Hero Debut

Strong (Husband Auditions) returns to her Love Off Script series with a spirited romance featuring an aspiring screenwriter and the straitlaced cop she’s using for character inspiration. Gemma Bennett first met Karson Zellner when a mix-up brought the police to her apartment and Karson was the first through the door. The two next run into each other when Gemma and her roommates register for the police department’s Citizen’s Safety Academy to do research for their various film projects. Once class gets underway, chaos ensues: during the fingerprinting lesson, it becomes apparent that there’s a warrant out for Gemma’s arrest (it’s actually for her identical twin), and she disrupts a K-9 search with food stashed in her purse. Karson writes Gemma off as flighty and unserious but soon realizes there’s more to the plucky screenwriter than meets the eye, and an awkward infatuation blossoms between them, then turns into something more. Karson’s past gets in the way, however, and the two must trust in God’s providence as they search for a way to be together. Strong’s quirky, delightfully flawed characters charm, and the “opposites attract” conceit swiftly propels the narrative from one comedic mishap to the next. It’s ideal for fans of Pepper Basham and Denise Hunter. (Aug.)