On The Outside

I worked with many staff members and kids over the years. 46 years, to be exact. In my various positions, I’ve heard many stories. Happy. Sad. Tragic. Hopeful. Despondent. Loving. When I think I’ve heard it all, I’m astounded to find yet another story I hadn’t heard.

Eileen, a teacher, had a son who died. Seemingly normal one day, then went downhill slowly at first, only to reach his end in a rapid and unexpected fashion. To look at her, to interact with her, to watch her with colleagues and kids, one would never know she struggled daily, sometimes hour by hour.

I remember one day, she stopped in my office and asked if she could just sit a minute. “Of course,” I said, “Yes. No problem!” I told her. “Take as much time as you need.” She apologized with a sad smile and said she would only need a minute or two. After a few minutes, she thanked me and went on her way. I checked on her later in the day, and she smiled and said, “I just needed a moment. Thank you.”

Nina’s husband passed away after a long medical fight. Nina is a counselor. She knew how to take care of herself, yet we made sure to discreetly watch over her. I would check in with her often, asking how she was doing and if she needed anything. She cared for the kids on her caseload, her own two sons, and herself without showing how much she was hurting.

At one of my schools as a counselor, a young man, Ricardo, witnessed a gang execution and testified against the shooter. Ricardo’s parents moved him to a different school, my school, to keep him safe. But my fellow counselors and I, and our supervising assistant principal, wondered how safe he really was. You see, the gang member who committed the execution had tentacles in our school, too. It was only a matter of time before they found him.

Ricardo went to school. He worked in the classroom. His grades were above average, and in some classes, way above average. Quiet and shy, Ricardo was nervous, but smiled. He knew what we knew. It was only a matter of time. He lived with that fear. The year ended, and Ricardo moved again. I lost track of him, and to this day, I don’t know what happened or if anything happened to him.

Three stories of three different people. Something tragic and ugly happened in their lives, and they coped as best they could each day, each moment.

In July 2014, our son was shot and killed as he walked home from lunch and a bit of shopping. Approximately two blocks from his new apartment, one gang recognized a rival on the street walking just ahead of Wil. A fifteen-year-old was handed a gun and was told, “Go wet his shirt.” He and a companion got out of a car and followed the rival.

The rival spotted the tail, saw the gun, and used our son, Hannah’s and Emily’s brother, as a shield. Wil was struck once in the back and died. Ten shots were fired and one shot hit someone. That someone was Wil, an unintended victim of collateral damage.

Kim and I, our daughters Hannah and Emily, and Wil’s young wife, Maria, learned to exist. We had a celebration of life, and after, we came back home and went on with our lives. We went about our day. I was a principal, Kim a teacher, Hannah a student in college, and Emily a student in high school. To watch us each day, we did the best we could. We smiled often. We kept ourselves busy. We worked hard to not let anyone know the pain we went through.

Emily played soccer and did the things a normal junior in high school would do. Her friends watched out for her. Hannah was away at school. She pulled good grades and eventually graduated and is now a teacher. Kim and I talk often about that time and that year, and neither one of us can remember much about that school year. It is like there is a hole in our lives. A lost year in many respects.

I mention these people and I mention what happened to our family because often and every day, there are people around us who interact with us, who smile and laugh, and we think, “They have it together. They are doing so well.” In reality, they, like we and the people I mentioned in this post, were just hanging on. We lived day by day, and sometimes, moment by moment. We tried to not let others see what was happening to us, how “life” was eating us up and spitting us out.

Like the photo used to introduce this post, what seems perfect on one side is nothing but chaos on the other side. What seems pretty on one side is rather ugly on the other.

I ask that this day, and every day, we remember that our actions, our words, can have either a positive or a negative impact. What we say or do can mean the difference between someone doing well or someone crashing and burning. Our words and our actions have power to heal or to hurt. I hope we will do our very best to heal where and when we can. I hope we will do our best to be kind any way we can, as often as we can. Please. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference! (Please!)

To My Readers:

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

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! A BestThriller’s Editor’s Pick!

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

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

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Greed can be all-consuming, and seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

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

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

Caught in a Web is also Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. A violent gang, MS-13, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards!
Two thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo Courtesy of Facebook and my friend, Michelle.

 

It's Coming!

Yesterday morning, early, I sat in this same spot working on my new book, Fan Mail, about a fan who takes it to the extreme. It’s a mystery/thriller with family drama tucked neatly inside of it. Perhaps not so neatly. There is ooze to it, as one reader spoke of my work. I enjoy writing it, and I wept in passages as I wrote them. And, as I sat there considering word choice, I heard something.

