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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  • Saturday Style: Women in Hats

    May 7, 2016 /

    *** Summer is around the corner, and it’s time to think about getting yourself that perfect hat. Whether it’s a straw one, cotton one, or a ball cap, you will want to protect your face from the harmful rays of the sun. Along with getting yourself a good pair of sunglasses, you will want to purchase the right hat for your face shape that also goes well with your hair. The six-year run of Downton Abbey made me fall in love with hats all over again. Watching Mary, Edith, and the rest of the ladies on Downton, made me miss the completeness a hat can bring to fashion and your…

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    Stuff Those Stockings with Books

    December 4, 2015

    Autumn is Always a Good Time to Fall into a Story

    November 9, 2015

    Launching LITTLE MILESTONES Today, my newest novel…

    October 22, 2019
  • In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week & A Thank You to My Students

    May 6, 2016 /

    In the laundry room on Pointer Ridge Drive in Bowie, Maryland, where I grew up, my parents hung my large blackboard I got for Christmas. The laundry room was a good size, and the perfect place for me to set up my schoolroom. My aunt had given me a grade book she used when she was a teacher, and at the age of eight, I began practicing to be a teacher by writing on the board, planning lessons, and marking the imagined students’ grades in my grade book. Mrs. Schuman and Ms. Cosby were my fourth grade teachers, and I watched how they conducted the class. I wanted to be…

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    Opening The Door to Love or Closing the Door to Love

    February 12, 2016

    Fashion Friday

    January 24, 2020

    Classically Beautiful

    January 12, 2016
  • Meeting People Makes Travel Magical

    May 2, 2016 /

      My husband and I were sitting in a restaurant in London one night trying to get in touch with his Italian cousin who is a surgeon in the city. We were there for vacation, but we had promised Massimo and his wife that we would get together during our stay for dinner. In our effort to contact him at work, we were failing miserably. The people at the table next to us recognized that we were struggling with the phone and our attempt at communication with the hospital and promptly invited us to their table. When we explained that the hospital said he was in “theatre” we assumed he…

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    Random (And I Do Mean Random) Thoughts

    September 21, 2015

    Podcast 13 – Ideas to Help Foster Creativity During This Crisis

    April 6, 2020

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

    January 27, 2020
  • Breathing In the Air and Tasting the Wines in Napa Valley | Part Two

    April 29, 2016 /

      (This is part two of my travel piece about Napa Valley and San Francisco. To read part one, click here). Besides the incredible number of wineries, there are some picturesque towns that are definitely worthy of a visit. Napa was our first stop. Perched on the Napa River, the town offers adorable shopping, great restaurants, wine bars, and views worthy of your best camera. We ate at Bounty Hunter Wine Bar and Smokin’ BBQ, a restaurant/bar that was highly recommended to us, and my husband never passes up an opportunity for good barbecue. Additionally, the place forced you to be social as we sat at group tables, and made…

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    What I’m Writing Now (or my current WIP)

    May 14, 2020

    The Most Difficult Part is Getting to the Finish Line

    January 10, 2019

    Meet Some of My Author Friends on #WritersWednesday

    March 25, 2020
  • Breathing in the Air and Tasting The Wines in Napa Valley

    April 27, 2016 /

    First, there was the air, consistently devoid of humidity according the locals, and as fresh and crisp as you would imagine the hills and unspoiled land of Northern California to be. Puffs of soft clouds decorated the blue sky as temperatures hovered in the high sixties. Then, there was the scenery. The rolling greens of the mountains lulled you in sweetly, beckoning you to stop what you’re doing, forget your watch, and stay a while. Rows and rows of meticulously placed and aligned grape vines grow upwards on the mountains as striking winery after winery welcome and encourage you to come and taste what has been made on the premises…

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    lady in beach silhouette during daytime photography

    When An Idea Hits You, You Jump [for joy]

    November 29, 2017

    10 Lessons 2015 Can Teach Us in 2016

    December 31, 2015

    Five Inexpensive Ways to Make This Valentine’s Day Special

    February 10, 2016
  • Campus Book Talk Tonight and Some Monday Inspiration

    April 18, 2016 /

    I’m excited to talk to students tonight about the self-publishing world. Faculty in the Halls, a program at Stevenson University, has asked me to speak to students about the path of publishing your own book. As I’ve published two novels this way, I’m excited to share my knowledge of the growing arm of publishing, how you can make this work for you, and the pros and cons of doing it on your own. I’ll be talking about both Beneath the Mimosa Tree and Baseball Girl, and I hope to inspire some folks to give it a whirl. It’s by no means easy, but it is something that, given enough drive…

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    Dealing with Disappointment

    March 1, 2020

    Classically Beautiful

    January 12, 2016

    Launching LITTLE MILESTONES Today, my newest novel…

    October 22, 2019
  • Recounting Five Years of My Life As a Blogger

    April 17, 2016 /

    On April 6, the notice above popped up in my notifications on my blogging platform, WordPress. I was thankful for the reminder because I wouldn’t have remembered the anniversary of the first day I began the blogging journey. I am too busy tackling the challenge of deciding on what I will write about next. What will the next post reveal? Will I write about writing, fashion, teaching, decorating, films, or books? Or, will I choose to tell a story? In some ways, I’m amazed that five years have passed since I first began this endeavor. I’ve logged 707 posts to date on Steph’s Scribe. During some months, I turn out…

