Valley woman's holiday-themed book has been turned into a Hallmark Christmas movie

PHOENIX - A Valley woman knows a thing or two about Hallmark Christmas movies, because she wrote one of them.

Barbara Hinske wrote her first and only holiday book so far, titled "The Christmas Club", in 2016. It's a novel about human kindness and generosity.

Hallmark has turned "The Christmas Club" into a movie, and next week, the movie is set to debut.

"I'm incredibly excited, incredibly proud," said Hinske.

For Hinske, it's a dream come true.

"I can show you journals back to 2016, every day where I've journaled about this being a blockbuster Hallmark movie," said Hinske.

Hinske, a recently retired attorney, started her writing career in 2010, and is perhaps best known for her "Rosemont" mystery series.

Hinske said the inspiration behind "The Christmas Club" was based loosely on a sermon she heard 30 years ago.

"The minister's point was to do kind things in a nice way," said Hinske. "It stuck with me all these years, and it struck a chord in me. His thing was you don't have to get the big thank you for doing something nice. I used that in my book, and then fluffed it up, put it in a romance and a lot of other characters as well."

The Christmas novel celebrates the generosity of the human spirit, and Hinske thought this could be turned into a holiday movie. She made it happen after connecting with the right people.

Hinske even got to sit in on a movie's production for a few days this past summer.  

"They could not have been more affirming, more kind," said Hinske. "Just everything to make us feel welcomed."

What Hinske hopes people to take away from the film. is a "restoration of faith".

"I hope people come away with that little bit of lift," said Hinske. "I'm a believer that the small things do matter. If you brighten someone's day, you can brighten their life. If you brighten their life, you can brighten the world."

The Christmas Club is set to premiere at 8:00 p.m. on November 27.