Behind me is our deck, and beyond the deck is our yard. At its back, behind the fence, is a wooded section. Home to many critters. Deer. Fox. Coons. Squirrels. And I’m sure, snakes. On the railing of our deck were three birds carrying on a lively conversation. A female cardinal in the middle, a robin to her left, and a gray bird with a blue belly with gold fringe on her right. The cardinal and the robin were new to the deck, but the gray bird with the blue belly has been a fairly regular visitor.

As I said, it was a lively conversation. They chatted away like old friends would over coffee or tea. Every so often, one or all would glance in my direction. Perhaps only at their reflection in the sliding glass door. But I’m okay with thinking they were glancing at me. Maybe trying to engage me. For my part, I was content to watch and listen, like people-watching at the airport or the mall. I didn’t want to disturb them. Eventually, they flew off into the woods and beyond. I hope they come back. Soon.

This is the time of year when Kim and I notice a nest or two under our deck. We also have one in our newspaper box under our mailbox. Our two dogs, Daisy and Stella, can’t get to the nests, but we worry when the young try to leave the nest and fly away on their own. Sometimes, they land in our yard. The mother bird (I think it’s the mother bird) will hover nearby until the young hatchling is in flight. Kim and I watch for it and we keep both dogs inside. Circle of life and all that.

Our crepe myrtles are budding. They took quite a beating this winter with the ugly snow and ice storm we had. Lost a limb or two. Our rose bushes took some heavy blows, but seemed to have survived. We lost a row of plants Kim took the time to plant last spring. When the snow and ice melted on a portion of our roof, it landed on them. Rest in peace. We’ll plant new ones in a couple of weeks just before we lay down fresh mulch. Probably have to do it again next spring. 

I like spring. It’s a prelude to summer. Blossoms and bloom. New birth. Fresh cut lawns. T-shirts and shorts. Not yet, but soon. Soon. The thick winter coats to the back of the closet. The lighter spring and summer jackets to the front. Maybe not quite yet, but again, soon. 

Time to take stock of what I’ve done this past fall and winter. What I can do better. What I can improve upon. Anyone out there I failed to keep in touch with over these long, cold months. Lost some friends. Far too soon. I mourn them. Harry. Julie. Steve. Colleagues. Friends. A former student and player. Sad. Far too sad, and as I said, far too soon. 

Must reach out to others. Say what needs to be said. Take the time, because time is needed. It’s a precious commodity. Like air and water. Like love and friendship. Never enough of it, so we have to make better use of what we have given to us before it’s taken away. Before it’s too late.

Spring does that for me. Time to take stock. To consider. To contemplate and meditate. Meditation and slowing down are never a waste of time. They are needed. There are some things that can’t be rushed. But when the time comes, act. Don’t wait. I’ve done that and I live with the regret. Don’t let it happen to you. Ever. 

Perhaps my birds will stop by at some point today. If not today, maybe tomorrow. Take up their chat, their conversation. And I’ll watch and listen. I’m pretty good at that. Perhaps you are too. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

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  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! A BestThriller’s Editor’s Pick!

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

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

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. Greed can be all-consuming, and seeing is not believing. No one can be trusted, and the hunters become the hunted. https://amzn.to/2EKHudx

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

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

Caught in a Web is also Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

They found the bodies of high school and middle school kids dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. A violent gang, MS-13, controls the drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors. They send Ricardo Fuentes to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay. Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKF7696  
 
The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they live in separate parts of the country, the lives of Kelliher, 11-year-old Brett McGovern, and 11-year-old George Tokay are separate pieces of a puzzle. The two boys become interwoven with the same thread Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their futures grow dark as each search for a way out. https://amzn.to/34nXBH5
 
Book One, Stolen Lives: Editor’s Pick by BestThrillers! Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner! A Crime Thriller finalist in the 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards!
Two thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they will end up like the other kids they found- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. To make the investigation that much tougher, Kelliher suspects that one of his team members might be involved. https://amzn.to/3oMo4qZ  
 
Book Two of the Lives Trilogy, Shattered Lives:
The boys are home, but now they have to fit back in with their families and friends. Their parents and the FBI thought the boys were safe. They were until people began dying. Now the hunt is on for six dangerous and desperate men who vow revenge. With no leads and nothing to go on, the FBI can only sit back and wait. A dangerous game that threatens not only the boys, but their families. https://amzn.to/2RAYIk2 
 
Book Three of the Lives Trilogy, Splintered Lives:
Three dangerous men with nothing to lose offer a handsome reward to anyone willing to kill fourteen-year-old Brett McGovern. He does not know that he, his younger brother, and a friend are targets. More than anyone, these three men vow to kill George, whom they blame for forcing them to run and hide. A fun vacation turns into a nightmare and ends where it started, back on the Navajo Nation Reservation, high on a mesa held sacred by George and his grandfather. Outnumbered and outgunned, George will make the ultimate sacrifice to protect his adoptive father and his adoptive brothers- but can he? Without knowing who these men are? Or where they are? Without knowing whom to trust? Is he prepared for betrayal that leads to his heartbreak and death? http://bit.ly/SplinteredLives  

Photo Courtesy of Arno Smit and Unsplash.

