Faith

I grew up in a traditional, rather conservative Catholic family. My brothers and sisters and I all went through Holy Angels Grade School in our hometown of West Bend, Wisconsin. Every Sunday, we attended 9:15 a.m. mass at Holy Angels church, sat in one of the front rows on the left side, and sang in the choir when the occasion called for it. We were baptized, received our first communion and our confirmation in the same church. 

Jack and Jim attended a seminary briefly before coming back to the city’s only high school. I attended a private boarding school about sixty miles away for high school and graduated from it, while my youngest brother, Jeff, started at one high school, but ended up graduating from a different high school in a different city because mom and dad moved. 

Mom and Dad would invite priests for dinner, and we visited the nuns during holidays. Because I toyed with the idea of becoming a priest and had contacted several orders, traveling priests would come visit on a kind of recruiting trip. I even spent an overnight at one monastery. It was interesting, and while I considered becoming a priest throughout high school and college, even as a young teacher and coach, I came to the conclusion that life and calling wasn’t for me. 

My journey is like one of my characters in each of my books, Jeremy, who is the adoptive father of the seven boys in my fictional family. He shares that characteristic with me. Or should I say, I shared mine with him. 

Still, I consider myself religious. I pray throughout the day. I do my morning meditation and I read the Bible. From the religion classes in grade school and high school (even though it wasn’t a Catholic high school), I remember so many stories and characters of scripture. I have my favorite Bible verses. Matthew 7 verse 7 is my all-time favorite: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” That verse means so much to me. It is a statement of faith, a challenge, if you will. To believe enough to ask, to knock, to seek, and you will receive answers.

Psalm 23 about the Good Shepherd is probably my favorite psalm. It describes Jesus for me: His caring, concern, protection. His presence. The idea that if one sheep, one lamb is lost, He would seek it, find it, and bring it home. That’s comforting to me, knowing how much we might stray, how much trouble we might get ourselves into, He is there to find us, bring us home, and protect us. That, and even though “we walk through the valley of death,” He is there with us. Kind of like the story about the footsteps in the sand. At first there were two sets, then just one. When asked why did you abandon me when I went through such a tough time, He answered, “There was only one set of footprints because it was then that I carried you.”

I have several favorite characters and stories from the Bible, but my favorite story is that of the Prodigal Son, and my favorite character is the father. The story is about the younger son who asked for his inheritance, went off, and lost it all. Wild women and booze. He ended up working for a farmer, cleaning the pigpen, and eating the scraps.

Finally, he came to his senses and went home. But the father “saw him from a distance” which meant that the father had searched for his son all the time he was gone, longing for his return, hoping and praying for his return. The son reached his father and offered to work and live like a slave if his father would have him back.

But what did his father do? He ordered his slaves to bring a clean robe for his son, to put a ring on his finger, take a fatted calf and cook it up because they were going to have a feast. The father was just happy to have him home. Not only was the father looking for him all that time, he was happy he had returned. Losing his inheritance was forgotten. He was home now, safe and sound. The family was together. 

The father didn’t hold a grudge. The father welcomed him back, welcomed him home. That’s faith, as much as it is kindness and compassion, concern and empathy. I want that in my life, knowing that I’ve screwed up countless times and in countless ways. And faith is knowing that I do have that in my life. We all do, really. The only thing we need to do is come to our senses and come back “home.” Something to think about … 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I have a surprise for you, a Gift! 

Beginning tomorrow, April 9 through Tuesday, April 11, my newest book, Fan Mail, is FREE on Amazon Kindle at https://amzn.to/3eNgSdS   

Here is your opportunity to read a thrilling, yet heartwarming story of a family of seven adopted boys and their caring parents. A coming-of-age story wrapped in a thriller-crime-mystery. Get yours today, or tomorrow, as it were.

Connect with me on Social Media:

Author Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.blog

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

Instagram at: https://www.Instagram.com/joseph.lewis.author

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

Fan Mail: New Release! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner!

