Unchanged, Really

Exactly 50 years ago, I was a senior in high school. 50 years ago! Dang, where did the time go?

I went to a co-ed boarding school that was once upon a time a Salvatorian Seminary. Still had some seminarians there when I entered as a freshman, but by the time I graduated, most, if not all, either left or graduated. It was (it suffered financial difficulty and closed way after I had graduated) located in a small town of St. Nazianz. Middle of farm country. Woods on three sides. A pond. Trails. Quiet and comfortable. Peaceful.

At this time of year, I was with the football team, practicing for our first game. We were pretty good for a small school. Only one loss my senior year. Classes were to begin shortly.

Back then, those of us who were eighteen worried about Vietnam and our draft status. Nixon and Watergate. The Democratic convention in Chicago. All of that. For most of us, though, we worried about girlfriends or boyfriends we might have, the school play and the musical group some of us belonged to, where we might go to college- if we could avoid the draft. What we might major in. What jobs we might pursue.

Harold, a speedster, went to North Dakota State University and played some football. So did John, though he played at the interstate rival. Neil, always an artist, went to an art and design school and works in New York at an advertising agency. Steve worked for a record company on their jazz label. Pete became a hospital administrator. Friends. Guys I went to school with. Some younger than me. Lost track of many of them. Thanks to Facebook, reconnected with a few.

50 Years Ago! Dang!

Not much has changed in those fifty years, though.

The seniors in my class wonder about what school they will go to. What jobs they might hold. Wonder if they will go into the military and if so, what branch. Wonder who they might go to homecoming and prom with. Wonder who they might call their boyfriend or girlfriend. Where they might live after school.

Annabelle self-published a heartfelt book of poetry. Ashton dreams of going to UVA and swimming. Brayden thinks he’ll major in business, though unsure what “flavor.” Sophia wants to study analytical math.

Afghanistan. Covid-19 and the Delta variance. Floods, hurricanes, and raging forest fires. Drought and excessive heat.

50 years, but honestly, really, not much has changed. Just a different cast of characters. All striving to do the best they can, where they are, hoping and dreaming for something better. Wanting to make their parents proud. Wanting to be happy. Make a living. Enjoy life. Living their version of the dream.

As a high school teacher and then a counselor and then an administrator, I watched seniors grow, and dream, and wonder, and struggle. Rob played basketball at the University of Wyoming for a time before he quit and ran the family ranch. His brother, Gene, played some small college football and now owns and runs a large accounting firm. Keith trains dogs.

Steve played some college basketball. Kurt played some college football and ended up in the NFL for a nice career. Taylor is a nurse. TJ plays soccer, and so does Thomas. A couple went to military academies. Others enlisted.

50 Years, but really, not much has changed.

As adults, we guide. We counsel. We push and prod. We worry.

We want them to have the best- especially those who belong to us, and those who we know and care for. They will have their own worries, their own dreams, their own stumbles, their own successes. And they will give birth to their own and in 50 years, will wonder where the time went, and look upon those who will follow their own paths, their own dreams. And all will be all right. Yes, it will. Something to think about . . . 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:
 
I have an author’s website, besides my Facebook Author’s Page. On it, I talk about writing. I introduce characters from my books, and I introduce readers to other authors. I also release snippets from those books. Mostly, it is my way of reaching out to you so that you get to know my author side of life. You can find it at: https://jrlewisauthor.blog/
 
Other ways you can 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 / 
 
I picked up two terrific reviews for Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy.

One is from Literary Titan, who also did an interview with me. You can find the interview here: https://wp.me/p3cyvH-7yj

The review, found at https://wp.me/p3cyvH-7rz in part, called Stolen Lives “a fast paced crime novel in the how-catch-‘em mystery genre. A riveting murder mystery that slowly unravels a puzzling crime that will have readers furiously flipping pages. With realistic characters a reader can relate to and sympathize with, and a fast-paced and action filled plot, Lewis has created an engaging story that is a fantastic start to his Lives Trilogy.”

The other, from Best Thrillers called Stolen Lives “A harrowing and unforgettable FBI thriller. author Joseph Lewis continues to tackle delicate subject matter that few can bear to think about, much less craft a thriller around. Lewis dares to get inside the minds of not only the killers, but the adolescent victims. Scenes told from the abductees’ points of view manage to be both heartbreaking and an incredible testament to children’s capacity for survival. The net result is a terrifying but important novel that no reader could possibly forget.”

Best Thrillers also named Stolen Lives an Editor’s Pick!

