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…
Tag: novel writing
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…
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…
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…
A Few Last Thoughts on Fashion
*** Several people have come up to me recently and told me they enjoyed the #FROCKTOBER feature I posted over the course of the month. A few others have told me I inspired their style. These kind of comments thrill me–I am so glad I could inspire you or give you some ideas for your…
The Friday Random Thoughts Roundup
I haven’t been blogging much lately, and I’m feeling badly about it. I’ve been incredibly busy with two kids in high school, teaching at the university, volunteering for things, and serving on committees, in addition to actually trying to fit my new mentality of health and fitness into my daily regime. I wish I could…
Don’t Put Limitations on Yourself: Inspiration to Achieve the Goals You Set for Yourself
* Writer and director James Cameron (Titantic, Avatar, and the Terminator) says it best at the end of his Ted Talk on Ted.com: Don’t put limitations on yourself; other people will do that for you. I typically show this Ted Talk to my university feature writing students each fall after they read a piece about…
What It Feels Like to Finish Writing a Novel
* Well, friends, I’m coming down the home stretch. By next week, my novel will be written, if it does not happen sooner than that. People have asked me this question: what does it feel like to finish a novel? As this will be the third one I have published, it feels a little like…
Back at Camden Yards, Pangs of Nostalgia and Thankfulness
* 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…
Update on Novel #3 And Words of Encouragement
* I’ve been working on my third novel this summer, and have been having so much fun doing the research and writing of this one. It’s different from the previous two, but it’s an idea that’s been in my head for several years. Finally, it is all coming together. UPDATES Currently, I have 42,000+ words…
Day Trip to Oxford and Easton, Maryland (where my new novel is set)
My mom and I typically spend a day together before my kids get out of school for the summer, and today, our day trip took us to Oxford, Maryland. This trip was for fun, but it was also for another reason: we had to do a little research because my new novel takes place there….
The Art of Editing
* * * * * I remember finding the copy editing course I took at Towson University grueling. It was a required course during my first master’s program in professional writing. It was tedious and tiring. My eyes grew weary, and eliminating words became a game to me. When the professor told us to get…
