You've Got A Friend

This past weekend, our youngest daughter, Emily, got married. She is the last of our family, and the last of the Lewis clan to get married. Ironically, she married Quaevon Sutton, who is the first of his family to get married. They are now Quaevon and Emily Sutton, and my wife and I are thrilled.

What was remarkable about this wedding is that it was marked by friendship: Emily and Q; Emily’s friends, most of whom were in the wedding; and Q’s friends, most of whom were in the wedding. It was a joyous weekend. Like Emily did in her older sister’s wedding, Hannah served as Emily’s Maid of Honor. The two of them are so different, yet so much alike. More importantly, they are best friends beyond being sisters.

 

Emily and Q wrestled with what song they wanted Q’s mother and me to sing. Kim suggested Carole King’s, You’ve Got a Friend, and after listening to it, they chose that song as their song. Both Q’s mom and I have been singers, so even though the only time we practiced was the afternoon before the ceremony, it went fine. Carole King might have enjoyed our rendition, too.

 

As I said in my opening reception toast, the day was about friendship.

Q’s childhood, high school, and college friends served as groomsmen and ushers. Emily’s college soccer teammates and her best childhood friend (along with Hannah, her sister) served as bridesmaids. Attending the service were high school and adult friends of both Q and Emily. And Kim and I had our friends and family there, too. As I said, it was all about friendship.

Isn’t that the way marriage is supposed to be? Two friends getting married and living a life together? For good and bad, in sickness and in health, good times and bad- a lifetime of memories and joy, ups and downs. All of it. Sorting it out together. Leaning on each other and learning from one another. Marriage.

So raise your glass with me one more time as we toast Quaevon and Emily Sutton! Thanks for doing that. Something to think about … 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site.  

Follow Me on Social Media: 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Author Blog https://www.jrlewisauthor.blog

TikTok @josephlewis5566  

Tribal @jrauthor85  

Substack https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh   

I will take part in a podcast, MEET THE AUTHOR with Rob and Joan Carter Wednesday, July 17 at 7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. They can be found on LinkedIn. Look for the promo and the link early next week.

Later this month, my newest book, Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) goes into publication production. The release is scheduled for January 2025, but it will be available for preorder in a few months and I will have author copies for sale and signing. I’ll keep you posted. 

While you wait, you might want to check out my earlier book, Caught in a Web because   Black Yéʼii Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) is a sequel of sorts. 

At the end of Caught in a Web, an agreement was made between law enforcement and four victims who were the loan survivors in the house that was overrun by MS-13. The agreement was to be a secret kept so that MS-13 wouldn’t seek revenge and come back to do harm to those four survivors. 

Here is the synopsis for Black Yéʼii (The Evil One):

The police fabricated a story about the night four members of MS-13 died in a tiny home on a quiet city street almost two years previous. Angel Benevides and his friends were not supposed to share the secret about what really happened that night. No one was to know the truth. But someone talked, and now MS-13, ruthless and wanting revenge, is back in town, and people are dying.

Can Detectives Graff, O’Connor, and Eiselmann find the killers and put a stop to the killing before anyone else dies?

I will keep you posted on its publication progress and date.

Caught in a Web  

“This important, nail-biting crime thriller about MS-13 sets the bar very high. One of the year’s best thrillers.” –Best Thrillers

“…the right blend of tension and intrigue …” -Midwest Book Review   

A PenCraft Literary Award Winner

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

Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family.

https://amzn.to/2GrU51T

Photo Courtesy of Taylor Maine Photography

The Phone Call

There are times in my life, too many, actually, when Kim or I receive an early morning or late-night phone call from family or a friend. Typically, these kinds of phone calls don’t bring good news.

