Covenant Communications, 2007
BACK TEASER:
When the plane went down, David Kirkham’s thoughts was a million miles away. The combination of sleeping pills and alcohol left him disoriented and helpless–not his usual obsessive and cynical self. However, he did seem to remember there was someone sitting next to him—a young Mormon girl. The last thing he could recall was the panicked sound of her voice.
Surrounded by jungle, the two battered survivors are forced to walk themselves back to civilization and their families. But young Melodee’s self-assured, uncomplaining attitude hides a foe that has been fiercely tearing at her innocent life. And with time ticking away, can the pair outmaneuver the desperate men who will stop at nothing to protect a lucrative secret? Can David and Melodee find a safe place within the primordial jungle before evil finds them?
REVIEWS:
Gregg Luke’s narrative is pure excitement. –Kathi Magner
The Survivors grabs you from the start. The characters feel so real, the story so intricate and satisfying, that the book seems to sit up and breathe on its own. –David John Dickson, author of Broken.
AUTHOR’S NOTES:
I wrote this novel with the intent to show that science and religion actually support–rather than conflict–each other. But as I developed the characters, they began to take over, and it ended up being a conversion story . . . with a lot of cool science. I loved David’s journey of discovery in the story. I also loved Melodee’s attitude and faith. We can learn a lot by taking a child’s perspective on life. The only fictional drug mentioned is Zypaka. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Science simply hasn’t discovered it yet. I believe there are countless undiscovered medicines in our planet’s rainforests and oceans. I also believe there are handful’s of people we have yet to encounter in some of the remote place in our planet. Who knows what their genealogy could reveal.
This was my first professionally produced novel, and I learned a lot about writing from my incredibly patient editor, Angela Eschler. She used these little red sticky strips to mark each page needing correction. When I got back the first edit, it looked like something growing in a petri dish in the biology lab. It soon became my challenge to find a page that wasn’t flagged. (There weren’t many.) But through her no-holds-barred guidance, The Survivors was crafted into a pretty decent and unique novel. My original title for it was Even Hidden Treasures, an excerpt from the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89:18-21). I felt it spoke to the many hidden treasures found in science, observation, listening, and especially those that come from following God’s commandments. But the powers that be at Covenant felt Even Hidden Treasures didn’t jump off the shelf enough. Oh well.
Of all my novels The Survivors has received very polarized reviews from readers. People either seem to love it or hate it. I hope that you love it.