Jerry Jenkins undoubtedly has a devoted fan base in Christian publishing and Stephen King is legend among horror novel devotees, but who would think these two would have much in common–much less have formed a friendship.
Just when I thought there was no interesting angle left to discuss on the Jerry “Left Behind” Jenkins empire, I stumble across a recent interview in Writer’s Digest magazine which features both Jenkins and King. Seems that King called Jenkins one day out of the blue to ask him to help the family of a colleague. From there they discussed how they each had read the other’s work, and a mutual admiration, as well as an email friendship, was formed.
It seems Jenkins and King actually see some similarities in their writing, since both authors feel their work provides escape and both have to work at helping readers suspend disbelief, they both have “repeat” readers who are a fan base that they must satisfy, and both have definite opinions on the nature of good and evil. King even opens a little about the fact that he does believe in a Higher Power, even if not necessarily the God of Jenkins’ work.
This is a pithy, intelligent piece that I like for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that though Jenkins is the butt of many jokes for his “Left Behind” novels, this interview reveals his sincerity to find common ground with the kings of pop culture and not just be the name behind a rather polarizing series of books.