There was one stretch of four such phone calls that began in October 2013 when my sister Judy called to tell me my nephew died in a freak car accident. On April 1^st of 2014, again, my sister Judy called to tell me my mom passed away at the age of 99. Then, the absolute worst phone call came at 12:38 AM on July 13 from the sister of my daughter-in-law letting Kim and me know our son, Wil, was shot and killed in the afternoon of July 12. The last of that four phone call stretch occurred in August 2014, when the son of a dear friend called to tell Kim and me his father had passed away after a fight with cancer. That four phone call stretch was brutal. More than brutal. Like a gauntlet. I honestly don’t remember much of anything that took place in 2014. I don’t even know how I got through the year. 

Lately, I’ve received text messages or phone calls or posts on my messenger app letting me know this friend, family member, former staff member or colleague is not doing well or perhaps, is now deceased. It isn’t easy. It’s never easy. 

Most recently, a dear staff member who had retired received sad news about her husband’s cancer diagnosis. And to compound the feeling of sadness, I received a message and then a call from my niece, whose father has serious health issues. This niece and her two sisters and brother had just lost her mom this past September. My sister. And if that wasn’t enough, my wife received a phone call. Her brother is in the hospital dealing with health issues related to his heart and his back. 

It’s never easy, but such is the way of life, isn’t it? I know many of you reading this are ticking off the various phone calls you’ve received throughout your life, and perhaps, like me, have received recently. As I said, it isn’t easy. It’s never easy. 

I’ve written over and over in this blog about not wasting time, about not using time purposely and impactfully. I’ve urged you repeatedly to let those who are near to you, dear to you- friends or family or both- that you love them, that you value them. For you to reach out and simply say hello, to say I was thinking about you. 

And more importantly, I’ve urged you to let those who are dear to you know you love them, that you care about them, that they are important to you. That would be a much better phone call to receive, don’t you think? And it might make the next phone call less impactful because you took the time beforehand to take care of the necessary and important business of letting him-her know you love them and that you care. Something to think about …

Live Your Life and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. 

Follow Me on Social Media: 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Author Blog https://www.jrlewisauthor.blog

TikTok @josephlewis5566  

Tribal @jrauthor85  

Substack https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh  

Later this month, my newest book, Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) goes into publication production. The release is scheduled for January 2025, but it will be available for preorder in a few months and I will have author copies for sale and signing. I’ll keep you posted.

While you wait, you might want to check out my earlier book, Caught in a Web, because Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) is a sequel of sorts. 

At the end of Caught in a Web, an agreement was made between law enforcement and four victims who were the loan survivors in the house that was overrun by MS-13. The agreement was to be a secret kept so that MS-13 wouldn’t seek revenge and come back to do harm to those four survivors. 

But in Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) someone broke the secret, MS-13 comes back, and people die. Can law enforcement find out who is behind the deaths and prevent any of the other survivors from being murdered?

Caught in a Web  

“This important, nail-biting crime thriller about MS-13 sets the bar very high. One of the year’s best thrillers.” –Best Thrillers

“…the right blend of tension and intrigue …” -Midwest Book Review   

 

A PenCraft Literary Award Winner

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

Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family.

 

https://amzn.to/2GrU51T

 

Photo Courtesy of Jae Park and Unsplash

 

 

 

  

Donna Reed Revisited?

I am absolutely, without a doubt, dating myself, but that’s okay. Those of you reading this know I’m seventy, and happy. A few aches and pains, but I’m okay. 

I grew up in a family of ten. My dad worked while my mom kept the house. With ten of us, and because the first four or five kids were only eighteen months apart, there were plenty of diapers, bottles and naps. It was only later in life when mom worked, and even later in life after dad became disabled did she learn to drive a car and when she wrote her first check. Quite a jump for her in her later years. 

I grew up watching a black and white TV. I remember tinfoil on the antenna, and the remote was one of us walking to the set and changing the channel by hand. 

Besides Howdy Doody, Wagon Train, and Captain Kangaroo (before the shows became colorized), we watched the Donna Reed Show. She was a homemaker like my mom, except my mom never wore pearls or high-heel shoes to vacuum the carpet. 

