Coming of Age NovelsLife-changing books with heart and soul

In Time of Trouble was my prodigal child. By choosing Shane, a troubled young man who was well aware he was messing up his life, I was in fact choosing an anti-hero—one most editors were just not interested in.

Early on, one editor told me the first part of the book was depressing and people would stop reading. Many editors told me they liked my writing but not my book. So it was a real challenge to write about Shane and his problems in such a way that people would keep reading.

In Time of Trouble was my third book. It began as a short story called “Two of a Kind” written long before my first book was published, and later grew into a much longer work.

Authors are a lot like parents—you love each book equally, but since each book is different, your love for each one a little different.

I love my first book (which has not yet been published) because it was the first. I love Best of Friends because it was such fun to write about Glen. But there is a special place in my heart for In Time of Trouble. After nine books, it is still the most difficult one I have written.

Where did I find Shane? When I was in school, teaching, and working with youth groups, I knew many kids just like him. They weren’t bad kids. Just bored or frustrated—usually for reasons that had to do with their families or relationships.

These kids were often intelligent, but they seemed to make poor decisions—skipping classes, failing to turn in homework, acting as if they didn’t care, mouthing off, and raising walls between themselves and anyone who offered to help.

It was clear to those who cared about them that if they didn’t get a grip, they were going to really mess up their lives. But you had to wait and pray, and hope that if real trouble came, they would seek help.

I wrote In Time of Trouble in the hope that people might recognize themselves or their friends in Shane, and realize that no matter how badly or how often we mess up, God is always willing to give us a second chance.