Sunday, February 6, 2022

A Different Invisible


The last two years of my semi-retirement brought me, thankfully, back into the classroom as a teacher. I’m not a “teacher” in the true sense of the word like I used to be, like my wife and my daughter, Hannah, are. They teach. They prepare lessons. They are evaluated. They teach.

I, on the other hand, don’t teach, though I am called a teacher. I refer to myself as an online learning facilitator. I’m part-time, hourly, actually. If someone were to come into my room during any of my three 80-minute blocks, that somebody would notice kids working silently on their own. A student might come up to me and ask me to “unlock” a test or quiz. A student might raise a hand and ask to go to the restroom. Other than that, not much interaction. 

I don’t have lessons to prepare. I don’t have papers to grade. I do, however, have assignments that are submitted online that I might grade if they are dealing with social studies. But I have kids studying English and other languages, sciences, different levels of math, and health and physical education. Many subjects, many of which I can’t do or even comprehend.

And I love what I do. Even though the interactions with kids are spotty and few, I am with them. I missed that once I left the classroom and counseling office. Knowing what I know now, I would have never left teaching or counseling for administration. Too removed from kids, too much paperwork, and too much politics. Far too much politics. I like kids. Always have. Always will.

When I taught, my classroom before school and sometimes at lunch was a haven for kids. They would come to visit, sometimes with me, mostly with each other. They would do last-minute homework and eat breakfast. Some kids I knew. Some, I didn’t, but got to know. 

I never advertised my room as a place for kids. They just began showing up.

I noticed something similar happening.

I have one young man who comes to my classroom well before the first bell. I have him in my first block, but he shows up thirty to forty minutes early. He sits, eats his breakfast, and scrolls through his phone. Sometimes, he and I chit chat.

At lunch, I have anywhere from two to five kids who eat in my room rather than go to the cafeteria. Sometimes they don’t eat. One young lady naps for 20 or so minutes before class resumes. One young man watches movies on his phone. A couple of kids continue to do their work even though it is their break time.

There isn’t any interaction between them, though they are in close proximity. There isn’t any interaction with me, unless I talk to them. They do their own thing while I do mine.

I stand in the hallways between classes. I watch the kids pass me. Some will catch my eye and nod. Others will say hello. Several give me knuckle bumps as they pass. They exchange no words, just the “touch” of a fist with mine.

In 2013, I wrote a post titled The Invisible Kids. In 2018, I wrote a post titled The Invisible. In 2019, I wrote a post titled Visible. The themes in each are similar, but not the same. They dealt with those who wander among us, sometimes side-by-side, who we don’t interact with, who don’t interact with us. Ships passing in the night, as the adage says. Less personal than a waitress in a restaurant.

Hunter Hayes recorded a wonderfully haunting song, Invisible. It’s worth a listen. It’s worth taking to heart. You can find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiUqgL5urWc 

I’m afraid we are seeing the birth of a new kind of invisible.

Those kids, those adults, who sit glued to their phone or their computer, instead of noticing what is around them, instead of interacting with those around them. Like kids in the hallway. Like kids who sit in my room at lunch. It’s not just kids. Sometimes it’s adults. It’s young and old alike.

We’ve become engrossed, even debilitated, with technology. We’ve become less personal. Our words with one another are fewer. Our interactions are less. Is this the society, the life we want for ourselves? For our children? Something to think about . . .

To My Readers:

Blaze In, Blaze Out and I were featured in the monthly online magazine, The Big Thrill, published by International Thriller Writers. You can find it at: https://t.co/7NOSkw6pXi  Yesterday, BestThrillers selected Blaze In, Blaze Out as an Editor’s Pick. You can find it at: https://bestthrillers.com/blaze-in-blaze-out-a-superb-crime-drama-by-joseph-lewis/  I am pleased with the recognition, and I am pleased with the growing number of 5 Star Reviews and Ratings Blaze has garnered.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website
www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: 
www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: 
www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out: A Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read!

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. Andruko believes a target is a target, and in the end, the target must die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1st 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. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is 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. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
The Lives Trilogy 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 Matthew Henry and Unsplash.

 

 

 

Sunday, January 23, 2022

A Thorough Cleaning

 


Many Saturdays, Kim announces to me we need to do a thorough cleaning. I break out in a cold sweat. I get the chills. I secretly and silently groan. 

Okay, not really.

