Steph's Scribe

The Website of Author & Professor Stephanie Parrillo Verni

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  • Podcasts from Steph’s Scribe 2020
  • Books I’ve Enjoyed
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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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  • The 6 a.m Pledge for My Health

    November 4, 2020 /

    To the year 2020—you’ve been a disaster in so many ways. So many of us are tired and feeling the angst that has befallen us during these last many months. We’ve lost sleep, contact with people we love, the ability to move around in society in a normal way, and for many people, pay reductions and loss of jobs and livelihoods. Just this morning, I heard the story of someone who lost their store and is now homeless thanks to the pandemic. Additionally, as a consummate consumer of news, I’ve realized the very nature of this much negative news consumption that I inhale on a daily basis is affecting my…

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    Random (And I Do Mean Random) Thoughts

    September 21, 2015

    Capturing Moments

    November 12, 2020

    Coming Up With A Book Title

    January 6, 2019
  • Letting Go of Perfect

    October 20, 2020 /

    Somewhere along the line, in between running press notes for the media and trying to get better grades in college, this once heavy partier in college flipped and became a sort of perfectionist. This is not to say I am perfect, nor did I ever believe I was perfect. I know I’m quite far from it, and I recognize that. I’ve made mistakes, done stupid things, made bad choices. It’s just that at the time, there was a shift in my thinking, and I became goal oriented and a bit of an over-achiever, always striving for perfection. For years, I’ve tried to do my best at home as a wife…

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    Capturing Moments

    November 12, 2020

    For Valentine’s Day: Text Messages Are Not Substitutes For Cards

    February 11, 2014

    Podcast 5 – Clearing Your Head, Work Space, and Thinking About POV

    February 3, 2020
  • Frocktober begins tomorrow & I’ve picked my charity

    September 30, 2020 /

    FROCKTOBER BEGINS TOMORROW… And I’m announcing the charity I have chosen for the next 31 days. What is FROCKTOBER? It’s a 31-day fashion challenge, whereby you post an outfit a day on Instagram, that calls attention to a charity of choice! As an educator, author, blogger, and reader, I am so happy to support and call attention to another woman of style’s organization that fosters reading: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Dolly’s nonprofit organization is a book gifting program that delivers free books to children from birth to age 5 in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Republic of Ireland. The organization was inspired by Dolly’s father’s inability to…

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    Friday Fodder | It’s Been a Good Week

    September 4, 2015

    It’s Not Bragging. It’s Marketing.

    May 13, 2015

    Fifty Shades of…Shades

    January 20, 2016
  • Some Updates on Some things

    September 8, 2020 /

    As I’ve been a little out of touch, I thought I’d share a few updates, and things that have been happening during quarantine of late, starting with… The Unnamed Boat The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement. On my birthday in mid-August, my husband surprised me by purchasing a boat. Our friends upgraded to a new vessel, and he bought their boat. As I had been out on their boat several times, it was a lovely, and completely out-of-the-blue surprise. Since then, we’ve been spending as much time on the water as we can before the season ends. Growing up, my dad had boats. When I was…

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    Fashion Friday

    January 24, 2020

    Meet Some of My Author Friends on #WritersWednesday

    March 25, 2020

    Running Out of Time? You’re Not Alone.

    November 3, 2015
  • Anxiety at 3:30 a.m.

    August 29, 2020 /

    I can’t believe I’m sitting her typing this at 3:30 in the morning, but I am. I’m getting angrier by the minute that I can’t fall asleep and that my heart is racing for no good reason. This happens to me a few times a year, and like a dummy, I allow it to get the better of me instead of going with the flow. The worst part of all is that I’m actually exhausted. I suppose I should be thankful because it allows me a few moments to write a blog post, something I haven’t tackled since my birthday because I’ve been too busy. There are many of you…

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    Thankfulness, Doug Flutie, and The Power of Love

    November 19, 2015

    Love and The Orioles

    March 11, 2020

    10 Lessons 2015 Can Teach Us in 2016

    December 31, 2015
  • The Annual Birthday Post Turned Poem

    August 16, 2020 /

    The Annual Birthday Post Turned Poem The hour has finally arrived, my friends Another birthday is here I’d love to scream with joy and glee But aging’s what I fear Growing old’s a gift, it’s true To live your life in full It should be sunshine and roses But a lot of it’s just bull Aging isn’t always bliss My back’s a pain in the ass It’s taking away from me having fun And affecting all of my sass The lines on my face do show some wear And I jiggle way more than I’d like The greys in my hair are plentiful, too So I escape when I can…

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    Stuff Those Stockings with Books

    December 4, 2015

    Five Inexpensive Ways to Make This Valentine’s Day Special

    February 10, 2016

    5 Sure-Fire Ways To Boost Creativity

    March 16, 2016
  • What Are You Missing Most Right Now?