My new book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Book Blurb for Blaze In, Blaze Out: Working with a joint multi-law enforcement task force, Detective Pat O’Connor infiltrated a Ukrainian crime family, headed by Dmitry Andruko. O’Connor and his control, Detective Paul Eiselmann, were the linchpins in the guilty verdict. The two detectives thought it was over. Eiselmann planned for a quiet weekend with his family at home. O’Connor planned on attending a high school soccer game, and then head to Northern Wisconsin for a fishing trip with another cop, Detective Jamie Graff, and four teenage adopted brothers: George Tokay, Brian Evans, Brett McGovern, and Michael Two Feathers. But Andruko is ruthless and vindictive. From his prison cell, he hires two contract killers to kill both O’Connor and Eiselmann and anyone else in the way. The killers can be anyone. The killers could be anywhere, and the killers could strike at any time. The quiet weekend and the short vacation turn into a deadly nightmare as O’Connor’s and Eiselmann’s lives and the lives of the four boys are in peril.

The one- or two-line promo for Blaze In, Blaze Out: 

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS
A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx
 
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, do not know 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! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696    
 
The Lives Trilogy and Prequel are now available in both paperback, kindle and nook through both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! The links are below! I appreciate all the texts, requests, and messages I have been receiving. Thanks for your support and interest. I edited and revised each book. I am pleased with the results. I am thankful to BRW for their continued belief in me and in my writing. I hope you will rediscover or perhaps discover the Lives Trilogy and Prequel.  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of 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 Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, 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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Jen Theodore and Unsplash

  

Tests

Way back when two of my sisters passed away from brain aneurisms, it caused a panic in our family. As I had mentioned in previous posts, I come from a family of ten. My sisters, Donna and Joanne, both passed away from an aneurism within a relatively short time between one another. It scared us.

It caused several of us to seek scans to see if we had a similar problem. I remember speaking to my doctor about it, and he said that the odds of one member of the family were pretty high, but two were, well, frightening. My word, not his.

I did my time in the “tube.” I didn’t know what to think. Only to find out that the test, if you want to call it that, would only show a weakness in a blood vessel or artery at that moment in time, but would not indicate a weakness later on in life.

Hmmmm . . .

Most of you reading this have been through school at one level or more in your lifetime. We’ve all had to study for and take tests of some kind. Some were easy, while some challenged us. On some, we did well. On others, well, not so much.

When I moved to California in the summer of 1987, I was informed that my California license to teach (I was a counselor, but it still applied to me) depended on my taking and passing the California Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST). Two tests: reading and math.

Reading was no sweat. I loved to read and still do. I knew how to write. But math? A far different animal for me. I didn’t have a love-hate relationship with math. It was and still is purely hate. Can’t stand it. I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. On a good day, I can figure out a percent. That’s it. No more. But I knew I had to study and pass this dang CBEST.

I got myself a tutor. A really super math teacher at the school where I worked as a counselor. She was kind and patient, and didn’t laugh at me. However, her son in fifth grade, who sat across the kitchen table from me, did. Maddeningly, he would also volunteer to show me how to do some problems, and he asked his mother if he could check my work. I set out to prove to him and to the state of California I was smarter than a fifth grade math student!

I took the test. I sweated it out. I nervously waited for the results. 

And I passed! And the most surprising thing about the results? I scored higher in math than I did in reading/writing! A true miracle. I was almost tempted to see if I could walk on water.

We’ve all been there when it comes to tests, haven’t we? Some we breeze through. Others we stress about.

Blood tests when the doctor suspects “something.” C-scans. X-rays. Employment. Sometimes in our marriage or every-day-life, we stress about finances, our marriage, our kids- all of them tests of a sort.

Each day presents a test for us. Whether we allow small, or even big, things to bother us, annoy us, ruin our day. Each day we face the question of will we pass this test or that test- small or big, job related or life related or love related. And at night, we are given an opportunity to reflect on how well- or not- we did on those tests. Whether we succeeded or failed. Whether we almost made it, but fell a bit short.

