Recent Books by Rosemont College Alumni and Faculty
Beth Plunkett '70
Lessons That Endure: Reflections of a High School Principal
Beth Plunkett published a memoir, Lessons That Endure: Reflections of a High School Principal in the winter of 2022. In the pandemic-driven world of schooling, Lessons That Endure provides hope that nurturing and sustaining each constituency in a school community will always be at the heart of a leader’s task.
Lessons That Endure is a poignant account of the author’s eighteen years as a high school principal in the Parkway School District in suburban St. Louis, MO. Plunkett documents her journey with candor, wit, and the supporting thoughts of philosophers, poets, and thinkers ranging from Carl Jung and T.S. Eliot to Margaret Wheatley and Brené Brown.
Having minored in secondary education at Rosemont, Plunkett began teaching English in suburban Philadelphia in 1970. Fifty years later, she retired from teaching while serving as a high school principal in a suburban St. Louis school district
Samantha DeFrancisco '22, '23
The Litter Busters
Samantha DeFrancisco is the author and illustrator of a self-published children’s book, The Litter Busters, that teaches kids the dangers of littering and what they can do to take care of our environment. It teaches them that they have the power to make a difference. DeFrancisco wrote The Litter Busters as part of her undergraduate English Senior Seminar Thesis in 2022.
DeFrancisco earned her BA in English and Communication in 2022 and recently graduated with an MS in Strategic Leadership. She currently works as Cumberland County Recycling and Clean Communities Coordinator at The Authority of Cumberland County, NJ. Her role has provided many opportunities to bring The Litter Busters into schools for educational presentations and story times in South Jersey. DeFrancisco is also the assistant softball coach at Cumberland Regional High School.
Patsie McCandless '69
The Secrets of Windy Hill
Patsie McCandless has published her new book, The Secrets of Windy Hill, which is the sequel to her multi-award-winning book Becoming Jesse.
Her first novel, the family classic Becoming Jesse: Celebrating the Everyday Magic of Childhood, won the prestigious Mom’s Choice Gold Medal Award, the Family Choice Award, and is on the SCBWI Recommended Reading List. She created the cover for Becoming Jesse in paper, which won the Book Cover Image Award from Zamiz Press. The Secrets of Windy Hill (Becoming Jesse, Book II), is the thrill-digging sequel, for which she created the color cover and all the illustrations.
A speaker, artist, author, musician, educator, mother and grandmother, McCandless grew up on a rural island in Rhode Island, where she taught sailing and took a ferry to school. She earned her MFA at Rosemont and returned to her island, where she taught primary school for thirty years, while becoming a musician and composer. McCandless is also an award-winning artist in cut paper (PaperSolo.com), exhibiting in Miniature Societies in Florida, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Her PaperSolo artwork series is in the permanent collection of the St. Petersburg Opera Company in Florida. McCandless and her husband live near Philadelphia, PA and enjoy the everyday magic of their children and grandchildren.
Linda Romanowski '75, '21
Final Touchstones
Final Touchstones tells the story of four brothers leaving Sicily for America in the early 1900s. The author’s maternal grandfather is the seminal figure from age three through his later emigration to a new life—a decision that forever changed his family’s destiny.
The book -- the author’s debut heritage memoir and graduate school thesis -- includes a series of ninety-two short selections in prose and poetry, divided into three sections: Italian/Italian, Italian/American, and American/Italian. The pieces stand independently; together, they relate to one story.
Final Touchstones is chronological, episodic, and historic. It appeals to readers interested in family histories and those who remember their grandparents from the Great Immigration wave of the early 1900s. Now is the time to reflect on the formative years of your ethnicity.
Linda M. Romanowski is a 2021 Rosemont College MFA Graduate in Creative Writing (Non-Fiction). She was also the recipient of the College’s Presidential Medal. She is a contributing feature writer for The City Key, a former assistant editor for Rathalla, and a submission reader for Philadelphia Stories, the Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry, and the Marguerite McGlinn Prize for Fiction Contest. Living in Ardmore, PA, she concluded her role as president of the Rosemont College Alumni Board in June of 2022.
Erin Entrada Kelly '16
Those Kids from Fawn Creek
Every day in Fawn Creek, LA, is exactly the same—until Orchid Mason arrives. From Erin Entrada Kelly, the winner of the Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe and a Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, this contemporary school story set in small-town Louisiana is about friendship, family, deception, and being true to yourself and your dreams.
Erin Entrada Kelly received the 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, the 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls, and the 2016 Golden Kite Honor Award for Blackbird Fly, among other honors. She is also the author and illustrator of the Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey series.
