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Not Quite There With 5 Days Remaining
It’s the 25th of November, and I’m still making progress, although it’s not moving as quickly as I would like. The goal for November was to complete 50,000 words (which is, in essence, a small novel). The problem is, this novel (Life with Nan) will more like 80,000+ words, I’m guessing. So, my friends, I have a way to go, but if that’s the case, then I’ll try to find some solace in the fact that I hit the halfway point by going over 40,000 words. Nan and my main character, Calista, still have more to uncover as their relationship of living together as granddaughter and grandmother continue, and as…
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Guest Blogger: Author and Writer Mandy Eve-Barnett on NaNoWriMo
Happy Sunday, writers and readers! I am so pleased to introduce you to writer Mandy Eve-Barnett! We connected several years ago, as we both are writers and bloggers. Being in touch with and staying current with other writers is important as it helps push you and keeps you abreast of what others who share the same passion as you are doing. I hope you enjoy this Sunday Guest Blog. I’m certainly happy to have her share her writing journey with you, especially as we both strive to make a dent in #NaNoWriMo! To see Mandy Eve-Barnett’s books on Amazon, click here. To visit Mandy Eve-Barnett’s blog click here! * I…
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Gearing Up for #Frocktober and #NaNoWriMo
October = #Frocktober November = #NaNoWriMo As this will be the third year Steph’s Scribe has participated in #Frocktober, and the second year we’re partnering with the Stevenson University Library to present #NaNoWriMo, we’ve got a lot of planning and work ahead of us. There are outfits to pick out and novels to work on. But isn’t that what makes life fun? Having projects to immerse ourselves into each year? Fall is absolutely my favorite season…and these two months are exciting. My husband and I married on November 1 in a barn in the fall season. Despite that the weather was much like it is today in Maryland – drizzly…
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Old Postcards & My Book Resolution
I’m knee deep today in organizing for the spring semester, but I wanted to take a quick coffee break to show you these two gems I came across in my collection today. I love old postcards, and as I’m getting back to the simpler things in life, and am much happier for doing so, letter writing and postcard writing are such a great way to bring back taking time to put your feelings on paper. I loved the idea that I read that inspired a blog post a couple of years ago—every time you go on vacation, mail home a postcard to yourself (or postcards, depending on how long you’re…
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Prompt and Podcast – Day 2 #nanowrimo
Yesterday, I published my first PODCAST. You can check it out here [Podcast 1]. Admittedly, I was pretty proud of myself. I am not too technically savvy, but I watched some YouTube videos and was able to finagle it all by my lonesome. I texted my former boss, mentor, and dear friend from my days at the Orioles, Charles Steinberg, and said: “See what that internship in Orioles Productions helped me produce?” LOL. I had worked at the Orioles for two years when I needed an internship for credit at Towson University. I had never worked with audio or video equipment before, and Charles agreed to take me on as…
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The End of #Frocktober and The Beginning of Something New
As today is Halloween and also the last day of October, it marks the end of the month of #FROCKTOBER, which I’ve been participating in on Instagram at stephverni. In order to highlight and bring awareness to OVARIAN CANCER, I posted one outfit each day for the month of October. While I’m sort of relieved it’s over, I always finish what I’ve started, and I hope I’ve raised awareness of this type of cancer, which my colleague and friend, Chris Noya, is battling. It’s never to late to contribute: visit Cancer.org (American Cancer Society) or ovarian.org (National Ovarian Cancer Coalition) to donate and help change lives. Here are the last…
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How Pieces of You and People You Know End Up in Your Characters
*** Luckily, for some people I know, I don’t write a lot of villains into my novels. As I do in real life, I try to not let nasty, uncaring, judgmental, ridiculously competitive and fake people seep into my world too often. However, in the short stories I write, I let them in because I don’t have to deal with them for too long, as short stories are just that—short. However, writers have to allow what we learn about people to grace the pages of our stories and illuminate our characters; these sketches of folks should glide into our stories seamlessly. As well, the same is true with the goodness…
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Book Giveaway – Enter to Win!
* In the world of independent authors and publishing, Amazon gives us the opportunity to give away copies of our books… So let’s do it. If you’re wondering what the heck Inn Significant is about and whether you may want to read it, let me share some recent reviews about the book (below you will see the summary about the novel). In the novel, you’ll be transported to Oxford, Maryland (click here to see an lovely overview of the town form Only in Your State); one of my readers wrote to me and said, “Brilliant. Beautiful. A work of literary art. The vivid imagery of Oxford, as you did with…
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Writing About Places in Fiction – Maryland’s Eastern Shore in Inn Significant
As a writer, it’s important to research the places you may feature in your writing. I spent a ton of time walking around Annapolis, Maryland, for my first novel, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and I did the same with the novel I launched yesterday, Inn Significant. It’s part of the fun, really. As my students in travel writing class can attest from last semester, it’s envigorating to write about a place, but there’s a trick. You have to allow yourself to be completely immersed in the place. Your writing won’t be as vibrant if you’re just a spectator. You have to become one with the place…become a local while you…
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My Third Novel, Inn Significant, Is Now Available !!!
B I G N E W S T O D A Y ! ! ! INN SIGNIFICANT IS NOW AVAILABLE ! *** A few weeks ago I likened birthing a novel to birthing a baby, except without the physical pain and need for drugs. I still think it’s true. I’m happy to report that my third novel, Inn Significant, is now available via Amazon and Barnes & Noble in both paperback and for the e-readers. As those of us who are independent authors know, this is when the marketing work begins, and it ain’t easy. Plus, it requires me to do something that I’m not used to doing, and that’s…
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Handling the Insecurities of Publishing A Novel
*** It’s a challenging endeavor. I’ve done it twice now with fiction, and twice with nonfiction books. And I’m about to do it again when I release my latest, third fictional novel. There will always be anxieties that manifest themselves into insecurities about putting our work out there. The tendency to feel nervous about it is normal. We’ve invested a lot of time and energy into our stories, and we hope people will appreciate that time and energy regarding our work, too. But there are no guarantees. Some people will love it, some will think it’s just okay, and some will downright dislike it. It’s the way of the world,…
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Coming in February: Inn Significant, A Novel
*** INN SIGNIFICANT by Stephanie Verni…Coming in January. What if three weeks after suffering a miscarriage, you faint and find yourself on the floor of your own home’s cold foyer, and as you regain consciousness, you have to acknowledge the horrible news that was relayed to you moments ago by two police officers: that your husband of ten years—the love of your life—was tragically killed by a tractor-trailer on the slick, rainy interstate? 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…
