A self-published romcom novel that has been made into a movie is getting its debut TV airing on the Hallmark channel this weekend.
Stop The Wedding! by Stephanie Bond is being shown on Hallmark on Sunday, June 12 at 3pm (Eastern), and other showings are set for Saturday, June 18 at 7pm, Sunday, June 19 at 11am and Saturday, June 25 at 5pm.
The story hinges on a young, single attorney who finds out that her charming aunt is getting married to a TV star known for his failed marriages and tries to stop the wedding. The movie stars Rachel Boston, Niall Matter and Alan Thicke.
The book’s success shows you really should never abandon your ideas — and it also illustrates the perils of traditional publishing.
Stephanie Bond says it was 20 years ago when she sent the outline for Stop The Wedding! to a UK editor who asked her to write the full book on spec (those dreaded words) but when the book was finished a few months later the editor had moved on and the publisher wasn’t even interested in reading it.
The book was then turned down half a dozen times by other publishers before Bond put it on the back-burner.
This is what a floppy disk looked like.But in 2012 when she had some self-publishing success she remembered Stop The Wedding! and dug out a ‘floppy disk’ (do you remember those?) and got the files transferred to a CD.
After polishing up the story, the book became a self-published best-seller on Amazon in 2013 and was picked up a couple of years later for development as a Hallmark movie.
Bond is a massively industrious writer, having published over 70 novels in the romance and mystery genres and she’s also taken the time to produce a guide to writing fiction. Your Personal Fiction-Writing Coach: 365 Days of Motivation & Tips to Write a Great Book! aims to offer writers a year’s worth of encouragement and information at a pace to suit them.