Even though it’s just Kim and me in the house, we have two dogs who happily shed every loose or semi-loose hair on their bodies. I know the cleaning is warranted and necessary. And to be honest, it doesn’t take that long. Half a day, maybe less, maybe longer.

When it’s done and when Kim and I sit down and relax, “it” feels better. “It” feels and smells clean. Kim and I are fond of burning scented candles, something homey and welcoming. Something that doesn’t over-power you. That usually comes after the cleaning, though at any time, really. Whenever the mood strikes us. 

Last night, Kim and I watched in horror as the Green Bay Packers lost. They were expected to win. After all, they were the #1 seed. They had home field advantage. They had the reigning MVP, who will probably be a repeat MVP this year. They had a wealth of veterans and starters returning from injuries. They have one of the best coaches in the game. 

They lost. 

Writers pointed fingers at this player, that player, that unit. They pointed fingers at this play or that lack of a play. And now, the Packers face an over-the-cap number over $40 million. That’s a huge number, and I can’t fathom that. Just can’t. I can’t picture it. 

But writers also point out that by cleaning house, by jettisoning this veteran, that player, they can save money. 

There have been times I felt overwhelmed by the number of people, the number of events, the different pushes and pulls required of me. There have been times I lost sight of what is necessary and important and most satisfying in my life. There have been times when I had to do some personal house cleaning of my heart, of my soul, of my mind. There have been times when I had to, like the Packers will do in the next few weeks and months, jettison people from my life. 

I lived in five different states for significant portions of my life. In one state, I met and married Kim. In that same state, we adopted Wil and gave birth to Hannah and Emily. I was a principal in two states. I handed Wil his diploma in one state and handed diplomas to Hannah and Emily in another. 

Sometimes because of those moves, I fell out of touch with friends who I felt I was close to, who I thought were important to me, and I to them. Not sure who cleaned whose house, but someone did, and I am no longer in touch with them. It hurt. There are times it still hurts. 

But I recognize and have enough faith that people leave and situations change for a reason. There is a favorite saying that goes: Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path. That’s an important thought to print on your heart and soul. 

I’ve written in the past in several posts that even though it is dark and storming, the rain will stop, the wind will die down, and the sun will reappear. I think we forget that when it gets the darkest and the stormiest, that’s when we need to be more silent and listen to our heart and that one calm voice in the back of our head that tells us it will get better, that you will be better, that you will be safe. 

Just like we might not like the actual “cleaning” of our house on Saturday, and just like we might not like what the Packers will look like next year, and just like we might not like what we are going through at a moment, BELIEVE that it will get better, that you will be better, and you will be safe. Even in the darkest night, even with the wind and rain whipping and swirling around you, the wind and rain will end, and the sun will shine. It will get better. I promise! Something to think about . . . 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! 

To My Readers:

I received more great news about my newest book, Blaze In, Blaze OutBlaze and I were featured in the Local Author Spotlight of the Free Lance-Star, and next month, the International Thrillers Writers will feature me and my book, Blaze In, Blaze Out in their monthly magazine, The Big Thrill. I am pleased with the recognition, and I am pleased with the growing number of 5 Star Reviews and Ratings Blaze has garnered.

My book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, has been named a Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards! That is the second award Stolen Lives has won. Previously, it received a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. I’m happy, as well as humbled, that there has been success with Stolen Lives.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website
www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: 
www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: 
www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites!

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end, but it was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. Contract killers were hired, and they can be anyone and be anywhere. Andruko believes a target is a target, and in the end, the target must die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1st 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. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is 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. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
The Lives Trilogy 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!
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 Gustavo Cezar and Unsplash.

 

 

 

Sunday, January 16, 2022

Appreciating Both Then and Now


On December 12, 1993, I flew to Guatemala to pick up our adopted son, William. That sounds much easier than it was. Lots of papers to sign. Many people to pay. Excruciating appointments at the Guatemala embassy and at the United States embassy. A physical for William. More paperwork.

I had to travel by myself because on November 11, 1993, Kim gave birth to our daughter, Hannah. While Kim wanted to travel with me, we decided it would be better if she remain behind with Hannah. I think the trip would have been easier with her. I would still have the excruciating appointments and mounds of paperwork, but when pain is shared, it becomes less.

On Wednesday of that week, our “driver” took Wil and me to see Casa Shalom, the orphanage Wil lived in for a year while he waited to be picked up by us. I say, “driver” because, in actuality, Walter was our bodyguard. The adoption lawyer instructed him to never let us go anywhere without him. I didn’t figure this out until mid-week when the lawyer explained that the Guatemalan government was changing its attitude towards “gringos” and adoption.