Like most of you, I listened to Harrison Butker’s commencement address, and I came away more sad than disgusted, though I was plenty disgusted. The speech was classic, far right evangelical in content, and it fit with the GOP’s Project 2025 Platform. You know, women need to be seen, not heard, stay in the kitchen and have babies. He even said- paraphrasing- that a woman’s life isn’t fulfilled unless and until she is married and has kids to raise.

My mom wasn’t happy as a stay-at-home mom back in the forties and fifties. And back then, my older sisters had four options: become a hairdresser/stylist, a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher. Further, back then, they were looked down upon by society unless they were married and had children.

A woman’s life isn’t fulfilled unless and until she is married and has kids to raise – according to a guy who kicks a football for a living.  

My daughters, Hannah and Emily, went to college and both have a master’s degree. Hannah is a teacher and team lead, while Emily is a social worker. Hannah is married and has one child (so far), Mason, while Emily will get married June 8^th.

I’m absolutely proud of both girls. And I can safely say, both Hannah and Emily were happy before they got married, and are happy now. Both feel fulfilled. It didn’t take Alex to make Hannah’s life fulfilled, and it won’t take Q to make Emily’s life fulfilled. 

Is Hannah happy being married to Alex? Absolutely! Will Emily be happy married to Q? For sure! But neither guy- and I’m proud to call them both my son-in-laws (one now and one to be) - “made” Hannah’s and Emily’s life fulfilled. My daughters did that on their own and will continue to do that even now, together with their husbands. One didn’t make the other. NOR SHOULD IT! 

If a woman stays home and cares for her children, God Bless her! She has every right to do so, and no one should look down on her for doing that. If a woman puts a career first whether she has children and leans on day care to make it work, God Bless her! No one should look down on her for doing that. 

A woman, any woman, has rights and those rights need to be respected. A woman has thoughts- yeah, I know, a foreign concept to some Neanderthals pushing the Project 2025 platform. Just as a woman has the right to vote, a woman should have her own say about what takes place with her body! It is her right to choose, and hers alone. A woman has a choice whether to work or stay home and raise kids. It’s her choice, a decision she makes with her husband, but ultimately, it’s her choice. Respect that.  

A woman is not a second-class citizen, and a woman has no fewer rights than a man. That’s the way it should be. Whether they marry or not, have kids or not, stay home and raise kids or not- it is their choice and she can have a fulfilling life doing either or both. 

Some guy who kicks a football for a living is entitled to his opinion. I happen to disagree with him on several issues he spouted off about, but like I said, he is entitled to his opinion, just as I am entitled to mine.

But for this kicker to state his opinion in front of women on an otherwise joyous occasion, and who earned a college degree, even a master’s degree, put a damper on the elation they felt. And this coming from a guy whose mom managed to raise him along with becoming a physicist. Never met him and I never met her, but I would wager she has and had a fulfilled life. Something to think about … 

Live YOUR Life- whatever you choose to do, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers: 

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. 

I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85  on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627   on Substack at https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh 

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel for just a short time. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention – Fiction – Crime

Author Shout Recommended Read

Literary Titan – Gold Book Award Winner 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl  

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading 

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

Photo Courtesy of Unknown

 

 

 

 

  

What is Love?

 

I know sometimes we use the word Love over and over in various ways that minimizes the meaning of the word. We say things like: I love that sunset; I love spaghetti; I love a good night’s sleep; I love that TV show. Love seems to be applied discriminately, and because of that, we lessen the impact and beauty of the word.

Browsing Facebook yesterday, I came across a beautiful post from Lisa Resnick titled, What Is Love? She or someone added a couple of comments after some responses- they are not mine, but I, too, believe them!

What Is Love? Lisa Resnick

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4- to 8-year-olds, ‘What does love mean?’ The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have ever imagined! 

