218. How Did The Kids Get Left Behind? | with Chris Fabry

Fantastical Truth

When the Tribulation arrives, you will need a Tribulation Force. So it was with the Left Behind series, when blockbuster success for grown-up readers led Tyndale House in want of a spinoff series. Thus was born again Left Behind: The Kids, all forty of them, overseen by series main author Jerry Jenkins but most written by today’s special guest: author and speaker Chris Fabry.

Episode sponsors

1. Enclave Publishing at Realm Makers
2. Realm Makers 2024 writers’ conference
3. Lorehaven Open World at Realm Makers

Mission update

• Lorehaven reviews: Water’s Break, Steal the Morrow (June 28)
• Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild

Concession stand

• Want to debate the end-times? Go to episode 216 and do that there.
• Even many Christians with other views can celebrate this series’ success.
• This is episode 3 of our Left Behind Legacy summer celebration series.

Introducing guest Chris Fabry

Chris Fabry is an award-winning author and radio personality. He’s the award-winning novelist of Dogwood, June Bug, Almost Heaven, The Promise of Jesse Woods, A Piece of the Moon, and most recently Saving Grayson; he also wrote the novelizations for the popular Christian social drama films War Room, Overcomer, and Lifemark. Fabry also wrote more than 50 novels for children and young adults. He coauthored the Left Behind: The Kids series with Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, as well as the Red Rock Mysteries and the Wormling series with Jerry B. Jenkins. He is host of the daily radio program Chris Fabry Live on Moody Radio and is also heard on Love Worth Finding as well as Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman. A native of West Virginia, Chris and his wife, Andrea, now live in Arizona and are the parents of nine children.

• ChrisFabry.com
• Chris Fabry Live

1. Pre: Finding faith, imagination, and teen heroes

• How did you first discover biblical faith and fantastical imagination?
• Can you recall the first time you learned about the rapture concept?
• Or learned about the Left Behind series and its blockbuster success?

2. Mid: Young Trib Force vs. Global Community

Chris Fabry, a trusted colleague, wrote Left Behind: The Kids from book six through forty. I lobbied for years to get his name on the cover where it is now.

Writing for the Soul, Jerry B. Jenkins (page 54)

• How on pre-tribulational Earth did you write so many LB Kids novels?
• What were the challenges of working with, say, “age of accountability”?
• Any special methods? Favorite characters? Books? Or even plagues?

I have collaborated on children’s fiction, working with my friend Chris Fabry. My own kids are all well past their teens now, but Chris and his wife have nine children, so he was up on the jargon and what’s happening to kids the ages of our readers. We plotted together, he did the writing, and I did the final edit and/or rewrite. Again, it worked because there was one primary writer—Chris.

Writing for the Soul, Jerry B. Jenkins (page 146)

• LBK often answered unresolved plots, characters, ideas from the main.
• Some ideas crossed into the dramatic audio series, like more comets!
• We also finally met militia members and non-Christian prepper types.
• Also, as I recall, the kids actually tried casting out the demon locusts.
• What was the response to this popular series that scared/thrilled fans?
• Were there criticisms? Conversions? How many Judd/Vicki ‘shippers?

3. Post: Life after Left Behind in the literary sections

• Since then, you’ve moved into the podcast space and different books.
• Stephen loved your audiobook read of Heaven and your contemporary memoir (with a tough of fantastical intrigue) The Promise of Jesse Woods.
• How Christian fans can enjoy pop-level thrillers as well as literary stories.

Com station

• For Left Behind: The Kids readers: favorite heroes or moments?

Next on Fantastical Truth

It’s not an audiobook. It’s not a movie series. Directly between these lies the medium of audio drama, such as 144 episodes about the end of days. Based on the best-selling novels, how did GapDigital, working with Tyndale House Publishers, proudly present the dramatic audio edition of Left Behind?