My book is being made into a movie! Dreams really do come true! By Belle Calhoune

I've been celebrating some pretty fabulous news for the past few weeks.  One of my books (An Alaskan Christmas) is being made into a tv movie by Brain Power Studios.  They have a partnership with Harlequin where they've bought books and brought them to life on the small screen. Whee!  This exciting development was totally unexpected! Receiving this news definitely is a career highlight.  I'm very thankful for this wonderful opportunity.

I keep thinking of Psalm 37:4.  "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

The best things in life always seem to come straight out of the blue when we’re not expecting it.  Like most authors, I’ve fantasized about the movie version of one of my books.  But I never dreamed of the way in which it would all come about.  Little did I know that the movie had been cast and filmed already by the time I found out. The only downside is that I didn't get to go on set and watch the action.  Maybe next time. See! I'm an optimist.

The genesis of my idea came from the old tv show Northern Exposure.  I loved the Alaskan town and the quirky characters.  I started brainstorming about a quaint Alaskan town in need of love.  What if there was a shortage of women? What if there was an irascible town mayor who was the patriarch of one of the founding families? What if he created Operation Love in order to bring single women to town for the male bachelors?  Bingo.  An idea had hatched.  Characters were creeping their way into my brain.  Love, Alaska was a fully-developed town.

As a writer, I deal with writing challenges all the time.   I loved writing this series.  It was FUN.  And it taught me something.  Writing should be fun.  Because the characters in this seven-book series poured out of my soul.  And there were many days when I laughed out loud at the antics of my beloved characters.  That's what I strive for as a writer....to entertain my readers and myself.  It makes the journey all the sweeter.

So far, the details have been scant about the movie.  But that’s all right, since it has allowed me to play junior detective online.  I managed to find some fun pictures of the actors-actresses and the snowy setting.  I know it was filmed in three locations in Canada....Barrie, Thornton and Creemore).

This is my hero Finn O'Rourke played by Victor Zinck Jr. I think he's all types of gorgeous.

This actress (Kimberly Sue Murrary ) plays a character named Andrea and appears to be getting top billing, although my heroine is named Maggie.  I think it's possible they changed her name and this is the heroine. She's starred in a number of tv movies and is lovely.

This actress, Lanette Ware, is confirmed as playing the role of Hazel, who owns the Black Bear Cabins in the town of Love and is a den mother of sorts to the women who come to town.

Here's a picture of Kym Johnson (from Dancing with the Stars) filming on set in Canada. Notice the seaplanes in the background? Finn is a pilot.  I have no idea who she's playing but the IMDB page says her name is Emma in the film but I didn't have a grown-up Emma.  Emma was a baby.  LOL

I'm thrilled to see the movie when it comes out (December of 2019?) and I hope to soon have more details to share with everyone.  Some of the actresses were using the hashtag #uptv so I'm thinking maybe it will land there as well as Netflix.  I can't wait to find out.  Blessings!