is to pretend that being an independent author is at all glamorous. It’s not. It takes tireless work, both on the creating/writing/editing side, as well as on the marketing/public relations/promotions side. It can be an exhausting adventure—and it is most definitely an adventure every single time—but you have to know this going into the endeavor. And never expect too much. That said, you can imagine my surprise this morning, when I was already feeling down about where my next piece of writing is headed, to see the 5-star review for Little Milestones, a novel a published in October…
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The Madness of Writing a Novel (in my own words)
✨HOW DOES IT FEEL WHEN YOU’RE IN THE ZONE?✨ I’ve hit my stride, finally. As we are approaching mid-July, I’ve made some pretty good progress with reading and writing. I’m about to hit 26,000 words on my work in progress, and my goal this week is to make it to at least 30,000 words. As well, I’ve finished one book about bookstores and I’m on to another. My pile of these books is pretty tall, so I have a lot to work toward. I’m also finishing the last week of the master’s course I’m teaching, so it’s been a little busy. What do I mean when I ask how it…
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Reviewing a Movie for Romantics That’s Not a Hallmark Channel Creation
*** Readers of my blog, by now you are probably quite aware that I’m a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic and that I’m endlessly addicted to Hallmark Channel. I also write romance, so I decided to share a film with you that I just watched and thoroughly enjoyed. The movie is from 2015, and I knew nothing about it prior to two days ago. A one-time CRAZY movie buff, over the last several years I’ve pulled away from films and have been sucked into various shows made for television, and some of my favorites have included the following: Game of Thrones (the best television I’ve ever seen; in fact, one of the…
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Booking Remote Book Club Visits
*** As many of us are still in the “working remotely” phase of this pandemic, I’ve decided to promote virtual book club visits to help promote reading and our sanity! I’m currently booked for a book club in July and have a lot of openings for book clubs who might want to read my books and discuss them. As an author, one of my favorite things to do is to meet new people through book club discussions. As I have five books on the market, I’m happy to visit your book club virtually. I’m getting good at this, especially since the back half of the semester I just taught was…
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Podcast 18: Blogging 101
*** I’ve been asked questions about blogging recently, and so this podcast is for those of you who are thinking of setting up a blog and includes all the basic preliminary questions that should be considered before making the commitment. You have to begin at the beginning…which is to say…why will you blog and what do you hope to achieve with it? This podcast is not about creating a money-making blog. This one centers on creating a platform for which you will share your ideas and creativity. So, if you’re in the market and are shopping for reasons to create a blog, this is where you can begin. xx Stephanie…
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Podcast 17: The MFA Journey as a Writer (and a teacher of writing)
*** As I promised last week, Podcast 17 discusses the MFA from my perspective (and how it helped me in many ways). I know a lot of writers wonder if they should tackle one. In this podcast, I break down my journey to earning my MFA in my forties. I hope this is helpful, and please let me know if there is anything else I can help answer regarding an online MFA. Keep writing! xx
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Two Exercises for Teaching Description and Using The Five Senses in Writing
One of the biggest losses I’m feeling from completing the semester at home is the inability to execute my favorite “Five Senses” activity in the classroom with my writing students. It’s one of my favorite days in the classroom, where I play music and ask students to sit and write based on prompts pertaining to their five senses. THE FIRST EXERCISE The exercise requires students to reach into a brown paper bag that I bring into the room and “touch” something that I’ve placed inside it. In the past, I’ve put pinecones, Silly Putty, or sand in it. After they touch it, they have to write what comes to mind…
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Podcast 16: Taking a Gander of What’s Out There Before You Write
*** Sorry it’s been a couple of weeks…I explain in the Podcast of where I’ve been and why I haven’t posted a Podcast in a while. I’m really looking to hear your thoughts about this one…so feel free to comment below and share your opinions on your readings and your approaches. I love to learn from others. Next week, I’ll share with you my thoughts on my MFA program—people ask me all the time if I think it’s worth pursuing an MFA as a writer, and I’ll answer that in next week’s Podcast. Hope everyone is staying well. Let me know your thoughts on prior reading before writing. I’m so…
