Your cheat sheet for Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove

For many readers, opening a Debbie Macomber book is like coming home. Her humor and gift for storytelling echo through her books. And that is exactly why fans everywhere are scrambling to watch Cedar Cove on the Hallmark Channel.

With more than 170 million copies of her books in print world wide, 750 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list (eight of which have hit #1), a tea shop, a yarn store and a hit television series, she shows no signs of slowing down. Just this year she is releasing four books, including the recently released Blossom Street Brides, Love Letters: A Rose Harbor Novel, being released in August, and Mr. Miracle, out in October as both a novel and a Hallmark Channel holiday film.

When the Hallmark Channel chose her popular Cedar Cove books as the basis for their first-ever scripted television series, it is no surprise that many of her readers followed and made it the top program on cable in its 2013 debut.

With Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove about to start its second season, here is a cheat sheet to get you caught up:

Why we love it: At last, a love story between mature, intelligent (and beautiful!) people on a picturesque island. Add the believable and lively cast of supporting characters and realistic situations and you have the kind of show you can’t wait to return to. You’ll want to book a room at the Thyme & Tide so you can be close to the action.

Setting: Cedar Cove, Washington (based on Macomber’s home town of Port Orchard) is a picturesque coastal town. Just remote enough to be peaceful, it is still close enough to Seattle to be convenient.

The Characters:

Olivia Lockhart (Andie McDowell) is the presiding family court judge of Cedar Cove. Olivia is divorced from Stan, torn apart after the tragic, accidental drowning death of their son, Jordan. Olivia and Stan have a surviving child, Jordan’s twin sister Justine, who lives in Cedar Cove. Finding love with Jack adds a whole new set of challenges.

Grace Sherman (Teryl Rothery) is Olivia’s life-long best friend and Cedar Cove’s librarian. Feeling vulnerable after her recent divorce, she is slowly testing the dating waters again, leaving sexy rancher Cliff Harting unsure where he stands with her.  She has two daughters, Maryellen and Kelly.

Jack Griffith (Dylan Neal) a newspaper reporter and recent transplant to Cedar Cove from Philadelphia, is the editor of the Cedar Cove Chronicle.  A recovering alcoholic, Jack is divorced with a grown son. He knows how lucky he is that his fresh start includes the lovely Olivia.

Justine Lockhart (Sarah Smyth), a local artist, works in a local art gallery where she sells her stunning jewelry. Justine feels responsible for Jordan’s drowning and struggles to keep cordial relationships with each of her parents while juggling her love life.

Bob Beldon (Brue Boxleitner) and his wife and business partner, Peggy (Barbara Niven), own the Thyme & Tide bed & breakfast. They are a mainstay in the everyday happenings of Cedar Cove. Peggy is down-to-earth and open, Bob more reserved, but together they make the Thyme & Tide a warm, inviting place.

Warren Saget (Brennan Elliott) is an unethical land developer who sees Cedar Cove as a gold mine of opportunity. Married three times, he and Justine have dated seriously, and he wants her to be wife #4.

Seth Gunderson (Corey Sevier) is an Alaskan fisherman who was close to Justine’s brother, Jordan, when they were boys and has always had feelings for Justine. He owns a boat and likes to boast that the only thing that ever keeps him in one place are the two ropes that anchor the boat to a dock.

Charlotte Jeffers (Paula Shaw) is an independent, vivacious widow and Olivia’s mother. A great knitter, Charlotte has a way of being in the middle of all the action in Cedar Cove, but she also has a sweet, yet determined way of getting her point across.