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    Hat Obsessed

    October 26, 2015

    Little Milestones Receives 5-Star Review from Readers’ Favorite

    July 17, 2020

    5 Sure-Fire Ways To Boost Creativity

    March 16, 2016
  • Friday Fiction: Writing the Prologue & Baseball Girl

    April 15, 2016 /

    There is much debate in the fictional writing world as to whether or not your story should begin with a prologue. The last three books I have read–all mainstream fictional novels–have started with a prologue. I found the prologue of Me Before You particularly effective. The discussion of the prologue is a relatively simple one: should you include a glimpse for the reader as to what will eventually come of the characters and plot of the story? Does the prologue have a somewhat different voice? Does it intrigue the reader and offer a bit of a backstory, which will, in turn, propel the story forward? It’s a challenging question to…

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    Thank You, Readers! I’m Flattered.

    November 6, 2019

    That Magic Moment When It All Clicks—Writing A New Novel

    March 9, 2016

    The Madness of Writing a Novel (in my own words)

    July 8, 2020
  • Why I Probably Shouldn’t Have Ridiculously Large Clocks in the House

    April 12, 2016 /

    The wisdom acquired with the passage of time is a useless gift unless you share it. ~ Esther Williams There they are before me. A large clock in the dining room, an even larger one in the living room, and a most gargantuan one on our porch. They always say, “the bigger the better.” I’m not sure if I believe that’s true. I have a sort of fascination with clocks. I love having them around the house, but lately, I sometimes don’t enjoy having them staring me in the face all the time. They are a constant reminder that this very moment will never happen again. That each tick-tock of…

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    Love and The Orioles

    March 11, 2020

    Meeting People Makes Travel Magical

    May 2, 2016

    New: Monday Podcasts on Steph’s Scribe to Kick Off Our Writing for 2020

    January 6, 2020
  • A Good Book Will Never Let You Down

    April 11, 2016 /

    I’m about to finish Adriana Trigiani’s touching and inspiring novel entitled The Shoemaker’s Wife. I’ve enjoyed reading this sweeping story of Italian immigrants loosely based on the history of the author’s own grandparents. From the mountains of the Italian Alps to New York City to a small town in Minnesota, the characters and sights covered in this novel will allow you to become a part of a different time and place when the world was a different place, America was growing, and World War I loomed. The truth of the matter is this: a good book will never let you down. As I’ve become older, wiser, and more finicky about…

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    Meeting People at Baltimore Book Festival

    September 28, 2015

    Frocktober begins tomorrow & I’ve picked my charity

    September 30, 2020

    Random (And I Do Mean Random) Thoughts

    September 21, 2015
  • A Royal Lesson: Typing Class Came in Handy

    April 6, 2016 /

    *** Just for a minute, I’m going to take you back with me to typing class in 8th grade at Severn River Middle School. We sat in rows, typewriters in front of us. We did the drills. “A, A, A…S, S, S…D, D, D…” We typed this sentence over and over again: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” The whole room was filled with sound…the reverberations of clicking keys, the pounding of returning and advancing the page, the echoes of the teacher calling out what we should type. It was chaotic. It was fun. It was hands-on learning—just you smacking the keys of the typewriter. What I…

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    Show recommendations to binge-watch

    January 7, 2021

    Fashion Resolutions for 2016

    January 1, 2016

    Reflections on 2131 after ESPN Aired the Game Last Night

    April 8, 2020
  • Inspired by Joanna Gaines and Fixer Upper on HGTV

    April 4, 2016 /

    My husband and I have been updating our home since we bought it in June of 2013. Little by little we have tackled the project of making our home something we love. In our previous residence, we did the same thing, though on a much smaller scale. I think we both enjoy watching our projects turn into our visions. Of course, we can’t do it on our own–we need help, and we have received it in the form of an architect and builders who have helped us along the way. Lately, I’ve started watching HGTV again, and have become attached to Fixer Upper, as many of you readers may have…

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    Launching Little Milestones AND NaNoWriMo in one Evening on Campus

    October 26, 2019

    Fifty Shades of…Shades

    January 20, 2016

    On the Road to Event Planning

    October 16, 2015
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Happy Friday, everyone! Make it a good one!
Bittersweet today...presented my last workshop as a Faculty Fellow as my two-year fellowship ends in May. It has been an honor to be a part of the cohort that kicked off this new initiative as part of the Center for Teaching and Learning on campus. From the second I saw the call to apply, I was invigorated and wanted to be a part of it.
Throwing it back to Naples, Florida, and a quick getaway when our kids were younger.
When you see the words “market house” and get a glimpse of how charming it is, you immediately identify with this place. On a beautiful, sunny day, it calls for you to sit, grab a coffee and a pastry, and watch the boats go by across the street.
If Mondays are the pits, then this hat is, to use a 1940s term, a peach. 🍑 I’m not sure about my other friends out there in your forties, fifties, and sixties +, but I’ve already done some damage to my skin over the years, and I’d like to preserve my skin as I age.
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.

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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