New Book!!

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a new release, but I’m excited to announce that Run is finally available through Amazon!

This book is very special, and I’d like to take a few moments to tell you about it, and the person I wrote it with—Jenn Faulk.

Since becoming an author, I’ve had a very hard time enjoying books anymore. I find myself reading everything through a critic’s lens and not approving of most of what I find. Thank goodness for Kindle Unlimited, because now I can try a book and not lose money if I wind up not liking it!

I tried a book by Jenn Faulk about a year or so ago—it was called Best Day Ever. It surprised me for multiple reasons. First of all, it was advertised as Christian Fiction, but the main character was definitely not walking the walk, if you know what I mean. Jenn had me right there because I am so sick of Christian fiction books in which all the characters are perfect and never do anything wrong.

Another reason I was surprised is because I actually got very caught up in the story. Being a complete and total snob about writing now, I have a very low tolerance for mistakes. I encountered a formatting issue, but I was so into the story that I kept on reading . . . unheard of for me! (Jenn would later tell me, “I had no idea it was doing that!”)

Then I read another story or two of Jenn’s. They were just as good as the first. Christian books, but without squeaky clean characters. Real problems. Great, fantastic writing. Another neat thing about Jenn’s books is that they are all tied together, but each one stands alone. My favorite one so far has been Promises Kept, although I'm still pretty mad about something that happened in that one, but that's a story for another time . . .

Eventually I contacted Jenn and talked to her about working together. She waited a good long time before responding (I know she was checking me out online and making sure I wasn’t a psycho!). I guess she must have missed all the psycho warning signs, because she finally responded, and this past spring, we finally started working on a project together.

Jenn asked me what I had in mind, so I tossed out a couple of ideas and then ended with this: “Okay, this idea is really stupid and probably needs to be put off the table right now, but I’ll throw it out there anyway. Did you ever watch Blair Witch Project? My husband and I went and saw it in the theater when it came out years and years ago b/c we arrived late to the theater for the movie we had intended to see. But I digress! Anyway, the budget was super low. They let the three actors who were pretty much the only characters film the whole thing. They didn't really have a script. Their producers and directors would leave them little individual notes giving them tidbits of information to go on and everything was improv. They'd wake up in the morning and find that things had been done to their campsite and stuff like that. But anyway, the point is that they just kind of made everything up as they were going along. Soooooo, the idea was, what if we both wrote a book together - different parts of the same book. Switching back and forth between two POV's. We could just see where the story went . . . IDK.”

To which Jenn responded, “I kind of like the Blair Witch Project idea!” . . . and we were off!

The premise was that my character, Luke, is on death row—convicted of the brutal rapes and murders of his former girlfriend and her roommate. He sends a letter to Audrey—the sister of the roommate’s boyfriend—hoping she will help him find some evidence to set him free. (Warning: due to the nature of the crimes, you may be uncomfortable with some of the details discussed in this novel. If shows like CSI bother you, you probably will want to pass on this story!) 

I (Luke) sent the letter to Jenn (Audrey) who immediately sent me a letter in reply telling me to never contact her again. I (Leeann) messaged her (Jenn) and told her I didn’t know what to do because she’d told me to never write her again! She told me that Luke was on death row and didn’t have anything to lose by writing again, so I did. I mean HE did!

That wasn’t the first time Audrey didn’t respond the way Luke was certain she would. As a matter of fact, unless Leeann specifically told Jenn what Audrey needed to write, neither Luke nor Leeann ever seemed to know what to do with Audrey’s letters!

When you’re reading this book, keep in mind that Jenn had NO idea where things were going. She didn’t know the plot at all. Yet she kept writing away, bringing in characters and situations that were all new to me. Most of the time I was like, “What is she doing?!”

Jenn was equally baffled. She thought Luke was being a jerk (but it wasn’t Luke that was being a jerk, it was Audrey, really!) Despite being taken aback time and time again by one another, we plowed ahead. I heard an actor once talking about improv and how the most important thing was to go with whatever the other actor threw out there—no matter what—and so we tried to do that. Unless Jenn created a situation that simply wouldn’t work with the plot that was in my head, I worked with whatever she made up.

