About Stepheny

Stepheny at St. George’s College, Jerusalem, 1992

Header photo: Stepheny’s English NC Garden

Stepheny Forgue Houghtlin grew up in Evanston, IL. and was educated at the University of Kentucky. She lives with her husband in North Carolina where she gardens and writes. She has recently moved to a “Cottage for Two,” where a blank canvas has allowed her to design a new garden; a little less ambitious this time, but nonetheless, a garden!

Between writing and gardening, Stepheny leads women’s Episcopal Church retreats and volunteers in community organizations. She is an addicted reader.

The Greening of a Heart is her first novel. Facing East was published in April 2015.

A personal story: When Stepheny was growing up her father asked how she could expect to become an author if her spelling didn’t improve. It was reported that she replied, “I’ll hire a secretary.” Many years later her oldest granddaughter was part of a school program called, ‘Best Guess Spelling,’ which encouraged small children to write without fear while learning to spell. These precious pieces of communication were pure delight. Stepheny says, “In the mystery of things, I hope my Dad knows I became a writer with a larger vocabulary than I can sometimes spell, but saved by spellcheck.”

You can follow Stepheny on her blog, Stephenyhoughtlin.com where she writes about gardening, personal reflections, her favorite authors and books, and takes people on blog tours to places like the Cotswolds, Charleston, and Chicago. Her Pinterest boards support her many interests and passions for English Gardening and beyond, and images related to her two novels.

Stepheny now writes a second blog, Mainstreetrockymount.com with a by-line…Honoring the Past, Building a Future, where she wears her preservation hat and is involved with the revitalization of the downtown of Rocky Mount, NC. Recently she was awarded by the Governors Office the MAIN STREET CHAMPION AWARD, of which she is proud. With a passion for architecture, she writes nostalgic pieces about the story of Rocky Mount and about new exciting investments in the community, new business and the renewal of historic neighborhoods.