Good … No, Fantastic News!

Several weeks ago, the creator of Black Rose Writing, Reagan Rothe, sent an email to, I assume, any and all BRW authors saying if we have a completed book or nearly completed book, submit it or the idea behind the book for possible review. Review means, a team looks it over and decides if it is viable for publication.

I hesitated to respond, since I was less than 60,000 words into my next book (#10) titled, Black Yéʼii (The Evil One), and I didn’t think it was complete enough to be considered. So I pecked away at my keyboard and got a bit further. At the 61,837 word mark, I responded to Reagan’s email with my idea. It didn’t take long to hear back from him, telling me my new book, though uncompleted, was in review. I was astonished, really. The book idea is a good one … at least I think so. And I’m having fun writing it.

Unrelated to the email and my new book, I had a book sales and signing event on Saturday, Nov. 11th at a local Barnes & Noble, and it went far beyond my expectations. I mean, I hadn’t even finished setting up when a customer stopped by my table and bought a book. Then came another, and another, and I was busy from the time I started at 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. I ran out of two titles (last time I don’t bring enough!) and almost ran out of my giveaway pens (with a logo of my most recent book, Fan Mail, on them).

At a little after 3:30 pm that afternoon, the assistant manager stopped by to purchase a copy of Fan Mail, and asked me which titles besides Fan Mail I might recommend the store to carry. I wasn’t sure I heard correctly. I stumbled and stammered a bit, but recovered and said that Betrayed always sells well and was an Amazon Best Seller in two categories. I had run out of Blaze In, Blaze Out and Spiral Into Darkness or I would have mentioned them too and then let her pick. She picked up a copy of both to take to the manager, who told her to purchase multiple copies of both! Wow! I now have two titles, Fan Mail and Betrayed on the shelves at B & N in Fredericksburg, VA!

Then on Sunday, Nov. 12th, I received an email that made me a bit emotional. Yes, I got choked up. The email was from Reagan Rothe informing me that he was sending me a contract to publish Black Yéʼii (The Evil One), even though I hadn’t even completed the first draft! Sending me a contract on an idea means he not only believed in the concept, but that he also believed in me and my writing. I can’t possibly describe how touched I was and still am.

A few posts ago, I wrote a blog post on this site titled, The Insecure Writer, about my feelings and my insecurities as I sit and watch other writers gain notoriety and success with their books. I feel inferior to many of them, some of whom I read regularly. So to have a contract in hand, signed and dated based upon an idea I was working on, meant so much to me, and still does. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and I’m working diligently to complete Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) because I don’t want Reagan and Black Rose Writing to lose their trust and faith in me.

Here is what Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) is about …

Yéʼii are spiritual deities of the Dine’, or Navajo people. They seldom speak of Black Yéʼii because they consider Black Yéʼii, to be The Evil One. The Dine’ believe that by just speaking the name, they are inviting it into their lives. Black Yéʼii uses the five senses to trick an individual into seeking pleasure in areas of life, but, by doing so, they bring harm to themselves or others. Black Yéʼii interferes with living in the light of inner life and harmony, or Hozho. Black Yéʼii violates Hozho by creating darkness and evil among people.

Black Yéʼii (The Evil One) is a continuation of the story of the seven adopted brothers who make up my fictional Evans family, along with the detectives that make up my other books. It is fully a thriller-crime-mystery in every sense of the genre, and it is a “sort of” sequel to a previous book, Caught in a Web though you would not have to read it before diving into my new book.

At the end of Caught in a Web, a secret was kept to ensure the safety of Angel Benevides, his mother Carmen, and George Tokay and his brother, Bobby. If the secret was broken or found out, MS-13 would be back to exact revenge.

Carmen and her son, Angel are found dead in a way that was meant to show MS-13 is indeed back, and back with vengeance, and it seems George, Bobby, and Two- who looks like a younger version of George, might be next on the list.

Detectives Graff, O’Connor, and Eiselmann are on the trail, but don’t have much to go on. In fact, two of the suspected gang members show up dead in a farmer’s field on a rainy morning, so now they have nothing and the clock is ticking.

For those interested, I’ve included the description of Caught in a Web below, along with the link to my author website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com that lists all my books and contains the links for purchase. You might want to read it to get ready for Black Yéʼii (The Evil One). The publication is scheduled for January 2, 2025, but I will have preorder information and author’s copies before that.

But I have to finish it first. I better get busy …

I would love to hear your thoughts, so please use the comment section below. As always, thank you for traveling along with me on my writing journey. Until next time …

Caught in a Web: A PenCraft Literary Award Winner! Named “One of the Best Thrillers of 2018!” by BestThrillers http://bit.ly/2WO3kka

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