Roma Downey recalls a time when Hollywood had to 'pay attention' to Christian audiences
Actress and producer Roma Downey reflects on how Hollywood responded after seeing audiences flock to "Touched by an Angel" in the 1990s.
FIRST ON FOX - Actress, writer and producer Roma Downey, a native of Northern Ireland and a New York Times bestselling author, is announcing on Tuesday the publication of her newest children's book, "A Message in the Moon," which will be out on Oct. 10, 2023.
She spoke to Fox News Digital about it exclusively ahead of the book reveal.
Downey's illustrated children's book captures the unique and indelible relationship between children and their parents — and how the love between them connects them forever.
Explaining the genesis of her book, Downey noted the Fox News Digital connection.
ROMA DOWNEY: ‘I’LL LEAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU IN THE MOON' — THE INCREDIBLE GIFT MY FATHER GAVE ME
"I shared a story that occurred in my own life about my father when I was leaving Ireland for college in England," she said in a phone interview, recalling the op-ed she wrote for Fox News four years ago this month.
"He'd taken me outside to show me the moon," she said — and "explained that it really is a source of comfort."
Roma Downey's new book, "A Message in the Moon," is based on an op-ed she wrote in June 2019 published on the Fox News website. (Roma Downey/Penguin Randomhouse)
Her father — who became a single parent when Downey lost her mom at the age of 10 — worked to remind his daughter that "wherever I went in the world, the moon would be the same moon shining down. And that wherever I might be, though separated from him, he would leave a message of love for me in the moon."
Said Downey, "So I had an opportunity to write about that — and I got so many beautiful responses to it," she added of her Fox News op-ed.
"People were uplifted by it. People were encouraged by it."
"People were uplifted by it. People were encouraged by it. And I shared this same message of the moon," she said, "when I was raising my own children, particularly my daughter, as I was traveling off for work. I would reach out to her and say, 'I've left you a message in the moon.'"
To this day, added Downey of her now young adult daughter, "When we're apart, we still use the moon as the connector. It's just been a lovely comfort to us."
It's "also a great reminder," said Downey, "that we're not alone" in the world.
A late-evening moon is shown over Michigan's Lake Huron. The moon is "a great reminder," said Downey, "that we're not alone" in the world. (Getty Images)
She said, "I think so many young children have separation anxiety today. A mom or a dad is going away — and this is just a simple way to serve as a reminder of connection," she said.
Downey said of her illustrator, Holly Hatam, "I really loved her style and we worked so well together. We were able to just collaborate in a way that brought the story to life."
Downey said, "This is a story written simply and clearly for young children, and also for an audience of moms and dads and grandparents. And her artwork really elevated this."
"I've written a book really to honor my father's memory. This story is inspired by the way he shared the moon as a connector for me."
The author said she wanted to make sure that, most of all, "we communicated the feeling of love. I was writing a book that's set at nighttime, because the moon obviously glows in the night sky. So we wanted to ensure that the color scheme didn't become too dark, but was still inviting and warm."
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And "I think that she was really able to achieve that" for the book, said Downey.
She recounted that her mother passed "when I was a little girl, and when my father took me up to the grave site, a butterfly came by — and he suggested that it was like my mother's spirit."
"I'm still getting his messages, you know? He's still leaving me messages in the moon," said Roma Downey of her dad, whom she lost when she was in college. Her new book will be published in October 2023. (Roma Downey/PenguinRandomHouse)
So there was this "sort of symbolism of the butterfly representing the power of transformation and change" — and that was "the beauty of it," said Downey, referencing the loving messages left in the moon.
Her father passed away while she in college.
Said Downey, "And I've written this book really to honor my father's memory. This story is inspired by the way he shared the moon as a connector for me."
Said Downey, "I'm a bit sentimental, you know. My mom and dad are a long time gone, but their memory lives on. And I'm really so pleased with how this book turned out."
And "when I was writing it, I tried to expand on the theme that had been shared with me — which is, as a young woman going off to college, that we're still connected."
Downey pointed out that "this was a time before cellphones — hard to remember, right? It was before we had cell phones, before we had the ability to communicate with each other at the touch of a button."
And "I remember that my father lovingly sent me off to college with 10 self-addressed envelopes, and he said, 'Even if you don't write a letter to me and put it in the envelope, could you just send the envelope back in the mailbox so I know you're OK?"
Roma Downey was born in Northern Ireland — and attended college in the U.K. The Emmy-nominated Downey starred as the angel Monica on "Touched by an Angel" for nine seasons from 1994 to 2003. (Roma Downey/Penguin Randomhouse)
And meanwhile, he added to her, "I'll leave you a message in the moon."
Said Downey, "I'm still getting his messages, you know? He's still leaving me messages in the moon."
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She said, "The message in the moon is a message of love — and remember that the moon has no light source itself. The moon is merely a reflection of the sun."
"He's still leaving me messages in the moon."
And "so, I'd like to imagine that all those messages of love would just reflect back because that's what the moon reflects back to Earth — and that all that moonlight would become love light. That we all remember it's also the great connector and that we are all connected."
The Emmy-nominated Downey starred as the angel Monica on "Touched by an Angel" for nine seasons from 1994 to 2003.
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She said previously to Fox News Digital, "My dad was my greatest teacher … He was such a great role model, a man with very strong faith, and very strong values. And a quiet, gentle — just a really lovely dad."
For more information about her new book, anyone can check out the book's website here.