But after each test and each day, another day dawns. Unless the test has drastic results, we live. We are able to move on. We are able to do better the next time. And even if the test has a result that causes us angst and pain, that tells us our life is shorter than it was expected, it is in those moments, minutes, days, weeks, months, and years we have left to do . . . whatever it is we need to do, to take care of, to be at peace. Use it wisely. Take care of it. Make it meaningful. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:
 
I have an author’s website, besides my Facebook Author’s Page. On it, I talk about writing. I introduce characters from my books, and I introduce readers to other authors. I also release snippets from those books. Mostly, it is my way of reaching out to you so that you get to know my author side of life. You can find it at: https://jrlewisauthor.blog/
 
Other ways you can 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 / 
 
My new book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Book Blurb for Blaze In, Blaze Out: Working with a joint multi-law enforcement task force, Detective Pat O’Connor infiltrated a Ukrainian crime family, headed by Dmitry Andruko. O’Connor and his control, Detective Paul Eiselmann, were the linchpins in the guilty verdict. The two detectives thought it was over. Eiselmann planned for a quiet weekend with his family at home. O’Connor planned on attending a high school soccer game, and then head to Northern Wisconsin for a fishing trip with another cop, Detective Jamie Graff, and four teenage adopted brothers: George Tokay, Brian Evans, Brett McGovern, and Michael Two Feathers. But Andruko is ruthless and vindictive. From his prison cell, he hires two contract killers to kill both O’Connor and Eiselmann and anyone else in the way. The killers can be anyone. The killers could be anywhere, and the killers could strike at any time. The quiet weekend and the short vacation turn into a deadly nightmare as O’Connor’s and Eiselmann’s lives and the lives of the four boys are in peril.

The one- or two-line promo for Blaze In, Blaze Out: 

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS
A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx
 
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, do not know 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! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696    
 
The Lives Trilogy and Prequel are now available in both paperback, kindle and nook through both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! The links are below! I appreciate all the texts, requests, and messages I have been receiving. Thanks for your support and interest. I edited and revised each book. I am pleased with the results. I am thankful to BRW for their continued belief in me and in my writing. I hope you will rediscover or perhaps discover the Lives Trilogy and Prequel.  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of 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 Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, 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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu and Unsplash

 

Unsettled and Uncomfortable

 

I began my teaching and coaching career at age twenty-two in Wyoming. Far from Wisconsin where I was born and raised. Much different from Wisconsin in culture and lifestyle. While I thought I knew what I was getting into, I truly didn’t. Sometimes I think back and am happy for the three-year experience out there, but I wonder how I managed to. 

I lived in the town of Yoder, population 101. It had the Yoder Bar, a post office, and a gas station. There were no cell phones back then, and my phone was a landline shared with three other neighbors. In order to use the phone, I had to wait until someone else finished their conversation. I had never experienced that before. 

I chose to live and work in Wyoming because of my fondness for western history. My parents, my younger brother, and I had driven through it on our way to Yellowstone and to Glacier National Park. I think that brief introduction helped me make my decision to live there. 

A dry state. It seldom rained, but if it did, like clockwork, it was late in the afternoon. It would rain for a bit, and then the sky would clear back to a beautiful blue. 

Flash forward many years later.

This is the time of year when Virginia is hot and humid. You wake up, step outside, and sweat. Tough to breathe sometimes. The air sticky and thick. It hangs on you.

Several days this week, it was sunny all day until late afternoon. Then, clouds rolled in, dark and ominous. Thundered continuously, sometimes with lightning, sometimes without. And then it would rain. Like Wyoming, hard and driving rain. The trees behind our house waving back and forth as the wind kicked up.

And like Wyoming, then suddenly, the rain would stop. The wind would die down. The sun would poke through the clouds almost to say, “I’m here. I’m always here. Sometimes you can’t see me, but I’m here.”

Reassuring, isn’t it? No matter the many clouds we encounter, the sun is still there. Hiding, hidden, but there. No matter the wind and the rain, the sun is still there.

Tough to look skyward when there is wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. Hard on the eyes. Tough on the face. Instead, we duck down and cover up, scurry here and there, trying to stay dry and warm and comfortable.

Tough to look up when facing dark clouds and inclement weather.

Tough to look up when there is “weather” in our lives. Tough to remember there will be sunny days ahead, just as there are rainy, nasty days ahead, too. Sometimes there are stretches in our lives when all seems dark and ugly. Sometimes we forget there are, and will be, good times, too.

There will always be both good and bad, beautiful and ugly, fair and inclement elements in our lives to deal with, to live through. But we always seem to live through them. Despite the helplessness we sometimes feel, we get through. We always do. Something to think about . . .

