Anniversaries

Yesterday, July 11^th, Kim and I celebrated our 28^th wedding anniversary. Remarkable on many counts. Way back, I didn’t know if anyone would put up with me for one day, much less 28 years. But she did, and we did, and we still do. I believe we will.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. A breakfast with the family and with friends who had flown to Wisconsin from California. A large gathering that morning that took over three long tables. Lots of stories and lots of laughter at those tables. Getting ready for the ceremony. My brother, Jim, our best man, pretending to lose the ring, and then pretending it was stuck on his finger. Handing roses to all the important women in Kim’s and my life. The reception and dinner. Such an outstanding day. Smiling as I write this.

           

Funny thing about anniversaries.

We celebrate them all the time, don’t we? Over and over, seldom forgetting them, honoring them in the same ways, maybe different ways.

Birthdays. Christmas. Hanukah. New Year. 4^th of July. Others, I’m sure.

To me, anniversaries mark a significant “something” from a time ago. And it is interesting that there are some anniversaries we don’t wish to repeat. Ever.

For instance . . .

In October, we celebrate my dad’s birthday, my sister Judy’s birthday, and my brother Jeff’s birthday. But in that same month, we honor my nephew who died in a freak traffic accident and my sister Judy’s husband who passed away. One month, both kinds of events. A tough month for everyone involved. Hate to see that month coming.

The month of July, Kim and I celebrate our anniversary on the 11^th. On the 12^th, we remember our son, Wil, who died on this day six years ago. One day joy, the very next sorrow. Each year. Every year.

Same for many of you. Probably for most of you.

Anniversaries hold so much promise. A hope for the future. A reminder of what was, and what shall be. Memories are a look back. Some are sad. Many are happy.

And even though our own experience is unique, we share that same experience on so many levels, in so many ways. You, the reader who is taking the time to read this, might not know me and might live in a different part of the country or even a different country all together. Yet, we share, on some level, the same experience.

That is the beauty and wonder of the human heart. Our own unique experience and feeling isn’t that unique after all, is it?

So, my thought for today . . . everyday . . . is to remember with fondness and kindness the joy you experienced on each of the anniversaries. Embrace those memories that are harder and more difficult to celebrate because we grow from them. We learn from them. Both the anniversary and the memory are a part of each of us. They shaped us into who we are. They molded us into who we’ve become. Even those that were most painful, we learned from, grew from, and we became from them. While, at various times in our lives, there might have been as much tragedy as there was joy and happiness, we’ve grown and learned and became from both. Embrace them both. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make a Difference!

To My Readers:

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family. No one willing to talk, and three brothers are in danger.

My new book, Betrayed, is available for preorder at https://www.blackrosewriting.com/thrillers/betrayed  Use promo code: PREORDER2020 for a 15% discount.

Betrayed will debut Nov. 12, 2020! It is a contemporary psychological thriller using some of the same characters from my previous work. It takes place on the Navajo Nation Reservation in northeast Arizona.

Below is the book blurb. Pretty excited about it.

Integrity is protecting someone who betrayed you. Courage is keeping a promise, even though it might mean death.

A late-night phone call turns what was to be a fun hunting trip into a deadly showdown. Fifteen-year-old brothers George Tokay, Brian Evans and Brett McGovern face death on top of a mesa on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona. They have no idea why men are intent on killing them.

Betrayed is a contemporary psychological thriller and an exploration of the heart and of a blended family of adopted kids, their relationships to each other and their parents woven into a tight thriller/mystery.

Here are some early reviews from other authors:

“Adopted and bonding as a family, with histories of death, destruction and for some...abuse, these boys band together—ready to lay down their life for their new family—in order to find a missing friend before dangerous gunmen find them.

A whirlwind of adventure, relationships, protecting family, hair-raising situations, and cold betrayal.”

—Tina O’Hailey author of When Darkness Begins

“Once again, author Joseph Lewis has written a fast-paced psychological thriller mystery that immerses readers into a dark world few encounter.”

— Joan Livingston, author of the Isabel Long Mystery Series

“Betrayed is at once an emotional chapter in author Joseph Lewis’ continuing coming-of-age story and an intriguing thriller. Following both law enforcement and a group of teens searching for a missing boy on Native American land, Lewis’ latest also provides a unique view into Navajo culture. A layered story that explodes into a bullet-riddled climax.”

— Rick Treon, award-winning author of Deep Background and Let the Guilty Pay

Connect with me on Social Media:

Twitter at @jrlewisauthor

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author

Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Spiral Into Darkness:

Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!

He blends in. He is successful, intelligent and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, have no idea they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web:

A PenCraft Literary Award Winner!

The bodies of high school and middle school kids are found dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. The drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors and the Milwaukee Metro area is controlled by MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador. Ricardo Fuentes is sent from Chicago to Waukesha to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer.

Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. The three detectives discover the ring has its roots in a high school among the students and staff. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696

Caught in a Web is now available in Audio format. You can find it at https://www.beaconaudiobooks.com/audiobookreleases/high-school-drug-rings-gangs-and-revenge-are-all-encompassing-in-caught-in-a-web-by-joseph-lewis

Book One of the Lives Trilogy, Stolen Lives:

Two thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://tinyurl.com/Stolen-Lives-J-Lewis                               

Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:

Six men escaped and are out for revenge. The boys, recently freed from captivity, are in danger and so are their families, but they don’t know it. The FBI has no clues, no leads, and nothing to go on and because of that, cannot protect them. http://tinyurl.com/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis                                 

Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:

A 14-year-old boy knows the end is coming. What he doesn’t know is when, where or by whom. Without that knowledge, neither he nor the FBI can protect him or his family. http://tinyurl.com/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis                                                 

The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:

FBI Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know one another, the lives of FBI Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in jeopardy as each search for a way out. http://tinyurl.com/Taking-Lives-J-Lewis

Picture Courtesy of Eilis Garvey and Unsplash
Betrayed Cover Designed by David King of Black Rose Writing