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  • Valentine’s Day in Italy vs. Valentine’s Day in America

    February 10, 2022 /

    If you ever want to spend time in Italy during Valentine's Day, you may want to hit the two spots known to be the most romantic: Florence or Venice. Or, if Shakespeare worked his magic on you and you consider yourself more of a hopeless romantic rather than a tragic romantic, as was the case in Romeo & Juliet, the city of Verona hosts a 4-day celebration of lovers.

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  • On This Valentine’s Day, LOVE

    February 14, 2020 /

    ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ Today is what life is all about, people: LOVE. And it’s not always romantic love—just love in general. I’ve spent years writing books with love as a core theme. Love for a father, a mother, a grandmother, a grandfather; love for a daughter or son; love for one’s work; love for dear friends; love for life; and letting go of one love to begin another. . We’ve all been there. We’ve experienced euphoric relationships and devastating ones. We’ve felt the waves of a new love and the crushing sensation of a broken love. . People often ask me how much of “me” goes into the…

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  • A Valentine’s Poem

    February 13, 2019 /

    What the heck. How about a little Valentine’s poem written by yours truly? Happy Valentine’s Day, you all. I hope it’s a great one. * * The Part That Came After | by Stephanie Verni Lovely, lovely… Thoughts of you gallup through my mind On a rollercoaster of ifs and whats And then there was then The part that came after The heart and its mend. * Memories, Memories… Linger beyond the time we spent Laughing and fighting and laughing some more Until our sides split The part that came after A silliness fit. * Faraway, Faraway… Places we went are in my mind Visions of you in the sun…

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  • Don’t Have Money To Spend This Valentine’s Day? Take A Cue From St. Valentine and Write A Letter

    February 13, 2018 /

    First, a little historical perspective… St. Valentine lived during the time of Claudius the Cruel in Rome. Under his rule, Claudius was not fond of men who would not join his military leagues due to their devotion to their wives and families. Therefore, Claudius banned marriages and engagements in Rome. However, Valentine defied the emperor and continued to perform marriage rituals for people in love in secret. When Claudius discovered what Valentine was doing, he ordered him put to death. The sentence was carried out on February 14. While in jail and prior to his death, Valentine wrote a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, who had become a friend.…

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  • In Celebration of Valentine’s Day — Book Giveaways This Week

    February 4, 2018 /

    Happy Super Bowl Sunday! After the BIG GAME is over, I figured it may be time to hunker down with some reading as we wait for winter to get the hell out of town. Plus, VALENTINE’S DAY is coming up, and I wanted to give away some love in the form of my contemporary fiction novels. I’ve completed reading four terrific books since January, and am presently reading numbers 5 & 6. I’m posting my reading list on the blog for you as it’s always nice to see what others are reading. Likewise, I’d love for you to share what you’ve read that you’ve enjoyed. BOOK GIVEAWAYS I’ll be posting…

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  • A Word of Love—And Thanks—This Valentine’s Day

    February 14, 2017 /

    *** Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my faithful followers and supporters! I wanted to just take a moment to thank you for being loyal, checking in periodically, and indulging me in my silly, sentimental, and inspirational writing posts. I love writing and sharing things with you, and I am incredibly excited to publish my third work of fiction in a matter of days. Inn Significant will be out NEXT WEEK, and I’ll be posting updates throughout the weekend of exactly when it will become available. I know I couldn’t and wouldn’t be a writer if it weren’t for all of you encouraging me to continue down the path of pursing…

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  • Opening The Door to Love or Closing the Door to Love

    February 12, 2016 /

    * * * In celebration of Valentine’s Day this weekend, instead of a little Friday Fiction, I’m featuring two poems I wrote. I don’t write poetry as much as I did when I was younger, but every once in a while I’m moved to write something. The first poem is about opening up to love in Dr. Seuss rhyming style, and the second is about closing the door to love and being brokenhearted in prose style. I figured I’d cover both bases. Hope yours is rather more like the former and less like the latter.  Happy Valentine’s Weekend… If Only You Dare | by S. Verni Love can grow from…

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  • Five Inexpensive Ways to Make This Valentine’s Day Special

    February 10, 2016 /

    Egad! I’m really about to do this. (And did I really just used an expression that is as archaic as I feel lately?) The answer is, yes. I’m about to end my push to write mushy Valentine’s cards and create something truly magical this year and by wooing those you love in a different manner. (But if you do want to write a mushy Valentine to go along with an inexpensive night, that’s not a bad idea either. Click here for some suggestions). If you’re struggling for that perfect Valentine, rest assured. Your Valentine is really just hoping that the special day gets to be spent doing something together. That’s…

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  • On the Fear of Change & Valentine’s Cards

    February 5, 2015 /

    When I put a call out to blog readers about what they wanted to see me write about this week, I received two good directions: blog about change and blog about Valentine’s cards. When I weighed the options, I liked them both, and since I’m heading out of town this weekend for a getaway with my girlfriends, I decided to write about both because, well, I aim to make everyone happy. The idea of change can create fear, and in some cases, an extremely real phobia called metathesiophobia; the word is derived from the Greeks and is a combination of the word “meta” which means “moving” and the word “phobos”…

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  • Fictography #7 – The Valentine Postcard

    February 14, 2014 /

    /FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from Mary Werzinsky Best. Mary and I have known each other for a few years, and she is the sister of one of my former colleagues and a dear friend, Chrissie Werzinsky. Both of these lovely ladies were big supporters of Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and I can’t tell you what that meant to me. Mary was a huge help today in getting the photo I needed for today’s Fictography post. I put out a notice on Facebook requesting a photograph of a street in Paris, and within minutes, Mary…

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  • Low-Budget Ideas That Your Valentine Will LOVE

    February 12, 2013 /

    Last year, my Valentine’s blog post was about putting some effort into your Valentine’s cards and that sending a Valentine’s text just won’t do. Sorry, but in the words of Sweet Brown, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” So this year, I thought I’d provide some ideas that your Valentine will LOVE without breaking your bank, or lack thereof. I’m a firm believer that it’s the effort one gives towards a gift that counts more than the actual gift itself. That said, here are some low-budget ideas in the name of LOVE. Hearts of LOVE. One year, when my husband and I were first together, I cut out about 50…

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  • Romantic Comedies for Valentine’s Day

    February 12, 2012 /

    *** If you don’t want to fight-fight for a reservation at a restaurant or if you happen to be spending the holiday solo, have no fear. We can laugh and giggle at some great rom-coms that have been made over the years for our viewing pleasure. They may be light and airy, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a touch of sweetness to them all. Now, I realize not everyone has the same sense of humor, nor does everyone have the same taste in romantic comedies. That said, I decided to post a list of my favorite romantic comedies—ones I either own or have bought for someone else to own…

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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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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. It’s one of my mother’s favorite mantras: Don’t let other people define you. I couldn’t agree more. 🌸

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