To My Readers:
 
I have an author’s website, besides my Facebook Author’s Page. On it, I talk about writing. I introduce characters from my books, and I introduce readers to other authors. I also release snippets from those books. Mostly, it is my way of reaching out to you so that you get to know my author side of life. You can find it at: https://jrlewisauthor.blog/
 
Other ways you can 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 / 
 
My new book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Book Blurb for Blaze In, Blaze Out: Working with a joint multi-law enforcement task force, Detective Pat O’Connor infiltrated a Ukrainian crime family, headed by Dmitry Andruko. O’Connor and his control, Detective Paul Eiselmann, were the linchpins in the guilty verdict. The two detectives thought it was over. Eiselmann planned for a quiet weekend with his family at home. O’Connor planned on attending a high school soccer game, and then head to Northern Wisconsin for a fishing trip with another cop, Detective Jamie Graff, and four teenage adopted brothers: George Tokay, Brian Evans, Brett McGovern, and Michael Two Feathers. But Andruko is ruthless and vindictive. From his prison cell, he hires two contract killers to kill both O’Connor and Eiselmann and anyone else in the way. The killers can be anyone. The killers could be anywhere, and the killers could strike at any time. The quiet weekend and the short vacation turn into a deadly nightmare as O’Connor’s and Eiselmann’s lives and the lives of the four boys are in peril.

The one- or two-line promo for Blaze In, Blaze Out: 

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS
A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx
 
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, do not know 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! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696    
 
The Lives Trilogy and Prequel are now available in both paperback, kindle and nook through both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! The links are below! I appreciate all the texts, requests, and messages I have been receiving. Thanks for your support and interest. I edited and revised each book. I am pleased with the results. I am thankful to BRW for their continued belief in me and in my writing. I hope you will rediscover or perhaps discover the Lives Trilogy and Prequel.  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of 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 Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, 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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Micah Tindell and Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dan and Simone

It was perhaps my third year at the last high school where I coached basketball before hanging up my whistle. There was this kid, Dan. Friendly, but reserved compared to others on the team. Respectful. Man, could he shoot. Pretty good defensively, too. There were others who were better athletes, but there was a place for Dan on my team.

One day after practice, he wanted to speak to me. Dan and I sat in the bleachers by ourselves. He had tears in his eyes when he told me he gets nervous. He didn’t want to play in pressure situations. He felt he couldn’t play in pressure situations. He didn’t know whether to stay on the team or quit. He mentioned his father had this “condition” and Dan thought he did, too. When he’s nervous, he loses his hair. His father was already bald. Dan had a fairly thick head of hair worn in the style of the mid- to late-80’s.

I was stunned. I had already slated for him to be part of a seven- or eight-man rotation. I definitely had a role for him. I convinced him to stay on the team, to be a part of the team. The guys liked him. My coaches and I liked him. We wanted him. He agreed.

One night several games later, he again asked to speak with me. He said he needed to quit the team. I asked him why. He said he didn’t like sitting on the bench. He said he wanted to play more. I reminded him of our previous conversation, and he said it felt different sitting and watching. He didn’t like it. I told him the guys and I wanted him to be a part of the team, and I asked him to sleep on it.

The following morning, I walked into the social studies planning area where my desk was, and in a brown paper grocery sack was Dan’s uniform and warm-ups. Washed, neatly folded. There was a note that said, “Thank you, Dan.”

I was reminded of that incident when Simone Biles, arguably the best gymnast in the world, withdrew from Olympic events except for the beam. She said she needed to do that for her mental health. Some in the world didn’t understand and bashed her. Others who didn’t understand accepted it and praised her for coming forward and advocating for herself. I was in the latter group.

Biles stated she had the “twisties.” From what I understand, this occurs when the gymnast loses track of where he or she is in the middle of twists and turns and every other gyration before landing. It’s dangerous. For as skilled as she is and for what stunts she performs, for her to lose her sense of place could be dangerous and devastating. Serious injury can occur.

Simone Biles, like Dan, advocated for herself. Both advocated for their mental health. They had a higher purpose, and while Dan never had the world platform Simone has, he, like she, did what he had to do to help himself. Both had pressure. Both had expectations- from themselves, and from others. We had crowned Simone a gold medalist in the Olympics, before she ever boarded the plane to Tokyo. Dan had been my choice for game situations where I needed a gun from the bench to score some points. Both different situations, but in reality, both similar situations.

I was a counselor for eleven or twelve years. I was a teacher and coach and administrator for many more. I have been a father for twenty-seven years and counting. I understand pressure. I placed it on my players. I know, unfortunately, I placed it on my kids. I saw, and see, the results of pressure from the counseling office, the administrative office, the classroom once again, and from the kitchen table.

