Debbie Macomber was born on October 22, 1948. She is an American writer who creates romance novels and stories about women's lives. Six of her books were turned into TV movies, and her Cedar Cove series became a television show with the same name. In 2005, she was the first person to win the Quill Award for romance, as chosen by fans. She has also received a RITA Award and a lifetime achievement award from the Romance Writers of America. Additionally, she serves as an executive producer for the TV adaptations of her books.
Career
Debbie Macomber has dyslexia and completed high school. She wanted to become a writer and wrote her first stories while raising four children. She typed her manuscripts in her kitchen using a rented typewriter. After five years and many rejections from publishers, she began writing for magazines.
Macomber attended a conference for romance writers. An editor from Harlequin chose one of her manuscripts to be reviewed publicly. The editor gave very negative feedback and told her to stop working on the book. Macomber then spent $10 to send the same book, Heartsong, to Silhouette Books, a competitor of Harlequin. Silhouette published the book, which became the first romance novel reviewed by Publishers Weekly.
Starlight was her first published novel, part of the Silhouette Special Edition romance line. She continued writing for Silhouette and later for Harlequin. In 1988, Harlequin asked her to write a series of connected stories, called the Navy series. Soon after, she released two or three books each year. By 1994, she began publishing single-title novels. Her first hardcover book was released in 2001.
In 2002, Macomber decided to write books that focused more on women and their friendships. Thursdays at Eight was her first book that moved away from traditional romance stories.
Since 1986, Macomber has released a Christmas-themed book or novella each year.
Her novels focus on storytelling rather than detailed descriptions. Her female characters are often optimistic, and her stories end with hope and happiness. Many of her books take place in small, rural towns. The Cedar Cove series is loosely based on her hometown, Port Orchard, Washington. Because of her Christian beliefs, her books do not include explicit sexual details, though they contain sensuality.
Over 170 million copies of her books have been printed worldwide. This Matter of Marriage became a made-for-TV movie in 1998. Six of her novels were adapted into Hallmark television movies: Debbie Macomber's Mrs. Miracle, Call Me Mrs. Miracle, Trading Christmas (based on When Christmas Comes), Mr. Miracle, Dashing Through the Snow, and A Mrs. Miracle Christmas.
Macomber also writes inspirational nonfiction, including cookbooks and children’s books. She owns a yarn store in Port Orchard, Washington, called A Good Yarn Shop. The store closed in November 2016 after being open for eight years.
In July 2013, the Hallmark Channel began airing an original, scripted series based on her Cedar Cove books. Macomber developed and produced the show. The series ran for three seasons and ended in 2015. It received two LEO award nominations and one Prism award nomination.
Macomber has won the B. Dalton Award three times and was the first recipient of the fan-voted Quill Award for romance (2005, for 44 Cranberry Point). She has also received the Romantic Times Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award and a RITA Award for The Christmas Basket.
In 2007, she threw out the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field.
Macomber volunteers as a mentor for young people and supports fundraising for battered women’s shelters, literacy, and medical research. She is a national board member for Warm-Up America and was appointed an ambassador for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America in 1997.
Macomber and her husband, Wayne, raised four children and have grandchildren. They live in Port Orchard, Washington.