FAC: Stephanie Bond (December 2013)

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Stephanie Bond is a RITA winning author who also publishes under the name Stephanie Bancroft.

Stephanie grew up on a tobacco farm in eastern Kentucky with two siblings. Completing a degree in computer programming at the Morehead State University, Stephanie also purchased and ran a shoe store. After graduating, Stephanie sold the store and started work at a Fortune 100 petroleum company. Seven years into her computer career, and pursuing a Masters degree, her instructor encouraged her to submit to academic journals due to her flair for writing.

It wasn't the direction that the instructor intended, however Stephanie then immediately turned to creating romance fiction in her spare time. "I never saw myself as a comedy writer, until a Harlequin editor asked if I could write comedy. I lied and said not only did I write comedy, but I had a great idea for a book she might be interested in, and shot her an idea from the top of my head. When she said she liked it, I told her I had three chapters finished to send her right away. Then I went home and wrote like a madwoman. That book was my first Harlequin comedy, Irresistible?." Harlequin purchased Irresistible in the fall of 1995 for their Love and Laughter line. In another two years, she left her computer career to write full-time.

As Stephanie Bond and Stephanie Bancroft, she has written over 60 novels for different publishers. She is best known for writing steamy books that make readers laugh out loud.


Stephanie's GR page is here: Stephanie Bond


Challenge Task: Read one book written by our featured author, Stephanie Bond.
Challenge Duration: The whole month of December.

To sign up:
Post your interest and the book you are planning to read.

You must also signify if you are:
A - I'm a big fan! I'm excited to read another of her books.
B - Familiar with her work, and wouldn't mind reading her again.
C - Totally new to this author. Will see how I like it.
D - Didn't like the last one I've read, but willing to give it another chance.

To complete:
Post the date when you've completed your book.

You must also say if, after reading:
A - would definitely look at her other books, since I've enjoyed this one very much.
B - could take it or leave it. Was not an unpleasant experience but I'm not burning rubber to get to her other books.
C - Oh well, I tried. Definitely not my cup of tea.

A little review of the book read is welcomed but not required.

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Sign up sign up!

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

The finish line...

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

I'm in, but no idea what I'll read :)

*edit*
Oooh - I'm a 'C'!

[Valorie]

I'm a C and I'm going to try

[Elizabeth]

I'm a C, to be honest never heard of this author before. I don't know what I'm going to read yet.

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Elizabeth wrote: "I'm a C, to be honest never heard of this author before. I don't know what I'm going to read yet."

I hadn't either Elizabeth until she popped up for the FAC!

[Christina]

Jane - Out of curiosity, how do you determine what authors are picked for the FAC?

I'm in since I got 2 of her books for free from Amazon and haven't read either of them yet. I'm a C.

[Dee]

Christina to answer your questions - Jane looks throuhg various lists of authors and puts together 3 and then the mods vote on who they want - we try to rotate between genres, so a PNR, then a contemp, then a historical etc

[Dee]

i've only read like 1 book by her, but I liked it (kind of similar to Shannon Stacey and her Kowalski's) - so i'm a B - not sure what i'm going to read yet though

[Roxy]

I'm in and I'm a C. I think I will read .

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Christina - as Dee said, I have about 6 lists that I pull data from relatively randomly, but they are all lists of 'most popular' or 'most read' authors. I select the lists depending on the rotating genre for that month. I give the mods three authors to choose from - and they vote, and we go with the highest vote. The authors that are not selected will likely keep turning up over time, so they will eventually be selected :)

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Dee wrote: "i've only read like 1 book by her, but I liked it (kind of similar to Shannon Stacey and her Kowalski's) - so i'm a B - not sure what i'm going to read yet though"

Ooohhh, sounds good - do you remember what book that was?

I'm a C and I think I will wait to hear if Dee remembers before I decide what to read!

[Netanella]

I'm in!


Challenge Task: Read one book written by our featured author, Stephanie Bond.
Challenge Duration: The whole month of December.

I'm a "D" - Didn't like the last one I've read, but willing to give it another chance.

Book I'm planning to read:


She Did A Bad, Bad Thing

[BJ Rose]

I'm in - I'm a C - will have to search and see.

[Amie]

I'm a B. I've read one of her books and enjoyed it, looking forward to reading another one. I'll read .

[Patricia]

I'm not sure what I will read. I'm a C.

[~Leslie~]

I have read every author in 2013 and don't want to stop now. I am a D but I'm sure I have something on my kindle I can read.

[BJ Rose]

My library only has one Stephanie Bond book - her story is in an anthology - I think it's called Under the Mistletoe.

[Fran, Moderator]

I have all of the following Stephanie Bond books on my kindle and they are all lendable. I must have picked them up over the last few years when they were free.

I am happy to lend any and all of them out if someone wants to borrow one :) Just PM me and let me know.


I haven't read any of them, LOL.


Almost A Family
Voodoo or Die
Mad About You
Party Crashers
Stop the Wedding!
License to Thrill
In Deep Voodoo
Got Your Number
I Think I Love You
Three Wishes

[Pam]

I'm going to read . I am a C but must have bought it at a low price on my Kindle.

