In the spring of 2019, I began writing Lucia of Fatima. I believed it to be an important book for young readers on this famous apparition. The last biography on the Fatima visionaries dates back to 1957. Let’s just say that some of these books tell the basic story but are a tad bit rusty. I wanted to write a compelling book from the perspective of Lucia. Here is a ten-year old peasant girl who comes face to face with supernatural events, profound and controversial in nature. It’s like Lucy in the Narnia series stepping into an alternative universe filled with evil witches and strange creatures. Lucy comes back through the wardrobe and no one believes her. And so it is with Lucia of Fatima.
That was my original idea. I thought it a worthwhile project to tackle. I guess it was. Several months ago, I learned that a new Fatima movie is coming out, told from the perspective of Lucia.
I read an interview with the director, Marco Pontecorvo. Much to my surprise, he focuses on the triangle formed between Lucia, her mother, and the mystical Lady. I also devoted many pages to the struggles Lucia had with her pious mother, Maria Rosa. The director felt Maria Rosa could not believe that a heavenly visitor would choose her daughter, one of the lowly ones.
Based on Lucia’s memoirs, I chose a different angle. Maria Rosa was resistant to the apparitions out of fear for her daughter’s life. She believed that if the visions were false, people might kill her daughter and the other two visionaries, her younger cousins Jacinta and Francisco.
Film critic Steve Greydanus did a Zoom interview with Pontecorvo. Every time they began to talk about the vision of hell, the signal broke up. Both men noted it. Pontecovo labeled the break-up as an “incredible coincidence”. I had a similar experience, losing a third draft on a flash-drive, never to be found again. Fortunately, I had a hard copy. Several people thought some otherworldly shenanigans were afoot. I am not sure about that, but I continue to push forward. It looks like Lucia of Fatima will be ready by the fall.
Pontecorvo will be using special effects to dramatize the vision of hell and the third secret in which a bishop dressed in white is killed. That should be spectacular.
Fatima is scheduled for theatrical release on August 28th.
So looking forward to your latest book.