In my neverending campaign to highlight those who labor intensively behind-the-scenes bringing all of your favorite Hallmark (and more) movies to the screen, I was overjoyed to connect with the phenomenally gifted Tracy Andreen. There is a good chance that even though you may not know her by name, you probably have savored at least one of her movies. In fact, some of her movies have become Hallmark Christmas staples and new classics. In anticipation of her upcoming Christmas films, I am honored to present this multifaceted woman to my readers today!

RH: Tracy, it is so nice to chat with you today. I hope your weather is great. It was so beautiful up in Vancouver last week, and now the weather is turning cold and rainy since I’m back in Washington State.

TA: Nice to meet you too, Ruth. Yes, in typical L.A. fashion, the weather is sunny and warm. So you were in Vancouver for the When Calls the Heart convention?

Yes, that’s right. It was just wonderful!

Vancouver, the Los Angeles of Canada. You know, I have had so many movies shot up there, and I’ve never been to Vancouver. I’ve never been to Canada.

Oh my goodness!

I know, but the good news is that I’ve been incredibly busy, and I recently got my passport back so that I can go up there hopefully soon. I have been invited to set, and now I’ll be ready the next time I get called up there. And by the way, my fantasy about Washington State is to go to a cabin by a lake up there and write.

That sounds like a lovely idea. I’m in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

Oh, you’re live where all these Hallmark movies theoretically take place!

Yes! We love seeing the shots of the Space Needle whenever we’re watching a Hallmark movie! Now, speaking of your movies, I think I have seen almost all of the movies you have written.

Oh, thank you. That’s great! I hope they have entertained you.

Oh, they have! You have definitely written some of the favorites for the network. I can assure you of that. 

Tracy’s sister-in-law, Katrina Law, behind-the-scenes for SNOW BRIDE on location at night in Big Bear, CA (one of the few movies she’s written that filmed in the U.S.). It was a puffy dress! 🙂

I’m so glad! I have to say this whole ride has been super fun. Since I did Snow Bride, it has been like a big Kaboom! And they are such great people at Hallmark. I was just talking with one of the executives at Hallmark, and I told her, “You guys have really good hiring practices. I’m not even pretending that I like everyone I work with. I genuinely like everyone that I work with!” And then we talked about how even though there are so many projects going on, we’re all in the same boat and all rolling in the same direction. Everyone has a positive outlook on the work they’re doing, and even though we’re working crazy hours and there’s even crazy expectations sometimes, we’re all trying to make the best movie we can make in a positive, happy way. And, Ruth, I’m always amazed every single time that they are able to put out something as fast as they do. And it’s good!

I’m with you there, Tracy! And when it comes to the executives, Michelle Vicary and Bill Abbott, are simply the best! I finally met them in Vancouver, and it was a wonderful meeting. I didn’t have the opportunity to meet Randy Pope, but maybe one day.

Oh, that’s wonderful! Actually, Randy and I have only met once. Harvey Kahn introduced us after Randy and I had talked on the phone at length, and we were both like, “Oh, that’s what you look like!” {laughs}

So how did you get started in screenwriting?

Well,  I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I came out to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting many moons ago. I won’t tell you exactly how many, but a few…I ended up working in film development. I worked for some big-name film companies–Amblin, Dreamworks, Mandalay Entertainment, and more. So I’ve had some work experiences that were not always that great or all that positive, and that’s why I so value the Hallmark experience. Now, while I haven’t had any of the extreme stuff you might hear about in the film business, I have had a few of those general, day-to-day moments that make you go, “Really?!” And that is why I appreciate Hallmark even more!

And another thing I appreciate is that they have so many female executives here at Hallmark. And many of them have a literary background which makes working with the executives on development just so great. They’re not fast-talking, Hollywood stereotypes. They don’t say, “Hey, Babe, let’s go out and grab some drinks!” Not that we don’t go out for drinks, but it’s different. And so many of them read and talk about what they read. From a writing standpoint, they appreciate storytelling. And for someone who grew up in bookstores and reading novels, I greatly appreciate that from my perspective. Story is key.

I couldn’t agree with you more. I know that people like to criticize Hallmark for their predictable storylines. Okay, so you know how it’s gonna end. It’s a romantic comedy. But for me, it’s the way in which it’s written that makes these movies so special. Little things are thrown in to make the story fun and cute and interesting. And then they cast such great people in these films. The Hallmark casts and crews are fantastic. 