Some kids can take it, while others can’t. We purposely put them in those situations, don’t we? We praise them. We urge them. We whisper in their ear, “You can do it!” with an arm around their shoulder. And with a pat on the butt, we send them out again to go conquer . . . themselves?

At what cost?

We don’t know what kids around us carry on their shoulders or in their heart. We don’t know the burden, the expectation, the pressure they place on themselves, or the burden, the expectation, the pressure that is placed on them. To succeed. To perform. To be the best. It’s no different for adults than it is for kids. But I ask again, at what cost? 

I’ve seen kids in their later years walk away from the sport they “loved” and played from little on and seem happier for doing so. I’ve seen their parents shake their head as they wonder, “What in the world? Why?”

Whose world? The child’s or the parent’s world? Dan’s world or Simone’s world? Who is it that needs to be happy- the performer or the spectator? Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:
 
I have an author’s website, besides my Facebook Author’s Page. On it, I talk about writing. I introduce characters from my books, and I introduce readers to other authors. I also release snippets from those books. Mostly, it is my way of reaching out to you so that you get to know my author side of life. You can find it at: https://jrlewisauthor.blog/
 
Other ways you can 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 / 
 
My new book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Book Blurb for Blaze In, Blaze Out: Working with a joint multi-law enforcement task force, Detective Pat O’Connor infiltrated a Ukrainian crime family, headed by Dmitry Andruko. O’Connor and his control, Detective Paul Eiselmann, were the linchpins in the guilty verdict. The two detectives thought it was over. Eiselmann planned for a quiet weekend with his family at home. O’Connor planned on attending a high school soccer game, and then head to Northern Wisconsin for a fishing trip with another cop, Detective Jamie Graff, and four teenage adopted brothers: George Tokay, Brian Evans, Brett McGovern, and Michael Two Feathers. But Andruko is ruthless and vindictive. From his prison cell, he hires two contract killers to kill both O’Connor and Eiselmann and anyone else in the way. The killers can be anyone. The killers could be anywhere, and the killers could strike at any time. The quiet weekend and the short vacation turn into a deadly nightmare as O’Connor’s and Eiselmann’s lives and the lives of the four boys are in peril.

The one- or two-line promo for Blaze In, Blaze Out: 

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS
A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx
 
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, do not know 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! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696    
 
The Lives Trilogy and Prequel are now available in both paperback, kindle and nook through both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! The links are below! I appreciate all the texts, requests, and messages I have been receiving. Thanks for your support and interest. I edited and revised each book. I am pleased with the results. I am thankful to BRW for their continued belief in me and in my writing. I hope you will rediscover or perhaps discover the Lives Trilogy and Prequel.  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of 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 Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, 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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. 
Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Kelly Sikkema and Unsplash

 

   

Perceptions and Expectations

 

Most of you reading this know that once upon a time, I was a basketball coach. I spent eight years coaching high school boys, winning one state championship, and a runner-up one other year. Some great teams with great kids, some of whom went on to play at the collegiate level.

I also spent two years coaching and recruiting at the collegiate level. I was recruited to coach the guards, but during my first month on the job, the head coach walked into my office, and threw a map of Chicago and a credit card on my desk and said, “I need you to find me some players.”

I’m sure that after you read those first two paragraphs, you might think to yourself that I might have been quite a player once upon a time.

No. No way. As a player, I sucked! I got cut my junior year. I couldn’t dribble. I couldn’t shoot. If I jumped high enough, you might be able to slip a piece of paper under my shoes successfully. Maybe. I could play defense and I could set picks. That’s it! As I said, I sucked! 

My players knew I was a terrible player. One day, I opened up the gym for a shoot around and for players to play pick up games. There were nine guys who showed up. They were going to either play four on four and rotate someone in, or they were going to play five on four.

I reminded them I was available to play. They declined the offer, politely, of course. I insisted. I told them I opened up the gym, and I rolled out the balls and lowered the hoops, so I get to play.

Do you know what they did? They spotted the team with me ten points. Yes, you read that correctly. They considered me a ten point deficit. I was that bad!

So, now you’re wondering, how in the heck did I ever become a basketball coach. I get that. Everything I wrote about my playing ability and my coaching is absolutely true. So, how was it I could coach?

First, I had great assistant coaches who not only knew the game, but could play it. Tim B, Dan D, and Mark W were fantastic guys who knew the game, knew how to work with kids, and were fun to be around. I give them the credit for implementing my system and for making it work.

