In Jen Lilley's New Hallmark Movie the Characters Meet Cute and Quirky

All of this is a far cry from her 2007 arrival in Los Angelesamp160 amp8220When my husband and I first moved from Virginia to Los Angeles after getting married in 2007 it was a dismal timequot she recalledamp160 quotWe both had great degrees but the economy crashed there was a writer39s strike and finding work was hardquotLilley took work as a nonunion background actor to make ends meet amp160She worked her way through the trenches and still thanks her parents for the Costco membership card they gave her before the move amp160quotWe would go to Costco to get the samples because we were so poor that we couldn39t afford foodquot she said amp160quotOn one of those Costco runs we found a 36pound bag of rice on sale for 598 amp160I bought a giant plastic container to protect it from the roaches we lived with and without exaggeration all we ate for seven months was this 36pound bag of rice eggs and onions that was it amp160Honestly it was to the point that if I wasn39t earning 60 a day doing background work we would have diedquotShe survived the rice famine thanks to some lucky breaks courtesy of people like Clint Eastwood who moved her from background player to a plum role in The Changeling opposite Angelina Jolie amp160Fastforward to the present day amp8211 past her popular portrayal of Theresa Donovan on Days of Our Lives and earlier Hallmark projects and goodnatured Lilley can laugh about the days when it felt like she was a contestant on Survivor amp160Her tenacity and selfstudy of the innerworkings of the business saw her succeed amp160Itamp8217s surprising given her tendency to exude confidence that she is still nervous at heart amp160It39s a trait that helped her identify with Cassie Winslet her character in Winter Love Story amp160quotI can be nervousquot Lilley confided amp160quotLike Cassie I know what I39m good at and I know what I39m terrible at amp160It39s something I39m vigilantly working on so I related to herquotCassie is a novelist who shares her experiences with a messy break up in her debut book amp160However her low public profile has her publicity team nervous and thinking it wise she pair up with an established author to embark on a duel book tour amp160Enter Elliotamp160Somersby McGarry a quotnerdy dragonbook writerquot currently riding a wave of success after the release of his second fantasy novel in a trilogy amp160After an ambush meeting with her publishers Cassie reluctantly embarks on a road tripbook tour with him amp160Stuck on the road together the two eventually open up to each otheramp160 Seasoned writer Elliotamp160becomes Cassie39s support system and she realizes she may have erroneously judged him and his book tooquotOne of the huge draws for me with this movie was that the way Cassie and Elliotamp160got to know each other was a little differentquot Lilley said amp160quotI always feel fortunate in general with the movies Hallmark brings to me as I find them to be a little quirkier than usual amp160I also really appreciated the witty banter between the two amp160It was fun and maybe a little more sharpwitted than some of the things I39ve seen in the past amp160I found their whole journey upliftingquotAnother huge draw for Lilley was costarring with MaryMargaret Humes Dawson39s Creek who plays her mother a successful author with whom she lives forever in her formidable shadowamp160 quotMy first movie in Los Angeles was with herquot she shared amp160quotI was a huge fan of Dawson39s Creek but I was actually too young to be watching it amp160When my parents found out I was doing so I was unable to keep following it amp160But I was familiar with MaryMargaret39s body of work She got the freakout from me 11 years ago the first we time worked togetherquotI loved the relationship and MaryMargaret is extremely talentedquot she added quotIt wasn39t scripted but she came off as this Princeton professor who was intimidating but loving amp160Cassie was constantly comparing herself to her mother and I loved the arc she had in realizing that she39s her own person and it39s okay for her to write even if she39s compared to her mother amp160It doesn39t impact her success because you39re always going to have critics amp160But if you don39t do what you love then you39re robbing yourself of that passionquotLilley39s other passion is singing and sheamp8217s looking forward to the release of her second album by the end of February amp160Then she39s headed to work on a caninecentric movie hopefully for Hallmark amp160But it39s formally finalizing the adoption of her eldest fosterchild to which she is most looking forward amp160quotI39m excited about signing the adoption papersquot she shared in closing amp160quotWe39re awaiting the official adoption court day where you say amp8216I doamp8217 amp160Kind of like you39re getting married amp160So legally we are now engagedamp160 We39ve signed the papers and have given him a ring amp160It39s been a long road and I intend to throw him the biggest party ever amp160It will put all other parties to shamequotWinter Love Story is telecast Saturday January 19 8 pm on Hallmark Channel as part of their Winterfest Programming EventClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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In Jen Lilley's New Hallmark Movie the Characters Meet Cute and Quirky

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Steve Gidlow

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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In Jen Lilley's New Hallmark Movie the Characters Meet Cute and Quirky

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Steve Gidlow

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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