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore ... So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis, too. That’s love.” Rebecca - age 8 

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy - age 4 

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl - age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy - age 6 

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri - age 4 

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny - age 8 

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.” Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” Noelle - age 7 

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends, even after they know each other so well.” Tommy - age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” Cindy - age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clare - age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine - age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris - age 7 

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann - age 4 

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren - age 4 

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” (what an image!) Karen - age 7 

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross...” Mark - age 6 

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica - age 8 

And the final one:

The winner was a four-year-old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.” 

The innocence of kids astounds me with its simplicity and beauty. How can you not read any of these and smile? 

My hope is for each of us to remember the word love shouldn’t be just an over used habit, but a word that is applied often and in various meaningful ways- far beyond TV shows and spaghetti. And I hope there is someone in our life that is willing to sit with us and help us cry should we ever need it. Something to think about … 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627 and on Substack at https://tinyurl.com/2m5ckdvh

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention – Fiction – Crime

Author Shout Recommended Read

Literary Titan – Gold Book Award Winner 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl 

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading 

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

Photo Courtesy of Scott Broome and Unsplash

 

 

We Forget

As I get older, I’ve noticed my memory is not what it once was. Nothing big. Just little things, mostly. I’ve never been good with names. Someone can tell me their name and it is gone within minutes. 

In the first couple of notes of a song, I can tell you the band, the name of the song, who is doing the singing, and most likely, who wrote it. This applies to 60s rock and roll, mostly, but I’m pretty good with modern country, too. I can tell a story about how the song came about and such, but my daughters and wife usually just roll their eyes at me. So, I tell the story anyway. I can do the same with movies I’ve watched over and over, too. 

But lately, things like that get fuzzy. If given time, I can come up with it, though. My brothers complain about the same thing- forgetting this or that. We laugh about it and life moves on. 

I mentioned my wife and I are avid fans of NCIS. On weekends and some weekdays, we watch the reruns and can know who the bad guy is and what takes place. This past weekend, there was a poignant episode from season eight featuring Bob Newhart as a former Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Walter Magnus, who was Dr. Donald Mallard — aka Ducky’s — predecessor at NCIS.

Walter showed up unannounced in the NCIS building, which was unusual to begin with, but as the episode unfolded, it became clear that he came back to retrieve memories of his life “back then.” He simply couldn’t remember where he was, or even that he lived with his daughter. He finally fessed up to Ducky that he “couldn’t remember cases and people from his past.” Ducky guessed Walter was in the throes of Alzheimer’s, or at least the beginning stages of it. The team of Ducky, Tony, McGee, and Abby helped him remember all the families he helped gain closure. It was touching and still makes me misty-eyed.

My sister Betty suffered from Lewy body dementia, and she passed away from it several years ago. One time long before she was diagnosed, she and her husband came to Virginia to visit with us, and in a quieter moment, she said to me, “Joe, sometimes I think I’m losing my mind.” I laughed, gave her a hug and said, “You’re fine and I love you.” I’m afraid I minimized her concern or at the very least didn’t recognize her concern, and I still beat myself up about that.

My wife has a very dear loved one who has short-term memory issues. In one phone call, this loved one will ask the same question two and three times. Kim answers without any hitch or delay, and will repeat the same story over and over. I know it hurts her, but Kim is stoic about it. 

I am not suffering from Alzheimer’s nor am I suffering from Lewy body dementia, and I don’t have short-term memory issues like Kim’s loved one. I’m just on the older side of life, or as I like to think of it, the backside of the mountain. Many of my friends are on the same path and place as I am, along with my brothers. It’s life, I guess. But just because others are on the same path, doesn’t make it any easier or reassuring. But like I said, it is a part of life.

