-
The Writing Report – January 3
As a way to hold myself accountable for my work as an author, I’m making my New Year’s Resolution to commit to the weekly Writing Report. In this weekly Monday blog post, I will report on what has been done in pursuit of my writing career. I’ll keep each report as short as possible, and will sometimes write in paragraph form, and at other more pressing times when my life as a professor becomes a little hectic, I will write in bullet points. Let’s begin today’s Writing Report with a short recap and an establishment of my writing goals. RECAP Last year, I published two novellas, including Anna in Tuscany…
-
We Need a Little Christmas, Especially This Year
We Still Need a Little Christmas…and we desperately need Charles Dickens’ reminder to be a good human being in 2021 and beyond. Living through this pandemic and seeing what I see daily on social media convinced me (do people really need to be so nasty to others, even if you disagree on things?????) that I needed to do what I could to help promote charity and goodwill. Additionally, I’ve weathered a hip replacement and continuing SI-Joint issues that leave me in pain, and honestly, I just needed to distract myself with something pleasant. So, all summer I wrote the continuation of Ebenezer Scrooge’s story called From Humbug to Humble: The…
-
Join Me for Two Dickens Events this Holiday Season
It’s not often you get to attend Dickens-related events, but how wonderful to have two upcoming events within a week of each other! I’m certain these will put us in the Christmas spirit! (And the way the world is at the moment, we need a little Christmas!) My husband and I will be wearing our Dickens-era costumes, and we’re looking forward to meeting people who share our enthusiasm for the season. A DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS, Sat, Dec 4 CHESTERTOWN, MD, In Chestertown where the slogan is Party like it’s 1843, I’ll be signing and selling books at “A Dickens of a Christmas” on Saturday, December 4, from 10 a.m.…
-
Why I Wrote From Humbug to Humble about Ebenezer Scrooge and Upcoming Events
Here is a video that tells you more about my new novella, From Humbug to Humble: The Transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. The novella is available on Amazon.com, BN.com and exclusively at my local bookstore, Park Books & Literacy Lab. I will also be (along with my husband in Dickens-era costumes) at the annual A Dickens of A Christmas in Chestertown, MD on December 4 in London Row from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. selling my books and handmade book pages wreaths. Hope to see you there! Stephanie
-
A Pep Talk on How to Use NaNoWriMo to Your Advantage
Okay, listen up writers. I’m here to kick you into gear. I’m here to tell you it can be done. I’m here to tell you not to give up. November is here, and on this 5th day, let us remember that there are many more days in the month, and they shouldn’t go to waste if you are participating in NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. Established many years ago, NaNoWriMo was created to encourage writers to complete 50,000 words of a novel or work of nonfiction by November 30. The word count of 50,000 words constitutes a short novel, or approximately 1,660 words a day. I’m here…
-
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…
-
Sentimentality Run Amok
I can’t help it. It happens every time. Every single time. Even though I live and breathe baseball vicariously through my husband, who works for the ballclub, when I go to Camden Yards, it’s as if I never left. Be forewarned: take me to Camden Yards, and I get sentimental. With the pandemic seeping into every aspect of our lives, I haven’t been to the ballpark in a year and a half. On Friday night, our family enjoyed a lovely outing and got to spend time “at the yard,” as Orioles fans like to say. Luckily for us, the team had a big win Friday night over the Nats and…
-
Hold Fast to Dreams: An Update!
We all dream of seeing our book go out into the world and having people enjoy reading it. I’m proud of the work I’ve accomplished as an indie author. And I will be proud of the work I produce going forward if I stay in this lane. It’s never easy, but there are tremendous rewards. Meeting people, seeing the support of your local community, and hearing from people who’ve enjoyed your books keep me motivated. My goal is to write books that offer hope and to write better and better books each time. To those of you who have followed along on my journey, THANK YOU. To those of you…
-
The Truth About Grandmothers
Yesterday, as I was scrolling through Facebook checking on my friends’ latest news, I noticed a post from a dear former student of mine. She wrote a very touching message about losing her 94-year-old grandmother. I read it, and her words resonated with me. So often as a writer, I’m asked what influences my stories and where the ideas come from. I suppose anyone who writes novels or nonfiction answers this the same way—the stories typically come from people we know or stories we have heard or read about in the news. There are people and personal acquaintances that influence our storytelling. And then there are grandmothers. If you’ve read…
-
You Won’t Want to Miss “The Scoop”
One of the best aspects of social media is the ability to connect with people in your hometown and general area. My years of posting on Instagram have connected me with some great people, and last week, at the ribbon cutting for a new bookstore called Park Books and Literacy Lab, I got the opportunity to chat with Ryan Sneddon from Naptown Scoop. Both Ryan and I were at the bookstore covering “the story.” He was reporting on it for Naptown Scoop, and I was covering it for a local magazine. (I’ll share the story once it’s published). But the fact is, Ryan and I have been “connected” via Instagram…
-
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…
-
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…
