This is a
departure from my normal fare, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless . . .
I have been asked
over and over where my ideas come from. I only wish I had a nickel each time
the question was asked. In answer, I have to say I subscribe to what Stephen
King said.
He wrote: “I get
my ideas from everywhere. But what all of my ideas boil down to is seeing maybe
one thing, but in a lot of cases it's seeing two things and having them come
together in some new and interesting way, and then adding the question 'What
if?' 'What if' is always the key question.”
That pretty much
sums it up for me.
Most of you
reading this know I’m currently a high school principal and former counselor,
teacher and coach. This fall marks my 42 year in education and I’ve never
really tired of it. Each day is interesting because whatever I had planned
flies out the window on most days.
But I happen to
blend and somewhat blur the lines of genre in my writing because of my
background with kids, especially because of my background in psychology and
counseling. If I had to pick my main genre, I’d say crime thriller fiction. But
because some of my favorite and more memorable characters are adolescents, I
have elements of young adult in my writing.
Basically, my
ideas come from kids. I listen to them in hallways, in the cafeteria, sitting
in the stands at games. I observe and listen and watch constantly. Robin
Williams mentioned in an interview (and I’m paraphrasing, probably badly) that
his mind never turned off.
As I writer,
neither does mine. Everything I see or hear is fair game!
The first books I
wrote, Taking Lives, Stolen Lives, Shattered Lives, and Splintered
Lives were based upon my volunteer work with the Jacob Wetterling
Foundation for Stranger Abducted and Sexually Exploited Youth. In fact, prequel
to the trilogy, Taking Lives, is
dedicated to Jacob Wetterling who at age 11 in October of 1989 was abducted at
gunpoint in front of his brother, Trevor, and a best friend, Aaron, by a man
wearing a mask as they were returning from a convenience store with a rented
moving and candy. Jacob’s story is and was tragic and only recently his remains
were found after someone confessed to the crime.
I wrote those
books because I had wanted to give back, in a way, to tell the story of missing
kids. The work is dark- but then again, why wouldn’t it be? The writing deals
with the human trafficking of kids, boys. It’s a story many don’t want any part
of, perhaps refusing to believe it happens.
But, the writing
was based upon my experience with the foundation, with kids I worked with as a
counselor and the stories they told me, and of course, a ton of research into
the topic of human trafficking.
My newest novel, Caught in a Web, deals with kids dying
from overdosing on heroin and fentanyl and MS-13, a vicious gang present in
communities across the country.
Once again, as a
counselor, I worked with kids and families who had substance issues. In fact,
there is one touching and tough scene where a husband and wife deal with the
substance abuse of their seemingly All-American son. He had great grades. Was a
successful athlete. But that scene works so well because of the conversation I
had with the father of that young man.
The gang element
again stems from my counseling background. I worked in a school in Southern
California that had three active gangs. I was a counselor to a young man who
made the decision to “get jumped out” of the gang and he almost didn’t survive.
What I did was
exactly what Stephen King stated: I put two elements together, drugs and gangs,
and asked the question, ‘What if?’
I think any writer
worth his salt is a keen observer of life. His own life, the lives of others.
The writer listens to conversations, watches the interactions of others, and reads
constantly- especially in the genre in which he or she writes. As King stated, “The
real importance of reading is that it creates an ease and intimacy with the
process of writing; one comes to the country of the writer with one's papers
and identification pretty much in order.” My belief is that if the writer doesn’t
read, the writer never gains the tools needed for writing. Reading is to
writing what weight-training is to the athlete. It’s that simple.
So . . . that’s
where I get my ideas. Simply stated, from life around me. I take a couple of
thoughts and ideas and events and conversations and ask, ‘What if?’
For My Readers:
I have some
exciting news:
Black Rose Writing,
the company that published Caught in a
Web has accepted for publication another of my books, Spiral into Darkness and it will be out in January 2019. On my
author page on Facebook, I will post passages and snippets from time to time
and keep you updated on the publishing progress.
Caught in a Web,
has been receiving some excellent reviews that I’m proud of, but I have to tell
you the reviews are also humbling. So to those of you who have read it, thank
you for passing on the positive vibes and for taking a chance on a novice
writer. With five books to my name and a sixth coming out in January, yes, I
still feel like a novice.
Caught in a Web is
available in both paperback and Kindle format on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Caught-Web-Joseph-Lewis/dp/1684330246/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524752314&sr=1-1&keywords=caught+in+a+web+joseph+lewis and at Barnes
& Noble at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caught-in-a-web-joseph-lewis/1128250923?ean=9781684330249
If you like Thriller/Suspense fiction and are
looking for something to read over the summer and if you are interested in my
earlier novels, check out:
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete
Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys
left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know
one another, the lives of FBI Agent Kelliher and two boys become interwoven
with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them
are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in jeopardy as
each search for a way out. http://bit.ly/Taking-Lives-JLewis
Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy:
Two
thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and
his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all
the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the
possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://bit.ly/Stolen-Lives-JLewis
Shattered Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy:
Six desperate and
violent men escape. One of them stands in a kitchen facing a 14 year-old-boy
with a gun. There are many reasons for the boy to pull the trigger. Mainly, the
man had started it all. http://bit.ly/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis
Splintered Lives, Book Three of the Lives Trilogy:
A 14 year-old-boy
is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. High up on an Arizona mesa, he faces
three desperate and dangerous men in hopes of saving his father and his
brothers. http://bit.ly/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis
Connect with me on Social Media:
Twitter at
@jrlewisauthor
Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author