My hope is that we are all patient with one another. That we take our time with those “getting up there in age” and consider that it is not only hard on others, but certainly hard on those of us who are forgetful from time to time. We live it each minute of each day. It takes a toll, not only on us, but on those around us. In many respects, we are all in this together one way or the other, or we will be eventually. God bless us all! Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention – Fiction – Crime

Author Shout Recommended Read

Literary Titan – Gold Book Award Winner 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl 

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading 

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

Photo Courtesy of Joseph Lewis

  

All About Perspective

Any of you who have read my posts know I, like many of you, am a creature of habit. I have a morning routine I follow nearly every day. 

Upon rising, I stand at the window and look out across the backyard. Specifically, the early predawn sky and the lake. I try to spot what birds might be visiting our trees or fence, maybe a squirrel or rabbit. Sometimes deer in the very back outside of our property. 

Then I go about my business and get ready for the day. Once done, I again stand at the window. This time, the sun is up and it’s splashing the waves caused by a breeze. Trees wave at me. Birds bounce from limb to limb. 

I do my morning meditations and then stand at the window for one last look. The sun is higher in the sky, maybe towards the tops of the trees, but not over them. Not yet. Too early. 

When I stand at the window, I seldom look left. 

Trees have been cut down. The ground is cleared because someone felt the need to add more houses to our subdivision. Mounds of red clay. A mountain of boulders that had been blasted to make way for the “development.” A large green mountain created when they cleared the land and with planted grass on it rises above the area like a gangrenous boil. No telling when it will be lanced and removed along with the mountain of boulders. Not soon enough, as far as I am concerned. Both, like the clear-cut earth and the chopped down trees, unwelcome and ugly. 

I am content to look to my right and not to my left. 

On my right, it is peaceful and serene. On my left, it is ugly and unsettling. 

Interestingly, both stand about twenty or thirty yards from each other. Untouched woods separating the two scenes. The woods, a home to wildlife. The birds perch in the trees above while fox, rabbit, squirrels and deer run below. Their home encroached upon by “development.”

I look at the woods, averting my eyes from the left, content to watch the middle and the right.

Interesting how my perspective, and along with it, my feelings, change in a mere twenty or thirty yards. A slight shift of my eyes. A matter of perspective. A conscious choice I make each morning to bring peace and serenity to my morning.

And I thought, how many of us make the choice to look right rather than left? How many of us choose peace and serenity over chaos? All in twenty or thirty yards. A choice to make. A choice of perspective. Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts on my Website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

Tomorrow evening, Monday April 8^th at 7:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, I will be on a live podcast on Horizons Author Lounge with Rhonda M. Lawson. It will air live on the Meet the World Image Solutions Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MTWImageSolutions and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@meettheworldimagesolutions I hope you can join me as I discuss my writing, my book Fan Mail, and answer questions. 

Last, my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out, is FREE for a limited time on BookFunnel. Yes, FREE!

Action Thriller of the Year (BestThrillers Book Awards)

Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention – Fiction – Crime

Author Shout Recommended Read

Literary Titan – Gold Book Award Winner

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aprilthrillerreads/vlr454vqtl

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

Photo Courtesy of Joseph Lewis

 

 

 

"Define Success," she said.

A week ago, I sat at breakfast with my youngest, Emily. I pumped her with questions about her work with those experiencing homelessness. As a social worker, she doesn’t work with that population any longer, but she did for almost two years. And she loved it … most of the time. Homelessness is a backdrop for a new book I’m writing in the thriller-crime-mystery genre, and I wanted to pick her brain. 

I asked her, did you have success working with the homeless population? She thought for a minute and said, “Define success.” Without waiting for my response, she said, “You have to picture homelessness as rolling a boulder uphill. Sometimes, it’s easy, but most of the time, it’s hard and you never make it, and the boulder can roll back on you.” 

She talked about a series of struggles. Finding a place to sleep for someone. It can take up to six months or longer because of waiting lists. And once in a shelter, the individual has about three weeks or fewer to get themselves on their feet. That means a social security card, a cellphone, a resume, and an interview with the result being a job. There are several problems with all of that. 