The trip was both beautiful and sad at the same time. There were two incidents that I still see and feel to this day.

One was of two boys standing away from the rest. It turned out they were brothers. Both were crying, while the younger boy cried harder. I asked Elizabeth, the orphanage housemother, what the older one had said to the younger one. Elizabeth explained sadly that the older boy said, “Don’t worry. Someday we’ll have a daddy, too.” I wanted to take Wil and the two boys with me in that instant, and I knew Kim would have wanted me to. But, the Guatemalan government . . . the United States government . . .

The other incident took place as Walter drove us away from the orphanage. Elizabeth had the kids line both sides of the driveway and wave as we drove off. I barely kept my composure. Wil gripped my hand, and once he saw what the kids were doing, put his head down and wept. So sad. Gut-wrenching.

After leaving the orphanage, we stopped at a mission and an open-air market before we drove back to the city. I had seen missions while we lived in California, but Antigua, Guatemala, was much older than any I had toured. You could see it was old, but it was well-maintained. Dark and Catholic in design. My parents would have loved it.

The open-air market was like nothing I’ve ever seen or experienced. Everything and anything you can imagine was on display for a price. Wil wanted to get Hannah a doll and a dress, so that’s what we bought. As we ventured into the darkened space in the back of the tent, Wil tugged on my arm and held his nose. I didn’t know what he was trying to tell me until the smell hit me like a heavyweight’s sucker punch. Meat hung from rope or string. Flies galore and the merchants didn’t wave them away. Perhaps they had given up. As I write this, I scrunch my face because the “smell” lingers in the recesses of my brain. 

I contrast the open-air market with my experience of grocery shopping at one of our local stores yesterday. I had a list in hand. A few items, not many, but I wanted to make chili because of the expected snow and colder weather coming our way. 

No smell other than a grocery store smell. No flies that I saw. However, there was nothing in the meat section but empty shelves. I bought one of the three remaining quarts of milk. I almost lost out on a can of Great Northern Beans I needed for the chili recipe, but a lady put one of hers back on the shelf. In the end, I escaped with what I needed, mostly. I was happy to get out of the crush of panicked people pushing grocery carts and standing in line to pay. Happy to come home to my house and Kim, our dogs. 

Both experiences, the open-air market and the local grocery store, made me realize that Kim and I have what we need. We’re okay. We’re satisfied. We’re content. And while we are doing okay, there are others who aren’t. Others who struggle to put food on the table, struggle to find a warm place to sleep or even a warm place to live. There are others who don’t have a well-stocked pantry or refrigerator. Some might not even have a pantry or refrigerator. Both experiences make me appreciate what I have and where I live. Happily so. I hope those of you reading this are content, too. And, I hope you think of those who aren’t, who have less. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I received great news this week! My newest book, Blaze In, Blaze Out won two awards and some recognition! Blaze won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award, an Author’s Shout Recommended Read Award, and was selected by BestThrillers as an “Editor’s Choice.” I am pleased with the recognition and the number of 5 Star Reviews Blaze has garnered.

The Goodreads Giveaway for Blaze In, Blaze Out ended yesterday Saturday, January 15. It was highly successful. There were 2239 entrants, and 2104 marked at as “To Be Read” on their Goodreads shelf. My Publisher, Black Rose Writing and I are giving away 5 copies to Goodreads members, and the winners are:

Karen Mikusak of Detroit, Michigan

Linda Kish of Nuevo, California

Ann Thompson of Lexington, Kentucky

Todd Rumsey of Albany, New York

Shannon Styles of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania

Congratulations! Your signed copy should arrive within two weeks!

I am pleased to announce that my book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, has been named a Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards! That is the second award Stolen Lives has won. Previously, it received a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. I’m happy, as well as humbled, that there has been success with Stolen Lives.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website
www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: 
www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: 
www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites!

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end, but it was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

Betrayed: A PenCraft 1st 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. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers.com 

Caught in a Web is 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. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
The Lives Trilogy 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!
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 of Wil Lewis courtesy of Unknown.

  

Sunday, January 9, 2022

Numb

 


Each night, it seems, we hear news reports of a random shooting, someone killed unintentionally by someone wanting to kill someone else. Sad. Tragic. Disgusting. Senseless. No other words suffice, but even those seem inadequate. While I hear the reports and watch the commentator expressing sadness, hear the parents and loved ones in their agony, it affects me, just like it affects you. At least I hope so.