Let’s face it. You know the story for anything for the most part. Go out and grab a Sylvester Stallone movie. You can be pretty sure that something is gonna explode by the end of that movie! {laughs} I am a December baby, and when I was sixteen, my mom told me that I had a job. She got me a job at the bookstore. I worked in bookstores all through high school and college. I bring that up because my favorite genres were romance, mystery, science fiction, all those genres. And I tell you, pick a genre, and you have a pretty good idea of how this story is gonna end. When it comes to romance, you have an expectation going into the story that you’re not gonna have your heart ripped out and stomped on. And honestly, thank God! Right now, the world is tough enough as it is. There’s enough cynical stuff out there in terms of narrative. I want something that affirms the positive. And I know other people do too because otherwise, the ratings wouldn’t just keep growing.

For me, Hallmark movies are a chance to turn your brain off…

…And turn your heart on! Your heart can connect with these stories. Some of these movies are schmaltzier than others. I like to tell people that I’m sentimental, not schmaltzy. So I think the movies I write tend to be a little less schmaltzy. But every once and a while, by gosh, by golly, a little schmaltz is nice. I will take schmaltz as opposed to something that when it’s done, leaves me feeling like everything is terrible with the world. I’m so glad the network is doing well because that just means it’s gonna continue. And I think it should continue. I think Hallmark is providing something that we all need right now. We just need a little kindness and love right now.

Since Snow Bride was your first Hallmark movie, is there any story connected to how this movie came about and you got involved with it?

With Lee Friedlander after they called a wrap on SNOW BRIDE (which she produced). She’s now the director behind SWITCHED FOR CHRISTMAS, ALL FOR LOVE, and LOVE, OF COURSE, among others. These two were good friends even before entering the MOW world together.

You bet. I had been pursuing writing for some time, and whenever people would read my stuff, they said that I was really good. And then they wouldn’t do anything with my writing. That was the hardest part for me. Lee Friedlander, my friend and a director I’ve worked with a lot over the years, she had been pushing herself forward as a director and producer for a while. She liked my writing, and she met with Tim Johnson, who has done quite a few of these films as producer. She said, “Hey, you do a ton of these Hallmark and Lifetime movies. Please give me a shot.” He said, “All right, I’ve got this title. It’s called A Bride For Christmas.” He had read a sample script of mine, and Lee suggested getting me to write it with Lee directing and producing. He agreed as long as we could come up with a story for the title. Lee called me up and said she had a title and asked if I could write a Hallmark Christmas movie. This was in 2012, and at that time, I had never seen a Hallmark Christmas movie. But as a writer, your only answer to a question like Lee posed is, “Yes.”

Immediately, I hung up and went to Amazon and started trying to find Hallmark Christmas movies to watch. I did my research, and I watched The Christmas Card. And thankfully, God was on my side. Christmas in July was happening. So I sat down and gorged on Hallmark Christmas movies. And I just have to say as a sidebar, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is still one of my favorite movies. I took notes along the way. You know those Christmas Hallmark Bingo cards that are out there? I could have written them! I was like, “Okay, we’ve got to have gingerbread houses and all these other things that you have to have in a Hallmark Christmas movies.”

I familiarized myself with the world, and then I came up with this idea. I pitched the idea. And Tim told us to kind of go for it. I started writing it, and sixty pages into the script, Tim called up and said, “You know, I’m thinking about her not being a bride, and I’m not even thinking about it being Christmas.” And I was like, “It’s called A Bride For Christmas.” He did agree to keep it during Christmas, but he’d already found another writer to write the actual script that became A Bride For Christmas with Andrew Walker. But he encouraged me to finish up the script I was writing and see where we could go from there.

I finished, he read it, and he liked it. So it seemed to be going forward. But I have a funny story about how Katrina Law got cast. Katrina is my sister-in-law. But it was a deliberate and total coincidence that she ended up becoming the lead for this movie. She was coming out of Spartacus at the time. She kind of wanted to do something completely different. I told her I was writing this Christmas movie, and this was just after she and my brother had gotten married.

Well, Lee and I came to a meeting with Michael Vickerman and Bert Kish. Bert ended up being the director of the movie, and Michael produced it. So I decided to pitch my sister-in-law for this movie. I asked Michael if he had ever heard of Katrina Law. Michael loved Spartacus, so we had a discussion about that. I told him that I know Katrina, and if you watch her in Spartacus, you wouldn’t think she had good comedic timing. But I assured him that because I know her, she does.