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

I'm a C, and I have no idea what I'm going to read...I need to check the library, and I may wait to find out if Dee can remember what she read, too - I really like the Kowalski family! :D

[Bookchaser]

I'm in! I've only read this one novella by this author so I'm signing in as a "B".

I will be listening to the next book .

[Stephanie]

Hi. I'm a C and I am going to read .

[Netanella]

These challenges are definitely addictive!


She Did a Bad, Bad Thing - 12/1 (★★★)

Review's up, as well. Before this book, I was a "D" - didn't like the last book I read. After reading this one, I'm now a "B" - I could take or leave it but I'm not burning rubber.

[Dee]

i'm going with Baby, Come Home - second book in the series - the first one was cute and the prequel kind of explains what happened to the town

[Daffodil]

I'm starting as a C. I've never read any of Bond's books, though I picked up at a library book sale a few years ago.

[Fran, Moderator]

I started out a C, I've never read anything by Stephanie Bond before. I read Baby, I'm Back , a short story set in the Southern Roads series. It's also found in the Anthology .

I wish it were a little longer, I felt like the ending was a little abrupt, but I did enjoy the story. I liked Bond's writing style and I will check out the rest of the series.

I end up a B+.

[Dee]

i finished up Baby, Come Home - personally not really a fan of the whole secret baby trope, it just kind of irks me, but I did like the second chance romance between the 2...i'm somewhere between A and B

[BJ Rose]

I read Naughty Or Nice? and it didn't do much for me at all. I know it was supposed to be funny but I just wanted it to be over. It's found in the anthology Under the Mistletoe.

I started as a C and ended as a C+

[Patricia]

I too read Naughty or Nice? But I liked it. You can make me a B.

[MountainKat, Moderator]

I read Baby, I'm Yours this morning and thought it was sweet. I started a C, now I'm a B. It was good, but I'm not going to rush to read more. (Though I might try to get to the next in the series, it almost feels like cheating to use a novella. I will though, especially in the crazy holiday season!)

[Bookchaser]

I finished listening to Baby, Drive South on Dec 21.

I started out as a "B". And I'm ending as a "B".

I liked this story. But I didn't like the way the hero kept referring to the heroine as "the little lady doc" so many times. I began cringing when I heard it.

[Roxy]

I started as a B and end as a C. I read Body Movers. I found some of the characters funny, but others annoying...

[⚜️Trea]

I know it's really late in the month to be signing up for this, but I have a few of her books in my TBR and have never read any of them. That would make me starting out as a C. Since I just now scrolled down this far in the thread directory while waiting for the January PIFM and found out about this FAC, and in deference to the fact that I only have 8 days or so to complete the challenge, I think I will read Baby, I'm Yours for this challenge.

[MountainKat, Moderator]

You've got plenty of time to finish that one! I thought it was cute.

And you have a few hours yet to wait for the PIFM! Two hours and 41 minutes to be exact!

[⚜️Trea]

MountainKat wrote: "You've got plenty of time to finish that one! I thought it was cute.

And you have a few hours yet to wait for the PIFM! Two hours and 41 minutes to be exact!"

Yeah, I thought it was EST, not PST. Oh, well! More time to finish Promise Me Heaven for this month's PIFM!

[⚜️Trea]

I hate sleepless nights sometimes! I finished Baby, I'm Yours before midnight on the 22nd, trying to lull myself to sleep. I started the challenge as a C, and I have to say I finish it an A. I really enjoyed this book! I've had this for a while now, ever since Jennifer Estep mentioned in a newsletter/blog post that she had read it or its subsequent book and enjoyed it.

Since this is listed as a prequel short story, I went in knowing it would be brief. However, the author sidestepped my chief complaint about novellas or short stories, because this book had a logical and fulfilling plot! When I finished it, my appetite for more of these characters was whetted, but I didn't feel cheated that this wasn't the full story. We had a happily ever after, but it also set the stage for the subsequent books in the series. Some reviews stated that the book was too wordy, but I have to disagree. The wordiness of the book lent to my satisfaction because we were able to connect better with the characters.

[Stephanie]

Before reading Our Husband, I was a C. After reading the book, I am a B. It was just ok to me.

[Elizabeth]

I listened to and it was ok with some annoying elements. I started as a C and end as a B.

[Pam]

I was a C before I read . It was okay so I guess that makes me a B.

[Valorie]

I was a C and decided to read and thought it was a cute, fun read. I think I end up an A.

[Lacy]

I read and I gave it 4 stars. I thought it was very unique and I liked the main character.

I started out as a C and ended up an A.

[Suzanne]

I finished reading and thought it was cute. I got a good deal on this on Audible.com and it was worth the $5 I paid for it. I started out as a C and ended up an A!

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

I just realized I never came back to report in after finishing my book (or in this case, books). I read Baby, I'm Yours, and then followed it up by listening to Baby, Drive South. I thought both stories were cute, and I'm sure I'll continue with the series at some point, but I don't feel the need to jump right into it. I started as a C, and finished as a B.

[Amie]

I finished up Body Movers. I enjoyed it, gave it 3 stars and plan on continuing the series sometime. I started as a B and I'm ending as a B.

[Daffodil]

I started as a C, read and thought it was ok. Nothing really stood out for me though. I bought the second book from the same sale I bought book 1, so I might try it at some point. And I might not. So I'm ending as a B-.