Courtney Walsh | PAPER HEARTS Casting Call

Creating characters is a unique process for every writer. For me, it usually starts with a name. In my latest release, PAPER HEARTS, I first met Dr. Jacob Willoughby and knew this was the kind of man I wanted to write a love story for. Somehow, the more I got to know him, the more I knew he deserved to be loved—even if he didn’t know it yet.

Abigail Pressman came along later, and again, it started with her name. I knew she was quirky and clumsy and pretty but not glamorous. I knew she had dreams that she hadn’t pursued and her whole world was about to get turned upside-down.

When it came time to sit down and actually write these characters, people who had become so real in my mind, I felt almost stressed to find the perfect versions of each of them in photograph form.

In other words, to really bring them to life, I needed a face for each name. And not just my hero and heroine, but the supporting characters as well. I guess I decided to play casting director as I went on a hunt for the perfect celebrities to play my characters in the movie in my mind.

After much thought, here is the line-up:

Dr. Jacob Willoughby

I admit, I went back and forth a lot about this one. I thought about casting Ryan Reynolds because he is so handsome, has the right color hair and eyes but Jacob isn’t as sarcastic or dry as Ryan Reynold’s characters.

What he is, is kind, so I chose Mark Feuerstein, who plays Dr. Hank Lawson on USA’s Royal Pains. Jacob is handsome, intelligent and funny with a dark secret and a painful past.

I think this actor is the perfect choice to play a single dad starting over…don’t you?

Abigail Pressman

This casting choice was quite a bit easier for me. I knew what Abigail looked like. Long, dark, wavy hair, brown eyes and everyone’s favorite “girl-next-door”.

I don’t know much about Emmy Rossum, but to me, she embodies Abigail perfectly and I think she and Jacob would look awfully cute together.

Ursula Pembrooke

There is one other character who I’ve clearly cast in my mind and that is Ursula Pembrooke, one of the Valentine Volunteers. These are older women in the town of Loves Park, a town obsessed with love and romance, who set out to be matchmakers for anyone who is single. It’s when they set their sites on Abigail that chaos ensues and that is when we get to see the true personality of one Mrs. Ursula Pembrooke. This wealthy woman is an unlikely ally for just about everyone considering she seems to like people as much as she likes a root canal. In my mind, Ursula looks an awful lot like a human version of Hallmark’s famous character, Maxine. Personality, looks and crazy attire all seem to line up with what I’ve imagined for Ursula.

About Paper Hearts

Abigail Pressman would never have guessed that love notes penned on paper hearts by an anonymous couple could restore her belief in love. As a business owner in a quaint town at the base of the Rockies, she’s poured everything into dreams of expansion . . . and resisting the matchmaking efforts of the Valentine Volunteers, who gather in her store to continue Loves Park’s tradition of stamping mail with the city’s romantic postmark.

When Abigail is unwillingly drafted into the Volunteers, she encounters the paper hearts, a distraction that couldn’t come at a worse time. A hard-to-read doctor has become Abigail’s new landlord, and he’s threatening to end her lease to expand his practice.

As she fights a growing attraction to this handsome man crushing her dreams, Abigail is inspired to string the hearts in her store, sparking a citywide infatuation with the artsy trend. But when a new batch of hearts reaches the Volunteers, it appears something tragic has happened to the couple. Will uncovering their story confirm Abigail’s doubts about love, or could it rescue her dreams . . . and her heart?

Can't get enough of PAPER HEARTS? Read an excerpt and Fresh Fiction's review for more to love.

About Courtney Walsh

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theater director, and playwright. PAPER HEARTS is her fourth novel. Her debut novel, A SWEETHAVEN SUMMER, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. She has written two additional books in the Sweethaven series, as well as two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney lives in Illinois where she and her husband own a performing and visual arts studio. They have three children.