'When Calls the Heart' companion book could serve fans during Hallmark Channel hiatus

SALT LAKE CITY — "When Calls the Heart" has a companion book that might interest fans who are itching for the show to return.

The book, called "When God Calls the Heart: Devotions From Hope Valley," is an inspirational book that offers messages from the fictional characters of "When Calls the Heart."

And it may serve as a good book for fans who are itching for more "When Calls the Heart" content as the show remains on hiatus.

Context: The Hallmark Channel's show has gone on a creative hiatus as a result of the Lori Loughlin college admissions scandal. Hallmarkcut ties with Lori Loughlin, one of the show's stars, after she and her husband Mossimo Giannulli were accused of paying $500,000 in bribes so that their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, could be crew recruits for the University of Southern California (even though they never competed in crew).

Kurt Manwaring

Brian Bird holding copies of "When God Calls the Heart" and a companion devotional journal.

The book: Brian Bird, co-author of the book "When God Calls the Heart" and executive producer and co-creator of "When Calls the Heart," told From the Desk of Kurt Manwaring blog that the book is meant to further "When Calls the Heart" fans' understanding of the series.

• He said he gets hundreds of messages from fans, which inspired him to craft the book. "They watch the episodes over and over because they love the 'God moments' and wished they could do more study about those themes," Bird told Manwaring. "I've often wondered how I could take that conversation deeper."
• Bird told Manwaringthat he went to a writers conference in 2017 and found himself seated next to best-selling author Michelle Cox. The two had conversations that inspired them to work on a project together.
• "Over pizza, we explored the idea of a devotional based on the series," Bird said. "By the end of that conference we agreed to partner on the writing and we actually had an offer from our publisher, Broadstreet."

Why it matters: The book is meant to help readers "fully understand and apply inspiring themes from the television show such as faith, redemption and perseverance," Manwaring wrote for the Deseret News.

• "Each chapter uses an episode as a jumping-off point, highlighting some of the God moments woven into the storytelling," Bird said. "And then we expound on those moments with deeper implications and applications for our lives today, all combined with an appropriate verse of scripture, a prayer template and questions for further reflection."

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