Stephanie Verni's Blog, page 58
March 8, 2017
When Are You The Happiest? Part Two
[image error]On Monday, I asked the question of what makes you happy—and when are you the happiest. My first answer was that spending time with family, often on vacation when I am completely relaxed and decompressed, certainly ranks high on my list of when I am most happy. Do you feel the same?
But there are other things that can push the happy meter into the 10 range (with, of course, 10 being the highest). Watching my children grow into good people and do well in their respective studies and activities makes me happy—and proud. Even more so, watching my children try hard at anything, whether they achieve greatness in that endeavor or not, makes me happy. I’m always going to feel joy when I know they are giving something all they’ve got. As my husband and I always say, it’s less about results and more about effort. If something wonderful comes their way because of a terrific effort, well then, more power to them. I’m happy knowing they tried their best.
To be perfectly honest with you, today I felt a little grumpy when I woke up, clearly not a good habit to get into if you are striving to be as happy as you can be. But sometimes things get us down. For me, it’s the book promotion of my third novel. While I am merely an independent author going it alone in this world of publishing, I still relish the challenge. That doesn’t mean it isn’t without its struggles. Trying to get people to pay attention to a book you’ve worked on for years isn’t the easiest thing to do. People are busy. They have lives to live. Reading a little book I published is not high on their ranking order of things to accomplish. I get it. That said, it doesn’t make it any less daunting to continue on the promotional track of public relations, marketing, and advertising the book.
Does this mean writing a book doesn’t make me happy? It’s quite the contrary, my friends. Writing a book makes me very happy. It’s a solitary venture I do on my own, and then ask others for help reviewing, editing, and offering suggestions. I actually love the entire process of novel writing. It’s challenging, makes me think, and beckons me to put all my skills to work.
Book promotion, however, is another story.
But guess what? You can’t have one without the other, not if you want readers. So you take the happy with the challenging and realize it’s all still worth it.
We tend to become involved in things that make us feel good, whether it’s eating right, working out at the gym, going to concerts or Broadway shows, going to church, or volunteering at an organization, just to name a few. This isn’t to say that things we do to make ourselves useful or to feel good about ourselves doesn’t make us feel another way, too. For example, when I was at the Orioles, one of my favorite days of the year was when we took the team as a whole to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and visited the children who were recovering from all types of serious illnesses and situations. Seeing the children interact with the players—the way their faces lit up—was magical. I was happy we could provide this service. When I got into my car to drive home, I would often cry my eyes out remembering the children without hair and scars along their scalps; children with arms and legs in casts, or even some children without arms and legs; and children who couldn’t move a muscle, only their eyes to say hello to the players. Doing things for the betterment of others can make us feel happy, but it can also tug strongly at our heartstrings.
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I guess what I’m trying to say in today’s installment is that sometimes happiness does come with a little bit of strife; life can’t always be easy, as has been proven again and again. But sometimes we can make others happy, and that’s a win-win situation.
Moreover, that’s just the reason why we have to continue to pursue happiness as a goal. We have to savor every moment, for sometimes those moments last a long time, and sometimes they are fleeting.
There are varying degrees of happiness, but I’m pretty sure we can all agree that making someone else feel good about themselves, offering friendship, love and support, and giving our own kids the courage to pursue their favorite activities and dreams, has the power to move mountains.
[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of the newly released Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt. To visit Stephanie’s Amazon Author page and see her books, click here.
Filed under: On Life
March 6, 2017
When Are You The Happiest? Part One
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I think that we can all confirm the obvious—we work a lot. Here, in the United States, we work many, many hours, whether those hours are at work, outside work, in the classroom, outside the classroom, attending meetings and conferences, or attending other notable business-related practices as needed, when needed. I never realized how much we worked—truly—until I sat on the edge of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, on the River Arno with my husband. We had purchased fresh Prosciutto, mozzarella, olives, roasted red peppers, and bread, and made ourselves a little picnic as we watched people close up shops for the afternoon siesta. I believe the words I said that day went something like this: “What the hell are we doing wrong? We work too much.”
In those days, I was working in baseball, and I spent as many as 80 hours a week promoting the game in Baltimore with the Orioles. The crazy thing was that I loved my job. I loved it so much that it didn’t feel like work. At all.
