Tag Archives: marriage

Jun 2 2017

Indivisible: Based on a True Story

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As a writer, every movie that gets made is a dream come true. I believe stories have the power to change hearts and the world.

I had the extreme privilege of working on a feature film based on a true story about a U.S. Army Chaplain, Darren Turner. I got to work with David Evans, the co-writer and director of Indivisible. (He also did the movie The Grace Card.) I have a new love for movies about marriages.

From IMDB story synopsis: “Upon returning from serving in the U.S. Army, Chaplain Darren Turner faces a crisis that shatters his family and faith in God but through the help of former soldiers, they help him return to his faith and family.”

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It’s always neat to see what you envision on the page come to life. Through the cast, set design, locations etc. Movie making takes a lot of people and teamwork. I was very impressed with Calvary Church in Memphis for the many ways they gave of themselves tirelessly in support of the production team.  They also blanketed this project in prayer 24-7. It showed; God’s hand was all over this.

My hubby and I also got the chance to be extras in a scene. I love sharing these experiences with him:

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We really enjoyed meeting some of our cast: Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) who is also one of our producers, Justin Bruening, Tia Mowry, Samara Lee, Madeline Carroll, Abigail Hummel, Leyah Brown, Lucas Boyle.

I love this screen family photo Sarah Drew shared on Twitter. They look so great together:

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We also enjoyed meeting some great people on the crew. Bob Scott was our D.P. (War Room). Rebekah Cook, Gwendelynn Martindale, and our BTS crew.

I’m very thankful for Bill Reeves, the Working Title Agency team and the Provident team for inviting me to the party on this project.  It was fun to see two of them on set: (Bill Reeves & Laurie Chimento.)

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Lastly, we really loved meeting director / co-writer David Evans and his wife, Esther. Lovely people with great hearts. I loved knowing what he was envisioning from the page and then seeing him realize this dream.

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I look forward to seeing this story released in 2018.

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Sep 22 2015

Love’s a Stage: a novel

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Today marks the release of one of two novels coming out this fall as part of my partnership with Rene Gutteridge and now Redbud press. Both are based on my screenplays. This first one is called Love’s a Stage. After I got married, I started to notice a lot of marriages around us crumbling. I wanted to explore themes of what it means to keep vows and how to make marriage last. My quirky, yet good-hearted lead character may go through great (and often comical) lengths to save a marriage while also learning along the way what it takes to make a marriage work and to find a lasting true love.

Hope you enjoy the read and to one day bring you the feature film version:

Love’s a Stage (Hometown Romance) (KINDLE)

SYNOPSIS for Love’s a Stage:

Grad student and future marriage counselor Aly Brewster had a perfect childhood with perfect parents. Now she’s heading into her own perfect life: Finish her Master’s. Build a successful practice. Husband at twenty-six. But when her parents blindside her with the news they’re getting divorced, her perfect world shatters.

Actor Nick Armstrong has been in love with Aly since they met during freshman year. He’s happy to accept his assigned place in her Friend Zone because it lets him be close to her. But it’s been over five years—time to move on. Then the usually-unflappable Aly comes to him begging for help to save her parents’ marriage. Nick has the perfect plan: fake an engagement to each other to inspire her parents to fight to save their marriage. And who knows? It might trigger Aly’s feelings for him. But when Aly takes the ruse to the next level—planning a wedding in her parents’ backyard and hiring additional actors to play his family—enough is enough!

As the lines between acting and reality grow decidedly blurred, these two improvised fiancés must decide: are they going to finish the play…or exit stage right. Alone.

* * *

Later this fall, our other novella will be out. We participated in a book of novellas called The Boy Next Door, where all the authors wrote different love stories about falling for the boy next door. The one Rene Gutteridge and I wrote is called O Little Town of Bethany.

We’ll let ya know when it’s out.

Both projects have scripts available for production.

Here’s a sneak peek at the cover:

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Apr 21 2012
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A Review of Finally the Bride

Reposted from: Shannon McDermott/ Christian Author Website (www.shannonmcdermott.com) Missing: My husband. He’s tall. He’s dark. He’s handsome. I think. Actually, I don’t know. I may not have met him yet. He could be a short, balding blond with a dimpled … Continue reading →

Apr 19 2012
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Father Knows Best, Right?

(This article originally written by Cheryl McKay in Sept 2009, revised June 2010, before her “wait to find true love” had come to an end. It was written after the release of the novel version of Never the Bride and some parts … Continue reading →

Apr 18 2012

Finally the Bride: Finding Hope While Waiting

It’s finally here: A book I have been working on since 2008. When Rene Gutteridge and I were working on the novelization of my script for Never the Bride, I felt compelled to write the non-fiction version of my life story as a single person who felt like she was waiting far too long to find love. This book is written in “real time”  as I was going through it, not something I went back to write later. Consider it a companion book to Never the Bride. While that was the fictional version of my life, this is the raw honest non-fiction one.

Why Would God Care About My Love Life?

From the woman behind the screenplay and novel, Never the Bride, comes a roller coaster of a love story with God. Cheryl McKay pulls no punches about what it’s really like to be single, with your age creeping up, and no end in sight to the wait for love and marriage.

It seems that many years ago, God asked Cheryl to surrender the pen she was using to write her love story. All He wanted was carte blanche. No problem, right? Cheryl tentatively conceded–that is, until it became apparent that the Almighty had no intention of conforming to her writing schedule, much less the tick of her biological clock. In fact, He blew every deadline she ever attempted to set. As romance seemed to pass Cheryl by, she couldn’t help but question: Could God really be trusted to bring her the love of her life?

Written during a long wait, this book opens up Cheryl’s painfully honest, personal journals. She explores what it’s like to enlist in God’s Marriage Boot Camp, and how to survive singlehood year after solitary year. She wrestles with her Creator over multiple best friends that never see her “that way.” Then there are those lists of what she wanted–you know, the ones she revised a billion times then laminated for safekeeping. She watches, bewildered, as much younger women find love that seems to elude her.

Through it all, she falls head over heels for a God who proves Himself to be as resistant to her controls as He is faithful beyond her wildest dreams.

Are you still waiting? Have you lost hope? Venture to victory with a woman who knows just how hard it is to wait for the day when you are Finally the Bride.

This book includes a collection of real-life God-written love stories by such authors as SQuire Rushnell & Louise DuArt (God Winks Series, Couples Who Pray), and Victorya Michaels Rogers (Finding a Man Worth Keeping).

Finally the Bride is available on Amazon.