Did
you ever have an encounter with a family member or friend and wonder, “What
just happened?” A seemingly light moment suddenly turns on a dime, and feelings
are hurt? And you are left wondering if you did or said something wrong or if
perhaps there is something unspoken that happened to the family member or
friend. I think it’s safe to say it has happened to all of us, either on one
end of the stick or the other.
We
just don’t know what is going on in someone’s life at any moment. We don’t know
the hidden worry someone might feel that causes the awkward comment, gesture or
moment. At that moment, we aren’t in that someone’s shoes or on the path he or
she is walking. We just don’t know.
Back
in May, I published a post on my author website titled William Golding, Stephen King, and
Bruce Springsteen. While
it deals with writing and themes, I believe it applies in small measure to
missteps we might have or feel with others. You can find it in total here: https://jrlewisauthor.blog/2025/05/17/william-golding-stephen-king-and-bruce-springsteen/
I want
to give you a portion of it to explain what I was getting at, so here it goes,
but you might want to check out the post in total. It became one of my readers’
favorite posts:
---
You’re probably wondering how I came up with these three writers, but I’ll
get to that in a minute. Please bear with me while I give some background.
I love to read, and one of my favorite books is Lord of the Flies
by William Golding. It is a story about a group of young British military
school kids whose plane crashes on a deserted island. The only adult dies
shortly after the crash, leaving the island to the kids. As the story unfolds,
two sides spring up and become enemies: the hunters led by Jack, and the “others”
led- reluctantly, by Ralph.
There are no written laws governing the boys, though Piggy tries to declare
some. However, he is killed when one boy pushes him off a cliff. It becomes a
story of survival: the boys as a collective group, but specifically, Ralph as
he hides and dodges the hunters.
Lord of the Flies is a story of society without norms and
without an established leader. At its base, it is a story of good versus evil,
and the ending doesn’t declare a winner, though Ralph survives. Sorry for the
spoiler, though you probably read this back in your freshman or sophomore year
of high school. You might want to pick it up again, especially with what is
taking place in our country at the moment.
More recently, Stephen King wrote the book The Stand. Like Lord
of the Flies, it is a contemporary story of good vs evil, a land of no
laws, and two sides battling it out until good overtakes evil. It really is
much more than that, and should be viewed through the lens of what took place
Jan. 6th, and what is taking place in our country currently, especially
ignoring laws, precedent, and the supreme court, along with the entire court
system.
The Stand is one helluva ride as only King can write, and I
probably did it injustice with my short synopsis. If you’ve not read it, like Lord
of the Flies, you’re missing something. Both books make you think-
long after you finish the book.
Now, what do these two fine books written by two literary titans have to do
with Bruce Springsteen?
There is a short series of sorts on TV that features singer/songwriters that
airs on some obscure channel at odd times of the evening. As I scrolled through
the channel guide searching for something to watch, I stumbled on it, and
because it was Springsteen, who is one of my favorite writers, I watched it,
and then taped it so I could view it again (and again, and again).
It was just him, without his band, sitting on a stool with an acoustic
guitar. Directly in front of him was a notebook on a music stand. To his left
was a small table with a bottle of water. The audience was small and intimate,
not the large venue he and his band are accustomed to. There wasn’t a moderator
that I noticed, although there could have been. I was focused solely on him and
his music.
Springsteen would play a verse or two and a chorus and then stop. The
audience politely applauded, and like me, probably wished he’d do the whole song.
But there was an important point he wanted to make with each.
After he’d stop, he’d read from his notebook, and it would sound something
like this. “The anguish of love from a teenager’s perspective; loss, hurt,
jealously. Parents who didn’t understand. The confused kid who didn’t
understand what he wanted or why he wanted it.”
Then he’d smile, look up at the audience and say, “Did I think of all of
that when I wrote it?” He’d laugh, shake his head and say, “Absolutely not.” He
would laugh again, and the audience with him. Then, he’d hold up a finger and
say, “Did I feel all of that when I wrote it?” He’d smile, nod and say, “Absolutely.”
To paraphrase him- badly and probably not doing him justice- I will say all
or most writers, including me, don’t think of the weighty issues, the themes of
our writing, when we write it. We just write.
Our writing should come from our heart, our experience, our circumstance.