Second, I had phenomenal kids. I loved them, especially the guys on my last team. I was a motivator. I could lead. The kids listened. They respected me because they knew I respected them.

When you read the first couple of paragraphs of this post, you figured that I might have been another “jock.” A guy who coached and was successful because I could play the game. If you did, you’d be dead wrong.

You had a perception of me as a coach, possibly as a person. Because of that perception, you had an expectation of me, as both a coach and former player. Your faulty perception set the stage for a faulty expectation. Somehow, I failed to live up to your expectation, because your perception of me was also wrong.

I’ll give you another example.

His name is Nate. True name for a kid in one school I was principal for in Wisconsin. He was the kid who, upon hearing just his first name, would cause an eye roll, a sigh, and a shake of the head. Difficult. Passive aggressive. Defiant.

That was my perception of him, and the perception of most every staff member in that school. We also expected many things from him- some of which were born to fruition, while others, not so much.

One day, a new ninth grader walked to class carrying several textbooks, some binders, and some loose papers. A junior bully (I actually privately referred to him as a thug- which he was at the time) tripped the kid on purpose. Books, binders, and papers flew all over the floor. The kid did a face plant on the linoleum.

It wasn’t Nate!!!!! But Nate was there.

It was Nate who, without a word and without being asked, set his books down in the hallway, and helped this freshman- someone he did not know- pick up and organize his things. He then escorted the boy to class, and before the kid entered the room, gave him a pat on the back.

Yes, Nate did that! That Nate!!!!!

When I was told of the incident, a picture formed in my head. Probably the same picture formed in your head. It was Nate that did the tripping, and it was someone else who helped the ninth grader pick up his things. Both of us were wrong. Because of our perception of Nate, we expected a certain behavior from Nate. Happily, that expectation was wrong. So very wrong.

You see, there are times we have perceptions of people and events, and because of those perceptions, we have expectations. Both can be wrong and both can guide us down the wrong path.

Maybe we need to hold off on perceptions and expectations, because if we don’t, we set ourselves up for failure and disappointment. Perhaps by waiting and withholding judgment, we can set ourselves up for a little more happiness, a little more joy, and less disappointment. We might help the individual or individuals we “set up” with our perceptions and expectations to keep from disappointing us. A little more joy for everyone. How can that hurt anyone? Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:
 
I have an author’s website, in addition to my Facebook Author’s Page. On it, I talk about writing. I introduce characters from my books, and I introduce readers to other authors. I also release snippets from those books. Mostly, it is my way of reaching out to you so that you get to know my author side of life. You can find it at: https://jrlewisauthor.blog/
 
Other ways you can 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 / 
 
My new book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is now available for preorder. Use the promo code: PREORDER2021 and order it at the publisher’s website at: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/mystery/blazeinblazeout

Book Blurb for Blaze In, Blaze Out: Working with a joint multi-law enforcement task force, Detective Pat O’Connor infiltrated a Ukrainian crime family, headed by Dmitry Andruko. O’Connor and his control, Detective Paul Eiselmann, were the linchpins in the guilty verdict. The two detectives thought it was over. Eiselmann planned for a quiet weekend with his family at home. O’Connor planned on attending a high school soccer game, and then head to Northern Wisconsin for a fishing trip with another cop, Detective Jamie Graff, and four teenage adopted brothers: George Tokay, Brian Evans, Brett McGovern, and Michael Two Feathers. But Andruko is ruthless and vindictive. From his prison cell, he hires two contract killers to kill both O’Connor and Eiselmann and anyone else in the way. The killers can be anyone. The killers could be anywhere, and the killers could strike at any time. The quiet weekend and the short vacation turn into a deadly nightmare as O’Connor’s and Eiselmann’s lives and the lives of the four boys are in peril.

The one- or two-line promo for Blaze In, Blaze Out: 

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die.

Betrayed: A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS
A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx
 
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! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696    
 
The Lives Trilogy and Prequel are now available in both paperback, kindle and nook through both Amazon and Barnes & Noble! The links are below! I appreciate all the texts, requests, and messages I have been receiving. Thanks for your support and interest. I edited and revised each book. I am pleased with the results. I am thankful to BRW for their continued belief in me and in my writing. I hope you will rediscover or perhaps discover the Lives Trilogy and Prequel.  
 
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 live in separate parts of the country, the lives of 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 Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, 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 will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward if fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern is killed. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. 
Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and possible death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Raj Rana and Unsplash