Beginning tomorrow, April 9 through Tuesday, April 11, my newest book, Fan Mail, is FREE on Amazon Kindle at https://amzn.to/3eNgSdS  

A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers. Randy and Bobby, along with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad.

As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart.

Would he once again have to put himself in harm’s way to save them? And if faced with that choice, will he?

Blaze In, Blaze Out: Best Action Crime Thriller of 2022 by Best Thrillers! A Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Readers’ Favorite Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read! A BestThriller’s Editor’s Pick!

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko, the head of a Ukrainian crime family, meant the end. It was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. Andruko hired contract killers to go after and kill O’Connor and Eiselmann. The killers can be anyone and be anywhere. They can strike at any time. They care nothing of collateral damage. Andruko believes a target is a target, and in the end, the target must die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

Betrayed: Two Top Shelf Awards: 1^st Place Fiction-Mystery; and Runner-Up Fiction-Crime; A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

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. Greed can be all-consuming, and 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. So far, he has murdered eight people. 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 also 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. A violent gang, MS-13, 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. 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards!
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 death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo courtesy of Karl Fredrickson and Unsplash

 

 

Monsters

Remember when we were younger, we might have a bad dream, maybe a nightmare, and the way to hide from the monsters in those dreams was to stick your head under the covers? The thinking was that if you couldn’t see the monster, the monster couldn’t see you. I think we’ve all done that, and when the dream passes, we even might have felt foolish with that reaction. 

The Apache Indians had a similar belief. They felt if they stared too long at the enemy, the enemy would spot them. Instead, they would glance at their enemy with long intervals of time in between each glance, and only when an attack order was given did they concentrate on their enemy. 

I don’t remember either Hannah or Emily having nightmares or bad dreams. I’m sure they did, but I just don’t recall it. However, William had a tougher time getting to bed and lasting through the night when we first adopted him, and it was beyond anything related to the adoption. 

Before he was adopted, he lived in a poor section of Guatemala City, Guatemala. His bedroom had a large window and one night (as he described it), robbers broke into their little home through that window. When we adopted him at age seven, his bedroom in his new home had a window that faced out to the cul de sac we lived on. Not knowing Spanish and not comprehending his fear, it was difficult convincing him he was safe. But in time and with patience and understanding, he outgrew it. That, and when he could speak English, he told us what his fear was.

Not just kids face monsters. As adults, we face monsters- real or imagined- too. 

Anxiety, fear, doubt, worry, and uncertainty can create monsters for us, can’t they? We worry about an unexpected payment or health issue. We worry about our kids as they travel from one place to another. We worry about our kids living in a different city or at college, hoping they make good choices. As we get older, we worry about our retirement, our frailty. We wonder, perhaps worry, what will happen to our spouse, our kids should we die. 

Yes, fear, worry, and uncertainty can be real monsters and can be difficult to deal with. And they won’t go away by simply shutting our eyes or hiding under our blankets. Try explaining that one to the person collecting the money for the bill. 

That ghastly trio of fear, worry, and uncertainty cause many anxious days and nights. Needless and painful, sometimes immobilizing us, not permitting us to move forward. 

Sometimes the monsters are more real than our imagination. 

The governor who signs a bill permitting the carrying and concealing of handguns with or without a permit. The governors who initiated the banning of books, and the ability of one or two people to throw out an entire curriculum because they deem it harmful to their child, placing their beliefs ahead of the majority. The leaders, past or current, who treat truth, respect for justice and the respect for democracy like a scrap of paper or a tin can to be thrown away. 

The leaders of our government, past and present, who condone hateful rhetoric. The neighbor who takes it upon herself to police those who drive down their street or walk down their sidewalk, asking for identification to prove they belong. Governors who forbid the teaching of different cultures- including heroes like Dr. King and Harriet Tubman- and forbid the teaching of our American history like slavery and civil rights freedom marches. The governors who would rather forbid individuals from dressing up in drag in the guise that it is harmful to children rather than addressing the actual harm for children- and teachers- that come from guns and bullets. 

