To truly experience awe, consider being close to a volcano that is exploding. For the most of his life, the late novelist Michael Crichton was enthralled with volcanoes. Even now, sixteen years after his passing, piles of volcano research may be seen at his Santa Monica office among the innumerable books and documents.
For Sherri Alexander Crichton, his widow, he seems to be here almost entirely. “I feel his energy around all the time,” she continued.
Additionally, she discovered fragments of an incomplete book with a massive volcanic explosion at its core among the pile of documents he abandoned. A posthumous blockbuster from someone who, in his very short life, gave the world so much, including genetically-recreated dinosaurs, seemed like something Sherri thought he would have wanted to share.
As the only author to have a number one book, movie, and TV show all in the same year, Michael Crichton was a titan in the literary world. In addition, he was a Harvard-educated physician and a prolific genius who wrote scientific thrillers that took audiences on thrilling journeys through heart-pounding scenes, such as big-city emergency rooms in “ER,” a tornado-ravaged heartland in “Twister,” and terrifying locations like “Jurassic Park.”
According to Sherri Crichton, he was quite entertaining but yet aloof at times. “I recall that when I initially started dating Michael, one of my closest friends warned me that it might feel as like he didn’t want to spend any time with me when he was writing. He’s going to be into the book, so it won’t feel like he loves you anymore. You’re going to have to accept it. And I thought, “Well, of course I’ll be alright.”
“But when it hit, like those first few times when he would really separate, he was present, but he actually was still in his creation, whatever that was,” she continued.
It was a difficult moment, she acknowledges, and it required a lot of self-assurance to be able to tell herself, “This is going to be okay.” Give it one more month, please. “Let’s see how it turns out.”
After getting married in 2005, Michael Crichton passed away from cancer three years later at the age of sixty-six, leaving Sherri by herself and six months along with their son, John Michael.
She found and read portions of the volcano book he had been working on, a page-turner about a major eruption in Hawaii worse than any in recorded history, as she began to put the pieces of her life back together.
It ended too soon. Sherri remarked, “But I couldn’t stop thinking, ‘There has to be more.'”
So she thought it was time to finish it after almost ten years. And then there was the who factor. “I recently made a significant move. ‘What about James Patterson?’ I wondered.
Having authored over 400 million novels, James Patterson is among the most successful writers in history. He has also worked with celebrities like as Dolly Parton and President Bill Clinton. In actuality, Patterson’s backlog of work keeps him busy every day. However, he answered when Sherri Crichton called. Furthermore, he couldn’t resist being drawn in by Michael Crichton’s account of the eruptive volcano and its potential to unleash a toxic waste buildup so powerful that it may wipe out life as we know it.
But both Patterson and Sherri Crichton had a tall order to finish the book.
“I was just nervous because it’s a new relationship,” Sherri admitted, explaining her first concerns.
“And she lives in Hollywood, where people lie,” Patterson continued.
“I have to say, I’m just fiercely protective of Michael’s materials,” she stated.
And did Patterson have to, or how did he find Michael Crichton’s voice? “I had read everything Michael Crichton wrote,” he declared. Thus, I believe I perceived the voice. This novel may be slightly more mature than some of his previous works, but only slightly. Still, I felt something about it. I’m putting out the challenge for individuals to publicly state, “This is where James started, and this is where Michael stopped.” And I’m rather pleased with that. I’m overjoyed with it.”
The final product, “Eruption,” written by James Patterson and Michael Crichton, will be available tomorrow.
Patterson stated: “There’s a quote that goes, ‘My time here is brief; what can I accomplish most beautifully?’ I don’t know where this came from, and it’s not me, but I love it, and it connects to my taking this assignment, and I honestly think it’s more valuable for 20-year-olds than it is for me.
“And I felt with ‘Eruption’ and Michael Crichton, I thought I could do it beautifully,” Patterson stated.
He’s not wrong; studios are reportedly vying for the picture rights to the finished novel already.
It also accurately captures the essence of the man who initiated it. He was incredible, Sherri remarked. He was gentle and prone to vulnerability.”
And now, his work will continue in a collaborative endeavor that is eagerly awaited and, for Sherri Crichton at least, well worth the wait.
“I was single until the time I met Michael,” she stated. It used to be that people would ask, ‘Why are you so picky?’ And I say, ‘It’s not quite right. It simply isn’t correct. I waited as a result.
“And Jim experienced the same thing. I put off finishing this manuscript until I thought the moment was right and I had all the necessary parts. Then then, it had to fit perfectly. And I believe I performed fairly well.”