Steph's Scribe

The Website of Author & Professor Stephanie Parrillo Verni

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  • About Me
  • PRESS KIT
  • Podcasts from Steph’s Scribe 2020
  • Books I’ve Enjoyed
  • Books I’ve Written

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  • Reflections on 2131 after ESPN Aired the Game Last Night

    April 8, 2020 /

    * Last night as I was grading papers and preparing a lecture for online delivery, my husband called me into the family room. “ESPN is airing the full 2131 game,” he said. He was referring to Cal Ripken’s historic night at Camden Yards with the Baltimore Orioles when he surpassed Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak record, a record we will most likely never see broken again. The quality of the video wasn’t good, and my husband and I watched Mike Mussina on the mound. A wave of nostalgia came over me. I was on the field that night, as an employee of the ballclub, executing my duties. That was a…

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    Weekly Recipe: Chicken, Turkey Sausage & Kale

    May 22, 2019

    The Things We Take For Granted

    December 16, 2015

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    March 25, 2020
  • Love and The Orioles

    March 11, 2020 /

    * My husband and I met while working in the front office for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards back in the 90s. Many of you know this story, or may have heard it once or twice before here on Steph’s Scribe. But now the story has come full circle. My husband left the club in 1994, and I stayed until late 1998; he went on to have a long career in media and sales—spending time at the Wizards and Capitals, Redskins Radio, CBS Radio, RadioOne, MASN, and Comcast. Last month, he returned to the Orioles, the place where he began his career and is serving as the VP of…

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    The Move to Online Learning and Its Benefits

    March 22, 2020

    Meet Some of My Author Friends on #WritersWednesday

    March 25, 2020

    Go Ahead—Call Me Corny

    December 18, 2015
  • And Here’s to You, Mr. Robinson

    February 8, 2019 /

    Yesterday, we learned that Orioles great and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson had passed away. He was 83. I was lucky enough to get to know Frank during my time at the Orioles. His humor, willingness to be helpful, and energy was a positive force within the Orioles organization. When you learn someone has passed away, you take a moment to be pensive. To truly understand how quickly life goes by, and that a little appreciation for people, places, and things is important in life. If you’ve read my blog at any point in the past, you know that I write quite sentimentally about my time working in baseball. I…

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    That First Sentence

    September 9, 2015

    Recipe of the Week: The 3-Ingredient Ice Cream Cake

    June 17, 2019

    Giving In To Creativity

    February 2, 2020
  • Writing About Baseball: The Slump from The Postcard & Other Short Stories

    December 11, 2018 /

    I’ll always have a little bit of baseball in my soul, even all these years later after having worked for the Orioles. The truth is, I grew up in baseball. I did. From the age of 19 through my early 30s, I learned so much from working for the Baltimore Orioles organization. That experience molded me and helped me in the careers I have chosen now. It also gave me some pretty remarkable friendships (and I also got a husband and two great kids out of the deal). One of those careers I have today is that of a writer of novels and short stories. Today, I decided to share…

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    Go Ahead—Call Me Corny

    December 18, 2015

    Some Updates on Some things

    September 8, 2020

    The Way the Rain Smells

    February 23, 2016
  • My Books Are All Influenced by Maryland: #ReadLocalDC Blog Hop

    July 11, 2018 /

    *** Magical Maryland. That’s what I like to call it. Our state has a lot to offer people who like variety—the mountains to our west, the beaches to our east, the Chesapeake Bay, nearby Baltimore and Washington, D.C., theme parks and casinos, pretty state parks and delicious Maryland crabs, the picturesque and historic capital city of Annapolis, and numerous quaint, tucked away towns and cities with charms all their own. I’ve lived in Maryland since I was five. I grew up in Bowie and Annapolis. I went to college in Towson at Towson University. Along with my husband and children, we’ve lived in Baltimore City, Ellicott City, and Severna Park.…

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    Writing Can’t Be ‘Thin Love’

    January 21, 2016

    Springtime in Annapolis

    March 17, 2016

    Friday Fiction: A Short About Reincarnation & Love (and in need of feedback)

