A GLIMPSE OF GREG

A GLIMPSE OF GREG

(Spoilers abound in the post below, so please don’t continue until you’ve read Chop, Chop FREE!)

My characters are very real to me—often more real to me than actual people. I know what is going on inside of every character’s head—what motivates them, what scares them, and how they really feel despite what their actions might show. (I don't know that kind of stuff about real people!)

Greg only appears in two books: Chop, Chop and Alone. He seems perfect to David and Tanner who tell us their stories (and we only catch a glimpse of the fact that he was not when Samantha complains to David in Pon,Pon that Greg was never nice to her and that she gets tired of hearing how nice he was to everyone).

So—since I know everything about Greg—I thought I’d give you a little glimpse into what was going on in his head. Greg’s Bible has already made an appearance in several books in the Chop, Chop series and it’s getting ready to pop up again in my new series, but the comments and notes Greg wrote that you may see will only give you small pieces of who he was.

Greg tried very, very hard to seek God’s will for his life and to do what God wanted him to do. When he first moved to Cavendish he was very attracted to Laci—especially attracted to who she was as a person. Laci, meanwhile, was trying to accept the fact that God wanted her to be with David—a person with whom she was not particularly enamored.

When Greg asked Laci to the dance, she immediately said "Yes." Her belief that God could talk to her and tell her that she was supposed to be with David was wavering. She was more than willing to believe that she’d heard wrong and that God really wanted her to be with somebody else.

As you remember, one day she reluctantly told Greg that God had spoken to her when she was little and told her that she was supposed to be with David. Greg instantly recognized that God was working in Laci’s life and encouraged her to continue listening to Him and trusting Him. He continued encouraging her in this way until he died.

But what you don’t know is that Greg himself was not very happy with this situation. He loved Laci and it was difficult for him to continually deny himself and put God first. (Yeah, I know—you didn’t really want to hear that there was a third guy in love with Laci, but there ya go!)

Greg dated Natalie some, but to him it was never serious. He was sure that God had someone lined up for him down the road that would be perfect for him, and he was anxious for college to start because he figured it was likely that this was where he was going to meet this someone special. He envisioned a day when this woman (who was going to be perfect for him and with whom he was going to be so in love) spend their lives together (and periodically get together with his dear friends, David and Laci).

Greg also worried about Natalie’s feelings. He sensed that she felt much more strongly about him than he did about her, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He prayed a lot for that situation to come to a resolution without Natalie being hurt. At the time of his death, it was one of the things that he was most concerned about.

After I’d written Chop, Chop, I came across a nonfiction book entitled: I Would Die For You. (You can read the review I wrote for this book by clicking here.) The book is about BJ Higgins—a young man who (like our fictitious Greg) died while he was only a teen. And—also like Greg—BJ tried to put God first in everything that he did.

Unfortunately, this book is not available in eBook format, but I hope you will consider checking it out. If nothing else, you could ask your library to order it and then you could literally check it out! To critics of Chop, Chop who say that the character of Greg was too unrealistic, I would encourage them to read I Would Die For You and learn more about BJ Higgins.

Not sure how this turned into a commercial for another book, but if I’m going to blog more frequently (new goal!!) I’m going to have to be a little more stream-of-consciousness and a little less perfectionist!!

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God’s blessings to each of you! <3

L.N. Cronk