The result was—in my opinion—a rich and engaging novel, and it was the most fun I’ve had writing since I wrote the first three books in the Chop, Chop series nearly ten years ago. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as Jenn and I enjoyed writing it. I also hope that you’ll check out some of Jenn’s other writings and discover for yourself what a great author she is! (Her novel, Happily Ever After happens to be free right now—just saying!)

We wrote another book together this summer and will get that one out to you ASAP, plus I have two more in my head for us to collaborate on that are just bursting to get out. In the meantime, check out Run, and be sure to let us know what you think!

Don't Believe in Evolution?

I just read an article detailing that evolutionist Bill Nye the Science Guy went to visit the new replica of Noah’s Ark on display in northern Kentucky. Apparently he has called the exhibit a danger to science education. Bill Nye, and most evolutionists, have done a great job making people feel as if they are ignorant and deluded if they chose to ignore scientific evidence by refusing to believe in evolution.

And they’re right.

Evolution – by definition – is simply the change in a species over time. If you have a chance to go to a civil war museum such as Fort Macon, take a look at one of the beds that the soldiers slept in over a century ago. They are much smaller than the beds you’d expect to find in our military today because humans have been consistently getting taller. Evolution in action. Our species is changing . . . over time. It is evolving!

So, yeah. Quite frankly, you sound pretty ignorant if you say you don’t believe in evolution. We see species changing all the time. It’s not even a theory. It’s a fact.

So why is it called the “theory” of evolution instead of the "law" of evolution?

To answer that question, we need to examine the theory a little more carefully. There are several components to the theory of evolution. Exactly how many components and exactly what those components are vary depending on what source you are reading. But, for the sake of this post, let’s go with the five different parts found on Regents Prep, a site that helps high school students in New York prepare for their Regents exams.

According to Regents Prep, component number one is overproduction – the idea that more offspring are produced than can possibly survive. We see this playing out in nature all the time. Can you imagine if every acorn produced an oak tree? If every litter of kittens went on to produce six more litters of kittens – every year for ten years? You get the picture.

Another part to the theory, according to Regents Prep, is competition. Individuals struggle to survive. Plants vie for sunlight. Puppies fight over the meat on a bone. Not difficult to acknowledge that this is nothing but truth.

Component number three: Survival of the Fittest. Ahhh . . . now we’re getting into some good ol’ tenth grade biology, aren’t we? It’s basic, common sense. Individuals with genes that allow them to survive in a particular environment will survive. Individuals with genes that don’t allow them to survive in a particular environment, won’t. Again, we can’t argue with this. It’s what happens and is observed every day.

Regent Prep’s item number four is a pretty obvious follow up to number three: If you’re dead, you aren’t going to pass along your inferior genes to any offspring. Only those individuals who have good genes – genes that allow them to survive in their particular environment – will pass their genes on. The bad genes – the ones that prevent individuals from surviving – don’t get passed on, and the idea is that eventually they will get weeded out of the population. We see this in action all the time. Check out the famous peppered moth if you’ve gotten a little rusty on this well-documented principle.

So what is all the controversy about if all of these components are so well documented and so proven? Why do so many people still insist on saying that they don’t believe in evolution – even though evolution is simply the change in a species over time and we KNOW that changes occur in species over time?

Well, it’s because of component number five: speciation. According to Regents Prep, “As time and generations continue, adaptations are passed on and new species may evolve from a common ancestor.”

In case you don’t remember or know, a species is a group of organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring. The theory is that if a species changes enough, it can become so different from the original species that it can no longer mate with members of the original offspring and produce fertile offspring.

There it is, right there, folks. Speciation states that new species are created from the process of evolution, not from a creator, and this is where all the controversy lies. This is also why the word “theory” must always be added before the word “evolution”. It’s a theory because of the component of speciation. Because it MAY happen. Because it could. It’s never been documented. It’s never been proven. But, theoretically, it could happen.

(I will go ahead and add that there are those who argue that speciation has been observed, but those examples and arguments for or against them are way outside the scope of this particular blog post. I will simply state that there’s a reason why it’s still called the theory of evolution instead of the law of evolution, although I'm sure evolutionist would really like to get that changed!)