    April 3, 2020
  • Why You Should Always Follow Your Dreams

    May 25, 2018 /

    The Story Yesterday afternoon, I sat with my parents on their porch overlooking their spotless, inviting pool and their gardens that are in full bloom. It was just the three of us, and we got on the topic of graduation and what kids are studying in college, especially as my own son is off to college as a freshman in the fall. I admitted that I had no idea what I wanted to study when I went to college. I just knew that I was supposed to go to the university and make something of myself. What that exactly was, I had no idea. “Did you have any idea at…

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    An Easter Contemplation About Grandparents

    April 11, 2020

    Little Milestones Receives 5-Star Review from Readers’ Favorite

    July 17, 2020

    What I Didn’t Say About Life as an Author

    January 22, 2020
  • The Real People Who Have Inspired Some of My Characters

    April 10, 2018 /

    I was reading a fellow writer’s blog today, and he wrote a post about people who have inspired him along the way: both those who have encouraged him to write and those who have inspired the characters he has written. It was enlightening to read his thoughts, so I decided to share what has inspired some of my own characters in my novels. We’ll start with three today, one from each book. VIVI IN BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE Some of you may know that the character of Vivi in Beneath the Mimosa Tree was inspired by my own grandmother, Eleanor, who passed away when I was in my twenties. I…

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    Happy Easter!

    April 12, 2020

    Friday Fodder | It’s Been a Good Week

    September 4, 2015

    Podcast 13 – Ideas to Help Foster Creativity During This Crisis

    April 6, 2020
  • Writing A Novel – The Speech I Gave Today

    August 22, 2017 /

    Today, I had the honor and privilege of being one of several faculty speakers sharing their passions at our Fall 2017 Faculty/Staff meeting at Stevenson University. Below you will find the speech I gave, which was about writing, being an author, and self-publishing. After all, it is one of my passions… ***  Writing A Novel  *** I consider myself pretty lucky that I get the opportunity to do two things I love on a daily basis: teach and write. I’m a proud professor here at Stevenson University and also an independent author. I’m an independent author and write novels for two main reasons: (1) because I believe it’s my duty…

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    Give the Gift of Books

    December 15, 2020

    Pumpkin.ssssssssss

    October 14, 2015

    Podcast 4 – Addressing Some Questions From Last Week’s Book Talk

    January 27, 2020
  • The Case for Teaching: Inspiring Students AND Inspired by Students

    July 30, 2017 /

    It’s Sunday morning, and I’m sitting on my porch writing this post and looking at this glorious day sipping my cup of coffee from my Yeti (which keeps it INCREDIBLY hot, let me just say). In a little while, my daughter and I will head to my parents’ house and sit by their pool and spend time with my brother and his family who are visiting. My son and husband will go play golf–a ritual they’ve tried to do on one day of the weekend. I love that they do this, as my son has one year left of high school before he enters college. I love my summers; they…

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    Frocktober begins tomorrow & I’ve picked my charity

    September 30, 2020

    Running Out of Time? You’re Not Alone.

    November 3, 2015

    Vlogging about the Writing Life—Connecting Inn Significant & Little Milestones

    November 18, 2019
  • What I Didn’t Have in College

    July 24, 2017 /

    It’s time for the first Cup of Candor, so grab your coffee or tea, and let’s chat. When I decided to embark on this new format for Steph’s Scribe and change the theme of the blog to A Cup of Candor, it came with an open invitation to my readers to offer suggestions of things they would like to see. One of my former students, a blogger herself at The Faithful Elephant, suggested I do a piece on “notes to my younger self.” I could open a can of worms with that one, believe me, as I’ve experienced some very hard and emotionally draining and heartbreaking life lessons along the…

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    Feminine, Sparkly Accessories For Fall

    August 28, 2015

    FROCKTOBER Fashions Meet Literacy Support for Kids

    October 13, 2020

    The Most Difficult Part is Getting to the Finish Line

    January 10, 2019
  • Thoughts on Missing Working in Baseball

    April 3, 2017 /

    It’s a question I get asked a lot. “Do you miss working in baseball?” Students ask me this often; then they ask what it was like to work in baseball, in sports, for a Major League baseball team. I have often blogged about how working in baseball changed my life in so many ways. I became a serious student when I got my job with the Orioles as a sophomore in college. I learned how to budget my time and work long hours. I loved every minute of it. I even roped my best friend and college roommate into working there during my second year when I supervised a small…