That was, until we went to Italy.
Since then, my perception on life has changed a great deal. My husband and I did not have children at the time of our work/life epiphany on the Arno, and now we have two who are in high school. Soon, my son will be off to college. Time flies, my friends, and we need to make sure we are leaving room to be the happiest we can be. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? That we have to “pencil in” time to be happy?
Which leads me to my question: When are YOU the happiest?
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I have an app on my phone that I refuse to delete. It’s the Universal Studios app (and if you are on your way to Orlando, you may want to use this app—it tells you exactly how long the wait is for each attraction at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.) My kids think it’s funny that I have kept the app on my phone two months after our trip. Maybe it’s a little nutty, but I like to periodically check (in moments of pure boredom) to see how long the wait is at my favorite rides. It’s funny, but it harkens back to that idea of being happy. We were all truly happy in Florida at that park. We had fun. We had together time. We enjoyed each other’s company and made memories. And my husband and I did not think about work. We were on vacation. We “penciled it in.”
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Think about the times you have enjoyed the simple splendor of just being with those you love. Maybe it wasn’t during a vacation; maybe it was watching the Super Bowl, making cookies, or sitting by the pool in the summer. Maybe it was giving birth (if that’s so, more power to you; I love my kids, but the process of delivery…whoa…another story)…or celebrating a family milestone. Whatever it is, you are remembering the moment because it made you feel happy.
What I find, personally, when I ask myself this question, is that my happiness is often tied to being completely and unequivocally relaxed. We tend to be the happiest when there are no worries hijacking our brains.
My happiest moments have been spent with family, on vacation, being together, doing things that make life interesting and special, whether that was in the Outer Banks, Napa, Florida, Ocean City, Bethany Beach, Aruba, London, or Italy. Sometimes it may even be right there in our own back yards.
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I yearn for more of that. We all do.
Happiness may not be tied to a place, really, though some places are simply spectacular. More often, happiness is tied to the people we were with when we were at that place, at that time, surrounded by love.
Think about it. Can you answer?
When are you the happiest?
It’s not a trick question.
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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of the newly released Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt. To visit Stephanie’s Amazon Author page and see her books, click here.
Filed under: & ... more., On Life Tagged: family, Happiness, happy, memories, places, travel, vacation
March 4, 2017
Book Promotion Wrap Up Week One –Thanks for Entering To Win!
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Week one of book promotion for Inn Significant has come to an end, and I wanted to thank all 594 people who entered to win on Amazon for doing so! We had three winners this week–Thelma, Kendra, and Jessica. I hope you all enjoy Inn Significant…I really do.
I’ll be giving away some signed copies this week on my author Facebook page thanks to some good ideas from my savvy students in public relations class. So stay tuned…
I also wanted to thank the Star-Democrat newspaper on Maryland’s Eastern Shore for featuring the story about the book this week. Hopefully, some folks who either live on the Eastern Shore or love visiting Oxford, St. Michaels, and Easton (like I do) will enjoy the story of Milly Foster and her life at the Inn.
If you’ve finished reading the book, you might enjoy my recap of that includes photos and places that inspired the setting of my book that I posted. Check it out and see if it’s what you imagined as you read the story.
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The dining room of the Edgewood Manor House in Providence, RI
Thanks, as always, for reading, following, and caring! Have a great weekend, everyone!
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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of the newly released Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt. To visit Stephanie’s Amazon Author page and see her books, click here.
Filed under: On Life Tagged: author, Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, book promotion, books, Chesapeake Bay, Eastern Shore, Easton, Independent authors, Inn Significant, Oxford, Paperblog, reading, St. Michael's, support indie authors, writer
March 3, 2017
Take a Trip to Ladew Topiary Gardens
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Last fall, my husband and I had time all to ourselves during the week while the kids were in school; I was on fall break and my husband took a day off. We spent the day at Ladew Topiary Gardens in Maryland, just 29 miles north of Baltimore in Monkton. It’s a great way to enjoy “together” time, as you stroll the gardens and see the blossoms and collection of plants. Additionally, the topiary gardens are sculpted beautifully. We did go in early autumn, but springtime and summer must be glorious as well. And the weather was so spectacular, that we ate lunch on the patio outside the small cafe.
