Debbie Macomber

As a best-selling author of romance novels, Debbie Macomber was one of the most successful and prolific writers of the romance genre since her first novel was published in 1983. The award-winning author's works spawned several made-for-TV movies and the series "Cedar Cove." Macomber was born on October 22, 1948 in Yakima, Washington. Although she eventually became a vastly successful author, Macomber's path as a writer was plagued with numerous hurdles early on. She was dyslexic and had only a high school education. Despite being a stay-at-home mother of four children, Macomber found the time developing early manuscripts using a rented typewriter. Repeatedly rejected by publishers and even publically criticized at a romance writers' conference, Macomber persisted until Silhouette Books published her first novel Starlight in 1983. As time passed, the sales of Macomber's novels began to rise. She continued to write the romance novels that brought her increasing recognition among fans of the genre, before focusing more women and friendships around the turn of the century. By 1998, she had sold over 170 million books and her novel This Matter of Marriage became a made-for-TV movie. Nearly years later, the Hallmark Channel approached the elderly author to turn several of her Christmas-themed novels into movie adaptations. Macomber served as an executive producer of "Mrs. Miracle" (2009), "Call Me Mrs. Miracle" (2010), and "Trading Christmas" (2011). All three movies were among the most watched programs on the Hallmark Channel in their respective years. Following the success of the movie adaptations, the Hallmark Channel turned one of Macomber's most popular novel series into a television show. "Cedar Grove" (Hallmark 2013) starred Andie MacDowell as Olivia Lockhart, Cedar Grove's resident municipal judge, following her professional and personal life.