Totally coincidental, Lee and Bert were having their own independent conversation. I heard Bert say Katrina Law. I was thinking he overheard my conversation. I turned to him and said, “Right? Isn’t she great?” And he was like, “Yeah, do you know her?” And there was a lot of confusion going around as a result of this. Well, Bert said he was a DP on an independent film she was shooting, and we both said at the same time: “Death Valley!” I was like, “Yeah, I know she’s shooting that because I’m watching her cat!” Then we all had that moment when we looked at each other like, “Well, that’s kismet.”

So, of course, Katrina came in and just knocked it out of the park, in my opinion. But no matter what movie I do from now on, Snow Bride will always have a special place in my heart. Unfortunately, Bert has passed away. He did Stranded in Paradise and Snow Bride. Those were my first two movies. He was the warmest, kindest, gentlest man. But he helped make Snow Bride a great experience. In fact, in the movie that just aired a couple of weeks ago, Love, Of Course, we named the character Bert after him. There are little tiny things that Bert and his son Connor in the movie do that are just totally random and don’t fit anything else. Like, when they say dinner was “fantastico!” Lee and I were insistent on that staying in the movie because that’s what Bert always used to say. That was our tip of the hat to Bert.

I was so grateful for Snow Bride. I got to know Jordan {Belfi}, who was just as sweet as can be. It was a great experience. I did a few more movies here and there, but then Lee went and sold a pitch to Hallmark that became Switched For Christmas. So Lee called me up and asked if I would like to write the movie with her. So while it was her story idea and she has great concepts, I am more of the writer. I agreed, and we worked on this film and turned it in last January. And I don’t think I’ve ever had this happen before. Basically, the executives came back with, “I love it!” Usually there are several pages of notes. But this one hit the sweet spot. They offered it to Candace {Cameron Bure}, and she accepted. When Lee and I heard that, we just about started to cry. We were doing a Candace movie! And as I’m sure you’ve heard, Candace is just as lovely as can be. Lee had a great time shooting with her and just thinks the world of her. Candace is truly a pro in a good, kind way.

Switched For Christmas was a definite favorite of last year’s Countdown to Christmas. In fact, I interviewed the editor of that, Randy Carter, and he talked about how amazing Candace was in that. She had so much dialogue to learn, and she was able to create two different characters on screen, and they were just blown away. 

Well, that’s the movie that brought Lee and me into meet Bill {Abbott} and Michelle {Vicary} and Candace. While I had done several for them, this was the movie that kind of brought me into the Hallmark family in a special way. In that meeting, Michelle said, “Normally, we don’t do movies that are such high concept.” But what they liked about it was that even though it was a broad, high concept, the execution was still about family, heart, and relationships. Had this movie been shot ten or fifteen years ago, it would have been shot for the movie theater. But thankfully, it still hits the Hallmark framework and values. We got really lucky on that one.

I know most writers make their scripts too long so many things are often cut, but I have heard about writers who had to add scenes in the middle of production. Have you ever had any issues with that?

I don’t think I’ve ever made my scripts too short. But last Christmas, I wrote a movie for the Up Channel called Christmas Princess. It was based on a true story about a girl who ended up becoming a Pasadena Rose Princess, and she went through some pretty tough times in her upbringing. Right before shooting began, the director wanted me to take the script down from 106 pages to 85 pages. I said, “I think this is a mistake.” And I let the producers know that I thought this was too short. Sure enough, we got five days into shooting, and I got a call from the producer saying, “Remember those scenes you cut?” And I was like, “Yes, I have them.” I was ready because I don’t delete anything, and I knew exactly where those scenes needed to go. As a writer, I typically know how long a script has to be. I tend to overwrite, and sometimes my scripts appear longer because I’m trying to create a mood.

You wrote two of the fall movies this year, right?

Tracy’s favorite poster of her Hallmark movies!

Yes, Under the Autumn Moon and Love, Of Course. I had had six movies this year actually. Or I will after these next two air. I had Once Upon A Prince. And I was one of many writers brought in to write Wedding March 4. Peter DeLuise, who is such a good director, he did such a bang up job on that film.

