The Filming of Hallmark’s Moriah’s Lighthouse! An Author’s Journey (Part 1)

How it happened:

When the director of the Love Finds You in Sugarcreek movie, Terry Cunningham, contacted me about the possibility of pitching my Moriah’s Lighthouse book to Hallmark, I was cautiously excited. I knew the chances for an author getting a book turned into a finished movie was roughly around the same as getting struck by lightning.

But, always hopeful, and knowing the quality of Terry’s work, I signed an option agreement. Terry and an actor/writer friend, Paul Campbell (who has starred in several Hallmark movies as well as Battlestar Galactica) created a proposal. Meetings were held with Hallmark, and things were looking good.

Then Covid hit, and everything ground to a halt.

The deadline to renew the option agreement came and went. I assumed the project had been cancelled.

Fast forward in time. Covid eases up. Terry calls. The project is back on! He and Paul have been asked to write a script for Moriah’s Lighthouse. Big news–the movie will be filmed at a lighthouse in France!

: (The final version of the script)

Even though my story was set on an island in Canada, I trust that the producers have good reasons for wanting to move the movie to France. I ask if I can be on set to watch the filming of the movie so I can blog about it. Hallmark agrees, and dates are set.

The night that everything was signed and finalized, I fall asleep counting my blessings. My heart could hardly contain all the happiness. My book is going to be a Hallmark movie! I’m going to get to go to France! I get to meet the actors!

The following are journal entries and photos from the experience.

March 31 Thursday Night

Reality has set in.

Tomorrow is April 1^st, I have to fly to France tomorrow. I’m packing, repacking, and grumbling. What once seemed like a great idea during an unexpected fit of extroversion, now—what with nerves, fatigue, and the problem of not having anything to wear that I actually like—it feels like I’ve played an April Fool’s joke on myself.

On top of that, I feel guilty for not being happy. It is the trip of a lifetime. One of the most wonderful and exciting things that’s ever happened to me and here I am dreading it.

I finally figure out that the reason I’m in a bad mood has less to do with my indecision about what to pack, and more about the fact that I’m terrified of doing or saying something incredibly stupid while I’m on the set. I mean there is a reason I write! I can edit my words when I write! I can be witty, or wise, or entertaining.

In person? Not so much. It’s like my mind slips a cog and I end up making the most inane statements, often leaving people looking at me with these puzzled expressions on their faces.

I hate it when that happens.

What on earth ever made me think that taking my awkward self to the filming of Moriah’s Lighthouse would be a good idea?

Start the Journey at the beginning!

Continue to the next part of the Journey!