Harvey Ladew, who died in 1976, was an interesting gentleman who was known as a traveler, artist, foxhunter, and gardener. He had many famous acquaintances, including Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, and Somerset Maugham, and he relished the company of all types of people. He wanted to leave his 200+ acre property for others to enjoy, and in 1971, his home became a non-profit organization for the public to enjoy. To learn more about the history of Ladew, visit the website and click here.
There’s nothing like a day trip to clear one’s head. Strolling gardens looking at nature and blooms of later summer/early autumn reminds me of days gone by when people had no connection to electronics and were able to completely de-stress and just stroll and connect the old-fashioned way—by talking and being together.
I enjoy exploring hidden treasures that are just a short distance from home, and am always looking for a nearby place to spend some time.
Do you?
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While we were there, we got to see the gardeners working on trimming the hedges.
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A very nice person took a photo of us in one of the gardens.
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Topiaries are behind me!!!
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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of the newly released Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt. To visit Stephanie’s Amazon Author page and see her books, click here.
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Filed under: On Life Tagged: Baltimore, day trip, gardens, Harvey Ladew, Ladew Topiary Gardens, Maryland gardens, MD, Monkton
February 27, 2017
Cringeworthy Defined
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Cringeworthy/adjective/informal.
Definition:
causing feelings of embarrassment or awkwardness.
“the movie was fair because the dialogue was quite cringeworthy”
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The end of last night’s Oscars was cringeworthy. I didn’t subject myself to the show at all, but I had to watch the recap of the fiasco this morning on YouTube. What a gaffe!
There are many things we encounter in life that are cringeworthy. Reading my old poetry from high school would definitely be high on my list.
The time I asked a college boy(friend) to go to my sorority formal with me and he said no probably ranks high on that cringeworthy list.
And for sure, the time I couldn’t finish a speech on the topic of speech anxiety (ironically) in my Communication Process class during the spring semester of my sophomore year at Towson University, left me almost incapacitated and mortified for the entire summer.
These aforementioned cringeworthy moments in my life never defined me. I write decent poetry and fiction now; I married someone who would never say no to something that mattered to me; and I taught public speaking for nine years. I got over my blunders that made me cringe just as you have done the same (or indeed, have the power to do the same). Remember: they don’t define you.
But do you know what those cringeworthy moments give us?
Great stories.
Everything that happens to you–good or bad–has the potential to help someone else by sharing your stories. I tell tons of personal stories in my college classroom. They are meant to be helpful. I also incorporate some of life’s experiences into my writing, as I did a lot with my second novel, Baseball Girl (which was loosely based on my life working for a Major League baseball team, the Orioles). It was therapeutic to translate reality into fiction to share a lesson.
These life experiences do eventually teach us something.
Let’s hope the Academy Awards learn from their mistake.
And let’s hope we learn from things that have made us cringe in the past and be able to find a way to help us move forward.
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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of the newly released Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt. To visit Stephanie’s Amazon Author page and see her books, click here.
Filed under: On Life
February 24, 2017
Inn-spiration in Inn Significant | Photo Inspiration When Writing Description
The dining room of the Edgewood Manor House in Providence, RI. This is sort of what I picture the dining room in Inn Signficiant would look like. No rug, though. Just hardwoods. But I love the windows and the chandelier. There are lots of chandeliers hanging from ceilings in Inn Significant. Wonder why?
The students in both sections of my Magazine Writing classes can tell attest to what we worked on this week: (1) writing description and detail, (2) storytelling, and (3) finding your voice in your writing. I think about these three things constantly when I write, and as you read in my previous post about being inspired by actual places, the same is true when writing description—you have to “see” in your own imagination what things look like in order to relay them properly to your readers.
I work hard at this every time I write something. I never want readers to feel as if they cannot imagine the setting themselves. It’s our responsibility as writers to leave little grey area where that is concerned.
Writers have different techniques when crafting a story, and we all go about putting it to paper in various ways. When I sit down to write, I have to be fully inspired. Sometimes that means taking copious notes; it may mean being inspired by nature; it may involve conversations I’ve had with folks; and still other times, it may involve the photographs I have taken or have researched online.
