Stephanie Van Orman
Bio
I write novels like I am part-printer, part book factory, and a little girl running away with a balloon. I'm here as an experiment and I'm unsure if this is a place where I can fit in. We'll see.
Stories (112)
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Hanging out with Galatea
Publishing with Galatea? Let's talk. Galatea is the publishing division for Inkitt. That's a free writing site where you can post and read for free. If you've been there lately, it might be because you like reading books about alpha males, werewolf dudes that mate for life, or billionaires who fall in love with insignificant women and then shower them with riches like Aladdin's genie.
By Stephanie Van Orman4 months ago in Writers
If My Exes Read My Novels
I started writing novels before I had a single boyfriend. It was smart of me to get started before I met any of them. They all knew I was a writer, yet I doubt that any of them thought that I might become a writer who published internationally, that I might use them as character models, or what I might say about them in retrospect. I have to admit a level of curiosity. What would they think of my writing? Let's play a game. I had eight boyfriends before I got married. What would they think?
By Stephanie Van Orman8 months ago in Confessions
Contemporary Romance
I have written 30 novels. Three of them are contemporary romances. Considering how popular contemporary romances are, that's not a good ratio. Seriously. What was I thinking? Let's go on a stroll down memory lane to see what I have been writing.
By Stephanie Van Orman8 months ago in Writers
Pocahontas and Me
"I'm a Disney princess!" I don't know what possessed me to say I was a Disney princess. I am over forty years old, and I was running an activity night for little girls under the age of 12. Even though I felt a little weird about what I said, it had the appropriate effect on the little girls. They shrieked with laughter.
By Stephanie Van Orman9 months ago in Humans
Dream of the Wolf
“No one wants to eat a human! They are sacred animals,” the wolf said gravely. Selphie had never heard an animal talk before and to hear the wolf explain in such eloquent language the philosophies and privileges of being a wolf was frankly astonishing.
By Stephanie Van Orman10 months ago in Fiction
I Was Dumped For The Same Girl Twice
When I was a teenager, I was dumped for the same girl... twice. The first time, I was able to talk myself through it by saying things like, "She's blonde. I'm not blonde. She's way shorter than I am. Maybe some guys like girls who are mini M&Ms instead of normal-sized. Isn't everything cuter when it's smaller?" Sniffle. "Some day I'll meet a guy who likes normal-sized brunettes who thinks I'm amazing! WAH!"
By Stephanie Van Orman10 months ago in Humans
Dear Author
I read an advice column with terrible advice. Let me tell you about it. The writer was a woman who said she had always been there for a friend of hers. Her friend had cancer, and she had been there with her to visit, help with chores, bring food, and just be there for her. When the writer had a hip replacement, her friend was nowhere to be seen, and she cites multiple moments of being ignored and shunned. She’s so confused. Why isn’t her friend there for her?
By Stephanie Van Orman10 months ago in Humans
Maybe Take The Easy Path
Occasionally, people will say things about me in my hearing. Things like, "I'm sure Stephanie took lots of creative writing classes after high school." It's usually a mother trying to encourage their nearly-grown child, and they're using me as an instant example because I'm sitting right there.
By Stephanie Van Orman11 months ago in Writers
An Audiobook for Every Occasion
Who wants to read when they can listen? I wrote a piece a while back about how I was making auto-narrated audiobooks. I was disappointed in them because I didn't like how the limited voices sounded when they swore (I write fiction), but I also liked the auto-narration because then an actor can't offer an opinion on the text through their tone. It was cheaper. It was faster. I'm not an important novelist. I don't have a publishing company. I'm an independent novelist and I just do my own thing. It's more important to get my books under the eyes and ears of the public than to concern myself about perfect presentation. There's no need to die under my perfectionism. If there was, I would have quit writing ages ago and focused on cleaning my bathroom.
By Stephanie Van Orman11 months ago in Writers
Labyrinth
The other day, I watched a video on YouTube speaking about the novel for the film 'Labyrinth' that came out to accompany it. From the moment the content creator started explaining it, I knew I was going to hate it -- hate it with every fiber of my being. The reason for that is that 'Labyrinth' is the only movie I can think of that accomplishes something special and the way the novel was envisioned destroys what the film was capable of. Just by way of research, the novel was written by A.C.H. Smith (the original screenplay for the film was written by Jim Henson, Terry Jones, and Dennis Lee) to coincide with the release of the film. Jim Henson oversaw the novel and it was published with his creative permission.
By Stephanie Van Ormanabout a year ago in BookClub
