Killing David . . .

Chop,Chop was never intended to have sequels (the one or two reviews I’ve received that say the novel purposefully leaves things unfinished so that readers will be required to purchase the next books in the series amuse me because it is simply not true).

After I wrote books two and three, I knew I was finished. David had his hot tub, everything was great . . . it was a perfect place to end David’s story.

But as time went on I toyed with the idea of continuing the series. My mind immediately traveled through David’s life toward the end, and the natural turn of events was that he would lose Laci.

And I just couldn’t do that to him.

But, I thought, I could have Laci lose David . . . and the idea for Gone was born. I also immediately came up with the idea of having Tanner and Laci get together. I had not, at this point, developed a real relationship between Tanner and Laci in my mind, but the more I thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. I just had to get rid of Natalie (since the implication at the end of book 3 was that the two of them were going to wind up together).

In Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook, the main female character comes and goes between moments of being in the here and now and moments of being somewhere else. I’m not sure exactly how I came up with the idea of David developing early onset Alzheimer’s , but once I did, I remembered this aspect of The Notebook and thought that it would be neat to do that same thing through David’s eyes, thereby having the reader learn along with him what was going on.

I find it interesting that very few people ask me who David sees in the last scene of Gone – Greg or Jesus? Many Christian novelist do not capitalize He, Him, Who, etc., when talking about God, but I felt very strongly that I wanted to do so in my novels. David’s last words in Gone—“I see him”—let you know who David sees.

 

Finally, I am posting a review from Barnes and Noble that was left for Gone. Unlike Amazon (where I would be able to respond directly to the reviewer), B&N doesn’t allow me to leave a response. I have posted the following on myFacebook page, however, and am including it again here because I think it’s worth talking about.  Here is the review (as it was written) by an anonymous reviewer:

“Well i loved this book but i do have something to say........

1. This series was absolutely amazing!!!!
2. I ( again) regard l.n. cronk as one of my favorite authors
3. With that being said i do have to make a point........my question is this?? Is jesus not the healer?? Isnt it a christians job to trust Him as the Healer? I was extremely dissapointed that l.n. cronks didnt incorporate having any faith that Jesus Christ can heal him of any sickness or disease.....i was extremely sad that after he found out he had alzehiemers he just kind of accepted it. Not once did he pray for healing or acknowledge jesuss as the healer. He just kind of decided that he was going to just allow it to happen to him. Thats just my opinion. Im sorry if that offends anyone. But the bottom line is that this book is still great and l.n. is a great author!!!!!!!!!!:D”

My response: First of all, no offense taken at all!! Thanks for the review and all of the positive comments. I just wish I could respond directly to you to explain why I choose the route I did. Here is my indirect response:

 

We all know that even Christians will suffer hardships in this life and that we are all going to die. Yes, God absolutely could have saved David from this disease, but that was not God’s will in this case. Now, the QUESTION that was asked, however, was why did David not at least ASK God to cure him? Indeed, David DID just accept this fate, not ask for healing, and decide that he was going to allow it to happen. So why did David respond this way (or, more specifically, why did I choose to have David respond this way?)

A general theme throughout the books has always been that God has a specific will for David’s life, David usually doesn’t like it, argues with God about it, tries to make things go his way, pleads with God, etc., etc., etc., and – in the end – David always realizes that God knew what He was doing and that His will is the best. In this book – and in this point in David’s life – David has finally matured to the point where he wants what God wants, and he realizes that this is God’s will.

I totally believe in a God who can cure anyone of anything at any time. Nothing is impossible for my God! I also believe that He loves it when we talk to Him and come to Him with our requests and thanksgivings. In this particular case, however, David was indeed going to die – no matter how he petitioned God. He chose make his requests about other things instead.

David’s desire is to handle it in a manner that God will be pleased with. This is summed up by the following passage from “Gone” – a passage that is so important, I chose to put on the back cover of the paperback version:

“Every time God does something in my life that’s not what I want,” I began carefully, “I always fight Him on it . . . right?”

She nodded.

“But eventually I figure out that He knew what He was doing and I can see how He was in control and everything and then finally, I come around, you know?”

She nodded again.

“But it usually takes me a really long time to get to that point,” I said. “Right?”

“Right.”

I looked at her for a moment.

“Well,” I finally said, quietly, “I don’t have a really long time anymore.”

She looked back at me and didn’t say anything. Her eyes started shining with tears.

I pulled her closer and went on.

“I just want to go ahead and jump right to that place where I realize how much God loves me and where I know that everything that’s happening is going to work to good. Do you know what I mean?”

She gave me a tiny nod.

“I want to be happy,” I said, squeezing her. “I want for us to be happy.”

She gave me a small smile.

“What do you say, Laci?” I asked, smiling back. “Do you want to be happy with me?”

She gave me a bigger nod and a bigger smile and then she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face against me.