the producers have now adapted The Confession for the screen.
Bestselling Amish fiction author Beverly Lewis shares the joys—and
challenges—that come with seeing her words enacted on the screen.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2013 issue of FamilyFiction digital magazine. Subscribe for free today!
Even after publishing more than 80
books, winning numerous awards,
and watching several of her novels
turned into hugely popular television
films, Beverly Lewis is one of the
most humble ladies you’ll ever meet.
As Christian fiction’s leading writer of
Amish tales, she calls herself driven,
motivated, passionate, and earnest
about creating stellar stories that
touch hearts and make a difference
in readers’ lives. “I can’t really not
write, or I get sick,” she admits. “I’ve
been creating stories and characters
that seem to live and breathe since I
was a little girl. I guess it’s just who I
am. It’s similar to the way I feel when
I don’t play the piano for a few days, as
well. So, while it’s hard to explain, this
is my strange reality. This urge to express
myself with captivating characters
and dilemmas is something very
strong in me, and I have to pay attention.
As long as my muse shows up, I
write for God’s glory.”
In 2011, one of Beverly’s most beloved
novels, The Shunning (Bethany House)
was adapted into a Hallmark Channel
original movie by Michael Landon, Jr.
and Brian Bird. The moment it aired,
viewers clamored for the novel’s
sequel to follow.
Thankfully, our wait is almost over:
The Hallmark Channel will broadcast
The Confession in May, with a arrival on
DVD and streaming in June.
“There is nothing quite like this continuing
story,” Beverly says.
The author, along with her husband,
oldest daughter and
granddaughter, were able
to spend two full days on
set during the filming
process. Look for them
in the background as
“extras” during the scene
where Laura Mayfield-Bennett introduces her
long-lost daughter (the
imposter Katie Lapp).
“Hollywood is known
for mixing things up in
a movie, you know,” Beverly says, perhaps
recalling how her own novel The
Redemption of Sarah Cain (Bethany
House) saw major plot changes when
it was adapted to the screen. “But after
reading the screenplay, I knew Michael
and Brian had made every effort to be
true to the core of my story. I really
appreciate that. We’re truly a team in
that way. Their mission matches mine.
Providing wholesome and faith-based
films for family viewing is their calling.
They are respectful to the heart of
my stories and receptive to my input.
What author typically gets invited to
edit the screenplay? That’s a rarity in
Hollywood, let me tell you.”
The actress who played Katie in The
Shunning wasn’t able to reprise her
role in the sequel, but actress Katie
Leclerc (Switched at Birth) has picked
up the reins and taken off with the role.
“Katie Leclerc has an amazing vulnerability
she brings to the character of
Katie Lapp,” Beverly says. “When you
see the movie you’ll notice it immediately.
All of us have fallen in love
with her work and her brilliant acting
ability. She is every bit,
if not more so, my Katie
Lapp. She is the perfect
choice for this movie—
and the next.
“Viewers will be helpless
to feel anything
but connectivity and
intimacy with the leading
actors in the movie,”
Beverly says. “I can
assure readers who love
this series that they will
adore The Confession
movie as well. It is compelling,
heartbreaking,
heartwarming, inspiring, and so
thoughtfully, if not tenderly, portrayed
in every way. And, yes, The Reckoning
movie is in the works!”
Glimpses of Lancaster County with Beverly Lewis
Join Beverly Lewis on site in her
childhood home of Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania as she shares some of
her earliest memories of writing and
of her mother, the inspiration for her
bestselling novel The Shunning
(Bethany House). Click Here.
Beverly Lewis’ The Confession
Sherry Stringfield (ER) and Katie Leclerc (Switched
at Birth) star in the Beverly Lewis’ The Confession,
a Hallmark Channel Original Movie on Saturday,
May 11. The dramatic sequel to 2011’s Beverly
Lewis’ The Shunning, the sequel is based on the
second novel of The Heritage of Lancaster County
Books from author Beverly Lewis.
The series is based on some of the heartbreaking
experiences of Lewis’ maternal grandmother, who
was born into the Old Order Mennonite Church,
which became the genesis of Lewis’ fascination
with her Plain heritage. Katie Lapp (Leclerc) is an innocent young Amish woman
who has ventured out of her small Lancaster community for the first time after
a painful incident led to her “shunning” from the very township that raised her.
As she takes on the unfamiliar outside world, she is desperate to track down
her birth mother, a wealthy and generous woman named Laura Mayfield-Bennett
(Stringfield) who is sadly dying of cancer. With only a few months to live, Laura
and her husband Dylan (Adrian Paul, Highlander) prepare Laura’s estate and will.
When Dylan, a greedy gambling addict, finds out he will inherit close to nothing
from his wife, he hires an out-of-work actress, Alyson (Julia Whelan, Once and
Again), to feign as Laura’s long-lost Amish daughter—hoping Laura will take the
bait and leave her entire estate to her only child.