A party of elected and non-elected individuals who, instead of changing their thinking and making their policies, thoughts and ideas more appealing to voters, limit who can vote, where they can vote, and when they can vote for the sole purpose of staying in power.

Yes, the monsters who live in our imagination are real. But so are the modern-day monsters we have to deal with. And we cannot deal with them by shutting our eyes or hiding under the covers. That didn’t do Germany any good when, little by little, the Nazis came into power, pointed fingers at that individual, that group of individuals, and deemed them inferior and less than. Folks, we are on that path, and it frightens me. 

I’m not sure who said it first, but if we remain silent with our words and do nothing by our actions, we condone what is taking place to others. And at some point, they will come for those who were silent. Us! Each of us! 

Yes, we have real, dangerous, and disgusting monsters in our lives. It’s time we stand up with one voice and say, “No more!” and state emphatically, “Enough!” 

I am normally positive and inspiring on this platform. I certainly try to be. Some posts are better than others. Not sure where this one will fall, but I felt it needed to be said. It has been weighing on me. So, I will not hide under the covers any longer. I will not shut my eyes to it. I’m using my voice and my words- strong or weak as they may be. I ask that you do too! Something to think about … 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

Connect with me on Social Media: 

Author Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.blog

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

Instagram at: @joseph.lewis.author

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

 

Photo courtesy of Jen Theodore and Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Magic of Sunshine

The last couple of days, it was cold and gray, cloudy, wet and rainy. If it wasn’t raining, it was misting and threatening to rain. And when it wasn’t raining, you could smell the rain in the air. All in all, rather depressing.

I’ve often wondered how the folks in Seattle and the surrounding area stand it. I worked with a colleague in Southern California when I was a counselor, who wanted to move to Seattle because he liked the rain. I didn’t understand it then, and I don’t understand it now. 

Living in Southern California was a unique case altogether. It seldom rained, and it seldom got too cold. You didn’t have to wear sixteen layers of clothes in the winter like in Wisconsin to stay warm. Just jeans and a sweatshirt or light jacket. But I remember one December when it rained all or parts of about 40 days straight. Most of us searched backyards to see if Noah or someone was building an arc. But eventually, the rain stopped, and the sun shone like normal. 

Being a weatherman in Southern California has to be one of the most boring jobs in the world. In fact, one station hired a standup comedian, Fritz Coleman, to do the weather, and at least he could make it entertaining. He was a weatherman, not a meteorologist. Different animals. 

I understand the benefits of different seasons, just like I understand the benefits of rain. It’s needed to make things grow. Grass, trees, flowers, animals. People. It’s just that I am more of a fan of sunshine than I am of rain. 

Today, I woke up to a bright blue sky and the warmth of the sun, and I could feel my spirits lifting. My youngest, Emily, is a social worker, and she is convinced the weather plays a part in how people are feeling, because she sees changes in her clients when the weather changes. I have long believed this, too. I also believe there is something to the full moon, but I’ll save that for a different post someday. 

When the sun is shining and I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, I find myself smiling more. My mood is lighter. I’m happier, certainly not as grumpy, though I think I’m seldom grumpy.

There is something to be said about how weather affects one’s outlook and mood. We can set our minds on our mood and try to change it on our own, and there is something to be said about that, too. I do think one’s outlook is a choice. Much like the choice to act or react to what is taking place around us. But heck, being in the sunshine makes it a lot easier, don’t you think? Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

Connect with me on Social Media: 

Author Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.blog

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

Instagram at: @joseph.lewis.author

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

**ONLY 4 DAYS UNTIL FAN MAIL LAUNCHES! FOUR DAYS!**

A lot will happen when it does! There is a Seven Day Book Blog Tour that begins with three book bloggers sharing their thoughts on Fan Mail on the 30^th, and that continues for the next seven days. There will also be special activities associated with the Fan Mail, and some of my other books, in the weeks that follow.

