Manic Monday - Bounty

If you've clicked by here from Roger's Creative Photography Contest blog looking for my entry for the week, there was a minor mix-up with Mr. Linky and you can find that post here if you'd like! If you really wanted to read about Janet Evanovich's great books then please read on!

The Manic Monday word for the day is "bounty" and even though I think this is supposed to have something to do with Thanksgiving, the first thing that came to mind for me had nothing to do with Turkey Day as I immediately thought of Stephanie Plum - my very favorite fictional bounty hunter!

Stephanie is the creation of author Janet Evanovich and is the protagonist in 14 books starting with "One for the Money" and currently ending with "Fearless Fourteen" as well as four novellas that are written "between the numbers". She's been described as a combination between Dirty Harry and Nancy Drew with out of control curly brown hair, a fast metabolism, a penchant for something sweet when things start to go wrong, and a family that is even crazier than she is! In short, she's a true Jersey Girl!

Living in an apartment complex full of elderly neighbors in Trenton, New Jersey with her hamster, Rex, Stephanie is definitely what one might call a "crap magnet" as she finds herself in more impossible situations than you would ever think possible and yet they're all so darned funny that I constantly find myself laughing right out loud. Having lived in New Jersey myself during part of my time in the Air Force, I can easily picture the scenes in the books and think I even know which mall it is that Stephanie loves to go to when she's in need of some therapeutic shoe-shopping!

A lot of the comedy in the books comes from Stephanie's sidekick in the bounty hunting business, Lula - a plus-sized former hooker who constantly attempts to shove her size 16 body into size 10 spandex - generally with some sort of animal print! When she isn't helping Stephanie screw up an apprehension or threatening to shoot someone, Lula is working as a file clerk at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds which is owned by Stephanie's slime-ball cousin Vinnie who hired Stephanie on as a bounty hunter when the secretarial position she originally wanted was already taken by Connie. With her car about to be repossessed, Stephanie really needed the job even though she had no idea how to chase down the people who had skipped out on their court appearances and Vinnie needed back so as not to lose his bail money. Funny thing is, throughout all of the books, Stephanie never really gets better at being a bounty hunter but the situations get funnier and funnier.

There is no shortage of adventure, laughter, and hot men in the Stephanie Plum series and with any luck there might actually be a movie out before too long. From what I can gather the front runners for the role of Stephanie are Sandra Bullock and Ann Hathaway with the role of Lula being perfect for Queen Latifah; unfortunately I wasn't able to find out who they might be considering for the roles of Joe and Ranger though I'm sure there's a poll or two out there somewhere with fans asking that very question!

If you've never read these books, I highly recommend them as it's an excellent series and very fun to read. Just don't blame me if you find yourself craving Tasty Kakes or donuts while you're reading!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Manic Monday Minions and have a great day!