By the way, if you’re hearing anything unusual, that is my cat in the background. A quick side story here. This cat had been in the shelter for nine years. My theory is that she had to develop a meow like that so that she could be heard above the other cats. I have had her for about six years now. Sometimes I feel like all I do is feed her, water her, massage her, and give her everything that she wants.

You are perfectly in line with Hallmark! How cool that you not only rescued a cat, but you rescued a senior cat.

Attica

Well, even back when I was in college, I volunteered at an animal shelter. We would go out and walk the dogs and the cats. I’ve done that most of my life. I had a cat for sixteen years, and when she passed, I had two or three months with no pets. And that was very weird for me. And then I suddenly had this explosion of need for a cat.

When I went in to pick out a cat that day, I went in trying to find the one cat that no one else would like. I was determined to pick that one. She’s a black cat on top of that. I walked in and met her. Her name is Attica, and I figured I’d keep the name since she’d had it for so many years. She was in a medical cage. I put my hand out, and she put her head underneath my hand. The shelter worker looked at me with these wide eyes and said, “She never does that!” And my friend who was with me sneered a bit, but the truth is, she doesn’t. She’s a very shy cat, which was a contributing factor to her staying there as long as she had.

In addition to Attica, I also have a cat named Gigi. I actually named one of the horses in Under the Autumn Moon after her. I call Gigi the supermodel of cats. She got round blue eyes and she’s a rag doll of a cat. She’s just the sweetest thing. She happened to be in the medical cage next to Attica’s cage. She had been hit by a car and had a broken hip. She’s a hundred and eighty degrees from Attica in terms of her personality. She’s gregarious, flirty, and fun. She just reached through the cage and tapped me on the shoulder and looked like, “Get me out of here.” So I ended up with two cats. They have both been known to protest when they think I’m working too much and ignoring them as you can see. Both were rescues from the awesome no-kill shelter, The Lange Foundation here in Los Angeles. 🙂

Attica (black cat) and Gigi letting Tracy know they would like her to stop working now and pay attention to them!

Gigi

I have rescued cats enough over my lifetime that I sometimes joke and say that stray cats that need to be rescued point me out and say, “This one right here!” There must be some marking on my door that lets them know! In fact, here’s a story. I was brand new in Los Angeles. I was working at Raleigh Studios, the old Charlie Chaplin studios he formed with Mary Pickford way back when. It is physically across the street from Paramount Pictures. They had a lot cat, who I used to feed ’cause that’s who I am. It was decided that they were going to spray the lot, and they asked me to take care of the cat for the weekend. I locked her in the offices and fed her over the weekend. Now I’d noticed she had been a little full, but I didn’t realize she was pregnant until I came in on Sunday and saw that she gave birth to six kittens under my desk! Suddenly, things were a little complicated. To make a long story short, I got her fixed, found her a home, and got all six cats a home. Years later, I was at a friend’s party, and I got into a conversation with someone. We realized that the cat of this man and his wife owned was one of those kittens I had given him! They were so excited and started showing me pictures of their cat! And this cat had the good life!

We have the first of your Christmas movies this season today (November 3rd) on the Hallmark Channel, Christmas Joy. And this one is based on a book, correct?

Yes, Nancy Naigle wrote the best-selling novel Christmas Joy. When you do an adaptation of someone else’s novel, on some level, you really are hoping that you don’t upset the author! Off the top of my head, I think I’ve done three novel adaptations at this point: Stranded in Paradise, Once Upon a Prince, and now Christmas Joy. I’ve been fortunate at this point that all the authors–Lori Copeland, Rachel Hauck, and Nancy Naigle–have all been really appreciative, kind and warm about it, even though there have been some radical changes to their stories. Nancy is super excited about Christmas Joy as I think she should be. I saw a rough cut of the movie, and Danielle Panabaker and Matt Long are adorable. And Balsam Hill did the decorations for the set, and they did that also on Switched For Christmas. As a writer, I had to make sure to find a way to incorporate Balsam Hill into the script, and I wanted to make it seem natural. And then when you see the final product, you realize that Balsam Hill looks great! They know how to make it look amazing!

We all know that Balsam Hill is top notch, and that’s why Hallmark uses them, and, of course, other networks do as well, especially at Christmas. They know what they’re doing.