The words on our pages or in songs we hear come from our hurts, our joys, our
sorrows, our failures, our victories, and our losses.
If we wrote about all of that intentionally, unless it is nonfiction, the
story would bog down and the reader would be lost as if he or she slogged
through a swamp. But ...
But ... the feelings are there in the words on the page. The themes emerge
only after it is written and then interpreted by the reader. Remember what I
said in several posts: once the book or story is written, it ceases to be the
author’s book or story. The book or story becomes the reader’s, subject to his
or her point of view, his or her situation and circumstances with all of his or
her experiences- from a lifetime as well as from the moment.
Cam Torrens, award-winning author of the Tyler Zahn thriller series,
was kind enough to write a review for my book, Black Yéʼii. He
wrote: “On one side, unconditional familial love supported by the
camaraderie of law enforcement. On the other? Guns, drugs, and hatred. Black
Yé’ii stages an epic battle between good and evil.”
Sublime Book Reviews wrote, “Black Yé’ii explores both
the darker side of human nature and the positive theme of family and
friendship.”
Brian Kaufman, award-winning author of Persistent Echo,
wrote in his review, “The novel features two kinds of family - the
supportive kind that rests on unconditional love, and the toxic kind that binds
gangs, which is a stark contrast and befits a battle between good and evil.”
Did Torrens, Kaufman and Sublime get it right? Yes, absolutely. But just as
Springsteen asked his intimate audience, “Was I thinking of all those things as
I wrote it?” I have to shake my head and say, “No.” But like Springsteen, I
ask, “Was I feeling those things when I wrote Black Yé’ii? Yes,
absolutely.”
Themes emerge AFTER the book (or song) is written and are
based on the reader’s view, experience, situation and circumstance. I don’t
enjoy slogging through a swamp- in life, in writing, or in reading. And more
importantly, I don’t think the reader or listener does either.
The author, whether in a book or a song, tells a story. It is up to the
reader or listener to interpret it. The book or the song is theirs, not the
author’s …
---
I
will repeat what I wrote at the outset of this post: We just don’t know what is
going on in someone’s life at any moment. We don’t know the hidden worry
someone might feel that causes the awkward comment, gesture or moment. At that
moment, we aren’t in someone else’s shoes or on the path he or she is walking.
We just don’t know.
And like the author who writes a story or song, he or she might not know
the impact his or her comment or gesture has on any individual. It doesn’t
matter how well we know him or her. It doesn’t matter how much we love him or
her. That individual is “feeling” something and has something on his or her mind.
Without us asking, “What just happened? Is there something I can help with?
What’s going on?” we might never know. All that’s left for us to do at that
point is, like the reader, interpret what was said or done and either accept it
or reject it. Hopefully, if we care enough about that person, we can empathize
and help him or her figure out what is going on before a relationship is damaged
beyond repair. Something to think about …
Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!
For My Readers:
Good News! My publisher and I are sponsoring a Goodreads Giveaway
beginning August 27th and ending September 24th. We are
giving away 5 signed copies for free. If interested, you can enter here:
Black Yéʼii is now available on Audible, and has quickly become a
bestseller in that format. It received a 2025 Maxy Finalist Award for
Thriller and Suspense and previously won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award.
It is also available in Paperback and on Kindle.
You can find Black Yéʼii here:
Amazon Link: https://tinyurl.com/25w95xcn
Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/black-y-700-ii-joseph-lewis/1146257565?ean=9781685135379
Audible: https://www.audible.com/acx-promo
If you want more of the backstory to Black Yéʼii (The
Evil One) check out my previous book, Caught in a Web, which
is available in paperback, Kindle, and Audible. BestThrillers called
it “One of the best Crime Fiction Books of 2018!” It was also
a PenCraft Literary Award Winner!
You can find it here:
Audible Link: https://tinyurl.com/yw23zhfn
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2GrU51T
Barnes & Noble Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249
Of course, you can find all my books, their descriptions,
and a pay link on my author website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com
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 ten books,
their descriptions, and links for purchase on the same site.
Please Connect with Me on Social Media:
Website https://www.jrlewisauthor.com
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Photos courtesy of Unknown
Cover of Black Yéʼii by David King of
Black Rose Writing
