[Travis McGee]

Anthony Burgess was once given a year to live by his doctors. He immediately wrote the classic "A Clockwork Orange," desperate to leave an indelible mark of his presence on this world. Well, he didn't die, and he wrote many more great novels. But he is remembered for the first, the one he wrote with a year to live.

[Don Joe]

Watchman Nee had a similar experience, and wrote his "The Spiritual Man" series, so that he could get it on paper before he died. He didn't die, but ended up spending the rest of his life in prison after the communists caught him.

Life doesn't always have a happy ending, even for good people. :(