3 Men and a Body with Stephanie Bond

the whole premise for your series sounds über interesting. Three love interests? whoa.

i'm going to have to go check out your now available books. i should know better than to look about the site...

so many books, so little time...

thanks for piquing my interest into more adventures! *wandering off to shopping page...*

From the first book, I've been rooting for Cooper.  A road trip is just the thing for my favorite ex-ME to make his case.  Nerds Rule!

But yes, if you like Coop, you'll probably like 3 MEN AND A BODY!  It gives the reader and Carlotta more insight into the quiet, intelligent man.  Coop is definitely the nerdy underdog in this love quadrangle!

I love Jack, too!  He's easy to write...but that might be because he's the least complicated of the men!

JODY asked:  Do you find it easier to write the short blaze series, versus the body movers series that you have going now? Do you think a new writer should start with the shorter series to get their teeth wet, so-to-speak, or should they run with single title if they have a good enough idea???

 In terms of page length, the romantic comedy manuscripts I write for Blaze are certainly shorter than my Body Movers manuscripts (60,000 words vs. 100,000), but for each Blaze novel I have to craft an original story with all new characters, and that takes a lot of time.  When I write a new Body Movers manuscript, the reader and I are already familiar with the characters, so I can jump right into the story.  On the other hand, I have a lot of loose threads going in Body Movers that I have to keep up with, and a more complicated plot.  But  I enjoy writing both types of books--one type is a break from the other!  (Look for the Sex for Beginners Blaze trilogy WATCH AND LEARN, IN A BIND, and NO PEEKING... to be released Oct, Nov, and Dec 2008.)

As far as where a new writer should start, I'm a big proponent of writing category romance to learn the ropes and to build not only your resume and your bank account, but also your readership.  I started in category romance to get my career rolling and to learn how to meet deadlines, etc, and worked on my single title ideas on the side.  I've published over 11 single title humorous romantic suspense novels for three publishing houses, but I've written category romance throughout.  I love the shorter format of category romance and what it provides me in terms of exposure and shelf presence.  And I like being able to offer my readers something at a lower price point.  In short, I think it's a good career strategy to do BOTH.

If you're attending the RWA conference in SF, I'm giving a workshop titled "How to Make a Living Writing Romance Novels" during which I'll be discussing how writing category romance can figure into your short- and long-term career plan.

Thanks for your question, Jody--I hope this helps!

Hi, Dream!  BODY MOVERS was released Aug 2006, then 2 BODIES FOR THE PRICE OF 1 was released Aug 2007, and now 3 MEN AND A BODY will be released Aug 2008 (actually, Tuesday, July 29).  But readers have been complaining about the one year spacing between books, so Mira has agreed to publish books 4, 5, and 6 in the series next year back to back in April, May, and June 2009.  That's a lot o' body moving!  But I'd like to say a big thank you to readers who take the time to send feedback--it's so helpful to know what readers want.  We're really just here to please!

Jody's referring to my voodoo series, IN DEEP VOODOO and the sequel FINDING YOUR MOJO that I wrote for another publisher.  I do have 2 more books outlined for that series (one for Sheena, and one for Marie), but at the moment, the series is in limbo because I changed publishers.  But I haven't given up on it and hope to revisit the series in some format in the future to tie up all the loose ends--readers still don't know, for example, who in the creepy little town of Mojo, Louisiana was making the voodoo dolls that mysteriously appeared before some horrible death befell that person!  I'd really like to go back and give readers the answers they deserve.

Please keep checking my website for updates on the voodoo series--and thanks so much for asking!

You just finished BOTH of the first 2 books in the series?  Wow, you must be one fast reader!  Glad you enjoy them enough to whip through them, though!  And I assume you mean that PETER is out?  And that you're rooting equally for Jack and Coop?  Yeah, I like the fact that Jack and Coop are such opposites...and the fact that they acknowledge they're both interested in Carlotta, and that they have to work together and respect each other in their professional roles.  And Peter is the spoiler--he's the one that Jack and Coop can team up and dislike because he's the one who has the advantage since he has history with Carlotta.  It's a fun dynamic to work with!

Body Movers books 4-6 will be released back to back in 2009 in a "trilogy"--still Body Movers with all the familiar characters but in book 4, a serial killer unleashes his wrath on Atlanta.  Carlotta's life is turned upside down as friends and family are involved, pursued, and implicated through books 4, 5, and 6.  Look for some new characters and new experiences and danger for Carlotta as she continues to wrestle with her heart over the roles of the men in her life--Peter, Cooper, Jack, Wesley, and her father!

The only thing bad about having books out back to back to back is having to WRITE them back to back to back!  It can make for a manic work period. I go for DAYS without leaving my condo where I live in Atlanta.  I've actually had neighbors call me and say "There are packages sitting in front of your door." 

A reader suggested that I should have campaign buttons printed up for "I vote for Coop" and "I vote for Peter" and "I vote for Jack."  What do you think?

Hope I didn't come across as complaining about a manic schedule--this is the best job in the world!  But I do feel a certain amount of pressure to maintain (and increase!) the the level of storytelling and character development as the series progresses.  And because it's a series with "bigger" storylines moving from book to book, I'm always trying to think a couple of books ahead.  Entertaining readers is a big responsibility--and a privilege!

Thanks for everyone who participated and/or eavesdropped on our conversation this week about 3 MEN AND A BODY and the BODY MOVER series!

And if you haven't already, please join me in the 100,000 Book Challenge that Harlequin is sponsoring.  Unfortunately, about 30 of the books I read this year were for contests, which have to remain anonymous, so I couldn't enter and count them toward the challenge!  But as soon as I finish my deadlines in September, I'll be tackling my to-be-read stack of Harlequin and Mira novels and doing all I can to help meet the 100,000 book challenge by December 31, 2008.  At the end of the challenge, Harlequin will make an unprecedented donation equivalent to the value of 100,000 books ($700,000) to the National Center for Family Literacy.  If you haven't signed up, please do, and get your reader friends involved, too.  You can help make something wonderful happen for something you already do--read!  To join, see the Book Challenge section under the community boards.

Have a great reading summer, everyone!