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This is the Sandaway Inn in Oxford, MD. Its property is beautiful and inspired the setting of Inn Significant.
Inn Significant takes place in lovely Oxford, Maryland. The Inn is perched upon the Tred Avon River, much the same way a real Inn is there (the Sandaway Inn); however, I took the liberty to create an Inn through what I imagined in my head, including the cottages on site where the main character lives. I used lots of photographs from research, and what follows are some of the images that inn-spired Inn Significant. 
February 22, 2017
Book Giveaways for Inn Significant
[image error]There’s a first time for everything, ladies and gentleman. I’m still learning all the ropes for succeeding as an independent author, and it’s a constant learning curve.
That said, I’ve set up my first BOOK GIVEAWAY ON AMAZON. If you follow the link below, you can enter to win by the 28th of February; I’m giving away 3 copies of my newest novel entitled Inn Significant.
Good luck, you guys!
Follow the link below to enter to win a copy of Inn Significant!
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/aa533a36d37b846b
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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.
About Inn Significant: A Novel
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 convince her to run their successful Inn during their absence as they help a friend establish a new bed and breakfast in Ireland. Milly reluctantly agrees; when she arrives at the picturesque, waterfront Inn Significant, her colleague, John, discovers a journal written by her late grandmother that contains a secret her grandmother kept from the family. Reading her grandmother’s words, and being able to identify with her Nana’s own feelings of loss, sparks the beginning of Milly’s climb out of the darkness and back to the land of the living.
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Filed under: On Life Tagged: book clubs, book giveaway, books, contest, Easton, Independent authors, Inn Significant, local books, Oxford, reading, St. Michael's
February 21, 2017
Writing About Places in Fiction – Maryland’s Eastern Shore in Inn Significant
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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 are there and learn what you can from observation, conversation, and getting involved.
The main character in my novel, Milly Foster, has been summoned by her parents to run their Inn on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in Oxford out of desperation—a desperate attempt to help their daughter move past the tragic death of her beloved husband. It’s a last-ditch effort to bring her back to life.
I wanted to set the story in a small and picturesque town, so my mother and I spent time there, and I went back a couple of other times to just walk the streets and talk to people.
Come on–how great is that type of research? It’s simply the best.
I gave it my all to make this work of fiction feel realistic, and I wanted to stay as true to the setting and feel of Oxford as possible. There are also jaunts to neighboring towns St. Michaels and Easton.
To help you visualize the place if you have not been, I thought I’d share some of the photographs I took this summer as I did that dastardly and taxing (ha ha) research.
I hope you enjoy Inn Significant, and as well, this little photo-essay of the places the characters visit in the novel. I’m looking forward to going back for a visit very soon.
To purchase via Amazon for Kindle, click here.
To purchase via Amazon in paperback, click here.
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[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.
About the Inn Significant: A Novel
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 convince her to run their successful Inn during their absence as they help a friend establish a new bed and breakfast in Ireland. Milly reluctantly agrees; when she arrives at the picturesque, waterfront Inn Significant, her colleague, John, discovers a journal written by her late grandmother that contains a secret her grandmother kept from the family. Reading her grandmother’s words, and being able to identify with her Nana’s own feelings of loss, sparks the beginning of Milly’s climb out of the darkness and back to the land of the living.
OXFORD, MARYLAND
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EASTON, MARYLAND
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ST. MICHAELS, MARYLAND
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Filed under: On Life Tagged: Amazon, author, Barnes and Noble, books, Easton, fictional writing, independent author, novel writing, Oxford, places, St. Michael's, storytelling, travel, Travel writing
February 20, 2017
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 !
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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 to ask for help. How can you help, you may ask? I’ve got a couple of ideas.
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If you happen to purchase and like my novel, there are three things you can do that can make a big difference for authors like me. First, you can post a positive review on Amazon or B&N. Your reviews do matter, and it helps cast an author’s work in a positive light for potential readers. Second, you can share it and talk it up on social media. And, third, you can just help spread the word the old-fashioned way—by verbally recommending it. Any or all would be greatly appreciated.