As a teacher, I am always very respectful of all of my students no matter what they believe. Whenever I teach the theory of evolution, I always remind them that it’s a theory, and I always tell them, “If you believe in creationism, don’t say that you don’t believe in evolution because we know that evolution occurs – we know that species change over time. If you believe in creationism, what you need to say is that you don’t believe in speciation.”

If you find yourself saying, "I believe in evolution, but I don't believe in speciation," I encourage you to do further research on your own. Don’t be afraid to learn more – science will never disprove the very God who created it!

The Toilet's Always Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence

HB2 was recently passed in my home state of North Carolina. There is little doubt in my mind that you have already heard about it and have an opinion either for or against it, but if for some strange reason you haven’t heard about it, you can click here to read a conservative spin on the new law, or click here to find a liberal one.

From the many arguments I’ve read, a key word to the entire issue seems to be “uncomfortable”. Some folks are “uncomfortable” going potty in a restroom with people who have the same parts they themselves were born with. Some people are “uncomfortable” going potty in a restroom with people who do not have the same parts they themselves were born with. And yes, I know it’s supposed to say, “parts with which they themselves were born,” but I write the way the majority of people actually talk (err . . . speak). Check out my award-winning novel FREE to see for yourself.

(Wow, that was slick, wasn’t it?) Anyway, let’s recap. At stake here is: who has more of a right to be comfortable, and—in doing so—make somebody else uncomfortable? Everyone knows that the squeaky wheel gets the oil, and there’s a whole lotta squeakin’ going on right now. Eventually one side is probably going to get the oil though because they make themselves SO annoying that eventually we will do anything they want if they will please just SHUT UP! But what’s really more important is: who is right? And whose rights are more important?

I definitely have an opinion about this whole issue, although I’ve stayed quiet until now. But this doesn’t seem to be going away like the cake-baking controversy finally did, so I may as well tell you what I think about the whole thing and try to convince you to believe the same way I do (because, ya know, nothing changes minds quite like posting on the Interweb!).

Before I tell you what I believe though, (I know, I know . . . the suspense is killing you!) I would like to mention the fact that I am a HUGE fan of family bathrooms. When my son was younger, it was often upsetting to me to send him into the men’s bathroom all by his lonesome. You could say it made me . . . uncomfortable. But the main reason I’m a huge fan of family restrooms is because I was my father’s primary caretaker during the last few years of his life. Due to mobility issues from Lewy Body Dementia, he couldn’t go to the bathroom without assistance. Our outings and excursions were often dictated by what type of bathroom would be available to us, if his diaper would be sufficient for our trip, and whether or not he was going to have a number two while we were out. So, my devotion to family bathrooms is NOT because I think they are the answer to the whole HB2 issue, but because sometimes two people of two different genders actually need to occupy one bathroom at the same time. (And by the way, if you want to talk about feeling uncomfortable, let’s talk about helping your mom or dad wipe . . .)

Butt I digress, and I'm sorry. I know you're anxious to get to the bottom of things. Okay, those were so bad that my cheeks are flushed. Would you please bare with me for just one more paragraph though? I’d really like to tell you about a few other people who are uncomfortable in the bathroom.

Every year, about 130 million people get dysentery (an inflammation of the intestines causing diarrhea with blood), and about 750,000 die from this disease. More than a million people get colorectal cancer every year and about 750,000 of those people die. Bladder cancer affects over 400,000 people every year and kills over 160,000 people annually. Cholera strikes an estimated 3–5 million people worldwide, killing between 55,000 to 130,000. Across the globe, five million people live with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Up to thirty percent of cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy will develop severe or life-threatening chemotherapy-induced diarrhea.

Care how I feel about HB2? There’s so much other crap to worry about . . .

The Kindle Scout Campaign

Anyone who knows me knows that I submitted my most recent book, The One I Trust, to Amazon’s Kindle Scout program. For the last thirty days, I have been actively soliciting nominations in hopes of attracting the attention of the editors of Kindle Publishing—the ones who will decide whether or not to offer me a contract.

