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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  • A Recent Article in Shore Monthly About My Writing (yippee!)

    June 29, 2020 /

      *** I’m not sure why I’m slow in sharing this bit of publicity I received from Shore Monthly. As my two latest novels are set in Oxford, MD (Inn Significant) and St. Michaels, MD (Little Milestones) respectively, Shore Monthly ran an interview about my writing. The best part of the story is, a very talented former student of mine from Stevenson University, Ms. Dabrianna Green, wrote the piece. I was utterly flabbergasted when she told me she wanted to cover my newest novel, and I enjoyed a Saturday morning sitting in her office sharing stories of writing. She, too, is a writer, and is working on her first collection…

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    Podcast 6 – Joining a Writers Group

    February 18, 2020

    Meet Some of My Author Friends on #WritersWednesday

    March 25, 2020

    Endorsements for Baseball Girl

    July 14, 2015
  • Booking Remote Book Club Visits

    June 16, 2020 /

    *** 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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    Fifty Shades of…Shades

    January 20, 2016

    Podcast 19: Perseverance, Queries & Writing that First Draft

    July 21, 2020

    The Case for Gelato

    April 16, 2017
  • An Easter Contemplation About Grandparents

    April 11, 2020 /

    * Two days ago, my aunt posted the above photo of my grandparents on Facebook, wishing my grandmother (we called her Nanny) a happy birthday in Heaven. She’s been gone from us for quite some time, but seeing the photo, while we simultaneously fight this coronavirus pandemic and Easter is upon us, made me contemplate my pretty blessed life thus far. While no life is perfect, and my own family’s past year and half has been beyond weird and strange and sad and disruptive, I look back with joy on all that we have been blessed with in our lives. I was very fortunate to have all of my grandparents…

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    Podcast 18: Blogging 101

    June 11, 2020

    Interpersonal Communication Up Next

    January 15, 2020

    What Blogging Has Meant to Me

    January 12, 2019
  • Dealing with Disappointment

    March 1, 2020 /

    After watching Brene Brown’s Ted Talks, other videos, and reading her books, I’ve decided to just be vulnerable (which isn’t my strong suit) and say that I’m dealing with a bit of disappointment over here. The world of being an independent author is not always kind, nor is it always fun. My latest book, Little Milestones, a follow-up book to Inn Significant, is not faring well at all on Amazon. I have two reviews. I work hard busting my butt on Instagram and Facebook to try to ascertain readers and ask for help with reviews online, but it can be tiring. Exhausting. It can depress the soul, to be frank.…

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    Podcast 11 : Don’t Bring Negative To My Door

    March 23, 2020

    Writing About Baseball: The Slump from The Postcard & Other Short Stories

    December 11, 2018
    lady in beach silhouette during daytime photography

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

    November 29, 2017
  • The Thing That Connects Us

    December 14, 2019 /

    *** I was sitting here staring at a blank cursor knowing what I wanted to write but not knowing exactly how to say it. Then I remembered studying writer James Baldwin during my first master’s degree, and thought of his quote: “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who are alive, who had ever been alive.” – James Baldwin I’ve been “officially” publishing fiction now since 2012. Fiction is the best outlet to tell…

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

    April 3, 2020

    The Case for Gelato

    April 16, 2017

    Autumn is Always a Good Time to Fall into a Story

    November 9, 2015
  • Vlogging about the Writing Life—Connecting Inn Significant & Little Milestones

    November 18, 2019 /

    After I published Inn Significant in 2017, I seriously considered a sequel. People were writing to me and asking me what happens to the characters. I began constructing the sequel and dabbled with about 13 chapters until I stopped writing it altogether. After I put it away for a while and took a break, a lightbulb went off in my head: what if I wrote a second book with a character with a somewhat parallel life and had them meet in the new novel? It would be more of a series rather than a sequel, and that appealed to me much more. Typically, sequels aren’t very good. There are exceptions…

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    Unlost – Sharing a Short Story from The Postcard

    December 18, 2019

    Podcast 16: Taking a Gander of What’s Out There Before You Write

    May 21, 2020

    A Valentine’s Poem

    February 13, 2019
  • Launching LITTLE MILESTONES Today, my newest novel…

    October 22, 2019 /

    *** Okay, my friends, today, my newest novel, LITTLE MILESTONES is official and is on the market through Amazon (coming in days to Barnes & Noble). While this is not a true sequel to Inn Significant, it does tap into those characters as they become a part of Little Milestones and the lives of Olivia and Nan. The new book is set in beautiful St. Michaels, Maryland, and as you may have surmised, I have a slight obsession with the Eastern Shore. There are also some scenes in Annapolis because I love my home state so much. * I think of all the books I’ve written, this one has made…