    July 29, 2020 /

    Here’s the question: WHAT ARE YOU MISSING MOST RIGHT NOW? Most of us are probably missing the freedom we used to have to travel, being with those we love without social distancing, and seeing the world. Plus, as I am working on my syllabus for feature writing, I typically instruct and assign an article about travel writing. This morning I woke up realizing I may have to take this assignment out. How can I expect the students to travel and write about their local travel in these present circumstances? This semester is going to be unusual enough without now having to rethink assignments. I’m going to have to get creative.…

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

    November 29, 2017

    Thank You, Readers! I’m Flattered.

    November 6, 2019

    My Holiday Archenemy

    November 29, 2015
  • Podcast 19: Perseverance, Queries & Writing that First Draft

    July 21, 2020 /

    *** Thank you to some of my Instagram followers for offering suggestions of what to cover on today’s writing podcast on Steph’s Scribe! I am excited to tackle these subjects for you, and would love for our Writing Community to engage in dialogue about what works for them as we continue to learn from each other. I hope you enjoy today’s podcast and are inspired to continue along your writing journey. I’m writing along with you, and am always here to help. Have a good week, everyone! xx ***   Stephanie Verni is Professor of Communication at Stevenson University. She is the author of 5 works of fiction and the co-author…

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    Campus Book Talk Tonight and Some Monday Inspiration

    April 18, 2016

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

    January 6, 2020

    What Are You Missing Most Right Now?

    July 29, 2020
  • Little Milestones Receives 5-Star Review from Readers’ Favorite

    July 17, 2020 /

    *** One of the things I won’t ever do on my blog is to pretend that being an independent author is at all glamorous. It’s not. It takes tireless work, both on the creating/writing/editing side, as well as on the marketing/public relations/promotions side. It can be an exhausting adventure—and it is most definitely an adventure every single time—but you have to know this going into the endeavor. And never expect too much. That said, you can imagine my surprise this morning, when I was already feeling down about where my next piece of writing is headed, to see the 5-star review for Little Milestones, a novel a published in October…

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

    July 8, 2020

    Acceptable “B” Words for a BETTER You

    January 8, 2016

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

    December 30, 2019
  • Sundays Are for Stories

    July 12, 2020 /

    ✨FROM MY PORCH OFFICE✨ This is what Sunday morning writing looks like here at the Verni house. As I’m now officially over 33,000 words of building this story—probably my most complicated story to create to date—I am feeling the hum of the characters, the movement of the story, the connection of my 5 characters, and the way this story will end up. It’s a great feeling to know you’re on track with the story you want to tell—that the characters are yearning for you to tell. . I write relationship-driven fiction. It comes from a place of understanding the nuances of people and what potentially drives them (or does not…

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

    January 6, 2020

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

    January 27, 2020

    No More Blues with Blue Skies

    March 29, 2016
  • The Loss of George

    July 10, 2020 /

    * This week, I learned much too late of the passing of my favorite professor and one of the best people I knew, George Friedman. He passed away in late February. Every once in a while someone comes along and makes an impression on your life. That person, for me, came in the form of Dr. George Friedman, professor of English at Towson University. George, as I came to call him, was the singular inspiration for my first novel, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, which began as a short story in George’s class—Writing Creative Short Fiction—during my first master’s degree. When he returned a short story I wrote, and verbally told…

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    Deciding to Be A Hallmark Movie in Annapolis, Not Just Watch One

    December 9, 2018

    A Suggestion for Your Kids: Write About The Pandemic

    July 23, 2020

    Inspired by Joanna Gaines and Fixer Upper on HGTV

    April 4, 2016
  • The Madness of Writing a Novel (in my own words)

    July 8, 2020 /

    ✨HOW DOES IT FEEL WHEN YOU’RE IN THE ZONE?✨ I’ve hit my stride, finally. As we are approaching mid-July, I’ve made some pretty good progress with reading and writing. I’m about to hit 26,000 words on my work in progress, and my goal this week is to make it to at least 30,000 words. As well, I’ve finished one book about bookstores and I’m on to another. My pile of these books is pretty tall, so I have a lot to work toward. I’m also finishing the last week of the master’s course I’m teaching, so it’s been a little busy. What do I mean when I ask how it…

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    Feminine, Sparkly Accessories For Fall

    August 28, 2015

    Baseball Nostalgia and Baseball Fiction

    May 17, 2020

    My Holiday Archenemy

    November 29, 2015
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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.🌸
Two years ago today, on the Ides of March, I was in the worst pain of my life in a hospital with a badly herniated disc. It’s been a bumpy road since then, and after numerous doctors visits, we can finally see the path to healing. It appears that pesky disc is starting to behave.

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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