They do. When everyone was excited for Switched For Christmas, we were told about trying to incorporate Balsam Hill into the script. And that necessitated some changes, but Lee and I both wondered what Balsam Hill was. So we both looked it up, and we were like, “Oh, this looks good! We don’t need t worry about anything!” And then we were asked to put Happy the Dog in the script. It worked out perfectly because in our first draft, we had a dog. We had taken the dog out, but we very easily put him right back in. There was that moment when Kate pretends to be Chris, and Happy looks at her and instantly knows this is not right! That was one of our fun moments to include in that movie!

Well, Christmas Joy sounds like the perfect Hallmark movie if you’ve got Balsam Hill,  it’s based on a best-selling book, you have a fantastic cast…

Yeah, I’m excited about it. It has both the cookie crawl and a gingerbread house contest. Nancy did a good job of creating a good, heartfelt story about family and connections. I’m so appreciative that Nancy likes the movie. It’s a tremendous relief!

Then there’s It’s Christmas, Eve. I have only seen the dailies, not a rough cut of it. I want to see it live with everybody else.

Well, my new friend is Tyler Hynes. He and I connected over Falling For You. And then I saw he is in It’s Christmas, Eve as well. I was already excited for that film because of LeAnn Rimes and even more so for my good friend, Giles Panton, who is also in it.

Oh yeah, he plays Brad! Let me tell you my “Brad” story. I remember Giles because he was also in Tulips in Spring. I wrote that one too. In fact, when I saw Giles in the dailies, I knew right away that he was from Tulips in Spring. So Giles plays the character, Brad. Now, one of the most fun parts about writing that I have found in writing for Hallmark is that I get them to include little tiny things that make me happy. And then make my family and friends happy. The character of Brad with his two sons Wyatt and Tate…

I have a dear friend named Brad, and he is married to one of my best friends, and they have three kids. So his wife told me last year about how Brad, who is six foot three, a basketball player and lives out in Colorado…he LOVES Hallmark movies! I filed that away in the back of my head and thought, “If I get a chance, I’m gonna name a character Brad and try to get his two sons, Wyatt and Tate, in there.” And as if by magic–wait, I wrote it! {laughs} I was able to name this character Brad and give him twin boys, Wyatt and Tate. I waited till they were shooting because the names can change all the way up to the end in the event that they don’t make it through clearance. But once they made it, I was super excited to call Brad and tell him, “Hey, Brad, you’re in!” And now your friend is playing Brad!

Yes! And now my friend, Giles, has gotten to be in two of your movies!

Good for him! He’s super cute. I’d like to see him in more, to be honest with you. That’s why I remembered him. He’s super cute and has a great voice. He could do radio.

He does a ton of voice work.

Oh, that makes sense.

With It’s Christmas, Eve, someone else came up with the story and you wrote the script?

Yes, Mark Amato came up with the story. I got a call from Stephanie Germain, the producer, because Randy had recommended that she give me a call. They know that I know the parameters and the paradigm for a Hallmark movie. As a writer for the network, it’s knowing what they want and how to make something family-friendly, positive, with a strong female lead, no wussy guy…I grew up with three brothers, so I speak “guy” better than I speak “girl.” I had to go to a sorority to figure out how girls talk. I can talk “football.” You will see football frequently in movies that I’ve written. I understand how the network wants the story to be written and come across. And the other thing is that, quite candidly, I am a very fast writer.

And that is important for Hallmark. They love fast writers, according to what I’ve heard. 

Yes, the fastest I’ve ever done writing was three and a half almost four days. That was a page one rewrite. I remember I got the request and the notes to look at on Saturday, and then I had my pitch with the executives on Monday at like two in the afternoon. I was sent the script later on that day, and I turned the script in on Thursday and then promptly slept! And then we were off to the races after that. So they needed someone who knew what the network wanted and could write it fast. I like to think that they also think I’m halfway decent with my writing skills. I did not speak with LeAnn personally. I spoke with Darrell {Brown}. But I know that LeAnn was very involved in the crafting of the story and she was really happy with it. And that was very good news.

I had never seen Tyler before I started looking at the dailies. I instantly liked him. And I’m sure everyone says the same thing because he has a charming, not-smarmy kind of Matthew Perry quality to him. And he’s funny too, which is so great. And I’m excited to see what he’s done with his role. I’ve seen all the dailies, but I haven’t seen it all put together.

Hallmark’s January 2018 TCA’s with producers Anne Carlucci (LOVE, OF COURSE and WALKING THE DOG, among many others) and Linda L. Kent (ALL FOR LOVE). “I’ve worked with both individually and they’re wonderful!”