Getting a lot of nominations does not at all guarantee an offer, but I doubt that very many books get contracts without first getting a lot of nominations. Nominations generally come from the author’s friends/fan base, and from scouters who are browsing the Kindle Scout site, looking for good books to nominate. People who nominate a book that receives a contract receive a free, early copy, and are encouraged to leave reviews. Lots of nominations show Kindle Scout that an author has a lot of support—both from an existing fan base, and from Kindle scouters, who vote because they would like to read it.

I was honored and blessed that my book was in the top 20 (Hot and Trending) every single day of its campaign. The few hours it was not Hot and Trending were the first seven hours after it went live at midnight on November 19^th. Once I woke up and started asking for nominations, my friends and fans came through for me. The visibility of being on the Hot and Trending list brought it to the attention of Kindle scouters, who also nominated it, hoping that it will be published and that they will receive a free copy. All in all, my book’s Kindle Scout page had over 2,600 views and spent 713 hours on the Hot and Trending list.

This morning—the first day since the campaign ended—I received an email from Amazon, stating that I could expect to hear if I will be offered a contract or not within “the next few business days.”

What if I'm not offered a contract??

 

Initially I was unsure whether or not I should submit my book to the Kindle Scout program. It is the first in a series, and therefore a very important book. If accepted, I would lose much of the control I have enjoyed as a self-published author. I would no longer be in charge of pricing, nor would I be able to make changes to my content and cover on a whim. I would not be able to make my book available to readers through other retailers.

On the upside, however, Amazon all but guarantees me thousands of new readers if they offer me a contract. Since they would be giving all of my fans who nominated it a free copy, all of the sales they would generate over the next five years of the contract will essentially be NEW readers—readers who will hopefully enjoy my writing style, and then turn to the Chop, Chop series for more.

Since I was unsure whether or not to pursue a contract with Kindle Publishing, I prayed. I asked God to close doors if He did not want this to be the path that I went down. And then I gave it everything I had. I had the book professionally edited by my awesome editor, Barbie Halaby, I had her edit the promotional material required for the campaign, and I asked you all for your nominations and support.

 

If I’m not offered a contract, it won’t be because I didn’t try. It won't be because The One I Trust isn't an excellent book. It won’t be because my friends and fans let me down. It won’t be because my first series doesn’t have an astounding track record, proving my value as an author.

 

Quite simply, if I’m not offered a contract, it will be because Amazon is looking for something else at this time, and it will be because God has something else in mind for me.

Many people have asked where they can get a copy ofThe One I Trust. If Kindle Publishing accepts my book, I suspect it will be available by early spring. If they don’t accept my book, I’m going to share it with you as soon as possible—hopefully by the first of the year.

Win-win, either way . . . right?? No matter what, I am blessed to be a writer, blessed to be able to share my work with you, and blessed to have your support. I truly do thank each of you from the bottom of my heart.

Robin Williams

This week, Robin Williams' widow said that his autopsy results  revealed that the talented actor and comedian suffered from a disease known as Lewy body Dementia (LBD), also known as Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), diffuse Lewy body disease, cortical Lewy body disease, and senile dementia of Lewy type

My father also suffered from this disease, but—like Robin Williams—it was not properly diagnosed until after his death. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease twelve years before his death. Much later, he was also diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy as an additional disease on top of his Parkinson's. It turns out that he had neither.

When my mother died, Dad came to live with me and my family. In addition to mobility issues, he suffered from well-formed, visual hallucinations. Often they were relatively harmless. Little people. Cats. Some things troubled him: he was convinced that a man was living in his car, stealing his quarters or that there were people in the backyard who needed our help. Other hallucinations were truly horrifying . . . ones that I won't get into at this time.

There wasn’t a lot of info on the Internet back then, but after doing some research, I at one point asked my father’s neurologist if he could possibly have Lewy body dementia. The doctor didn’t think so and felt that his hallucinations were cause by one of the many meds he was on for Parkinson’s.

Dad went through two brain surgeries for Parkinson’s (which, remember, he didn’t have) and received two implants. Electrodes ran from his brain to his chest where battery packs were located and where adjustments could be made to change the signals being sent to his brain. His neurologist noted that Dad was his only Parkinson's patient who hadn’t see much benefit from the surgeries. Now, of course, we know why.

