Hello! Thanks for stopping by my online home! How did I get here? It was a circuitous journey, my friend.
I grew up on a tobacco farm in eastern Kentucky, where few entertainment opportunities led to my love of books and stories, especially romance novels and Gothic thrillers. When I was 9, I announced I was going to be a librarian when I grew up because in my mind, it would guarantee I'd always be surrounded by books. Along the way to adulthood my attention was hijacked by business and computers--I owned and ran a retail store while I attended college studying computer programming (ahem, the younger generation call it "coding"). When I graduated, I went to work for a Fortune 50 company in Lexington, Kentucky as a systems engineer and to be honest, I really enjoyed it. A couple of years into my corporate career, I returned to school to get an MBA. When I was taking my final night class an instructor remarked I had a flair for writing and suggested I could get my thesis published. A tiny explosion sounded in my head. (Oprah calls it an "aha" moment.) When he said the word "published" my only thought was, "I wonder if I could write a romance novel?"
Since I suddenly had free time in the evenings, I decided to give it a try and began crafting stories for my own entertainment. Shortly thereafter I transferred within my company to Atlanta, Georgia, and that's when I got serious about my side-hustle. I joined a writing organization, devoured how-to books, and wrote every spare minute. For two years, I submitted manuscripts and was rejected over and over. Then finally I sold my first book, a romantic comedy called IRRESISTIBLE? to Harlequin Enterprises. (Which featured Harlequin's first gay character.) Within another couple of years, I'd sold ten manuscripts to two publishers and I left the corporate world to write fiction full-time.
I wrote more than 60 romance and mystery novels for nearly every publisher in New York. Then in 2011, I launched a self-publishing venture and since that time, I've managed my own publishing projects. A highlight came in 2016 when The Hallmark Channel adapted my self-published romantic comedy STOP THE WEDDING! into a movie. And in 2018, another self-published project, COMA GIRL, was optioned for TV series development by CBS Studios. I'm still writing new stories all the time, and running my business, which includes producing my own audiobooks and securing translation services for my novels. And I love every minute of it! In hindsight, I think my 9-year-old self was pretty close to the mark of knowing I'd be happiest if I was surrounded by books. :-)
Thanks for visiting. Stay a while and browse my titles, and please sign up for my e-newsletter. But most of all, thank you for spreading the love of books to friends and family. You're the reason I do what I do.
Happy Reading!
Stephanie Bond, Author