 

Medals

 

All three of my kids received medals and trophies. Soccer and swimming, mostly. Some earned. Some “participation” medals. My kids cared little for the latter. They weren’t special. Nothing stood out. Each kid on the team received one.

The concept is good: to encourage a youngster to keep trying, to keep at it. Yet, when a kid seldom showed up for practice and expected to play nonetheless, the concept loses a little. Maybe a lot.

Do you remember half-time snacks? Each parent signed up for a game, perhaps two, where it was expected to supply the team with a small drink and a small snack. Orange slices were a good go-to. I’m still smiling at the memories.

All this jumped back into my head watching the Olympics.

Nathan Chen’s outstanding performance on ice. I was in awe. Heck, I can skate forwards a couple of circles before falling or crashing into the wall. Spin a hundred times? Not me. I would cover the folks in the first row in whatever I ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Chloe Kim’s performance on her snowboard? The speed. The height. Me? I wouldn’t make it four feet before I’d end up face first and travel to the end line in the same position. Call it, “The Lewis Snowplow.”

One watched and had to feel the pain of Shaun White’s last Olympics on his snowboard. He never made the podium, finishing fourth. One had to feel Mikaela Shiffrin’s pain and disappointment failing or falling or whatever one calls it in her three attempts in three competitions. After all, both White and Shiffrin were expected to win, weren’t they?

The last year I coached high school basketball, I had a wonderful group of seniors. We had success and were ranked in state. We only lost a handful of games. A couple of those young men ended up playing at the collegiate level. I had decided in September of that year, I was going to “leave” with my seniors. When then played their last game- whenever that game was played, it would be my last game as a coach.

I remember the last practice on the night before the first game of regionals. Literally, it was the closing seconds of that practice. I actually had the whistle in my mouth ready to blow it when our starting center, Greg, came down with a rebound, landed on another player’s foot, and ended up with a high ankle sprain. He gave it a go in warm-ups the next night, but with tears in his eyes, he told me he couldn’t make it. We did the best we could, but ended up losing by single digits. I know Greg took that loss personally, despite what I or his teammates told him.  

A tough loss. A tough way to end the season. A tough way to end a career- and I’m talking about the young men who wouldn’t pick up a ball except for a rec league pickup game.

I think of White and Shiffrin who had trained and practiced for years in order to make it to the games in Beijing, only to fall short of expectations- theirs and ours. Yet, we forget the tons of success they had. We forget the effort, the hours, the pain they went through to get to Beijing.

I think of all the other athletes unknown to the viewing audience, who compete at these same Olympics, who never reach the podium, who never get the medal. They worked. They struggled. They put in time and effort. Yet, we don’t even know who they are. At some point, they went from orange slices at half-time to competing on one of the largest and most notable stages in the world. Yet, they do their thing. They get mentioned once, maybe twice on TV, but no one “expects” them to win a medal.

I take that back.

Those men and women expected to win. They expected to do and be their best, just like my team did in their regional game. They fell short, just as we fell short. Call it age. Call it nerves. Call it one being better than the next. We fall short. And that’s okay. They tried. We tried. They and we did our best. No podium. No medal. Only an orange slice or two. Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

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  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! A BestThriller’s Editor’s Pick!

Eiselmann and O’Connor thought the conviction of Dmitry Andruko, the head of a Ukrainian crime family, meant the end. It was only the beginning. They forgot that revenge knows no boundaries, vindictiveness knows no restraints, and ruthlessness never worries about collateral damage. Andruko hired contract killers to go after and kill O’Connor and Eiselmann. The killers can be anyone and be anywhere. They can strike at any time. Andruko believes a target is a target, and in the end, the target must die. https://amzn.to/34lNllP

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

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. 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 Ethan Wilkinson and Unsplash.

 

 

 

 

 

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 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. 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.

 

 

 

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 Out! Blaze 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 1^st Place Winner for Thriller-Fiction! A Maxy Award Runner-Up for Mystery/Suspense! A Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner! A Reader’s Ready Recommended Read Award Winner! A Reader’s Favorite Honorable Mention Award Winner for Fiction-Crime-Mystery!

Betrayed is Now Available in Audio Book, Kindle and Paperback! https://amzn.to/3AfUUpS

A late-night phone call, a missing kid, a murdered family, but no one is talking. A promise is made and kept, but it could mean the death of a fifteen-year-old boy. 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.