I’ve spent hours upon hours on this novel, and to say I became weepy today as I hit the “publish” button is an understatement. I think this book is my personal favorite of the three novels I’ve written. I became very attached to these characters, and hope you will feel the same way. But more than that, my itch to live in a small town on the water has grown exponentially.
Below you will find the description of the novel that is on the back cover. Please let me know what you think, and I humbly thank you for all of your support.
I’d like to extend a special thanks to three incredible people without whom I wouldn’t have been able to do what I do: my husband, Anthony; my mother, Leni; and my father, Doug. They are always there cheering me on every step of the way.
I hope you enjoy my third baby, Inn Significant. It’s time to celebrate.
To purchase via Amazon for Kindle, click here.
To purchase via Amazon in paperback, click here.
With great appreciation,
xx |
[image error]Stephanie Verni is Professor of Business Communication at Stevenson University and is the author of Inn Significant, Baseball Girl, and Beneath the Mimosa Tree. Along with her colleagues Leeanne Bell McManus and Chip Rouse, she is a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.
About the Inn Significant: A Novel
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 convince her to run their successful Inn during their absence as they help a friend establish a new bed and breakfast in Ireland. Milly reluctantly agrees; when she arrives at the picturesque, waterfront Inn Significant, her colleague, John, discovers a journal written by her late grandmother that contains a secret her grandmother kept from the family. Reading her grandmother’s words, and being able to identify with her Nana’s own feelings of loss, sparks the beginning of Milly’s climb out of the darkness and back to the land of the living.
Filed under: On Life Tagged: author, book promotion, Contemporary Fiction, Eastern Shore, Easton, independent author, Inn Significant, love story, Maryland, novel, novel writing, novelist, Oxford, readers, St. Michael's, writer
February 15, 2017
Do You Make Notes and Scribble in Your Books? I Do. With Pleasure.
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Do You Make Notes and Scribble in Your Books? I Do. With Pleasure.
As a writer, reader, and educator, I am always reading. I read constantly. I am rarely without a magazine, book, or academic article. Often, I am reading a book or two simultaneously, whether they are nonfiction or fiction. Sometimes I am also writing at the same time. People often ask me if I write in books that I own. They ask me if I make notes in them, scribble words, highlight passages, and otherwise put my own markings on the sacred pages.
The answer to all these questions is—yes.
I do not find it sacrilegious to write in books in this manner, unless of course, you plan on lending them to many friends after you have read them. In that case, your notes may not make sense and may interfere with their enjoyment of the work. Readers make connections with the printed word and find meaning among the pages that heightens their understanding of the messages or passages or insight. The highest compliment one can get as a writer is if someone quotes back to you what you wrote or posts the passage in an article or blog. If this happens, you should consider yourself lucky because that means that someone connected with the material (or perhaps, disagreed with the material) on such a level that it became ingrained in his memory.
I typically have a highlighter and pencil in my hands, armed to make notes when I am reading good stuff. This simple act furthers my engagement in the text. When students read books or printed works for comprehension, they can often be found highlighting passages and segments. It helps bolster students’ comprehension and furthers the involvement in the work.
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Sticky tabs on my new novel.
I love my books, and cherish many of them. The ones I love most are filled with underlines, highlights, and words in the margins that spark or recap ideas. I also do this sometimes when reading one of my book club books, so I can refer to those passages that left impressions on me. Another idea is to use sticky tabs to mark the pages if you are intent to not damage the book with your own scribbles.
There have been studies conducted in academia recently that show a direct correlation between handwritten note taking and success in college, and that students who take notes on computers do not retain the information in the same way that those who hand write their notes do.
If you are so inclined, I encourage you to write in your books as they become a part of you.
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My mother’s copy of Pride and Prejudice.
I love that I have my mother’s copy of Pride and Prejudice with her notes in it. I also picture Ralph Fiennes in The English Patient writing and collecting things in his book and journal.
It’s just a very cool idea.
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[image error] Stephanie Verni is the author of Baseball Girl, Beneath the Mimosa Tree, and the upcoming novel Inn Significant. She is also a co-author of Event Planning: Communicating Theory and Practice, published by Kendall-Hunt.
Filed under: On Life Tagged: books, Pride and Prejudice, reading and writing in books, scribbling in books, students and note taking, The English Patient, writing, writing in books