It’s funny because It’s Christmas, Eve was actually his first Hallmark movie, and his second Hallmark movie was Falling For You. But we saw his second one first. And so now we’re going to see him in his first Hallmark movie!

That makes total sense! We shot It’s Christmas, Eve in March of this year. In terms of narrative with this one, it can be hard to find new and original ways for a “meet cute.” So I remember I was sitting at home, and it was like my brain was on fire. I was trying to come up with a “meet cute” for these two characters that wasn’t the same “meet cute” that we’ve seen before. And frankly, I am very excited to see that part because I think we ended up with a “meet cute” that is probably one I’m most excited about. We’ll see if it works out. I still love the roping “meet cute” that was in Under the Autumn Moon. But I have high hopes for this one in It’s Christmas, Eve. {laughs} We’ll see how it is. I really hope it works out.

Well, I’m looking forward to it, but then I’m looking forward to every Hallmark movie. Hallmark knows me. I don’t do anything on the weekends if I possibly can so that I can live tweet and support the movie. 

I love watching the live tweets. Lee and I for Love, Of Course, we had a little party at her place. Along with Chloé Caroline, who was the musician who was in it. The three of us sat there and read tweets during the premiere and talked a lot about what we were seeing on Twitter. And we so enjoyed it because it’s a fun, communal experience.

So you’re working on another Hallmark movie?

Correct. As I’m heading into 2019, I am doing a rewrite on a Valentine’s Day movie that takes place in a bookstore! How lucky am I?

Right! That should be pretty easy.

Very romantic. A bookstore and Valentine’s Day. It’s called The Story Of Us. I’m pretty sure they’re going to keep that title because it’s kind of around a Hallmark theme of cards that they have. We’re incorporating old Valentine’s from over the years. I’m single, but I love Valentine’s Day. I’m very excited to be working on this one. In addition to that one, I have two summer ones and one Christmas movie already to be working on. So I’m entering 2019 with four projects in play at various stages. I am blessed. Thank you, God!

That’s great when you can get to that point, and I know you don’t take it for granted.

I do not. Not at all. I am grateful, even when I’m tired. My friends who know me really well will ask how many I’m working on at any given time, and I always tell them how I’m grateful I am to be working on “x” number at the moment. I worked in film development for ten or twelve years, and I had to make a choice of going full force into a film development career which had many perks, not the least of which is an expense account and you get to drive on studio lots and hang out and have lots of fun. Or I had to choose to pursue writing, and that’s what I came out here to do. I ended up leaving film development, and I got a job just about as far away from it as I could. I ended up working for an economic think tank in Santa Monica. It’s called the Milken Institute. I worked in administration over there. And by the way, the only “B” I ever got in my entire academic career was in economics. And that always made me laugh. And I did that so I could have the mental space to pursue my writing full force. So when everything fell into place–which took a lot longer than I thought it would–I am just nothing but grateful and appreciative.

You really have gotten the Hallmark thing down at this point. And your attitude is fantastic.

I really do feel like I am understanding the whole Hallmark lay of the land. And as someone who grew up watching old movies, I refer to it as the Hays Code. I know it’s not really a code, but the old movies from the ’30’s when the Hays Code was first implemented until the mid-60’s, those were the rules that people followed. And they produced some of the greatest movies of all time. And that’s exactly how I approach my work here. There are rules and we know what the parameters are. And now that we know what these parameters are, it’s my job to go and be creative within those rules. And that’s what I get paid to do.

I think Hallmark has been compared to the old movie studios regularly. Even in the way they deal with their talent by pairing up couples on screen.

There’s a great pool of actors and actresses from which they draw. And something I really admire about Hallmark since I have worked in the film world where most of the narrative is told from the man’s perspective…I so appreciate when I get notes back that tell me to make sure that the woman’s character is the primary character and to tell the story from her perspective. Not that you don’t have strong guys. You absolutely have to have a strong male lead in our stories, and I fight as hard as I can do that. But almost always, the story is told from the female perspective, and you’re not always going to find that. Especially nowadays when people are complaining about women not being represented. You know where they’re represented? They’re represented at the Hallmark Channel!

Yes! I’m so tired of hearing that Hallmark is not forward-thinking enough. Hello! They’ve been having female leads and even females behind the camera, not only in front of the camera, for a long time, but they just don’t publicize it and draw attention to themselves in that way. Which I think is better. Why do people feel like they need to get out and say what they’re doing to promote women? 

