Question from a reader:

I am an 8th grade student and my teacher has assigned us a reading project about any book of our choice. I have chosen to read your book Deadline. I am not the kind of person who enjoys reading very much, but your book has really caught my attention. As part of my assignment, I would like to ask you how did you come up with the idea for this story?

Answer from Randy Alcorn:

The idea for Deadline just came to me, ultimately I think from the Lord. Of course, it was a lot of hard work to actually write it. Sometimes I say at writers’ conferences that while many people think they want to write a book, what they really want is to have written a book. (Sort of like the difference between wanting to be on a strict diet and exercise program, to the point of choosing to do so today, and wanting to enjoy the benefits of having been disciplined enough to have done that in the past.)

But I think God gifted and called me to write, so I do the hard work with a sense of purpose and calling. God is gracious to answer my prayers as I write, and the prayers of many people who ask God to use what I write.