After writing nine books and almost at the end of writing book #10, I still get thrilled when I receive a nice review, and I still get down when I receive a not so nice review. I think it happens to most writers.
I was fortunate to receive a 5 Star Review for my most recent book, Fan Mail. I received it from International Writers Inspiring Change. It said:
“Fan Mail, by Joseph Lewis, is a gritty coming-of-age mystery thriller. The main plot, which explodes into view at the very beginning of the book, surrounds a series of threatening letters and a car bombing. As investigators try to source the stalker, and the bombing, we find ourselves immersed in the lives of several young men who are connected either through family or friends, and who have secrets they have been hiding about their lives – secrets, which in the course of the book, start to emerge. The culmination takes the reader to the very top of this mountain of bizarre events, moreover, the dramatic ending when the stalker is finally revealed. An intense emotional rollercoaster ride, written with immense detail to feelings and dialogue, with a constant thread of mystery that holds you to the end to find out what happens. Excellent writing.”
I appreciate how the reviewer crafted this review. It was evident to me the reviewer took the time to fully read and consider the Fan Mail deeply, and was able to discern what I was trying to portray as I wrote it.
I also received a review from best-selling and award-winning author of Stable, Cam Torrens, who read my book, Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy. He wrote:
“My recent reads have included stories of unspeakable evil: The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Man’s Search for Meaning, and A Fever in the Heartland. This mix of truth and fiction has shown me there is no bright side to evil, but character can be sharpened under such conditions.
Joseph Lewis’s Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy, is no exception. Character is everything in this novel based on difficult subject matter. Lewis crafts a masterful thriller arc while presenting the very real issue of child trafficking. The young men who endure this tragedy emerge scarred, but also as survivors. A must-read!”
If you’ve not read Stable by Cam Torrens, you’re missing a wonderfully intricate mystery full of suspense with a sharp twist at the end. It’s worth it if you like thrillers!
I want to share a snippet from Stolen Lives for you. It’s midway in the book, just after two boys go missing from a safe suburban street.
There wasn’t much to go on. No witnesses. A time interval that could have been minutes to an hour or more. One Adidas sandal and a cell phone, both found on the grass bordering the sidewalk, almost at the corner.
It was decided that if they were taken, they had been ambushed: grabbed, lifted and tossed into a waiting car or van. Probably a van, since it was easier to get them into and out of quickly. Still, nothing to go on. A dead end, like many missing kids’ cases.
I think I shared with you in one of my posts that as a counselor, I had volunteered as an adjunct educator for the Wetterling Foundation for Missing Children, speaking to parents and caring adults how to protect their children and what to look for to keep their kids safe. I also spoke to kids about how to protect themselves. With the advance of technology and social media, it is imperative that adults and caring adults step in to have sometimes hard conversations. It’s important to ask questions of kids, and to be on alert. While we don’t want our children walking on egg shells through life, it is important for children to be aware of potential danger.
For your convenience, I’ve included book descriptions and links for purchase for both books below. Please know you can find all my books, their descriptions, and links for purchase at my author website at https://www.jrlewisauthor.com
I would love to hear your thoughts, so please use the comment section below. As always, thanks for taking the time to follow along on my writing journey. Until next time …
Fan Mail
A Maxy Award Finalist, a Reader’s Favorite Silver Book Award Winner, a Literary Titan Silver Book Award Winner, and an Author’s Shout Recommended Read!
A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers.
Randy and Bobby, with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad.
As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart. Would he once again have to put himself in harm’s way to save them? And, if faced with that choice, will he?
Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy
A BestThrillers’ Finalist Award Winner, and a Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner!
Three fourteen-year-old boys are inextricably linked by abduction and murder.
Two of them were just abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others… dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. A fourth boy, George Tokay, a Navajo, holds a key piece to this puzzle and doesn’t realize it.
Kelliher and his team have been on this case for two years. There isn’t much to go on, and each time he gets a break, potential witnesses are found dead. The stories of these boys are like loose threads on a sweater: pull the wrong one and it unravels completely. Slowly, Kelliher realizes that there may be one or more members of his team behind it all.
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