A Quiet Sunday Morning

It’s raining again. A lot in the last few weeks. The river is high and rising. Flood warnings. Several communities already hurting and potentially will hurt again.

Kim and Emily traveled to Wisconsin for our nephew’s commencement. Shannon is excited as any kid would be. A happy occasion. They were able to visit another nephew, Alex, who just bought his first house. A cop, a good one. Actually one of the characters in my new book, Caught in a Web. Hope he likes himself as much as I did writing the character. Hannah went to a concert in Pitt and spent the weekend there. Leaving me with our two dogs, Bailey and Stella.

Alone.

It is peaceful as I sit on my couch in the quiet. The rain tapping, if not pounding, on the windows. But I’m warm and dry and comfortable on the couch in the family room that is empty but for me. Even Bailey and Stella choose to lay quietly in the other room, together, but separate from each other and separate from me.

Lonesome, perhaps, but not lonely.

I’m comfortable and content, though I miss my family.

There was a time way back when I was okay being alone. Before I was married and had kids. You see, I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know what I didn’t have. How could I?

And now?

I like my life. I’ve been able to see and do many things others have not been able to. I’ve lived in five states, each different. I’ve had a dream of being a writer for a long time and now I can say I have five books published with one more complete, one about a third of the way complete and an idea that keeps rising to the surface. I have to beat it back down until I’ve completed the one I’m working on.

But the best part of my life is my family. My wife, Kim, and my kids, Wil, Hannah and Em. I like being with them and don’t like being separate from them. And even though Wil was taken from us, I enjoy my memories of him. No one can take those from me . . . us.

And my extended family of brothers and sisters, in-laws. I’ve stopped differentiating between the tie of blood long ago. It’s just family to me, all family. And family is so important. More important than health or wealth.

I like my peace and I like my quiet. But I also like noise and activity.

I feel I’m a much better writer when my family is nearby, when there is noise. I think better, feel more. I think I’m a better person too.

There is a bible passage about the Lord going to the desert, going off by Himself. Another when He and the apostles wanted to escape and go off and rest. But in the end, there were people to minister to. People who needed guidance and words of light and love. To be fed more than just the fish and loaves that the little boy had with him. His service, His time on earth was all about being there for others. Serving others.

I think each of us needs each other in one degree or another to function properly. I think we were made to be with each other and not to be alone. To talk and to listen. To hear both with ears and heart. There is comfort in being together. And while it is okay for a time to be alone, to refresh, to bask in silence, we need each other. We need others.

So on this wet, quiet and peaceful Sunday morning, I bid you your own time, your own solitude and your own peace. But eventually, please come back to us. Join us. It is better that way. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I have been really blessed with some wonderful reviews on my new novel, Caught in a Web. Best Thrillers wrote: “The Bottom Line: This important, nail-biting crime thriller about MS-13 sets the bar very high. One of the year’s best thrillers.” You can read the entire review (rather short, but impactful) at https://bestthrillers.com/caught-in-a-web-one-of-the-years-best-conspiracy-thrillers/     

Another review, from Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer at The Midwest Book Review wrote: “As the investigators review relationships, affairs, and threats, they find themselves unraveling an ever-increasing web of deception as readers are carried into a thrilling underworld of gang violence and teen involvements which gradually lead to a resolution where characters may fudge on honesty, but tie up loose ends.

Characters are many, but are well-drawn; the action offers just the right blend of tension and intrigue; and detective story enthusiasts will especially relish the level of emotional inquiry which makes the characters both human and believable.

The result is an involving detective piece that probes the worlds of teens and gang members with an equal attention to precise, staccato details that flow smoothly into a story that creates a satisfying conclusion to all conundrums.” You can read the entire review, again fairly short, at http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/may_18.htm#donovan

So far on Goodreads, Caught in a Web has received ratings from 77 individuals and has garnered a 4.35 out of 5. Nice return for only a few weeks in release.

Caught in a Web is available in both paperback and Kindle format on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Caught-Web-Joseph-Lewis/dp/1684330246/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524752314&sr=1-1&keywords=caught+in+a+web+joseph+lewis and at Barnes & Noble at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249

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