Celebrate NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) with the Charles County Public Library this year by checking out some of our local authors, as part of our Local Author Virtual Showcase! All of the authors showcased in this series responded to a call for submissions we placed over this summer, to highlight their work throughout the month of November. At CCPL we value the contributions our local authors make in sharing their knowledge and passion with our community.  Make sure to check out our Local Author’s collection located at the Waldorf West Library. 

Stephanie Renee Josiah

Web site

The Pink Ink Review

The Pink Ink Review is the literary magazine of Stephanie Josiah’s Creative Writing Workshops. This particular issue, SUMMER 2020, was written, illustrated, and includes photographs by The Web Weaver’s Society. This group name was chosen by the group of young ladies who joined me on a wild Zoom meeting ride through literary, pandemic, and chaotic news venting. These young writers blew my mind and I look forward to next summer’s creative writing workshops and future issues of The Pink Ink Review (c) Stephanie Josiah

BITTER: When Church Leaves That Not Too Pleasant Aftertaste

This is probably not your idea of a regular Christian book. Stephanie Josiah has taken life-changing moments in her personal walk and followed it all up with a very powerful warning. Starting with some of her most challenging childhood moments and leading up to the challenges that she faces today, Stephanie is holding no punches. Ephesians 5:8-14 calls us to be light. This little book has a whole lot of light in it!

BITTER II

BITTER II: Church Abuse Gone Wild is the continuation of an ugly struggle within a church body. Stephanie Josiah shares her heartache with the reader and encourages him/her to learn from the mistakes that are made within the congregation of The Church of Silent Ruin. This book is a narrative based on true events and includes information/tools to help the reader avoid falling into the world of the “church-cult.”

Stephanie Josiah (wife, mother of four, author, poet, speaker, owner of INK Babies LLC and Stephy JCreations Inc) is a writer and capturer of deep emotional pain. Writing saved her from an abusive and neglectful home. Writing became a refuge when her family split from a church-turned-cult. Writing was her outlet when one of her twin sons passed away at the age of 3, after battling a life of complications from Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Her writing, her poetry, and her carefully chosen words transcend the pages and force the reader to grapple with his/her/their own feelings. She started out certain in her writing career that she would be a Christian Author… but with time and experience… with the current journey she is on away from childhood trauma… she doesn’t want the strict confines of that label. She’s an author, an epistolean, a nitwit (constantly upsetting her family of origin’s pretentious apple cart.) She’s a villain in their story because she finally stepped up to be the hero in her own story and every single hard-earned lesson she’s opened up so easily to share with her readers. You’re going to feel, you might cry, you may just decide to change, you may just decide to grow and she wants you to know that you have her support!