April will be a busy month! I have two book sales and signings taking place at two different local libraries, along with a regional craft fair I’m taking part in. The first event is April 1^st at Howell Library in Stafford County from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. I’ll have copies of all my books for sale and signing, and if you go to my Facebook and Instagram pages, you will find details as they get closer.

I took part in the Author’s Spot Podcast. It was a little about my life, my writing, and about my newest book, Fan Mail. You can find it at: https://podcast.theauthorsspot.com/1973858/12365749

Need a New Book? I have nine available, and I hope you gift someone, maybe yourself, with one of my books. If you have read one of my books, I would like to ask a favor. If you could go online and write a review or, at the least, give a rating on the book, it would be of great help. Both a review and a rating would be wonderful. The review could be one or two lines. It doesn’t have to be long. Just let others know you read it and hopefully, enjoyed it. Obviously, 4s and 5s are the best. Thanks for this consideration.

My newest, Fan Mail, is Available for Preorder at https://www.blackrosewriting.com/thrillers/fanmail  

Use code PREORDER2023 to receive a 15% Discount. If you head over to my author website at www.jrlewisauthor.blog/ you will find the cover to Fan Mail, along with the book trailer, and the first two chapters to preview. You can also PREORDER the Kindle Version on Amazon at: amzn.to/3WBbRps

**If you are a blogger, librarian or reviewer, Fan Mail is available on NetGalley for free UNTIL MARCH 30TH.**

Fan Mail: New Release! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner!

A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers. Randy and Bobby, along with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad.

As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart.

Would he once again have to put himself in harm’s way to save them? And if faced with that choice, will he?

Blaze In, Blaze Out: Best Action Crime Thriller of 2022 by Best Thrillers! A Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Readers’ Favorite Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read! A BestThriller’s Editor’s Pick!

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko, the head of a Ukrainian crime family, meant the end. It was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. Andruko hired contract killers to go after and kill O’Connor and Eiselmann. The killers can be anyone and be anywhere. They can strike at any time. They care nothing of collateral damage. Andruko believes a target is a target, and in the end, the target must die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

Betrayed: Two Top Shelf Awards: 1^st Place Fiction-Mystery; and Runner-Up Fiction-Crime; A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

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. Greed can be all-consuming, and 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. So far, he has murdered eight people. 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 also 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. A violent gang, MS-13, 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. 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards!
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 death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photos Courtesy of Todd Kent and Unsplash

Spring

Growing up in Wisconsin, one of the first signs of spring was a robin singing in the tree in our backyard. It was a ritual, much like the groundhog, but way more reliable. Wisconsin is also known for sometimes not following the adage: In like a lion, out like a lamb. Witness this March with sub-freezing temps and mounds of snow. 

But there was always, always, the robin. How he/they survive the “in like a lion, out like a T-Rex,” I’ll never know. 

One thing I never enjoyed about early spring in Wisconsin was the Yo-Yo weather it can have. Up one day, down the next. But even worse was the ugly melting when it finally warms up.

Fresh snow, when it falls and lands atop roofs and tree limbs and fence posts, is white as powdered sugar. But when it melts, it is wet and dirty like unkept bed linen. Car exhaust and road dust darken it to gray and black on roadways. Puddles are everywhere, and when you drive through them, they splash up onto your car along with the salt used to help melt snow and ice. It creates rust and damages the undercarriage. Sometimes, if the temps drop, underneath the melting snow is black ice, and one never knows until you test the breaks and feel the slide forward and the pitch sideways if one isn’t careful. 

Still … there is something about spring that brings relief. Hope, if you will. 

Spirits lift. There seems to be more smiling and laughter. People shed some of the nineteen layers of clothes one wears in a Wisconsin winter. Families begin planning their summer trips. More people are out and about- shopping, hiking, walking, running. 