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    Give the Gift of Books

    December 15, 2020

    Prettiness & Priorities

    January 6, 2016

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    January 10, 2020
  • Back at Camden Yards, Pangs of Nostalgia and Thankfulness

    July 11, 2016 /

    * This morning I took a ride to Camden Yards. It was surreal—like going back in time to the commute I did for many years from 1992 through 1998 when I was a full-time employee of the ballclub. (Prior to that, beginning in 1985, I commuted to old Memorial Stadium). I had to pick up something from our friend Mark at the Orioles offices for my son’s birthday. On my drive in, as I am often capable of doing, I became nostalgic remembering old times. I also got to thinking about how that job of working for the Orioles completely transformed my life. And I don’t write that lightly. It…

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Teachers look forward to summer break, too, right teachers????
If you haven’t been to #Annapolis in a while, it’s worth the trip. Merchants and restaurants have gone to great lengths to make the experience a good one for you. From decorating their outside windows, to setting up outside seating in the streets for diners, the city awaits your arrival.
Fashion Friday: Yesterday’s weather was spectacular. Wore my new Orioles orange dress in honor of opening day at Camden Yards. Despite not going to the game, I still support!
This is Eva’s house. Her partner/boyfriend of 10 years has left her for his high school sweetheart—a woman he reconnected with after many years on FB. Eva feels her life has been a fraud, and after throwing a bottle across the room and packing up all his crap to give to the Salvation Army, she has to find a way to pick up the pieces.
Happy first day of the Baseball Season! #tbt to when I was young, skinny, and worked in baseball. So many great things came from my 13 years with the #Orioles, including meeting my husband, making great friends, and learning a helluva lot about public relations, marketing, and publishing. And now, after many years, my husband is back with the ballclub. Happy Opening game!
I don’t know about you, but I can imagine sitting my butt in that chair with a good book. Care to join me?
Well, the annual Eastern Communication Association (ECA) Convention looked a whole lot different this year. Participating in a virtual conference has its benefits, but it’s nothing like being there in person. However, Leeanne, Chip and I presented on two panels—one about event planning (on which we wrote a textbook) with colleagues from Chapman University and Ohio University. We also presented on a panel about reducing student anxiety with colleagues from Cornell University, UNC Wilmington, and Duquesne University. We had a great time and got to learn from our peers and exchange best practices and insights.
Happy 🐪 Day! Wednesdays are the longest days of the week for me, with meetings, classes, and the Shapiro/Rouse lecture happening this evening. I figured I’d break out one of my new dresses...totally inspired by some of the fashion in Emily in Paris. I love the sheer sleeves and polka dots as accents on this monochromatic color that can make those of us on the shorter side appear taller.
Sunshine.🌞
I remember how devastated I was a couple of years ago when I first hurt my back and had to toss all my high heels. I’m only 5’1”, and I loved wearing shoes that made me a little taller. But alas...those heels had to go...for a while.
Is it wrong to already be counting down the days until we get to stay in this gem?
By the time we hit mid-March, we are so ready for warmer weather. Every nice day gets me excited to uncover the porch furniture and get it set up for the season. This is also my absolute favorite spot to write my novels.🌸

Recent Blog Posts

  • Show recommendations to binge-watch January 7, 2021
  • Here’s Hoping for a Brighter 2021 December 31, 2020
  • Ending 2020 with a Manuscript and Some Thoughts December 30, 2020
  • A Writer’s Muse: Annapolis December 18, 2020
  • Give the Gift of Books December 15, 2020
  • One of My Favorite Scenes November 22, 2020
  • My 5th Novel Has a Name (at least for now) November 15, 2020
  • Capturing Moments November 12, 2020
  • The 6 a.m Pledge for My Health November 4, 2020
  • Reading, Writing, and an Empath for November November 1, 2020

Steph’s Scribe is the blog of Stephanie Parrillo Verni, professor, author and blogger. Copyright 2021.

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