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

    May 14, 2020

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

    January 27, 2020

    Podcast 8: Music When You Write + The Hard Road of Being An Indie Author

    March 2, 2020
  • An Update and the Plot Overview of Little Milestones – Coming Soon

    July 9, 2019 /

    Right now, my beta readers are looking over the draft of Little Milestones. I am reading the manuscript again, as well, for the hundredth time. As well, I’ve started to create some of my marketing materials for the book. For those of us in the trenches as independent authors, it’s a never-ending cycle of book promotion, writing, and editing. We’re at it all the time as we try to build our brand and find our niche of readers. I’m still at it and I haven’t given up. Today, I’m sharing the draft of the copy that goes on the outside of a book or inside a book jacket—you know, the…

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    A Royal Lesson: Typing Class Came in Handy

    April 6, 2016

    10 Lessons 2015 Can Teach Us in 2016

    December 31, 2015

    2019 – I Bid You Adieu With a Swift Kick of The Boot

    December 30, 2019
  • Fiction Friday: An Update

    January 25, 2019 /

    * I’m not exactly sharing a fictional story today, but I’m sharing with you the crazy writing journey I’m on at the moment as I write my fourth fictional novel. In December, after National Novel Writing Month ended, I was 45,000 words into a new story, one that I had set in the hills of the Cotswolds in England. After a conversation with my family about how the work was going and picking their brains a little one night over dinner, I decided to relocate the story to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I know. Big change. I’m a Maryland girl (see my mug below thanks to…

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    One of My Favorite Scenes

    November 22, 2020

    It’s Been A Helluva Week & A Little Milestone Is In The Books

    October 23, 2019

    What I Didn’t Say About Life as an Author

    January 22, 2020
  • When You Majorly Alter Your Work in Progress After Writing 50,000 Words: The Hard Truth About Writing A Novel

    December 21, 2018 /

    * Today, my dear readers, I am going to give it to you straight. Straight up, as Paula Abdul once sang. And believe me, what I’m about to share with you is going to cause me to do quite a bit of work. Lots and lots of work. But in the end, I am hoping it will all be worth it. And also, you must know this about me: if I didn’t love crafting stories and the agony that goes along with that job, I wouldn’t do it. If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that I am a professor, writer, author, and as you see me…

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    Early This Morning

    June 1, 2020

    In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week & A Thank You to My Students

    May 6, 2016

    12 Tips for Being a Successful College Student

    January 10, 2020
  • The Results of My Favorite Kind of Getaway Research

    September 3, 2018 /

    Hello Dear Readers, I’m back from a fabulous weekend in Oxford, Maryland, with my husband. The Eastern Shore of Maryland is uniquely qualified to sufficiently relax you, while at the same time, invigorate your creative spirit. And if you’ve been following along on my blog for the last week, I needed the getaway so much, having pulled my lower back in the most extraordinary of ways (bending over to reach for something in a drawer, go figure!) that left me in pain for a good 10 days. Having nursed myself back from that injury to being able to enjoy the weekend without agony was an accomplishment in itself. Hours spent…

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    2019 – I Bid You Adieu With a Swift Kick of The Boot

    December 30, 2019

    Recounting Five Years of My Life As a Blogger

    April 17, 2016

    Podcast 14: Finding and Flushing Out Story Ideas for Novel Writers

    April 14, 2020
  • Bucket List Item – Staying at the “Real” Inn Significant

    August 31, 2018 /

    *** Tomorrow, my birthday wish will come true, thanks to my husband. When he asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told him I wanted to stay at the Sandaway Suites & Beach in the quaint, Eastern Shore town of Oxford, Maryland. It just so happens that it’s the real-life inn that inspired my third novel, Inn Significant. The original plan for that novel was to have it set in Annapolis, just as my first book was set there (that one’s called Beneath the Mimosa Tree). I headed to Annapolis with my camera in hand, and began to stroll all the side streets in search of that place that…

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    The Case for Gelato

    April 16, 2017

    Podcast 9 – Building Your Story

    March 10, 2020

    The Most Difficult Part is Getting to the Finish Line

    January 10, 2019
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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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