An Open Book

Despite a challenging chapter after being diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2023, Elmhurst-based author Emily Bond returned to writing with her trademark voice, humor, and focus on female characters who enjoy their jobs. Last March, Bond published her third novel, Sort of Seeing Someone, a romantic comedy sprinkled with magical realism.

Sort of Seeing Someone features Moonie Miller, who – on her twenty-sixth birthday – is gifted the supernatural ability to see people’s futures simply by touching their palms. Set in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood, the novel traces Moonie’s efforts to keep her visions a secret while navigating an unexpected romance with a Swedish engineer who is the polar opposite of “The One” she had imagined.

The novel’s success was sweeter because there was a brief period following her cancer diagnosis when Bond “didn’t think [she’d] ever write again,” she recounted.

Fortunately, she was wrong.

Fighting Forward

Bond had already drafted a full-length manuscript of Sort of Seeing Someone prior to her breast cancer diagnosis, but it was relegated to the back burner as she underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, and months of treatment – all while working her full-time job in hospitality marketing and caring for her son, Atlas, now 5.

However, in October 2024, she finally felt like she “could start mentally going back into something creative.”

She reread her draft of Sort of Seeing Someone and found that “it still tracked.” She made a few edits, like “bringing the pop culture references into the hypercurrent,” then prepared to publish it.

Bond’s agent suggested a fall release, given the novel’s main character is “Chicago’s most popular witch.” However, Bond wanted to get her book into readers’ hands as soon as possible. “After everything I went through, I don’t wait for the long run, because it’s never guaranteed,” Bond said.

Sort of Seeing Someone was released in March and soon after was featured in Southern Living’s “25 New Beach Reads for 2025.”

From Blog to Books

Emily Bond’s third novel was published in 2025.

Like Moonie from Sort of Seeing Someone, Bond discovered her own superpower – writing – when she was a twentysomething living in Chicago. She parallels this chapter of her life to  HBO’s coming-of-age comedy series, Girls.

Bond wanted to share her day-to-day experiences and musings with her “Elmhurst friends, college friends, and work friends,” so she started a blog. While the blog was intended for friends, one of her entries was featured within “Freshly Pressed,” a curated collection of standout blog posts.

Bond’s blog ultimately paved the way for her coming-of-age memoir, Eightysixed, and all that followed. An excerpt of Eightysixed ran in Michigan Avenue Magazine, which Hinsdale-based literary agent Danielle Egan Miller happened to read. Egan Miller didn’t work with memoirs but told Bond to reach out if she ever wrote a work of fiction, which she soon did.

Bond’s debut novel, Hot Mess, features a twentysomething woman tasked with opening a high-profile new restaurant in Chicago when her boyfriend, an up-and-coming “culinary genius,” can’t due to his struggles with addiction.

Husband Material, Bond’s sophomore novel, follows a young widow who opts to keep her past a secret. A programmer in Los Angeles, she builds “an app to find Mr. Right,” Bond explained. Right when she has a second chance at romance, her late husband’s ashes mysteriously appear on her doorstep, forcing her to confront her buried grief.

Turning the Page

While Bond keeps busy with book signings, speaking engagements, book club visits, and author consultations, she is looking ahead to what she will write next – likely “something a little more literary,” Bond said. “I’m older, so my characters are older.”

Another memoir is also a possibility. Bond documented her breast cancer journey “in real time,” including graduating to survivorship exactly 365 days after her initial diagnosis.

Bond recently turned 40 and is happy to leave her 30s – a decade of “the highest of highs and the lowest of lows” – behind. For now, she’s content to work, spend time with her son, husband, parents, and other family and friends. She also plans to read more books and attend “more literary events to see other people shine.”   

For more information about Bond and her books, visit 007emilybond.com or connect with her on Instagram and TikTok: @007emilybond.