After his death I donated his brain to CurePSP (the other disease he was diagnosed with that he didn't have). It cost $1,000 to have his brain donated, but in exchange I would receive a comprehensive report of their findings. My father’s doctor (after Dad’s death) found the money to cover that expense for me as he cared about my father a lot and was interested in the results, too.

When he called to give me the results, I could tell that Dad’s doctor was surprised. Likely, he also felt bad that he hadn’t diagnosed Dad properly, but in the long run it didn't really matter since there's nothing that can be done for it.

I would also like to state here that I never faulted Dad's neurologist. He was a caring doctor who always did what he could for my dad and our family. He was intelligent and educated. I just think that Lewy Body wasn't as considered back then as it perhaps is now. I think he also had another reason why he felt Dad didn't have Lewy Body, but it's been almost fifteen years since I had that conversation with him and I can't remember his reasoning. I just wanted to throw in there that his neurologist was great, even though he didn't get the diagnosis right. The article described diagnosing and treating this disease like playing a game of Whack-A-Mole. I always said it's like turning off the lights, throwing a dart, then turning the lights back on and seeing how close you got, then turning them off and trying again. There are no easy answers.

I am thankful that Robin Williams’ widow has gone public with this information. Even though Lewy Body Dementia is the second leading cause of dementia, most people (including many doctors) still have never heard of it.

Although I never say so in any of the books in the Chop,Chop series, this is what Natalie's father suffered from. Readers may remember that—like my father—he was diagnosed with Parkinson's, but suffered from hallucinations. What Natalie went through with her father, I went through with mine. In Alone, Annabeth’s experiences also came from what I encountered with my father.

If you are the caretaker for someone suffering from any kind of dementia, I would recommend the book The 36-Hour Day. Although it’s geared specifically toward the care of Alzheimer’s patients, I found some valuable information in it (and Tanner in Alone utilized some of the same techniques I learned from that book—both when he worked at the nursing home with Annabeth, and then later when he was caring for David).

If you know someone who has dementia or who is caring for someone who does, they need your support and your prayers.

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!!

Before I go, don't forget to follow me on Facebook and to sign up for my email list to be notified of new releases and giveaways!! I promise not to flood you with junk email, but important stuff will be coming via email soon!!

God’s blessings to each of you! <3

L.N. Cronk

 

 

 

 

 

Where Ya Been?

Where Ya Been?

Some of you may be wondering that about me! I knew when I started my blog over the Christmas break that I would not keep up with it as well once school started, but I didn’t anticipate exactly what a lousy job I would do!

In my defense, I started a new job three weeks ago. I had been at my past job for almost nine years (a record for me!) as a founding teacher at a small, charter school. I am now at a much larger school – the one my daughter will be attending next year. It was very, very hard to leave all the wonderful people I had grown to love at my old school, but I am liking my new job a lot. Of course there is a learning curve and I have found myself to be very busy, but I am certain that it was the right decision (even though it was a hard one to make). I am also taking classes to obtain my AIG (Academically and Intellectually Gifted) add-on certification to my teaching licensure, and that has been keeping me busy as well.

In the writing realm, I have not allowed myself to begin working on anything new until I finish two “open” projects. The first one is the historical fiction The Pirate’s Revenge that Heather Frey Blanton has helped me with so much. I am almost done with that and anticipate having it completely in the hands of my editor in less than a week. The other one is the audio version of Chop, Chop. Several years ago I hired the talented Paul Porter Jr. to narrate for me, and we are finally closing in on a finished product!

Once these two piece are completed, I intend to write Taken – another stand-alone companion novel to the Chop, Chop series. Then what I’m really anxious for is to write a new series that begins with the novel The One I Trust. The first four books are in my head and I can’t wait to start writing again and begin sharing these stories with you all. If I allow myself to write now, however, I won’t ever finish my historical novel or the audio book, and I owe it to the people who have helped me on them so much to get them actually completed!!

So that’s what’s been up with me. I have been very busy, but consider myself blessed beyond belief and I thank you for your prayers and love and support. If you have contacted me in any way and I haven't responded appropriately, please don't feel offended, but instead just try again. Things have settled down a bit and I hope I won't let things slip through the cracks this time. Many blessings to each of you!