Entrada Kelly is a New York Times bestseller whose work has been translated into several languages. Her fifth book, Lalani of the Distant Sea, was a finalist for the 2020 Mythopoeic Award for Children’s Fantasy and was named one of the best books of the year by the New York Public Library, The Horn Book, Booklist, BookPage, and others.
Entrada Kelly has a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies and liberal arts from McNeese State University and an MFA from Rosemont College. She lives in Delaware. She teaches in the MFA programs at Hamline University and Rosemont College. She also teaches fiction with Gotham Writers Workshop.
Kimble Evans '15
When Horrible Things Happen: Revealing a Secret to Break a Curse
In When Horrible Things Happen: Revealing a Secret to Break a Curse, Kimble L. Evans recounts a traumatic event that took place for a young child who thought she had no voice, and how it changed her life.
Learning the way of life inside her home environment wasn’t the way of the world, she found the strength to break a curse and have victory by prosecuting her perpetrator; in the process, breaking up a family she loved.
Going through life just surviving, yearning for love and acceptance and to have her own family, by the love of God, she was transformed, learning to live and love herself, surrendering and allowing God’s love to overcome much pain and hurt.
Kimble L. (Josey) Evans was born and raised in Philadelphia. She obtained her general education diploma in 1998 and continued with her schooling, graduating from Philadelphia University in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in behavior health science. She later attended Rosemont College, where she completed studies for a master’s in psychology in 2015. Evans works in the mental health field as a clinical assessment specialist at an outpatient facility within her community.
Karen Fiorillo '84, '02
Feel it, Heal It, Let It Go
Dr. Karen Fiorillo, Rosemont College’s Alumni Board of Directors President, was a contributor to Feel it, Heal It, Let It Go, an anthology of stories and resources designed to offer hope to all as we overcome life's challenges.
“Along with several other contributing authors, I told my story of overcoming an eating disorder,” said Fiorillo. “Rosemont College is mentioned several times in the book. I also served as the writing coach, and editor as well as offered publishing support to the primary author, Margaret Mary (Maggie) Catagnus.”
Dr. Karen A. (Santillo) Fiorillo was born and raised in Norristown, PA. She has two grown sons and is a 20-year veteran business teacher in the Souderton Area School District, where she has taught grades one through eight. Dr. Fiorillo also served as an adjunct professor at Rosemont College from 2004-2006 and teaches workshops at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. She has presented nationally and internationally on the topic of Digital Citizenship and Internet Safety. Dr. Fiorillo serves on two boards of directors at Rosemont College and at Pillars of Light and Love (a non-profit wellness center). She is a yoga enthusiast working on her certification in LesMills Body Flow and her personal training certification.
Donna Serdula '96
LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies
Donna Serdula published LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies, 2nd Edition by Wiley.
Author and public speaker Donna Serdula pioneered the concept of LinkedIn profile optimization as an opportunity for branding, realizing early on that the LinkedIn profile was so much more than just an online resume. The LinkedIn profile is an amazing opportunity for branding.
Serdula ‘96 is the founder and president of Vision Board Media, a professional branding company that helps individuals and companies tell their unique story on LinkedIn.
Through her website, LinkedIn-Makeover.com, Serdula and her team of over 40 writers have helped thousands of executives, entrepreneurs, professionals, and companies from all over the world tell their unique story and brand themselves successfully.
Serdula also wrote the foreword to The Power of PhD by Isaiah Hankel, published in fall 2022.
Timothy Jackson
Into the World's Great Heart: Selected Letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay
Selected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay: An Annotated Edition
Timothy Jackson, associate professor of English at Rosemont, published a poem, an edited collection of correspondence by Millay, and a paperback reprint of an edited collection of poems by Millay. Both edited books are based on archival research.
His poem, “A Wake a Wave” was published by Literary Imagination (Oxford Academic Journals) in February of 2023. The first draft of the poem is from five years back.
His edition of letters by the American poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950), “Into the World’s Great Heart: Selected Letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay,” from Yale University Press was published in April 2023. The book comprises letters, telegrams, and manuscript notes from Millay’s childhood until her last days. Through her letters, readers encounter the vast range of Millay’s interests, including world literature, music, and horse racing, as well as her commitment to gender equality and social justice. Readers may find previously unpublished correspondence and early versions of popular poems.
Last September (2022), Jackson’s “Selected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay: An Annotated Edition” was republished by Yale University Press,” this time in paperback format. The poems appear as they were printed in their first editions; this book also includes previously unpublished prose.