If an individual lives on the street, they are looking for their next meal. In Greensboro where my daughter worked, lunches can be found most every day. Dinners? Once a week. So the individual has to decide whether to skip a meal and go to the social security office or to skip the card and eat. A job? The individual has to have help to create an email address, and have help to create a resume and a cover letter, along with the grooming and clothing needed for the interview. All of that takes time, so again, does the individual pass up a meal to attend to all of that or eat and pass up the opportunity for a job interview that might come their way with no guarantees? 

If you are a woman with a child, the chances of securing a room at a shelter are better, but again, there is no guarantee, and she and the child will find themselves on a waiting list and that can last for six months or more. If the individual is a single woman, there is still a chance, but not nearly as good if she had a child or children with her. For a single man, housing is a struggle. And while the individual(s) wait for housing, they are living on the street. Again, for up to six months or more. 

Street life is dangerous. Laws against loitering are increasing- aimed at those experiencing homelessness. If an individual finds a spot to sleep for the night, belongings might be stolen. The newly gotten phone? Gone. The blanket to sleep on? Gone. Any food that was stored up? Gone. It is safer for those living out of a car because doors can be locked. But even then, there is no guarantee. 

And social worker burn out? It is real and a problem, even for the most dedicated, the most passionate, the most caring. Yet, for a year and a half as part of her internship, Emily said the work was hard, but she liked it. Now, she works with adults who are experiencing or who have experienced trauma. Because of privacy, she couldn’t and didn’t share details, but being a counselor for eleven years, I get what she means. I saw it in kids. Those kids grow up to be adults, and if the trauma was never worked on, they become the adults Emily sees.

All of this ran through my mind yesterday as I sat down with my family to eat a delicious dinner. I thought about this as we talked and laughed about this or that. Even the joy of being with my wife, my two daughters, their husbands- one about to be my daughter’s husband in a few months, my grandson, and my son-in-law’s mother, there was the question of what are those experiencing homelessness, foodlessness, and even lovelessness, doing? Where were they eating? Where were they sleeping? Who did they spend their Easter with? 

Life is not for the faint of heart. There are choices and decisions made every minute of every day. Some can lead to a better life. Others? Not so much. Even the lack of making a decision can lead to one end or the other. Something to think about …

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

If you like what you’re reading and find a benefit from it, you can check out my other posts at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com under the Inspirational Blog tab. You can find all nine books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at the same site. I can also be found on TikTok by searching for @josephlewis5566 and on Tribal by searching for @jrauthor85 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557592103627

One of my books, Blaze In, Blaze Out, will be on sale for $.99 on Tuesday, April 2^nd and Wednesday, April 3rd on Amazon for the Kindle version. For your convenience, here is the description and purchase link for my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out:

2022 Crime Fiction Book of the Year – Best Thrillers

2022 Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention - Fiction - Crime

2022 Author Shout Recommended Read

2022 Literary Titan - Gold Book Award Winner

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is an over-the-top thriller. Lewis jumps you seamlessly between timelines of one exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the next.” -Authors Reading

“Blaze in, Blaze out with its engaging plot and deep themes is a riveting novel and fast read that will keep readers in suspense and hooked till the last page.” -Literary Titan

“A story that is so much more than you expect with well-drawn characters that keep you turning the pages.” -Beyond the Books

“This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be about mobster and hired assassins. It was, but it was also about so much more.” -Charlie Bees Books

“Blaze In, Blaze Out is a crime thriller that captures a reader’s attention right from the start. Author Joseph Lewis is a strong storyteller, using characters from his previous novels and once again putting them in danger.” -Joan Livingston, author of the Isabel Long Mystery Series

“Joseph Lewis uses carefully constructed settings and intriguing characters to create this unique and captivating action-packed thriller.” -Sublime Book Review

“A superb crime drama simmering with suspense and deep character studies en route to an explosive finale.” -BestThrillers.com

“Well paced and exciting.” -Publishers Weekly

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.

https://amzn.to/34lNllP