The thing is, this happens each night. Pick up a newspaper. Pick out a newscast. It’s all on display for us to see. We become numb to it because the occurrences are so frequent. That in itself is tragic, beyond the actual shooting and death. We feel . . . something, I guess, but nothing like the victim’s family and loved ones.

That changed for me on July 12, 2014, when our son was shot and killed as he walked home from lunch and a quick trip to pick up a couple of things for his and his wife’s new apartment. Caught on a street between two rival gangs. One gang saw a rival, and according to court testimony, a 35-year-old gave a gun to a 15-year-old and said, “Go wet his shirt!”

“Go wet his shirt!”

The only shirt that “got wet” was our son’s shirt. An innocent pedestrian. Collateral damage, it’s called. Rather cold, don’t you think?

From the moment Kim and I received the news that Wil was shot and killed, news reports of gun violence and death mean something different to me. My heart hurts for the family. My heart hurts for the victim. My heart hurts for Kim and our daughters. My heart hurts for Maria, Wil’s wife, a young widow. My heart hurts. It’s something one does not “get over.” Loss, any loss, is something one does not get over. We learn to live through it. We learn to live with it. The loss is there. It will always be there. Always.

I was reminded of that as I sat and watched David Muir interview three Capitol police officers about their experience and aftermath of January 6, 2021. Their experience, their ongoing trauma. One man nearly crushed to death, caught between a crowd and a door frame. One dragged down steps face to the stone. One sprayed with so many chemicals, he still has scars. And all of them carry scars on their heart, in their mind, and on their soul.

One congressman described the event later as: “Nothing more than tourists!” even though he helped barricade the doors. A picture shows him front and center, terror on his face. Yet, he called them “tourists.” The former vice president called it “Just a day last January.” Just a day? Even when the “tourists” built a gallows and shouted, “Hang Mike Pence!” Just a day?

A memorial was held on January 6th last week to honor those who died. It was symbolic of what had happened to the victims, to our government, to our country. Only two republicans were present: a congresswoman and her father, a former vice president. Why? Why weren’t more republicans . . . all of them . . . present? Why?

Have we become so numb to political discord, to political division, and political derision that we cannot remember those who died and cannot remember the assault on our capital, our democracy?

Numb. Substitute one letter and you have dumb.

We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and hurt of others. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to that which is so meaningful to us, to our neighbors, to our country. We cannot allow ourselves to walk through this life numb to what others are going through. We cannot allow ourselves to go through life numb to what others are living with each day. We cannot allow ourselves to be numb. Something to think about . . .     

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I received great news this week! My newest book, Blaze In, Blaze Out won two awards and some recognition! Blaze won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award, an Author’s Shout Recommended Read Award, and was selected by BestThrillers as an “Editor’s Choice.” I am pleased with the recognition and the number of 5 Star Reviews Blaze has garnered.

Goodreads Giveaway for Blaze In, Blaze Out Began Friday, December 17 and will finish at 11:59 PM PT on Saturday, January 15. My Publisher, Black Rose Writing and I are giving away 5 copies to Goodreads members in U.S. To Enter the Giveaway, use this Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/336915?utm_medium=api&utm_source=giveaway_widget

I am pleased to announce that my book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, has been named a Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards! That is the second award Stolen Lives has won. Previously, it received a Literary Titan Gold Book Award. I’m happy, as well as humbled, that there has been success with Stolen Lives.

Connect with me on Social Media: 
Author Website
www.jrlewisauthor.blog/
Twitter at @jrlewisauthor
Facebook at: 
www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  
Amazon at: 
www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /

Blaze In, Blaze Out, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites!

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko meant the end, but it was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. A target is a target, and in the end, the target will die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

BetrayedA PenCraft 1st 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. Seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

Spiral Into Darkness: Named a Recommended Read in the Author Shout Reader Awards!
He blends in. He is successful, intelligent, and methodical. He has a list and has murdered eight on it so far. There is no discernible pattern. There are no clues. There are no leads. The only thing the FBI and local police have to go on is the method of death: two bullets to the face- gruesome and meant to send a message. But it’s difficult to understand any message coming from a dark and damaged mind. Two adopted boys, struggling in their own world, do not know they are the next targets. Neither does their family. And neither does local law enforcement. https://amzn.to/2RBWvTm

Caught in a WebA 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. MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
The Lives Trilogy 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!
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 The National Cancer Institute and Unsplash.