The second novel I published, Baseball Girl, takes place in the big leagues, with Francesca Milli working in the front office of a baseball team (The Blackbirds). The novel explores the professional side of baseball, while Francesca (Frankie) copes with the death of her father and explores relationships with two men: Joe, a baseball player, and Jack, a baseball writer. If you can smell there’s a love triangle, you are correct.
Now, as the the finish line is in sight, and I look to publish my 8th novel currently entitled Dodging Lies, baseball is in the backdrop once again. Except this time it’s 1956 in New York City, and the Brooklyn Dodgers are rumored to be moving to Los Angeles. The female protagonist, Veronica, is a writer with The News when she meets Perry, the new sportswriter who will cover the Dodgers. They fall in love. And while this relationship is a big part of this novel, it’s not the main story. Instead, this novel focuses on family deception and lies, and focuses on the toxic relationship between Veronica and her sister, Essie. There’s a lot of tension between them, and when Veronica ends up writing a story about a mafia leader named Rosa Manetti—a woman not too unlike herself—everything begins to unravel. Veronica uncovers her own family secrets.
It’s been fun to travel back in time and write about a different time period. I had to get the clothes, the colloquial language of the day, the slang, and the setting of New York City in the 1950s just right. I love doing this type of research, watching old movies, seeing what was hot at the time. It all goes into telling a story that feels authentic. And in terms of toxic female relationships, I’ve had my fair share. We all have.
I’m working through the final round of edits, meticulously combing through each chapter, reading it aloud, to make sure it reads like a story set in the 1950s.
I’m pretty excited about Dodging Lies. Similar to the way Wicked has two female characters (witches) at the helm, this story has a similar feel, minus the witches.
Although one character, perhaps, is a bit witch-like.
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About the author:
STEPHANIE VERNI is the author of THE LETTERS IN THE BOOKS; FROM HUMBUG TO HUMBLE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF EBENEZER SCROOGE; BENEATH THE MIMOSA TREE; INN SIGNIFICANT; LITTLE MILESTONES; THE POSTCARD; and ANNA IN TUSCANY. She is also a co-author of the textbook, EVENT PLANNING: COMMUNICATING THEORY & PRACTICE. Currently an adjunct professor at Stevenson University Online, she instructs communication courses for undergraduate and graduate students. She and her husband reside in Severna Park, Maryland, and have two children. On the side, she enjoys writing travel articles for marylandroadtrips.com.