If you have to shine the light on it, then you’re really not doing it. You should just go do it, and people can look back and go, “Oh, we had a female writer, a female director, female producers…” They have females at every stage of the process! The director of Christmas Joy (Monika Mitchell) is a female. Lee and I have worked together on three projects as a director and two as a producer as well. And we really don’t sit around and talk about, “Look at the representation.” Instead, we do the work. And that’s what it’s about.

Let me say this as well about Hallmark. There tends to be a cynicism about women’s stories. There is a lack of respect in today’s world for women’s stories. But I think that women’s stories are important stories. And love is important. And I think as long as we give women’s stories respect and respect the stories of love, then people will continue to respond. And I don’t think that you can discount that this channel keeps growing, and I think a big part of that is that women and love are treated with respect.

I know you’ve also done The Spirit of Christmas with Jen Lilley and Thomas Beaudoin, which although it wasn’t originally Hallmark, it sometimes can be found at certain times on the streaming service Hallmark Movies Now.

Oh really? So let me tell you a story about The Spirit of Christmas. They shot that one for two nickels and a lot of hope and dreams. It was shot in 2016 on location in Massachusetts at a real inn. The day before they started shooting, six feet–not inches–of snow fell. Jen and Thomas and the others involved with the film were staying in the inn, which apparently was drafty. So the scenes with Jen and Thomas–they would have to run outside and then run back in. Later that year, it aired opposite the Mariah Carey Christmas movie. So exactly nobody saw that movie. We were all really sad because we really liked it!

A year later, I think it went on Netflix. Jen and I saw each other at the January TCA’s, and we talked about this. Until Switched For Christmas, it was probably the most-seen movie I’d ever worked on. Glamor Magazine was writing about it. Buzzfeed did a thing about it. People call is “The Hot Ghost Movie.” Jen told me that the movie has been dubbed in a multitude of languages. It gets talked about like all the time! It went from nobody saw it to everybody saw it. And Katrina gets stopped all the time for Snow Bride.

Wow, Tracy, you have given me such incredible information, and I am honored you shared all this with me! I’m so glad we chatted. 

Me too, Ruth. Thanks for reaching out. It’s crazy, but out of the past five weekends, four of my movies have premiered on Hallmark! And I’m very excited for these Christmas movies. I hope everyone tunes in!

In Hawaii with her dear friend, Kevin Taft, with whom she’s writing a Hallmark summer movie (presently entitled HANNAH’S HONEYMOON, but that could change).

I was most impressed with the wealth of knowledge that Tracy shared about everything in her life and career. In our engaging and enlightening conversation, we covered more ground than some people do in a whole lifetime, and I am immeasurably impressed with the vast amount of knowledge and insight she shared. It is as though Tracy is the consummate Hallmark professional, complete with two rescued cats, a respect for women and love, and a willingness to perform her role to the utmost of her abilities. In addition to that, this woman is especially engaging, educated, and very much a “people person.” She was all ready to turn the story of my life into a Hallmark movie! 😍

I sincerely hope that everyone in the U.S. takes the time to tune in tonight (November 3rd) and next week (November 10th) to the Hallmark Channel for the next two movies in the network’s Countdown to Christmas programming, Christmas Joy and It’s Christmas, Eve. And thanks to the partnership with the W Network, Canadian viewers will be able to watch Christmas Joy on November 24th, but nothing as of yet for It’s Christmas, Eve (keep checking the schedule as it might pop up). In addition to supporting Tracy’s movies, I would invite each of you to check out her links below and follow her where applicable. It is clear that she sincerely relishes the live tweeting parties that occur during the premieres of these Hallmark films, and I know the support of the fans means a great deal to her. Her obvious expressions and attitude of gratitude alone cause me to desire continued success for her even more; moreover, the fact that she is such a darned good writer and the exemplary person she is sweetens the deal and causes me to be more favorably disposed to her than I already was. As she proceeds to continue sharing her writing talents with the best studio in the world throughout 2019 and beyond, I certainly hope that more remarkable things are in store for her, and I can hardly wait to see every one of her movies throughout the remainder of her career (which will last for many more decades)! Hallmark, in my humble opinion, has discovered an insanely talented woman who is a Godsend, and I couldn’t be happier to be supporting an astounding creative like her!

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