There is more life happening in and around you.

I’ve noticed here in Virginia, in the small woods beyond our backyard, there are crickets chirping and frogs croaking. I’ve seen several blue birds and a couple of cardinals. And of course, the robin. 

Mostly, when I think of spring, I think of hope and rebirth. Grass, brown and dormant in winter, turns green. White, sometimes pink and red buds breakout on trees, and after, trees grow back their leaves that had been shed during winter’s harshness and cold. 

Just as there are different seasons in nature, I believe there are different seasons within each of us. I notice this especially as I grow older. While my thoughts turn outward, rather than inward with what I might do to improve myself and get better at … life, I notice there is a willingness in myself to get and be active. Not only in my walking, but also in my reverie and meditation.

I notice a willingness within myself to move beyond self. To reach out, to shed my shell, much like a tree budding and leaves growing. To become more, somehow.

I think this is one of the great lessons of nature that sometimes isn’t noticed, or, if noticed, seldom thought deeply about. We need to grow; each of us needs to grow. To become better- not only physically, but mentally and spiritually. If nature demands that of itself, shouldn’t we? Something to think about … 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

Connect with me on Social Media: 

Author Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.blog

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

Instagram at: @joseph.lewis.author

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

**ONLY 11 DAYS UNTIL FAN MAIL LAUNCHES! ELEVEN DAYS!**

A lot will happen when it does! There is a Seven Day Book Blog Tour that begins with three book bloggers sharing their thoughts on Fan Mail on the 30^th, and that continues for the next seven days. There will also be special activities associated with the book in the weeks that follow.

April will be a busy month! I have two book sales and signings taking place at two different local libraries, along with a regional craft fair I’m taking part in. If you go to my Facebook and Instagram pages, you will find details as they get closer.

I took part in the Author’s Spot Podcast. It was a little about my life, my writing, and about my newest book, Fan Mail. You can find it at: https://podcast.theauthorsspot.com/1973858/12365749

Need a New Book? I have nine available, and I hope you gift someone, maybe yourself, with one of my books. If you have read one of my books, I would like to ask a favor. If you could go online and write a review or, at the least, give a rating on the book, it would be of great help. Both a review and a rating would be wonderful. The review could be one or two lines. It doesn’t have to be long. Just let others know you read it and hopefully, enjoyed it. Obviously, 4s and 5s are the best. Thanks for this consideration.

My newest, Fan Mail, is Available for Preorder at https://www.blackrosewriting.com/thrillers/fanmail  

Use code PREORDER2023 to receive a 15% Discount. If you head over to my author website at www.jrlewisauthor.blog/ you will find the cover to Fan Mail, along with the book trailer, and the first two chapters to preview. You can also PREORDER the Kindle Version on Amazon at: amzn.to/3WBbRps

**If you are a blogger, librarian or reviewer, Fan Mail is available on NetGalley for free UNTIL MARCH 30TH.**

Fan Mail: New Release! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner!

A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers. Randy and Bobby, along with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad.

As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart.

Would he once again have to put himself in harm’s way to save them? And if faced with that choice, will he?

Blaze In, Blaze Out: Best Action Crime Thriller of 2022 by Best Thrillers! A Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Readers’ Favorite Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read! A BestThriller’s Editor’s Pick!

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko, the head of a Ukrainian crime family, meant the end. It was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. Andruko hired contract killers to go after and kill O’Connor and Eiselmann. The killers can be anyone and be anywhere. They can strike at any time. They care nothing of collateral damage. Andruko believes a target is a target, and in the end, the target must die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

Betrayed: Two Top Shelf Awards: 1^st Place Fiction-Mystery; and Runner-Up Fiction-Crime; A PenCraft 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

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. Greed can be all-consuming, and 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. So far, he has murdered eight people. 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 also 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. A violent gang, MS-13, 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. 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. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
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: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards!
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 death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photos Courtesy of Arno Smit and Unsplash