Isabel Acosta '22
This Is My Heart And The Way My Heart Beats
This Is My Heart and the Way My Heart Beats is a collection of poems written by Isabel Acosta that showcases the different forms of love that one may experience throughout one's life. The self-published poetry book was created for Acosta’s undergraduate senior thesis that focused on the idea of love within literature. The purpose of Acosta’s book is to help anyone remember key moments in their lives whether it be heartbreak, first loves, or the simple moment of family. Acosta hopes to bring the thought of love back to the world and help people understand that it is human nature to feel emotion.
Acosta is currently attending graduate school at Rosemont, where she plans to obtain an MFA degree in Creative Writing with a focus in poetry. She currently works as the product and media manager for MoodRx, a mental health platform, where she helps spread awareness about mental health and receiving the care that one needs.
Mariga Temple-West '99
The Kissimmee Project
In January 2023, Mariga published her military science fiction novel, The Kissimmee Project, published by Severed Press.
Temple-West has a BA in anthropology and an MA in English and publishing. Mariga has interned at Penguin Publishers, taught English in the Czech Republic, and worked at a variety of bookstores. When she is not writing dinosaur novels, she plays the violin in a community orchestra, goes bird-watching, reads a lot, and dreams up new ideas.
River Maria Kaplun '96
The Light of Seven Days
is the author of The Light of Seven Days by River Adams; Delphinium Books / HarperCollins, October 10, 2023. “In River Adams' bracing and lyrical debut, The Light of Seven Days, a ballerina from the Soviet Union escapes to Philadelphia, a land of McDonalds and RiteAids, and the questions she finds: What is it like to flee from radical extremism? What does it mean to be white? To be American? To believe in God? could not be larger or more relevant. Adams’ novel reminds us that the eyes of the immigrant and the artist alike can make the familiar seem strange and the strange familiar.” — Kevin Birmingham, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses.
Alina Ladyzhensky '13
Toska
Ladyzhensky's first full-length poetry collection, "Toska" is now available. Toska derives its title from the Russian word which denotes a melancholic longing without a singular cause, longing for a better world than the late-stage capitalist hell we live in. She publishes under the name Alina Pleskova. Ladyzhensky is a poet, editor, and Moscow-born immigrant turned proud Philadelphian. She co-edits bedfellows magazine and is a 2020 and 2022 Leeway Foundation grant awardee. Her chapbook, "What Urge Will Save Us," was published in 2017, and her writing has appeared in American Poetry Review, Thrush, Peach Mag, the tiny, and elsewhere.
Jeanne Kluger Carullo '65
Buttercup Belle
Buttercup Belle is a little book about big values. This is a family endeavor dedicated to a very special lady. It is a friendly story written for children approximately four to seven years of age.
Jeanne Carullo resides in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband, John. They have three adult children and seven wonderful grandchildren who are the light of their lives. The owner of an Investigative Agency, Jeanne has been a licensed Private Investigator for thirty years. Majoring in Psychology and Elementary Education made this career path a perfect fit. In her early days, Jeanne taught fourth grade.
Jeanne enjoys traveling worldwide, walking in nature, reading and attending concerts. She is a yoga enthusiast, an avid theater-goer and a recent convert to mindfulness.
An original song can be downloaded from www.buttercupbelle.com
Barbara Lally '13
The Trichster Diaries
Barbara Lally published her memoir, The Trichster Diaries, in 2020. The Trichster Diaries details Barbara's life with trichotillomania (the hair-pulling disorder) from age 10 into adulthood and her journey to self-love and self-acceptance. Trichotillomania is a chronic disorder that affects about 2% of the total population but is rarely spoken about. Through her story, Barbara shares how she learned to embrace her disorder and find strength in vulnerability. Even if you don't suffer from trichotillomania, let her book be a source of comfort and inspiration on your own journey towards self-love.
My Trichster Diaries: A Guided Journal
After the success of her memoir, Barbara published a guided journal, My Trichster Diaries, in 2021. My Trichster Diaries is just one way Barbara helps others embrace their trichotillomania. Those in the trichotillomania community feel a new sense of purpose by working through different prompts, reading Barbara's poems and handwritten notes, as well as her tips for managing trichotillomania. Readers quickly realized that they too could find their way to self-love and self-acceptance with a disorder that once caused them immense shame.
Vicissitudes
In 2023, Barbara published her first poetry collection, "Vicissitudes." In "Vicissitudes," Barbara takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. While reading you experience what it's like to feel true love, painful loss, utter joy, and complete disbelief through Barbara's eyes. Even though the poems are deeply personal to Barbara, you'll find yourself relating her words to your own life and coming out with a new perspective.